E36 Suspension Setups - Coupe

[Skilfil 1]

Hi guys,

Have landed myself a cheap manual 328 E36 coupe for track days and drifting, not too familiar with BMW's, generally played around with MX5's but wanted a bigger chassis with a bigger motor that wasn't a Skyline.. Just wondering what tried and true suspension setups people here were running? Would like to avoid coilovers if possible as this isn't a big $$ build and cert would push costs out, its just something to have fun in.

I was looking into possibly M3 shocks/springs? Or is the work involved for the gain hardly worth it? Already looking into an LSD (Sadly it has a horribly open diff) and refreshing the brakes.

Thanks in advance for any advice.

[gjm 3191]

Bilstein B12 kit (Bilstein B8 shocks/struts and Eibach springs), or a Koni/H&R set-up.

[Skilfil 1]

Thanks, any suggestions on where to shop for these parts? I know of many MX5 sites but struggling to find BMW ones, where do most people tend to buy their bits from?

[gjm 3191]

I've had some recent problems locating Konis at good prices. They do exist and would be my preferred solution.

Bilstein B12s are a readily available kit ex-Germany. The part number is E90-20-004-04-22.

Check prices here in NZ first. 

[jom 96]

Try Demon Tweeks in the UK. Set of Koni adjustables is about NZ$800 plus shipping.

[Kepes 231]

I know you said you didn't want coilovers, but Scarles are selling D2 coilovers for $1000 shipped which is quite good. I'm getting a set for the E30

[M3AN 4015]

I actually got a lot of my stuff through Amazon and got it here via KiwiShipping, I put a price watch on with camelcamelcamel.com and saved literally $100's.

[Skilfil 1]

Thanks guys, did manage to stumble across DemonTweeks yesterday afternoon, I hear the newer gen D2's are better but I'm still fairly wary of them, I'd almost want to shell out the extra $$ for the XYZ stuff which I hear is pretty good.

Amazon is an interesting one, have never thought to check them out, will have a look. Also now have PelicanParts added to my regular browsing for maintenance stuff.

[M3AN 4015]

3 hours ago, Skilfil said:

Amazon is an interesting one, have never thought to check them out, will have a look.

My landed price for a set of Eibach springs and roll bars was less than $500 NZ (although I ended up paying nothing but GST in the end). I had to be patient but it wasn't urgent for me so worked out well. I pulled the trigger when camelcamelcamel told me it was 70% off which happened twice in 3 months (I missed out the first time). Service from Amazon was outstanding.

[atlantiskiwi 73]

On 3/27/2017 at 2:16 PM, Skilfil said:

Hi guys,

Have landed myself a cheap manual 328 E36 coupe for track days and drifting, not too familiar with BMW's, generally played around with MX5's but wanted a bigger chassis with a bigger motor that wasn't a Skyline.. Just wondering what tried and true suspension setups people here were running? Would like to avoid coilovers if possible as this isn't a big $$ build and cert would push costs out, its just something to have fun in.

I was looking into possibly M3 shocks/springs? Or is the work involved for the gain hardly worth it? Already looking into an LSD (Sadly it has a horribly open diff) and refreshing the brakes.

Thanks in advance for any advice.

Which 328i did you pick up? Not the black 328is that was for sale last few weeks? 

[RedRocketTi 131]

I am running XYZ Supersports and was running the Bilstein B12's previously, the XYZ's are awesome! Well worth the money!

[Skilfil 1]

On 1/04/2017 at 5:29 PM, atlantiskiwi said:

Which 328i did you pick up? Not the black 328is that was for sale last few weeks? 

No, nabbed a metallic blue 328is that was up on TradeMe for less than 24 hours, its rough but a good candidate for motorsport. Good to see about the XYZ's, will have to look at them in the future for sure.