Alright guys, this might sound wierd, but who isn't on this forum;) . There's a couple of us guys here in Nashville that are looking to put in sport suspensions that have never done this type of thing before and are kinda/sorta interested in doing it themselves, but are a little chickenshit about getting in over their heads:95 . Is there anyone out there in the Nashvegas area that would be interested in helping us along with some assitance and tutoring.
Someone that knows what they're doing preferred :12: .

Ken

Never done suspension work, but I have done almost everything else. First suggestion is to get a Bentley manual (I used to have one for the E36, but gave it to the guy I sold my car to). If you don't already have one, it is a great resource. It will tell you exactly how to remove the parts and what tools you will need. If you would like, I may be able to help out. For what it is worth, I have heard that it is not that difficult of a project.

BMP,

Thanks for posting. Yes, I have a Bentley, it's a great resource. I also got my first torque wrench for Christmas - a gift my wife still likes to poke fun at:stickoutt . I've also heard that it's not that idfficult a job, assuming some mechanical aptitude and the right tools. In my case, I've got some aptitude but not a lot of experience, and my tool inventory is less than complete. For example I don't have a floor jack or jack stands, thus I don't have a good way to raise the car. Since this is the car I drive everyday, I need to be able to complete the job once I start it, or at least finish the front in one time frame, then the rear in another. Keep in touch.

Ken

What part of town are you in? I have a floor jack and stands and just about any tool you would need. However, I don't have a couple of the "must haves" for working with suspensions.

Here is one tip for the first timer that is invaluable:

Get a piece of paper and when you disassemble the shock mounts and the front struts...

DOCUMENT THE ORDER AND PHYSICAL ORIENTATION OF EVERY SINGLE WASHER AND SPACER

Reassembling the parts out of order or with cup washers etc flipped the wrong way can lead to the RSMs coming completely free and the front strut upper bearing mounts can bind.

Remove each piece one at a time and lay it aside in exploded parts view order someplace where you won't mix the parts up and make notes about things like cup washers and bearing covers facing up or down.

BMP,

I'm in West Nashville and there's another guy in Franklin (Kramer) looking into doing some similar work. I know one of the important tool necessary for this is a spring compressor which I don't have. I'm told you can rent them for reasonable prices.

Jim, I think you should come on out to Nashville and help us all out. We could have a weekend suspension fest. We'd all do the work and you can supervise! If we could buy you a $200 plane ticket, we'd still be ahead on laor costs!

Ken

LOL! You might be right.

I don't knw how it is there by you but out here Kragen Parts 'rents' the spring compressors. Basica;;y you give them a CC deposit for $40 or $50 and take the tool. This is the purchase price for them. When you return them, they credit you back.

I'm guessing there is a time limit on how long you have to bring them back. I just went ahead and bought a set.

Thanks Jim. So when do you want to come out to Nashville and help us all out?

Hey! I'm in. I have free plane tickets ta boot! Ha!

I am putting my new wheels on Saturday. Who wants to come over with a floor jack?

And like Ken, I am currently shopping for springs/shocks as well, so putting those babies on is right around the corner.
Last winter I rebuilt a 2000 Harley (having never tearing into a motor before. Did it cause I wanted to learn and with a manuual, my tools and a portable TV, I worked it out). I can't imaging that this suspension change is beyond my capabilities.
My only problem is that my garage is too full of other toys to get the car in there to work on it. It's going to have to be done in the drive (which is sloped).
Anyone want to trade a high quality motorcycle lift for a comperable floor jack?

Mike
'98 328iC
Franklin - in need of a floor jack

Mike,

BMP is in Franklin and says he has a floor jack. See above. I say we buy all of our parts and then pay to have JMP98 or The MadHatter come out for the weekend and instruct/supervise/bail our asses out when we try to screw up! I've got some frequent flyer mile to use.

Ken

I think I have several free Southwest tickets. We need someone with a warehouse...

I'm going to school in Rome, GA (an hour or so from Chattanooga), and have done the strut/shock/spring swap you want to do. How flexible are you guys? I'd be glad to help but obviously, I'm a bit out of the way... I even have a metric socket set with everything you need to do the swap... at my house in Johnson City, TN. And two jack stands. And a spring compressor.

Hand tools = a bitch, but doable. I'm guessing none of you have an air compressor and air tools :)

Let me know if you need me.

I'm very flexible to save $400 or so. Are you kiddin?! I do not have a compressor or air tools (buy this may be as good excuse as any), but have a boat-load of hand tools myself. I can get the compressor from AutoZOne for nothing, so that's not a big deal either. Just good solid expierience would work. (Misery loves company anyway.)
Do you have a good place to work on cars? How long of an operation is this?
(I guess I could pull the boat out of the garage for a day or 2 to work on the car...)
Thanks for the offer.
Ya know, what I should do is have a "Wrench Party" one Saturday with a bbq and keg (no beer til the jobs are done). That'd be fun. Who knows, some of those Atlanta animals might even show up.

Mike
'98 328iC
Franklin

Mike,

I think we're onto something here. I've got some metric sockets and a torque wrench. I just ordered my Bilstein's yesterday, so I'm goin to be ready to go in a week or so. If can coordinate something and all get together on a Saturday, that would be great. I know what I would benefit from is having someone there with real experience doing this job so we don't f*#k it up. An air compressor/spring compressor would also be great, and jack stands.

Well I've only done it once... so I wouldn't call it absolutely solid experience... but I had a couple of damn good write ups that made it really easy. With hand tools and not having done it before, and taking a couple of breaks to rest, it took a friend and I a good 6-8 hours to finish everything. But with knowing how to do it now, I'd say it could be done, again with hand tools, in 3-5 hours.

How soon do you want this done?

I dont have spring/shock one yet... But Ken seems ready.
I've checked into all of the springs nd I like the Eibachs.
Shocks - B-S SPorts or Koni (dual adjustable).
Next thing I'm going to chech is a DInan pkg. I'm thinking these are all about the same price. We'll soon see.

Mike

(It's not my spelling that is so bad...it's the damn typing that causes all of this grief! Pls pardon me...)
Mike

You might also want to consider investing in :
a set of Ground Control Rear Shock Mounts - benefit -> stronger, come with a lifetime guarantee, and if you ever need to remove the rear shocks, instead of having to rip out your trunk carpeting, it moves the two nuts you need to remove at the top of the shock to the wheel well. This allows you to simply jack up the rear and remove the one bolt and two nuts with a lot less effort.

If not the GC RSMs, get the E46/Z3 reinforced rear shock mount plates/rsms. I'm not up to date on this subject, as I went with the $98 Ground Control units.

Also, depending on mileage, I would get new bump stops for front and rear. Mine were pretty old and disgusting, but then again I had 136,500+ miles on the car when I did the swap. :)

Any other thoughts, Master Powell?

...choke...choke...
Nevermind about the Dinan stuff. Looks like off-the-shelf components plus $4-500 extra.
So for $1150 I can get a Koni/Dinan setup or for about $700 I can get a H&R/Eibach/Koni setup. Hmmm...

I'm going to look into the RSM. I've heard that this is a good time to replace these. The Ground Control ones sound like a good investment at $100. I could be ready to go in 2-3 weeks. Kramer, you need to get your ass in gear boy! I'd love to get jsm98 to come out for the weekend. We can't entice him with beaatiful weather though, he lives in San Diego. Maybe we could try women and booz!!!!!!!

Air tools are quite nice, but not absolutely necessary. I changed the suspension three times without them, but this last project, they were definately useful ( http://www.bimmerforums.com/forum/showthread.php?s=&threadid=71035 ) Sounds like you guys are getting a handle on things. If you do run into any trouble, post on the E36 forum and feel free to email me. I don't think you guys will have too much trouble. It really is pretty straight forward.

A few tips that I can remember off the top of my head...

Jack the car by the front and rear subframes. Don't use the differential to jack the car.

http://home.attbi.com/~meeboo8/bernman/article/pictures/frontjack.jpg

http://home.attbi.com/~meeboo8/bernman/article/pictures/rearjack.jpg

To jack the front of the car, drive up onto a short length of 2x6. You might be ok before you lower the car, but after it will be difficult to impossible to get the jack in.

To get to the rear shock mounts, you do not have to remove the whole inside of the car. Pull the side bolsters. Remove the plastic strip that is behind the seats, attached to the rear shelf, and then you can pull the carpet as shown. Older cars (like mine) may need to remove the rear speaker. I am pretty sure I can do this with out speaker removal now.

http://home.attbi.com/~meeboo8/bernman/article/pictures/shockaccess.jpg

You can remove the rear spring without taking the axles off as described in Bentley. Once the lower shock bolt is removed (make sure you support the trailing arm) you can have a friend push on the suspension while you remove the spring. Remove both shocks before attempting spring replacement, otherwise you will be working against the sway bar. Also, make sure to unbolt the bracket that attaches the brake line to the trailing arm. With the bracket attached, the rubber brake line will be over stressed when the trailing arm is in the lowered position.

I think there are some more tips to be found in this thread.

http://www.bimmerforums.com/forum/showthread.php?s=&threadid=3476

Have a great time guys, and make sure to take plenty of pictures to share :)

Bernman

By the way, I have some air tools, however all I have is a pancake air compressor (will do the work, but it is really loud because it has to cycle an awful lot to work the tools). Also, the guy I sold my 328 to just had a set of bilsteins put on and loves them. I am sure he would let you drive his car around the block to see how you like his set up. (he lives in Hendersonville) Other than the spring compressor, I have all the tools you would need, I think.

Thanks guys. This thread has materialized as I had hoped. Kramer, you need to make decision of your set up and buy your stuff. I have my springs in hand, and I ordered by Bilsteins this week. Where's the best place to get the Ground Control RSMs? Other than that, I've got my parts.

We should work on scheduling a place and time. I don't have a good work place at my house, can either BMP or Kramer provide the setting? BEST COW, if you can make it up to Nashvegas that would be great. BMP what's you schedule like? Bernman, thanks for the info and pic. Those were very good tips. Do you want to come out and joing the fun? We could fly you out, seriously!

I'm thinking we could try to shout for the end of February or first weekend in March. Let's all look at our calenders. Kramer, what's going on?

Ken

by the way, it is bmb, not bmp (not a big deal). Since it is not golf season, my weekends are basically open. As far as where, my garage is a little on the small side, but to be honest with you, my wife may have a cow if I had a huge crew over. I'll run it by her. If the weather is nice, we could go to my office in downtown franklin. We have fairly large flat parking lot. That way, we could work on more than one car at a time.

Ground Control's RSMs - www.ground-control.com . It's best to call them, (530) 677-8600. Great guys. Tell them you want the street/school RSMs, not the race ones (unless of course, you do want the race ones :)).

I don't have any serious plans at the end of February. My mid-terms will be the second week of March, but I'm thinking that won't be too much of a problem for the first weekend either.

What springs / Bilsteins do you have / ordered?

BMB sorry for the typo on your nam, just trying to type too fast I guess. Where is downtown Frankling is there a parking lot?

BEST COW, thanks for the info on the ground control RSMs. For my suspension, I decided to go with the Eibach Pros and Bilstein Sports. I'm hoping for good performance without too stiff of a ride. Plus I got a good deal on the springs!

Ken

If we are going to be working on cars together, let's learn each other's names so we're not standing around going "BMB!" "10kken, could you hand me that wrench?" etc. :)

So yea, I'm Kevin. Ken, I would ask whomever you ordered the Bilstein's from whether or not they come with new bump stops (I think Bilstein's have their own design? could be wrong, you'd need to research that). We'd hate to do what I did when I installed my suspension... assumed if they didn't send it I didn't need it. Had to re-do it. Oops! :)

Kevin,

The bump stop issues you also mentioned yesterday, changing them out now because they're likely to wear out eventually. I'll check with bimmerparts.com about what comes with the shocks/struts. you're right, I would have assumed that everything needed was in the box! Kevin I noticed you're car is the same color as mine. Which wheels do you have on yours?

Ken

Damn! I'm always spending money!
spending brain cycles...thinking...hmmm...

Hey! My office used to be downtown Franlklin. 408 Main (above Woodard and assoc.) Need to meet at McCreary's for an afterwork discussion. Now I'm in Cool Springs across from the Marriott. Where on earth can yo work on a car in downtown?

Shit! Help me find a killer deal on Eibachs and Koni's (dual adjustable) or B-S Sports.
(The wife is gonna kill me as I just bought ANOTHER set of elipsoids , oh and the $2K worth of wheels/tires stiiing in the garage waiting to be installed...there goes my paint job.)

Mike

Ken, if you click the "2 wheels for sale" thread in my signature, thats the kind of wheels I've got. Good ole stock. I'm off to class, later guys.

Mike,

Check with bimmerparts.com for the Bilsteins. I got a good deal by mentioning the forum. I don't know about the others. Remenber, you'll get some $$ when you sell your old wheels! Dont' tell your wife, she won't be able to see the suspension anyway!

Ken

I'm Brandon. My office is at 711 West Main - just down from the fire station. We are in two old houses and behind one of the buildings, we have a basketball court sized parking lot. McCreay's sounds great. We have been talking about going there for some time, but haven't made it yet. I'm curious to see if they can actually pour a good pint of Guiness. Ever since my trip to Dublin, I have been spoiled! Don't people realize that it shouldn't be ice cold!

I't just hard to sneak $700 or so out of the house...
And she'd notice. That's why it took me so long to pick out the wheels. Had to compromise. She's (and so are my daughters) into cars, somewhat. In fact, that's why I baught the 328. It'll be my daughters when she turns 16. Maybe by then I'll have the balls to go out and get that e46 M3 Cab...

The Guiness is good there. THey even stamp the top with a shamrock. I prefer the Harps myself. I'm glad that place wasn't there when I worked basically right upstairs. Ugley scene. Let me know if you want to throw back a pint. Ken? U travel (all the way down here)?

Is McCreay's that new place at forth and Main, or is it where the Bunganut Pig used to be. I used to wrok for the county in the old hospital building and we used to drink at the Pig. I'm out of town this weekend, but we should definitely get together for beer and plan this all out>

Ken

(agiain, I really do NOT have a spelling problem. It's all in the typing skills...)
Mike

I'm cutting out of the office at 3:00 today if anyone wants to go have a pint.

Beer will be flowing tonight (this afternoon).
McCreary's is where the Pizza place used to be right across from the movie theater.
4th And Main changed hands and is now called Sandy's Down Town Grille (Sandy used to be the head chef at Mandrell's place-Magnolia's).

I have a meeting near the airport from 1-3 today, but I expect to be out of it b-4 3. I'll swing by McCreary's on my way home. I'm wearing tan slacks, blue button down, and a black leather jacket. Sporting a go-tee. Who's in?

Well you guys should have a pint for me. Maybe we can get together next week sometime and all three of us can enjoy. Yeah, I'll drive to Franklin. It doesn't take much these days to get me to drive anywhere!.

Ken

I'm extremely casual today - jeans and blue short sleave t-shirt with a long sleave white t-shirt underneath. Long diner a Criallo's in Cool Springs (great place by the way) last night - too much wine and thought I would dress like I felt! What time do you think you will make it over there?

(That's how I usually dress. I travel a lot, so when I'm here, I'm comfy.)
Carillo's IS a good place. Good 4 lunch too.
I's say 4 would be a safe guess. Is that cool?

Guys, sorry I can't come out, free tickets or not. I would love too and if it was any other time, I'd be all over it. But Gen V is in the final week before release and then my car has to get prepped to be one of the sponsored cars at Hot Import Nights in Del Mar in two weeks.

After that I've got a distribution agreement I'm trying to put together for myself and three or four other companies to go national with a line of products.

I do have some news...

I will be in Chicago Mar 29th through April 6th. So, since my birthday is the 30th, if anyone wants to take me out drinking, I'm probably available :)

Careful. Drinking age is 21 in Illinois...
(Ha!)

Jim,

Oh come on, you'll only be gone for 24 - 30 hours or so. Besides, this will give you a chance to see beatiful downtown Franklin which is one the best preserved small city downtowns in America -seriously. It's nice, even if you can't smell the ocean like you can in Del Mar. And we all like to drink the good stuff! Besides, since you sold me the spring I think you should be here to make sure they go in right.

Ken

Anyone have a good low-down on some Eibachs? Or at least a great place to buy them from?
Secondarily, does anyone know of these "newer Koni's" where they can be adjusted externally front (same as before) AND rear (the rear SA's you have to remove the shock and twist them, the newer dual adjustable, can be tweaked from the top, like the front struts.) Or is this a waste of time?

see you at 4:00

I won't be able to make it to TN either, but I will do my best to offer long-distance advice :)

For the bumpstops, twin-tube Bilsteins usually can reuse the standard bumpstops. In Kevin's case it sounds like his were damaged and could not be reused. I believe that Bilstein has a monotube version of the regular 3 series shock available, and if you bought these, new bumpstops will come with the shocks. Actually the front shocks will have an internal bumpstop.

Do you know which set you bought?

Have fun guys!
Butch

Butch,

Yeah, I bought the mono tubes. So I guess that means I won't need new bmupstops. That's great, one less thing to buy!

Ken

I've got the Koni Single Adjustables. Brian (BMLRacer) and Chris (Bimmer95) have installed multiple sets of Konis and told me I would need to cut the front stock bumpstops. The rears were in bad condition and didn't want to go on the old shocks. The fronts I screwed up and needed new ones :)

And by the way, I'm 18, so no drinking for me ;)

*bump* Let's not let this die guys... anyone? Bueller? Bueller?...

Had a pint or 2 at the pub w/ bmb, put my ZKW's in Saturday, installed my new BBS/Yok's too. TIme 4 some suspension.

Mike

Just got back from hotlanta and cheching in. I trust that you 2 in Franklin hoisted at least one in my honor. Kramer sounds like you made some progress this weekend. Somebody out there with a convertible must have done some suspension work that you can compare notes with. What about Dinan 325? Lets keep in touch this week to see if we can firm up plans for later thi month.

Ken

Yes, there' been some work done and I am willing to break new ground if necessary.
Dinan325 runs a Dinan Stage III setup. That's basically springs, damers (Koni or Bilstien), sways and front camber plates. I like the height hes has gotten out of that. It looks just right to me.
Hopefully I can find that screamin deal on the necessary parts this week (although I have the low-down on a windscreen I cannot overlook).
Ken,
Have any free time this week?

Mike,

I have some time on Wednesday evening and I'm free on Friday evening.

Ken

Cool. Maybe we can get together nd talk shop for a bit.

Also, I uploaded some of my top pics onto the Internet. I'm trying to get ti to work now.
The addresses are:
http://mywebpages.comcast.net/mjkramer/bmw1.jpg (through BMW6.jpg)

and

http://mywebpages.comcast.net/mjkramer/Sportster1.jpg through Sportster8.jpg)
Check 'em out and tell me what you think.
I'm pissed though. Because I went out Saturday morning before I started to work on the car and snapped these pictures. Only that night when I uploaded them to the computer I realized I left the camera in close-up mode, so the apeture was wrong and the pictures came out very fuzzy.
Now the new wheels and tires are on and I cannot do a re-take.
Oh well.
Sometimes these addresses work and sometimes they don't. Think something is screwed up at Comcast (what a shock).

Ken,
Do you know the part # of the Springs you have?
I'm lookig for the 2042.140 part, which is specific to the Cabs.
B-T-W, my "web site" (a-k-a web posted pictures) works now.

Mike,

I could only see a picture of your motorcycle. Nice bike!

Ken

Just checked them. (Copy/paste this one)

http://mywebpages.comcast.net/mjkramer/BMW1.jpg

then just change the last number up to 6.

Thanks for the compliment on the bike. That's the one I hopped up last Winter.

Mike,

I believe I bought the Eibach Pro kit, p/n 2033.140. That's not off the box, that's the number qouted in my correspondence with Jim Powell.

Ken

Both those numbers jive with the Eibach web site.
2033.140 - '98 328i
2042.140 - '98 328iC

Mike,

I hope you can work out your suspension plan. I nkow that I'm very excited about getting mine done. I haven't gotten a tracking number on the Bilsteins yet, but they charged my credit card account, so I'm hoping that hey are on the way! Your car looks good, I'm sure it's even nicer now with your new wheels. Hope you don't fel like SUV land with the big wheels, but I guess you're already lowered a little.

Ken

It looks a little high in the front. Maybe I'll go to where I took those other pics and post some with my new wheels. My wife LOVES them, but they're almost a little too flashy for me. That polished looks custom. It's a good thing those wheels have such an open design. It reflects a lot of the darker colors.
I'm excited to move on now too since I've seen the original shocks/struts under there. They look pretty rough. I'm definitely due.

Just found this...

FRIDAY-SUNDAY 5/23-25
Eurofest Nashville 2003
The Factory at Franklin / Franklin Road and Liberty Pike in Franklin
European automobile and motorcycle static car show, autocross,
motorcycle "poker run", and road rally events
More information as it becomes available.

Sounds like fun!

Mike

Join the BMW CCA and you will find out about these things earlier! The local chapter has meetings and a monthly newsletter that will tell you about different events. The Eurofest was at Opryland last year and supposedly was a lot of fun. Once again, I was out of town and unable to attend.

I plan to join BMWCCA, no doubt. I wouldn't mind dabbling in an autocross or 2.

Mike

Guys,
Here's my latest pic w/ new wheels. What do you think of the stance?

http://mywebpages.comcast.net/mjkramer/BMW7.jpg

Mike

Wheels look great! I like the stance as well, but I lean more to the stock look. However, I would go ahead and get clears for the sides and rear or go back to amber up front (just my .02). Where did you get your windows tinted. With my black interior, want to have mine done before summer.

Damn, things like this make me wish I was home in TN instead of going to school in Oklahoma!!! :mad:

Those are smoked fronts. I had the smoked side markers, but they were too black. (Then I snapped one off, so I pitched them.)

As usual, the pic doesn't do things justice, as I really like the beefier tires. I think these 17x8 wheels and 235/40 tires fit very well. Lots of folks on here like the 18's, but to me that's just too much.
So, given my <possible> autocross desires and this being my daily driver, what do y'all think? Shocks? or Shocks/mild springs (but wilder than stock), i.e Eibach?
Or should I not even bother (autocross) since it's an automatic?
Just thinking out loud, basically.

Mike

Gofast,
Where u from? Where u going to school?

Sorry Brandon,
The windows were tinted when I bought it (off of eBay). But there's a tint place on Columbia (in Franklin), kind of near Through-The-Green. I had my Tahoe front windows tinted there and they did a great job.

I'll post the Tahoe (for reference) @ http://mywebpages.comcast.net/mjkramer/tahoe.jpg
front was tinted, ther rears are factory. They matched it up pretty well while leaving the fron windows legal .

Mike

As far as the shocks and autocross desires, I would go for it. I really think the stock sport suspension is too soft, even for spirited daily driving. As I mentioned the guy I sold my car to put bilsteins on with Eibach springs. Basically stock height, but he said it handles "like a F@%*#$& dream" and is not too harsh. I plan on going with the Dinan Stage II when I pay my car off in the next couple of months.

Kramer,

Your new wheels look great on the black cab. I'm sure you'll get looks even in Brentwood! We should all do beer on Friday after work.

Ken

Just returned from the Trace where I took new pictures of things with the new wheels.
Exact same backdrop as before and about the same lighting. Same poses too, but I went home (on my way back to the office) and dropped my camera off, so I canno upload them until tonight. I'll post more (as if y'all care), so you can see the b4/after shots. And this time the camera was set up appropriately.
Mike

Brandon,
I'd really like to check out your old car and have this guy take me 4 a spin. Sounds like the supension I'm looking for (and Ken already owns). Any way to do that? Does he pay attention to this forum?

And Ken,
Thanks for the nice words.

Mike

Don't know that he does. He is going to have new rims and tires (17" BBS CH's I think) this week and should be giving me call either Friday or Saturday so I can see how my old baby drives. I will let him know what you are wanting to do and maybe we can get together one afternoon.

CH's are sweet wheels. They were on my list. Let me know, I'd like to check things out.

Check out our 2003 schedule - www.trscca.com


Here is a copy of it. We have a crap load of events this year and they start very soon. Annual fees for SCCA are $55 and if you choose to come to a event and sign up at the event, you run for free that day. From there out events are $20.

It is definately worth attending one of these even if you decide against it. If you like it I strongly suggest that you go to www.helmetcity.com and buy yourself a helmet, or use your motorcycle helmet. Loaner open face helmets get nasty in the summer heat.

I will be doing a suspension on my car this year but need to see some bright spots in the economy before shelling out $1400.


2003 Events Schedule [last change: 01/06/2003]
DATE SITE Details
02/16/2003 NASHVILLE SUPER SPEEDWAY
03/9/2003 NASHVILLE SUPER SPEEDWAY
03/23/2003 NASHVILLE SUPER SPEEDWAY
04/13/2003 NASHVILLE SUPER SPEEDWAY
05/04/2003 NASHVILLE SUPER SPEEDWAY
05/18/2003 NASHVILLE SUPER SPEEDWAY
06/01/2003 NASHVILLE SUPER SPEEDWAY
06/14/2003 NASHVILLE SUPER SPEEDWAY SAT NIGHT
06/15/2003 NASHVILLE SUPER SPEEDWAY
06/28/2003 NASHVILLE SUPER SPEEDWAY SAT NIGHT
07/12/2003 NASHVILLE SUPER SPEEDWAY SAT NIGHT
07/26/2003 NASHVILLE SUPER SPEEDWAY 2-Day DIVISIONAL
07/27/2003 NASHVILLE SUPER SPEEDWAY 2-Day DIVISIONAL
08/16/2003 NASHVILLE SUPER SPEEDWAY AUGUST HEAT [SAT NIGHT]
08/17/2003 NASHVILLE SUPER SPEEDWAY AUGUST HEAT
08/30/2002 NASHVILLE SUPER SPEEDWAY SAT NIGHT
09/14/2003 NASHVILLE SUPER SPEEDWAY
09/28/2003 NASHVILLE SUPER SPEEDWAY
10/12/2003 NASHVILLE SUPER SPEEDWAY
10/19/2003 NASHVILLE SUPER SPEEDWAY
11/02/2003 NASHVILLE SUPER SPEEDWAY
11/16/2003 NASHVILLE SUPER SPEEDWAY
11/30/2003 NASHVILLE SUPER SPEEDWAY
12/07/2003 NASHVILLE SUPER SPEEDWAY

Thanks Greg.
I'll ask you this. Should I even bother with this thought since I have an automatic?
Thanks.

Mike

Well, an automatic transmission is not what you would go out and get if you planned on being an auto-xer but we do it for fun. Accept the fact that some people are far more serious about it than others, you will beat some but not others. Perhaps you may even beat the more hardcore people over time because of skill improvement.

I just view it as fun though I am very competitive and plan on spanking my competition this year :)

And yes, while I view it as fun, if you attend and see me run poorly, I will be pissed off :)

Guys,
I'm going to be out of pocket for the next couple of days. But if you want to setup a place to hoist a pint or 2, count me in.
How about Fri afternoon or so?
The Pub in Franklin?
Jet get together and let me know when/where. I'll check at least by Friday afternoon.

Mike

Has anyone made a specific date to get together to put these suspensions in?

I'm still in acquisition mode.
Not sure more than 1 at a time would be a good idea anyway. Prob within the next couple of weeks though. Just a rough guess.

Well, I'm almost ready to go. Just got my Bilsteins in yesterday, I only need RSMs and that's it for now. I've been thinking of either Saturday 2/22 or Sunday 2/23. How do either of those days work for you guys?

Mike and Brandon, if you want to get together for beers on Friday I can meet you after work, say around 5:00 PM. What say yee?

Ken

I land about 1:00, so coun me in. Again, I'll keep watch of this thread to see if it materializes.
I need to check, but I may not be available the weekend of 2/22-23.

Mike

Can't get together on Friday. Got a meeting in Knoxville at 1:00 that should last 2 or 3 hours. The weekend of the 22nd, I will most likely be unavailable on that Saturday, but could come help out on Sunday.

Well as far as scheduling goes I suggest we all take our calendars and try to find a mutually convenient time. I know that Mike and I would really like to find some knowledgable help in installing our suspensions. Let me know when are good times for you all. Sunday the 23rd is a good day for me if works for others. If not then, we can look at other days.

Ken

Well folks. It's all on order.
RSM's
Springs (thanks Jim)
Shocks

Am foaming at the mouth to get going. Read over the Bentley last night.
Anyone have a shop with a lift we can borrow?

Mike
'98 328iC
Nashville

Alright Mike, way to go. There's no turnig back now.

As you know, I've got all of my parts already, have a Bentley, metric sockets, torque wrench.:).

Don't have jack stands, air compressor, spring compressor, experience with this job:eek:

Brandon and Kevin, are you out there:help ? I guess that we could do this in one or two seperate sessions. If you guys want to split it up, I'm ready to go. Mike, you should probably have your stuff in a week or so, right? What say yee all?

Ken

I'm here and ready to go. Need a specific date. March 8th and 9th are bad for me. Following week is my spring break. I don't have any set plans for weekends in February (although I think I'm working 12-6pm this Saturday, so next weekend over the one after that would be best for me).

Shop with a lift would be great, but isn't likely. We can deal. We still need someone with : jack stands, jacks, and a spring compressor. These can always be rented but you might as well spend a good $100-150 and buy them, in my opinion. This job can be done with: two jack stands, one jack (+ stock jack), hand tools, two wheel chocks, and a spring compressor.

Kevin,

Thanks for checking in. I can free up a day next weeken, Sunday the 23rd would be best for me. The next weekend is not good, then the next weekend is March 8/9. What about for others?

Ken

23rd would work for me. I just need to know so I can tell my church choir director I won't be there.

Mike,

Waht about you? Brandon, are you out there?

Ken

Checking my "schhhhhhhedule".
I have Jackstands.
I have tools (albeit 3/8" drive only).
I have torque a wrench.
I have a bottle jack (for holding the rear suspension up while releasing the shocks...hey, I've been reading).

I can borrow a floor jack (3 ton - big sucker).

Question. Where to you put the jackstands? I'm a bit confused. Too many people asking, I guess. Sounds simple enough, but since so many are asking, it makes me wonder. When I put the car up a couple of weeks ago, I used the crossmember under the motor and in front of the differental under the floorjack.

So....

Mike,

First thnigs first. How's you schedule look? I think the correct placement of the jackstands is under the chassis. It should be covered in the Bentley manual in the front section on safely jacking up (not off) the car. When are expecting your parts to come in?

Ken

RSM's were suppoesed to ship out Either yday or today. I'll have to check. I ordered the shocks and springs effectively today, so I'd say at least 1 business week.
Jim?

Mike,

Sounds good. When I order my shocks/struts, they came in 3-4 days. Jim's in SoCal, so that's a week by UPS. How does Sunday 02/23 look for you?

I cant' remember if my wife is going out of town that weekend. If so, then I need to hang w/ my kids (although my 2 daughters love to help me work on stuff). I seriously think that is the case. So I cannot commit.
(UPDATE- She IS out then...)
But, if it works out for you and the "help" (no offense guys), then I'd go for it. Plus I'd hate to commit anyway until I have parts in hand. I know how this works sometimes.

Mike

Check www.understeer.com for the jacking procedure. bimmer95 did a good job explaining what to do, and where the stands go. I usually take the "hockey pucks" out and let the jackstands "bite" into the sound insulation. If you don't like that, you can always put a 1x4 in between the stand and the car.

Good luck guys! Have fun, and stay safe! :)

Butch

Thanks Butch. Want to "come on down"? We'll throw a bash. A celebratory bash once everything is completed, of course.

Hey guys, we've made it to 5 pages! Anyone heard from Brandon recently?

Now I feel bad...

See this.

http://www.bimmerforums.com/forum/s...0371#post720371

:bawl

So Jim,
What else do you have in your aresnal that I "might could buy" to straighten things out?

I really only wanted to mess with the suspension right now, but I gotta make it right.

Mike

Sorry I haven't responded - been in NYC for the last couple of days. 23rd is okay for me. I would not suggest using the big floor jack (you will have a tough time getting it under the car if it is not a low profile). I have a small Craftsman that I could barely get under my E36. I also have some jack stands. As far as placement of the jack stands, you place them under the factory jack points. This gives you 4 solid points and the car won't budge. I also have some wheel chocks (spelling) that I would highly recommend using.

Brandon, welcome back. We've been moving forward. I now have all of my parts: springs, shocks/strutts, RSMs. Kramer has his ordered and should get his stuff soon. I'm really itching to go, if we can make it on Sunday 02/23, that would be great. We should also think about whether we want to try to do 2 cars in one session, or do them seperately. I really apreciate you guys stepping forward to help a novice like myself. If we can agree on scheduling ,then I guess we should try to agree on a place and time as well.

Ken

I'm good for the 23rd... just give me a time and place and I'll roll on up.

Brandon,

you had previously offered us the use of the parking lot at your office. Is that statement still operative? Kramer, are you avaiable?

Ken

As I look at the weather channel for Nashville, I see Showers on Saturday and Partly Cloudy on Sunday.

We'd want to make sure we wouldn't be working on wet pavement, nor do we want to be out in the sun with hand tools. A garage would be best, but if that's not an option, I'm still good with it. But wet pavement = bad, I don't want anything slipping around, even though it is unlikely it would.

Just a thought.

Shipping - Phase 1.
My RSM's shipped out today. (due here the 18th)
My Springs were shipped out yesterday. (not sure how long, but prob around the same timeframe)
And my shocks, I'm not really sure. Think Yesterday.
So there ya have it.

Nope. I'm unavailable on the 23rd. Just do me a favor and take some b4/after pics.

Your springs are set to arrive onthe 20th per UPS.

Do we have a location yet? I'm telling my church director I won't be there Sunday... need to know where I'm heading if I'm going to help :)

Nothing finalized yet. As mentioned above (somewhere), I am out of pocket on that day. Not sure if 10kken and others have anything figured out.

Mike
'98 328iC
Franklin

Kevin,

I'm hoping that Beandon is going to be in on this, and he previously has volunteered the parking lot at his office. Should that fail, we can also use the parking lot near a store I owrk at, which also has a partial garage ( about 3 feet). Brandon also has an air compressor and jack stands which would be of use. Brandon if you can check in with us to let us kno if you'll be in this, please let me know.

Ken

Okay if we don't hear from Brandon before Friday I might have to back out.

Just let me know how it shapes up.

Greg,
How'd you do at the track on Sunday? It was too nasty of a day for me to o out and sit in it, so I missed it.
Post what we missed...

Well Mike,
I had a pretty good day on Sunday. For my class I came in second place to a WRX, those damn things have so much traction in the crappy weather. Overall, I had the fourth fastest time of the day, 2 WRXs and a boxster beat me.
Our new facility has extremely slick pavement compared to where we ran last year. Slick pavements + 35 degrees + rain = a very tough cold day, I used traction control for the first time at an auto-x.

Sounds like you had a good day to me...
Excellent. Hope to see you at the next one. I'm going to check it out b-4 I commit to running one.
Thanks for the update.

Mike

Okay, back on topic. I'm trying to see if we are good for this coming weekend or not. Kevin, I know that you're interested and would like to get you plans set ahead of time. Mike, you've got the girls for the weekend. I sent a PM to Brandon (bmb) inquiring as to his interest and availability. As for me, well I'm the guy who has the parts and the car and the one who needs the help. This Sunday morning/early afternoon would be great if we can work out a schedule. If not, we can try for another weekend. But we should try to decide now whether this coming weekend will work.

Mike and Brandon, do you guys want to try to get together for beers on Friday after work? Let me know.

Ken

Sure. I'm available for a pint or 2 and day of the week (schedule permitting). All of this week looks good to me.
Mike

Guys,
Any new news?
Looks like the weather on Sunday is going to be 43/cloudy. Bad weather day to be busting up those nuckles.
My status has not changed, but I was just curious.

Mike

If the weather isn't going to be good to be out in it changing suspensions, might as well wait. Someone make the call. I need to know asap.

Haven't heard from Brandon is a while, he may be out of town. I nkow Kevin wants to know what's up. The weather report is iffy, but they've been wrong before! Kevin, what's your status and interest in this weekend?

Ken

Well, sounds lie this may not be the right time to do it. Why don't we wait and try to reschedule in a few weeks.

Ken

I'm not saying I'm not interested. But if it's going to be remotely cold it's not going to be fun working out in that for a few hours. Now if we were going to a garage it would be different... but out in the weather you need pristine warm nice weather for it to be a good experience ;)

Sorry its taken me so long to reply, but I have been in meetings all friggin week. Doesn't look like this weekend is going to be good, but keep me posted on next time. I've actually been talking to the wife about a new house with a 3 car garage, so weather may not be a problem in a couple of months!

Got the final pieces of my suspension tonight. Springs are in!
But they sure look wimpy. I'm surprised how easily they compress. Oh well the part # is correct.

I went ahead and did it! I had it done. I just didn't feel like I had a good place to do the operation (boat and motorcycle <and all of the stuff accociated with them> is taking up all of my valuable garage space).
I used Akin Bimmer Works in Brentwood. They did a great job.
I love the look and feel of the Eibach/B-S Sport/GC RSM combo.
Top shelf.
Bus if something goes down, still count me in!

Mike
'98 328iC
Franklin