New Suspension

[rod_r]

Hi. At 50, I have just bought my first BMW, which happens to be a 1982 E21 323i. From the receipts that came with it, a previous owner spent a lot of money keeping it in great original condition.

It is still in great condition, but someone has in the last couple of years, swapped the double headlight for a single set up.....which I like....and put in lowered suspension....which I don't. All I know is that I have Koni rear shocks in average condition, and black colored front shocks which could be Sachs, both with lowering springs which are too low for my liking.

When I started to research my options, I had no idea suspension could vary so much and be so complicated, especially the fronts with the 323i having a different diameter than the 320. I also looked at coilovers, but since this is a street car only and I'll never change the height, I thought they weren't necessary.

What I have discovered is that Bilsein 34-002230 for front and 24-006125 for rears is a good option for standard or slightly lowered springs, or Sachs 100 610 fronts and 101 532 for rear for original feel and ride height.

My hesitation, is that it seems all new springs are lowering, and since it is already lowered, and I don't know what my springs are, I am wary of buying new lowering springs only to have them give me the same ride height I already have.

So what I'm asking here...finally...is

1. Can I buy original factory springs
2. What springs, when coupled by either Bilstein or sachs, would give me a "close to original" ride height, or at least something higher than what I already have.

I'll try to post a pic of the car here for reference shortly.

[Mihajlo]

This seems to be pretty low...

tested option would be Bilstein B6 front and rear and Eibach springs.

nice car you got!
open your topic and keep us informed

If you want to keep your car lowered than OEM, I advise you to use adjusting kit for rear trailing arms or your car will be unstable at high speeds and in wet.

[Dammizi]

if youre interested I have a spare extra set of original springs off a 323i in excellent condition, I could exchange them with your lowering springs for free we just pay postage costs...

[Jeroen]

Welcome here, lovely car! Looks a bit low, but close to original ride height (which is high) is hard to achieve. But the good quality sets from for example Eibach and H&R lower abt 35mm which should be less than waht you have installed right now I guess. What tyre size(s) are you running?

[rod_r]

Thanks for the input. I will open a topic on this car as it has an interesting past.

Also, thanks for the offer of a spring swap, although I should have mentioned I'm in New Zealand.

It would be helpful to see a photo of a car with Bilstein / Eibach to get a feel for how much higher it would be than mine is currently, although I have read that Bilstein / Eibach is still a pretty firm ride?

I had to put new tyres on it so put stock 185 / 70 R13

I took a couple of pictures of the front spring when I was checking what I had installed

[Jeroen]

Well Bilstein/Eibach still won't be excessively firm if combined with 13". Your current springs... could be anything...

[uwbuurman]

Here is mine on Bilstein B8 on the lowest setup, with Ebach rear and MAD front springs.



On my e30 I have Bilstein B6, wit stock springs and that is almost original hight.

[rod_r]

Thanks. I'm leaning towards B6 / stock springs. My understanding is that it's the springs that set the height?

I initially didn't think mine was too low but had always been looking from the outside. It wasn't until I parked next to a reflective glass building with 3 of us in the car that I realized how low it was riding.

BTW, I thought mine was tidy for a well maintained but unrestored car, but your e21 looks immaculate

[uwbuurman]

Oh my god, no, you don't know the half of it. Just look at my topic, and let the car suprise you hahaha. But, I will get it close to immaculate somewhere in the next few years.

Indeed the spings set the hight, but with those balloon tyres (13 inch) and standard spings drivability decreases dramaticly. I think that bilsteins wit Eibach will be a good option. Just look at some of the cares in de register, also the Dutch parts, pictures are the same in alle languages

If you just want a higher ride, because of all the other cars: older cars, especially BMW's are just low. Also in stock trim.

[Dammizi]

Thanks for the input. I will open a topic on this car as it has an interesting past.

Also, thanks for the offer of a spring swap, although I should have mentioned I'm in New Zealand.

No worries seems like this is quite an international forum as I'm from malta so shipping could be a bit expensive sometimes, but i'm still up for a swap as I could never possibly need another 2 full extra pairs of standard springs for my e21 , and i'd love to try out a lowered look on it. I guess it really is sometime a bit impractical and annoying to drive such a low car, but It could hurt trying with an extra pair of springs at a different height

[rod_r]

Just wanted to say thanks for all the advice. For better or worse, I have decided to go down the stock route, and am going to use stock springs on Sachs shocks, and also reinstall the double headlight.

I completely understand the arguments around handling to not do this, but looking at how it will be used and the fact I'm 50, I just really like the idea of getting it back to stock, especially since it seems to be all original everywhere else..

Dimmizi, I might have located some springs locally, but will be in touch if that does not work out.

[rod_r]

Oh my god, no, you don't know the half of it. Just look at my topic, and let the car suprise you hahaha

I don't know what to say....that is both tragic and magnificent.....I am now too afraid to look at my car too closely

[Dammizi]

Dimmizi, I might have located some springs locally, but will be in touch if that does not work out.

cheers, if the local buy doesn't work out just pm me. and gl with getting it all back to original, seems like the best value is in the most original cars mostly!

[brockzila]

Rod

Look up cobra .They do factory height springs for our cars.

Alternatively I do have a full set of factory springs if you want them.

[rod_r]

This may be a stupid question, but reflects my absolute lack of experience

I have sourced a set of factory original springs, and will attempt to install them soon. Considering that my rear springs are non captive, I'm wondering if it's possible that my current shocks are long enough to take the longer factory springs...in other words, I suspect the person who put on the lowered springs just put them on the existing shocks.

My question is, how do I know whether my shock is long enough to take the spring?.....seeing as how the spring has to be compressed to get it on anyway ...