Best suspension options for early 318i

[Nosser]

Hi all,
I am in the planning phase of the suspension upgrade for my early 318 and am hoping for some input. I am looking for a nice performance upgrade, but this is and will remain a daily driver, not a track beast. That being the case I believe the consensus here is the H&R/Bilstein sport combo, but given that early 318i specific springs appear to non-existent, am I better off looking for a set of junkyard 325 knuckles and strut housings and ordering 325 struts and springs?

[Febi Guibo]

turner has the #29664 H&R sport springs for your early 318...

[Jean]

You might as well upgrade front struts, but you don't have to. Bilstein Sports for early 318i's do exist, and springs are different, just the weight of the car.

my 2 cents.

[Nosser]

Thanks for the replies. Is there any performance advantage to the larger struts? I can't really imagine so in a street application. If I do stick with small diameter struts can I still upgrade to 325 brakes down the road? I would guess so since early eta cars came with small struts but I haven't been able to find concrete confirmation that that is the case.

[Jean]

For better selection of shock inserts, better cooling maybe ? But for street use it won't matter I don't think.

Yes, you can upgrade to 325 vented brakes, I did on mine and it was fairly simple to do. Bolt-on type of thing.




rear was more of a pita to do though lol

[99MPower]

early 318i's have drums brakes... what did u have to do, to get the rotor brakes in the back?

i have an 85 325e parts car that I can use for the parts

I just picked up the 318i, and had recently done the suspension on the 325e.. can I just change over the entire struts from the 325e and then do the brake conversion in the rear?

any inputs would be greatly appreciated... thanks