I am looking for a significant improvement over the stock setup, but my car will still be my daily driver and street driven so I dont want too stiff of a ride. Will this setup be too soft for occasional autocross and/or very spirited driving?
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As time went on, the factory developed the car each year, making it faster, more comfortable, and capable of handling at higher speeds.
You don’t want this. You want the trickiest, most dangerous, oldest model you can find. Only then can you prove to the world that you’re a man. -
Some months back there was an article in Roundel magazine where they took an E30 and threw some bits at it to make it a better all-around ride. The suspension set up consisted of Bilstein Sport shocks and H&R Sport springs plus some aftermarket swaybar kit. This spring/shock set up should improve things greatly without shaking your fillings loose. The larger sway bars would be a wise choice since there will still be some body roll during spirited driving or auto-x if you left the stock sway bars in place.
JonRides...
1991 325i - sold :(
2004 2WD Frontier King Cab
RIP #17 Jules Bianchi -
amy more thoughts?
As time went on, the factory developed the car each year, making it faster, more comfortable, and capable of handling at higher speeds.
You don’t want this. You want the trickiest, most dangerous, oldest model you can find. Only then can you prove to the world that you’re a man.Comment
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i have that setup and i love it ; )
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I don't track mine, but am running the same setup. It's decent for street, but could be tighter imo. Eventually, I have said this many times, I will go to a Ground Control setup. I just want something stiffer than what I've got now. For a car that will be tracked only I definitely think this will be too soft. Just my opinion. ;)
[THE 501 club - Founding Member]Comment
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What He ^^^ said. I have H&R Sports and Bilstein sports. For in town and daily driving its great. I dont autox (I want to...) or track, but for spirited driving its a good compromise between stiff and mellow. I had m3 springs before these, and my mom likes the H&R Sports better, and actually I do too. If youre drivin it every day I go H&R. If not, go Ground Control or IE Stage 3 or something like that.
WillRIP e30 (brilliantrot '91 325i) 11/17/06 Byebye: 8/21/07
Welcome e30 (brilliantrot '90 325is) 12/23/06
DaveCN = Old Man
My signature picture was taken by ME! Not by anyone else!
Originally posted by george gravesComment
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IE Stage 3's with Koni Yellows are what I have in my car.
I LOVE IT! 8)
Nuff said... :P- Sean HayesComment
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I have the same setup, but my friend that has IE springs, i like his setup better, and the IE springs are not stiff at all, i think their actually really smooth, i'm really impressed. I would say the IE springs are firm not stiff, and he drives it daily, i think it's much better then HR sports that are on my car.Comment
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IE Stage 3's are stiff with the right shocks. Mine is nice a stiff. My bubbly 14" rims with 195-65 tires don't help that though.
I believe the Stg3's are progressive, which is why they make a nice smooth ride on the street.- Sean HayesComment
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They're a great street spring.Originally posted by SeanThe BMW 318 is back. With a vengeance.Comment
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I'm glad you said this. For the past few weeks I have been in the midst of a suspension quandry. I purchased Bilstein Sports through Turner and had them custom valved to be better matched with stiffer springs (we used H&R Race as a reference point). The spring package I got was GC 450/F and 625R. My thoughts? Stiff....damn stiff....actually, too damn stiff for the street. On ultra-smooth pavement the handling is awesome. Minimal body roll (running stock sways too) and very little rear squat under hard acceleration. However, the characteristics of linear springs just aren't my cup of tea...everything is happening 'here & now.' On a track car I'm sure they rock....but my car is primarily a daily driver with a few track days in the picture. Having run H&R Sports in the past, I really liked the loading/unloading characteristics of the progressive spring. It definately is the way to go on a street car.Originally posted by Sean
So what is my solution? Yesterday a new set of IE Stage 3 springs arrived on my doorstep. Not sure when I will get these things on, hopefully sooner than later. These springs do have a little progression in the coil winding (most noticable in front) and the rears look almost completely linear. Knowing the IE Stage 3 rates are a bit softer than my current GCs (not to mention being 'slightly' progressive), I think these springs with my custom-valved B-Sports ought to hit the elusive handling mark I have been searching for. When I get things on I will post my thoughts.
Jon
Edit: This is sort of on topic to the subject matter. This article appeared in the May 2004 Roundel mag. Some of you have probably already read it. Here it is for those who haven't. http://www.bmwcca.org/Roundel/2004/05/Article_2.shtmlRides...
1991 325i - sold :(
2004 2WD Frontier King Cab
RIP #17 Jules BianchiComment
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Please do. I for one am interested in hearing the diff.
[THE 501 club - Founding Member]Comment
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Ask StuMc. He made the same change (GC -> IE) and is loving it.Originally posted by RCWells
After getting brand new M-Technik valved Konis, I feel my GC setup is more livable. Driving with very worn dampers was making the springs feel even less forgiving. It hasn't been a week yet, but for now I'll go on record saying that a GC setup with proper damping and reasonable spring rates (300F/440R) is fairly streetable, it'll just be a rude awakening for someone coming from any progressive spring setup. But especially on the highway, this suspension feels pretty badass.
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So the IE stg 3 springs with the right shocks are actually quite streetable while being an improvement over H&R sports ? Well which shocks are the right shocks to keep these springs streetable? Bilstein Sports?
As time went on, the factory developed the car each year, making it faster, more comfortable, and capable of handling at higher speeds.
You don’t want this. You want the trickiest, most dangerous, oldest model you can find. Only then can you prove to the world that you’re a man.Comment
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"Improvement" is completely subjective. They are stiffer, yes.
Sports will work with them, but Konis are better. Comment
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