Making List of suspension points to reinforce.

[pdxmotorhead]

Ok so I can't find a "list" of what points need reinforcing, so far I found,,,

Primary upgrades:
1. Solid front bushings.
2. Non rubber mounted Ball Joints.
3. Reinforce Rear Sway bar tabs.
4. Upper Rear shock mounts.

Secondary Upgrades.
1. X-brace
2. Rear undercarrage brace.

Finishing touches:
1. Heavier sway bars.
2. Full shock strut kit.
3. Spring kit.

[cali-ti]

you'll have a number of different choices on front control arm bushings (assuming that's what "solid front bushings" refers to). my mechanic (who also race preps and races 318s) suggested the e30 m3 CABs (still rubber, but harder and he said he's never seen them fail - i also have mine as a daily driver). there are urethane bushings, centered or offset (e30 ones are offset, believe someone else commented somewhere that it makes it a little more stable - hopefully someone can explain this more in simple terms and/or correct me if what i just said is wrong) ... i think delrin ones are available too.

the "butt strut" (not the official name, but its nickname) from strong strut (www.strongstrut.com, look for Z3 rear strut bar) would be my recommendation for "rear undercarriage brace." not cheap, but there are some people who would consider going in on a group buy at some future point (maybe 6 months from now for me personally) ... i know L84thsky was interested.

if you choose lowering springs, i would also very much consider putting on a camber kit. i know bavauto.com and bmpdesign.com both offer them. bmpdesign for some reason doesn't list the front kit for our car even though it should be exactly the same as the other 6-cyl 3ers, go figure. front and back would be about $600. otherwise you'll have really nice negative camber like me :( you might want to consider stiffer springs that offer little to no lowering (if you can find them) or a coilover kit that offers a highest point of adjustment in the perches that results in little to no drop. another thing to consider in lowering your car ... you very well might not be able to get under it any more! i used to be able to change my oil without raising the car at all (yes, on a flat garage floor) and now i have to get up on ramps. oh yeah, my regular car ramps wouldn't work any more either after i lowered it, even with the extension kit i got which makes the angle shallower, the front bumper cover would STILL hit. had to fashion mods out of 2 x 10 pressure treated wood to make it all the way up to the top without hitting. AND i have to be careful of many things i didn't before now because it sits lower (speed bumps, driveway entrances, ice/snow chunks during winter that are of any significant size, etc). personally after all this, i'm wondering if lowering is really worth it. just my humble opinion.

[maurolin]

sway bar links
front and rear stess bars (strut bar)
traling arm bushings
rear and front sub frame bushings
tranny bushings
diff bushings
control arm bushings
sway bar bushings
rear shock mounts

[marcus2116]

i had a custom x brace made for my car that goes from the c pillar to the seat belt spools

[pdxmotorhead]

What I'm trying to do is create a simple FAQ of the progression
of what really needs done to a 318 ti to make a nice handling street
fun car. I fix a lot of cars at the track that have been developed in
the wrong order, (Example: too much tire for the suspention.)

Primary upgrades: (Tighten up the car and make more reliable.)
1. Reinforced Upper Rear shock mounts.
2. Solid Rubber (M3) front bushings.
3. Non rubber mounted Ball Joints.
4. Reinforce Rear Sway bar tabs.
5. Sway bar bushings front and rear.

Secondary Upgrades. (Stiffen the chassis a bit)
1. X-brace
2. Rear undercarrage brace.
3. Tranny and Differential Bushing upgrade.

Finishing touches: (Take advantage of the chassis improvements.)
1. Heavier sway bars.
2. Full shock strut kit.
3. Street sport Spring kit. (Coil over or Just springs...Hmm?)
4. + size tires and wheels.

Any others?

Dave

[maurolin]

Roll bars, sway bar links, front and rear strut/shock bars, wheel spacers, training wheels,

[cali-ti]

as maurolin mentioned, trailing arm bushings, possibly subframe bushings (don't know if there are drawbacks to using urethane for any of these). i haven't done any of these yet so i can't really comment. i AM planning on doing urethane trailing arm bushings (as part of a camber kit). i guess one may want/need a camber kit too (if drop is significant).

looks nice dave. btw, where was this list when i was starting my mods man? :p

[pdxmotorhead]

Every marque has its productive mods and those that may have
cool factor but don't improve and maybe actually hurt handling.
Focus here is the basic through more advanced mods for a street car.
I'm holding mods to performance increases with minimal impact
on the comfort of driving the car. Track level/ Autocross is beyond
the intended scope.

Primary upgrades: (Tighten up the car and make more reliable.)
1. Reinforced Upper Rear shock mounts.
2. Solid Rubber (M3) front bushings.
3. Non rubber mounted front Ball Joints.
4. Reinforce Rear Sway bar tabs.
5. Sway bar bushings front and rear.

Secondary Upgrades. (Stiffen the chassis a bit)
1. X-brace
2. Front strut tower brace.
3. Rear undercarrage brace.
4. Tranny and Differential Bushing upgrade.
5. Firm subframe bushings. (Whats the best material? Delrin? Urathane?)

Finishing touches: (Take advantage of the chassis improvements.)
1. Heavier sway bars.
2. Full shock & strut set. (Koni or Bilstien)
3. Street sport Spring kit. (Coil over or Just springs...Hmm?)
4. Camber kit if lowering springs are installed.
5. + size tires and wheels.

Any others?
I flagged things with colored comments that I'm firuring out....
I place the strut brace a bit higher because I've found that a
lot of different track cars show fatigue signs in areas that are likely
due to strut tower flex. IE Leaky Windshields, seams that leak, and I
give it a bump for the cool factor cause you can see it when you work
on the car... :)

Dave

[cali-ti]

lol ... ****, are we BORG now dave??? hmmmm, kinda sounds like HAL from 2001: "What are you doing, Dave?" i digress ...

i don't deem strut/shock tower braces as primary upgrades (per your definition, and i like your definitions and upgrade concept). from what i've read (i don't have them myself), they should be in the finishing touches section. the return on your investment for those is nowhere near what say the x-brace would be. i think i would put that literally last in the list (not last in the category, last in the list).

RSM (rear shock mounts) are a common failure point. i would move those up in category 1 ... say to the number 3 position. other than that, i like the list, the order and you for putting this together :)

[95isTurbo]

I have stock suspension and my rear springs have cracked off little pieses (now rear dropped "1.0 and my RSM poped, so before anything RSM THEN springs THEN all the other crap ,

[pdxmotorhead]

I updated the list based on the feedback, Still looking for lessons learned form the experienced owners...

Dave

[wolfgang20878]

In terms of time and money, here's my recollection--after taking a driver's ed class--since some projects are easiest to do all at once, like front springs/struts/control arms. I'm looking at what Dinan has for the 318is....

1. +1 size tires and wheels
2. Street sport spring kit with
3. Reinforced Upper Rear shock mounts w/ Bilstein Sports/Koni dampers
4. Front strut bearings (different types)/ w/ Bilstein Sports/Koni front strut dampers
5. Solid Rubber (M3) front control arm bushings and
6. New oem or non-rubber mounted ball joints (Meyle rubber/steel? Urethane?)
7. Heavier sway bars (27 or 28 fr/18-20 rear) and
8. Sway bar bushings front and rear. sway bar links
9. front and rear stress bars (strut bar)
10. Reinforce Rear Sway bar tabs.
11. X-brace
12.Rear undercarrage brace.
13. rear and front sub frame bushings
14. Tranny and Differential Bushing upgrade.
15. trailing arm bushings

[assaf_shalvi]

i was driving my car when all of a sudden i felt the left rear side acting wierd.
i looked at the shock observer and the bottom of it was off the bolt. the bolt is still there...
this a recently installed bilstien...
any one knows how this could have happen? any similar experience? any solution?
thanks
Assaf Shalvi
95' compact manual m43

[J!m]

i don't deem strut/shock tower braces as primary upgrades (per your definition, and i like your definitions and upgrade concept). from what i've read (i don't have them myself), they should be in the finishing touches section. the return on your investment for those is nowhere near what say the x-brace would be. i think i would put that literally last in the list (not last in the category, last in the list).

I disagree. I noticed a marked improvement when I installed my strut tower brace.The common off-camber windshield 'creak' went away. What more evedince could you need?

Also, add to the list two very cheap insurance items:

Z3 reinforcing plate (rear shock mount) 51.71.8.413.359 ?
Front strut tower reinforcing plates 31.31.2.489.795 $10.00

[cali-ti]

I disagree. I noticed a marked improvement when I installed my strut tower brace.The common off-camber windshield 'creak' went away. What more evedince could you need?
that same "windshield creak" is what the x-brace is supposed to eliminate (and why they put it on the convertibles from the factory, right?

did you already have the x-brace when you installed the strut tower brace? that would certainly be telling if you did.

[cali-ti]

i was driving my car when all of a sudden i felt the left rear side acting wierd.
i looked at the shock observer and the bottom of it was off the bolt. the bolt is still there...
this a recently installed bilstien...
any one knows how this could have happen? any similar experience? any solution?
thanks
Assaf Shalvi
95' compact manual m43
what do you mean "off the bolt"? was the nut for the bolt for the bottom of the shock there? if not, then it sounds like the nut loosened over time and fell off, then the shock came off the bolt. any idea if it was torqued to the proper spec?

[J!m]

I have both; I'm not sure what happened first, but I did notice the elimination of that nasty windshield creak when the strut brace was installed.

The X-brace was developed for firewall shake in the convertables.

[weezer]

I'm seriously thinking of upgrading the rear shock mounts, since we all know what happens to the E36 rear floor when the shock mounts fail and start to tear.
This might be a stupid question, but our rear suspensions (318ti) are that of the E30 design and set-up. Does this change at all or is the 318ti the exception to the E36 infamous mallady?
If we still hav eto worry about this, has anyone here (God forbid) have had this problem?
How do we prevent this from happening? New OEM shock mounts or aftermarket mounts such as BMP's or Turner's?

[DustenT]

I've read through this thread and I'm still confused about what I should replace up front. I just want to "freshen up" the front end, not upgrade the hell out of it.

It going to keep the stock sway bars for now. I have HR sports and bilstein sports already. I'm using stock rubber ball joints, but there are crap.

Should I get the meryl control arms with ball joints installed, and the control arm bushing? Or just replace the ball joints with the metal ones? Do the control arms wear out? Or what is the reason for replacing?

[cali-ti]

the steel control arms won't wear out. you'd only need to replace them if they got bent or something (or showed some signs of stress). the reason i'd go for the whole arm is that you're going to have to remove the old ones and press in the new ones. if you're paying a shop to do this, it'll end up costing about the same anyway ... ease of install :)

according to sheridan, the recommendation for replacing control arms every couple years was for the aluminum ones (which cost more too!). he's been tracking his car with the steel arms for a number of years with no issues (he even still has the stock ball joints).

[DustenT]

Thanks cali-ti. Where is the best place to buy the control arm/ball joints? Bavauto has them, but they are usually more expensive than everyone else. I also need to replace my window regulators and some other parts, so I'm trying to find a place that sells it all.

Should I run the treehouse offset bushings too? Where can I buy those?

[cali-ti]

i think they may have one of the best prices. you could check e-bay, but likely you won't be able to get all your stuff there in one place.

i believe you can get the treehouse racing arms directly from there or from bimmerworld.com (which may or may not have the other stuff you want too).

as to whether or not to get them, that's up to you. check your PMs as i responded to the one you sent me. other than what i had in there, i can't advise you any more since i haven't personally used them :(

[L84THSKY]

I think my rear camber kit consists of new subframe bushings. Isn't that part of the what makes up the BavAuto rear camber kit?

as maurolin mentioned, trailing arm bushings, possibly subframe bushings (don't know if there are drawbacks to using urethane for any of these). i haven't done any of these yet so i can't really comment. i AM planning on doing urethane trailing arm bushings (as part of a camber kit). i guess one may want/need a camber kit too (if drop is significant).

looks nice dave. btw, where was this list when i was starting my mods man? :p

[cali-ti]

bavauto (and other kits) are trailing arm bushings only. subframe bushings won't change your camber (at least they better not :)).

[L84THSKY]

My mistake. I meant trailing arm bushings.:tongue:

bavauto (and other kits) are trailing arm bushings only. subframe bushings won't change your camber (at least they better not :)).

[RidingSimple]

Good thread.
In my opinion (from owning 5 E36's, I'd replace suspension items in this order).

1) Quality shocks (add lowering springs if lowering is your goal)
2) RSMs with Z3 reinforcement plates
3) Solid front control arm bushings (M3 stock, delrin, urethane, whatever)
4) Front/Rear Swaybar end links (these wear out and are super cheap to replace)
5) X-Brace
6) Front/Rear upgraded sway bars
7) Full rear bushing ovehaul, subframe, trailing arm, and differential (major $$$$ if you pay for someone else to do this though)
8) Finish up with new front ball joints (or M3 spec front control arms which have the upgraded ball joints already in them), inner/outer tie rods, front strut brace (rear does nothing)

[Mallard]

heres my cheap and nasty recipie :)

E46 M3 Frontstrut mounts , Rotated to give camber
Powerflex Wishbonebushes (can also get E36 M3 3.0 bshes with added camber if you dont rotate topmounts)
E30 Solid fixed balljoint wishbones (same as M3 but without the camber correction)
adjustable droplinks from FK / eibach / UUC..

Xbrace fixed at all points

Powerflex swingarm bushes
Powerflex rear beam bushes
E46 Cabrio RSMs (BMW orig only)
Z3 reinforcement plates
Powerflex Diff bush

Antiroll bars are a question of preferance to which make is used, but are recommended in any case

Its not a top notch mega bucks selection, but ive read about these many a time from other posters, and they were m ore than happy with the results :)

[KSKarl]

On my car one of the bolts holding the front sway bar bushing broke out of the attachment on the subframe. That will be my first thing to reinforce...

[zoner]

Can the M3 strut mounts be used on the ti? If so, what are the advantages to doing so? Better/different geometry? Beefier mounts? Both?

[J!m]

Yes.

They give additional caster for better high speed stability.

Beefy-er? Maybe. At least slightly I would guess but the bearing appears to be the same dimensions.

Use the strut top reinforcement plates regardless of what else you do.

[zoner]

Re: M3 strut bearings- I see different part numbers listed for the 1995 M3 3.0L and the 1996-99 M3 3.2L. I have a 1995 ti M42- would either one still work and what is the difference?

[J!m]

Interesting... I know the LCAs and LCA bushings are different due to a geometry change in '96 but was not aware of the top bearing change...

The caster angle is the same, just achieved a different way on the bottom, so I don't know what the change could be.

If there is a big price difference, I'd go with the less expensive option. If the difference is small in price, I'd go with the newer design (96-up)

[spidertri]

Re: M3 strut bearings- I see different part numbers listed for the 1995 M3 3.0L and the 1996-99 M3 3.2L. I have a 1995 ti M42- would either one still work and what is the difference?

'96+ M strut mounts (E36 M3 and MZ3) will give ~2 deg of camber when you swap them from left to right. This is very well documented on bimmerforums, make sure when you install them that you have them on the correct sides if you want the extra camber.

[J!m]

'96+ M strut mounts (E36 M3 and MZ3) will give ~2 deg of camber when you swap them from left to right. This is very well documented on bimmerforums, make sure when you install them that you have them on the correct sides if you want the extra camber.

Interesting bit of information!

[96318ticali]

This is an excellent list. Just what a new owner like myself needs. Thanks for all the great info.

[jca]

I experienced improvement after I installed a front strut tower brace, then more improvement after I installed the x brace, then still more improvement after installing a rear strut tower brace. I installed the pieces in the above order. Front brace and x brace seemed to generated equal amounts of improvement. The rear brace, a little less. John

[MINIz guy]

I am starting to be a believe of strut tower braces.

Reading the autocross forums, the E36 guys say that it takes their jack a few less pumps to get a tire off the ground with a front strut tower brace. I can only image the effect we would get when using a rear shock tower brace since we have an open hatch design.

Now, what are the cheapest most effect tower braces?
I know of the Sparco one for the front at $130. Are there any cheaper ones?
What is a cheap one for the back?

[BlackBMWs]

I paid $40 for a nice shiny used rear strut brace and $40 each for new ones, not so shiny on eBay for two ti's and a E36 sedan. Easy decision purchase as they help add rigidity. I'd like a Mason rear bar, but out of my current budget. :cool:

[KSKarl]

I am starting to be a believe of strut tower braces.

Now, what are the cheapest most effect tower braces?
I know of the Sparco one for the front at $130. Are there any cheaper ones?
What is a cheap one for the back?

Cheapest is to make your own from a scrap of electrical conduit, like I did for my old e12. Just hammer the ends flat and drill to pick up the shock mount bolts. That straight steel tube is much stiffer than a curved aluminum bar.

[M GmbH]

I’m finally getting back to my Ti track/Lemons car build after having a child & building a home and have a few questions about my suspension plans. About 5 years ago I started buying front end parts for this car and want to make sure I’m getting everything to match up
correctly. I am setting up the front to be like an M3. My original plans are use E30 M3 aluminum lower control arms with offset lollipops but I’m not sure if my ‘96-99 E36 M3 knuckles will mess up the geometry?

Shopping around the other day I noticed a E46 lower control arms set up that is supposed to increase front end track & maybe shed some weight with aluminum control arms. Has anyone tried this out yet?

[J!m]

Easiest solution for an M3 front suspension is to install an M3 front suspension.

It all bolts in.

Aluminum LCAs are nice but wear out faster than their cast iron counterparts. If you have a good budget; plan for annual replacement.

You can increase wheelbase a bit by mixing the pre-96 offset bushings with the post-95 LCAs. You push the front wheels forward about 3/4 inch and obviously increase caster along with it.

Don’t forget the X-brace.

[StoneWheelRacing]

Looking for a way around the exorbitant prices of used Z3M LCAs.

I know its a bit off topic but I'm wondering if Z3M rear bearings and hub will mount into non M Ti rear lower control arms? I suspect not. To go way out on a limb can the spindle castings be bored out to hold those bearings??

Seems to me if either of those is possible you can then use the vented rotors without dropping the big money on LCAs.

Is the M outer CV joint splined shaft a larger diameter also?

[J!m]

It's just not worth it.

If you own a machine shop and place no value on your time, I guess it could work, since track width is the same, but the M Roadster/ M Coupe rear sub frame is stronger; the trailing arms are stronger; the half shafts are stronger; the diff is stronger; the brakes are bigger etc. Tone rings are different, so the spindle housing will end machining... Probably 20 other things, like using the MZ3 halfshafts.

Yeah, it's a grand, or two these days, but you get everything in one neat package.

I've looked at it a few times over the years and it's a false economy for sure to try and cut these corners.

[StoneWheelRacing]

I was fishing, for sure it would be alot of T/E. I did find someone who didn't strip the rear chassis yet to sell the bits separately but he wants $4250 for the whole assembly. He said $1000 per LCA alone. Someone else wanted $8k. He said $3-$4 for the LCAs alone.

Just curious, how much wider is the track width on the M rear chassis and where exactly is it, in the positioning of the LCA pivot mounts?

[StoneWheelRacing]

Anyone have more details on the differences in subframe widths or track width? How much wider or narrower is the track width on the M rear chassis vs the Non-M Z and where exactly is it. Is in the positioning of the LCA pivot mounts?

[J!m]

The M subframe is the same track width as the ti and other E36 cars with the multi-link suspension.

The non-M Z cars have a wider track, to accommodate narrower tires under the same Rear quarters.