High Speed Stability

[ye12]

I recently purchased a 1989 325i and installed eibachs, konis, RH 17x7.5 and Yokohama 215x40x17 AVS E100's. When I am driving around 140 KPH, especially around corners with slight dips in the road, the 325 feels a bit twitchy. I've had two alignments done since the upgrade and the car has 140,000 Km on it. I had all front and rear suspension parts that were worn replaced.

Do all e30's feel this way a high speeds. It feels like I have to really concentrate on how the car is handling at this speed and if I don't, I may lose control. My Acura 3.2TL did not feel this way at even higher speeds.

[Aether]

Your TL is front-heavy and probably wider than an E30. Front-wheel-drive cars aren't necessarily better handlers than RWD, but they are more stable in extreme situations. It's not at all hard to kill yourself in either, of course. My 1987 325 feels pretty loose even through minor turns at 90 and up, on 195/55/14s. I'd say it's normal. You could get some strut braces or something if you're going to be playing around at those speeds often.

You really should be concentrating on the car's handling at that speed regardless.

[ye12]

Originally posted by Aether@Sep 26 2004, 11:10 AM
Your TL is front-heavy and probably wider than an E30. Front-wheel-drive cars aren't necessarily better handlers than RWD, but they are more stable in extreme situations. It's not at all hard to kill yourself in either, of course. My 1987 325 feels pretty loose even through minor turns at 90 and up, on 195/55/14s. I'd say it's normal. You could get some strut braces or something if you're going to be playing around at those speeds often.

You really should be concentrating on the car's handling at that speed regardless.

[snapback]199324[/snapback]

Thanks Aether, Its good to get this kind of feedback. I do have a front strutbar ordered from Ireland Engineering. I't been over 3 weeks since they said it was shipped and I'm still waiting for it.

[MrM3]

i dont know what could be causing the unstability at those speeds. ive had my car up to 115mph (at the track) turning on a downhill banked turn on the absolute limit and the car felt amazingly stable. even on the highway with random dips or bumps the car feels very stable at 100mph+ speeds. all i have done that would really help stability is koni sa dampers and a sparco strut brace.

did you replace the control arms, control arm bushings, and tie rods? if not, look into e36 tie rods and e30 m3 control arm bushings for better stability. the strut brace should help alot as well.

[ye12]

Originally posted by MrM3@Sep 26 2004, 12:19 PM
i dont know what could be causing the unstability at those speeds. ive had my car up to 115mph (at the track) turning on a downhill banked turn on the absolute limit and the car felt amazingly stable. even on the highway with random dips or bumps the car feels very stable at 100mph+ speeds. all i have done that would really help stability is koni sa dampers and a sparco strut brace.

did you replace the control arms, control arm bushings, and tie rods? if not, look into e36 tie rods and e30 m3 control arm bushings for better stability. the strut brace should help alot as well.

[snapback]199361[/snapback]

I have the m3 control arm bushings installed. It helped to tighten up the front end. The rest of the front end was tight, so I never changed it. I was looking at changing the rack to an M3 rack that uses e36 tie rods. That might be my next step....... thanks!

[spiff325is]

It feels like I have to really concentrate on how the car is handling

You should always be concentrating. It may depend, if you are just coasting, or have the brakes on, your rear end may be slowly letting up, thus your rear wheels are sorta bobbling because there isnt much weight in the back.

Id suggest using gas through the turn. Or your rear shock mounts may be worn so you hear some squeaking. But along the lines of twiching, i cant say id know what the problem is unless i drove your car. or if you gave a more detailed description of the feeling.

[ye12]

Originally posted by spiff325is@Sep 26 2004, 09:47 PM

You should always be concentrating. It may depend, if you are just coasting, or have the brakes on, your rear end may be slowly letting up, thus your rear wheels are sorta bobbling because there isnt much weight in the back.

Id suggest using gas through the turn. Or your rear shock mounts may be worn so you hear some squeaking. But along the lines of twiching, i cant say id know what the problem is unless i drove your car. or if you gave a more detailed description of the feeling.

[snapback]199693[/snapback]

When I went around the corner at 140 KPH, I was coasting and when I hit a small dip in the road while cornering, the rear felt like it may do something strange, like oversteer. Mayby I'm not used to the way the e30 handles. Both my front and rear suspension are tight. I have new eibachs and koni adjustable. The koni's are set at 1 3/4 turn on the rear (max 2 turns) and the fronts are set at 1 1/2 turns (max 2 turns). Maybe I need stiffer sway bars?????

[Fox]

mines smooth up to 140 where it tops out.

[bavarianmotorweapon]

my 318i, with a pretty close to stock suspension, handles fine up through 90mph (145kph), it is totally pinned down. Around 120-125ish, it starts to lift up and get a bit drifty, but can be controlled through 135ish where it runs out of steam. Lowering the car is supposed to help this. I used to have those AVS100 tires, they aren't the greatest in my experience. A TL has a softer suspension, and tends to feel more relaxed. I have an acura RL, which feels very calm at 120mph speeds, but you can feel it doesn't have much grip. The E30 is just very tight, anything happening with it, you feel.

[ye12]

Thanks guys for all your responses. I'm getting to know more of how the E30 is designed to handle and it looks like the E30 is designed to feel everything that is happening. I'm really enjoying driving it.

[shield]

My vehicle is stock, but the entire steering (rack pinion kit, links, etc), struts, shocks, and tires are all brand new. But I experience the same thing as you described.

I think it feels like this since it's rear wheel drive.

I've driven a couple of others as well and they feel the same.

My Civic feels more stable since it's front wheel drive.

However, my highspeed turns are pretty tight and I have no issues in winding roads at high speeds.

Overall, my Bimmer handles pretty well comparetively...(considering I do ~200 K/hr in a police car on the highway on a daily basis)

[Ian-318i]

Originally posted by bavarianmotorweapon@Sep 27 2004, 01:05 PM
my 318i, with a pretty close to stock suspension, handles fine up through 90mph (145kph), it is totally pinned down. Around 120-125ish, it starts to lift up and get a bit drifty, but can be controlled through 135ish where it runs out of steam. Lowering the car is supposed to help this. I used to have those AVS100 tires, they aren't the greatest in my experience. A TL has a softer suspension, and tends to feel more relaxed. I have an acura RL, which feels very calm at 120mph speeds, but you can feel it doesn't have much grip. The E30 is just very tight, anything happening with it, you feel.

[snapback]200028[/snapback]

....How did you get your E30 318i to 181 hp?

[witeshark]

It should not be twitchy at any speed. My E30 is stable al the way to top end

[ye12]

Originally posted by shield@Sep 28 2004, 05:31 PM
My vehicle is stock, but the entire steering (rack pinion kit, links, etc), struts, shocks, and tires are all brand new. But I experience the same thing as you described.

I think it feels like this since it's rear wheel drive.

I've driven a couple of others as well and they feel the same.

My Civic feels more stable since it's front wheel drive.

However, my highspeed turns are pretty tight and I have no issues in winding roads at high speeds.

Overall, my Bimmer handles pretty well comparetively...(considering I do ~200 K/hr in a police car on the highway on a daily basis)

[snapback]200954[/snapback]

I'm from Vancouver as well (Coquitlam) and it's good to hear from an E30 owner in the same area. I thought of test driving other E30's as well to see how they handle, but I see you have already done that. Are you with the RCMP or Vanc City Police?

[shield]

[/quote]

I'm from Vancouver as well (Coquitlam) and it's good to hear from an E30 owner in the same area. I thought of test driving other E30's as well to see how they handle, but I see you have already done that. Are you with the RCMP or Vanc City Police?

[snapback]201149[/snapback]

[/quote]

Cool,
I'm a city cop.