325ci budget daily

[Yungnek]

This is my 2001 E46 325ci daily driven drift car.
specs:
18x8 et-7 fronts with 225/40r18 tires
godspeed coilovers 12k spring rate
-4 camber, 7.1 caster, .1 toe out.
no sway bars
stock engine (still has the sap and stock intake)
oem clutch/fw
oem motor/trans mounts/guibo/csb
18x8 et20 rears 215/40r18 tires
10k rear spring rate
-.5 camber, .1 toe in.
dual calipers with hydro
condor speed shop RTABS
partsshopmax rear subframe and differential bushings
new oem ball joints
welded 3.46 differential
muffler delete


right now the car feels pretty good for dallying, but on track it takes a lot of throttle to keep the tires spinning at 45 cold psi. I'm thinking i need to run smaller tires, and maybe some performance mods. also I've been fixing to get some silvers coilovers, with the true rear setup, but I'm not sure if i should go with a stiffer or softer spring rate for my setup. any suggestions on spring rates? will headers make a huge difference? should i upgrade the clutch before suspension?48079524381_d4aacf3dcf_o.jpg

[Liquidity]

10k is way too soft for rears with 12k fronts. I can tell you’re getting your rates from 240 guys. This is not a 240. The suspension, weight and weight distribution is completely different. BMW’s springs do not act directly on the hub like a 240, they act on the control arm, ~25% of the spring’s force is pushing on the subframe which means the spring needs to be ~25% stiffer. And then with you being severely underpowered, you want them to be even stiffer. You should be running 14-16k in the back. Once your power and skill levels increase, then you can begin softening up the rear to give you more grip and speed.

Also toe out a bit in the rear and 0 the camber, makes the car much easier to slide

[protomor]

25% is being nice. It's closer to 45% lol.

It's a 325, it'll never slide easily. Swap it!

[awp235]

Liquidity- Never heard of toe out in the rears helping slide- does it just reduce effective grip overall? I know toe in gives you more, so it seems like the opposite would be true. My suspension in 7k front, 8k rear, BC BR coils. I love how compliant it is over rough sections, and on elevation changes.

OP- if your clutch is slipping, then change it out. I'm currently drifting my 3rd season on an oem clutch in my 330. You could go to 205's to break them loose easier, but it'd probably be better to learn to slide with momentum. The 330 doesn't have THAT much more power than the 325, but I understand the better torque curve definitely helps. Didnt the x3 come with a 3.91 that's swappable or something?

In general, the best way to "add power" is to lose weight! I dropped over 400 lbs from my 330i's interior and god damn it's a much less viable daily, but it slides a HECK of a lot better.

[Liquidity]

Liquidity- Never heard of toe out in the rears helping slide- does it just reduce effective grip overall? I know toe in gives you more, so it seems like the opposite would be true.

The rear alignment has the most effect on the way a car handles. Whatever way the outside rear tire is pointed, that is the direction the rear end will naturally try to follow; point that tire in - the rear end tucks in, point it out and it steps out.

[Novablue454]

most stock bmws around here are running more like 60-80psi cold

[Yungnek]

actually godspeed could come stock with 10k rears for whatever reason, but how soft can i go in the rear with a 12k front rate for more grip once i want to step down from 16k because i do plan on getting 16k for the rear

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Liquidity- Never heard of toe out in the rears helping slide- does it just reduce effective grip overall? I know toe in gives you more, so it seems like the opposite would be true. My suspension in 7k front, 8k rear, BC BR coils. I love how compliant it is over rough sections, and on elevation changes.

OP- if your clutch is slipping, then change it out. I'm currently drifting my 3rd season on an oem clutch in my 330. You could go to 205's to break them loose easier, but it'd probably be better to learn to slide with momentum. The 330 doesn't have THAT much more power than the 325, but I understand the better torque curve definitely helps. Didnt the x3 come with a 3.91 that's swappable or something?

In general, the best way to "add power" is to lose weight! I dropped over 400 lbs from my 330i's interior and god damn it's a much less viable daily, but it slides a HECK of a lot better.

it isn’t slipping (yet) but i’m nervous it will start to one day as i don’t really know how old it is. and i want to gut my interior but it is my daily right now ahah.

[Yungnek]

most stock bmws around here are running more like 60-80psi cold

60-80 sounds super dangerous ahaha

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10k is way too soft for rears with 12k fronts. I can tell you’re getting your rates from 240 guys. This is not a 240. The suspension, weight and weight distribution is completely different. BMW’s springs do not act directly on the hub like a 240, they act on the control arm, ~25% of the spring’s force is pushing on the subframe which means the spring needs to be ~25% stiffer. And then with you being severely underpowered, you want them to be even stiffer. You should be running 14-16k in the back. Once your power and skill levels increase, then you can begin softening up the rear to give you more grip and speed.

Also toe out a bit in the rear and 0 the camber, makes the car much easier to slide

actually godspeed sells their coils with those spring rates, i got them secondhand. i was planning on going up to 16 for the rear, but how soft can i go once im ready to go down from that while keep the front at 12? or should i just go down equally front to back

[Liquidity]

That’s because godspeed is just another typical budget taiwan brand. They’re not a real suspension company.

As far as how soft you should eventually go, that’s up to you and what you need or can even utilize dependent on your power and skill.

[protomor]

Find a similar car. Mimic it. 60-80psi isn't that dangerous. Lots of drifters run it that way. Make sure to air down as you go to get more life out of your tires.