Fast Street Suspension Setup? Advice

[Massimo]

There is allot of stuff out there for our suspension and it is difficult to know what is good. I want advice for different set ups with spring and strut not coilovers. Basically the car is a DD 318is and I would like a setup that is perfect for street.

I have read allot about H&R race and IE3 springs and some people believe that the billies are not the right match for the spring rate. Then there is billies or koni from what I can gather koni seem to be better suited for the road due to them being lass harsh.

Then there is sway bars, there are so many out there it hurts my head.

So I really want advice on a full perfect setup for the street, that will help the car be as stable as possible. I don't car about how much low or stiff the springs are, I want a good balanced and well handling car. What do you guys recommend and why?

Cheers guys

[z31maniac]

If you want simple, proven, no fuss?

Just buy a SpecE30 suspension and call it a day.

(H&R Race, Billie Sports, camber plates, UUC sway package [there are others, but I'm big fan of their setup with all the reinforcement plates])

[nrubenstein]

How much does comfort matter? The SpecE30 setup will handle well, but nit that comfortably. And it would be faster with Konis because the big weakness of the Bilsteins is rebound control.

[z31maniac]

^Yeah, the shocks matching the springs is huge.

I ran 550/750 on my S52 car with a 22mm front bar and no rear. With the custom valved Konis and 40 series tires on 17" I thought the ride was perfect, even for a street car.

It wasn't nearly as rough as you would think because they were so well matched.

[nrubenstein]

Ride quality us also relative to where you live. The roads that I drive on are filled wig moon crater potholes, so travel and comfort are relatively important. If I didn't live in DC, I'd be lower and stiffer.

[Pussy30]

Yup definitely would help to know what your looking to get out of your car comfort wise.

Ive used several different sets of springs. Softer taller springs are obviously more comfy. IE3's handled very very nicely on the track and on the street.

Since it sounds like you have some high expectations you might want to think about coilovers so you have more adjustability in ride height and springs rates and such

Budget?

[Massimo]

Well I have never really modded a car suspension so I don't really know how stiff I would like the car. So I am going to say that I am not fussed with comfort at the moment, I can always change later on if I don't like it.

I was thinking spec E30 set up. What are your opinion on strut braces and cross brace, I would assume that you need a front strut brace but do I need a cross brace and a rear strut brace?

[constructor]

If you want simple, proven, no fuss?

Just buy a SpecE30 suspension and call it a day.

(H&R Race, Billie Sports, camber plates, UUC sway package [there are others, but I'm big fan of their setup with all the reinforcement plates])

I think this is an awesome setup for the street.

How much does comfort matter? The SpecE30 setup will handle well, but nit that comfortably. And it would be faster with Konis because the big weakness of the Bilsteins is rebound control.

I had H&R Race, Bilstein Sports on the roads of Boston and found them to be quite comfortable. Since comfort is subjective, I will say that my wife, who is not into cars, also found it comfortable.

[87e30]

Although I haven't driven the spec e30 setup from what I know of e30 suspensions (riding on GC coils 650/450) I'd say that spec e30 is your best bet.

General consensus is that strut tower bars are generally not too effective and not necessary. - I'm sure there is an argument for them, but they aren't a huge thing on these cars, I've never had one.