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Vorshlag is now making custom strut housings for the BMW E30 chassis to work with AST 4100/4150 coilover kit front strut inserts. We have these in stock and ready to ship, along with the AST coilover kits to go with them. Finally there is a complete AST coilover assembly solution available for your BMW E30.
The factory BMW E30 strut housing does not lend itself to an easy replacement, like most McPherson strut equipped cars
The BMW E30 chassis is somewhat unique in that the front strut housing and spindle are one piece. This means that all-new aftermarket coilover strut housings would cost a small fortune. So the solution most companies take is to re-use the OEM strut housing, usually with several necessary modifications that have to be done by the end user. Either you could send in your original strut housings to to have them "built into coilovers" at the shock factory (takes months and many hundreds in shipping to send to Holland, plus their labor rates for any further modifications needed) or you use the clever 4100/4150 kit coilover conversion kit that AST came up. This allows you to re-use your OEM housings with their strut insert and coilover conversion parts.
Left: We verify the length against our database before shortening. Right: This is the lower perch that gets removed
Like with all coilover suspensions, the AST 4100/4150 kit is made to work best at a lower ride height than stock (1-2" lower than stock). Their coilover kit can technically work in completely stock length strut housings (with an internal spacer placed under the strut insert), but work better using a strut housing shortened by 1 inch. There is also an OEM lower spring perch normally welded to the stock strut housing that is no longer needed and can be removed (and should be removed, as it it potentially gets in the way other parts under the fender, and limits inboard camber travel). This strut shortening and perch removal work is not impossible to do yourself, but does take some special tools and skills to do properly. Vorshlag is performing this procedure with used OEM strut housings; the steps we take in the strut modification procedure are shown further down in this post, if you would like to tackle this work yourself. This procedure takes our fabrication crew several hours per pair.
With our shortened strut housings, the AST 4100/4150 monotube strut insert is secured internally by using the AST wiper seal gland nut, AST threaded coilover collar, and AST lower spring perch (made for 2.5" ID springs). The AST gland nut assembly threads into the M48 threads that are inside the E30 strut housing, then the threaded coilover collar is threaded onto the gland nut, then the lower perch threads onto the collar. This is how they make the complete coilover conversion work within the OEM style housing.
Vorshlag stocks these E30 AST 4100 coilover conversion kits as well as our modified 4-lug housings, for a bolt-on ready coilover conversion for the BMW E30.
These parts above come with the AST 4100/4150 Coilover Kit - they are NOT sold separately
Since brand new, stock replacement E30 4-lug strut housings cost upwards of $760/each, we scour the Texas salvage yards to find straight, undamaged, and rust-free E30 strut housings (or we use fully inspected cores sent in to us from previous customers). We take a pair of these "pre-owned" BMW strut housings from a 4-lug E30 chassis car and modify them to work as a true coilover strut, as shown below.
First, we cut off the welded on lower spring perch, then we grind that area of the strut tower smooth. Next we extend the internally tapped threads inside the top end of the strut tube down by 1 inch. After it is tapped to the new length internally we cut one inch off the top end of the strut housing, using a band saw. Finally, the strut housing is bead blasted, the spindle sections are taped off, and the housing is fully powder coated gloss black, for a "better than new" look and stronger finish than the OEM black coating. If a customer also purchases the E30 AST 4100 / 4150 coilover kit from us, we then install the AST gland nut/wiper seal, the AST coilover sleeve, and AST spring perch to the strut housing - now it is a proper coilover strut.
Some shops will perform this modification the easy way: by taking a 1" slice out of the center of the strut housing and just weld it back together. The final strut is not as strong with a welded splice in the middle of the strut housing, and it can potentially be slightly bent at the welded joint.
Can you do this work on your own? Maybe, but the internal tapping procedure is difficult and uses several specialty tools, including a multi-hundred dollar M48 tap, and a 2-man tap handle. Cutting it to length can be done with a hack saw, but will it be as true as a horizontal band saw with an integral vice to hold the strut tube? Removing the lower spring perch isn't fun, no matter the tool you use - it takes our guys some careful cutting with a few power tools, then some time with a flap disc to sand the section smooth. A good amount of time is spent reconditioning the strut housing before it goes to the powder coater, but once completed it makes for a top quality coilover strut assembly. Vorshlag has these special tools, the know-how, and we powder coat these strut housings in larger batches - all of which makes for a better price than you could make a pair on your own this way. So if you have a 4-lug BMW and would like to buy reworked Vorshlag strut housings, they are in stock and ready to go. Slap on your wheel bearings and hubs (or you can buy new ones form us), slide in your AST (or other?) strut inserts, and you are good to go.
We charge less for these re-worked housings if you buy them along with an AST 4100/4150 kit from Vorshlag, at the same time. Go to the E30 suspension section and pick the 4100 kit. Inside that entry there is a drop-down for the optional strut housings. We will pre-install the new AST strut inserts for you before it ships out. What words cannot show you is how gorgeous these things look when we have them "de-cluttered" and cleaned up, all powder coated and glossy. Check out the high rez picture.
The shopping cart entry for these Vorshlag modified E30 strut housings is located here. These are also available (for less money!) as an option under the AST 4100 / 4150 coilover product entry for the BMW E30.
We also have an option to include new, German sourced, name brand wheel hub/bearing assemblies and spindle nuts. If you order those with the spindles we will pre-install the hubs at no additional charge. This way you could have a ready to bolt on strut and spindle assembly, right out of the box. It doesn't get any easier than that.
Thanks,
The factory BMW E30 strut housing does not lend itself to an easy replacement, like most McPherson strut equipped cars
The BMW E30 chassis is somewhat unique in that the front strut housing and spindle are one piece. This means that all-new aftermarket coilover strut housings would cost a small fortune. So the solution most companies take is to re-use the OEM strut housing, usually with several necessary modifications that have to be done by the end user. Either you could send in your original strut housings to to have them "built into coilovers" at the shock factory (takes months and many hundreds in shipping to send to Holland, plus their labor rates for any further modifications needed) or you use the clever 4100/4150 kit coilover conversion kit that AST came up. This allows you to re-use your OEM housings with their strut insert and coilover conversion parts.
Left: We verify the length against our database before shortening. Right: This is the lower perch that gets removed
Like with all coilover suspensions, the AST 4100/4150 kit is made to work best at a lower ride height than stock (1-2" lower than stock). Their coilover kit can technically work in completely stock length strut housings (with an internal spacer placed under the strut insert), but work better using a strut housing shortened by 1 inch. There is also an OEM lower spring perch normally welded to the stock strut housing that is no longer needed and can be removed (and should be removed, as it it potentially gets in the way other parts under the fender, and limits inboard camber travel). This strut shortening and perch removal work is not impossible to do yourself, but does take some special tools and skills to do properly. Vorshlag is performing this procedure with used OEM strut housings; the steps we take in the strut modification procedure are shown further down in this post, if you would like to tackle this work yourself. This procedure takes our fabrication crew several hours per pair.
With our shortened strut housings, the AST 4100/4150 monotube strut insert is secured internally by using the AST wiper seal gland nut, AST threaded coilover collar, and AST lower spring perch (made for 2.5" ID springs). The AST gland nut assembly threads into the M48 threads that are inside the E30 strut housing, then the threaded coilover collar is threaded onto the gland nut, then the lower perch threads onto the collar. This is how they make the complete coilover conversion work within the OEM style housing.
Vorshlag stocks these E30 AST 4100 coilover conversion kits as well as our modified 4-lug housings, for a bolt-on ready coilover conversion for the BMW E30.
These parts above come with the AST 4100/4150 Coilover Kit - they are NOT sold separately
Since brand new, stock replacement E30 4-lug strut housings cost upwards of $760/each, we scour the Texas salvage yards to find straight, undamaged, and rust-free E30 strut housings (or we use fully inspected cores sent in to us from previous customers). We take a pair of these "pre-owned" BMW strut housings from a 4-lug E30 chassis car and modify them to work as a true coilover strut, as shown below.
First, we cut off the welded on lower spring perch, then we grind that area of the strut tower smooth. Next we extend the internally tapped threads inside the top end of the strut tube down by 1 inch. After it is tapped to the new length internally we cut one inch off the top end of the strut housing, using a band saw. Finally, the strut housing is bead blasted, the spindle sections are taped off, and the housing is fully powder coated gloss black, for a "better than new" look and stronger finish than the OEM black coating. If a customer also purchases the E30 AST 4100 / 4150 coilover kit from us, we then install the AST gland nut/wiper seal, the AST coilover sleeve, and AST spring perch to the strut housing - now it is a proper coilover strut.
Some shops will perform this modification the easy way: by taking a 1" slice out of the center of the strut housing and just weld it back together. The final strut is not as strong with a welded splice in the middle of the strut housing, and it can potentially be slightly bent at the welded joint.
Can you do this work on your own? Maybe, but the internal tapping procedure is difficult and uses several specialty tools, including a multi-hundred dollar M48 tap, and a 2-man tap handle. Cutting it to length can be done with a hack saw, but will it be as true as a horizontal band saw with an integral vice to hold the strut tube? Removing the lower spring perch isn't fun, no matter the tool you use - it takes our guys some careful cutting with a few power tools, then some time with a flap disc to sand the section smooth. A good amount of time is spent reconditioning the strut housing before it goes to the powder coater, but once completed it makes for a top quality coilover strut assembly. Vorshlag has these special tools, the know-how, and we powder coat these strut housings in larger batches - all of which makes for a better price than you could make a pair on your own this way. So if you have a 4-lug BMW and would like to buy reworked Vorshlag strut housings, they are in stock and ready to go. Slap on your wheel bearings and hubs (or you can buy new ones form us), slide in your AST (or other?) strut inserts, and you are good to go.
We charge less for these re-worked housings if you buy them along with an AST 4100/4150 kit from Vorshlag, at the same time. Go to the E30 suspension section and pick the 4100 kit. Inside that entry there is a drop-down for the optional strut housings. We will pre-install the new AST strut inserts for you before it ships out. What words cannot show you is how gorgeous these things look when we have them "de-cluttered" and cleaned up, all powder coated and glossy. Check out the high rez picture.
The shopping cart entry for these Vorshlag modified E30 strut housings is located here. These are also available (for less money!) as an option under the AST 4100 / 4150 coilover product entry for the BMW E30.
We also have an option to include new, German sourced, name brand wheel hub/bearing assemblies and spindle nuts. If you order those with the spindles we will pre-install the hubs at no additional charge. This way you could have a ready to bolt on strut and spindle assembly, right out of the box. It doesn't get any easier than that.
Thanks,