E36 M3 budget coilovers

[mat59]

Hello all.

I currently have an E46 M3 but may change to running a daily hack and have a fast road/occaisional track e36 M3 (3.0 or 3.2) as a second car.

At this early stage I'm pricing up what it would cost to basically uprate some parts for fast road/occaisional track use.

I would like to fit decent uprated suspension (shocks and springs) or change to budget coilovers.

I've seen adverts for AP coilovers which seem very cheap but since searching this site I have also heard that HSD's are very good and are very adjustable (do these have built in adj top mounts?)? I won't be able to afford KW V3's etc as they are quite dear.The other option is Bilstein B6's with lower springs.

I'll also be fitting some beefier ARB's.

Any advice on which suspension or coilovers? They need to be a good balance between fast road/track and be reasonably priced. I don't care about 'slammed ride height', adjustability is a bonus but not essentail.

Cheers

[ADM06]

I've been using FK Coilovers (£380) on my 328i for 6 months with no problems.
If they're made by a reputable company they should be ok. Make sure you get a full laser wheel alignment afterwards.

[mat59]

Thanks for the suggestions so far.

I've seen FK highsport coilovers are very good value but are not adjustable. Anyone have any experiences with them on an M3?

Other option is to go for better springs and dampers rather than coilovers. Are knoi adjustable dampers any good?

[pat_y]

Most people seem to spend out on their suspension for E36 track toys, there seems to be a good mix of people using Ground control/KW/PSS9's or Eibach pro-street.
I'm not entirely sure about the budget ones, i'm currently using Spax full coilovers with Faulkner springs. Most people consider these to be a bit of a budget brand, but they will still set you back £500 for just the dampers, but they do work quite well.
One thing i would say, if you are going to go for full proper coilovers (not the standard seperate spring damper setup on the rear) make sure you fit some very heavy duty rear top mounts.
I'm running rogue engineering ones and they seem pretty good, standard ones or even E46 upgraded ones will not cope.
If you are looking for an already done E36 track type toy at a reasonable price, drop me an e-mail or PM as i will probably be selling mine on soon.

[iguana]

Have a search on here, been discussed many times, use m3 suspension as term & this forum, yes konis adjustables are a great damper, linked to eibachs= ace road use, still soft for tracking tho & cost = same as a resonable coilover set up.