elias 253 Report post Posted March 3, 2022 Hello, I have recently purchased a set of second hand coilovers for my e82 135i. Risky I know but they were a good price and in good shape, no leaks etc. They're a set of aragosta (japanese/dutch brand) coilovers out of a e90. Now my question is are these oem-style where the spring sits in a perch next to the strut or a true coiler where the spring sits over the strut? From what I can tell they look like oem-style but seller reckons they were true coilovers? Any advice would be much appreciated. Also any adivce/suggestion on a good baseline setup would be much appreciated, new to working on suspension, overall goal for this car, is an aggressive street/track set up, not a daily driven car so not too picky with comfort etc, mostly just want good handling and cornering. Photo of coilovers: Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
E30 325i Rag-Top 2956 Report post Posted March 3, 2022 Hard to tell from that photo alone, have you got a picture of the full set of parts you got? Many “coilover” sets run true springs over the struts on the front but then revert to the seperate spring and shock on the rear for BMWs. Lots of body strengthening required to safely change from the factory set up to coil overs in the rear. 1 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
elias 253 Report post Posted March 3, 2022 thanks for the reply, don't have a photo of all the parts currently but will get one tomorrow morning. The parts in the photo are the only parts I got for the rear suspension (2 sets obviously, one for each side), but no extra pieces, front are reassembled with a helper spring. I also think it is a seperate spring/shock set up on the rear as there is no real spring seat on the strut and the collar/spring seat thingy (black piece in the top left of the photo) doesn't fit over or thread over the strut at all. Not sure why the seller reckons it was spring over strut, I tried assembling it that way and one end of the spring that sits next to the black collar just above the aragosta logo on the strut is almost big enough to slip over the bright orange end section, only just held din place so doesn't seem like a safe spring perch considering the loads the spring would be subjected too... will get some more photos tomorrow, hoping to install these on Sunday Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Braydon 40 Report post Posted March 3, 2022 Yeah that's separate springs and strut. The collar is for making the spring captive against the body/perch. I'm 99% certain. 1 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
elias 253 Report post Posted March 3, 2022 ok cool that makes sense, glad that thats the case, not too keen on doing a whole lot of shock tower reinforcement, so threads on the strut are for adjusting overall length of strut for ride height, and collar for preloading spring then. Will install them on Sunday and see how I go, thanks for the help, appreciate it 1 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
jon dee 500 Report post Posted March 4, 2022 The fact that the shock is threaded all the way up tends to indicate that it could be used as a coilover shock. But that doesn't mean that it cannot be used as a standalone shock with a separate spring. If it was used as a coilover it would have an adjustable spring perch similar to the perch threaded onto the separate small sleeve that you have in the pic... Also, coilover springs are closed and ground both ends so that they sit flat on the perches. Separate (OEM style) are usually open both ends and sit into specially formed perches. However, that shock in your pic does not look as if it had a spring perch used on it, so if you can make it fit with a separate spring ... gopher it Cheers... Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
E30 325i Rag-Top 2956 Report post Posted March 5, 2022 On 3/4/2022 at 11:52 AM, elias said: so threads on the strut are for adjusting overall length of strut for ride height, and collar for preloading spring then. Sounds about right - I’ve never used a shock that has an adjustable body like that, but explains the thread and lack of spring perch - pretty cool. In terms of the set up I would suggest the the spring is installed with the adjustable perch (top left of your photo) and set where you want your ride height - then the shock is set so that it’s stroke is in line with the spring compression & expansion, rather than the other way round. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
jon dee 500 Report post Posted March 5, 2022 And keep in mind that the spring has to remain captive at full droop if you go for a cert Cheers... Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Neil McCauley 394 Report post Posted June 25, 2023 Bumping this, as there's another set of Aragosta coilovers up for sale, how did you get on @elias ? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
elias 253 Report post Posted June 25, 2023 (edited) 5 hours ago, Neil McCauley said: Bumping this, as there's another set of Aragosta coilovers up for sale, how did you get on @elias ? if its the ones for sale on Facebook market place, being sold by Jason Ganley, its these ones, I sold them and replaced them with BC golds. They installed into the car fine, divorced rear. I replaced all 4 springs with BC springs, 8kg/12kg as per BC spec (vs 12kg/14kg that came with the aragosta) but still found them far too harsh for NZ roads, felt every little bump straight though your spine. Very happy with the BC golds I have in the car now, running the same spring set up, but a much smoother damping and large range of adjustability. Edited June 25, 2023 by elias spring rates Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
