E46 OE sport springs on ti?

[vwcraig]

Hi all,

I am looking for some feedback on coil spring fitment on my 98 ti. I was wondering if anyone had info on fitment of E46 325ci sport springs on the 318ti. 3 of my factory springs are cracked and I need to get it patched up to pass a vehicle inspection here in PA. I really do not want to lower the car with the terrible roads I drive everyday and dealer replacements are $500+ for both rears and 1 front spring. A friend has offered up a set of 325ci springs that he ditched for aftermarket stuff after 3,000 miles. Will his factory springs fit on my 98?

[tiFreak]

I really doubt they do fit, look around the classifieds here and see if you can find someone parting a car out who still has the springs

[campaiar]

I replied to your other thread as well. I have the fronts for sale of my 1998 Sport.

http://www.318ti.org/forum/showthread.php?t=29940

I'm sure someone around here has some OEM rears as well.

[vwcraig]

I did find out yesterday that the fronts from a E46 325ci sport will not work. The springs were shorter, which wasn't an issue, but the diameter of the springs were smaller at the very top and bottom. The rubber insulators were too big to fit the E46 springs and the top hat and bottom strut perch were too big as well. The rears would have worked out fine. I guess I am on the hunt for genuine ti stuff.....

On a side note, at the same time I had the strut off, I replaced the lower outer ball joint with the HD all-metal replacement from Mayle. I destroyed the factory one getting it out, but the Mayle replacement pressed right in with no trouble. No need to replace the entire control arm and the ball joint was $45 from a foreign parts store here in town.

[tiFreak]

just something to remember, just because a spring physically fits doesn't mean it works, the E46 weighs considerably more than the ti so the spring rates would have been way off