Suggest recipe to make S197 = E46 M3

[Whiskey11]

Would you mind elaborating on what makes the complete kit better?

Having the standard Koni Yellow dampers as the heart of a coilover kit has the advantage of a lifetime warranty, at least...

Koni has a lifetime warranty on ALL of their dampers so long as they are built/rebuilt by an authorized rebuilder. Ground Control sells dampers that match that warranty to a T.

As for why the complete kit vs the conversion of Koni Yellows? Well your off the shelf Yellows are valved for a specific spring rate range which really starts to "top out" around the upper end of lowering spring rates, somewhere around 275-300lbs/in up front and about 250ish in the rear.

The Complete Kit includes a brand new strut body, Koni inserts and custom valving. You get three different choices on valving, street, track/school and race. All three are rebound adjustable but their range of adjustment and base compression damping is different. I have the track/school valving on my car with the 440lbs/in front springs, 200lbs/in rear springs and to be perfectly honest the car rides pretty well. You can tell it has stiff springs but it isn't rough. Basically, the Complete Kit will provide you with dampers that match, or better match the spring rates you chose.

 

[jayel579]

Would you mind elaborating on what makes the complete kit better?

Having the standard Koni Yellow dampers as the heart of a coilover kit has the advantage of a lifetime warranty, at least...

Eh... lifetime warranty sure sounds great but they wear out in a season.... I will never say "off-the-shelf" Koni's are bad shocks, I have had them in many cars but they just do not hold up long at all.

 

[ddavidv]

OP, what is the budget?

Errr...TBD.
Depends on what I get for my BMW race car. For the car I want to spend under $10,000 (high mileage cars are my specialty). It may also depend on what the car comes with (if it has bigger wheels/tires, for example). I also like to upgrade in steps, feel the improvement and adapt, then advance again.

The worst part of all this will be going from a 2550 lb race car to a Porky Pig street car.

And yes, you all can assume there won't be Autozone brake pads or cheap brake fluid in the thing a week after I get it.

 

[sheizasosay]

Under 10k...you can some real shit done for that. Wide rims and tires first and some coilovers would be my first move. Sachs dampers that come on the FR500's can be had from Rehagen Racing or some of the Penske, JRi or Ohlins from Cortex Racing. AST's from Vorshlag. That's where I would start. Wide, good, rubber and serious dampers with the right spring rate will be the biggest gains. Brakes and Geometries after that. Any one of the above mentioned companies can help you with your goal.

 

[jayel579]

Depends on what I get for my BMW race car.

What are you selling?

 

[ddavidv]

Under 10k...you can some real shit done for that.

You misunderstand...the car will be around 10k. The mods will be done piecemeal as the budget allows.

 

[ddavidv]

What are you selling?

 

[pcdrj]

Saw the ad on SpecE30 site. Nice price. Have you talked to Drew at Drivegear ?

FWIW, I went from a track beast Mustang to Spec Miata. If you're working with budget constraints pay attention to consumables. Supercharged running 100 octane, 315' R6's, I probably spent 10x more on Mustang track days than racing SM.

 

[ddavidv]

Andrew and I are buds. I loaned him that car once for a student at VIR.

I know it will cost more to run, but I won't be paying entry fees and probably not towing it with my 12 mpg truck. No supercharger for me; I like being able to run 87 octane. My frigging tow vehicle needs 92 though.

 

[UNDRTKR]

Lots of good info in here. Thanks everyone.

 

[mykvr6]

very interesting thread! I have a Bullitt, stock suspension. I come from a VW/BMW background. Love the ride and handling of euro cars, and the mustang stock just seems horrible. Seems to ride very rough, not sure what cause that? Soft springs and way soft struts/shocks? I like that sort of firm ride where the car is controlled but still have a smooth ride. I originally bought a set of H&R supersport springs and a some orange Koni Strts. Still have them, but never installed. After much research and looking around I don't think I'll be happy with the ride. I love the way these cars look low, but I fear the handling and ride with suffer especially with the orange Koni's. I know there isn't going to be enough shock for the amount of lowering. Was looking at the Vorshlag setups instead of off the shelf spring and shock combos. All I know is I really like the looks of this car and having a little power, but damn its a sloppy clunky ride. I wanted an E46 M3 when i bought this car but the Bullitt won out because i wanted to try some American muscle and I knew it would be way cheaper to run day to day.

That said, it's all up in the air as I may sell it soon anyway. Getting married soon and I may need to free up some cash lol Plus mod money budget will be non existent for awhile. Plus we really need a bigger replacement for her old 06 Corolla. All it takes is money!

 

[skwerl]

Nothing wrong with the Bullitt springs but the shocks and struts are horrible.

 

[jayel579]

I originally bought a set of H&R supersport springs and a some orange Koni Strts. Still have them, but never installed.

Put the shocks in, don't worry about the springs and you'll enjoy the ride a ton better. By comparison to BMW's, Mustangs loose out on quality dampers from the manufacturer.

 

[NoTicket]

Reports are that the Koni struts and shocks alone will result in a 19mm (about 2/3") lowering of the car. So maybe you will be happier with the car lower then.

 

[jsimmonstx]

One other thing you might want to consider is changing over to the FR500C steering rack. It's a closer ratio unit that provides faster steering. (A lot of people don't consider the steering when setting up a car to handle better.)

 

[Sky Render]

The stock ride sucks because the stock dampers suck.

Sent from my toilet using Tapatalk

 

[mykvr6]

I may try that for awhile. I really hate the way my Bullitt rides, just a rough sloppy buckboard. lol. Love the way it looks though!