IIIRII 0 Report post Posted March 26, 2012 Ive been researching a few options for a rally car, and was thinking maybe e 30 coupe or e36 compact. I was under the impression e36's had a different rear end setup than e30's, but I found a build thread on the pommy rally forums where a guy is building a e36 compact, but it has a trailing arm setup like the e30. Was there a transition date or cross over period from 1 type to the other or is this just a northern hemispherre thing ? Are ALL NZ e36 compacts wishbone rears ? Ta Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
huff3r 347 Report post Posted March 26, 2012 As far as I am aware all E36 compacts have the same semi-trailing arm rear design as the E30, the E36 Sedans/Coupes however do not. #note, same design, not same dimensions. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
APT 179 Report post Posted March 26, 2012 E30 and E36ti rear subframes are exactly the same, only difference are the trailing arms. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
IIIRII 0 Report post Posted March 26, 2012 Ah, So compacts have E30 rear ends. And the e36 car / coupe rear end will bolt into both the e30 coupe and the e36 compact ? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
E30-323ti 66 Report post Posted March 26, 2012 (edited) Ah, So compacts have E30 rear ends. And the e36 car / coupe rear end will bolt into both the e30 coupe and the e36 compact ? NO The E36 Coupe/Sedan/Wagon have a multi-link rear end. The E36 Compact/Z3 (Coupe & Roadster incl 'M') have the same Semi-Trailing Arm rear end as the E30. They have the Geometry as the E30 (same Sweep angle 15°, same Subframe / Shock / Spring Mounting locations). The 'assembled' trailing arms are not identical. eg. Brake Hardline brackets all vary. They are all 5lug obviously, and come in varied hub offsets, with the E30 M3 & M-Coupe/Roadster having the least offset, to the 6cyl Z3's with the most offset. There is also some variance in wheel bearing size across the Compact/Z3/E30 Trailing arms. The M-Coupe/Roadster trailing arms are easily identifiable by having a brace between the subframe mounting points (looks like an "A") and another brace to the underside of the shock mount. Both of which can be added with a bit of DIY to any trailing arm. The M trailing arms also have much larger bearings and casting for the outer CV's (same size CV as on the M3 Coupe/Sedan), and the corresponding larger rear brakes from the M3. The E46 Compacts share the same Multi-link rear end as the other 3'er of the chassis. Edited March 26, 2012 by E30-323ti Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
IIIRII 0 Report post Posted March 26, 2012 Ok Cheers for that I should have had a good look at the m3 on its roof half way up bright road the other day . Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
