NOR-CAL General Chat.

[Thizzelle]

how bad is the ride?
i was thinking about getting those and re-valved konis
also how tall is the ride height compared to HR race?

like driving a race car on the street, stiff as fuck. I can measure it but it's not super low. my evo lip bottom is about even with a side walk curb 3-4"

[Thizzelle]

What class/group is he looking to run in? GTS? SpecE30? TT?

probably spec e30

[PorscheH6]

I <3 my job

[kronus]

anyone have experience with the new non-OEM e30 hoods on ebay? $200 shipped sounds pretty good for a brand spankin' new piece.

[Wh33lhop]

+1 I'm a maybe. Depends on how much work I can get done on the E36M.

We should autox it! It'll be like it has hydraulics, bounce bounce bounce

Seriously if not for this crap lately I could have bought that thing off you and that makes me sad (though i wouldn't have, lol)

[Wh33lhop]

anyone have experience with the new non-OEM e30 hoods on ebay? $200 shipped sounds pretty good for a brand spankin' new piece.

If it'a cheap and it's a hood it probably won't fit all that well, but it'll function as an engine bay cover thing

[BlackbirdM3]

Want to trade front struts? I'm on billy sports with H&R race and spec e30 GC camber caster plates. I want to get lower in front. Hardware all has less than 6k miles on them...

No not really, the Bilsteins don't have enough rebound damping. I had a set of Bilsteins on the car when I got it, and even with a set of of way too soft Koni sport springs, they didn't have enough rebound control. That said, the Bilsteins did have enough compression damping to almost neutralize the bad roll center, I wish the Konis had more compression damping. I run the rebound at full hard and its about right, any stiffer springs however and they'd be too soft.

That said, if they were revalved to be as hard as the Konis I have in their current setting (rebound wise), yeah, I'd be interested in giving the Bilsteins another try. I'd stick some really thick spring seats in the top and bottom of the struts and see how it goes.

As it is, the car handles pretty well. Turn in is fantastic, its got good mid corner grip and I can throttle steer it out of a corner if need be. Its absolutely predictable all the time. Heck, autoXing last year I was beating cars in my class running Hoosier A6s on street tires. I just wish it were a little faster with a little more grip and less weight transfer through a corner. I'm still running stock anti sway bars and the rubber bushings on those are a little tired, but I think there are more gains to be made by getting the roll centers really spot on. After that is done, then anti sway bars might be worth playing with.

Will

[golde30]

Yeah, I'm also running stock sway bars, always wondered how much of a difference aftermarket sway bars would make. I have to say I miss my GC coilover setup with shortbody konis, shouldnt have ever sold that setup. Guess it's time to start putting money aside for suspension again..

[Pantless Spency]

Anyone got an m20 lying around?

[BlackbirdM3]

Yeah, I'm also running stock sway bars, always wondered how much of a difference aftermarket sway bars would make. I have to say I miss my GC coilover setup with shortbody konis, shouldnt have ever sold that setup. Guess it's time to start putting money aside for suspension again..

I honestly don't see how the GC "coilovers" are any better than a set of H&R race springs and good dampers. The only thing it has going for it is the ability to easily change spring rates. From what I can tell, its still too short of a setup to get the roll center correct. The springs can be preloaded to the moon, but its not going to lift the car at all. The only difference between those and a set of normal struts is the size of the spring and that fact that they have adjustable spring preload. Heck, the dampers themselves are the same. I can't see wasting the $ for a set of coilovers unless I was going big with a set of Ohlins or Penske's that are double adjustable, with slow and high speed damping adjustments, and the ability to raise and lower the car to the correct suspension geometry height along with remote reservoirs. Yeah, a good way to blow $10k.

Do I think the H&R springs could be stiffer? Yes, another 100+ lbs or so with my current ride height/geometry might be good, however in doing so it makes the car car less stable because it skips across small irregularities rather than compressing the suspension and absorbing it keeping the wheel on the ground doing its job. Obviously there are multiple ways to skin a cat but it seems to me that a suspension setup that has the geometry where it should be that uses springs that are just stiff enough to control body movement without being harsh is the way to go. It allows for softer anti sway bars as well. In other words, you don't beat the hell out of both you and the car. Going super hard on the suspension can make for an unsettled car that can be fast but very unforgiving if you get things wrong. My Datsun was one of these cars and on new, fresh race tires it was very fast, but after about 5 heat cycles on the tires they started to go away and the car became more prone to spinning with the slightest mistake at the wheel. I've redone the rear suspension and made it more compliant now its much better. Its still unforgiving if you make a mistake but at least now some times I can save it from spinning, and its more forgiving with the freshness of the tires.

On the other hand, with a Datsun 510 that essentially uses the same suspension as an E30, running stupid high spring rates in the rear is the hot setup. Granted, the pick up points are different and that makes all the difference in the world. Still, its a trailing arm IRS suspension.

Just my $0.02
Will

[Thizzelle]

anyone have experience with the new non-OEM e30 hoods on ebay? $200 shipped sounds pretty good for a brand spankin' new piece.

pick n pull has them for like 60 bucks dude

[blazinxpk]

whats the average price for US ellips? assuming they're in ok condition.

[Pantless Spency]

whats the average price for US ellips? assuming they're in ok condition.

Id say in nice condition maybe $100 or more. In working shape 50-100. And in need of work 50 and under.

[Thizzelle]

been organizing my garage, half of it is BMW parts lol. Hording.

[JinormusJ]

This is me post Z3 rack




Its amazing, steering radius is decreased (Meaning, your rack travels further and thus you have tighter steering), and steering response is immense. I love it!......

Except for the fact I need an alignment BAD, I have a decent-to-huge amount of bump-steer, and my auto-return on my steering isn't returning my steering wheel to center after a turn (If I turn to full lock going 2mph, it stays stuck in full lock). My steering also has a flat spot taking any kind of tighter turn.


I have ruled out to the following factors:
1st: Alignment. My wheels are off bad
2nd: Binding. Possible binding of my knuckle is causing a flat spot?
3rd: Bleeding Power-steering. My fluid is brown in the reservoir atm; It was regular Red ATF before the swap. I first I thought I blew a head gasket, then I remembered thats coolant/oil, not Power-steering ATF :p
Possible cause of my flat spot as well? (Maybe even a kinked line in pressure lines?)




Car is rendered unsafe to operate ATM, so I'd like to get all these sorted out ASAP