E46 328ci
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So heres an update:
Well I think my account was deleted due to inactivity, had to create a new account. Not a lot happened has happened with the car in the past year. I sold the LM replicas, didn't have the money at the time to do anything suspension wise and it killed me to have those wheels on stock suspension. Well I have a co-op with Mercury Marine now making a pretty good wage throughout the week and I still have my Bergstrom job which will be paying dividends for access to tools/lift/alignment rack/etc.
The car bug has recently bitten me again and now making better money I plan to actually do something with the car this spring/summer.
Headed down to Illinois this Saturday to pick up some new wheels, style 68's.
Bergstrom lifts making life easier
First impressions looking good
Yeah, that looks better
Taking care of the rust this summer
I found out that I had a broken spring at the way bottom of the coil in the rear. Car rides fine, but probably is the explanation for why it sits at a different height by a finger on that side than the other. So the plan is to go with the FK coilovers for the price and basic lowering. This is just a daily, have heard the Fk's ride similar to the sport suspension but slightly stiffer.
Other mods to come this summer. This lip, which is apparently one of the only options for the stock bumper. For $80 though I can't complain
For 80 dollars I'll also be picking up some new headlight lenses because mine are super pitted and hazy. (have tried to buff and cut them already)
Also would like to pick up a set of LED tails, they are only like $150 on Ebay, so I dont see why not.
For maintenance I need to replace the lower front control arm bushings. Was quoted $1500 at Bergstrom when I got my ebrake fixed, fuck that. Have seen the DIY's and they its a 2-4 hour job, and the bushings themselves are 70 dollars.
So thats the status of the car as of now, excited to finally make some changes that will reflect the way I want the car to look. Excited for this summer.
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I had FK's on my e36 and I enjoyed them. They were comfortable for daily driving, stiffened the ride without being harsh and went low. I think you'll be happy with them. I would highly recommend finding a set of adjustable top mounts so you can properly align the car or you're going to be eating through tires like crazy!
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Nice to see you back. Don't disappear again.
AZAP RACING!
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Nice to see you back. Don't disappear again.
AZAP RACING!
I just picked up a sponsorship from them.
I had FK's on my e36 and I enjoyed them. They were comfortable for daily driving, stiffened the ride without being harsh and went low. I think you'll be happy with them. I would highly recommend finding a set of adjustable top mounts so you can properly align the car or you're going to be eating through tires like crazy!
Anyones you have in mind?
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Anyones you have in mind?
GC makes a great camber/caster plate that is customized to your set up, i.e. spring size and strut rod size. K-sport makes some that I can order but it's questionable whether or not they would work with FK as they state that they do not recommend using them with any other coil over set up. KMAC would be the other option through Turner Motorsports and their stage 2 is camber/caster adjustable and comes with various adapters to fit a coilover. GC or KMAC both have great reviews and are similar in price in the $400~ range.
Either option is going to increase ride harshness (NVH) because you are reducing the rubber in the suspension system but you give that up for a proper alignment.
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I had no issues with camber wear up front on my e46 and I ran that car super low on FK's for 35k miles. Just knock out the alignment pin on top of the strut mount and you'll get way more camber adjustability. I would recommend adjustable camber arms out back though. My car ate up rear tires pretty bad. I had the arms but never got around to installing them. Picture for reference.
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I had no issues with camber wear up front on my e46 and I ran that car super low on FK's for 35k miles. Just knock out the alignment pin on top of the strut mount and you'll get way more camber adjustability. I would recommend adjustable camber arms out back though. My car ate up rear tires pretty bad. I had the arms but never got around to installing them. Picture for reference.
Thats good to hear. Definitely did not want to have to shell out another $400 on top mounts. Will look into camber arms though, thank you.
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I was recently linked to set of wheels inquiring about a trade for style 68s. The wheel trade didn't go through, but after some talking I found out he had some other things he was selling. I am not sure if the guy is on this site, but he has a 2001 330ci, also steel blue. He is selling the car and was parting with some of the mods he had on the car. So after talking for a little while I was able to pick up:
Umnittza M3 front bumper (steel blue) with fogs
Carbon fiber splitters
Used FK Highline coilovers
20 and 15 mm spacers with extended wheel lugs
Got all of this for a pretty good price, the guy was super cool as well.
Got the bumper put on the next day after purchase and mounted the splitters right after. I am really liking the result so far.
Just looking for some time now to install the coilovers, possibly next weekend? Will probably need a hand as I have never done any suspension work before. I know its rather straight forward, but the extra assistance is always nice.
I'll post up some pictures of the coilovers and other things later, as of now, only bumper pictures.
Here is the guys car I bought the stuff from if anyone knows him, really REALLY like his set up.
I think once I have the car lowered and have the windows tinted, I will be in a similar situation (albeit not nearly as nice of wheels).
All of this also happened right before I was supposed to get my stock bumper lip as well, if anyone wants a preface lift coupe bumper lip, let me know.
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Was the guy from West Bend? I swear Ive seen that caf around. Is he just putting it back to stock to sell it?
He said he lives around Sheboygan
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Was the guy from West Bend? I swear Ive seen that caf around. Is he just putting it back to stock to sell it?
The dude that used to have its name is Matt Hayes. I seen it a few times as well. It had a rad-fab sticker on it so I asked tanner.
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Got the coilovers installed today. Only took around 3and half hours, including a tool run. Whole process went incredibly smooth given that I have not removed any of the suspension components since owning the car. Biggest mishap was probably myself dropping a stock lug down the drain, but since I was installing the spacers I had the extended lugs to run anyway. Drop is pretty mild, but it removes the wheel gap which was my biggest gripe about the car. Have room to go down lower so I'll probably adjust the height next weekend to a little lower, maybe like half an inch? The spacers filled out the wheel perfectly but 45 profile tires with the spacers would be close going too much lower. I am really happy with the ride quality of the FK's, it is a definite upgrade from my old sport suspension. The M3 bumper really helps out the front end appearance. Thoughts on taking off the carbon fiber splitters? I really like them, but I feel they may be out of place on my car. I can't thank Ben enough for helping me out today.
Took the E30 for a good rip to Sears, I love this car. The M52 is a great engine in that chassis.
Also,
Maybe.
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I only just realized this was Ben with a new username
The M52 is the 24v that makes the most sense to me and has always been my intended swap if I ever went 24v. Glad its working out well thus far
I am actually a friend of Ben's, we did the work at his shop. He is still GunMetalGrey
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Lol SteelBlue and GunMetalGrey. You boys sure do like your metal colors.
I can't believe you had to make a parts run from Ben's shop. He has like every tool known to man in there.
The car looks great. The front looks awesome, but I think you need side skirts of some sort now. The rest of the car isn't as aggressive as the front. The Schnitzers look good.
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Lol SteelBlue and GunMetalGrey. You boys sure do like your metal colors.
I can't believe you had to make a parts run from Ben's shop. He has like every tool known to man in there.
The car looks great. The front looks awesome, but I think you need side skirts of some sort now. The rest of the car isn't as aggressive as the front. The Schnitzers look good.
someone said:
The rest of the car isn't as aggressive as the front.
This was my feeling regarding the front. I think I might take the splitters off and see how it looks.
I was also surprised we had to make a parts run. However, it was a conversion extension that he had one of, but it was broken.
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I can't believe you had to make a parts run from Ben's shop. He has like every tool known to man in there.
That is nowhere near true! There is always room for more!
Looks good, Those AC's look mint on there.
Glad we got it knocked out so smoothly!
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