What shocks for my H&R's

G

Greg

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Good Day All,

I have installed a set of H&R springs on my '97 328ic and was talked into Monroe shocks to go with them. I am not very pleased with the Monroe and wonder if they are a non performance or standard shock? Should I be using a shortened shock or special application shock with these springs? I am now looking at Koni, Bilstein and KYB as some have suggested here. Are some of these made specifically for a shorter spring? Any opinions or suggestions would be greatly appreciated. I have an appointment to change to whichever next week.
 
E

epj3

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Of course monroe is a non-performance shock, they are an oem replacement, and usually a little bit softer. They are an excellent product, but obviously not ment for sporty driving.

The bilstein sport and koni's are both made for lowered cars - I would definitely go with the koni's since they cost a little more (or the same if you can find them on ebay) and are adjustable - a very nice feature to have.
 
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Greg

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Thanks for the info. Yes, I would agree the Monroes are too soft. It seems at times the spring will over power the capacity of the shock, as in a little extra return to normal time. I have had Bilstein on a E30 and liked them a lot but am now hearing about these Koni's and that they are adjustable. This shock change all started because I noticed paint being rubbed off the springs and a metal to metal noise where the coils are contacting each other. I talked with H&R and they said they had not ever heard that as an issue. Any and all experience with the E36 suspension is more than welcome and appreciated.
 
Kirby

Kirby

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I have Konis / H&Rs on my E36, great setup. I bought mine on EBay from JDMWerks, I did a lot of $$$ searching, and you will be hard pressed to find a better price. Don't know the guy, I'm just a satisfied customer, etc, but everything was perfect on the transaction. They showed up in about 10 days, and they had to ship from SoCal to PA, so that is a good EBay turnaround.

He has them up right now - Clicky Here

My guess is the Monroes are generic size/shape and the physical specs were "close enough" for Monroe to spec them for an E36.

Be careful to not buy E36 M3 shocks, they are different.
 
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epj3

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Kirby said:
I have Konis / H&Rs on my E36, great setup. I bought mine on EBay from JDMWerks, I did a lot of $$$ searching, and you will be hard pressed to find a better price. Don't know the guy, I'm just a satisfied customer, etc, but everything was perfect on the transaction. They showed up in about 10 days, and they had to ship from SoCal to PA, so that is a good EBay turnaround.

He has them up right now - Clicky Here

My guess is the Monroes are generic size/shape and the physical specs were "close enough" for Monroe to spec them for an E36.

Be careful to not buy E36 M3 shocks, they are different.
Click to expand...
Kind of scares me that I have to modify my stock strut housing to fit the koni's... kind of unnerving, but everyone says it is easy. I'll have to get hand tools though, my air compressor can't keep up with my 4" grinder.
 
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Greg

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Say What??? modify your strut housing?? do tell...please.... whats involved?.....I was just about to have the Koni's ordered but that scares me.......do the Bilsteins require this??
 
Kirby

Kirby

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You don't have to modify the struts, but you do have to dissassemble them. I think the M3 requires modifications, but not the regular 32x models. I know this for a fact since I installed fronts and rears myself.

Here are some tips I put together a few weeks ago for the job. You will need a strut spring compressor.


Tips:
- The Bentley says to remove the rotor from the spindle. You don't have to do that, I think they suggest it to make it lighter/easier to handle. BUT it will be heavy and awkward when you remove it, don't let it drop or hang it's weight on the ball joints. You should wire it up to the fender.
- Do remove the brake caliper bolts (but not the brake line) and wire it out of the way.
- Make some alignment marks on the spring and strut components to get things realigned when you reassemble. You want the spring to go back in the exact same position.
- SAFETY: While/after compressing the spring, NEVER put your face directly over top the assembly, for obvious reasons.
- After you compress the spring, the top nut that holds the cartridge can be a pain to loosen because the shaft of the strut will just turn. I used my air impact wrench to loosen the nut with a series of quick blips. DON'T use the air impact wrench to tighten it at reassembly. Remember, don't get too rough with it, the compressed spring stores alot of energy.
- Pay attention to the sequence of plates and washers when you disassemble the strut.
- A front end alignment will probably be needed.
 
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Greg

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Thanks Kirby, you had me worried there for a sec. (I couldn't find a mod refedrence in my Bentley Bible) I have done these in the past but the shop I go to is dioing this one freebee! He was the one who suggested the Monroes to go with my suggested H&R's! He's already replaced some tires N/C due to a rookies alignment job. Because of the new tires I went for the springs and shocks. Now he gets to re&re the springs....and another alignment! Re&re is OK but I wouldn't want any 'mods' as I thought you meant. Would hate for him to mess up,(again)
Koni's it is!
 
B

B M W

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#10
Koni SA's are just inserts into your stock struts.

Which H&R springs do you have? OE Sport, Sport, or Race?

If you have OE Sport I would recommend Bilstein HD.

If you have Sports or Race you can go with either Bilkstein Sports or Koni SA's. Both great shocks. The Koni's are superior here as they have adjustable dampening.

The noise you hear between your springs whacking each other is called binding. What you need to do is buy those springs rubber things. The name escapes me at the moment but they came already on my H&R sports. It's liek a little rubber sleeve that goes over your spring and slide it down to about 2 or 3 coils from the top. Should stop the spring from binding and relieve that horrible noise you are hearing.
 
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Greg

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I have the sports and think I have decided on the Koni's to get the adjustable bonus. I have heard of the sleeve you speak of and will try that as well.

I have been reading about H&R's patented rear height adjuster plates, have you ever heard of these or nay other tweak goods?

Thanks to all with your assistance
 
Kirby

Kirby

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B M W said:
Koni SA's are just inserts into your stock struts.
Click to expand...
No, not on a regular E36.The E36 Koni SA is a strut replacement, you reuse only the spring, upper plate and rubber shims. As I said, I'm pretty sure that on the E36 M3 it IS an insert as you mention, and you must cut apart the factory strut to insert the Koni cartridge. Here is a picture of the Koni SA on my '94 325i:
 

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