E36 budget suspension refresh?

I recently bought a relatively cheap 97 318i to cruise around town and drive to work. I autocross an S2000 nationally so I'm trying to spend as little money as possible on the BMW to cover basic maintenance and keep it reliable. The car has 95k miles and feels fantastic for its age, but the rear suspension sometimes feels loose and vague over rough pavement. Is there anything that can be done budget mindedly that will freshen up the suspension? I signed up on the bmw forums but it seems most people there are interested in clear corners and hellaflush.

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Thanks!

yup.. new bushings.. and don't forget the shock mounts! Those make aweful clunking noises when they go

A set of oem rear trailing arm bushings and delrin limiters will do wonders for the rear suspension. Poly RTABs are an option but they're more likely to cause noise in the long run.

My 1996 328i setup: rtab limiters, solid mount front outer ball joints, M3 bilstein sports/springs/upper strut mounts/front sway bar/offset fcabs - all taken from a slightly crashed M3.

In for the links - thanks guys. When the suspension bushings die in this car, you feel it over every single bump and through every single corner. Did I mention that the thunks and clunks and weirdness and steering-from-the-rear never stops?

I've never driven a minty fresh E36 so I don't know how much of what I'm feeling is 'normal' for this car. Interesting to hear that the "steering-from-the-rear never stops."

The links are great, but the refresh kits cost a lot more than I'm willing to put into this car unless its necessary. I'm trying to avoid having this car turn into another money pit. Thinking about replacing RTABs with OE and adding the delrin limiters (<$50 in parts from pelican parts). What else will give the best bang for the buck?

shock mounts in addition to bushings - IIRC e46 m3 shock mounts and m-roadster reinforcement plates

Odd.. the only steering from the rear I get in my Ti is when I get on the throttle too hard in a tight or slippery corner.

I also have no clunks or thumps

Sorry, to clarify - the suspension weirdness never stops the whole time you're driving every day...until you replace all the bushings. Which I have yet to do. In most cars, warn suspension bushings go pretty much unnoticed (your steering may get a little vague, etc). In these cars, warn bushings destroy the ride quality by amplifying every single bump and wheel wobble.

It sounds like you'll need rear shock mount bushings at the least. (common with E36 cars). If these are worn you'll hear a clomping from the rear over irregular pavement.

Replacing the bushings, and struts / shocks if you need to should give you a great feeling / nice handling car for the long term.

You may also want to consider the X-brace that came on the E36 convertibles. It is usually a bolt-on, and not very expensive. I've heard it is a good-cheap mod. I've been meaning to add one to my E36, but haven't yet.

nderwater wrote: Sorry, to clarify - the suspension weirdness never stops the whole time you're driving every day...until you replace all the bushings. Which I have yet to do. In most cars, warn suspension bushings go pretty much unnoticed (your steering may get a little vague, etc). In these cars, warn bushings destroy the ride quality by amplifying every single bump and wheel wobble.

ah.. yes. These cars need the suspension up to snuff to get the most out of them.