Quick Coilover question

[CircuitMonster]

ok so ive been doing a ton of research on what coilovers to get for my e30 and is there any coilover that doesnt require welding to install the front coilovers.

I orignally wanted FK coilovers but the price is way to much and i cant find anyone that sells them. groundcontrol does all the work for you but by doing that its a little out of my price range. lastly the bc coilovers seems decent but the whole welding procedure seems like a hassle.

keep in mind im origanlly a JDM guy ive only fixed up Hondas/nissans/subarus. so this e30 work is all new to me.

also any thoughts on what route i should go cause right now im just on koni blues with h&r, thinking i might just get koni's with GC sleeves and e90 hats and call it a day.

thanks guys for helping a noob.

[bmwguy325is]

The key that you have to remember is that the OE struts are part of the spindle. So its not cost effective to make new BMW e30 spindles for the coils. I think there are some like FK that maybe swap you out. IE they do the work and you send them your old stuff. But this is still welding.

[CircuitMonster]

The key that you have to remember is that the OE struts are part of the spindle. So its not cost effective to make new BMW e30 spindles for the coils. I think there are some like FK that maybe swap you out. IE they do the work and you send them your old stuff. But this is still welding.

yeah that makes sense, so theres only those two companys that do it for you though right? is it that much of a hassle to have a shop weld a coilover on plus it just seems kind of sketchy

[rbartongrimley]

yeah that makes sense, so theres only those two companys that do it for you though right? is it that much of a hassle to have a shop weld a coilover on plus it just seems kind of sketchy

It really isn't that much of a hassle. If you buy the GC kit they give you directions. If you have access to a band saw (or some other type of cutting device. I used a lathe), and a welder, you can knock them out fairly fast. I think I did mine in a full day and pressed in new hubs after painting. Definitely need to be willing to get your hands dirty though.

[CircuitMonster]

i dont have a welder or even know how to weld so i would have to have a shop do it, i was just wondering if it was just a pain to do or if there were other coilovers that would have that done but looks like everyone has answered my questions. thanks guys

[bmwguy325is]

yeah that makes sense, so theres only those two companys that do it for you though right? is it that much of a hassle to have a shop weld a coilover on plus it just seems kind of sketchy

Well seeing how its the only way to make it happen welding or sleveing like GC dose are the only way to go. My spindles were machined and welded and they look OE. Course the labor was as much as a CG kit so ya.........

[JRKOUPE]

remove oe perch, and weld on GC perch..any shop can do that..cheap.

Now if u cut/shorten your housings that would cost more...but you may not need to do that...just depnds on how slammed you want.

[Ant_e30]

^ thats the thing, if you are making a coilover out of your stock housing it is a bit more complex as it is up to you to get the correct sized inserts with correct damping, deciding how much to shorten the housings, get it cut and welded up again etc. You need to know what you are doing.

With ones you buy that needs to be welded such as BC and KSport, it isnt that outrageous to weld like this. You're a nissan bloke, so think of it like an R31 Skyline or a Cima (right up to the current model). They are all one piece spindles too. If you approach a competent suspension shop they should have done this sort of work before. At the end of the day, the majority of your car is held together by welds! :) it just has to be done right thats all.

All of the coilover options out there either involve you welding yourself/organising yourself, or the supplier has already done it for you. On the more expensive side there is also KW coilovers from Germany, and also GAZ from the UK.

Outside of those, there are a couple of mobs on eBay that do bolt-in coilovers that come pre-welded and painted etc so they appear factory. One of them (i've gone blank on the name at the moment) is like 1200ish plus post but i did some google searching and read mixed reviews of their damper quality.
I am probably going to get some others that are on eBay, they start at $800 plus $100 post and you can specify your own spring rates and they damp them to suit. However it is a little extra for damper adjust, camber tops & bolt-in bottom spindles. Total for the kit is like $1200.

A local guy here got those above and is happy. and another guy got the GC Kit. From what i hear, they both got what they wanted - GC handles well and as fairly compliant to a point but overall rides well, the eBay kit is super stiff and hard (other guy was more into stance and tight fitting wheels).

GL!

[Teaguer]

Thers actually no need to remove/cut off your existing perch or to we;d the new coil-over one on.

You can use cheapie eBay sourced coil-over kits or Ground Control kits without cutting or welding anything.

Now of course if you want the ultimate slamm then yes, lop an inch or two out of your housings and source the shorter inserts and even then the cutting and welding is minimal and easy.

[Mercury[BKM]]

JOMs.. but they dont drop the rear all that much stock from what i hear

[Jafxod]

If you run the GC coilover conversion kit you can get pretty low without welding if you run camberplates to elimnate to the stock rubber strut mount.

[einstein57]

Whats your budget?