e36 328i SPORT SRPINGS

If you go to a BMW dealer they will be able to give you a definitive answer on what springs you should have on it.  Just go in with the last seven digits of your chassis number.

The parts guys at BMW Harry Fairbairn in Giffnock are quite good and helpfull.

BMW springs can be a minefield as there are so many combinations.  I have sport setting suspension which is lowered from standard but it is not full blown sport suspension.  I'm dreading the time for me to do work on my suspension...

OK – BMW dealer has confirmed that I have M-tech springs. However they are very expensive at £400 for the set. I would look at other, such as Eibach, Sachs etc… has anyone got experience or opinions on what would suit the car and not lower it significantly, or make it any harder that it is..??

 

Cheers

 

If you have a 328i sport with full m-tech then you should consider that perhaps there is not much you need to do. There are plenty of people out there happy to con you out of ridiculous amounts of money to bring you to a place not far removed from where you would be if you brought the vehicle back to its original condition.

Using E36 figures, obtained from the service dept at Calterdon in Inverness, M-Tech and the other lowered specs are 15mm down at the front and 11mm down at the rear from the standard car. Unless you are planning to use the car entirely on new motorways (!) this will often be enough.

The first things I look at on any used car are dampers and key bushes. One the 3-series, we have to look at from ball joints as well.

- Dampers (may be affected by spring choices)
- Ball joints (lower front arms - put E30 ones on E36)
- Front bush (M3 offset?)
- Rear trailing arm bush (M3 ones are cheap!)
- Anti-roll bar links and bushes
- Tyre choice
- Spring rate and ride height

Generally, BMW sporty specs have smaller ARB and rely more heavily on higher spring rates and lower ride height to control roll. My view is that this is the correct approach and produces a more controllable car. Leave the ARBs alone but make sure the bushes and links are good.

Increasing front spring rate on rear wheel drive cars with front strut suspension is never bad.

The BMW spec is nose low. Levelling the car can produce a nice result (temper this with any need to tow or fill the boot with very heavy things).

In my experience you can get a specially made spring as cheap as off the shelf. You have to know what you want though. Sheffield phonebook helps.

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The plan for my E36 is E30 front arms with M3 offset bushes, m-tech dampers, m-tech front spring rate but standard rideheight, M3 RTAB, m-tech rear to bring the car level (fine tune height with BMW spring pads), standard rims with narrower tyres. Most of that is complete with just a couple of tweaks sitting in a box waiting to finish. Cheap as chips.

I need to keep plenty ride height because of the challenging roads it goes on and the narrow tyre spec lets me drive through mega-puddles at silly mph in a Glen Shiel rain storm.

Edited by jimf671

Where did you get the Eibachs from and how much did you pay if thats not too cheeky

Cheers