general suspension questions

[elguapo84]

Hi there-

Just recently purchased 16" Konig Remember BBS lookalikes for my '87 325is, and am looking to lower the car a bit. At some distant point in the future I would like to do either an s50 or s52 engine swap, so whatever suspension upgrade I do now, I would like to be reusable for that later swap. Any ideas as to what brands/models would fit the profile? Thanks.

~Reid

[golde30]

uhh, get something that is decently firm. really depends on how low you want the car. if i were to make a suggestion, i would say H&R Race if its your DD, and C3motorsport Coilovers if its yer weekend/track car.

[elguapo84]

uhh, get something that is decently firm. really depends on how low you want the car. if i were to make a suggestion, i would say H&R Race if its your DD, and C3motorsport Coilovers if its yer weekend/track car.

well...it's my only car, so I guess technically it's my DD even though I don't drive it every day. I'm really not sure how low I can go before rubbing is an issue...my tire size is 205 50 16. Advice? What would be an affordable option that could last me say 3-5 years before the s50 engine swap and suspension transformation. Something that would really make the car look slick in the mean time without having to completely redo the suspension. I suppose I'll wait for the big suspension swap until I'm ready to do the engine conversion, so let's say reusability is not a limitation anymore.

[jlevie]

If you don't track the car, something milder than a race suspension is more appropriate. Perhaps H&R Sport springs and Bilstien Sport shocks, or similar. They are fine for an M50/S50 swap.

205/50 should be fine if your wheels have the correct offset.

[Mystikal]

You can absolutely slam the car with the wheel/tire setup. Lots of room.

I'd recommend IE3's paired with Koni SAs for any car that sees street duty. Coilovers only for the hardcore, the IE3's ride leagues better.

[elguapo84]

If you don't track the car, something milder than a race suspension is more appropriate. Perhaps H&R Sport springs and Bilstien Sport shocks, or similar. They are fine for an M50/S50 swap.

205/50 should be fine if your wheels have the correct offset.

offset is 20mm

[elguapo84]

You can absolutely slam the car with the wheel/tire setup. Lots of room.

I'd recommend IE3's paired with Koni SAs for any car that sees street duty. Coilovers only for the hardcore, the IE3's ride leagues better.

Any websites you recommend where I could pick up IE3's and Koni SAs for a decent price (and what do you expect them to cost, roughly)? Also, if I'm slamming it, should I replace control arms and ball joints at the same time, and if so is there a particular brand I should replace them with or should I just stick with stock. My buddy told me swapping out the springs/shocks would deteriorate my control arms and ball joints twice as fast as the stock springs/shocks would. Is this true? Two of my ball joints are very slightly loose anyway, so it probably makes sense to do it while I'm under there. Finally, how low will the IE3 and Koni combo go? Thanks for all the help.

~Reid

[elguapo84]

You can absolutely slam the car with the wheel/tire setup. Lots of room.

I'd recommend IE3's paired with Koni SAs for any car that sees street duty. Coilovers only for the hardcore, the IE3's ride leagues better.

also, speed bumps and steep inclines...how do the IE3s fare? Here's a picture of the driveway to my garage. I'm rubbed my "is" valence w/ stock suspension where it levels out when it meets the garage if I was going too fast leaving or entering the garage. Currently I have the m-tech 1 kit, which is getting painted right now, so obviously I don't want to set myself up for a situation where I can't even put the car in the garage without rubbing. With IE3s do you think going really slow that the pictured incline will be okay? I also have that rounded curb that leads up to the driveway to take into account.

Sorry for the multitude of questions, but I just want to be very confident in my purchase prior to making it. One thing I like is a level look front to rear, in distance from the top of the tire to highest point of the fender. Will dropping 2" in the front and 1.5" in the rear keep it looking level? Thanks for all your help.

~Reid

[elguapo84]

bump...need to make a purchase decision soon so I can get the suspension swapped before throwing on my new wheels only to find out that my car looks like a toy car w/ stock suspension. Do you think my driveway would kill my m-tech 1 kit w/ IE3s and Konis? Also, what other suspension components besides shocks and springs should I replace while doing the work?

[Mystikal]

Your driveway scares me. You just might have an issue with IE3's. H&R Sports would be a better bet, but even then without driveway modification it's a risk.

As for everything else to replace, try searching old threads here. I'm no expert, I wouldn't want to get blamed for incomplete info.

[PiercedE30]

go to www.flyingbrickperformance.com
Daniel is a great guy and will take care of ya!

[elguapo84]

Thanks for the info man...I'll try to do some measurements to see what my driveway can handle. Fresh paint, so I can't bear to leave it parked on the curb...maybe I should just go with H&R sports and bilsteins..I would think they would be fine on my driveway. Thanks again.

~Reid

Your driveway scares me. You just might have an issue with IE3's. H&R Sports would be a better bet, but even then without driveway modification it's a risk.

As for everything else to replace, try searching old threads here. I'm no expert, I wouldn't want to get blamed for incomplete info.

[elguapo84]

Thanks for the info man...I'll try to do some measurements to see what my driveway can handle. Fresh paint, so I can't bear to leave it parked on the curb...maybe I should just go with H&R sports and bilsteins..I would think they would be fine on my driveway. Thanks again.

~Reid

Anyone else have any input about the proper springs and shocks given my ride height limitation due to my inclined driveway? Scroll up to an earlier post in this thread for pics of my driveway...

[Sam Lin]

Driveway looks fine, just approach and depart at an oblique angle - you get used to it after a while driving ground-scraping cars.

Sam

[Schniddy]

that driveway looks like a peice of cake compared to mine! looks like you have a ton of room to come in at an extreme angle so you dont scrape