I will own an e30 soon!

[Cookie]

Hey everyone. I am currently searching for a clean E30 to replace my old car. I am a bit of a noob at the moment but I hope to change that soon, you will have to forgive me if any of these questions sound stupid. But anyway..

So first off I am looking for a set of coilovers, I would prefer something that doesn't require any welding, and hopefully that I could install myself so I can learn a bit more about my car. I have been looking at this kit from ground control http://www.ground-control-store.com/...hp/II=824/CA=4, and from what I understand it is all bolt in? Please correct me if not.

I also would like to know what options I should pick when I order them, If i leave the front spring perch alone then how limited is my adjustment?
And if I leave the standard length strut housing for the rear, will that also limit adjustment very much?
I am looking to be able to drop the car a decent amount and also run a little negative camber.
Will that kit provide everything that I need?

I am also looking at a set of 16" or 17" Compomotive CX's (BBS RS style basketweave) and I understand that I need 4x100 with a 57.1 centre bore? I want to run 16" wheels, 9" wide front wheels and 10" wide rears, approx et22 all round. I think they should fit with some camber and a bit of guard rolling?

Looking for a 325is at the moment, and thinking about an engine swap down the track. Interior will also be dealt with along with an mtech2 kit and a nice coat of paint. But first will be suspension and wheels.
Cheers for reading through all that, all information is much appreciated!

[MaxBell]

Ok, so I drive a 87 325i, which is white and a ballin' ass 4 door.

My recommendation is to skip coils. I was all nutso for coils when I first got the car, but eventually I realized that I'm never going to change the ride height, so why not just get some H&R Race springs and Billy shocks. So I did this and it's been super great. The car handles really well and when I just recently upgraded the sways and replaced the strut mounts it feels like a new car.

If you do go GC, call them on the phone, they're helpful enough to get most answers.

As for negative camber, the E30 suspension in the rear does not allow for any camber without serious hacking and welding. The front allows a little, but the most people do is correct the negative camber created by the lowering.

My springs dropped me about 1.5", which tucked stock tire and got me low enough to break my oil cooler on shit when drifting in the snow.

For rims, I'd recommend sticking with 16" as the max size. 17's tend to look silly on our cars, as we drive boxy old school machines that tend to look better with 15" then anything else. For width I'd stick with 8", et 0ish in the rears. That will make you have to roll the fenders some, but no major surgery. The 10" are VERY hard to fit, except without major poke which will look silly.

The 325iS is a great model, coming with a LSD stock, which is nice and a common upgrade for us non-iS types. Engine swaps are great, though I don't know too much on that front, I'm just tuning my M20 for some daily driving. The Miller WAR chip and CAI are on the horizon for me.

Also: start looking now for a MTech2 kit. They are VERY expensive if you want a real one, and very shitty and hard to mount if you want a cheap one.

Try decide if you want to enter the lovely world of Diving Boards, or if you want a plastic bumper model.

And remember, us E30 guys are generally known for our restraint when it comes to modding the cars. DON'T be a ricer in your lovely piece of Nazi metal.

[Cookie]

Thanks heaps for all that info man, really helpful. So with the H&Rs you got a good drop and there is no welding or anything involved? Chuck a pic of your car up if you have one man..
I still would kinda like the adjustability of coils because the roads around here won't allow for a real slammed ride but I would still like to wind them down for shows etc.. Do you know if there is any welding needed for that GC kit?
And no need to fear on the ricer front, not going over the top, nice deep blue coat of paint, mtech2, BBS RS or similar, dark brown leather interior, and a crazy engine swap down the track (2jz?)... Clean, fast, simple and hopefully rockin a dope stance!

Here is a couple of cars that inspired me:



and obviously the felgen garage with 11s on the rear

[Cookie]

Oh and yeah I agree with you on the 16's, I saw a couple of cars that inspired me to think about 17's but i think that the 16's compliment the e30 shape a lot more.. Is it really that hard to fit 10's out back? I figured they would be alright with a decent roll+pull?

[Stephen]

So not to discredit MaxBell or anything, but if you are looking some of those norewigian cars, don't bother with H&R races. You will most likely end up ditching for coils if you want any sort of stance. As far as wheels, 16s are always the safe bet, 17s can be done, but need to be done proper. You can go wider than 8s no problem. i have 17x9s out back. 10s are doable but you will want to pull, and keep them in the rear only. Ive seen 1 car do 10s up front, but its a pretty big cram and might look silly with enough strtetch and camber to do it.

[Zic]

yeah, im not really on maxbell side either.
i would go with 9 and 10's if i was you. and coilovers.
the main ting about chopping the struts, its to gain more travel. if you dont chop them, you might end up bottoming with the shock.
why are you unwilling to weld? you can always take them to a nice machine shop and ask them chop 1 or 2inches of the struts. just give them clear instructions on were to chop. meaning that you wanna to keep the top part with the threads, and cut below that.
you can always check what i did with my e30 before i sold it. (it was never finished and never got my wheels on it :sadface)

[OOMPH!]

If you want to go low low with the GC's cutting the strut and welding in their D-ring perch is a must....even after that work it wasn't low enough for me so I bought shorter/softer springs for the front. I would avoid all that and buy KW coilovers. They go lower than bags lol, I swear.....at least in the front....and you won't have to weld or cut anything. Check out www.tunershop.com They're less expensive with better quality imo. Only thing is it takes 5 weeks to receive them because they custom make them for the e30.

[Larsinnj]

My recommendation is to skip coils. I was all nutso for coils when I first got the car, but eventually I realized that I'm never going to change the ride height, so why not just get some H&R Race springs and Billy shocks.

Well. You don't change the ride height all the time, but at least you can adjust it so it's exactly how you want it to be.
The cars are different. I can't explain how, but when my brother in law monted a set of FK Automotive 60/40 set on his car it was so low he couldn't get out of the driveway. He sold that set to a buddy of mine, and his car didn't even look lowered. They obviously have same cars. 6 cyl facelift E30.

I would stick to coilover because as I said. You can adjust the ride height as you want it to be. No use in adjusting more after that, unless you use it in the winter.

And if you roll the wheel arch it's no problem mounting a 10x17 in the back. That wide up front will just look silly.

[E30Jim]

Go with coilover !!! Here's my car with H&R Race and Bilstein Sport. I had to cut the front springs a lot, I'm on E90 spring hats and I'm far from slammed. I wish I'll have the money for KW nest year. I'd like the front lower but I'm not sure the Bilsteins will handle lower springs if I cut them again.



It's on 16x9 et10 and 16x10 et10

[Palmer E30]

I have 16x8 rota grid drifts on the back of mine et10 and it's only about 5mm off flush. You running 10's with et10 must have quite a bit of poke, I got sick of being pulled for have even the slightest bit of poke so I gave up

[Cookie]

Hey everyone, sorry it took so long to reply, I just moved house and everything has been chaos. Cheers for all the helpful replies, I'm still on the hunt for an e30 at the moment, you guys wouldn't believe how expensive they are over here, there is one that I really like at the moment, it's a 1989 325is, m-tech kit, all leather, in good condition with 170,000 kilometres. asking $15,500. That is crazy. But that's just how much they go for over here.. I'm still set on an e30 though so I think i'll get one anyway. I think that red one just above is what I am aiming for, just with an mtech kit and a few bits. Love that stance though. Cheers everyone, more photos are welcome!

[Cookie]

It's on 16x9 et10 and 16x10 et10

Just wondering what size tires you have on there man? And also whether you have any fender work done, and if you have then what's been done? Oh and also if you are running much camber? Thanks man

[E30Jim]

Just wondering what size tires you have on there man? And also whether you have any fender work done, and if you have then what's been done? Oh and also if you are running much camber? Thanks man

-205/45-16 front and 225/40-16 rear

-front fenders are stock and rear are slightly rolled (they need to be rolled a little bit more and I want coilovers with stiffer springs to go lower and fix my lack of adjustability)

-I don't know the exact camber, I don't have camber plates.

[shaggy]

e30 always looks sexy!!!

[916ness_E30]

annnnd all my questions just got answered lol. except which would be the best recommended kw variant to purchase for the E30?