Suspension:
Aside from safety and tires the suspension setup is the most dramatic setup change that one can make to a car.  A proper setup can significantly improve handling and help gain competitive advantage.  This is probably the most fussed about modification and the most specific made to a track car.  Through suspension changes one can increase or decrease the amount of under steer.  This is made through a complex combination of camber, caster, spring, shock and sway bar settings.  The settings are typically changed from track to track and for the current track conditions.

For starters we chose a basic setup leveraging a Bilstein non-adjustable Group N shock setup with some heavy duty H&R springs.  Various other settings were dialed in for an average neutral setup.

 
Pictures:
 
   
Rear lower control arm    

 

Parts:
Bilstein Group N Coil Over Suspension
Description: Bilstein coilover suspension valved to Group N specifications
Benefits: The coil over  suspension allows for ride height adjustment and facilitates corner balancing.  The narrower profile allows one to run wider tires.  The narrower profile also increases the negative camber that can be set for the car.  Group N is a European race class specifiation.
Source: www.turnermotorsport.com
Racing Camber Plates
Description: Adjustable camber plates
Benefits: Allow for maximum negative camber adjustment.  The solid spherical bearing also eliminates flex encountered in stock camber plates.  This keeps the setup accurate during turn in.
Source: www.turnermotorsport.com
Strut Tower Reinforcement Plates
Description: Backing plate between camber plate and shock tower
Benefits: The shock tower on the E36 chassis is a traditional weak spot.   This spreads the load over a broader area inside the shock tower. In 1996 BMW began shipping various E36's with with these plates.
Adjustable Sway Bars
Description: Hollow adjustable sway bars
Benefits: The hollow structure increases the strength of the sway bar and reduces the weight
Adjustable Sway Bar Link
Description: Sway bar link with adjustable length
Benefits: Allows setup to compensate for uneven stress on the sway bar.
Adjustable Rear Lower Control Arms
Description: Lower control arm with urethane bushings and adjustable length
Benefits: Rear negative camber can be increased beyond -2.5 that can be set with the stock control arms.  The urethane bushings reduce flex in the rear setup
Rear Shock Tower Reinforcement Plates
Description: Top plate for rear shock mounts
Benefits: Another weak point is the rear shock tower.  Under harsh race conditions the shock mount bolts can tear through the thin sheet metal of the rear shock tower.  Each plate is top mounted on the rear shock tower to evenly spread the load from the mounting bolts across the top of the tower.
Source: www.turnermotorsport.com
Motorsport X-Brace
Description: Under mount front end cross brace
Benefits: BMW developed this part for the E36 convertible and also shipped it with the E36 LTW to reduce front end flex.
TMS Steering Rack Stop Kit
Description: Kit to increase turn lock
Benefits: Increasing the turn lock limits reduces the turning radius but the benefit is that it prevents wider tires from rubbing against the frame of the car and other items such as brake ducts. remote reservoir hoses, brake lines and other items inside the front wheel well.
Source: www.turnermotorsport.com

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