MLee

Thanks for your help guys.

Concluding the thread:

Turns out the Bilsteins fit and work a treat after the top tapered washer is removed.

Springs did turn out to be original - upon closer inspection they had white stripes.

Also turned out that while the front-right strut had a bolt hole ground out, presumably to change camber, the front-left did not! I can't imagine why you'd want to change the camber of one front wheel only - maybe an alignment shop did it at some point to get something in spec? Seems strange.

Either way all sorted now, and the new shocks are excellent. Very firm as you say Ron, but the front of the car is incredibly flat through twisties and dampens any fast bumps surprisingly smoothly. The front of the car is planted firmly, loads of grip.

For the record:

1995 E36 M3 3.0, stock springs.

Bilstein B6 Sport.

Front RH = 35-042389 (VE3-4238)

Front LH = 35-042372 (VE3-4237)

I recently bought these thinking I needed them as part of replacing my subframe bushes.

Instead, it turns out these are used as reinforcement for the factory bushes (much easier to install vs pressing the factory bushes out, often with difficulty!).

Near new condition - a few signs of grease after inserts were held against bushes to conclude they weren't required.

1x Front set (PFR5-3617 - bought for $142 NZD)

1x Rear set (PFR5-3616 - bought for $142 NZD)

$100 each shipped.

Pics to come this arvo.

This thing looks like an amazing car.

Cheers. If only I had the cash right now!

Does anyone know if a good CSL wheel replica is available on NZ shores?

I'm quite liking the look of this (from the depths of the internet):

That sounds much more logical than hacking in to existing metal.

It appears BMW springs usually (always?) have coloured stripes on them indicating something - like you said Ron - however nobody really knows what they mean exactly.

The springs I have don't appear to have any stripes on them.

Does anyone else have springs with no stripes that they know are factory? Otherwise I may never know.

Could be time for new springs too.

Thanks mate

Turns out someone has diddled with them before and ground notches out of the hub mounting bolt holes to adjust camber! Wouldn't surprise me if the springs weren't standard either.

I have considered Koni's, but would rather fit them to a less mangled version of the OEM strut.

I had a bit of a revelation:

Turns out that there is a tapered washer between shock shaft and top hat. I imagine it's just stuck to the bottom of the top hat with crap - how often is it that these things stare you in the face?

So now I've just got to confirm those springs are real and then - theoretically - it should all go together fine.

Cheers Ron.

Here are the bits that came from the car. The strut is definitely OEM and the numbers match realoem, not sure about the spring and there doesn't appear to be a number on the top spring-plate.

Spring is equal width at both ends - approx. 145mm diameter.

Spring coil thickness is 11mm.

Thanks Ron, much appreciated hopefully it doesn't come to that!

From the small amount of reading I've done, people say the bottom of the springs remain the same size but that the Evo has a smaller top diameter and hence the tapered spring.

However it sounds like you've been there before.

I'll measure 'er up today.

Also I really like that boot lip spoiler! Where on ebay did you find that gem? (Often they don't fit/made out crap etc.)

Can confirm that, a little more than one bottle (quart each) from memory. I also run Redline ATF D4 and it's good stuff.

Just black paint that has worn off in places I believe... Might look like shiny bits in the photo.

That's what I thought - would have to clarify if that's what he meant next time I see him.

I've also noticed from the likes of ecstuning and turners have pictures of OEM top spring-plates that don't feature the tapered seat for the shock shaft - Whereas I've read elsewhere that standard Sachs-boges always have a tapered shaft.

Whos telling the truth? I suppose an easy fix to the square shoulder could be to go find untapered top spring-plates/hats.

These are the Bilstein bits I've got:

These are the apparent issues:

If this all proves too hard I'll go with OEM or Koni's.

I can only imagine.

I need a little help:

I've acquired some Bilstein B6 Sport struts - confirmed with a Bilstein supplier to be the only part to fit standard chassis. However the guy who is putting them in for me reckons they won't fit, for two reasons:

1. The shaft has a flat shoulder, whereas the M3 top hat wants a tapered shoulder.

2. That the shock is too long - or at least much longer than the OEM shaft, meaning that there is a much larger gap between hats and spring when rigged up without weight on it compared to the factory spring and strut.

Does anyone know anything about putting Bilsteins in E36 M3's?

Cheers Ron,

I've read what you've said in the past re Bilstein vs Koni and trust your opinion.

However went with Bilstein to avoid having to cut/modify original strut to fit inserts (as far as I know Koni only does inserts for E36 M3?)

Will keep the original struts so I can try Koni in the future if I don't like the Bilsteins.

Am I right saying the Bilstein B6 have a built in bump-stop? So I can remove the factory one (as it obviously won't fit the shaft of the Bilstein)?

I also have the strange demister static. Have cleaned the contacts on all the radio/demister gear that is mounted on the inside of the rear pillars - no improvement.

Would be interested to hear if you get any further with it.

BMW OEM timing chain tensioner to suit E36 M3 Evo (S50B32) engine.

Original price from BMW including GST was $308.92 all the way from Mutter Deutschland.

Item is near new - has only 3000km in an S50B30, after which it was replaced by an original style tensioner due to what must be issues with that particular engine.

$100 shipped.

Thanks for the offer on the Monroes - but it looks like I might have to do this properly

That's what I'm starting to think. Or ECS tuning.

Thanks guys.

My FR shock popped the other day, and the FL looks like it might be already.

I imagine the stealers would charge lots for these sorts of bits, so I have been looking around for aftermarket OEM replacements.

I'm quite happy on stock suspension for now, so have been looking for just a shock - does anybody know if you can get just an insert? Or do I have to go further? What's good and what's worth avoiding?

What have others done when shocks need doing?

Cheers.

S50B32 chain tensioner.

Worth replacing if you haven't already - especially if your chain rattles excessively on start. Also a popular upgrade for several different BMW engines. I installed on my S50B30, however it made mine whine quite well! I rebuilt the original multi-piece tensioner and installed which quietened the whine significantly. I have heard other people have used this tensioner in an S50B30 with no issues and it is considered an upgrade.

E36 Coupe clear front indicators (DEPO)

Sold.

Just about

I have no use for it whatsoever, but just hearing about it makes me excited. Very impressive.

Are the front indicators OEM clear? Or do you still have them?

Just saw post above. I'm after the right front indicator.