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The rubbers from my donor were pretty worn so I binned them. Also because the new kit comes with replacement seats that bolt or weld into the rear suspension top arms, the old rubbers are too narrow in the centre and you'd have to cut loads out anyway. I think what I'll do for now is take an old floor mat and cut it up while I decide what to do (it's not like I haven't got a few years before IVA to think about it).
Nigel, you've done what I didn't have the balls to though you may have got the better spring. we'll see what they're like when they turn up.
I don't know why they don't want to share the info. I did say that I couldn't see the problem as it's just a spring but they want to protect the investment they've put into the recent changes I guess.
I've noticed that the spring seats aren't parallel too (the bottom is about 30-40mm inboard from the top mount) but it was after I'd already bolted mine into the top arm. I need to take them out anyway to fit counter sunk screws so at the same time I intend cutting out the inner half of the original seat so the new one can move outboard a bit. Hopefully cutting this part won't compromise the strength of the arm too much
I am seriously considering going down the rear coil over route. As far as I can see only Patrick has done this so far.
My bumpstops are way out of line so i have to address that and frankly, the coil over seems to me to be a much more elegant solution anyway.
I have looked at the Gaz ones. Can you buy the rears alone or only in sets? I have two front ones.
Are thgere any problems with them fitting in to the rear turrets?
Any advice is welcome! - John
My Bumpstops were also way out of line. Several people have had this problem. I fixed it by drilling out the spot welds that hold the spring plates on the suspension arms and removing them. I then made up some new ones and fitted them where they did line up! It was quite simple to do and I incorporated adjustable bump stops while I was at it...
My bumpstops seem to line up ok, but not sure how different the rear suspension is on an E36 M3 compared to others. Also, I heard from Terry today and a batch of springs are on their way to them, so hopefully will be the ones for the job! No mention of spec of them though, sorry.
yep, I heard from her today too and mine are coming direct from the supplier on Friday
The M3 E36 and non-M3 E36 rear suspension componants are essentially identical. I think the only notable differences are the thickness of the ARB, the bottom arm outer joint has a ball rather than a bush (which I've replicated in my 325 arms) and most import of all, an M logo as part of the casting of the rear trailing arm.
The offset on the E36 is nothing like as bad as the E30 but still needs some correction. fortunatley the bottom seats are provided with the kit so it's a case of just fixing them on in the correct place rather than major surgery. I'll see if I can capture it on a photo
This is what the Marlin supplied seat looks like where I bolted it in concentric to the original mount that is part of the top wishbone
You can see in this photo that the bottom seat is about 1cm offset inboard relative to the top seat. Front to back looks perfect.
I have to take my bottom seats out anyway to counter sink the screw holes but I'm going to have to take the entire arms out to correct this as new holes will need to be drilled through 1cm further out
yay, after much waiting my rear springs arrived on Monday direct from the factory.
I now have some work to do this week correcting the position of the bottom seats and provided I can get some new tyres on Saturday, there will be another Sportster rolling out of a garage on the weekend.
I don't know if it's a secret still. they're 6 inches long and are marked 400 which I'm taking to be the rate but don't take my word for it. As you stated on the pic on flickr, that seems quite harsh but only time will tell. Trouble is that what Mark wants from it may be different from other people if he's into a sport/race setup (which I suspect he is). You may well find that your 300s are the better bet for a road car. only time will tell. hopefully once a few more E36 based cars are on the road we'll build up some advise on what to go for to get the ride you want. The main thing is you picked the right length so it should sit nice and level once the body is on.
Re coilovers, for anyone interested here is the reply from GAZ re Marlin rear setup, bang up to date: The rear coilover for the E30 is still GP8-2015 & will cost you £90.00 each + springs £22.00 each. On the E30 we have to run a new ali bearing mount to take the weight of the car on the coilover, is this the same on Marlin. All prices are + carriage & vat.
hopefully once a few more E36 based cars are on the road we'll build up some advise on what to go for to get the ride you want. The main thing is you picked the right length so it should sit nice and level once the body is on.
I now have 500 miles on the car (E36 based) and on any surface other than a motorway or recently resurfaced "A" road my suspension was bottoming out with spine crushing bump and a deafening noise.
So today I have replaced my 6" 300lbs springs with 7" 400lbs alternatives. I have also cut 10mm off the skirt of the upper spring platform to further reduce the chance of the upper and lower platforms coming into contact. And the ride is now perfect. No more bottoming out and little noticeable difference in the stiffness of the suspension. She feels taught but compliant and very secure even on fast corners with uneven surfaces. I had to drop the swing arm off its pivot point to give me enough room to get the 7" spring in but it has certainly given me a lot more travel to soak up the bumps.
So 7" 400lbs would be my recommendation. I have a rear axle weight of approx. 550kg with two up and the length and rate seems well suited.
Good job I came and looked at this old post. I just had my finger hovering over the 'buy now' button on some 6" 300lb springs as I'm finding the 6" 400 that marlin supplied a little on the crashy side. I just ordered some 6mm thick rubber sheet to make up some rubbers for the top and bottom mounts so I'll see if that helps and at least it should reduce some of the noise. I haven't noticed the suspension bottom out yet though.
Does anyone use a lock nut on top of the upper rear spring mount to hold the hat in position once they've set the height. Mine are currently set on the lowest ride setting (wound all the way to the top) so hasn't been necessary. I want to raise the rear ride height by 2-3cm but I'm not sure that it won't slowly wind it's way back down in a short space of time.
I didn't use a locknut. I haven't noticed any winding or unwinding of the plate in over 5000 miles (Perhaps it has unwound and wound in equal amounts lol). I would have prefered to use locknuts but they are difficult to find in that size.
I haven't had a look at actually measuring the thread yet so not sure what diameter or pitch it is.
Thinking about it, it shouldn't wind or unwind unless the spring is loose. Having a 400lb spring compressed against it is more than enough to keep the threads tight
I haven't had a look at actually measuring the thread yet so not sure what diameter or pitch it is.
Thinking about it, it shouldn't wind or unwind unless the spring is loose. Having a 400lb spring compressed against it is more than enough to keep the threads tight
That was my thinking too. I've certainy seen no change in the length of the exposed thread in 2 1/2 years.
My 400lbs springs seem just about right and the 7" gives me that little bit more travel when I'm loaded down with a heavy suitcase on the boot rack. I have Spax adjustables on the rear but I have never had them on anything other than the softest setting. And I found some suspension rubbers on Ebay. I seem to remember they were intended for aTR3a.
