E30 325i Lowering Springs Advice

[albert72 0]

Hi guys. Need your advice on which lowering springs to use. Recently bought a 1990 325i for a weekend/project car. Basically the goal is to slowly restore the car to original but at the same time have a suspension with a good stance.

The car came with king springs superlow KBRL20SL for the rear and low springs KFL114 for the front ( which i do believe is for a ford laser)

The height set up was too low for me so i decided to fit standard springs since i used to have a 318i and sits just fine on standard springs. Could use a bit of drop though but it looked ok

After changing the springs, the car now sits like a 4x4!!! Which is not exactly what I had in mind

I'm now leaning towards fitting king springs super low on the front and low on the rear, the ones recommended for 325i. And I'll be using 15x7 weaves with 205-55-15 tyres

Any advice or "inspirational" photos would be appreciated. Thanks

Edited November 4, 2012 by tom318

[_ethrty-Andy_ 2132]

i know the raceseries guys use them, but i have found the Kingsprings are a lot softer than equivelents in the E30s, actually if it wasnt for the Jamex ones i had, they would be the worst. BMW ///M ones weren't bad, factory smoothness with the lowered height, but they are 20 year old springs now. Will be putting my current E30 on ebaichs in the next week or two so will see what they are like too.

but the best i got H&R, you cant go wrong with them, they are fantastic. if you google them i dont think you will find one negative review either. then again, the H&R are the only ones i paid for out of all the setups ive had in an E30, so you should probably factor that in. yes they are pricey but oh so worth it

[Top Secret 2]

I'm quite enjoying the race series Konis + matched king springs. I haven't driven too many sorted E30s for me to be able to compare the set up, but these ones are doing me fine.

Keep in mind your bushes may be old and sloppy now, so new urethane bushes could be a nice upgrade.

[_ethrty-Andy_ 2132]

I'm quite enjoying the race series Konis + matched king springs. I haven't driven too many sorted E30s for me to be able to compare the set up, but these ones are doing me fine.

Keep in mind your bushes may be old and sloppy now, so new urethane bushes could be a nice upgrade.

not sure if directed at me or OP, but my setups above were all on my twincam, i went through so many setups finding one i was happy with. should have just gone coilovers lol

[dubman 39]

H&R's with Monroes....DONT DO IT

I've read it was a crap setup, but thought "it can't be that bad". Well, it was. Spend on a tried and tested setup IMO, with suitable shocks.

[bmpower 3]

H & R's and Koni Adjustables! If your after some H & R Low's, not super lows i have a set that was in a 325i for about 2 months! Pm me if interested.

[albert72 0]

Just to give an update. I've now fitted low springs for both front and rear. Manage to replace front shocks and strut mounts along the way. I'm just wondering why now the front sits higher than the rear. Fronts were done by a garage since I don't have any spring compressor. I did the rear springs but I made sure I seated the rear springs properly (pigtail end on bottom spring facing left of the car)

I'm guessing maybe it was just the new shocks and strut mounts. Comments???

[_ethrty-Andy_ 2132]

shows us a picture? is it same springs front and rear? the back will always appear lower than it is because of the gaurd overhang "tucking" the rear tyres

edit: also, same tyre profile front and back?

Edited November 14, 2012 by _Ethrty-Andy_

[slowe30 0]

best way for us to tell will be with a photo, but with my car, on superlows allround and everything else suspension wise done/upgraded, the front sits higher than the back due to the height of the arches, but when focusing on the actual height of the car (looking at the height of the sills) the car does sit level as far as i can see.

and thought i would add what ive experianced.

i have king spring super lows all round, they are low enough but not so low i hit driveways etc, they are stable in cornering but not to hard or bouncy. ive had them for about 4 years now and used them in both e30s ive had, brought them second hand for my first e30. ill definatly reccomend them.

had eibach springs for a little while, sat to high for my opinion, yet were to soft and would bottom out when going over bumps and driveways. cornering wise, they felt about on par as standard, and boatish around corners. wasnt happy and swapped back to the kings once i confirmed they would suit my new m52 setup.

[albert72 0]

All four LOW springs are of the same brand. Tyres are all 255/55/15. New standard shocks on front as well as strut mounts. The rear has old standard shocks but both are still good

Edited November 14, 2012 by tom318

[Top Secret 2]

Seems to be a classic E30 nose-up stance. You could comfortably put superlows in the front and still have decent clearance.

Looks nice anyway

[Top Secret 2]

Seems to be a classic E30 nose-up stance. You could comfortably put superlows in the front and still have decent clearance.

Looks nice anyway

[_ethrty-Andy_ 2132]

Tyres are all 255/55/15.

well there is half your problem, an E30 should be running 195 or 205 wide tyres with a lower profile than what you have too on a 15" rim. 55 profile is big on its own, let alone on a 255/55.

Infact on thinking about it, this must be a typo, i doubt 255s would even fit on a standard E30, 245s struggle on my E34 up front. but even if that was supposed to say 205/55, profile still too high should be 45 or 50

Edited November 15, 2012 by _Ethrty-Andy_

[albert72 0]

Sorry, tyres are 205/55/15. I have 205/50/15 fitted last week which appears way too small due to height of the arches. I'm just hoping the reasons behind the excess height are the new springs,shocks and strut mounts. Garage who fitted them told me that the front will gradually lower as it settles in a couple of months. Is this true???

Edited November 15, 2012 by tom318

[albert72 0]

Anyone out there knows or can tell me what "clocking your bushings" is? Or is this being done on e30's when coil springs are replaced?

[Cab 148]

Probably a bit late but I have super low King's in my 325i. I'm also running 195/50/15 tyres.