Shocks & Spring For E30

[dennychew]

Hi E30 Owners,I'm currently doing some mod for my 1989 E30 & thinking to upgrade the absorber & spring from the stock version. I have sourced from my mechanic (Penang) on the below & I would like to get some advise from E30 masters if its reasonable before I swap the credit card 1) Black Biltein RM1100 (2 Front+2 Rear)2) Eibach Spring RM1400 (4pcs)3) Yellow Biltein Sport Absorber RM2500 (2 Front+2 Rear)The mechanic said the black one is the same as stock in height & it won't be lowered. So if I want to give the sporty look, go for the yellow one.My questions are:1) Is the quoted price reasonable2) Black is equivalent to stock in height. Only yellow will give the sporty lowered version. Please verify.3) Any other cheaper option in brands4) Any other supplier that you know where it is cheaper5) Cost is my concern, is it ok if i use the stock absorber combined with Eibach spring. My goal is to get the lowered look without sacrificing too much in comfort & handling & off course safety.Please advise. Appreciate so much for the help.Sincerely

 

[Strider]

I can only answer to a few of your questions.

1) Is the quoted price reasonable
A: Yes. to me it is reasonable. I bought mine almost equivalent with your quoted price.
2) Black is equivalent to stock in height. Only yellow will give the sporty lowered version. Please verify.
A: Lowered or not is not determine by the absorber. It is the spring that will give you the ride height. I think eibach pro-kit will lower your ride approximately by 30mm.
3) Any other cheaper option in brands
A: Don't know about other brand, but i love these combination; eibach with bilstein
4) Any other supplier that you know where it is cheaper
A: Those price quoted are reasonable to me
5) Cost is my concern, is it ok if i use the stock absorber combined with Eibach spring. My goal is to get the lowered look without sacrificing too much in comfort & handling & off course safety.
A: I'm already with these combination for almost four years. Looks, comfort and handling are super. Safety, no issue at all so far

By the way, what size is your wheels?

Good luck. Post here some photos of your ride before and after mod. for us to admire. Thanks

 

[elwine30]

when you lower your car, there is some form of sacrifice in terms of comfort. No pain, no gain. But the ride is not as bouncy nor bumpy. I can still take 4 pax in the car and ride it from kl to png. no problem. i still ferry my little one with my eibach + bilstein black.

So, it's a small price to pay but more to gain. The lowered car not only give you beter looks, but better handling in terms of high speed, cornering and body roll/control.

check with the guys in png. Andrewe30's car is lowered with the specs. So, you can check out his ride before confirming which one you want to go.

 

[chriseunos]

if your're planning to change the springs, please change it with absorbers together, cause those lowering spring will cause the absorbers to compressed and will cause them to spoil easily.
bilstein black + Eibach pro kit= good
bilstein yellow + H&R springs= VERRRRRRRYYYYYYYY GOOD

my 2 cents

 

[vin]

hi chriseunos,

I got a couple of questions following your comments:

1) When you say bilstein yellow+hr springs, do you mean the ride is still comfortable or is it quite bumpy?

2) There are 2 Bilstein yellow's, one being harder sports versiona dn the other more standard softer type, so which one are you using?

3) What size rims are you using?


Im asking cause Im using Bilstein yellow (hardest/sports version) and the on R17/45/225 and the ride is so bumpy. Its like a horse on the highway. It corners great but comfort is not so much there. What do you think? Would changing to R16/50 make alot of difference?

Appreciate the comments. Thankx.

 

[chriseunos]

1) The ride is a tad bumpy than bilstein black and to be honest, its not for everyone.

2) Im using the Sports vesion one.

3) im using a 15x7jj rims with 195/55/15. Your're using 17"? Good luck with that. I can't imagine the ride quality!! My advice to you is to use 15". Its the best for the E30, although it looks small, but you get the comfort and speed! XD

my 2 cents

Chris

 

[vin]

no worries chris... thankx for the comments....

 

[elwine30]

if u use 15", the correct size is 205/55/15. that will give you the best comfort and handling.

 

[vin]

how about the R16/205/50 ride? How does that fair compared to the R15/205/55?

 

[stormhunt3r]

Im asking cause Im using Bilstein yellow (hardest/sports version) and the on R17/45/225 and the ride is so bumpy. Its like a horse on the highway. It corners great but comfort is not so much there. What do you think? Would changing to R16/50 make alot of difference?

Appreciate the comments. Thankx.

Vin, what is the brand of the spring are you using?

I do have a set of lowering spring which comes with the car when i bought it and the car run on front 195/60/R15, rear 205/60/R15. And it is hard especially on bumpy or uneven roads. But for highway and even road, it's comfy and cornering is the best part.

At 1st i tot changing to bilstein yellow would solve my prob. After what you say, i'm thinking twice. For now, i'm using the original spring untill i find a solution for the prob.

 

[anakin]

Hi Denny....for me the best option without suffering either your pocket or your credit card is to buy the lowered spring first..either eibach or H&R, I have been using these 2 type of springs on my E30..result? H&R is lower than Eibach..
Try asking in the forum for used unit which is much cheaper....

- then, pair it with the standard/normal absorbers first, such as sach or boge turbo or gabriel etc.....then feel it..like it or not? Because this standard absorber is relatively cheaper..so if you feel that it not suit you, then you can change it to so called 'super performance' absorber. Be it bilstien yellow, koni ...whatever..
If you feel it suit you..then use it!
- comfort is subjective..it varies from one to another...
- for me ,if you are not 'corner eater' then normal absorber is just what you need...
- me? I'm with Eibach spring+bilstien black front+koni adj(soft/hard) rear + PAHANG TRUNK ROAD......bad combination!!!!

 

[evilnickwong]

But wouldn't using lowered springs with stock shocks be bad? Something about since the car is lowered, the shocks will always be working outside of their usual range and as far as I've been told, the stock shocks will wear out very quickly like that. Of course, that could just be your excuse to get new shocks then.

 

[chriseunos]

evilnickwong is telling the truth..XD

get bilstein yellow if you can afford it, if not, bilstein black are not bad as well. Sat in friends car with bilstein black and eibach springs. Good! Remember to downgrade your current 17" rims...big nono for E30. 15" is the best..nuff said

Chris

 

[evilnickwong]

How much would bilstein black and eibach springs cost for E30? I'm running on a 16" setup, on 205/50/15 front and 215/50/16 rear, but planning for a slightly lower profile next time round, maybe 225/45 if it fits.

 

[vin]

i dunno guys... I still think that the type of spring is going to make much difference. Its either sprots springs or standard springs. The absorbers are the one doing most of the work and causing a bumpy ride together with a combination with the right tire wall height.

The reason I say this is because if you remove the absorbers from the car and leave the springs on, you can bounce the car like a basket ball as a figure of speech. It is true on whats been said that comfort is subjective, so possibly to main the lowered muscle look and at the same time decent handling and ride comfort, then the right combination might still be sports shocks & springs but with 50-60 series tyres.

 

[dennychew]

Thanks so much for all the information. They certainly help. I will update you guys once I change my shocks & springs with before & after photos.

Cheers

 

[datsunnismo]

hi guys... im planning to change my tires. using 15" rims with lowered spring.
currently wrapped with 195/60/15 front and 205/60/15 rear.

1) which is better? i mean different width for front and rear OR all round same size?
2) if all same size, which one to choose? 195 or 205???

pls advice guys....

 

[chriseunos]

im using front and back 195/55/15

the E30 manual recommend 205/55/15 if not mistaken, On my next change, i'll go for 205/50/15. I think going to lower profile tyres, the ride will suffer abit, but i get wider surface area and a wider look. XD

 

[datsunnismo]

hi bro...

dont u think 205/50/15 is very low.... furthermore with lowered sports spring?
how about 205/60/15?

 

[chriseunos]

i scared the 205/60/15 will cause ur tyres to scrap the wheel well?