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Old 05-25-2018, 07:06 AM   #141
blee
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Quote:
Originally Posted by clyde View Post
The original E46 M3 shocks were horribly valved for the car. Brand new, it uncomfortably crashed over road imperfections and they never seemed to be in sync with the springs. I think he off the self single adjustable Konis made a huge improvement to the point the car was comfortable. I remember driving Nick’s blue M3 down 895 one night when the suspension was completely stock and all I could think was “how can people say this is a great car?” When the Only thing different were the Konis, it was really nice.

Now that I’m thinkgonna Ng about it, maybe it wasn’t Konis, but some other brand. Hmm....
Interesting. I remember driving Nick's and JST's M3s when they were relatively fresh, but I don't remember that. I'm also curious to know why there are still some folks out there who insist that the OE parts are the best choice for this car. If I hadn't gone with coilovers, I would probably have gone with Konis and maybe Eibachs.

I continue to be impressed by the new suspension on my car. Even crappy roads feel better. It'll have around 40-50 miles on it by the time I get home tomorrow morning, which I think is enough to check the alignment and see if it's settled at all since installation.
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Old 05-25-2018, 07:17 AM   #142
John V
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Quote:
Originally Posted by clyde View Post
The original E46 M3 shocks were horribly valved for the car. Brand new, it uncomfortably crashed over road imperfections and they never seemed to be in sync with the springs. I think he off the self single adjustable Konis made a huge improvement to the point the car was comfortable. I remember driving Nick’s blue M3 down 895 one night when the suspension was completely stock and all I could think was “how can people say this is a great car?”
I agree. The stock suspension really ruined that car for me.

They get so much better with good coilovers and more wheel / tire up front to eliminate the stagger.
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Old 05-25-2018, 07:19 AM   #143
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I downsized the wheels and put on Michelin all seasons, which helped the ride a lot on my M3.
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Old 05-25-2018, 09:56 AM   #144
blee
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Yeah, wheels and tires are somewhere on the list for me. Was thinking of an 18” square setup, but I have too much tread depth right now to think about it. Also, sounds like clearance can be an issue, and it had a lot to do with individual suspension and wheel /spacer choices. Lots to think about
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Old 05-25-2018, 11:33 AM   #145
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Originally Posted by blee View Post
Yeah, wheels and tires are somewhere on the list for me. Was thinking of an 18” square setup, but I have too much tread depth right now to think about it. Also, sounds like clearance can be an issue, and it had a lot to do with individual suspension and wheel /spacer choices. Lots to think about
Hmm. I ran 17-inch M3 wheels. Square, as I recall. It came with the 19s.

Edit: They were M68s, specifically for winter M3 use:

Front 7.5J x 17 ET47 36 11 2 229 480
Rear 7.5J x 17 ET25 36 11 2 229 980
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Old 05-25-2018, 12:25 PM   #146
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Quote:
Originally Posted by blee View Post
Yeah, wheels and tires are somewhere on the list for me. Was thinking of an 18” square setup, but I have too much tread depth right now to think about it. Also, sounds like clearance can be an issue, and it had a lot to do with individual suspension and wheel /spacer choices. Lots to think about
I seem to remember at least one of our local folks had 18x10s all around with 265-width tires and it resulted in a really well-balanced car.

Maybe not what you want for a street car though.
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Old 05-26-2018, 10:38 PM   #147
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Quote:
Originally Posted by blee View Post
Interesting. I remember driving Nick's and JST's M3s when they were relatively fresh, but I don't remember that. I'm also curious to know why there are still some folks out there who insist that the OE parts are the best choice for this car. If I hadn't gone with coilovers, I would probably have gone with Konis and maybe Eibachs.

I continue to be impressed by the new suspension on my car. Even crappy roads feel better. It'll have around 40-50 miles on it by the time I get home tomorrow morning, which I think is enough to check the alignment and see if it's settled at all since installation.
Whatever other people think doesn’t matter. It’s what feels good/right to you. Sounds like you’re happy with what you’ve done with your car. You made the right choices, then, right?
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Old 07-27-2021, 01:19 PM   #148
blee
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Hey everyone! Long time no see. Like, two years, according to my last login. Lots of stuff to catch up. Might as well start with the car.

Over June and July, I finally got around to doing the rear end work that I'd been planning for about three years. Like all good projects, there was a significant amount of scope creep, but only a couple of setbacks. The complete list of work:

-Shifter upgrade
-Driveshaft: center support and bearing, centering bushings, giubo, CV joint replacement
-Fuel filter replacement (was original!)
-Differential: input and output seal replacement, cover replacement (only way to get new OE bushings)
-Suspension: All bushings and ball joints replaced, except for the subframe bushings and RTABs, which were replaced when I bought the car
-Parking brake: cable replacement, shoe replacement

The car is getting its overdue safety inspection right now.

Most of you probably saw all of my progress on FB, so here are just a few photos for posterity.



















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Old 07-27-2021, 01:29 PM   #149
blee
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Couple other notes:

The shifter is freaking amazing. I bought an AutoSolutions "AutoCross" short shift kit, stock height, 20% shift reduction. It replaced what I believe was an older Rogue kit with a weighted selector rod. This kit is super smooth and a real joy to use. Installation was kind of a pain...okay, it was a giant pain.

At some point, the bolt that attaches the brake line bracket to my right rear trailing arm snapped off at the end. Someone "repaired" this with a zip tie. I tried to extract it with a generic EZ-Out, which promptly snapped off within the bolt. The solution required a lot (A LOT) of cursing, followed by some patient drilling and re-tapping. In the end, I got the original sized bolt to go in smoothly again. But I didn't enjoy it.

Final note, for now: The harness connectors for my rear wheel speed sensors are toast. They started to crumble as I tried to disconnect them, so I left them alone and just removed the sensors at the hubs. If/when the sensors go bad, I'll have to do some cutting and crimping to replace them. I suppose that's not unexpected for 17-year-old plastic, but I feel like BMW could have done better here.





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