kerrynzl

Hey Josh, I've just jumped on this thread [Now I'll try and give you some "sound" advice] Your car is probably TOO low, when you go up onto 18's they fill the guards better. Also 18's will clear they struts better, because the struts lean inward's (kingpin-inclination) so you can use more positive offset (back-spacing)with 18's. As a last ditch remedy, the Wheels can have the centers machined (up to 12mm max) for more offset (I've done this successfully before) From what I've read here;Throw out those aftermarket springs. Re-install the stock springs then measure the corner heights with the 18's. Then get the stock springs re-set to your desired height [sell the aftermarket junk]This will also fix the lean to the left Try and keep the wheel allignment to stock BMW specs[with the exception of an extra 1/2 degree negative camber]. Once this is sorted [Then replace your tyres,not before] Incidentally my E36 runs 17x8's (BBS's) with M spec suspension, Again don't go too low [these things handle pretty good as they are] If you need to talk to me direct , pm me and I'll give you my phone number Cheers Kerry

The Mac/Strut is a basic triangle , between the upper pivot ,lower inner & outer pivots [two sides of this triangle are fixed length] the lower leg swings on a radiius when the strut shortens ,making the angle more acute ['dynamic' or induced negative] Because the M3 is lower ,maybe this is to restore the camber back to a sensible ammount for a road car [someone might know] then the camber is dynamic [induced] instead of using static negative camber Two things happen when more caster is used; Less neg is required.As the outer wheel gets more negative,and the inner wheel gets more positive when the wheels are turned into a corner [the steering gets very heavy with more caster] Also more dynamic caster [from altering the top mount in relation to the lower wishbone] creates anti-dive; under braking the Caliper [mounted to the strut] tries to stand the strut upright [negative caster], while compression of the strut tries to lean the strut backwards [positive caster], these two forces try to counter-act each other creating anti-dive! another way to engineer anti-dive is to lower the front pivot points of the lower wishbones

Hey when I was younger, my car was the most important thing in my life. Since then I don't really care [i've owned a shitload of cars] Cars don't hold any status to me,except competition cars [especially with history] On this forum it's not the cars, but the People and Activities that are important [Face it, I see someone get excited over a purchase of a $700.00 E30 because of what they are intending to do with it] Remember the old saying [amongst Hotrodders] "Anyone can restore a Classic, But it takes a real man to CUT one up"

Yeah I agree Will, It started out as a fun thread [for the silly season] Struck a few raw nerves etc! [mission accomplished] Hey it's Xmas Eve [After dropping Judy at Auck' airport,drove back to Tga,been at work til now] I'm 'laxing out right now with a JD's So everyone out there have a Merry Xmas [don't booze'n'crooze] we have to get together for a drop or two Will [get that E36 ragtop going, & I'll unplug the Z3 speedo so we can do some cruizing together]

If you move the tops outboard you'll end up with more [static] negative camber. I believe M3's had offset lower legs/bushes to counteract this [can anyone confirm this?] All Mac/Struts induce negative camber under compression [it's basic triangulation]

Hey Guy's. Sorry to start a war of 'ETHICS'. I showed my lady this thread last night [we both had a good laugh] Their is no betrayal here [she doesn't want me to clock up too many K's while shes gone] Her car is a new xmas present! Whereas; no car has any value to me [unless it's a race-car] BTW Boyz, there's some good race meetings during this summer !

I crawled under my E36 last night with a ruler [highly accurate] The lower wishbone is 335mm between pivots [approx]. From the inner pivot to the centerline of the strut [at a right angle] is 300mm [approx] 100% divided by 335 multiplied by 300 = 89.55% [approx 90%] to calculate the wheel rate with a 250lb would be as follows; 250 x [0.9 x 0.9] = 202.5 lb's at the wheel to get the same wheel rate from a falcon with a 50% m/ratio we reverse the maths 202 divided by [0.5 x 0.5] = 810lb spring an XA falcon V8 has a 750 lb spring [no wonder they drive like a barge] I hope this clears up a questions.

Yeah I'm keen for a cruise pm me and I'll give you my phone number [i'm in Maungatapu] The only problem I see is driving with the top down increases my peripheral vision [trying to keep my eyes on the road with all those babes will be a problem]

I've seen this System work well in LA LA Land [Los Angeles] The Problem isn't the lights, It's All YOU JAFA DRIVERS haha! You should come down to the 'Mount' and cruize Marine-Parade getting 'whiplashed eyeballs' with all the talent about! [There's no traffic lights along the beach] sh*t! I shouldn't have mentioned this [now The Mount is going to be invaded with JAFA's for the next 3 weeks]

With the early motocross bikes, I used as an example to show how even though the attachment point of the shock is unchanged [on the swingarm]the M/ratio can be altered [as you confirmed by the suspension being softer][the same method for a different reason] Struts are the same. When you add more neg-camber,it is theoretically altering the wheel rate [by a miniscule amount] When you measure the strut, hold a tape at a 'right-angle' to the strut [on struts with a dog-leg at the bottom,eg: commodores or E36's you have to find an imaginery centerline between the upper & lower pivots] on wishbone lower legs you have to find a centerline from the front & back inner pivots [measure at right angles from this pivot-line] some people mistakenly measure the ball-joint at the nut [it doesn't pivot from there!] Theirs nothing wrong with your terminology: Gearing,Leverage,or Motion-Ratio [the fact that you understand physics/maths regarding suspension puts you ahead of most people] with 200 views on this thread so-far ,I could be helping someone out there [therefore I prefer to use the automotive terms,thats all] No offence intended!

Front works fine [as long as the fan is turning the right direction] Try and fit a temperature switch from a jappa [heaven forbid] into the cooling system [prefer lower radiator] wire it in series from the ignition to the fan to the switch to earth [you can also parrallel wire a manual override switch in as well] Most Temp/switches have a 20degree overlap between switching on and off [don't use Mazda,as you'll need a reverse pole relay]

With suspension the correct terminology is "Motion Ratio". With a Mac Strut the ratio is approx 90% depending on the "king-pin Inclination" [another term], the more the Strut leans inwards the lower the%. [similar to laying down the shocks on an early motocross bike] the easiest way to measure the motion ratio on a Strut is to; measure the lower leg between pivot points. then; measure from the inner pivot to a right angle point on the strut. Usually rear springs even though they're mounted inboard are 1:1 because they attach directly to the diff [live axles] [Holden Torana's have the springs mounted to the trailing link,so they act the same as a wishbone] Don't confuse "Spring Stiffness" with "Roll Stiffness",Swaybars control roll stiffness but dont suspend the car. Moving springs inboard on a live axle affects roll stiffness,but not straight line 'spring stiffness' [try cornering fast in a drag-car] With all these leverage "ratios",all the car cares about is the "wheel rate" which is the spring rate x the motion ratio /squared eg: with a 50% motion ratio [or 2:1 to make maths easier] to get 100lbs/inch at the wheels requires a 400lbs/inch spring A falcon with a 1200 lb spring [50% ratio] has the same wheel rate as a Commodore with a 370lb spring [90% ratio] The wheel rate is 300lbs/inch easy huh!

That's a novel idea [it never entered my mind] was thinking about endurance racin' Haha!

Thanks for that! 3 pedals One thing that also needs to be taken into consideration is the 'motion ratio' of the suspension [leverage ratio] eg; on a falcon it's 50%, so to lower the front 50mm requires shortening the spring height 25mm most macpherson struts are approx 90% [because of the angle of the strut]

My Girlfriend has 'trusted' me with looking after her low mileage Z3 Auto [while she's overseas] Being Summer and living in Tauranga the opportunity/temptation is too much! If I unplugged the speedo drive at the diff would this affect the auto or DME's performance in any way [on mitzy's they don't shift from low,so I assume BMW's are just as clever] Anyone tried this? Have a lot of fun summer everyone! [i've had a great time with you people on this forum]

compressing springs in a mechanical sense, is as bad as cutting springs as the heat tempering destroys the spring's spring rate properties and so forth (gypsys at spring compressing places will tell you its perfectly fine and nothing changes...but how could shorter springs have the same spring rate as opposed to when it was original..go figure), its only advantage as it retains the shape of the spring (pretty useful for rear springs since their a weird shape) When a spring is re-set it is only heated to approx 400c [while clamped at a different height] the spring rating [eg lb/in] stays the same, so if the load is the same[at the sping] the sag will be the same,but from a different static height [therefore sitting lower]. A shortened spring has the same rating as the original [as long as it isn't cut, eg same length wire] When you cut a spring it gets stiffer because the load is 'divided' by the length of the wire [a torsion bar/sway bar works the same, the shorter it is the stiffer it is]

When You Refer to "Compressed" , I hope you don't mean "clamping "them down [i've seen this butchery done with wire ties, and also U clamps] Seeing that you live in Tauranga, I would reccomend getting Smith Engineering on Maleme St to re-set the fronts 25mm lower. The Motorsport Suspension is a pretty damm good package as it is [you just want to change the appearance,by lowering it] I have a similar spec car that I personally think can out-handle most drivers [our enthusiasm always exceeds our ability] PM me if you need any suspension help [i'm also in TGA]

I have a Bosch O2 sensor that is correct, and off a non-vanos M50 engine [vanos's use a siemens O2 sensor] The best place to mount them is where the exhaust is hottest [up front where the 'Y' is ] pm me your address and I'll post it to you for free [if you feel guilty,you can always buy me a beer one-day]

Of course you can fit ball joints incorrectly! Ask Andrew about Gus's expertise with a Ball-Peen Hammer!

SPONGY BRAKES! Good Fun HaHa! [it always happens at the worst moments] Everyone on this thread has pretty well answered your Question. Brake fluid is hydroscopic [it attracts moisture] it is the water content that is boiling under high temperatures. So get a DOT 5.1 fluid Sometimes the brake pedal is soft for part of its travel ,then hard before it bottoms out [this can be un-nerving in race traffic] This usually is pad knock-off caused by sideways movement in the discs under hard cornering loads[wheel bearing clearances etc] that's why calipers [or discs] are floated on race cars as well as using long-travel master cylinders.Most drivers give the brakes a light pump while driving to take up any clearances personally I'd use dot 5.1 fluid in my car and have a spare set of pads for track days [i've had great results fron 'Carbon Metallic 90' pads on stock brakes] don't use them for 'cold' day-to-day driving as they're bit aggressive on the discs when cold Auto's suck on the track [get a syncrosmash]

My '95 Coupe has a set of 'E' marked [OEM part #] clears on it. if you need a used set for a E36 sedan? I know of a set on a Pommy E36 in a wrecker in Tauranga [Ring Birch Ave Wreckers 07 5782400]

Is it Vanos? Hesitation & a Death Rattle are symtoms of a faulty Vanos unit [the rattle sounds like detonation, but louder] otherwise get a BMW diagnostic done [could be a crank or cam position sensor] It's hard to tell via the internet

From what I've just read, Thomas Hillman just raised the average Intelligence Quotient of New Zealand when he died