coil overs for e36 BMW coupé

[Sander]

Hi guys

I am from Denmark, so plese overlook any misspellings

I'm about to buy my first drift car, but the budget is not a high as I could have wished for, and i am therefore trying to make a budget over all the expences.

The car is most likely going to be a E36 325i coupé, as i can get one pretty cheap.

I would really like a set of coilovers to the beemer, but at a reasonable price.
I considered Mac Johns G-Maxx (only £375 but it is only heigh adjusteble), and some Turner Motorsport Camber Plates to be able to adjust the camber. I would also buy some bushings?

Do any one know this coilcovers, and am I a complete fool for considering a coilcovers set that only are height adjustble, will the springs not be rigid enough?

schould i rather buy some upgrate springs or something, or have you any recomandations for other coilcovers at about same price, or a bit more expensive.

I hope you will welcome a foreigner, and help me out, so i can start to have some sideways fun

[Daddy_D]

Those G-Max and Spax will be so shit pal. Can you find out what prices are like for FK Automotive coilovers in your country? I know people in Central and Eastern Europe have rated them well for it's price and performance. Either way if you can't get your hands on anything else, coilovers will be always better than standard shocks and springs. They weigh a lot less too. Tuner Motorsport is something I try to stay away from because of it's prices. M3 3.2l top mounts is what you want to get which will give you plenty of camber. Invest in rear camber arms instead (US ebay 150$ delivered).

[Sander]

okay thanks then i'll stay away from them. what about the coilcovers only being height adjustble, i do not remember fk having coilcovers where you can adjust the hardness, is it okay to have coilcovers that only are height adjsustble?

[Bon Bon]

FK are supposed to be crap too, the more expensive ones use Konis, but then they're the same money as better ones so...

Order of goodness, Bilstein, then Eibach, then I guess KW, and actually the G-Maxx ones (or generic chrome with red/blue bits on Ebay) are supposed to be pretty good if a little soft. For camber/caster use M3 lower bushings and M3 Evo original topmounts but mounted on opposite sides of the car for more negative camber and max caster.

[Sander]

.....

[Sander]

what about products like Ksport Slide Kontrol Drift or D2 racing, they are going to set my back about £800-850, and they are fully adjusteble. There are also Tein superdrift.

I have changed my view on suspension and have desided to use some extra cash (£800-1000) i order to get a fully adjusteble set of coilcovers, just spare exhaust and parts like that the 325i proberly have enough power for a beginner.

so would you go for a Tein superdrift, Ksport slide kontrol drift or d2 racing?
I do not really know if Bilstein or Eibach have any fully adjustble sets of coilcovers with in £800-1000, but if they have is that the way to go?

I think Ksport slide kontrol drift is the cheapest, but will i be pleased with the quallity?

again thanks for helping

and what about Driftworks Control System Coilovers, any chance that they will be available for the E36?

[MJG]

Just stick to bilstein/eibach or top end FK/KW coilovers. Don't bother with the japanese stuff as they are often just extremely stiff and then branded as "drift".

K-sport have a bad reputation for quality.

Driftworks coilovers are fantastic but don't think it's worth their while having them made unless they are likely to sell a lot.

[Bon Bon]

KSport and D2 are rubbish, not worth it. Why buy Tein when you can get Eibachs and Bilsteins developed in Europe for the European car? To be frank.

The non-adjustable damping eibach prostreets are better than any cheap crap adjustable set, and Bilstein PSS9s are the bomb.

Control Systems won't be available for E36 I'm afraid, but we've used Bilsteins as our benchmark for a good handling car so... you get the picture.

Oh, FYI, Eibach's use Bilstein dampers, or at least they always used to, it's what I had on my M3 drift car...

[Cyruz]

Nob Nob what are your thoughts on the Gaz coilovers?

[jason b]

The other bonus with bilstein gear is that you can get the dampers revalved very easily at a later date when you understand more about suspension and know exactly what you need to sort the car.

[Bon Bon]

Never used Gaz and don't reaalllly know a hell of a lot about them!

[Sander]

does it matter that the damping on the eibach prostreets is not adjustble if would like to use it so regular racing as well (fx bmw club race).

if i buy the eibach prostreet s will I then after some time regret that id not use the extra cash on the PSS9s? or will they do just fine for a long time, they are pretty stiff right?

[Two_Sheds]

I have Eibach Pro Streets on my car and it is the best handling car I've ever driven, feels so balanced and composed all the time, spot on for drifting, if perhaps a touch soft. If you can afford PSS9s then go for them, but don't worry about Pro Streets not being adjustable, they're nigh on perfect out of the box.

[Daddy_D]

Listen to those guys they know what they are talking about ^^^

Just to sum up all that has been said. If you are going for the 300GBP coilover range then brands like FK Automotive, SPAX, G-Max won't offer fully adjustable suspension and for that price either the springs will be too soft, or the shocks will be too soft, and the second is worst as you can't adjust them.

The second range is japanese brands like Tein, D2, Ksport...etc. They have lower price tags compared to KW and Bilstein, but I learned the easy way by reading a lot of people with experience, and they tend to fail altough Tein has now been improved. Don't get me wrong if you buy Jap I'm 100% sure you will be happy, but like BonBon said I rather buy Bilstein or Eibach that have been developed for german/european cars. BMW might be one of them. Hence why if I get a Nissan I won't purchase Bilstein but Tein or Kei Office instead. Not to mention last time I looke at there website, Tein only do suspension for one european car and that just happened to be BMW E36 M3. I'd like to see MJG getting Teins on his E30! LOL

The last range is higher priced stuff like Bilstein, Eibach, KW. KW no longer make springs and Bilstein no longer make shocks. I will avoid PSS9 because they are very expensive altough the best probably. In US most track cars run KW Variant 3, Ground Control and sometimes TMS (Turner).

To make a conclusion, you don't want to spend 800-1000GBP on coilovers. I run Eibach Pro-Street-S (S for stainless) and they cost me about 550GBP with lots of begging. As I said the springs are Eibach and the shocks are KW (it's all written), they are very very stiff! You will not be disappointed and you will save money to go towards other parts like rear camber arms as I mentioned.

I hope this makes sens and helps.

[Sander]

tanks for the big help guys, now I know what to look for

i'll post a shot of the bimmer when i have bought it.

[sammysideways]

i know pro streets are the bomb but what do people think of koni? had them before and thought they were ok.

[sammysideways]

anyone? found a set of cheap koni's and have heard good things, i may give them a try even if rear is non height adjustable

[doughnutter]

Gaz coilovers are good TBH, Pax had them on his Lydd winning car