E36 front wishbones
E36 front wishbones
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sniff diesel

Original Poster:

13,124 posts

235 months

Monday 7th December 2009
quotequote all
I'm currently in the process of re-shelling an E36 M3 3.0l into the shell of my 325i trackcar. Whilst fitting the front wishbones today I noticed that the passenger side one was bent (surprising as it still drove nice and straight) so I've put the car together with the 325i wishbones that seemed to be ever so slightly different to the M3 ones. I see some Ebay retailers sell the same wishbones to fit both normal and M3 E36's.

What's the difference between the M3 and regular E36 front wishbones? And where would be an alternative supplier for new ones as GSF don't list them for the M3 and I'm sure the dealer will charge the earth.

TheEnd

15,370 posts

211 months

Monday 7th December 2009
quotequote all
The differences are larger balljoints (so stronger) and a non replaceable design on the 3.0

The geometry is exactly the same, and the midpoint is the e30 wishbones, which are smaller e36 sized joints, but without the sleeve bit to make them easy to swap

e30- all steel
e36- outer joints now came in a sleeve to make renewing easier, as they were a know wear point. Also a slight reduction in NVH.

E36M3- larger balljoints used, all steel non replacable design, and eccentric bushes. It seems that the eccentric bushes were more for clearance with 17" wheels than purely for the extra caster.

e36 evo- as e36 m3, but now with a slight bend in them so to remove the need for an eccentric bush, and a solid rubber concentric bush was used.


sniff diesel

Original Poster:

13,124 posts

235 months

Monday 7th December 2009
quotequote all
Thanks a lot Enda. Looks like I'll live with the 325i wishbones for now.

TheEnd

15,370 posts

211 months

Monday 7th December 2009
quotequote all
There won't be a lot in it. Quite a few people go for e30 ones, as it'll remove a slight amount of flex in the outer balljoint sleeve, but i doubt anyone can really feel it, so it's just a saving of a couple of quid when replacing.

at about 35-40 a side, you can have 2 sets for the price of M3 ones, so quite a saving overall.

naetype

890 posts

273 months

Monday 7th December 2009
quotequote all
Enda, like ex-e36coupe ? of the fighting keyboards? ...

Anyways.. I've re-shelled a 3.0 and used the e30 wishbones as they're half the price of the M3 ones but have stronger balljoints than the standard e36 ones with no problems. In fact Don Palmer commented on how sweet a steer it was smile

TheEnd

15,370 posts

211 months

Monday 7th December 2009
quotequote all

the one and only...

swtmerce

213 posts

230 months

Monday 7th December 2009
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Thanks for that info Enda. It's a question I asked on e36coupe recently but the replies were all over the place!

naetype

890 posts

273 months

Monday 7th December 2009
quotequote all
Which is why I'm pleasantly surprised to see Enda/TheEnd on here...

Edited by naetype on Monday 7th December 21:18