Shocks & Springs

[fred.larsen]

My ti Active is stock right down to the all-season tires, and Iím itching to get some more performance from it. Iím planning on replacing the shocks and springs, and swapping the stock 15s for some light-weight 17s wrapped by higher performance rubber.

I also want to drop and stiffen up the suspension a bit, but not to the point where Iíll have to baby the car up every driveway. I want to give auto-x a try, but this will remain my daily drive.

Can anyone offer a testimonial on how well H&R Sport Springs and Bilstein Sport Shocks work on a 318ti? How well does the car handle on and (as important) off the track?

Thanks!

[This message has been edited by fred.larsen (edited 04-10-2001).]

[1996 328ti]

The Sport Springs will drop it a bit but probably not enough to scrape speed bumps. You will need to watch for steep driveways though.

Another option is to find someone selling their stock sport springs.

If you are planning to track the car I wouldn't lower it too much until you can drive to the limits of the suspension. A lowered car will mask your mistakes.

[fred.larsen]

Steve, thanks for your input. I was initially going to start with a wheel/tire upgrade since the BMWCCA rules state I must have at least V rated tires ñ my stock all seasons only have an R rating. I was told on a couple occasions that I should upgrade the suspension first so Iíd know how much space I have for the tires. While my new tires will be pretty much the same diameter as the current ones, it may make a difference on the width of tire the suspension/fenders will accept.

Iíd like to put 17î BBS RK wheels on, feeling the lower profile will help performance and the lightweight RKs would help my 4-banger get up to speed. Iíve hear that BMW, while not recommending anything over 16î, suggests upgrading the suspension before going to 17î and beyond. Not sure why however.

Any input on wheel widths? Iíd like to run 235s, and heard I can run 215s without rolling my fenders. Do I need to roll the fenders for 225s? Is anyone running different widths on front and back ñ Iím looking at Potenza RE730s, and I guess that would eliminate the possibility of rotating the (unidirectional) tires.

[Ray Pruitt]

Fred,
I am currently running a 225/45 17 wheel and tire combination on my 98 Sport. Sorry I can't offer any advice on the H&R and Bilstein you asked about. However, I have done some suspension work to include Eibach Pro Kit springs, Koni Sport adjustable struts and shocks, and an Eibach sway bar kit (F&R). The springs dropped my front significantly (my rubber is tucked under pretty good). I didn't roll my fenders and I haven't had any problems with tire scrub and have made every attempt to make them scrub. With the upgrades I made the car is a whole new animal. It corners like mad at speed. It is really hard to get the car out of shape in the corners. On the downside though, the stiffer rear swaybar recently broke loose. One of the U brackets that attach the rear sway bar to the swing arm broke. It basically ripped apart. In addition to that the extra tension provided by the swaybar has rolled the ears down on both rear swingarms. I'm putting the OE swaybar back on until I can figure some way to strenthen the attachment points. Hope this helps.
Ray