H&R sport vs. race

[JRSixfootsix]

Want to get some springs but I want to make sure I get a good ride height. Would the race ones get me low as possible w/out any rubbing, etc?

How bout ride quality?

pic of my car in my sig:

[kyle2blue]

I would get the sports. The race ones are really low and will probably scrub without some negative camber adjusting.

[Go3Go]

I had sports on my old e36. They sat too high for me and were a tad softer than I wanted (I ended up going with adjustable coilovers). As for the rubbing of tires, it really depends on the dimensions of your wheels/tires and the offsets you run. It will also depend on if you are willing to roll your fenders.
The problem with recommending springs/shocks/coils to people based on ride quality is that people's opinion of what is "too hard" and "too soft" will vary from person to person. In all honesty the best call (if this is an option) would be to ride in a someone's car who has the setup you want and decide if you like it.

[JRSixfootsix]

I would get the sports. The race ones are really low and will probably scrub without some negative camber adjusting.
Ok, I don't know if an inch drop would be enough.


I had sports on my old e36. They sat too high for me and were a tad softer than I wanted (I ended up going with adjustable coilovers). As for the rubbing of tires, it really depends on the dimensions of your wheels/tires and the offsets you run. It will also depend on if you are willing to roll your fenders.
The problem with recommending springs/shocks/coils to people based on ride quality is that people's opinion of what is "too hard" and "too soft" will vary from person to person. In all honesty the best call (if this is an option) would be to ride in a someone's car who has the setup you want and decide if you like it.
Yeah I hear ya, I would hate to wish I had gone lower. But on the other hand if I go too low it will be a pain.

Anyone have pics of e36's on race vs. sport springs

[jmo69]

I don't have OE race springs, I have Eibach Pro Sports with 1.25" drop front and rear with a good ride and no rubbing with 225/50-16 tires.
http://i196.photobucket.com/albums/aa243/jmo68/fresh%20wax/UpdatedPics012.jpg

[gpricco]

I have sports. I think the car sits perfect in the back. I wish the front of the car was an inch lower. As far as handling, they are a great compromise for daily driving. With some thick swaybars, the sports hold their own just fine especially for the street. In my opinion, race springs sit perfect. they are very stiff though - they could potentially be annoying on the street as well as rattle your interior apart. However, if I could do it again I would get race. You probably won't scrape on anything as long as you take bumps slow. It depends if you want a comfortable ride or not.

[JRSixfootsix]

I have sports. I think the car sits perfect in the back. I wish the front of the car was an inch lower. As far as handling, they are a great compromise for daily driving. With some thick swaybars, the sports hold their own just fine especially for the street. In my opinion, race springs sit perfect. they are very stiff though - they could potentially be annoying on the street as well as rattle your interior apart. However, if I could do it again I would get race. You probably won't scrape on anything as long as you take bumps slow. It depends if you want a comfortable ride or not.
Yeah I guess I would like to have a pretty decent ride, but I want my car to sit low too. fck me.


I don't have OE race springs, I have Eibach Pro Sports with 1.25" drop front and rear with a good ride and no rubbing with 225/50-16 tires.
http://i196.photobucket.com/albums/aa243/jmo68/fresh%20wax/UpdatedPics012.jpg

looking good. maybe the sports would be good bc they are 1.5" in the front and 1.0" in rear

[Lee Bimmer PTY]

the ride quality is about the same, its not bouncy , the problem with the Race ones is that they are too low, I had to change them

[Level8drummer]

Yes, race are stiffer and lower. Ride quality? Subjective. I DD / track H&R race springs and Bilstein sport shocks. No problems, and I like the ride. I also run 255/40R17's on each corner, and it took some squeezing.

Here are pics of my car on H&R race springs:


https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-n-H_AOk0354/T41_VNe4D8I/AAAAAAAAAO4/1N5nwjg-h94/s640/IMG_20120408_153310.jpg


https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-I9mJFhZjvv4/T41_kJHRZkI/AAAAAAAAAPg/3Nr97cuulN0/s640/IMG_20120408_153534.jpg


https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-tzFKGJGxNuA/T41_gSa0hhI/AAAAAAAAAPQ/rZdJfAUkAxY/s640/IMG_20120408_153602.jpg




I don't scrape on much, but it's stiff.

You can get thicker spring pads up front which raises your ride height a little. Part number:

9mm thick spring pad: 31332227901
3mm thick spring pad: 31332227902

raising the ride height with spring pads will also give you a little more shock travel, without ill effects.

Thanks to SG M3 for the above part numbers.

Level8Drummer

[JRSixfootsix]

^^^thnx man I like that height a lot


the ride quality is about the same, its not bouncy , the problem with the Race ones is that they are too low, I had to change them

You had to change them? Bc your tires were rubbing or bc you were scraping? What tire size?

[jmo69]

IIRC OE sports only have a 1" drop in the front and 1/2" in the rear. I had OE sports on the front and it wasn't enough for me. This pic has the OE sports in the front and stock springs with the bottom 2 coils out on the rear (left side was broken so I just cut the other one to match).
http://i196.photobucket.com/albums/aa243/jmo68/Lowering/cutsprings001.jpg

[JRSixfootsix]

I'm leaning more toward the race springs right now.

[MERTE36M3E39540]

Big thanks to level8drummer I picked billy sport h&r sports and car sits lower than I thought it looks very agressive and stiff but no rubbing issues no speed bump issues and way more comfy than old 80k oem suspension. Its very stiff also if you don't do autox or track every month this will be the best bet.I drove level8drummers car with billy h&r race for me it was too low and not as comfy as sports but he tracks his car every two weeks ..overall billy sports and h&r sports are best for spirited dd and some autox , track weeknds.plus billys last forever :-)

[JRSixfootsix]

Big thanks to level8drummer I picked billy sport h&r sports and car sits lower than I thought it looks very agressive and stiff but no rubbing issues no speed bump issues and way more comfy than old 80k oem suspension. Its very stiff also if you don't do autox or track every month this will be the best bet.I drove level8drummers car with billy h&r race for me it was too low and not as comfy as sports but he tracks his car every two weeks ..overall billy sports and h&r sports are best for spirited dd and some autox , track weeknds.plus billys last forever :-)
I would go with sports, but I think there still may be a little too much fender gap in the front for me.

[MERTE36M3E39540]

Yes rear is perfect and front could ve been lil lower also but unless you wanna go too low with race this is thebest option before coilovers

[Lee Bimmer PTY]

^^^thnx man I like that height a lot



You had to change them? Bc your tires were rubbing or bc you were scraping? What tire size?


I wasnt rubbing, i just changed them because I was having a bad time with speed bumps:(

[ty20404]

I had race... Way too stiff for me. I got sports, and I didn't like the wheel gap up front... I may get flamed for this, but the H&R springs utilize a dead-coil up front, so I cut one revolution of the spring off the front and it eliminates about 0.5" of ride height.

This will effect the characteristics of the spring when the strut is close to fully unloaded, and will increase the spring rate/stiffness just a smidgen. I could explain in more detail why it's sort of okay to cut dead-coils, but I'm sure many here will tell you that's a no-no.

Several people suggested that I do it and at first I said no, and debated for a year on doing it. Finally did it two years ago and I'm totally satisfied with the results. I'm also running Bilstein Sport Struts as well though. I wouldn't recommend either spring set-up without them. And honestly, I would just save up and get coil-overs if I were you... Check out the FK Silverline X coilovers; for $1100 you can't beat Koni adjustable struts and ride height adjustment.