Possible Drop

[Rooz]

Am not really a huge fan of dropping my car, I want to keep the smoothness of my ride, but just a little lower for a meaner look and a slight handeling upgrade.

but IF I do drop it, I'll probably go with:

UUC Tuned Spring Sets...
or
Eibach Pro-Kit Springs
or
H&R Sport Springs

http://www.understeer.com/onlinestore-suspension.shtml

Scroll to about 1/3 down

Also, I hear that if you put lowering springs, you need to replace the struts/shocks

So I guess what am wanting to know is this:

I don't want to lower my car too much, but I still want to lower it, what would be the best "suspension upgrade" for me to do in that case?

What do you guys think?

[Rooz]

How do you guys feel about these?

UUC Sachs Suspension Kit - $699 (FREE SHIPPING!)


STAGE 3 Tuned Suspension System
Complete suspension for the 1992-2004 BMW 3-series provides SACHS Performance Racing Technology tuned for Street Driving Comfort!

From the manufacturer chosen by BMW Motorsport as original equipment for the M3 comes the suspension chosen by UUC Motorwerks as the Ultimate for all 3-series BMWs. SACHS Performance dampers are simply the best combination of Sporting performance and reliability for the 1992-2004 3-series.

Where other "sport" or "race" suspensions fail is where many enthusiasts use their BMW: on the street, resulting in harsh ride characteristics and even a decrease in road holding from excessive lowering or poor damper/spring calibration. The typical harsh ride of many aftermarket options is specifically caused by incorrect compression/rebound settings in the dampers (shocks and struts) and inappropriate rate/height design of the springs.

SACHS Performance Suspension gives your BMW a strong injection of motorsport racing technology while maintaining street comfort. OEM design sophistication results in performance without the bone-jarring ride of some other "street" suspensions.

VISUALS:
A lowering of 30mm-35mm (approximately 1.2"-1.4") from original chassis height results in an aggressive appearance without the "slammed" look of undriveable show suspensions. This amount of lowering retains excellent clearance for driveways and speed bumps, and nicely tightens up the gap between tire and fender.

PERFORMANCE:
SACHS technology inspires motor racing professionals all over the world: leading teams competing in the German Touring Car Masters, rallies, and Formula 1 regularly take SACHS products on to the winners’ podium. This same level of dedication to performance and testing ensures maximum suspension effectiveness.

COMFORT:
By examining a combination of spring travel and damping rate suited for the chassis, the Tuned Suspension Set maintains ride quality equivalent or better than factory "sport" models, with less "porpoising" (up and down motion) over roadway bumps and irregularities.

WHAT ELSE?
Aside from product characteristics such as lowering height, performance, comfort, and price, the production quality and tuning competence of the suspension system component's supplier are also important. Major component suppliers such as SACHS are the best choice due to their long-time collaboration with car manufacturers, especially with the tuning at the OEM (Original Equipment Manufacturer) level and the experience and expertise in the area of motorsport racing and development.

Fitments:
# 1999-2004 E46 3-series - 330Ci, 330i, 328Ci, 328i, 325Ci, 325i (all variants except M3)
# 1992-1999 E36 3-series - 328i, 325i, 323i, 318i (all variants except ti)

[zeidakiss]

sounds like a good idea go with the sachs i might look into it and is that U.S dollars?

[Rooz]

yes

[Cruzin 323is]

spend the money, and get coil-overs.. and u can raise and lower it, as much as u want.... and u can have the perfect ride height!

[Furious]

just to add my two cents, i have the H&R sports and i love them, my car sits lower but i have no trouble with scraping or rubbing etc.

[zeidakiss]

yeah but rooz wanted comfort as well so i think you should stick with the sachs.

[///M Power]

Id probably not go with the sachs. Lowering friggin 1.4 inches? Thats madness. There is no way those can be very soft with such a aggressive drop. The article puts out so much about how they are high performance, yet have a soft ride. You have to sacrifice one for the other, sorry.

I had bilstein sports with H&R's and I was never bothered by the stiffness. I have some friends with bilstein coilvoers and others with Tein coilovers and all of their rides are ridiculously harsh. My car felt liek riding on air compared to those.

Im sure triggrhaapi could give a quick review of the eibachs he had but I doubt he felt much different than me.


ALSO if you do indeed go with a coilover kit, note than I doubt youll EVER change your ride height. Somethign you will adjust FAR FAR FAR more often is the dampener. This means you are adjustign how soft your shocks will be. This is what you want, but it does cost quite a bit more.

You can also get these adjustable dampeners on Koni adjustables. Get some koni's with the pro-kit or H&R's.

[Rooz]

A few peops are rec. the H&R Cup kit, how are those?

[Rooz]

Wow, nvm read a review on the H&R cup kit. It would be a 2.1" drop in front and a 1.7" in rear. That's way more than am wanting to drop it.

Am thinking like a 1.5"F and a 1.0"R would be great for me. Hence the fact as to why am considering the H&R Sport Springs.

WHAT IF:

I go with the H&R Sport springs, use my current shocks for now, BUT use the Install kit that UNdersteer sells:

Why drive all over town looking for the parts you'll need to install new shocks and springs on your E36 3-series? This kit includes everything you need! The kit includes the following parts: E46 M3 rear shock mounts, M-Roadster rear shock mount reinforcement plates, rear shock mount gaskets, 3.2L M3 front shock tower reinforcement plates, front strut bearing gaskets, 10 lock nuts, zip ties to reinforce the bumpstops and a tube of Lock-tite Red.

here

Would I be ok?

[blackm]

I have a Eibach pro system plus kit and it is great i love it.

[Rooz]

The Koni Sport Shocks aren't actually a drop them selfs right? It's just be the H&R Sport Springs that would lower the car.... (Sorry like I said before am a newb in suspension)

[Angelic0-]

I'd go with anything KW !

[///M Power]

The Konis are the best shocks. No they dont drop your car.

To drop your car you need springs. But dont just put springs on stock shocks. It will wear out the shcoks a lot faster and is considered "unsafe" There is still too much "bounce"


The reasoN i recomend the Konis is because they are the best stand alone shocks and they also have adjustable dampeners, which allows you to get the soft ride youve been requesting.

Getting just the springs is a waste in my opinion because the installation is expensive. Id otn expect a "newbie" at suspension to go do this job. BMW suspensions are pretty pricey for installation and it would be much mroe economical to do the shocks and springs at the same time seeing as how you will have to put in new shocks very soon anyways after usign the stock shocks with the new sport springs.

Some people think it is fine to use sport springs iwth stock shcoks, to them, I say it's fine. You could do it, but its not very good for your car, or handling.


ALSO, everytime you replace suspension components you need to pay and get your suspension re-aligned!! Another reason to do shcoks and springs at the same time.

[Rooz]

Well, I work at a place called Clarck Tire (Kinda like a firestone) I would do the new shocks my self along with the assistance of one of the techs. And yeah getting it alligned is def. something I would do as well.

Also ///M Power, thx for all your helpfull tips, you sem very knowledgeable about suspensions and always give good replies.

I was looking//measuring the current fender gap I have, it seems that I have about 1.8" in front and 1" in rear.

So that leaves the H&R sport springs out of the picture, I was looking at the other ones they have:

H&R OE Sport Springs (ONLY drop 1.0"F and 0.5"R)
H&R OE Sport Springs lower your vehicle subtly, giving it a slightly more aggressive stance without radically changing its appearance. Designed to enhance front-to-rear balance and street handling performance, OE Sport Springs take the "wallow" out of the stock suspension, yielding a more taut feel and improved ride characteristics. All this while retaining the ride comfort you're accustomed to.

These seem to be what I need, what do you think?