e36 328 ownership experience

[Lee36328]

As fate would have it, just picked up a flat tire. And since I recently reached the warning level on my Eagle F1s in the rear, guess it's time for a new set of tires to go with this mod. Mmm, mmm!

QuickSave USJ7, here I come!

 

[Lee36328]

Just took the car down the SILK highway via the NSE. Tank light was on, so had to top up with with VPower 97 because VPower Racing was not availably in my local Shell station. Pick up will be slightly toned down.

This is the first time I took it down a highway at a decent pace.

In a word, WOW.

Even with Vpower 97 instead of Vpower Racing, there is noticeably less delay between tapping your right foot and feeling the torque in your butt compared to before the reinforcement.

With the previous flex in the softening/cracking rear suspension tower totally removed, the rear now feels like one solid piece, taking corners with hardly any roll. As a result, the accuracy with which you can place the rear tires round a corner is grin-inducingly addictive.

 

[Lee36328]

Guys,

from surfing the net, it seems that the rear shock tower is a known weak point for E36.

Some of the damage I found from the net include these pictures (not my car, fortunately!)

To help prevent this type of damage, which is especially critical if your ride is lower, on stiffer springs and/or absorbers, installing a reinforcement plate like this is a must.

It's probably a good idea to reinforce the front struts tower as well.

 

[Lee36328]

For the front, the e36 can use the reinforcement plate from the Z3 M and the e36 M3 (same part).

It looks like this, and goes underneath the front shock tower.

Here's the part number: 31312489795

I have ordered a pair.

 

[Lee36328]

Bought a pair of GY Eagle F1 (front set was still ok, rotated to the back, new set goes to the front.)

The price was ok, RM580++. Comes with free balancing.

But man, those young boys at QuickSave did not do a good job with the balancing. Also overinflated my tires at 37 psi. Should be around 33 or 34. Damn bumpy.

Am at Ah Ming's place now, at Old Klang Road, doing my alignment and re-balancing, followed by 33 psi of nitrogen. Then I should be set to go!

 

[blackcategory]

ouchhh.... i think strut bar doesnt help on this...

 

[2wenty6]

Bought a pair of GY Eagle F1 (front set was still ok, rotated to the back, new set goes to the front.)

Aren't new tires supposed to be on the driven wheels?

ouchhh.... i think strut bar doesnt help on this...

Strut bar and the rear shock tower bar actually serves the same purpose of reinforcing the strut and shock towers (which are known weak points on the e36 chassis), in addition to providing additional chassis rigidity.

 

[Lee36328]

Aren't new tires supposed to be on the driven wheels?

I like to have soft fresh tires in front, where I can feel them in the steering wheels.

Also, the thinking was, the rear will wear faster, so swapping the slightly worn front tires to the back will refresh the tires at a faster rate.

Usually, this is not an issue because I would change all four at once. But with the Eagle F1, the front were still in good tread condition.

 

[2wenty6]

I like to have soft fresh tires in front, where I can feel them in the steering wheels.

Also, the thinking was, the rear will wear faster, so swapping the slightly worn front tires to the back will refresh the tires at a faster rate.

Usually, this is not an issue because I would change all four at once. But with the Eagle F1, the front were still in good tread condition.

Just highlighting that it could potentially alter the balance of the vehicle and give it a dangerous tendency to oversteer if worn tires are mounted on the rear wheels, and having grippy new tires up front.

Obviously you know what you're doing :top:
I'm just throwing this out there because I realized a few tire shops just go by the new-tire-up-front rule of thumb and are sometimes ignorant of the driven wheels - probably more a technician fault than the shop in general..

 

[Lee36328]

Just highlighting that it could potentially alter the balance of the vehicle and give it a dangerous tendency to oversteer if worn tires are mounted on the rear wheels, and having grippy new tires up front.

Obviously you know what you're doing :top:
I'm just throwing this out there because I realized a few tire shops just go by the new-tire-up-front rule of thumb and are sometimes ignorant of the driven wheels - probably more a technician fault than the shop in general..

That's a good point to bear in mind, thanks for pointing it out.

The front does not wear the tires down as much as the rear. So, toward the end, the rear has worn out a lot while the front was still quite fresh.

Now, with a new pair installed at the front, and the front recycled to the rear, we have the same configuration again, with the front having slightly more tread than the rear.

So, I don't expect much change in the behaviour of the car.

I am now getting annoyed with a persistent vibration from the front. Checked the wheel bearing and ball joints, they were ok. Ah Ming did a thorough on-wheel balancing (although he did not rotate my tires on the rim like I asked and instead put two dozen weights on the rim, the obdurate git!) and guess what? Still vibrates. Going to go back to do the alignment to see if that helps. If not, I suspect possibly shock absorber mounts.

 

[NewBeemw]

For the front, the e36 can use the reinforcement plate from the Z3 M and the e36 M3 (same part).

It looks like this, and goes underneath the front shock tower.

Here's the part number: 31312489795

I have ordered a pair.

Hi there, how much did it cost you for the part? Planning to get it for my car. Thank you.

 

[Lee36328]

Hi there, how much did it cost you for the part? Planning to get it for my car. Thank you.

I've just ordered, so I don't know the price yet. Will post it up when I get the bill.

I don't expect it to be expensive though, because it's less than 10 USD on realoem.

 

[Lee36328]

That's a good point to bear in mind, thanks for pointing it out.

The front does not wear the tires down as much as the rear. So, toward the end, the rear has worn out a lot while the front was still quite fresh.

Now, with a new pair installed at the front, and the front recycled to the rear, we have the same configuration again, with the front having slightly more tread than the rear.

So, I don't expect much change in the behaviour of the car.

I am now getting annoyed with a persistent vibration from the front. Checked the wheel bearing and ball joints, they were ok. Ah Ming did a thorough on-wheel balancing (although he did not rotate my tires on the rim like I asked and instead put two dozen weights on the rim, the obdurate git!) and guess what? Still vibrates. Going to go back to do the alignment to see if that helps. If not, I suspect possibly shock absorber mounts.

Went to Raymond's. Found that the wheel bearing was noisy (both left and right) when the car was hoisted up and the tires spun by hand. A clearly audible "shuck shuck shuck shuck" sound can be heard from the wheels. The driver side was especially noisy.

This may explain the vibration at 110 kph onward.

But it may or may not explain the shudder under braking. The brake disc of the passenger side looks a little bit warped. If the problem persists, I'll have to change the brake discs next.

When I leave the car alone, it makes all kinds of noises but it does not bother me.

Look what the pretty head lights have done? It's got me interested in and obsessed about the car again. Sigh!

The headlights from Taiwan were cheap. But the bills from the repairs and maintenance it has triggered quickly add up.

I think after this I'll go back to obsessing about my golf. It's cheaper!

 

[Lee36328]

With the new wheel bearings in, the car rolls a lot quieter.

Just came back from Ah Ming's. Standard alignment, toe in 0.5mm for all four tires.

The final residual noise is now gone, car is finally smooth and quiet as it should be on new tires.

Judder under braking is reduced too. If it comes back, I'll order a new set of brake discs for the front. Currently running on Brembo ventilated discs.

Now, let me settle down and enjoy the car properly.

 

[5150]

I would appreciate that, thanks.

Mr Lee, i'm sorry i did not reply sooner bcoz my car had been involved in an accident on the 11th May that is one day after i last posted here. My car was rear-ended, due to the impact my car swerved from the originally middle lane (in MRRR2 near Pandan Jaya) to the left curb, hit the curb, airborned and then hit the soundproofing wall 10 feet high and then bounced back crashing down to the left lane. Sadly to say that my beloved is total loss (well that's what all the mechanic said, coz the insurance adjust has not seen the car yet). But IMHO it's a total loss and i don't want to repair it takut nanti sudah siap tapi jalan macam ketam kan.

Admitted to Tawakal for 1 week, no injury at all except a compression fracture in my T12 at my spine. Can walk and drive and do normal activities but with some pain. now still on mc.

Anyway congratulations Mr Lee for you have performed the rear shock tower mount reinforcement job! welding is the way to go bcoz in bimmerforums there are guys who did not weld but just bolted the plates to the absorber and after a while the tower cracked again.

God willing i wanna get myself another manual 6 pot E36 again with the insurance compensation and i hope you can help me bring my car to the workshop that did the superb job on the rear tower mounts. Well that is, when i do have the car hehe....

 

[2wenty6]

Mr Lee, i'm sorry i did not reply sooner bcoz my car had been involved in an accident on the 11th May that is one day after i last posted here. My car was rear-ended, due to the impact my car swerved from the originally middle lane (in MRRR2 near Pandan Jaya) to the left curb, hit the curb, airborned and then hit the soundproofing wall 10 feet high and then bounced back crashing down to the left lane. Sadly to say that my beloved is total loss (well that's what all the mechanic said, coz the insurance adjust has not seen the car yet). But IMHO it's a total loss and i don't want to repair it takut nanti sudah siap tapi jalan macam ketam kan.

Admitted to Tawakal for 1 week, no injury at all except a compression fracture in my T12 at my spine. Can walk and drive and do normal activities but with some pain. now still on mc.

Anyway congratulations Mr Lee for you have performed the rear shock tower mount reinforcement job! welding is the way to go bcoz in bimmerforums there are guys who did not weld but just bolted the plates to the absorber and after a while the tower cracked again.

God willing i wanna get myself another manual 6 pot E36 again with the insurance compensation and i hope you can help me bring my car to the workshop that did the superb job on the rear tower mounts. Well that is, when i do have the car hehe....

Glad that you're safe bro...that sounds like a really serious incident.

 

[Lee36328]

Mr Lee, i'm sorry i did not reply sooner bcoz my car had been involved in an accident on the 11th May that is one day after i last posted here. My car was rear-ended, due to the impact my car swerved from the originally middle lane (in MRRR2 near Pandan Jaya) to the left curb, hit the curb, airborned and then hit the soundproofing wall 10 feet high and then bounced back crashing down to the left lane. Sadly to say that my beloved is total loss (well that's what all the mechanic said, coz the insurance adjust has not seen the car yet). But IMHO it's a total loss and i don't want to repair it takut nanti sudah siap tapi jalan macam ketam kan.

Admitted to Tawakal for 1 week, no injury at all except a compression fracture in my T12 at my spine. Can walk and drive and do normal activities but with some pain. now still on mc.

Anyway congratulations Mr Lee for you have performed the rear shock tower mount reinforcement job! welding is the way to go bcoz in bimmerforums there are guys who did not weld but just bolted the plates to the absorber and after a while the tower cracked again.

God willing i wanna get myself another manual 6 pot E36 again with the insurance compensation and i hope you can help me bring my car to the workshop that did the superb job on the rear tower mounts. Well that is, when i do have the car hehe....

5150,

Wow, that is a dramatic accident. Glad to see your post here, and to hear you are recovering well.

I can only imagine what would have happened if you were not in a BMW.

At the workshop, one of the boys' e36 is also totaled, T-boned by another car at the driver's side. He was unscathed, thanks to the structural bar in the door.

Don't worry, take your time, recover well, and when you get another e36, I'll be most happy to hook you up with the workshop to get your car into tip top shape.

Cheers.

 

[John_Smith]

After reading through this thread, my project for this year would be.. reinforcements and steel braided brake hose.

 

[Galaxy7]

For the front, the e36 can use the reinforcement plate from the Z3 M and the e36 M3 (same part).

It looks like this, and goes underneath the front shock tower.

Here's the part number: 31312489795

I have ordered a pair.

i just asked the BA at Taman Maluri,Cheras regarding the reinforcement plate. they quote me RM50 for each means RM100 for a pair. they mentioned the part is out of stock but still can order if want. is the price resonable????

 

[2wenty6]

I remember buying 2 of them for about $11 total, and a quick check shows that the price is still the same

http://www.rmeuropean.com/search.aspx?keyword=31312489795

Factor in shipping and you could still probably get it for cheaper than RM100.

Ask another parts vendor perhaps..