"Unlowering" an E30

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   I'm looking at possibly buying an E30 as a runaround / BDD car. However, many of them seem to have been "lowered" and such lowering seems to be purely to make that car look cooler (hah!)

How much work is involved in unlowering the car or lowering it properly?

Or is my middle-aged assessment of lowering wrong, do all lowering efforts result in a better-handling car?

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spokey Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Bavarian-Board Contributor Offensive and obnoxious tub of lard Joined: 02-March-2004 Location: United Kingdom Status: Offline Points: 1948	Topic: "Unlowering" an E30 Posted: 30-April-2004 at 23:44
	I'm looking at possibly buying an E30 as a runaround / BDD car. However, many of them seem to have been "lowered" and such lowering seems to be purely to make that car look cooler (hah!) How much work is involved in unlowering the car or lowering it properly? Or is my middle-aged assessment of lowering wrong, do all lowering efforts result in a better-handling car?
	Ciao, Spokey

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Kevin_E30_318iS Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Really Senior Member II Joined: 14-December-2002 Location: Ireland Status: Offline Points: 883	Posted: 01-May-2004 at 00:32
	The work involved in unlowering will depend on what effort was put into lowering in the first place. The cheap option taken by some people is to fit a cheap set of lowering springs with existing shocks. Better setups will have good quality lowering springs (H&R, Eibach) along with proper sports shocks. If you get a properly lowered car, you may like it, but to bring one back to normal you will need to get a set of standard springs and shocks. You should be able to pick up a second hand set of original BMW springs in a breakers. Fitting a good set of gas shocks such as Boge Turbo shocks will give you a firm but comfortable setup. Your'e probably better to seek out a standard car that hasn't been messed with. There should be plenty around.
	Kevin_1990_318iS

paul325i Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Visit Members Homepage Add to Buddy List Really Senior Member II Joined: 23-January-2003 Location: United Kingdom Status: Offline Points: 666	Posted: 01-May-2004 at 17:47
	If you find that a car has been lowered cheaply then its best to replace the spring and shock kit with a quality one. Lowering improves the handling of a car massively, if done correctly. I'd also say stick to a max od -40mm on the E30, any lower and you have to start changing bushes for offset ones to correct the neg camber.
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