E36 E46 rear springs

[milburn7191]

I have searched many forums and cannot find the answer to this question; will E36 rear springs fit on an E46?

My E46 is a 2000 330Ci.

They are different part number so are clearly different; but what is the difference and can they be installed on the car?
Maybe they are bit longer, wider, stiffer or have a larger/smaller fitting diameter.

Cheers

[E-bmw]

Firstly, why would you want to fit e36 springs to an e46?

As you say they are different part numbers, the cars weigh different amounts, the dampers will have different weights etc. etc.

All of the above and more will affect how they work and how they do/don't fit, why risk it?

If you want to do something specific to the spring rates go to a spring manufacturer & get them to do that something specific with new springs, is is surprisingly inexpensive.

I had a pair of rising rate rears made to my own length & rates for £110/pair on my track e36.

[SebringMan]

I am guessing that the springs are cheaper for an E36.

It's the same story for E30 lower arms ; a few guys retrofit these onto the E36 as they are much cheaper. My E36 had some E30 arms on it for this reason.

[vsonix]

The E30 arms are popular as the have solid ball joints - which can 'improve' (subjective) steering feel. The E36 M3 has the solid ball joints too hence why people see it as an upgrade. They were also cheaper to buy for some reason -dunno if they still are, as haven't needed to do any E36 arms in a year or two.
Others say E46 arms are a better upgrade for E36 as they allow for more advanced camber and toe adjustment at the front.

[vsonix]

Personally I'd be looking at Eibach springs rather than OEM/equivalent for any BMW. I've run them on many of my cars now and they are always a great improvement over standard - close up the excessive front arch gap nicely, ride smoother than standard in normal driving and the progressive spring rate firms up nicely when pressing on.