Project BMW E36 323is, Building the Poor Man’s M3 Part 1

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Using our tried and true “while we're in there” motto, we used Whiteline's harder rear lower-inner control arm bushings to complete our E36's rear control arm bushing restoration.  Like we mentioned before, a multilink needs to have it's movement limited to reduce unwanted toe change. Check out the yellow chromate on the steel parts.

With the mileage and age of the car it made no sense to wait for the inevitable failure of the old rubber differential mounts, so we opted to replace them with more Whiteline bushings.  The worn stock bushings were causing the diff to shift around and make banging noises when accelerating hard.  We were very impressed with the extent of the Whiteline offerings for the E36.  Whiteline may not be well known in the European aftermarket, but if you are like one of the many track enthusiasts that are starting to pick up these not so expensive chassis as a track beater – be sure to give Whiteline a look!  Although the mounts are harder, we did not notice an increase in noise or vibration to the cabin.  High quality Whiteline bushings are steel sleeved when applicable, just like OEM, a really great quality feature.

The Whiteline bushings were a perfect fit and now our diff was ready to go back on the car.  A more consistent pinion angle afforded by the stiffer bushings should be easier on the drivetrain as well.

Howard from Technosquare puts the finishing touches on our E36's freshened up rear end.

Once all the rear bushings were installed we noted the rear of the car felt much more planted to the ground without the “pitchy” feel it had at initial turn-in, especially when going around hard corners  The more noticeable changes would come with our second stage of bushing replacement, when we installed Whiteline's caster correction bushings for the front lower control arms.

Whiteline's caster correction bushings for the front lower control arms replace the lower inner rear bushing of the control arm.  The offset hole is what allows for the caster correction by moving the control arm's rear mounting point outboard, thus increasing caster. The offset placement allows for half a degree of more positive caster which translates to better front grip and high-speed stability.