Best way to lower 1996 E36 Coupe??

[charlie01 0]

whats the best way to get as low as possible (legally) wth good handling

not sure what springs etc to get?

anyone done this with good results?

many thanks

[nikj 0]

there was a guy in the south island who put rocks in his boot!! ( was on the news last week!)

Sorry just thought i would add some humour to this post?!

[jjs 64]

Just cut da springs bol

[steve R 0]

cant go wrong with H&Rs

[charlie01 0]

cant go wrong with H&Rs

thanks, any idea of the best and cheapest place to get H + R springs? i am in auckland

[steve R 0]

thanks, any idea of the best and cheapest place to get H + R springs? i am in auckland

call keith ( the importer) springs are $400 i think

[lidistick 70]

If you're going to do springs, do it once and do it right and get the shocks sorted too.

Konis or Bilsteins.

Cheers.

[zenetti 0]

H&R are still relatively soft - I threw a set in the bin after 3 months now running factory M3 springs on full M3 suspension way better and it can get over speed humps. also go staggered wheel set up and DECENT Tyres and geometry will make more difference than lowering on crap tyres and geometry.

I think you missed the point 3 pedals, charliec wants as low as possible, and I think secondly wants reasonable handling.

I would agree with lidistick, get new shocks, if and when you can afford it. It will make a world of difference, it also makes sense to change them while you have got the struts out and putting new springs in.

There are heaps of springs out there but would personally go for H&R or Jamex. Dobi's are crap but will probably lower your car the most, but will handle the worst. As for Kings.... seems funny but the two worst spring makes are Aussie.

[PBOY23 0]

if on a budjet and want to go as low as possible get shorten shocks an compress you factory springs then you can have as low as you want and it wont handle to bad

jus my chip in

[BMW012 1]

I have had Jamex Super Lows in two different E36s and they both sat nice and low and handled perfect.

Ild go for them...

[Nobimmer 694]

Legally on a E36 sedan is about 35mm in the front and about 55m in the back.

[SUSPENSION 0]

There's many experts when it comes to suspension and many different brands, what suits one person may not suit another (or a certain car, due to worn bushes, previous accident damage, tyre and wheel size,tyre brands and design and many other variables), if you use a good lowering spring but have bad shocks the ride can become worse due to the spring overpowering the standard worn out shock, if you use a cheap lowering spring (sometimes) they use a softer spring than the standard one to decrease the ride height (rather than using a good design which costs more money to make), also the manufacturing process can make a difference to the ride quality , if a spring is made using inconsistent methods sometimes you can end up with uneven spring rates (particularly over time) which can also cause the car to roll and pitch through corners.

To answer the first question, measure the ride height of your car front and rear with a tape measure from the centre of the axle to the lip of the mudguard and work out where you'd like the vehicle to sit and minus the difference ie. -40mm front and -20mm rear, then check the ride height of the lowest point of the car 100mm at lowest structural point is as low as you can legally go (although this can sometimes be a grey area with some WOF testing), and then you can work out whether the lowering you wan't is realistic, also take into account that standard shock absorbers only have a certain amount of travel and if you go past this then you a gauranteed a harsh ride.

[PBOY23 0]

Trouble with lower the back more than the front is it will handle crap.

The E36 likes being level raked slightly front down if you want good turn in and power out of corners

that mite be my trouble my back is slightly lower than front

[westy 614]

You cant go far before youre below 100mm.

I believe you can get a cert to go lower but dont quote me.

Sorry Pboy but your car is too low to handle well but its for show so all good.

[m_power 0]

Your'e right missed the comment about as low as possible but it depends on what you mean by legally- as clearance on mine is only 105 mm off the lowest structural point.

He also said good handling not reasonable

The issue with the H&R's being too soft is the car moved about too much and would "plunge" going over speed humps

Is it just in the e36 the H&R's are too soft? Because i have some in my car along with bilstien sport shocks and its a great combination, not too soft at all! Edited October 15, 2007 by E30-IS

[Nobimmer 694]

Can get a cert for being lower than 100mm. round about $400

Can pretty much go as low as you want as long as when a tyre is completly deflated the chassis doesn't hit the ground.

[PBOY23 0]

You cant go far before youre below 100mm.

I believe you can get a cert to go lower but dont quote me.

Sorry Pboy but your car is too low to handle well but its for show so all good.

im on legal limit it looks alot lower than it is , i wouldnt want it to be draging , be a pain in the ass an yeah it handles not the best due to a tight budjet an being young an dumb hahahahahaha

[zenetti 0]

The issue with the H&R's being too soft is the car moved about too much and would "plunge" going over speed humps

maybe you need to slow down over the speed humps

[charlie01 0]

thanks, i think by the sounds of things mabye jamex superlows (which i had in my 1996 Celica, handled well) in combination with new sports shocks? what are the best bang for buck in terms of good shocks? i appreciate the help guys

[Andrew 30]

thanks, i think by the sounds of things mabye jamex superlows (which i had in my 1996 Celica, handled well) in combination with new sports shocks? what are the best bang for buck in terms of good shocks? i appreciate the help guys

Avoid Jamex - I think you'll find most people here (who like their cars to handle) use H&R.

[zenetti 0]

Avoid Jamex - I think you'll find most people here (who like their cars to handle) use H&R.

that's a bit harsh - I know heaps of people who use Jamex and are very happy with them, we use them in alot of the cars we do, and have had no come backs or problems. Edited October 31, 2007 by zenetti

[diablo23 1]

yeah ive got jmex in mine and there fine for handling