e36 full rear end? weld in mounts

[cooljess76]

Originally Posted by Philly

If you bought all that and then put bavauto springs underneath it, your nuts.

Lol^^^

That's exactly what I was trying to get at with the rear strut brace/subwoofer dilema. Even his wishlist is all screwy

[318tian]

i cant find the PSS kit for the ti and i didnt want an exremely rough ride right now. i drive 25 miles to college everyday. i actually was looking at h&r springs but they are a lot more expensive and id like to get a full coil over suspension when this car is no longer my daily driver. im planning on buying a 95 civic hatch to drive to school so i wont drive the hell out of my ti. and i know i can do the swap. there isnt that much too it. i put the m44 and manual tranny, driveshaft, diff, ews system, door locks swap in my car with ease. if i buy a full wrecked m3 nothing should be a problem. im also swapping part of the wiring harness to have traction control and electronic climate controls along with a e36 sedan dash. i know traction control wont be very important with an LSD and full suspension but i want it wired up right for piece of mind. i may sell the car one day to someone that wants all the m3 features on the car, every molding and accesory. besides, it brings the value of my car up a lot. and as for my sub box, what is the big deal with that? i like having a good sound system as well as a good handling ride.

[tiFreak]

Originally Posted by La.ti,racer

besides, it brings the value of my car up a lot.

no, actually, modding your car will lower the value of your car

Originally Posted by La.ti,racer

and as for my sub box, what is the big deal with that? i like having a good sound system as well as a good handling ride.

he's not picking on your sub box, he's picking on the fact that you want a rear strut brace, which has absolutely no benefit on a ti

[cooljess76]

I know, I'm one to talk. My swap has been going on for the better half of a year now while others have done it in a few days, lol. One thing I've learned though is that nothing ever goes as planned. This is one of those projects that, as someone mentioned earlier, may leave you with two parts cars. If I were you, I'd do a little more research before claiming that the Ti's rear suspension is obsolete. Heck, that's what makes these cars better than regular e36's. Don't listen to those idiots on bimmerforums. Most of them don't know sh!t about cars let alone Ti's. The only good section I've seen that's worth a crap is the FI and track section.

Being an engineering student, you should be able to appreciate the engineering that went into these cars. Trust me, the people that design BMW's for a living have more than just a little experience. A rear strut brace is pretty much useless on these cars, the benefit is minimal because the rear camber varies so much under different loads and driving conditions. That's what makes these cars corner the way they do. If your goal is to stiffen up the rear end and maintain a smooth ride, prehaps you should look into a roll cage. Notice I didn't say build a rollcage, simply look at existing designs, mounting points etc. Some here would argue that a stiff rearend is not something that you'ld want on this car. The reason being that too stiff of a rearend will give you rear wheel lift under hard cornering. That's why many of the guys who track and/or autocross the Ti disconnect the rear sway bar to better deliver the power to the ground.

I understand your need for a bigger diff and absolutely agree that it is a requirement. As stated before a dual ear diff mount kit is available. While you're in there, you may consider welding in a 1/4" steel reinforcement plate as I've seen the floorboards tear on Mcoupes and Z3's. While the Bavauto suspension kit may be economical, it just sounds funny that you're willing to do all this work, only to put a crappy suspension setup on it. There's plenty of setups that can be pieced together for about the same price. A Bilstein Sport/H&R or Eibach setup, or even better, a Koni adjustable/H&R or Eibach setup offers better performance and is worth a few extra clams if for nothing other than the warranty and service.

Perhaps with your education and training, you could better invest your time designing a sub enclosure that takes up minimal space at a reduced weight which would increase performance and cargo capacity while delivering good sound. The R&D that has went into high performance aftermarket suspension and your cars configuration has already been done for you. I doubt that you're going to outdo the people who have been doing it for decades.

You mentioned selling your Ti as well as increasing it's value. Trust me on this, you'll be lucky to get a quarter of what you put into it. Fully built S52 swapped Ti's rarely sell for over 10 grand. The turbo or supercharger setup that you plan on making 375hp with will cost as much if not more than the motor. A basic S52 swap costs roughly 4-5k IF you do all the work yourself. I've spent close to a grand on tools alone and even had to make some of my own. Besides that, you have to consider the blood, sweat and tears that goes into it.

FWIW, it may be cheaper/easier for you to buy an M3, cut off the trunk and weld a hatch onto it, lol. I know it seems like we're trying to shoot down your hopes and dreams, we're not. I'm just trying to offer a little reality to this otherwise silly idea. I'll leave you alone now, whichever route you decide to go, I hope everything works out for you. Keep us informed and post lots of pics!

[318tian]

it was just an idea. i was wondreing if anyone ever put the e36 rear end under this car and if it would be better. and obviously it isnt. i do like the butt strut that strongstrut makes a lot though. that seems like it would help a lot. the first thing i will do is get some polyurethane CABs,RSBs, and TABs. my car has 150k miles on it and my suspension is very worn out. id like to get the meyle control arms with full metal ball joints too before i lower the car any or put 17"s on it. does anyone know if there is a medium case diff with a dual ear cover that would bolt on to like an e30 LSD? i could weld in the mounts for the ears pretty easily. i dont want to pay a whole lot for a kit to do this if there is a way to get oem parts that would bolt up. would the e36 diff cover bolt to an e30 medium case diff? if so i could get the finned double ear e36 diff covre and use it. i dont see it being that easy though. does anyone know where to buy the eibach anti roll kit for the 318ti? these are cheaper than h&r and id rather have eibach. ill prolly go with h&r sports and Bilstein sports. maybe konis if they arent ridiculous in price. i just want a good suspension setup before i do the s52 swap which wont be till winter.

[mohaughn]

Originally Posted by La.ti,racer

it was just an idea. i was wondreing if anyone ever put the e36 rear end under this car and if it would be better. and obviously it isnt. i do like the butt strut that strongstrut makes a lot though. that seems like it would help a lot. the first thing i will do is get some polyurethane CABs,RSBs, and TABs. my car has 150k miles on it and my suspension is very worn out. id like to get the meyle control arms with full metal ball joints too before i lower the car any or put 17"s on it. does anyone know if there is a medium case diff with a dual ear cover that would bolt on to like an e30 LSD? i could weld in the mounts for the ears pretty easily. i dont want to pay a whole lot for a kit to do this if there is a way to get oem parts that would bolt up. would the e36 diff cover bolt to an e30 medium case diff? if so i could get the finned double ear e36 diff covre and use it. i dont see it being that easy though. does anyone know where to buy the eibach anti roll kit for the 318ti? these are cheaper than h&r and id rather have eibach. ill prolly go with h&r sports and Bilstein sports. maybe konis if they arent ridiculous in price. i just want a good suspension setup before i do the s52 swap which wont be till winter.

No, there is no way to just easily bolt up a dual ear diff, and it takes more than just welding in some tabs. The kit I mentioned before complete reinforces both tabs, and ties the differential mount points into the chassis of the car. Just welding in tabs to the sheet metal isn't going to do anything. If you are seriously wanting to consider this type of upgrade, contact Randy Forbes and expect to pay him for his expertise in this area. he isn't going to just give away his design.

[tiFreak]

Originally Posted by La.ti,racer

i do like the butt strut that strongstrut makes a lot though. that seems like it would help a lot.

it doesn't, trust me, with the type of suspension the ti has it won't make any difference at all

[mohaughn]

Originally Posted by tiFreak

it doesn't, trust me, with the type of suspension the ti has it won't make any difference at all

I think this depends on the use for the car. On a track car, any little bit of chassis stiffness and reduction in chassis flex will help the overall performance of the car. On a street car, yeah, probably not pushing the car hard enough to really get the chassis flexing..

I can say that I felt a major difference in my car after having a custom 4 point roll bar welded in that also included chassis stiffening between the rear strut towers and the rear chassis members.

[spidertri]

Originally Posted by La.ti,racer

the first thing i will do is get some polyurethane CABs,RSBs, and TABs.

You want polyurethane bushings but don't want a rough ride?? The only poly bushings you might be able to get away with without having a rough ride are the subframe bushings. Some people complain when they put the solid M3 bushings in that it is too rough...you might want to research that a bit more.

[318tian]

i dont mind a little rough but full blown race shocks/springs are a lot more rough than just stiff bushings. i have a friend with tanabe coilover suspension on his 05 civic si hatch and when he drives on bumpy roads the suspension seems to just bottom out all the time and you feel every little bump. it he paid $1000 for that setup. i drive it on the street but i dont drive like a grandma. i plan on autox later on after i get it how i want it. and the butt strut would stiffen the rear end. its made specifically for our cars and z3s.

[318RS]

There was some one around 2000-2001 that bought a new Mcoupe and did the E36 multilink conversion successfully. I heard it was in a magazine but don't know which one, I would like to see it though... Although I agree with eveyone here in that it is probably not worth all the money it would take.

But it is not that outlandish of an idea... I believe BMW did use this rearend to save money and the multilink would make the car more stable in hard cornering and braking. In theory the multilink rear end is less likely to become unsettled at the limit during race/track like conditions compared to the semi trailing arms.

With that said many people criticize the old Porsche 911 torsion bar rearend for it could become unsettled at the limit resulting in snap oversteer... But when you mastered the technique required to drive it fast it is one of the funnest experiences on four wheels. I'm imagining the Ti might be the same. In the near future I will be finding out personally

[318RS]

Also it is my understanding that the MZ trailing arms are beefier than the regular Z3 and Ti and have been told it is probably easier to weld reinforcements that replicate the MZ trailing arms... I'm still learning about this stuff...

[b-rad]

New question:
How do you plan to hit this 375whp goal of yours?

[318tian]

im thinking 8 psi on an s52 with some other goodies outta do the trick. i want to turbo it but im not gonna try to blow it up.

[cooljess76]

in case you're interested:
http://forums.bimmerforums.com/forum....php?t=1232468

http://forums.bimmerforums.com/forum....php?t=1237169

http://forums.bimmerforums.com/forum....php?t=1231698

oh and, passenger side upper/lower control arms, halfshaft and rear swaybar w/links will be listed tomorrow