by Jonathan Lawson
I remember the first time I strolled onto a BMW lot back in the mid-90s to see the new E36 M3 in person. I fell in love with everything about it, including some of the factory wheel offerings. The wheels were considered large at the time, with 17" diameters, and no one knew that APEX would have their 18" x 9" Arc-8s within wheel wells. The M3s were also delivered from the factory with the then-impressive Michelin Pilot MXX3 tires, with no one ever thinking that the "all-season" Pilot Sport A/S 3 would not only perform even better, but allow you to drive in all but the most foul of winter weather conditions.
|
by Jonathan Lawson
Now we’re getting into the exciting bits of Project E36 M3. It’s been a joy to drive in mostly-stock form, but it’s time to get into the real fun: Suspension!
The groundwork for our suspension project began a few months ago when I had a meeting with Brian Hanchey of Hanchey Vehicle Technologies (HVT) while we were at Kansas Speedway’s GRAND AM race weekend. The prospects of our discussion had me bouncing off the walls with excitement.
|
by Jonathan Lawson
We managed to get the handling of our E36 M3 back up to a stock-like feel in Part 1, so the car has been feeling almost new. With some exciting parts on the way, we decided to keep ourselves busy while we wait by adding a bit of convenience which the Germans didn’t seem to have as a priority. We also wanted something a little fun to help us pass the time, so we increased the crisp feel of our chassis with a simple but effective part from the BMW Motorsport division...
|
|
by Jonathan Lawson
I'm an addict. A full-fledged, mainlining, E36 M3 addict, and I haven't been able to lift myself out of it since 1995 when the E36 M3 was released in the U.S. By the summer of 1999 I jumped in at the tail end of the production run. I'll save you from all of the boring in-between details for now, but after trying to shake the chassis out of my system, my fourth example now sits in our garage.
|