E36 Shock absorber & Spring combo...

[madandy 0]

SO there's a fair bit of info on various combinations of shock absorbers & spring on here and the www itself!

I'd like to hear from guys/girls that have upgraded their shocks and springs to assess what may be the best all round compromise.

We're after a brand new set of shocks and some springs to provide improved pitch & roll resistance, retention of most of the ride quality & a livable ride height as we've had plenty of fun in the past with lowered cars and our GT-R is plenty low enough for three cars thanks We're not trying to make a Touring car here...

Many are using Bilstien, a product I'm very familiar with and some use Koni, another brand I respect. There are several options for spring manufacturer and I'm looking for the one with best overall ride quality with similar ride height drop as M-spec springs give. Hell maybe I should get M-spec springs!

SO what have you got, hows the ride/handling compromise, are you happy with ride height, damping performnance of your shocks etc...?

[Grant 4]

I'm pretty happy with the Bilstein and H&R Sport combination I recently put in the E36 328i.

I wanted something that improved the handling (pitch and roll) but not make the car too low, and also have a ride comfort level suitable for my wife and 10 month son (Ash) to be comfortable. This combo suits the bill for me. We went to Cambridge and back yesterday, and Ash slept for 50 minutes on the way there and an hour and a half on the way home, so the ride quality must be pretty good (even over the back roads we took rather than SH1).

Now that the springs have finally settled, I think that the ride height is just right.

I'm sure you will get other opinions (some that people will try and pass off as fact, rather than opinion), but I'm happy with what I have, I'm equally sure that other combo's are equally as good.

Cheers

Grant

[lidistick 70]

I'm pretty happy with the Bilstein and H&R Sport combination I recently put in the E36 328i.

I wanted something that improved the handling (pitch and roll) but not make the car too low, and also have a ride comfort level suitable for my wife and 10 month son (Ash) to be comfortable. This combo suits the bill for me. We went to Cambridge and back yesterday, and Ash slept for 50 minutes on the way there and an hour and a half on the way home, so the ride quality must be pretty good (even over the back roads we took rather than SH1).

Now that the springs have finally settled, I think that the ride height is just right.

I'm sure you will get other opinions (some that people will try and pass off as fact, rather than opinion), but I'm happy with what I have, I'm equally sure that other combo's are equally as good.

Cheers

Grant

Same here.

Bilstein and H&R combo.

Slightly stiffer than stock but not overtly harsh.

For less roll, upgrade the sway bars to motorsport items. If you have motorsport, then go with the M3 and the whole new mounting bits.

More than welcome to try my car if you are close by to see if the combo will work for you.

Cheers.

[Yuen 16]

I can vouch for lidistick's setup. I have driven his car and it feels just right - not overly harsh, but feels sporty and fun to drive. I think it is a little stiffer than an M-tech setup.

[madandy 0]

Cheers guys. Why did you choose H&R springs rather than the matching Bilstien springs? I've been looking at Bilstiens on Ebay as the best prices I've found so far are on there...yet to contact Bimmersport sponsors for information though I have seen local suppliers asking well over a grand just for the shocks - perhaps one will read this thread and post some info?

We only have standard anti roll bars, and I will look into these sooner or later

Cheers

Andy

Edited November 12, 2007 by madandy

[Grant 4]

I used the H&R Spring as this is a very popular and proven combination with the Bilstein Sport shock. I previously had the equivilant combination in my old E30, and they were great, so went for the same in the E36.

Cheers

Grant