E36 M3 EVO upgrades

[dan101smith]

Ti22 said:

Thanks for the update on the rack. Mine leaks, so need a new one but want the quickest ratio one that fits. Have heard Z3M is quicker still?

Nope.

The rack from the 4-pot Z3 is the quickest one.

[CRACKIE]

dan101smith said:

Ti22 said:

Thanks for the update on the rack. Mine leaks, so need a new one but want the quickest ratio one that fits. Have heard Z3M is quicker still?

Nope.

The rack from the 4-pot Z3 is the quickest one.

EVO rack 45mm per rev

E46 Compact 50mm per rev = 11% quicker than EVO

Z3 4-pot 53.5mm per rev = 19% quicker than EVO

[ultegra]

E46 CSL rack quicker still.

Straight swap onto an e36.

[CRACKIE]

ultegra said:

E46 CSL rack quicker still.

Straight swap onto an e36.

Good point ~ not likely to be many about S/H though and certainly not cheap new relative to the cost of an E36. £1550 to fit one on an exchange basis

http://www.thorneymotorsport.co.uk/products/produc...

Edited by CRACKIE on Tuesday 1st June 10:30

[Ti22]

cracking info, cheers.

'goes off to ebay to look for 4 pot z3's being broken...'

[CRACKIE]

The car which is the subject of this thread is now for sale on PH classified.
The car is in very fine fettle and running better than ever but after 7 years of EVO ownership I fancy something different......

Please PM me if you're interested.

[thegreengoblet]

Out of interest, what replacements are you looking at?

[CRACKIE]

thegreengoblet said:

Out of interest, what replacements are you looking at?

I bought an E92 335i in mid December.

[scz4]

CRACKIE said:

thegreengoblet said:

Out of interest, what replacements are you looking at?

I bought an E92 335i in mid December.

Really fancy a 335i touring for the daily tasks. How are you finding the transfer? I test drove a 135i and it was VERY quick, quicker than my E36 M3 Evo (when it was standard), but it lacked the excitment. You get auto or manual?

[CRACKIE]

scz4 said:

CRACKIE said:

thegreengoblet said:

Out of interest, what replacements are you looking at?

I bought an E92 335i in mid December.

Really fancy a 335i touring for the daily tasks. How are you finding the transfer? I test drove a 135i and it was VERY quick, quicker than my E36 M3 Evo (when it was standard), but it lacked the excitment. You get auto or manual?

The EVO interior certainly feels its 2 generations older after living with the 335i ( manual ) for a while but I still have more fun and feel a lot more involved when I take the EVO out. The 335i is deceptively quick with very linear power and there's so much low rev torque from N54 engine that its almost too easy to put big numbers on the speedo without trying. Max torque at only 1300 revs made it tricky to drive on worn 19" Bridgestone run flats in the snow on the day I picked it up . I've now put some 17" style 159 wheels on it shod with Dunlop SP Winter Sport 3Ds.
It feels 'soft' and rolls a lot relative to the EVO but it feels well sorted and 'on your side'. Longer term I'll probably to fit a Quaife LSD and ask Evolve to remap it; 400+ Hp & lb-ft might help make up for the lack of M chassis & breeding

Edited by Crackie on Saturday 27th June 20:16

[MGR]

I've just fitted the following to my E36 Evo....

Bilstein B12 Kit (Eibach springs + B8? Bilstein dampers)
Eibach Anti roll bar kit (set to soft at front and rear)
BMW Motorsport X brace

Positives.
1. The ride height is similar to OEM. Maybe a bit lower but only a small amount which is what I wanted.
2. The anti roll bars appear to be doing their job :-)
3. The damping over larger impacts is much improved.
4. The steering is much improved.

Negatives....

The ride is extremely stiff for road use, I've previously had a z3 M coupe with the ac schnitzer kit on it and compared to that the ride is awful. Does the kit take some time to bed in? I'm hoping it does. I've done about 400 miles so far. The damping is good over bigger shocks such as speed humps but at lower speeds or on the motorway is never settled it just fidgets about constantly. After 45 minutes on the motorway its bad enough to be giving me a headache. Has anyone else had this experience? I'm surprised given the many positive reviews.

Edited by MGR on Sunday 7th February 20:09

[pvogue]

I had the B12 kit on my 130i I thought it was spot on, similar to my KW V3s on my ZM Coupe.

[MGR]

pvogue said:

I had the B12 kit on my 130i I thought it was spot on, similar to my KW V3s on my ZM Coupe.

I'll keep going with them for a few thousand miles. I can't find much in the way of negative comments about the B12 kit ride wise and as you've just confirmed you have also had a good experience with it.

[Carlton Banks]

Hi MGR!

I also have an e36 m3 evo, funny how we end up with these bloody bm's!
Mine is a second car purely for track which I have been finely tuning to make it as nimble as possible.
Like yours, the ride is quite hard but once on flat and smooth tarmac, it's fantastic!

My mods are:

KW V3's
Eibach anti roll bars
Eibach rear camber arms
Polybushes all round
Underbrace
OMP Front and rear strut braces
Turner adjustable camber plates
Sparco seats and TRS harnesses
Omp wheel
Simota Carbon induction kit
Multiple wheels / tyres!
Rear also stripped out

The great thing is that it's a fun car, hopefully won't lose much money on it in the long run and puts a smile on my face!

[MGR]

Carlton Banks said:

Hi MGR!

I also have an e36 m3 evo, funny how we end up with these bloody bm's!
Mine is a second car purely for track which I have been finely tuning to make it as nimble as possible.
Like yours, the ride is quite hard but once on flat and smooth tarmac, it's fantastic!

My mods are:

KW V3's
Eibach anti roll bars
Eibach rear camber arms
Polybushes all round
Underbrace
OMP Front and rear strut braces
Turner adjustable camber plates
Sparco seats and TRS harnesses
Omp wheel
Simota Carbon induction kit
Multiple wheels / tyres!
Rear also stripped out

The great thing is that it's a fun car, hopefully won't lose much money on it in the long run and puts a smile on my face!

Bet that goes well ! I'm a big fan of M cars of this period, and just before (E28, E34, E30).

I'm doing about 500 miles a week in my car hence ride is more of a factor. I did consider coilovers but I wanted the ride height to be kept close to OEM, plus given experiences with those KW V3 you really need to spend a lot of time with the setup to get the best from them. I wanted a 'plug and play' option so went with the B12 kit.

It seems to have softened a bit over the last few days, but that might just be my brain being turned to mush. :-)

Is yours road legal? Would be interesting to compare them.

Edited by MGR on Tuesday 9th February 22:34

[Carlton Banks]

Hi Mike,

Yes, just like my Z3M, I also fitted KW V3's but this time, I am happy with them as the car isn't a daily!

Yes, my car is road legal.

R

Edited by Carlton Banks on Wednesday 10th February 21:55

[MGR]

MGR said:

I've just fitted the following to my E36 Evo....

Bilstein B12 Kit (Eibach springs + B8? Bilstein dampers)
Eibach Anti roll bar kit (set to soft at front and rear)
BMW Motorsport X brace

Positives.
1. The ride height is similar to OEM. Maybe a bit lower but only a small amount which is what I wanted.
2. The anti roll bars appear to be doing their job :-)
3. The damping over larger impacts is much improved.
4. The steering is much improved.

Negatives....

The ride is extremely stiff for road use, I've previously had a z3 M coupe with the ac schnitzer kit on it and compared to that the ride is awful. Does the kit take some time to bed in? I'm hoping it does. I've done about 400 miles so far. The damping is good over bigger shocks such as speed humps but at lower speeds or on the motorway is never settled it just fidgets about constantly. After 45 minutes on the motorway its bad enough to be giving me a headache. Has anyone else had this experience? I'm surprised given the many positive reviews.

Edited by MGR on Sunday 7th February 20:09

So after 1,500 miles or so I have decided that the ride is too hard for the amount of miles I do in the car. It has improved since fitting but its still too much. Its just on the wrong side of too hard. Its also increased the number of interior rattles no end. It does drive well though. My original shocks are knackered so putting the old shocks back on is not an option.

I'm not too bothered about lowering the car, the main motivation was the B12 kit was similar to the price of replacing with stock so I thought why not.....

It seems to me I have a few options.

1. Buy some stock shocks and put it back to standard. Sell the B12 kit. (expensive but a known quantity)
2. Put the original springs back on with the B8 dampers. (might not improve things and then would end up doing option 1)

Option 2 appeals as its the cheaper option but its a bit of a gamble. I'm also not sure if the B8 shock can be used with the stock springs due to its reduced travel and the spring rate? Has anyone any experience with this? I really don't want to have to change again after this as its getting expensive.