Autoblog

Click above for a high-res gallery detailing the install

With over 140,00 miles on the clock, the stock suspension of our BMW 318is project car was far from ready for its upcoming track assault, and the stiffer sidewalls and stickier rubber we fitted in our first installment accentuated the tired springs and shocks. Thankfully, the popularity of the E36 chassis makes shopping for new suspension bits an easy, if slightly overwhelming, affair. The choices range from pieced together spring/shock combos to race-ready coilovers, so we decided to split the difference with one of H&R's Touring Cup Kits (31005T-1). The package includes springs and shocks that lower the front by 1.5-inches and the rear by one inch, balancing ride comfort and stiffness while allowing us to traverse speed bumps without having to worry about teetering on our oil pan.

Hit the jump to read our impressions on how the H&R kit fared during our first week of testing and you can read through the entire suspension swap in our tagged gallery below.

In 2006, we spent a lot of time spinning wrenches here in the Autoblog Garage in the process of taking on common maintenance tasks and a few performance upgrades. For your convenience, we've compiled links to each of the posts after the jump.

We already have some things in the works for 2007, but we'd also love to get suggestions for additional posts from our readership. Keep in mind that we need projects that have a relatively broad appeal, and we're a bit limited in our selection of "test subjects"; beyond that, we're all ears, so please share your ideas.

Quite simply, rust sucks. Most any vehicle regularly driven during winters in the Salt Belt will fall victim to corrosion, and the various spray-on undercoatings available from the aftermarket have their shortcomings. Specifically, the spray-on application of these coatings often results in incomplete coverage, and what is applied will typically degrade upon repeated exposure to a decade's worth of abrasive road debris.

After dropping the fuel tank on our 1996 Buick Roadmaster, we found some oxidized ugliness despite the vehicle's near-impeccable maintenance record. Fortunately, the damage was caught before significant amounts of sheetmetal were lost, and modern technology has provided us with the tools to keep the situation from getting worse.