Ebay Coilovers?...

[EtotheT]

Hi guys I've been searching a little for coilovers for my 98 328i and I noticed some low priced coilovers all over ebay( Rokor, Raceland ect), but wanted to know if one of you had someting to say about it. Of course I don't expect it to be high quality parts but is it worth 400 dollars? For that price I don't even have Monroes on 4 corners XD. Thanks guys!

[Anonymoose]

http://webservice.imagesauce.net/image/933250.jpg

[EtotheT]

Hey, it's not everybody who can afford 2000$ coilovers...

[eMile]

most of the people that says ebay coilover sucks dont have try any of them.
i have try ebay coilovers (raceland) in the streets and track and i can say are the best for the price..

[Dave V]

JOM seem to be fairly good for the money.

[Average_Jerk]

JOM seem to be fairly good for the money.
if by "fairly good" you really mean "garbage"

[Kielan]

most of the people that says ebay coilover sucks dont have try any of them.
i have try ebay coilovers (raceland) in the streets and track and i can say are the best for the price..

Then I can honestly say you're wrong. I used to have eBay coils, dailyed on them for about a year, it was horrible. I tried to lie to myself and say it was ok. No it was 100% terrible and made me despise my car, I legit ***** it.

I bought D2s about a month ago and I can say its the best decision I have made so far. It genuinely made me realize how stupid I was for buying it. For a few hundred bucks more (a few weeks of saving), and you will like your decision a whole lot more.

OP don't buy eBay coils. Do it right the first time, or you will be kicking yourself for a long time until you can afford a real setup.

<3

[Average_Jerk]

Then I can honestly say you're wrong. I used to have eBay coils, dailyed on them for about a year, it was horrible. I tried to lie to myself and say it was ok. No it was 100% terrible and made me despise my car, I legit ***** it.

I bought D2s about a month ago and I can say its the best decision I have made so far. It genuinely made me realize how stupid I was for buying it. For a few hundred bucks more (a few weeks of saving), and you will like your decision a whole lot more.

OP don't buy eBay coils. Do it right the first time, or you will be kicking yourself for a long time until you can afford a real setup.

<3
true. having ridden in your car with both setups, there was a HUGE difference.

[skrapez]

Cutting springs > cheap coils. Same ride quality and you don't waste $400. IMO if you can't afford to lower it yet then DON'T! it's worth it to save up for quality stuff. Trust me I've ridden in all sorts of cars with all sorts of suspension setups. Usually (and I stress usually) if people on here give advice it's because they know what they are talking about... Not just some punk kid. I wish you luck with whatever you decide. Cheers!

[EtotheT]

Thanks for the great comments! I'm one of those who wants to it right the first time so I guess I'll search for an higher quality coil package. I'm not really sure whats the best quality/price deal I can do. Any suggestion?

[Kielan]

I've heard good things about Ground Control kits (they go quite low) for the E36. Not sure on price. I'd guess around 1300.

[smokenyall]

at 1st i put a set of universal ebay coilovers on my freinds jetta. it rode pretty good till the shocks blew from putting it 2 low. now the ebay coil sleeves are on the front of my other friends integra. trimmed the bump stops and still goin good today. its ben about 8 months. its an older integra ( dc2? ) but his mudflaps sit on the ground.

[JonP28]

i have racelands on my e46 and i dd the hell out of it and so far have racked up a little over 10k miles on them. only complaint i have are weak spring rates.

[smokenyall]

rokkors have a lil stiffer springs. my friend has them dumped on his mk3 jetta . rides pretty damn good for having an inch of travel up front. cuz the axles hit the frame. im ordering rokkors for my civic soon.

[Dave V]

if by "fairly good" you really mean "garbage"

No I mean fairly good, hence why I said fairly good.

There's no dampening adjustment with JOM which would be the downfall of them. I like the fact that they use standard topmounts, much more comfortable than D2 with the solid topmounts. But I wouldn't rate D2 coilovers for a daily car,I would definatley have JOM over D2 on a daily.

[soab]

I would be curious if anybody knows about a coil sleeve (ebay or not, Ima get my own springs) that will fit over a strut with a O.D. of OVER 2"? I dont have calipers to get an exact measurement but I believe its about 2 1/8" ish, and the 2 sets of sleeves I have just WONT fit. I need sleeves with a bigger I.D.

Thanks!
Alex

[StatusRacing]

Harbor Freight has calipers really cheap. No sense in ordering sleeves if you're not 100% sure on what size you need.

[B. Aust]

STs are good, I love mine, may not go as low as ground control but if you can find them for $799 shipped like I did you won't complain, ride quality is good, not bouncy and still drivable.

http://www.amimotorsports.com/store/cart.php?m=product_detail&p=2982

[Ant]

There is an eBay seller that does direct bolt in replacement coilovers, completely customisable in every way from damping, remote reservoir, spring rates, camber tops etc etc
There are a couple of people ive seen on forums running them and say they're great thus far, and a local guy has them in his touring and it sits sweet and he likes the ride though i havent been in it.

i plan to go with them myself. theyre a possibility for you if you are willing to go for it. They arent super cheap though once you option them up with damper adjust and camber tops, they come out to $1150AU so about $1300USD or so?

[Ifield]

There is an eBay seller that does direct bolt in replacement coilovers, completely customisable in every way from damping, remote reservoir, spring rates, camber tops etc etc
There are a couple of people ive seen on forums running them and say they're great thus far, and a local guy has them in his touring and it sits sweet and he likes the ride though i havent been in it.

i plan to go with them myself. theyre a possibility for you if you are willing to go for it. They arent super cheap though once you option them up with damper adjust and camber tops, they come out to $1150AU so about $1300USD or so?

I've been searching high and low for someone who went with these, I'm also planning to go with them. Did you get around to it? How did you find them if so?

[soab]

Harbor Freight has calipers really cheap. No sense in ordering sleeves if you're not 100% sure on what size you need.

Good Call, I measured the struts with calipers and it came out to be 2.17" (or 2 and 1/8 practically) and I used to have a link to bigger id coil sleeves but for the past week I have searched high and low and the only place I have found that offers bigger sleeves (turns out to be 2.17 exactly is A-1 Racing and apparently they do not ship to my area (Right next to Virginia Tech... who knows) Does anybody know of a place that sells or can get a hold of 2 1/8" or 2 1/4" coil sleeves?

Thanks!
Alex

[redciv1]

Honestly, I think the biggest problem with the less expensive coilovers is that people bolt them on and then try to ride with stock struts that are almost gone. Once you go that low on coilvers then the car will definitely ride worse with the bouncing and all. I have yet to purchase a set of coilovers for any of my projects, all daily's, but for my next one E36, if I can't find a good deal on GC's then EBAY it is for me.

[TheSandeman]

the only eBay coilover i would slightly consider is Megan Racing. Personally Racelands arent a eBay coilover TBH, they new revisions are pretty impressive and look and feel stronger. A friend bought a set of them last year for his MK5 Jetta, and just recently the GF bought hers for another MK5 and theyre noticeably different

[Granny Gold]

I've had previous experiences with cheap coilovers. I had a set of JOM's on my Focus. They cost me $400, and they were a strong "meh" at best. The were bouncy at full low, and the whole car felt soft. I have now upgraded to Ksports. While they are still on the cheaper end as far as coilovers go (About $950 new), they are MUCH better than the JOM's. They allow for adjustable dampening, and the design of them is all around much better. They ride very stiff; I have them set to the stiffest setting, and I love it.

So in a nutshell, stay away from Racelands, JOM's etc.

[Ant]

i think people confuse the terminology- technically yes a coilover simply refers to coil over spring. However in aftermarket terms for me a 'coilover' is a complete unit, spring over shock, aftermarket. OR In the case of E30s, then it is a full coilover unit front, and the separate spring & shock up back, but the spring and shock come together so work together.

Obviously any kind of sleeve kit or coilover conversion kit such as JOM will suck- you can't adjust height without offseting it with damping force and allowing for the reduced travel.

The coilovers i am talking about are complete kits/units.

Ifield- i haven't gotten them as yet just due to spending a lot of $$ on buying maintenance stuf like bushes, wishbones, tie rods, guibo etc etc. All the usual E30 stuff :P But i will be going with them when i get the money together, probably late this year or early next realistically. The guy with them on his touring is still liking them and they're holding up to daily duties :)

[Ifield]

Ifield- i haven't gotten them as yet just due to spending a lot of $$ on buying maintenance stuf like bushes, wishbones, tie rods, guibo etc etc. All the usual E30 stuff :P But i will be going with them when i get the money together, probably late this year or early next realistically. The guy with them on his touring is still liking them and they're holding up to daily duties :)

Ah cool :) chuck us a message when you get them in! Would be keen to hear what they're like. From what I can see they look the goods, and the customisation is a real plus.

[Tux]

Just to give some clarity on the situation- I have a e36 328i from 1996 and am running the newer RACELAND COILOVER KIT. When I installed them I checked very closely for design flaws and deficiancies. They seemed very simaler to the H&R coilovers I was running on a previous e36. After I installed them I took it for a short drive. They were very firm compared to OEM suspension, way less body roll, more feedback. They are a bit bouncier than the H&R coilovers I was running but that could be remedied by replacing the rear shocks (the culprits in my case). As far as tracking these coilovers I would say they ARE up to the task but would not be overly competitive. In my opinion they are appropriate for daily driving and ocasional CASUAL track use. Honestly the most disconcerning part of my experience was how little I payed!

[Red82]

if by "fairly good" you really mean "garbage"

JOM = good! (made in Germany like BMW, Mercedes Benz, VW, Audi)
garbage = or some people here say they are doing all kinds of stork legs put assembly the garbage which is not the same type!

[Snappy]

at 1st i put a set of universal ebay coilovers on my freinds jetta. it rode pretty good till the shocks blew from putting it 2 low. now the ebay coil sleeves are on the front of my other friends integra. trimmed the bump stops and still goin good today. its ben about 8 months. its an older integra ( dc2? ) but his mudflaps sit on the ground.

:rolleyes

[jungleman]

well after reading all your posts and trying to make a decision on what to get,
bearing in mind not wanting to go stupid low as my e36 is a daily drive and state laws
dont alow you to modify anything.
so ive decided to go with a set of JOM's to start with....

its just to get some ideas of what i need to do to get the height i desire and see how much rolling i need to do
so thank you guys will let you know how it goes