E36 M3 EVO upgrades
Discussion
CRACKIE said:
Progress report on work carried out so far. All results are relative to original factory spec. with 73K mile suspension and 30K mile bushes.
1. Eibach Pro Kit springs. Result ~ Lowered the car further than the expected 25mm front and 15mm rear. Car feels much tighter & less "floaty" even using original old shocks. 7/10
2. Eibach anti roll bars ( front set to hard & rear set to soft ). Result ~ Big big stability improvement particulary with fast direction changes, roundabouts. 8/10
3. OMP front strut brace. Result ~ hard to identify the contribution of strut brace alone because it was fitted at same time as ARBs. Edit ~ Removed and then replaced the brace to to check it's effect. Very little difference and then only noticeable when driving like you stole it. 2/10. Do X-brace first.
4. Braided clutch hose ( from Bexley ). Result ~ Big improvement with much lighter action and higher biting point. 8/10
5. Goodridge braided brake lines, DOT 5.1 fluid & Black Diamond pads. Result Hoses ~ Firmer pedal with improved feel. Pads ~ Quick to warm up, powerful, a bit noisy, low brake dust. Braided lines 6/10 Pads 6/10
6. Simota induction Kit, Supersprint Cat back & Remap at Evolve. Work carried out on 21st April. Result ~ 299BHP pre mods, 307 after induction Kit, 309 after induction and exhaust, 319 after induction, exhaust and map. All positive from a driving point of view:- part throttle response, mid range torque, top end power all much improved. Over 4K revs the car feels very quick, equal to E46 if not quicker. Only downside is slightly increased fuel consumption, maybe 1 mpg but I'm putting that down to me using the extra power every time the engine's up to temp
9/10
7. Eccentric Front bushes. Better response about the straight ahead and much better turn in 8/10. Rear trailling arm bushes. Back end better over broken surfaces, doesn't "sidestep" as much. 7/10
8. Bilstein B6 dampers. Too soft for track work but I think ideal for driving I do on the shocking roads in and around Huntingdon
Increased the ride height by 10~15mm relative to original 73K mile shocks. 8/10.
9. Lower X brace. Much sharper turn in ~ steering now feels 15K miles old now not 73K. 7/10
10. Geometry setup. Icing on the cake. 8/10
Still to do........
11. Rogue rear top shock mounts. Brand new standard spec mounts couldn't cope with the extra loads, from the uprated suspension, after only 10 miles of "enthusiastic" driving in the Yorkshire Dales !!!!
12. Check & set up the valve clearances.
13. Steering rack from Z3 or E46 Compact. No hurry now geometry sorted.
14. Front seats that grip better than Vadars and don't weigh 33Kg each !!
15. Lightweight flywheel & clutch.
Maybe........
16. Lightweight 18" alloys. ( vanity really
)
Got some Eibach pro-kit springs on now, with Koni front shocks. Ride height is just fine front, but rear is very slightly too low. Will be fitting some rear oem boge/sachs shocks shortly, I know they are not matching Koni's but got a good deal and want to keep it fairly supple for the road.1. Eibach Pro Kit springs. Result ~ Lowered the car further than the expected 25mm front and 15mm rear. Car feels much tighter & less "floaty" even using original old shocks. 7/10
2. Eibach anti roll bars ( front set to hard & rear set to soft ). Result ~ Big big stability improvement particulary with fast direction changes, roundabouts. 8/10
3. OMP front strut brace. Result ~ hard to identify the contribution of strut brace alone because it was fitted at same time as ARBs. Edit ~ Removed and then replaced the brace to to check it's effect. Very little difference and then only noticeable when driving like you stole it. 2/10. Do X-brace first.
4. Braided clutch hose ( from Bexley ). Result ~ Big improvement with much lighter action and higher biting point. 8/10
5. Goodridge braided brake lines, DOT 5.1 fluid & Black Diamond pads. Result Hoses ~ Firmer pedal with improved feel. Pads ~ Quick to warm up, powerful, a bit noisy, low brake dust. Braided lines 6/10 Pads 6/10
6. Simota induction Kit, Supersprint Cat back & Remap at Evolve. Work carried out on 21st April. Result ~ 299BHP pre mods, 307 after induction Kit, 309 after induction and exhaust, 319 after induction, exhaust and map. All positive from a driving point of view:- part throttle response, mid range torque, top end power all much improved. Over 4K revs the car feels very quick, equal to E46 if not quicker. Only downside is slightly increased fuel consumption, maybe 1 mpg but I'm putting that down to me using the extra power every time the engine's up to temp
9/107. Eccentric Front bushes. Better response about the straight ahead and much better turn in 8/10. Rear trailling arm bushes. Back end better over broken surfaces, doesn't "sidestep" as much. 7/10
8. Bilstein B6 dampers. Too soft for track work but I think ideal for driving I do on the shocking roads in and around Huntingdon
Increased the ride height by 10~15mm relative to original 73K mile shocks. 8/10.9. Lower X brace. Much sharper turn in ~ steering now feels 15K miles old now not 73K. 7/10
10. Geometry setup. Icing on the cake. 8/10
Still to do........
11. Rogue rear top shock mounts. Brand new standard spec mounts couldn't cope with the extra loads, from the uprated suspension, after only 10 miles of "enthusiastic" driving in the Yorkshire Dales !!!!
12. Check & set up the valve clearances.
13. Steering rack from Z3 or E46 Compact. No hurry now geometry sorted.
14. Front seats that grip better than Vadars and don't weigh 33Kg each !!
15. Lightweight flywheel & clutch.
Maybe........
16. Lightweight 18" alloys. ( vanity really
)Edited by CRACKIE on Friday 24th October 10:13
Hoping as Crackie says the rear will come back up just enough (5-10mm) for it to look just right...?
(so far very impressed with the quality of ride)
swtmerce said:
If it doesn't raise by itself (and I can't see how it could) then all you need do is go to BMW and buy some thicker spring pads to insert between the spring and chassis.
Apologies if my post is ambiguous ~ my car didn't raise by itself. My experience was that ride height went up approx 10mm when my 73K mile OEM dampers were changed to new the Bilsteins. I think AM-BM is hoping for the same 10mm increase when he fits new shocks to the back of his.New rear boge's didn't make any height difference. Although the front has come down (settled) about 10mm in a week since fitted and it has balanced it a little better now.
Still not 100% on the rear height (v. slightly too low). Anyone know if the Bilstein B6 are slightly more pressurised than the Boge? Might make the slightest difference crackie is on about?
Gonna ditch the spare and get a can of goo to help!
(The actual suspension ride is vastly improved and I am very pleased)
Crackie are you happy with your ride height? Have you got any pics?
edit
swtmerce what are these spring pads your talking about? - never seen these before and was looking for something like this. Will be investigating!
ah-ha! just spotted this little gem.
wonder if they have certain spring pads fitted as standard?
see note about bilstein dampers!
http://www.modifiedm3.co.uk/improve_your_cars_hand...
Still not 100% on the rear height (v. slightly too low). Anyone know if the Bilstein B6 are slightly more pressurised than the Boge? Might make the slightest difference crackie is on about?
Gonna ditch the spare and get a can of goo to help!
(The actual suspension ride is vastly improved and I am very pleased)
Crackie are you happy with your ride height? Have you got any pics?
edit
swtmerce what are these spring pads your talking about? - never seen these before and was looking for something like this. Will be investigating!
ah-ha! just spotted this little gem.
wonder if they have certain spring pads fitted as standard?
see note about bilstein dampers!
http://www.modifiedm3.co.uk/improve_your_cars_hand...
Edited by AM-BM on Wednesday 8th April 12:17
Ok I've upgraded my suspension now and am very happy with the ride and stance after a little fiddling.
Eibach pro kit springs (25mm front 15mm rear)
Front koni yellow sport adjustable shocks (inserts!)
Rear oem boge/sachs shocks with new oem shock mounts (old mounts were fine, might of been replaced before?)
I am not going to bother with poly bushes for the road as they might be too harsh.
I also have a factory schnitzer strut brace for the front fitted when new.
The front took about a 1-2 weeks to settle down and is now just pefect.
Rear was just slightly too low, I think 5mm drop to the rear is really what you want. I have now replace the standard upper rear spring pads with 10mm ones and it is sitting just off the arches
Very happy with the damping / ride and is great for everyday use, not to mention the perfect stance now.
Eibach pro kit springs (25mm front 15mm rear)
Front koni yellow sport adjustable shocks (inserts!)
Rear oem boge/sachs shocks with new oem shock mounts (old mounts were fine, might of been replaced before?)
I am not going to bother with poly bushes for the road as they might be too harsh.
I also have a factory schnitzer strut brace for the front fitted when new.
The front took about a 1-2 weeks to settle down and is now just pefect.
Rear was just slightly too low, I think 5mm drop to the rear is really what you want. I have now replace the standard upper rear spring pads with 10mm ones and it is sitting just off the arches
Very happy with the damping / ride and is great for everyday use, not to mention the perfect stance now.
Apologies ~ finally got round to posting some pics........ 
Ride height with stock suspension at 56k miles back in summer 2006.
Next 3 pics show ride height with Eibach and Bilstein suspension.
Following 2 pictures are recent ( 92K miles ) with Rogue rear shock mounts.
OMP strut and Simota Induction
Results of Exhaust, Induction and Evolve Map
Ride height with stock suspension at 56k miles back in summer 2006.
Next 3 pics show ride height with Eibach and Bilstein suspension.
Following 2 pictures are recent ( 92K miles ) with Rogue rear shock mounts.
OMP strut and Simota Induction
Results of Exhaust, Induction and Evolve Map
Edited by CRACKIE on Tuesday 18th May 13:39
Sorry about that GP..... 
Car is a bit of a mixed bag right now........ I had new gearbox and engine mounts fitted 3 weeks ago and it has tightened things up noticeably; I needed a new propshaft coupling and decided to replace some of the other rubber perishables at the same time. Steering is currently shocking however, a quicker ratio rack from the E46 Compact is going on this Saturday along with new track rods so hopefully she'll be back to top form ( once geometry sorted again )
Car is a bit of a mixed bag right now........ I had new gearbox and engine mounts fitted 3 weeks ago and it has tightened things up noticeably; I needed a new propshaft coupling and decided to replace some of the other rubber perishables at the same time. Steering is currently shocking however, a quicker ratio rack from the E46 Compact is going on this Saturday along with new track rods so hopefully she'll be back to top form ( once geometry sorted again )
UPDATE report on work carried out so far. All results are relative to original factory spec. with 73K mile suspension and 30K mile bushes.
1. Eibach Pro Kit springs. Result ~ Lowered the car further than the expected 25mm front and 15mm rear. Car feels much tighter & less "floaty" even using original old shocks. 7/10
2. Eibach anti roll bars ( front set to hard & rear set to soft ). Result ~ Big big stability improvement and less roll particulary with fast direction changes, roundabouts. 8/10
3. OMP front strut brace. Result ~ hard to identify the contribution of strut brace alone because it was fitted at same time as ARBs. Edit ~ Removed and then replaced the brace to to check it's effect. Very little difference and then only noticeable when driving like you stole it. Not good value IMHO ; X-brace is a much better place to put your money. 2/10
4. Braided clutch hose ( from Bexley ). Result ~ lighter action and higher biting point. Consistent when car is hot. 7/10
5. Goodridge braided brake lines, 5.1 fluid, Black Diamond pads. Result Hoses & Fluid ~ Firmer pedal with improved feel. Pads ~ Not great from cold but, quick to warm up, powerful, a bit noisy, low brake dust. Braided lines 7/10 Pads 7/10. UPDATE big drop off on performance when very hot certainly not up to track work IMHO
6. Simota induction Kit, Supersprint Cat back & Remap at Evolve. Work carried out on 21st April. Result ~ 299BHP pre mods, 307 after induction Kit, 309 after induction and exhaust, 319 after induction, exhaust and map. All positive from a driving point of view:- part throttle response, mid range torque, top end power all much improved. Over 4K revs the car feels very quick, equal to E46 if not quicker. Only downside is slightly increased fuel consumption, maybe 1 mpg but I'm putting that down to me using the extra power every time the engine's up to temp . Footnote ~ MPG on long runs now 3~4 better since the map. 9/10
7. Eccentric Front bushes. Better response about the straight ahead and much better turn in 8/10. Rear trailling arm bushes. Back end better over broken surfaces, doesn't "sidestep" as much. 7/10
8. Bilstein B6 dampers. Too soft for track work but I think ideal for driving I do on the shocking roads in and around Huntingdon Increased the ride height by 10~15mm relative to original tired 73K mile shocks. 8/10.
9. Lower X brace. Much sharper turn in after fitting ; very effective mod for the money. 8/10
10. Rogue Engineering rear top shock mounts. IMHO a must do mod. The Rogue mounts tie down the "vague" rear end over humps and bumps; car seems better at putting power down out of slow corners and junctions too. Noisy relative to standard spec mounts. 9/10.
11. New Gearbox & engine mounts + new Propshaft coupling Replacing these reduced a lot of the 'drivetrain shunt' and tightened things up noticeably. Hard to rate these out of 10 but the whole package just feels less weary, if that makes sense. 7/10
12. E46 Compact Rack and new track rods Changing my tired ( 92K mile ) original EVO system to this E46 Compact rack has made a huge improvement. Late model E46 racks and E46 compact racks have an 11% quicker ratio than the standard EVO rack and this mod has helped sort what I think is the EVO's weakest area. Rack part number I used is 32136755068 and is a straight swap. http://www.realoem.com/bmw/showparts.do?model=AT32...
I used a S/H rack from a 325Ti compact which cost £80.00 and had the 4WA laser alignment done by Murketts BMW in Huntingdon. Service was spot on and price was good too at £79.99 inc VAT for full laser alignment. 9/10
Still to do........
13. ARP conrod bolts.
14. Front seats that grip better than Vadars and don't weigh 33Kg each !!
15. Lightweight flywheel.
Maybe........
16. Shorter Final drive differential.
1. Eibach Pro Kit springs. Result ~ Lowered the car further than the expected 25mm front and 15mm rear. Car feels much tighter & less "floaty" even using original old shocks. 7/10
2. Eibach anti roll bars ( front set to hard & rear set to soft ). Result ~ Big big stability improvement and less roll particulary with fast direction changes, roundabouts. 8/10
3. OMP front strut brace. Result ~ hard to identify the contribution of strut brace alone because it was fitted at same time as ARBs. Edit ~ Removed and then replaced the brace to to check it's effect. Very little difference and then only noticeable when driving like you stole it. Not good value IMHO ; X-brace is a much better place to put your money. 2/10
4. Braided clutch hose ( from Bexley ). Result ~ lighter action and higher biting point. Consistent when car is hot. 7/10
5. Goodridge braided brake lines, 5.1 fluid, Black Diamond pads. Result Hoses & Fluid ~ Firmer pedal with improved feel. Pads ~ Not great from cold but, quick to warm up, powerful, a bit noisy, low brake dust. Braided lines 7/10 Pads 7/10. UPDATE big drop off on performance when very hot certainly not up to track work IMHO
6. Simota induction Kit, Supersprint Cat back & Remap at Evolve. Work carried out on 21st April. Result ~ 299BHP pre mods, 307 after induction Kit, 309 after induction and exhaust, 319 after induction, exhaust and map. All positive from a driving point of view:- part throttle response, mid range torque, top end power all much improved. Over 4K revs the car feels very quick, equal to E46 if not quicker. Only downside is slightly increased fuel consumption, maybe 1 mpg but I'm putting that down to me using the extra power every time the engine's up to temp
. Footnote ~ MPG on long runs now 3~4 better since the map. 9/107. Eccentric Front bushes. Better response about the straight ahead and much better turn in 8/10. Rear trailling arm bushes. Back end better over broken surfaces, doesn't "sidestep" as much. 7/10
8. Bilstein B6 dampers. Too soft for track work but I think ideal for driving I do on the shocking roads in and around Huntingdon
Increased the ride height by 10~15mm relative to original tired 73K mile shocks. 8/10.9. Lower X brace. Much sharper turn in after fitting ; very effective mod for the money. 8/10
10. Rogue Engineering rear top shock mounts. IMHO a must do mod. The Rogue mounts tie down the "vague" rear end over humps and bumps; car seems better at putting power down out of slow corners and junctions too. Noisy relative to standard spec mounts. 9/10.
11. New Gearbox & engine mounts + new Propshaft coupling Replacing these reduced a lot of the 'drivetrain shunt' and tightened things up noticeably. Hard to rate these out of 10 but the whole package just feels less weary, if that makes sense. 7/10
12. E46 Compact Rack and new track rods Changing my tired ( 92K mile ) original EVO system to this E46 Compact rack has made a huge improvement. Late model E46 racks and E46 compact racks have an 11% quicker ratio than the standard EVO rack and this mod has helped sort what I think is the EVO's weakest area. Rack part number I used is 32136755068 and is a straight swap. http://www.realoem.com/bmw/showparts.do?model=AT32...
I used a S/H rack from a 325Ti compact which cost £80.00 and had the 4WA laser alignment done by Murketts BMW in Huntingdon. Service was spot on and price was good too at £79.99 inc VAT for full laser alignment. 9/10
Still to do........
13. ARP conrod bolts.
14. Front seats that grip better than Vadars and don't weigh 33Kg each !!
15. Lightweight flywheel.
Maybe........
16. Shorter Final drive differential.
Edited by CRACKIE on Sunday 12th September 15:36
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