Need suspension input (yes another one)

[m3f_matt0807]

Hi all, looking for some input. I've read a bunch of threads (some much older) and have some ideas but wanted to get some experienced input. First, some background: I bought a 99 M3 with quite a bit of maintenance done, well kept, but with a glaring piece of poor equipment: bc coilovers. They ride too hard, bottom out, and are generally letting the entire platform down. I daily drive the M3, but also do some trackdays (say every other month) as well so I need something that will do dual purpose.


After some research, I keep coming to:

1)TCK single adjustables: my concern is that these are overkill for my use, and the price isn't anything to scoff at.

2)H&R coilovers or spring/shock combo: these are within a couple hundred bucks if one another, one offers adjustability in height. Either one I'd need to buy some oe front tophats and potentially anything else that would've come stock that my bcs don't have


Is there another option that I'm missing it should look at?


Thanks in advance for the help.

[m3f_Bimmerman325i]

Allow me to be the first of the TC Kline Evangelist club to say....those are awesome and would be my pick if track days + autocross + street is your goal. I have yet to drive a better motorsporty-inclined all-rounder suspension than them, and I've had a bunch.



If your main use case is primarily street with very occasional track/autox use (be realistic here) then a quality spring + shock system is probably your best bet. Stock is surprisingly good, but Koni + Dinan/H&R Sport (or OE sport) / Eibach is the standard good choice. Bilsteins and/or H&R Race are for if you don't like your organs, much like BCs, except with more controlled damping abilities in between bump stop hits.



If you've hit the track pipe so much that you evaluate any real-life expenditure in multiples of sets of tires ("I don't need a new couch, that's 3 sets of tires!"), then MCS or JRZ are for you.



As a corollary to this, for any and all suspension bushings: rubber is for you in 99% of cases, poly sucks on the street but is for you if you value laptime over comfort or need to list bushings as 'mods' on your social media, solid and spherical is for you if you have a truck and trailer.

[m3f_Earthwormjlm]

Don't forget Ground Control, they're kits are less expensive compared with TC Kline, but are light years ahead of BC racing kits. They're a Koni/H&R coil over solution. Unless you get into the realm of re-valving, Konis are nicely valved for E36's.

[m3f_westopher]

I'm a big fan of my KW coilovers. Basically anything you get from a respected company will be a step up.

[m3f_Double E]

Another fan of the TCK setup. The kit is cheap, the t-shirt that comes with is a few grand!

Go with what you know will not disappoint and give flexibility for the variety of surfaces it will be used on.

[m3f_craac]

Another vote for the TCK's. TC put tons of R+D into the kit and it shows, well worth the extra money even over the comparable GC kit.


Call them up and you will likely get TC himself on the phone, tell him what your goals are for the car and he will point you in the right direction for spring rates. My guess is something like 400f 500r for a street car with occasional track use.

[m3f_jbse39]

I have 97 coupe with Dinan kit and have been pretty happy with it, and if you can catch a sale, they are not bad. It was actually less expensive than HR OE Sport springs + Koni combination. I do 3 HPDE events a year and put about 12-14,000 miles a year as daily and did not want anything stiffer. I do not have any other suspension mods, aside from the springs and shocks. I've had it for 4 years and 50,000 miles with about 20 days of HPDE.


I am in A or Advanced Group in my chapter, (National Capital) and have not felt it lacking on the track so far. I am moving to R-compound (from Michelin Super Sports) tires this season, and may start doing other suspension mods, but because it is my daily, I am not sure I will do anything that would make it uncomfortable as daily.


For $ to enjoyment ratio, I am very happy.

[m3f_bluptgm3]

Don't forget Ground Control, they're kits are less expensive compared with TC Kline, but are light years ahead of BC racing kits. They're a Koni/H&R coil over solution. Unless you get into the realm of re-valving, Konis are nicely valved for E36's.

To the best of my knowledge both TCK and GC procure externally adjustable specially valved dampers from Koni.


One of the benefits of GC is that they produce a CO casing for the M3 Koni adjustable cartridges that adds extra distance/clearance to front wheel/tire. You will find that you need a wheel spacer for ‘stock’ wheels to clear most coilovers (and stock/stock style struts when running stock ‘style’ (8.5 ET41/245/40-17) 8.5 wheels.


My 99 Coupe is on stock springs and Koni TCKline adjustables, while my wife’s 98 Sedan is on H&R OE Sports/Koni’s…and my Son’s 328 Sedan is on Dinan/M3 Bilstein Sports.

I have grown very familiar with the stock/Koni ‘roll’, however I have to admit the other two set-ups are pretty sweet.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[m3f_David@ApexRaceParts]

+1 for the TCKline S/A kit as well. Not only has this kit been proven on many E36's across the country, but you are also gaining access to TC's wealth of setup knowledge.



This knowledge and customer service, to me is worth its weight in gold.



- Max

[m3f_Hasan Shaikh]

I have ST XTA suspension. Very good value for money. It comes with camber plates at the front.

[m3f_pbonsalb]

Unless the OP has replaced every bushing, ball joint, end link mount on his 20 year old car, I recommend doing that before trading his medium quality coil overs (BC, ST, lower range KW, H&R, etc) for moderately better ones (TCK SA, GC SA, midrange KW, PSS9, etc). There are about 30 suspension parts under there that can contribute to poor handling and a rough ride and crashing and banging.


I agree the konis and H&R oe Sport or sport springs are pretty good for a daily driver and probably as good a choice as the low to midrange coilovers. The coilovers become more necessary when you need to lower the car more than about 3/4-1.5 inches or need really stiff springs.

[m3f_matt0807]

Thank you all for the input. A few notes: all bushings HAVE been replaced, so what I'm disliking about the ride is definitely due to the cheap coilovers.


I hadn't considered ST XTA, so I'll have to look into that.


I probably would go with just a spring/shock setup like H&R sport/koni, but since I'll need to buy new oem tophats up front, plus any other oem parts needed, it actually ends up costing just as much as some of the other coilover options.

[m3f_pbonsalb]

Don’t trade one inexpensive coil like BC over for another like ST. Move up to higher quality units like GC or TCK that have been proven on the track and in the street over many years.

[m3f_Bimmerman325i]

In fairness to ST, their coilovers are KW V1s with different housings-- they aren't the cheap garbage stuff.

[m3f_Braymond141]

In fairness to ST, their coilovers are KW V1s with different housings-- they aren't the cheap garbage stuff.

No they are. They are trash on the E36. They fail and outside of the office the KW guys laugh about how they won’t fix them.