The E36 Improvments to Handiling Thread

[buuhh99]

The E36 is a great chassis. I good amount of power can be put into it and can easily be turned into a great drag car. However, drag doesn't show skill. Most would agree that actually racing on a track shows a true drivers ability to drive. This is where improvements to the E36 need to be made. The E36 isn't going to turn into a F1 but with the help of our combined knowledge we can make a substantial improvement in how a E36 handles.

First off weight reduction is a good thing so heres the link to the E36 weight reduction thread

also i would reccomend the bilstein PSS-9 suspension system i will post more later

[buuhh99]

yeah i guess no one wants good handiling

[Kevin325i]

I'm not sure what were's supposed to be posting.

Tab mounted sways for the front. Camber plates, strut bar front/rear, x-brace, balljoints, lca bushings (urethane offset), though it doesn't directly affect handling in anways it is greatly affected by hard cornering- transmission mounts, rear shock mounts, urethane bushings, and finally the most important- a good driver

[thekid]

hmm... that seems to bascially cover it except for tires. Pick good ones fo the kinda of driving that you do. Idealy we would all have a rack and a extra set of wheels/tires for dry/wet ultra-high performance. You can tighten up your suspension all you want, but if your car can't handle the extra fraction of g's then you SOL.

[amancuso]

The Handling on my 328iC is superb as is. :-D Then again I just drive my car on roads, not racetracks.


-Al.

[BlantonG13]

the 318 has only 1 thing better than other 3 series cars-its lightness...the smaller engine makes it the lightest of the 3 series (exception of the TI and the Z). That right there makes handling amazing. Lower it a bit, tighten the suspension with bushings, good springs and good struts, cross brace and some strut tower bars and you have a car that can take a jughandle at 70+ mph...or F*ck it and get a ///M5 or 740iL 6 speed and start drifting all your corners ...

[Autotechnica]

E36 actually makes a terrible drag racing car. The motors terrible for drag racing and the car is much much too heavy. It's really more suited towards track driving. If you want a good drag racing car, get a lightweight Japanese RWD car, Nissan's are good.

Anyways, Kevin said it. Get a nice coilover kit if you can afford it, Urethane everything. If you never track your car and only drive it on the street, I'd recommend just getting sport lowering springs, some stiffer dammpers and a nice set of tires. There's no point in upgrading all these bushings and getting really low and stiff suspension for street driving. It will actually handle worse if the roads in your area are poor. Stiffer suspension parts also means that the chassis will asorb more of the shock and stress from bumps and hard cornering, keep the rubber bushings for street driving. The only thing I'd change to Urethane is the rear shock mounts. Otherwise, if you're a track junkie, go all out.

Bry

[Kevin325i]

d'oh I forgot tires ghead, and a proper weight distribution. The 318s are lighter, but that's part of the reason they handle better, but the main reason is because they're not heavy in the front end like the other 3 series (except M3), did I say tire pressures already? Those are important too.

[Styles]

Like everyone said here... the e36, and especially the m3 e36 are great on the track... Suspension and handling wise cost's big money if you going all out..
coilover kits, lowering everything to a more driver friendly height is a recommendation. stiffen up the frame struts, etc... though most people arent into superior handling because they all dont race or drift or whatnot. Bmw's are certainly the ultimate driving machine... They are the most versatile vehicles IMO.
-Styles.

[thekid]

Originally posted by Styles@Jul 14 2004, 01:56 PM
Like everyone said here... the e36, and especially the m3 e36 are great on the track... Suspension and handling wise cost's big money if you going all out..
coilover kits, lowering everything to a more driver friendly height is a recommendation. stiffen up the frame struts, etc... though most people arent into superior handling because they all dont race or drift or whatnot. Bmw's are certainly the ultimate driving machine... They are the most versatile vehicles IMO.
-Styles.

I wouldn't go as far as to say that they are the most versitile vehicles. Look at porsche for example. You can do track or rally with a AWD 911. I'd like to see an M3 out on a rally course. Or what about Subaru Imprezza WRX Sti? Same thing, but twice as cheap and almost as good, and just about as fast right outta the box. BMWs are exceptional street/track cars, but not much else, as if that wasn't enough.

[97alpineM3]

I've used my suspension set up for about a year now... and I've driven about 4 or 5 other guys E36s with different set ups... yet I still like the way my set up is... its all about what you want out of the car... if you want something that you can.... be going 60-70... hit the brakes... and in a matter of seconds be going the other direction with a marginal loss of traction all together... then work for a very heavy suspension ratings... as in spring rate and shock/strut reinforcement. All in all.. everyone has a different plan to what they want to do. GOOD LUCK... its should always be fun either way you do anything to do with a BMW...

[buuhh99]

where can i get a set of those bushings

[bitcore]

M3? urathane? bavauto's got them
M3 moterwerks or whatever's got them too (I think)