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87 325e suspension advice

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    87 325e suspension advice

    Can anyone recommend an upgrade front and back from the oem. I would like a slightly lower car and not too stiff. Daily street driving. Thanks!

    #2
    Bilstein Sports (B8's) and H&R Sports are a super popular combo. Lowers the car about 1.25", springs and shocks are stiffer, but still very comfortable for daily driving. They've been a rock solid upgrade for E30's for a long time. I've got them on my car and love them.
    sigpic

    ClassicBimmerBits.com

    Garage:______________________________________
    -1989 Alpinweiss II 325i - Other Daily Driver
    -1989 Zinnoberrot 325i - Daily Driver
    -1974 2002 - Weekender
    -1989 325ix - Totalled :(
    -1981 320i - Sold
    -1986 Porsche 944 Turbo - Sold

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      #3
      Thanks for the tip! What about the b4 or b6?

      Originally posted by SethB View Post
      Bilstein Sports (B8's) and H&R Sports are a super popular combo. Lowers the car about 1.25", springs and shocks are stiffer, but still very comfortable for daily driving. They've been a rock solid upgrade for E30's for a long time. I've got them on my car and love them.

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        #4
        B4's are supposed to be close to OEM, so they won't really be a change from what you have now, other than being new vs. however old the stock shocks are. They're also not intended for lowered cars so you might run into issues with the bump stops and premature wear.

        B6's are the same as B8's, except they're meant for stock ride height instead of lowered springs.
        sigpic

        ClassicBimmerBits.com

        Garage:______________________________________
        -1989 Alpinweiss II 325i - Other Daily Driver
        -1989 Zinnoberrot 325i - Daily Driver
        -1974 2002 - Weekender
        -1989 325ix - Totalled :(
        -1981 320i - Sold
        -1986 Porsche 944 Turbo - Sold

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          #5
          Is there a similar Koni?

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            #6
            The Koni ST is their version of a stock OE replacement. We tried to get a set for our 87 eta and they were back ordered forever so we went with B4s w H&R OE sports. I bought the B4s as a will call at Bilstein East and had a good convo with their tech rep who said the B4s were about 10-15% firmer than stock and they paired extremely well with the H&Rs

            Note....Oe sports lower the car very little and are thus not considered a "lowering spring" so they work just fine with stock type dampers such as B4s or STs
            Seat Shocks....I have passed the baton to John Christy from Ninestitch. Email John or Garrett at ninestitch1@gmail.com

            https://www.r3vlimited.com/board/sho...86#post4944786
            Alice the Time Capsule
            http://www.r3vlimited.com/board/showthread.php?t=360504
            87 Zinno Cabrio barn find 98k and still smells like a barn. Build thread http://www.r3vlimited.com/board/show...20#post3455220

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              #7
              Originally posted by SethB View Post
              Bilstein Sports (B8's) and H&R Sports are a super popular combo. Lowers the car about 1.25", springs and shocks are stiffer, but still very comfortable for daily driving. They've been a rock solid upgrade for E30's for a long time. I've got them on my car and love them.
              This is going to be my setup for street and track, including H&R front and rear bars (adjustable and i have a factory LSD).

              Here in Germany, we have two types of B8s, one is B8 "Sports" and one is "Sprint". Some shops sell the B8 sports as B6 "Yellows", it gets a bit confusing here sadly.

              I am also going for rear E46 M3 shock mounts, but undecided what to do with the front strut mounts. Camber plates are illegal in Germany (unless i pay €400 at the TÜV for KW Camber plates), or i can get the standard E30 front mount with camber/offset from BMW/OE.

              Some even told me to go for E36 M3 3.2 strut mounts, remove the pins in the mount, re-drill holes for the E30 and reinstall the pins. Question is, how much camber will that give? i will be happy with -1.5 front for track and street, got stock E30 arms with E36 M3 arm bushings.

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                #8
                Thanks for the good info all!

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                  #9
                  I put the koni adjustable shocks in my car along with slightly stiffer and lower springs. (kings springs, but they are an ausi brand dont think youll have htem overseas).

                  Bilstein are a mono shock but the konis are a twin tube. The general consensus across all my research is the bilstins are a bit harsher than the konis. This agrees with the science of mono vs twin tube. the mono will have a faster response rate than the twin but this leads to a harsher ride.

                  I have had plenty of horrendous suspension setups over the years on various cars and the konis are the first time i've felt a very large improvement in control with not a significant detriment to ride comfort. i mean its definately sporty but its very compliant for daily driving but really digs in when you want it to. I am really quite impressed with the konis to be honest.

                  In my case i went the konis due to getting them a bit cheaper than the b8s. generally the prices of both are comparible though.

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                    #10
                    Am i correct to guess, that the Bilstein B8 Sports/Sprint/Sport plus inserts do NOT require bump stops?

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                      #11
                      Check out this post from JasonC, lots of good info https://www.r3vlimited.com/board/sho...d.php?t=428254
                      sigpic84 325e

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