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Thread: Improving handling on the E32

  1. #1
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    Improving handling on the E32

    Hello, I've been doing autocross in my 6 speed 740i for a while now the only area in which my car struggled a bit was with hard cornering and turn in. I'm running H&r sport suspension with the biggest tires I can fit without rubbing, and recently installed an m tech front sway bar. The sway bar made a noticeable difference in stiffness and helped a good amount but I still have an issue of rolling over the sidewall under hard cornering. So this weekend i'm installing KMAC stage 1 camber and caster plates to correct this issue. If all goes as planned my E32 should handle amazing. Anyone have any experience with these camber plates or any other suspension modifications to improve handling? I'll update once I install and get to drive with the camber plates

  2. #2
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    Well I certainly like my Moosehead thrust arm bushings. Stiffens things up a lot but did not make the ride much harsher.

    http://mooseheadengineering.com

    http://mooseheadengineering.com/#!/S...egory=11497024
    ______________________________
    1992 750iL

  3. #3
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    I have the adjustable Dinan sway bars, one of the best handling improvements without effecting ride quality. Unfortunately finding them nowadays is as rare as Unicorn sperm. I also have the Dinan springs to match.
    I would finish the rear with the M-tech sway bar before they become NLA. Everyone who has used them seems to have given positive feedback.

  4. #4
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    Thanks for the input, I drove with the Kmac camber plates and it handles so much better. Since there are adjustable I can keep only a little bit of camber on the street and go to full camber when I autocross. I definitely recommend it!

  5. #5
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    Do you have part numbers for the M-Tech sway bars?
    '93 740i - Mine
    '13 Range Rover Sport - Hers
    '08 Land Rover LR2 - Hers
    '96 328i - Son's
    '97 328ic - Daughter's
    '87 944 Turbo - Mistress
    '74 Alfa Romeo Spider - Italian Mistress
    Northern Colorado, USA


  6. #6
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    Quote Originally Posted by gregeast View Post
    Do you have part numbers for the M-Tech sway bars?


    Part #: 31352226379
    Got mine from ECS tuning, it says genuine bmw “m-sport” 26mm sway bars.
    Last edited by Jormotors; 12-03-2017 at 11:56 PM.

  7. #7
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    One of the old guard/OG e32 guys Gale summarizes everything pretty well here:

    http://www.nmia.com/~dgnrg/page_39.htm
    Last edited by whiteghost1; 12-04-2017 at 01:20 AM.

  8. #8
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    Autocross in an E32 sounds like a riot, I'd love to see video!

    I just checked availability currently the 27mm front and 17mm rear bars and bushings are showing as in Euro stock, which is always exciting with older parts like these.

    Front 27mm LINK

    Rear 17mm LINK

    -James

  9. #9
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    Quote Originally Posted by ECSTuning View Post
    Autocross in an E32 sounds like a riot, I'd love to see video!-James
    I tracked my 7 once during an open Porsche/Corvette invite. It was a blast, I think my best laptime was 1.59. I had some nearly worn out 225-50-16's on my BBS RK's that I wanted to replace. Lots of fun drifting with Koni Sports, M-Tech sways & springs with moderate engine tweaks with plus a 5-spd with a 3.91 LSD. Popped the oil canister check valve downshifting into turn 1. I must have put 10k miles of wear & tear in 4 laps, lots of fun but won't do it again. It was a terror on the street when I first did the 5-spd conversion when it still had the 4.27 LSD.

    http://www.photoflash.net/races/AX0805/AX0805.html (more track day photos)

    track1.jpg

    track3.jpg

    track2.jpg
    Last edited by TheStigg; 12-05-2017 at 12:38 PM.
    ​"The US Olympics bobsled team has renamed their sled 'Biden' because nothing has taken America downhill faster"

    TheStigg (aka "gale")
    92 735i 5-spd, turbo pending
    89 535i 5-spd (may she rest in pieces)
    94 325ic 5-spd
    87 325is

  10. #10
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    Stock roll bar links will work with the M Sport bar I assume?
    '93 740i - Mine
    '13 Range Rover Sport - Hers
    '08 Land Rover LR2 - Hers
    '96 328i - Son's
    '97 328ic - Daughter's
    '87 944 Turbo - Mistress
    '74 Alfa Romeo Spider - Italian Mistress
    Northern Colorado, USA


  11. #11
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    I believe so. It was so long ago I'm no completely sure. I think I only ordered the larger bushings along with the new sways and had previously replaced the front links when I did the control arms. I know I used the stock links in the front when putting the larger sways on.

    - - - Updated - - -

    '74 Spider? I have a '69 I bought on ebay about 10 years ago from a seller in Denver:

    http://www.nmia.com/~dgnrg/dg_alfa.htm
    ​"The US Olympics bobsled team has renamed their sled 'Biden' because nothing has taken America downhill faster"

    TheStigg (aka "gale")
    92 735i 5-spd, turbo pending
    89 535i 5-spd (may she rest in pieces)
    94 325ic 5-spd
    87 325is

  12. #12
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    Yes, auto-crossing the seven has been quite the experience and I’m actually doing pretty well. After driving with the camber caster plates the car is on a completely different level than before. Doesn’t feel like a 7 series anymore. Can’t wait for the next autocross.

  13. #13
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    haha love the photos of the 7 on the track! That's just classy!

    Quote Originally Posted by gregeast View Post
    Stock roll bar links will work with the M Sport bar I assume?
    Yes, the links are interchangeable between base and M sport.

  14. #14
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    Quote Originally Posted by TheStigg View Post
    '74 Spider? I have a '69 I bought on ebay about 10 years ago from a seller in Denver
    Nice looking Duetto! I really enjoy the Spider, every drive is an event. I need to take a picture of it when it's parked on the street in front of my 740i, it looks like the BMW is going to swallow it whole!
    '93 740i - Mine
    '13 Range Rover Sport - Hers
    '08 Land Rover LR2 - Hers
    '96 328i - Son's
    '97 328ic - Daughter's
    '87 944 Turbo - Mistress
    '74 Alfa Romeo Spider - Italian Mistress
    Northern Colorado, USA


  15. #15
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    Quote Originally Posted by whiteghost1 View Post
    I have the adjustable Dinan sway bars, one of the best handling improvements without effecting ride quality. Unfortunately finding them nowadays is as rare as Unicorn sperm. I also have the Dinan springs to match.
    I would finish the rear with the M-tech sway bar before they become NLA. Everyone who has used them seems to have given positive feedback.
    Well........Unicorn sperm has been found!:

    https://www.ebay.com/itm/Dinan-Adjus...ZansC6&vxp=mtr

    I believed Dinan stopped making these sway bars ~8yrs ago, in these last 8 yrs I've only seen 2 other sets for sale. One of them I bought, the 2nd a fellow e32 enthusiast I know bought, this will be the 3rd set I've seen (and I've been haphardly keeping an eye out for them) in that time. These are extremely rare so someone in this community snag these if you're looking to improve your handling!

  16. #16
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    Thank you very much whiteghost1 for the tip, I just bought them!

    Do you recall what holes you are using?

    Thanks again
    '93 740i - Mine
    '13 Range Rover Sport - Hers
    '08 Land Rover LR2 - Hers
    '96 328i - Son's
    '97 328ic - Daughter's
    '87 944 Turbo - Mistress
    '74 Alfa Romeo Spider - Italian Mistress
    Northern Colorado, USA


  17. #17
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    Quote Originally Posted by gregeast View Post
    Thank you very much whiteghost1 for the tip, I just bought them!

    Do you recall what holes you are using?

    Thanks again
    Sweet, nice score!
    I used the stiffest setting on both the front and rear. It seems to be handling pretty neutral with my suspension but your results may vary as you’re setup is slightly different. The rear bar doesn’t show the spacers and longer bolts to match the sway at link mounting point in the auction, so ask the seller if he still has them. If he doesnt it’s not a big deal, just use a longer bolt and have a machinist friend make you a custom spacer or use a stack of washers (what I did), you’ll see what I mean when you go to install it.
    Last edited by whiteghost1; 03-07-2018 at 12:29 PM.

  18. #18
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    Quote Originally Posted by gregeast View Post
    Thank you very much whiteghost1 for the tip, I just bought them!

    Do you recall what holes you are using?

    Thanks again
    I am envious! I've been trying to track down a rear Dinan sway bar for about 4 years. Dinan had the bars for sale on their website as late as sometime in 2014 (last I saw them). I should've bought it then. Wasn't thinking they'd eventually stop producing them.

  19. #19
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    Quote Originally Posted by whiteghost1 View Post
    The rear bar doesn’t show the spacers and longer bolts to match the sway at link mounting point in the auction, so ask the seller if he still has them
    Thanks to you sir, I asked about the rear links and the seller went back to the car and found them. Hope to get them installed on Friday. Cheers!
    '93 740i - Mine
    '13 Range Rover Sport - Hers
    '08 Land Rover LR2 - Hers
    '96 328i - Son's
    '97 328ic - Daughter's
    '87 944 Turbo - Mistress
    '74 Alfa Romeo Spider - Italian Mistress
    Northern Colorado, USA


  20. #20
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    Quote Originally Posted by gregeast View Post
    Thanks to you sir, I asked about the rear links and the seller went back to the car and found them. Hope to get them installed on Friday. Cheers!
    No worries, there are probably a minute handful of people left in the e32 world that know what I'm talking about - glad I could be of assistance!
    Do you mind posting some close up pics of these link components for posterity's sake?
    I don't even know what they look like as my Dinan swaybars never came with them.

    Now for those who are still looking to improve their e32's handling, looks like some of the matching Dinan components left from the same car are also up for sale:

    https://www.ebay.ca/itm/BMW-E32-DINA...53.m1438.l2649

  21. #21
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    Here's a pic of the Dinan rear bar end links, thanks again whiteghost1!

    '93 740i - Mine
    '13 Range Rover Sport - Hers
    '08 Land Rover LR2 - Hers
    '96 328i - Son's
    '97 328ic - Daughter's
    '87 944 Turbo - Mistress
    '74 Alfa Romeo Spider - Italian Mistress
    Northern Colorado, USA


  22. #22
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    ^^^ Perfect, thank you very much!

  23. #23
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    So how do you like it?
    What settings did you end up using?

  24. #24
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    Alas, between a cold, wet Spring and having been sick for the past month, I haven't had a chance to install them yet. I'm usually the guy that puts new parts on his car within 48 hours of receiving them!

    I will keep you updated.
    '93 740i - Mine
    '13 Range Rover Sport - Hers
    '08 Land Rover LR2 - Hers
    '96 328i - Son's
    '97 328ic - Daughter's
    '87 944 Turbo - Mistress
    '74 Alfa Romeo Spider - Italian Mistress
    Northern Colorado, USA


  25. #25
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    Just posting an update on my setup. It's been over 4 months with the KMAC adjustable camber plates. Only complaint on the KMAC camber plates is that the creak and groan when turning at low speeds such as into a parking spot. I tried fixing this issue and even contacted KMAC but couldn't resolve it. Other than that they have held up. The combination of H&R springs, M-sport sway Bars, Kmac Camber plates, and wide tires makes the car handle VERY well. Testing it out at auto-x next weekend.

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