E36 coil spring - any suggestion?

[Russie]

Hi guys, i am planning to replace the original spring set on my e36 318i (m43b18).
My car is running on standard 15" rims, any idea what should the new springs be:

a) new original spring
b) new OEM spring
c) H&R lowered spring
d) Eibach pro kit spring

Please provide feedback especially those who have been using (c) and (d). Would like to know the pro and co about these lowered springs. And also where to get them? Thanks

 

[valvetronix]

Hi Russie,

Just sharing my experience here. For your info I've used 3 of the mentioned springs previously on my 328i, my findings are as follows:

a. This is the best setup for comfort and retaining the original ride and handling. The only issue with this setup is that it feels boaty at high speeds and ride height is way too high to my liking.
b. I've not tried this before but I'm guessing it should be the same as original springs.
c. I've used H&R sport (blue) to be exact. This setup really slams your car low, basically you'll be scrapping your undercarriage most of the time when going through speed bumps, especially when ferrying people around. It also has the least ride comfort but not to a point where its a neck breaking ride. Good thing is that body roll is greatly reduced and better high speed stability. Car looks nice too with the low stance. 1 finger front and 0.5 finger rear.
d. Eibach sits in between original & H&R springs. It has the best balance between comfort and handling, almost similar to stock comfort but with improved handling. Somehow I feel the feeling can be funny at times, abit boaty and bumpy. Some also reported that over time it may sag, so best if you get a new set instead of used ones. Your car won't be lowered too low, around 2 fingers front and 1.5 rear.

I was running on 17's with 34PSI and Bilstein B4 on all 4 corners. Just to note that since these lowering springs are shorter than ori ones, when installed the ori abs won't last long. For me it lasted for about 2 years, no leaks though but you can feel that the abs are shot.

 

[autofuturedesign]

Hi Russie,
We highly recommend you to equipped your BMW E36 with Bilstein B12 Pro Kit that comes with a set of Bilstein B8 absorbers and Eibach Spring.
If you need more info,check us out at the vendor zone Autofuture Design Sdn Bhd.

 

[Russie]

Thanks guys... I guess i am close to 80% of knowing which to opt... Stay tuned

 

[Tom328]

Mind sharing what you're going for Russie?? Keep in mind that the shocks have to match the springs, like what valvetronix mentioned. Shorter springs with stock height shocks will prematurely wear the shocks.

I'm currently running a set of Hotbits coilvers, adjustable for height. Opted for "comfort" setup when I serviced it at Speedworks but ride is quite harsh, for me at least. I'm guessing it's the springs rather than the shocks which is contributing to this. But the lowered stance is there, and so is the markedly better cornering.

 

[Russie]

I may go for stock spring.

 

[valvetronix]

Looks like comfort is your main preference but at the same time you would want to enhance the look and handling of your E36 hence the consideration for lowering springs. To solve the issues of stock springs, I swapped out my B4s with custom absorbers from Titan. Richard did the tuning and factored in my input while doing it, the result was impressive. Car is slightly lowered with even ride height (2 front 2 rear) and ride quality is similar to stock comfort. Also no more boaty / floaty feeling at high speeds. I was on 15' style 5 rims with 65 tyre profile when I used this setup.

Only thing is that the tuning process can be tiring if you feel that the setup doesn't suit to your liking / preference.

 

[Russie]

I m looking at replacing my springs which are 17 years old original from factory. Was advised by someone to change the springs cos they have started to sag.
Also looking fwd to replacing 4 tyres since they are 5 years old

 

[Tom328]

Stock springs would be the best for comfort.

Springs can be either linear or progressive. Linear, as the name suggests, compresses at the same amount of load for every inch. This makes cornering more predictable as you can load the spring up and feel its load increase proportionately to how hard you corner. Good for smooth surface roads e.g. tracks. Seeing how KL roads are not exactly race tracks, linear springs will be harsher in reality.

Progressive (variable load) springs on the other hand compress at different rates of load. This allows for slightly better comfort when going through uneven surfaces and when taking harder corners, the spring will load up THROUGH the softer part to reach the harder part. This however makes it less predictable as it is not increasing proportionately to how hard you take a corner. Nonetheless, it's trying to be best of both worlds, with the added benefit of lowering the ride height.

Try look around at those few springs again (H&R, Eibach etc etc.), see whether they're linear or progressive, compare their loads etc.

A picture comparing a linear and progressive spring : http://www.oemplus.com/images/MK6_5K_apr_vwr_coilovers06.jpg

 

[Tom328]

Seeing numerous complaints of how Eibachs tend to sag after a while, I'm guessing it's because it's a progressive spring which is trying to maintain comfort while dropping the ride height. After some time, the softer part just looses its ability to maintain shape hence dropping it lower to finally sit on the firmer section of the spring. My 2 cents, i'm no suspension guru, just making conclusions based on theory.

 

[ICEMAN 68]

if $$$ is not an issue get yourself a set of pss9 or the KW's ...adjust your preferred height and also the shock are serviceable.. if you wanna go low also can / go high also can ... if shock leaks, can be serviced ...

 

[crusher]

I have a set of lowered springs (Mtech I think) if you interested. Taken off my ex-E36.

 

[firdaus325]

I have a set of lowered springs (Mtech I think) if you interested. Taken off my ex-E36.

hi bro 4 pot or 6 pot spring

 

[Nawfal]

I have a set of lowered springs (Mtech I think) if you interested. Taken off my ex-E36.

Pm bos..tq

 

[2wenty6]

OP might have already made his decisions, but just wanna add to this discussion on suspension setup. A bit of background here, my car came with Bilstein B4 with Eibach springs, then I changed to H&R Springs and Titan Absorbers, and finally to BC Coilovers.

Briefly:

Eibach + B4: Springs are ok, but the shocks were shot. I can't give a good evaluation here.

Titan + H&R: Springs are great, I feel they are better in terms of overall performance compared to the Eibach. The issue here with the H&R is that they make the car too low (similar to the Eibach or other aftermarket springs for that matter). Scrape every damned bump and going into a basement carpark is nerve-wracking. Titan absorbers..probably needs no introduction. My main gripe is I got sick of waiting an entire day just to have them 'tune' the shocks, just too tedious.

BC Racing Coilvers: Feels perfect out of the box. Like most coilovers, damping rate adjustable through a knob. Height adjustable as you please. One main disadvantage is the camber plates that comes with this, I thought I was getting a deal but the camber plates only allow camber up to -1deg. Ah well..you win some you lose some. For the price of 3k, its practically a steal.

Moral of the story, you would save a lot of money and A LOT of time if you just go with something that's designed to work together out of the box. As opposed to trying to buy a brand of spring and then trying to find a shock to match it, or get some 'custom' shocks that requires endless tuning and not even getting it right.

I feel that BC is not getting the proper hype it is supposed to be getting. I'm absolutely pleased with it and I can foresee getting another set if this one dies or if my next car needs coilovers.

Caveat: I have never experienced KW V1/2/3 or PSS9/10/12 or other branded coilovers. On the other hand, I've had experience with TEIN, D2 (and similar) and I'd say avoid them like the plague. They don't belong on your BMW.