This is a long winded tires wheels suspension ramble, and i hope some of you have experienced some of the things im trying to acheive
My e30 has been sitting awhile, and ive decided to jump back in with a motor rebuild and suspension redo. Its on H&R sport springs, billy sports, ground control camber plates (drops like an e90 drop hat), and 15x8 Enkei92 weaves with 225/45/r15 hankook rs4's
ive moved to the hills which includes a mild dirt road, and ive also grown older and have different motivations now. I want more clearance and a softer ride.
My inspiration here comes from driving my all stock turbo subaru forester. Its kinda tall, but still hauls through these sweepy, sometimes slow and tight mountain roads. After becoming comfortable with the subaru im surprised how well it does for a tall, stock, comfortable vehicle. So, thats my baseline i would like, which from an e30 shouldnt be asking much, if any.
the one thing i wish i could experience is what an all stock, fresh e30 drives like, maybe thats all i actually want.
but shiny parts are more fun
For the e30, i dream of koni yellows and GC coilovers, but most of all, koni yellows paired with whatever works right for me. Ive looked to no result, for discussion about particularly soft spring rates on coilovers because of course, everyone is going low low. I would like height adjustability between stock height and H&R sports height, with aproximately a spring rate of the H&R sports or a tad softer. I would love a ballpark of what kind of spring rates i would need for that. Im aware the differences and inability to really compare progressive spring rates to linear coilover springs. Maybe 200/350? 150/300?
are the suggested DD 375/450 GC springs gnarly compared to stock springs or h&r sports? Assuming of course, matched shocks. I did for some time, run H&R race springs with my bilstein's which were fun on smooth twisties, but entirely too stiff and teeth rattling for enjoyable daily driving, for me.
i still have my stock springs sitting around, and i consider maybe ordering up koni yellows, pairing them with the stock springs, and checking it out before ordering new springs or coils. Thatll be a long way away though, once the engine is rebuilt.
H&R OE sports are interesting, but might only yeild a quarter inch height difference from now, and of course arent adjustable. In the end, these might be great but i would prefer having adjustable height.
And im afraid the stock springs are just too tall, and maybe too soft even though thats what im chasing, i dont know, maybe these are actually what i want.
i believe the combination of bilstein sports and my 225 45/15 hankook Rs4's are what makes for my jarring ride. Ive breifly swapped to my bottlecaps (gone now though) with 195 60/14 and that was a sweet ride on the same suspension, it was compliant, the narrower tires felt nimble, they cut and turn and glide with the steering wheel nicely, and ate up road imperfections. The drawback being very noticable sidewall flex in tighter corners. My 15x8 setup by comparison feels clumsy. Brutish, grippy, solid, but clumsy, they feel like they tram around, and edges and bumps are jarring. Theyre fun and great and responsive and im exagerating they're negative qualities, but im looking for something a little different now.
With a taller suspention i want a full size stock tire, or maybe larger. In 15x7, euroweaves, and 15x7 et12 alpina reps are current dream wheels, but im concerned about 205 55r15 tire availability. Right now tire rack has two options, between the two, direzza 102s and yokohama fleva (S Drive replacement?) I would get the yokos, but i would like to step down if i had the choice to a nice all season tire. 205 50 is plentiful, but small diameter, and might look too goofy on a taller setup like im shooting for now, and the shorter sidewall probably eats into the complient ride i want now.
euroweaves would endure as a classic look, either at stock height or lower. I think the 15 inch alpinas are in a nearby camp. I would be bummed to invest 1k in either of these wheels to find quality 205 55r15 tires unavailable in the near future.
I think 16 inch wheels promise the best stance on taller setups and have enormously plentiful tire options. Two inspirations being Massimo and Snaffu from this forum, rocked some stock height builds with 16s, and looked rad. For whatever reason my holy grail is a 16x7 with a low et, but i cant find a classic style or look i like. The best available selection of wheels in 4x100 seems to come at 16x8, but spells a possible repeat of the ride quality my 15x8s with Rs4s had.
Anyways, at 16x8, filled and drilled style 5s might be my go to, perhaps with spacers up to 10mm. The tire availabilty is tempting.
that all rambled and said, has anyone tried koni yellows and stock springs? Or experimented with a similar build? Its difficult to find information regarding a taller, soft e30
My e30 has been sitting awhile, and ive decided to jump back in with a motor rebuild and suspension redo. Its on H&R sport springs, billy sports, ground control camber plates (drops like an e90 drop hat), and 15x8 Enkei92 weaves with 225/45/r15 hankook rs4's
ive moved to the hills which includes a mild dirt road, and ive also grown older and have different motivations now. I want more clearance and a softer ride.
My inspiration here comes from driving my all stock turbo subaru forester. Its kinda tall, but still hauls through these sweepy, sometimes slow and tight mountain roads. After becoming comfortable with the subaru im surprised how well it does for a tall, stock, comfortable vehicle. So, thats my baseline i would like, which from an e30 shouldnt be asking much, if any.
the one thing i wish i could experience is what an all stock, fresh e30 drives like, maybe thats all i actually want.
but shiny parts are more fun
For the e30, i dream of koni yellows and GC coilovers, but most of all, koni yellows paired with whatever works right for me. Ive looked to no result, for discussion about particularly soft spring rates on coilovers because of course, everyone is going low low. I would like height adjustability between stock height and H&R sports height, with aproximately a spring rate of the H&R sports or a tad softer. I would love a ballpark of what kind of spring rates i would need for that. Im aware the differences and inability to really compare progressive spring rates to linear coilover springs. Maybe 200/350? 150/300?
are the suggested DD 375/450 GC springs gnarly compared to stock springs or h&r sports? Assuming of course, matched shocks. I did for some time, run H&R race springs with my bilstein's which were fun on smooth twisties, but entirely too stiff and teeth rattling for enjoyable daily driving, for me.
i still have my stock springs sitting around, and i consider maybe ordering up koni yellows, pairing them with the stock springs, and checking it out before ordering new springs or coils. Thatll be a long way away though, once the engine is rebuilt.
H&R OE sports are interesting, but might only yeild a quarter inch height difference from now, and of course arent adjustable. In the end, these might be great but i would prefer having adjustable height.
And im afraid the stock springs are just too tall, and maybe too soft even though thats what im chasing, i dont know, maybe these are actually what i want.
i believe the combination of bilstein sports and my 225 45/15 hankook Rs4's are what makes for my jarring ride. Ive breifly swapped to my bottlecaps (gone now though) with 195 60/14 and that was a sweet ride on the same suspension, it was compliant, the narrower tires felt nimble, they cut and turn and glide with the steering wheel nicely, and ate up road imperfections. The drawback being very noticable sidewall flex in tighter corners. My 15x8 setup by comparison feels clumsy. Brutish, grippy, solid, but clumsy, they feel like they tram around, and edges and bumps are jarring. Theyre fun and great and responsive and im exagerating they're negative qualities, but im looking for something a little different now.
With a taller suspention i want a full size stock tire, or maybe larger. In 15x7, euroweaves, and 15x7 et12 alpina reps are current dream wheels, but im concerned about 205 55r15 tire availability. Right now tire rack has two options, between the two, direzza 102s and yokohama fleva (S Drive replacement?) I would get the yokos, but i would like to step down if i had the choice to a nice all season tire. 205 50 is plentiful, but small diameter, and might look too goofy on a taller setup like im shooting for now, and the shorter sidewall probably eats into the complient ride i want now.
euroweaves would endure as a classic look, either at stock height or lower. I think the 15 inch alpinas are in a nearby camp. I would be bummed to invest 1k in either of these wheels to find quality 205 55r15 tires unavailable in the near future.
I think 16 inch wheels promise the best stance on taller setups and have enormously plentiful tire options. Two inspirations being Massimo and Snaffu from this forum, rocked some stock height builds with 16s, and looked rad. For whatever reason my holy grail is a 16x7 with a low et, but i cant find a classic style or look i like. The best available selection of wheels in 4x100 seems to come at 16x8, but spells a possible repeat of the ride quality my 15x8s with Rs4s had.
Anyways, at 16x8, filled and drilled style 5s might be my go to, perhaps with spacers up to 10mm. The tire availabilty is tempting.
that all rambled and said, has anyone tried koni yellows and stock springs? Or experimented with a similar build? Its difficult to find information regarding a taller, soft e30