Ground Control Spring Rates...

[ebelements]

Looking to order these soon, and I was wondering what everyone would reccomend for a 2 door ETA? From what I've seen on here, there's a lot of variety in what everyone is running. I've read everything from 300/425 to 500/650, so I thought asking here would be the best. I want the car stiff as hell, low, and I could give a damn about ride quality.

Also, as far as camber adjustment is concerned, I've read that I'd need GC camber plates for the front... is there adjustibility out back stock, or will I need something else there too? Sorry for all the noob questions, but I'm just not that familiar with the E30 suspension yet. Thanks in advance for dealing with me. :D

eb

[rwh11385]

IE adjustable weld-on things for out back or similar. I have RTRS's eccentric bushings.

Since you are so close it wouldn't be too bad to swap suspensions and me install some Electrodyne springs.
email me @ rwh11385 at hotmail.com and we can sort out the details hopefully.

300/475 is stiff enough that you'll feel a bunch of shit and definitely can handle. plus, used ERS springs are sold and easily swapped, so you can up them later and resell the springs in my setup. http://forums.bimmerforums.com/forum...d.php?t=537518 I was trying to get the 450s/600s for myself, but he sold the 450s.

Also, GC is horrible to deal with. If you are buying COs new, call TCKline, plus they are in your region.

[s0urce]

Also, GC is horrible to deal with. If you are buying COs new, call TCKline, plus they are in your region.

Funny you say that, I was told the exact same thing not even a week ago. Verbaitm!!

[rwh11385]

because it's true. you call intending to order and you get put on hold. don't buy anything new from them. I ordered what I needed from MpactMotorsport.com (partner or something) and their business stragety doesn't SUCK. there are engineers attempting to run a business at GC and fail, at least from what I can tell, that's my impression at least.

here's something for spring rates, from James at RRT:

Yes, Spring rates, please. Too stiff and the car will skate in curves and in a straight line. Street tires? Try 37-38psi up front and 34-35 in the back, and adjust accordingly.

I'm not a fan of coil overs on the street, not one bit. Too stiff of a spring with too little damping makes for crappy handling. I'm running our Ohlins w/ H&R street sport springs, 245 Kumho MXs all around, and about 3 degrees camber up front (on all stock BMW parts), and it doesn't get any better than this.

You really need to run the lightest spring rate you can get away with. People running 600# springs on the street will get great, flat cornering on smooth roads, but once the pavement gets choppy, the car ends up skating quite a bit. How much spring travel do you have front and rear before you hit coil bind? How much shock travel do you have before you start to hit the bump rubbers? How much shock travel do you have including compressing the bump rubbers? How much droop travel do you have before the spring comes loose from the perches? These factors are paramount in determining how something as simple as ride height will affect your suspension.

[1991 318is]

Bars, bars, bars....

Bars first if you have anything at all to do with the street or rough roads. Skate implies sliding. Too stiff on rough pavement and you get tires loosing contact with pavement - bad washboard drumming. I have 350 and 450 and they're too stiff for the street and I live in the sunbelt where the pavement is generally smoother.. I think 225 and 350 with stiffer bars or M3 type links with the stock bars would be a lot better. After all it's cincinnaughty.

[Mystikal]

I heart James.

[Dave]

Heeter - did you get some different springs then?

Let me know if you are doming down to swap - I'll come help.

[rwh11385]

Trying to buy Electrodyne springs. Should be able to get them soon enough - finally got his contact off of TMS's classifieds.

I may still try to find a solution using GC's, like a new pair of threaded sleeve for the rear would solve everything....

I also need to find the different spring top seat/perch for the GC coils, or those need to go in a trade. It'd be fair enough to swap housings and trader to purchase the SpecE30 adjustable camber plates from IE.

[ebelements]

Awesome, so now I'm even more confused than when I started.

I should probably just order whatever, because its not like I'm looking for 1g on the skidpad. I just want to set this POS down on some 16x9s, and keep the tires off the fenders the best I can without riding like I cut the springs.

rwh11385 I'll shoot you an email.

[asubimmer]

I hope you have a fender roller lol

[BeirBrennerE30]

i have 375f/450r springs in my GC kit with GC camber plates, IE m3 bars... it seems to be a good combo for me... the ride is stiff but handeling is great even on NE roads... any stiffer and i think that my tires would lift over bumps

[BeirBrennerE30]

as for coilovers on the street.... they arent too stiff as long as you get softer springs and properly setup and matched dampeners... the reason i think most dont like them is because they have had bad expirences with inproperly set up coilover "kits"

[Dave]

The thing that made the difference the most for me in making my 475/650 coilover setup bearable on the street was putting stock sized rubber on. The 195/65-14 tires on bottlecaps make it decent for daily usage.

Put some low profile hard sidewalled tires on, and the ride deteriorates rapidly from a comfort perspective.

Now that we are hitting summertime temps (90+ today), I doubt I'll be driving the e30 much on a daily basis, better gas mileage or not, as the A/C is not functional.

[ebelements]

Well, my last ride was hammered, so I'm good with a punishing ride. I just don't want anything "over the top" bouncy. So far, 375/450 is looking like a good all around choice.

As for the fenders, they're getting some brutal lovin' this upcoming weekend, courtesy of a body hammer, pliers, and a 4' section of pipe.

[BeirBrennerE30]

The thing that made the difference the most for me in making my 475/650 coilover setup bearable on the street was putting stock sized rubber on. The 195/65-14 tires on bottlecaps make it decent for daily usage.

Put some low profile hard sidewalled tires on, and the ride deteriorates rapidly from a comfort perspective.

Now that we are hitting summertime temps (90+ today), I doubt I'll be driving the e30 much on a daily basis, better gas mileage or not, as the A/C is not functional.

why get such stiff springs if you cant ride in the car??? by adding tires with a higher aspect ratio you are negating the increased handeling you may or may not be getting from the stiffer springs... you tire selection should come first before suspension and it is far better to have better tires with stiffer sidewalls than an all too stiff suspension

for street driving i have found that softer springs with slightly larger bars works good in the e30 while giving a nice ride on 17" or larger wheels(i cant go any smaller than 17" wheels to test as they wont fit)


ebelements: if you intend to get GC from GC ask them what they recommend for spring rates for perticular application... as stated before they are engineers first so they would know best what works for you as every car is modded different and being built for a different reason...