Trying to get everything lined up for this Saturday... due to last-minute deliveries, I'm going to be installing my new-to-me Ground Control Street/Track coilovers on Friday morning/afternoon, appointment at the alignment shop at 4pm. Running their shortened Koni setup w/6" 2.5" id ERS springs, 550 front 600 rear. Using their rear shock mounts, got their spring hats and running swapped 96+ M3 strut hats with the reinforcement plates.

I THINK I'll be able to install this in my driveway with a basic Craftsman toolkit, a torque wrench, and a breaker bar.

Besides the top nut that holds the strut bearing down (do I need an air impact for this?), it's three nuts on top of the strut, three bolts on the bottom at the spindle. Don't have to compress springs, from what I hear. Not doing anything with the sway bars (I'll mount them to the strut once I get adj end links, I'll leave them on the control arm for now), brake lines just pop off the old strut and press onto the new ones.

In the rear, rear shock mounts are a couple simple nuts, top strut nut can be done with a couple wrenches. Bottom is just a bolt. Spring just sits on the carrier, pop on and off spring pads.

I'm removing my old suspension in one piece, selling it to someone else so it goes straight on his car (also a 318). Leaving the top strut bearing installed, etc, so just 3 nuts on top, 3 bolts on bottom, etc.

Am I missing anything? Anything else I should order ahead of time? Can anybody see any reason this shouldn't go smoothly? I've never installed coilovers before, any tricks? Suggested settings?

The only thing I can think of is to reset your brain to slow and easy when you get on the track. The car is going to be different and you brain isn't going to be used to it. Make sure that there is no brain failure that leads to car failure :D

The only thing I can think of is to reset your brain to slow and easy when you get on the track. The car is going to be different and you brain isn't going to be used to it. Make sure that there is no brain failure that leads to car failure :D

Yup. Definitely a learning curve. My girlfriend drives and awesome "330is"... M3 conversion to her 325. The donor M3? Totalled after 2 weeks of having coilovers. :(

Would it be suggested I run street tires instead of my normal R-comps, or will I be okay, just take some time to "learn" it?

Trying to get everything lined up for this Saturday... due to last-minute deliveries, I'm going to be installing my new-to-me Ground Control Street/Track coilovers on Friday morning/afternoon, appointment at the alignment shop at 4pm. Running their shortened Koni setup w/6" 2.5" id ERS springs, 550 front 600 rear. Using their rear shock mounts, got their spring hats and running swapped 96+ M3 strut hats with the reinforcement plates.

I THINK I'll be able to install this in my driveway with a basic Craftsman toolkit, a torque wrench, and a breaker bar.

Besides the top nut that holds the strut bearing down (do I need an air impact for this?), it's three nuts on top of the strut, three bolts on the bottom at the spindle. Don't have to compress springs, from what I hear. Not doing anything with the sway bars (I'll mount them to the strut once I get adj end links, I'll leave them on the control arm for now), brake lines just pop off the old strut and press onto the new ones.

In the rear, rear shock mounts are a couple simple nuts, top strut nut can be done with a couple wrenches. Bottom is just a bolt. Spring just sits on the carrier, pop on and off spring pads.

I'm removing my old suspension in one piece, selling it to someone else so it goes straight on his car (also a 318). Leaving the top strut bearing installed, etc, so just 3 nuts on top, 3 bolts on bottom, etc.

Am I missing anything? Anything else I should order ahead of time? Can anybody see any reason this shouldn't go smoothly? I've never installed coilovers before, any tricks? Suggested settings?


As for the strut bearing removal. If you have an impact...it will make removal a piece of cake. If not, you'll probably need to fab a 22mm socket and allen wrench. I'd find an impact gun...even one of those cheapo's at walmart that plugs into the cig. lighter may be enough to remove that nut.

Ken

As for the strut bearing removal. If you have an impact...it will make removal a piece of cake. If not, you'll probably need to fab a 22mm socket and allen wrench. I'd find an impact gun...even one of those cheapo's at walmart that plugs into the cig. lighter may be enough to remove that nut.

Ken
I'm removing my old suspension in one piece, selling it to someone else so it goes straight on his car (also a 318). Leaving the top strut bearing installed, etc, so just 3 nuts on top, 3 bolts on bottom, etc.

Not taking the old bearing off, leaving the old suspension compressed to go straight into the new owner's car. I'm installing 96+ M3 hats swapped on my new setup.

Do I need an impact to install the new one? I don't remember if the strut shaft spins, or if there's something I can put a wrench over to hold it in place while I tighten, like on the rear. Do I need a pair of vice grips?

Not taking the old bearing off, leaving the old suspension compressed to go straight into the new owner's car. I'm installing 96+ M3 hats swapped on my new setup.

Do I need an impact to install the new one? I don't remember if the strut shaft spins, or if there's something I can put a wrench over to hold it in place while I tighten, like on the rear. Do I need a pair of vice grips?

I *think* you're gonna find that it spins. If you don't have an impact, you can fab a 22mm socket and allen wrench to tighten or loosen the nut for the hat swap.

Just grind enough material on the 22mm socket for an adjustable wrench to grab it. I think I ended up cutting an allen wrech off so I could slip a socket over the allen wrench and use a ratchet. It's been 6 years since I did it that way...so I can't remember exactly what I did. It was a pita. Impact makes it very quick and simple.

Ken

I *think* you're gonna find that it spins. If you don't have an impact, you can fab a 22mm socket and allen wrench to tighten or loosen the nut for the hat swap.

Just grind enough material on the 22mm socket for an adjustable wrench to grab it. I think I ended up cutting an allen wrech off so I could slip a socket over the allen wrench and use a ratchet. It's been 6 years since I did it that way...so I can't remember exactly what I did. It was a pita. Impact makes it very quick and simple.

Ken

Hmm... Maybe I'll just assemble the front struts on their own, and take em to the shop I use and see if they can just hammer the nut down for me, then slap them on the car. :dunno

Hmm... Maybe I'll just assemble the front struts on their own, and take em to the shop I use and see if they can just hammer the nut down for me, then slap them on the car. :dunno
If you know the shop well and/or are a regular, yeah that should work. I did the same thing when I pulled the front coilovers from the race car to have the shocks rebuilt - just ran 'em up to my local mechanic for him to deal with the strut bearing :)

Jim

Hmm... Maybe I'll just assemble the front struts on their own, and take em to the shop I use and see if they can just hammer the nut down for me, then slap them on the car. :dunno

Go to walmart and spend $25-$30 on a cheapo electric impact. It will last for more than a year and do the job you need done. Or, spend $70-$100 for a cordless impact.

K

If you are removing the complete strut assembly from the car as a complete unit, i dont believe you need spring compressors, nor do you need to remove the center nut that holds the top hat and spring together with the strut.

this means that you will need a set of upper mounts from the donor car as well to swap into yours. if your coilovers are not already assembled, you will know immediately if you need a spring compressor or not, in order to get the top strut nut on.

glad to see you are doing an alignment before you go to the track. usually you dont want to make dramatic changes immediately before you go to the track, but thats not as bad as going there with an out-of-whack alignment.

If you are removing the complete strut assembly from the car as a complete unit, i dont believe you need spring compressors, nor do you need to remove the center nut that holds the top hat and spring together with the strut.

this means that you will need a set of upper mounts from the donor car as well to swap into yours. if your coilovers are not already assembled, you will know immediately if you need a spring compressor or not, in order to get the top strut nut on.

glad to see you are doing an alignment before you go to the track. usually you dont want to make dramatic changes immediately before you go to the track, but thats not as bad as going there with an out-of-whack alignment.

Yup. I purchased the spring hats from Mpact, and I have a pair of 96+ upper mounts waiting to go in (seller of the coilovers had camber plates that he kept, so there was no spring hat or upper bushing).

Old stuff should just come right off with 3 top nuts and 3 bottom bolts. Hopefully the new one stuff goes right on...

Go to walmart and spend $25-$30 on a cheapo electric impact. It will last for more than a year and do the job you need done. Or, spend $70-$100 for a cordless impact.

K

Might be a good idea. Would make wheel swaps easier... Does Target have these? I have a $25 gift card lying around, might check...

If you use Vice Grips, be sure to use them as high up on the shaft as you can. I always wrapped a shop towel around the shaft to protect it.

Don't forget to set your ride height before the alignment, unless they're going to do that for you.

Do yourself a favor and write down all the torque specs before you start and don't get tempted to deviate far from them.

Start early Friday morning to allow for any necessary runs to your mechanic and/or FLAPS.

It sounds like you've got everything covered. I'd throw some Loctite around if you're reusing nuts and bolts. You might also want to have a can of PB Blaster handy to free any stuck bolts.

If you use Vice Grips, be sure to use them as high up on the shaft as you can. I always wrapped a shop towel around the shaft to protect it.

Don't forget to set your ride height before the alignment, unless they're going to do that for you.

Do yourself a favor and write down all the torque specs before you start and don't get tempted to deviate far from them.

Start early Friday morning to allow for any necessary runs to your mechanic and/or FLAPS.

It sounds like you've got everything covered. I'd throw some Loctite around if you're reusing nuts and bolts. You might also want to have a can of PB Blaster handy to free any stuck bolts.

How do you "set ride height"? I was just going to set them at the same level and install... will I need to make side to side adjustments? I'm just aligning, not corner balancing.

Hopefully I'll just impact them, I don't really want to vice the shaft.

I should be getting started around 9 or so, depending on where I end up doing it... that should be enough time, I think.

Hopefully no stuck bolts, considering I just installed the current suspension 7 or 8 months ago. Loctite is a good idea tho. Blue? Just a drop or two?

Might be a good idea. Would make wheel swaps easier... Does Target have these? I have a $25 gift card lying around, might check...

I'd be willing to bet that Target would have one. Seriously, my wife gave me one back in 1999 and it just gave up the ghost a couple of months ago. It was fine for changing wheels at the track as long as you've got a cig. lighter to plug into.
It's slow as it takes some time for it to spin up for the impact...but it's effective nonetheless.

K

How do you "set ride height"? I was just going to set them at the same level
AKA "setting the ride height" :)

will I need to make side to side adjustments? I'm just aligning, not corner balancing.
Then you probably won't initially be making side-to-side adjustments, but you will in the future get the car corner-balanced, yes?

Loctite is a good idea tho. Blue? Just a drop or two?
Red, and mainly on the 3 bolts at the bottom of the front strut.

Jim

AKA "setting the ride height" :)


Then you probably won't initially be making side-to-side adjustments, but you will in the future get the car corner-balanced, yes?


Wasn't planning on it, unless you can tell me something different than all the threads I found while searching saying it's worthless for cars that see <10 DE's a year? :dunno

How do you "set ride height"? I was just going to set them at the same level and install... will I need to make side to side adjustments? I'm just aligning, not corner balancing.

Hopefully I'll just impact them, I don't really want to vice the shaft.


Pretty sure you dont need the impact gun if you are not going to remove the upper nut that holds the strut together.

Setting the ride height usually takes a couple tries. Once you put the coilovers on, put the wheels on (finger tight the bolts), roll the car back and forward several feet (to settle the suspension), and measure the ride height at each corner (on level surface).

You will probably be off side to side. My coilovers are actually set at different heights from side to side in order to get same side to side ride height. So pull the wheels back off and re-adjust the coilovers. Also, the number of threads you go up/down will have more effect in rear than front, so you'll just have to play with it.

Wasn't planning on it, unless you can tell me something different than all the threads I found while searching saying it's worthless for cars that see <10 DE's a year? :dunno
Do you want to suspension to work right or not? :dunno

I don't see the correlation between number of driving events and setting up the coilover suspension correctly. I mean, why buy height-adjustable coilovers and not use them properly?

And FWIW, my race car is only height-adjustable in the front as well, but I had it corner-weighted. And I only attend ~10 races a year.

That's just my 2 cents, feel free to do it our own way. YMMV, batteries not included, keep out of reach of children, etc :)

Jim

Hmm... Maybe I'll just assemble the front struts on their own, and take em to the shop I use and see if they can just hammer the nut down for me, then slap them on the car. :dunno

That will work well ... pay attention to the torque on that nut ... you don't want it too tight or too loose! You should try to make sure that the shaft does not spin in the body ... bad for the shock apparently. You can grab it with some vice grips near the top of the shaft (above max compression) ... of course you should use a rag or something to protect the shaft.

Last minute work like that makes me nervous. Good luck with it.

Do you want to suspension to work right or not? :dunno

I don't see the correlation between number of driving events and setting up the coilover suspension correctly. I mean, why buy height-adjustable coilovers and not use them properly?

And FWIW, my race car is only height-adjustable in the front as well, but I had it corner-weighted. And I only attend ~10 races a year.

That's just my 2 cents, feel free to do it our own way. YMMV, batteries not included, keep out of reach of children, etc :)

Jim

Basically, at this point I don't think it's worth it, because I haven't decided if I'm leaving it as a street car or not. Either way, exhaust changes will be made, and I believe the seats are coming out and getting replaced with Evo's. If it's not going to be street-driven, a cage may go in. All of these will throw off weight adjustment, and negate any gains made by a previous balance.

Lots of weight changes, so I don't see it being worth the extra money to corner balance it at this point. The general consensus is it has a marginal effect, which won't be noticed if your biggest competition is some autocross time.

The reason for coilovers wasn't for height adjustment, it was for spring options and adjustable shocks. For $300 more than my Eibach standard spring/shock setup, I'll have far more adjustability with these, ride height being the least of the desired adjustments.

I don't think it's an issue of the suspension working "right", I think it's maybe not working to it's 100% potential... but at this point, the money I would spend getting that last bit out of it is probably better spent elsewhere.

Last minute work like that makes me nervous. Good luck with it.

Me too, man... me too. Hopefully all my ducks are in a row, I'm doing my best to line them up ahead of time.

Lots of weight changes, so I don't see it being worth the extra money to corner balance it at this point.
Fair enough, can't necessarily disagree with your assessment/conclusions, although my approach would be different (comes from being an engineer, I guess :) ).

In any event, like others have said, try not to rush getting it installed, and good luck.

Jim - has his own "rushing to get a car done" story, ultimately resulting in the valves seen in another thread around here :eek:

Yup. Definitely a learning curve. My girlfriend drives an awesome "330is"... M3 conversion to her 325. The donor M3? Totalled after 2 weeks of having coilovers. :(

Would it be suggested I run street tires instead of my normal R-comps, or will I be okay, just take some time to "learn" it?
If I were you, I'd go out on street tires at first. When you're comfortable with that, swap the r-comps on. Btw, I'll give you a ride home if you break your car. It's the least I can do. :D

If I were you, I'd go out on street tires at first. When you're comfortable with that, swap the r-comps on. Btw, I'll give you a ride home if you break your car. It's the least I can do. :D

:shifty

ha, i'm in the same boat, almost.

I just got my suspension in (GC COs), and the autox state championships are Sat-Sun. Its 10:10 at night and i realize i dont have a 22mm deep socket to install the strut nuts. doh. I need to finish tonight to get to work and to get an alignment.

fun times, fun times :buttrock

Make sure to tighten those top nuts down tightly enough. I didn't the first few times and it started making clunking noises. Ended up taking it apart again and swapping the hats to get more - camber in the front. Liking every moment of it so far :D

Everything is simple, but somehow always end up taking longer than it should.

yeh, i got the coilovers w/ camber plates already installed so i thought i was good to go, but theyre asymetrical and they should be swapped for a decent amount of neg camber.

:eyecrazy

ha, i'm in the same boat, almost.

I just got my suspension in (GC COs), and the autox state championships are Sat-Sun. Its 10:10 at night and i realize i dont have a 22mm deep socket to install the strut nuts. doh. I need to finish tonight to get to work and to get an alignment.

fun times, fun times :buttrock

An impact gun REALLY helps. I bought a $20 12v one at harbor freight I can plug into my cigarette socket, and used it for the top strut nut install (held the shaft with a pair of pliers from the trunk toolkit, and a glove over the strut so I didn't damage it).

Worked out GREAT. Hammered on the suspension all day Saturday, including a few off-track excursions, and it's doing AWESOME. Totally silent, I was amazed. :eyecrazy Only thing I hear is my polyurethane RTABs creak going in/out of driveways, and I had that noise before. I'm seriously surprised... but pleased! :redspot

Make sure to tighten those top nuts down tightly enough. I didn't the first few times and it started making clunking noises. Ended up taking it apart again and swapping the hats to get more - camber in the front. Liking every moment of it so far :D

Everything is simple, but somehow always end up taking longer than it should.

Yeah, I'm running the swapped 96+ M3 hats on my 318is. Got -3 degrees up front and -2.5 on the rears (front coilovers at half height, 6" 550# springs, rear height adjuster all the way down, 6" 600# springs), and I LOVE it. Handles great, 7.5 degrees of caster (had to make a tool to adjust my shocks, couldn't even fit the Koni top-adjust knob, too close to the strut opening!).