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#1. Re: [E36M3] Re: Suspension Alternatives - from Chester Wong
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Date: Tue, 8 Jan 2002 19:48:22 -0800 (PST) From: Chester Wong <chester_p_wong@yahoo.com> Subject: Re: [E36M3] Re: Suspension Alternatives > > Since I have 92K miles on them, should I change out any of the rubber > bushings > > or end links while I'm under the car? Or is that a big additional project? > > Replacing the swaybar links is easy, and you'll have one end undone anyway. > However aftermarket sways usually come with their own links. One end undone? You mean like the whole front or the whole rear? Just don't want people to get confused where they think that they could replace an end link with say, just the left side of the car jacked up. Dangerous!!! There's tension on the bars in that position and removing the nut can cause injury ;) > In the winter I put back the stock suspension, but leave the RD sways in > place. You'll hardly find anyone who's tried this, but it's great. Roll is > still well controlled, but comfort is only minimally worse than stock. This > runs pretty much counter to conventional (racecar) wisdom, but in a street > context it's entirely appropriate. Wow...this is difficult if you're talking about putting back the OE Boge struts on the car. Or do you mean stock springs? Because unless you replaced your suspension early on, the OE Boges are probably gone and I would not spend good money on crap like that =) But if you have Konis, you can just put the stock springs back on and turn the adjuster... Chester ===== __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Send FREE video emails in Yahoo! Mail! http://promo.yahoo.com/videomail/
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#2. SwayBars - UUC vs. RD - from James Mckenna
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Date: Tue, 8 Jan 2002 23:13:02 -0500 From: "James Mckenna" <shutupkid@home.com> Subject: SwayBars - UUC vs. RD im going to be buying a set of sway bars once i get H&R coilovers... = but im stuck between uuc and rd... rd's seem to keep the car more flat in turns, where uuc keeps the wheels flat in turns (uuc uses soft up front and very stiff in the back) i dont track my car, just want it to handle well on my occosional aggresive street driving, and im much more concerned with keeping the car flat than allowing some front roll to decrease understeer... what bars do you guys perscribe me? =20 ps, this is the info from uuc's sight=20 Model Front Sway Bar Rear Sway Bar Front % Stiffness Rear % Stiffness=09 Stock 95 M3 0.88" (22.5mm) 0.748" (19mm) 0 0=09 UUC Motorwerks Sway Barbarian 1.0" (25.4mm) 0.9375" (23.8mm) 62% 147%=09 Racing Dynamics 1.0625" (26.98mm) 0.875" (22.225mm) 107% 87%=09 Racing Dynamic'ss dimension further increase the car's tendency to understeer since the new sway bars increase the front stiffness more than the rear. It's increases in stiffness do much to reduce body = roll.
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#3. Re: [E36M3] Do anti-sway bar bushings wear out? - from Bob Larson
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Date: Tue, 08 Jan 2002 20:13:59 -0800 From: Bob Larson <asp9111@attbi.com> Subject: Re: [E36M3] Do anti-sway bar bushings wear out? > > > >My car with 34k NYC miles wasn't too bad up front in terms of control arms. >The swaybar links, however, need to be replaced quite frequently...more so if >you have aftermarket bars. The heim joints (not sure if that's what you'd call >them for the factory sway bar links) develop a little play. This play allows >for just a slight acceleration of the bar with respect to the strut. The the >travel finally ends, you get a jack hammer effect. When you replace the front >sway bar links, you'll actually think your car feels smoother. > >Chester > >===== > Chester, Did you put rear t railing arm bushings on at that (34k) point too ? Can you tell (a beginner) more about swaybar end links ? Sounds like it could be a pretty easy job. Is it ? Bob Larson
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#4. shot shocks? - from James Mckenna
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Date: Tue, 8 Jan 2002 23:16:06 -0500 From: "James Mckenna" <shutupkid@home.com> Subject: shot shocks? after riding in my friends 95 m3 with half the miles as mine, i noticed his car was MUCH MUCH MUCH smoother than mine, both have stock suspensions.. my car has 65k miles on the original shocks, the the shocks dont make the car bounce at all, they just dont absorb shock whatsoever.. does this mean my shocks need replacing? or is my 65k mile m3's life over, i really wish i could restore its smooth ride....
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#5. Re: [E36M3] RE: shot shocks - from Peter Guagenti
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Date: Tue, 08 Jan 2002 20:15:07 -0800 From: Peter Guagenti <peter@guagenti.com> Subject: Re: [E36M3] RE: shot shocks on 1/8/02 7:35 PM, Chester Wong at chester_p_wong@yahoo.com wrote: > stiff. This is wrong. What you'll do if conditions permit is lock up the > suspension. So you hit a bump or are in a turn and compress the shock. The > shock can't rebound fast enough and you hit another bump... You'll eventually > bottom out the suspension. I think someone on the list once mentioned that > this happened to him. Yep, that was me. I bought my '95 with the shock setting half a turn from full stiff. At my first autocross on the car I was going through a very fast D-shaped sweeper at Oakland Coliseum, and the suspension compressed so far that when I would brake and turn in to go to the next section, the rear end would break loose every time. The behavior was unlike anything else I had ever felt. Backing off the rear another half settled the rear suspension for the rougher courses. I can't understand how people change their settings around. Improperly tuned Koni's (too soft) always feels to me like the car is unpredictable or (too stiff) feel like it "skates". There really is an optimal point. When you find it, leave it alone. If you don't like your suspension stiff for street use, shoulda left the stock springs in. ;-)
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#6. Supersprint resonators - from James Mckenna
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Date: Tue, 8 Jan 2002 23:17:56 -0500 From: "James Mckenna" <shutupkid@home.com> Subject: Supersprint resonators has anybody herd one? im very interested in replacing my entire block back exhaust system, and these would be a lot less than a new cat converter, plus will add some power....
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#7. Re: [E36M3] RE: shot shocks - from Chris Teague
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Date: Tue, 8 Jan 2002 20:21:40 -0800 From: "Chris Teague" <cteague@home.com> Subject: Re: [E36M3] RE: shot shocks Chester, If you run too much rebound in the shock, it can cause the suspension to "jack down" as you describe. And if the rebound is too soft, it can "pogo stick" as you describe. However, with my Koni double adjustables shocks, I have run them full soft, and full stiff, and in between. I cannot get to either condition, although it does dramatically change the handling of the car in an autocross setting, and the ride quality. The adjustment at the top (and only adjustment on the single adjustalbles) is the rebound adjustment. For those of us that run in SCCA stock class, running up the rebound stiffness does sort of act like a stiffer spring. It's certainly no substitute for stiffer springs, but is certainly a useful tuning tool if you are rules limited. And I *definetely* run mine softer on the street. The settings useful for autocross are *bone jaring* on the street. With the DA's, I can change compression/rebound on all 4 shocks in about 5 minutes or less, so I do that right at the track. I have just switched to H&R sport springs and Eibach's, so I am sure I will be needing new shock settings for the autox, but I still expect to run them softer on the street. That's my $0.02 Chris 97 M3/4 Almost Ready for SM/BSP ----- Original Message ----- > Date: Tue, 8 Jan 2002 19:27:27 -0800 (PST) > From: Chester Wong <chester_p_wong@yahoo.com> > Subject: Re: [E36M3] RE: shot shocks > > Now I've heard that the adjustment on the Konis don't just adjust rebound. If > it did, then you cranking down on the stiffness would not give you a virtually > stiffer spring as compression would remain the same but rebound would be like > going through molasses. I hear that the adjustment primarily affects rebound > but it ties in a slight bit to compression. At any rate, what you're doing is > a kludge. You tune the shock to the spring and that's it. You "set it and > forget it". The only time I would think that you readjust the settings is if > the shock wears a bit or if you change springs. I recently asked Jay Morris > about what some people do for autocrosses where they give a half a turn more > stiff. This is wrong. What you'll do if conditions permit is lock up the > suspension. So you hit a bump or are in a turn and compress the shock. The > shock can't rebound fast enough and you hit another bump... You'll eventually > bottom out the suspension. I think someone on the list once mentioned that > this happened to him. Likewise, you don't turn them to a softer setting for > street use. If you do that, you get less dampening in the rebound...and you > pogo. > > At least that's how I view the world. > > FWIW, > Chester > > > As far as the springs, they're M3 H&R sports, which are much too soft for > > my liking. The stiff rebound setting is actually to act as a virtually > > stiffer spring, if only during turn in transitions. It's a kludge...If I > > had stiffer springs, I'd probably back the konis off a bit....ehh, probably > > not :) >
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#8. Re: [E36M3] SwayBars - UUC vs. RD - from Chris Teague
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Date: Tue, 8 Jan 2002 20:24:37 -0800 From: "Chris Teague" <cteague@home.com> Subject: Re: [E36M3] SwayBars - UUC vs. RD James, Just to though you off a little, I use Eibach. They are 26mm front/24mm rear, and are adjustable with 2 holes each side. I also had a Dinan front bar. Chris 97 M3/4 ----- Original Message ----- > Date: Tue, 8 Jan 2002 23:13:02 -0500 > From: "James Mckenna" <shutupkid@home.com> > Subject: SwayBars - UUC vs. RD > > > im going to be buying a set of sway bars once i get H&R coilovers... = > but > im stuck between uuc and rd... rd's seem to keep the car more flat in > turns, where uuc keeps the wheels flat in turns (uuc uses soft up front > and very stiff in the back) i dont track my car, just want it to handle > well on my occosional aggresive street driving, and im much more > concerned with keeping the car flat than allowing some front roll to > decrease understeer... what bars do you guys perscribe me? > =20 > ps, this is the info from uuc's sight=20 > Model Front > Sway Bar Rear > Sway Bar Front % > Stiffness Rear % > Stiffness=09 > Stock 95 M3 0.88" (22.5mm) 0.748" (19mm) 0 0=09 > UUC Motorwerks > Sway Barbarian 1.0" (25.4mm) 0.9375" (23.8mm) 62% 147%=09 > Racing Dynamics 1.0625" (26.98mm) 0.875" (22.225mm) 107% > 87%=09 > > Racing Dynamic'ss dimension further increase the car's tendency to > understeer since the new sway bars increase the front stiffness more > than the rear. It's increases in stiffness do much to reduce body = > roll.
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#9. Re: [E36M3] shot shocks? - from Chris Teague
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Date: Tue, 8 Jan 2002 20:27:45 -0800 From: "Chris Teague" <cteague@home.com> Subject: Re: [E36M3] shot shocks? James, That's easy, you need new shocks. The stocks ones don't usually last much past 30K miles. Chris 97 M3/4 ----- Original Message ----- > Date: Tue, 8 Jan 2002 23:16:06 -0500 > From: "James Mckenna" <shutupkid@home.com> > Subject: shot shocks? > > > after riding in my friends 95 m3 with half the miles as mine, i noticed > his car was MUCH MUCH MUCH smoother than mine, both have stock > suspensions.. my car has 65k miles on the original shocks, the the > shocks dont make the car bounce at all, they just dont absorb shock > whatsoever.. does this mean my shocks need replacing? or is my 65k mile > m3's life over, i really wish i could restore its smooth ride....
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#10. Re: [E36M3] Do anti-sway bar bushings wear out? - from Chester Wong
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Date: Tue, 8 Jan 2002 20:32:02 -0800 (PST) From: Chester Wong <chester_p_wong@yahoo.com> Subject: Re: [E36M3] Do anti-sway bar bushings wear out? > Did you put rear t railing arm bushings on at that (34k) point too ? > Can you tell (a beginner) more about swaybar end > links ? Sounds like it could be a pretty easy job. Is it ? Yep. I replaced them with Powerflex bushings. I think the ride actually got better over stock. The reason why I say this is I guess I didn't lube the rear bushings enough since my car squeaks now =( I have to find the desire to get under there again and lube them up. I think I'll just drive with earplugs to see what I think =) I was thinking about going back to stock OE bushings. I have the tools to replace them easily and replacing them each time before an alignment makes this a cheap solution...something like $15 per bushing. But then the OE bushings allow for lateral flex and allow the toe to change during hard cornering =( So I'm torn. Of course, there's always the GC rear trailing arm reinforcement kit. I dunno.... Front sway bar links are easy. Lift the entire front end and support with jack stands. Remove wheels. Loosen nut on strut. Loosen nut on sway bar. You'll need (I think) a 15mm cone wrench from bicycle shop to get at the small flats. Remove old link. Install new ones with new self-locking nuts. Something the TIS specifically outlines and I don't think everyone knows is to keep the flats parallel with the axis of the strut. This keeps the mounting of the link in the strongest position. Tighten nuts to 59Nm. Lower and enjoy the new smoother ride. Chester ===== __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Send FREE video emails in Yahoo! Mail! http://promo.yahoo.com/videomail/