$1,000 325is Auto-X / HPDE build ... questions ... advice?

Hello all,

Recently purchased a $1,000 E36 325is. It seems to be in decent condition, with decent parts (Bilstein PSS9s, LSD, etc)

The steering feel is complete garbage, alignment is definitely off, steering feels numb and at times difficult to control. The car currently has E46 front control arms w/ knuckle adaptors, and off-centered poly control arm bushings. Should I attribute my terrible steering feel to the E46 knuckles & knuckle adaptors ... from what I've researched those parts are only decent for drifting.

Additionally, does anyone have any recommendations for a steering rack & bushings moving forward? So far I'm planning on OEM E36 front control arms, OEM E36 tie rods w/ new boots, Z3 steering rack w/ all new lines, BimmerWorld poly FCABs, and BimmerWorld OEM RTABs w/ poly limiters. Let me know what I should add tweak, etc. The car is 100% auto-x, HPDE, and canyon driving. Budget for the first round of mods is ~$1,000. I already have an E90 M3 that I've dumped ~$10k+ into with KW Competitions, full SPL kinematics, solid subframe bushings, etc ... The E36's goal is cheap seat-time, so not looking to spend a crazy amount on it. Just hoping to get it to steer & turn like a normal car again. 

96+ m3 control arms are slightly longer and give a hair more caster and camber.

You can shim the front hubs with washers to increase camber another little bit.

The vert's all came with a chassis brace that ties the lower points of the suspension all together. Big improvement.

The rtabs and limiters also help a lot.

Nice score. Anytime you are doing a budget build fix what needs fixing and then run it.  As for the steering feel I'd do the mods you mentioned and see how it is after that.

I don't know about difficult to control but my experience has been that numb steering feel is a common feature on 90s BMWs. Which is not to say that the upgrades/fixes you have planned won't help...just don't set your expectations too high.

No need to drop$$$$ on OEM control arms. Get Meyle HD arms for cheaps. Go with lemforder on the tie rods. Good idea on the bimmerworld FCAB. I would recommend SLR adjustable version if you think you may ever go with a set of cheap fender flares, apex wheels and some 275mm wide rubber down the road......

Focus on improving the main targets for tactile enjoyment. Stickiest/widest (sqaure) set of rubber you can afford. Rebuild the shifter linkage (no need to throw aftermarket short shift kits in to make it overly notchy). Address the steering rack issue. Upgraded pads (DTC60s or PFC08s) on centric rotors. Motul rbf600 fluid. Then hunt weight savings. No big HP improvements to be had unless you switch out the block. Male sure the cooling system is updated and STRONGLY consider an e30 style self bleeding reservoir. Also I went with a cheap chinese knockoff Mishimoto xline style z3mcoupe radiator (thick!).

Good score BTW. Love e36s. They are the absolute best buy in a sports sedan chassis for hooning around. Replacement parts are cheap and mass produced. Everything to try has been tried 1000 times over and can be researched. They built so many of them that they can still be bought cheap and they are silly easy to work on. Magical on track and just SO easy and neutral to slide around that they are incredible machines to learn/progress with as a driver.

Now with 400whp my e36 racecar keeps me awake at night. Still love to look at it in the garage. Been tinkering with them for 20 years or so and still love the E36 M3 out of them.

Only big downer is the quality of the interiors which can be a big old pile of pain in the arse.

It would not surprise me if the DIY angle kit your car has on it for drifting is the cause of some of your steering issues. Scrub radius in particular is probably not what it should be, and bump steer may be goofy as well. But I don't know the specific issues of that setup. The steering on these should actually be pretty good.

I have had a few where the upper strut mounts are seized or collapsed, which will make the steering do all kinds of strange things.

The steering tends to be a bit overboosted. Not sure if there is a fix for reducing pressure; on my E30s I usually just removed the power steering because it's a light car and you can't really get enough tire under it to matter. It may be a bit too much of a workout to remove PS in an E36.

You're on the right track with refreshing the suspension, just know that it will always squeak with all that poly in it. I actually went back to a mix of stock rubber and delrin stuff on my cars because I got so tired of the creaking. Poly diff and subframe, delrin CABs (not sure if you can still buy those) rubber RTABs I think was what I settled on. I did also drill the front lollipops for zerk fittings on one car; that actually worked pretty darn well to keep the poly stuff quiet.

dps214 said:

I don't know about difficult to control but my experience has been that numb steering feel is a common feature on 90s BMWs. Which is not to say that the upgrades/fixes you have planned won't help...just don't set your expectations too high.

I don't know what you're comparing them to? I feel the opposite. 

But, alignment will probably have a lot to do with that.