Help me find a suspension setup for my E36?

[LockDots]

Hey everyone. I'm about to park my car in the garage through winter for a pretty decent suspension overhaul and was looking for recommendations.

First, the patient:

Picked up a 97' M3 5spd coupe with 109k on the clock (108k at the time) in July of this year. Typical E36 rear end clunk and front passenger shock is blown. The steering wheel shakes and it feels like the front right side of the car is bouncing during a left turn under some acceleration. Backing off or straightening out remedies this. The car currently sits as seen in my sig.

Needless to say, it needs a suspension overhaul.

The plan so far:

AKG Black (95A) Diff, Rear Subframe, and RTAB bushings. Turner or ECS rear lower control arms. Weld in AKG rear sway bar and RTAB reinforcements. Front OEM control arms/ball joints, AKG Black lower control arm bushings, X-brace and strut bar (either Rogue or IE). Weld in front subframe reinforcements. Engine and Transmission mounts (not sure if I want to go with OEM or another brand yet).

The (hopefully) last part of the suspension overhaul is where I'm currently stuck...

I mentioned earlier that the shocks/struts need to be replaced and I'd like to finish off my overhaul with something I'd like to leave in a for a while. I'd like to lower the car a bit for both aesthetic and performance reasons. I love the look of a lowered (not slammed) car and would like to have a lower center of gravity and tighter grip/feel with the road, especially during turns. As far as how low of a "look" I would like...I would say enough to clear the wheel gap. Not looking to tuck tires, though a bit wouldn't be too bad.

I know that a coilover system would ultimately give me just about any height I'd want, but having only owned one set before (Function Form on my '08 Acura TL) I don't want to relate that experience to what's out there now for the E36 platform. The coilovers I had on my TL were pretty stiff and certainly took away a fair amount of ride comfort. That being said, this M3 is not my daily driver. I drive it on the weekends and occasionally during the week. I wouldn't mind a stiffer ride (which I know is common of more performance-oriented setups), but I don't want to feel like I'm riding on wooden wheels either.

For a Shock/Spring kit I was considering the Bilstein B12 Pro Kit with Eibach Pro springs. Supposedly a 1.4" drop.
For coilovers I was considering the ST X or ST XTA since they come with camber plates.

So, let's hear it. What do you recommend and why? Any pictures would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you!

[MIKYZZ4]

Might want to substitute Koni's instead of Bilstein , you might prefer the adjustability.

[LockDots]

I really like the thought of a locked down rear subframe which is why I'm thinking of AKG black subframe, diff, and RTABs. Then OE rubber for FLCABs, motor, and tranny mounts with cups.

I figure this way my drivetrain is fairly locked down without adding too much NVH. Having rubber up front will lessen the impact of stiffer suspension.

[emoore924]

Just bought the ST XTA (that the camber plates were included contributed to my decision to purchase) and I am interested in getting things setup as well. Sounds like our cars will be similar (97 m3 coupe with coilovers, weld-in supports, 4-point bar). I'll be doing sways too and the brakes are done. For wheels, I'm probably headed to arc-8's in 17x8.5 +40 and I already have the nitto nt-01s. Mostly the car will be a track rat but I'll street it for cars & Coffee and that kind of thing. I'll let you know how I make out with the install and the setup (corner weights, camber settings).

[Brenden88]

I run Megan Racing Euro coilovers on my e36 paired with Turner Motorsport sway bars and I love it! The ride with Megan coilovers isn't bad at all. You can really fine tune the coilovers with the dampening, and it handles amazingly. I know they aren't KW's or Ground control or anything like that but they work great. I've had them a little over a year and have put a few thousand miles on them including 2 days drifting at the track and a day racing at leguna seca and haven't had a single issue with them. Funny thing is some of my friends are running BC coilovers and Fourtune auto coilovers and KW V1's and my car handles better and rides better than all of theirs.

[GGray]

You may want to think about a Koni sport SA. Rebound adjustable and the ride is far better. H&R springs are a little stiffer than Eibach. I ran all the available H&R springs the race springs with Koni SA worked great and the ride is not bad.

As far as bushings ... In thee back run a 75D bushings, or aluminium. You do not pick up NVH with the subframe so run thee stiffest you can. For the rtab 95A is good I prefer powerflex in that location because they have a lifetime warranty. Diff do not run stiffer than a 75-80 bushing or you will get a fair amount of noise.

Front control arm bushings you can run as stiff as you want no real nvh their and it makes for better steering feel ...

We use ISC coilovers a fair amount at my shop for street/track, and even some budget race builds. They work great and are budget friendly..