Wrench Session

[Bimmerman325i]

btw for the suspension I've been reading A LOT of things but everyone covers the fronts EXTENSIVELY but nothing about the rears. I know th rear setup is a semi-trailing setup so how would I go about doing the GC's? im more worried about having the coilover stay on the subframe than anything else.

How do you mean?

What are your goals?

Bishop here has the GC coilovers. I have TCK coilovers on my M3....not exactly comparable but close enough.

[blefevre]

MMMM GC's....

Are you looking to get the full GC setup or the "coilover conversion"? I am going to get the full setup within 6 months, the H&R setup is too soft. Works well for a commuter though. I would recommend going straight to the GC full coilover with camber plates.

And as for the rear. There is nothing to the rear suspension, thats why no one talks about it. Just throw some springs in and bolt a shock to the car. The rear spring is just an adjustable spring so it's nothing special.

[Bishop]

#4. Each failure was due to a completely different issue. #4 is in and holding pressure, so we think we did it right this time.

I was there for the one that "worked"... Just saying...

Dont you guys worry, definitely sticking around for a while. Always wanted an e30, just need to get it up and running so I can paint it and install all me parts.

btw for the suspension I've been reading A LOT of things but everyone covers the fronts EXTENSIVELY but nothing about the rears. I know th rear setup is a semi-trailing setup so how would I go about doing the GC's? im more worried about having the coilover stay on the subframe than anything else.

The rears on BMWs aren't a true coilover, just the fronts. To do the fronts, it's a bit of work, unless you have the money to pay someone else to do it right for you, like I did at the time. PM me though if you wanna know about GC or go for a ride. I'm running pretty stiff springs, but w/ the shocks on nearly full soft for daily driving, it's not bad... On track, I've been told my car has absolutely ZERO body roll, and look in my sig... That's hard cornering in corner 2 at HPR...

How do you mean?

What are your goals?

Bishop here has the GC coilovers. I have TCK coilovers on my M3....not exactly comparable but close enough.

Not at all lol.... The only thing similar is the rear in that neither is a true coilover.

[geeky]

The car's already sitting on the Koni adjustable shocks, so I'm going to do the conversion. but for the rear i was looking at the setup and curious how the coilover conversion kit stays secure on the car as its just being pushed between the arm and body is it not? I just havent been able to find a good article explaining the rear suspension setup

[Bishop]

The rear remains a shock / spring combo, even with "coilovers"

[iamsam]

there are no issues w/ rear coilovers in E30s, if there were, it would be extensively covered.

And if its a DD, why GC coilovers?

[Bishop]

Mine is a DD w/ GC coils... But I also track the car.

[iamsam]

oh geeky, post some pics of your car!!!

[iamsam]

Mine is a DD w/ GC coils... But I also track the car.

if i had GC coils, i would most definitely beat the road to death with my oil pan. Not because of suspension travel, but because if there is any elevation change in the road between where the tires are and where the oil pan is that is larger than one inch, the road would be punished with a good aluminum bludgeoning and then a boiling oil attack.

EDIT:

unless i got a wicked cool 1/4" steel skidpad, which would be awesome, because i would throw sparks everywhere...

geeky: don't let this scare you, one of the woes of having an M42 is the ridiculously low oil pan.

[Bishop]

The m20 oil pan is low too keep in mind.... Let's tally how many oil pans you've killed and how many I've killed Sam lol ;)

[blefevre]

Height adjustability is the only reason I am switching to GC. I think it is reason enough to at least get the conversion kit. The full setup is a little overkill for a DD but worth it in the long run imo.

And yes, it appears that the rear spring could fall out on the E30. It is the travel of the shock that keeps it in place. Hence why you have to unbolt the shock to take the spring out. I guess with a LOT of force the spring would pop right out but I have never heard of this happening.

[Bimmerman325i]

I was there for the one that "worked"... Just saying...

I iz confuse......I know you were here....

Not at all lol.... The only thing similar is the rear in that neither is a true coilover.

Similar in the sense of how the rear spring is floating between the rear control arm and body much like the E30 trailing arm and body.

Also, the fronts of an E36 do (shittily) bold on to an E30, and both use Konis.....and.....they're similar enough for generalizations and impressions, but not technical or installation information.

[Bishop]

I'm not touching anything

[Bishop]

and fair enough

[geeky]

just got a new battery and it sounds much better when trying to turn over. pulled the plugs and they REEEEKKK of gas, so letting the cylinders dry out right now, then i'll put new plugs in. wish me luck that the car starts without issues from here