Simple mods for better performance

[ewie 0]

Hey all, looks like I'm finally taking delivery of my E46 318ti M-Sport on Thursday and really looking forward to it.

I was wondering if there's any fairly simple, relatively inexpensive but straight forward things I can do that'll improve performance while I save the reddies for more serious mods later? Air intake? Exhaust? Computer tweaks?? Any ideas/suggestions?

Cheers

Edited May 11, 2009 by **Ewie**

[briancol 3]

Get in touch with Gavin at Hi Velocity in Glenfield.

He's the wizz kid at performance enhancing of BMW's

[DRTDVL 0]

how much you looking at spending?

[ewie 0]

how much you looking at spending?

Depends on bang for buck at this stage.. just shelled out $15K for the car and plan on getting the wheels repaired/painted plus new rubber and tints so little as poss depending on what get's done. The car will become a bit of an ongoing project over the next year or so... I'll be looking at beefing suspension and brakes/wheels and then do an engine/box build & swap later... all of which takes time and money...

My ultimate goal would be to have something that looks smart, handles well and is fine for day to day use plus the odd track day hillclimb etc... a toy basically

Edited May 11, 2009 by **Ewie**

[Apex 693]

You could.

Air Intake (Simota) $500. 0-1kw

Custom Exhaust system with sports cat $750-1200. 3-7kw

Chip $1100-1500 5-15kw

Engine/Gearbox swaps $10,000-15,000 up to 100kw gain.

Of course these are all guestimates.

Turbo it!!

[DRTDVL 0]

Either talk to Kieth at H&R about a Touring Cup Kit or call Chris at Suspension Tech about a suspension setup for the car. factor in $1500 - $2000 for a very good setup. 

Have a look at Glen's conversion if you want engine swap... I'd say (probably wrong) the biggest improvement in performance would be a manual conversion... 

[Apex 693]

Yep, a manual conversion, chip, exhaust system and intake would have it moving along quite nicely.

They did a 2.5 model TI didn’t they?

[darkwolf 0]

I read in a BMW mag (at the ford dealership where my car gets serviced) that there are genuine aftermarket performance parts available from BMW dealers (it was an ad and only available for the 3 Series (e46+). Could be worth a look? Though I don't imagine they'd be cheap and I don't know what was available.

Are the ECUs in BMWs remappable? I know many of the toyota ones aren't and they are the only ones I know anything (if much at all) about. The reason I ask is that your ECU is likely to be tuned with a mix of reliability/engine life/economy/performance. The dealers may (hence the question above) be able to move the scale closer to a performance increase for a sacrifice of economy/reliability/engine life.

[Apex 693]

BMW performance parts are available, its mostly aesthetic stuff though.

His car is Re-Map..able.

http://chiptuning.co.nz/cars-bmw.html

Edited May 11, 2009 by Apex

[darkwolf 0]

What's the deal with this sort of crap? The guy wants to mod his car then he should be allowed too. I there was a thread recently about a similar sort of thing (Inappropriate of irrelevant crap on BS - for your reference)

If you don't think it's worthwhile then that's your opinion and not really of importance to the thread.

There could also be a really good reason they've bought a 318ti. The next ti in the series is the 325ti. It could well be that they don't want the extra fuel usage or the extra two cylinders brought about with a 325 or maybe they are incredibly hard to find, or maybe they feel a 2.5 doesn't fit their primary requirements. Does this mean they aren't allowed to get upgrades for it? Should modifications be restricted to only a certain model of car? If so does that mean you shouldn't be allowed to modify your 328 because its not an M3?

[kerrynzl 3]

What's the deal with this sort of crap? The guy wants to mod his car then he should be allowed too. I there was a thread recently about a similar sort of thing (Inappropriate of irrelevant crap on BS - for your reference)

If you don't think it's worthwhile then that's your opinion and not really of importance to the thread.

There could also be a really good reason they've bought a 318ti. The next ti in the series is the 325ti. It could well be that they don't want the extra fuel usage or the extra two cylinders brought about with a 325 or maybe they are incredibly hard to find, or maybe they feel a 2.5 doesn't fit their primary requirements. Does this mean they aren't allowed to get upgrades for it? Should modifications be restricted to only a certain model of car? If so does that mean you shouldn't be allowed to modify your 328 because its not an M3?

Personally, I thing Ron's advice is the most sensible even if it doesn't satisfy our motives

The cheapest performance enhancer is the "driver" [ drive it harder ]

HP = Tq x RPM ,so you need to enhance it so it is more efficient at a higher RPM or get a bigger motor [ BMW's are already quite efficient ]

Mods usually cost a fortune but are only needed about 3% of the time, consider nitrous on your small motored street machine [ and leave the rest standard ]

[DRTDVL 0]

Personally i think it's rather stupid to retrospectively say - YOUR A RETARD YOU BOUGHT THE WRONG CAR!... 

Given that he's specifically asked about mod's to this particular car not some car that someone else things he should have bought, i think it should stay relavent to the topic at hand which supprisingly is modifications to improve the performance to a E46 318ti...

The class he wants to compete in might also come into play... Given that with the 1.7x and 1.4x rules for forced induction 1.6, 1.8, and 2.0 turbo's all fall into the same group 2500+ or more typically 2000+cc whooo nothing like competing with 300+hp cars in the 325... Nothing like getting your ass spanked every time you turn upto an event... 

Given that he's also said he wants to swap the engine/trans out later the above is kinda pointless but i really wanted to say that as it makes me feel that much better when the 1.9ltr pug is faster on twisty roads...

If you can buy the second engine soon then you can strip it down and take your time doing the rebuild and fit/buy parts as you can afford them... Beers and Pizza = great inticement to get people to come over and help with required work... 

I'd personally look at makin the car go around corners better and stopping better before looking at the power of the car. Then look at a manual conversion (all the better if the gearbox mates up the engine you want to swap in), i know with some other brands going from auto to manual completely transforms the car, the car is markably faster although there is no change in engine power just better utilization of that power. For hillclimbs the above would be of more benifit than any power increase you make... 

[Gus 5]

it's all about bang for buck - modding a 1.8 compact auto makes no sense whatsoever, but the time you have spent money on it to get it decent you could have bought a MUCH better car in the first place.

why not just leave it standard, enjoy it for what it is and when/if you feel like more just get a different car.

and don't even get me started about re-sale values of modded 1.8 BMW's....

[Mark 178]

and don't even get me started about re-sale values of modded 1.8 BMW's....

As I was reading your post I started thinking.... "Pot, say hello to kettle"... but then you beat me to it!

My opinion: Not everyone can afford the "better" car outright, so instead of catching the bus until they save enough money to buy the car they "should" buy, they buy the car they want and proceed to drip feed money into it as it becomes available. You may say "that's stupid, you'll never get your money back", but hey... don't we all drive BMW's? When was the last time any of us made a profit on a car we've onsold??!!!

Owning and loving a car is a hobby, it's a passion, it's heaps of fun. And like most hobbies (golf, travel, video games etc) you never see the money you invest ever again. But hey, you had a blast along the way right?

[Creaver 55]

Couldn't have put it better Mark.

Good luck with your performance mods.

[ewie 0]

His car is Re-Map..able.

Thanks for that Apex, will definatly be giving those guy's a call, my last full build-up project was a 68 XT GT Falcon many moons ago and it had no ECU's, electronic gizmos or anything like that to worry about compared to modern cars so i figured there'd have to be some sort of "hack" available.

If you don't think it's worthwhile then that's your opinion and not really of importance to the thread.

There could also be a really good reason they've bought a 318ti. The next ti in the series is the 325ti. It could well be that they don't want the extra fuel usage or the extra two cylinders brought about with a 325 or maybe they are incredibly hard to find, or maybe they feel a 2.5 doesn't fit their primary requirements. Does this mean they aren't allowed to get upgrades for it? Should modifications be restricted to only a certain model of car? If so does that mean you shouldn't be allowed to modify your 328 because its not an M3?

Thanks for the backup DarkWolf... I chose the compact (mainly) because of the shape... simple as that, I like it and while a 325 might have been preferable, fact is there ain't many around in E46 spec, infact there's only one listed in Trademe and that's in Tauranga, done 113K and nearly $20K... too much for my budget, especially as long term it'll become a project car and I'd still be looking at spending more money on it anyway. Besides, who say's I can't slip a 2.5 into it later?? The M-Sport version also comes with the half suede sort interior, all of which is in mint condition in mine so there's nothing to be done to the interior later on.

If money was no object I'd be onto one of the 850Csi's that are around at the moment but who's got $80K+ to shell out on a car and then more money to re-build or modify it?? Not me. I think a compact with some clever mods could be a very nimble little hillclimber.. and it's different.

Personally i think it's rather stupid to retrospectively say - YOUR A RETARD YOU BOUGHT THE WRONG CAR!... 

Given that he's specifically asked about mod's to this particular car not some car that someone else things he should have bought, i think it should stay relavent to the topic at hand which supprisingly is modifications to improve the performance to a E46 318ti...

The class he wants to compete in might also come into play... Given that with the 1.7x and 1.4x rules for forced induction 1.6, 1.8, and 2.0 turbo's all fall into the same group 2500+ or more typically 2000+cc whooo nothing like competing with 300+hp cars in the 325... Nothing like getting your ass spanked every time you turn upto an event... 

Given that he's also said he wants to swap the engine/trans out later the above is kinda pointless but i really wanted to say that as it makes me feel that much better when the 1.9ltr pug is faster on twisty roads...

If you can buy the second engine soon then you can strip it down and take your time doing the rebuild and fit/buy parts as you can afford them... Beers and Pizza = great inticement to get people to come over and help with required work... 

I'd personally look at makin the car go around corners better and stopping better before looking at the power of the car. Then look at a manual conversion (all the better if the gearbox mates up the engine you want to swap in), i know with some other brands going from auto to manual completely transforms the car, the car is markably faster although there is no change in engine power just better utilization of that power. For hillclimbs the above would be of more benifit than any power increase you make... 

Totally agree... first order of business, if you look at my original post is to do simple tweaky stuff, like chiptuning, exhaust and air to make it a little less aesthmatic and then develop a plan for the longer term project starting with suspension, brakes and wheels. The engine/box build will start when I've got the funds to buy a long motor and strip it down.. over beer and pizza sounds like a plan, good to see that currency works on this side of the ditch too.

it's all about bang for buck - modding a 1.8 compact auto makes no sense whatsoever, but the time you have spent money on it to get it decent you could have bought a MUCH better car in the first place.

why not just leave it standard, enjoy it for what it is and when/if you feel like more just get a different car.

and don't even get me started about re-sale values of modded 1.8 BMW's....

Appreciate your opinon, but "decent" is a relative term... and who said it'll stay a 1.8 auto?? It might, it might not.. Haven't thought that far ahead yet. Plus I bought with the express purpose of becoming a project.. who know's what it'll morph into later on??

Thanks everyone for the constructive comment though, really appreciate it

[Gus 5]

As I was reading your post I started thinking.... "Pot, say hello to kettle"... but then you beat me to it!

actually, I bought the car as it is for a 1/3 (if not less) of what it cost to build..

I'll just wait and see if anything actually happens with this -it's not just the $$ but the PITA of E46 electrics with engine swaps - ask Glenn (actually ask him any question you like, he can answer it, he knows everything, maybe we need a "Dear Glenn" section on the site)

Regardless, pics when the car arrives are in order and welcome to the site!

[*Glenn* 854]

GO the COMPACTS

However I must say your long term goal of changing the engine is economically not viable in an E46 because of software. All systems are intergrated DME, EGS, ABS, ASC, Kombi etc etc. Pre 1998 is easy, after 1999 it would be cheaper to keep the car youve got and buy the other car you want. CAI, headers & Exhaust with a remap is about all you can do... or turbo... or SC... however it would need to stay Auto though because of software.... unless you want to spend more on the car than what its worth.

All my mods were easy, however my little girls car has cost me approx $25,000 without labour to get where I'm with it now. That includes the $2,500 I paid for the car originaly with a stuffed trans & M44 motor.

Edited May 11, 2009 by *Glenn*

[ewie 0]

Oh well, I guess I'll find out as I go... it's also a 2ltr (M44?) not a 1.8 as discussed previously.. maybe a turbo could be in the horizon.... for now I'll just play around with what I've got and see where it takes me.

You're right though you'll never get back what you spend.. I spent a small fortune restoring my GT way back when, and did'nt get anything like the money I spent when I sold it. Although I was in a "had to sell it" situation back then, wish I still had it today as they're worth a lot of money to collectors these days. I saw one go at auction in Melbourne for $98K AUD

Edited May 11, 2009 by **Ewie**

[topcat 11]

You could.

Air Intake (Simota) $500. 0-1kw

Custom Exhaust system with sports cat $750-1200. 3-7kw

Chip $1100-1500 5-15kw

Engine/Gearbox swaps $10,000-15,000 up to 100kw gain.

Of course these are all guestimates.

Turbo it!!

for 15k i'm sure you could sqeeze out 400hp plus,

with a alittle FI ofcourse.

no offence Apex,up to 150$ pre extra kw for a swap setup,

i'll stick to the sweet whistling sound of turbo goodness

m

[*Glenn* 854]

(M44?)

No... its a N42

[ewie 0]

No... its a N42

thanks Glenn.. still very new to BMW's need to get more familiar with the specs

[*Glenn* 854]

thanks Glenn.. still very new to BMW's need to get more familiar with the specs

Please note that an N42 (which is your motor) is very different from a M42 when you go hunting for mods

[darkwolf 0]

Another good place for other information is the wiki:

BMW N42 Motor

But take it with a grain of salt unless you can back it up from somewhere else. I once read an article on subaru legacies that said the turbo version wasn't available standard in a RHD model. Oddly enough, my friend owns one, as do many other people in NZ.

[ewie 0]

Please note that an N42 (which is your motor) is very different from a M42 when you go hunting for mods

thanks for the tip Glenn

Another good place for other information is the wiki:

BMW N42 Motor

But take it with a grain of salt unless you can back it up from somewhere else. I once read an article on subaru legacies that said the turbo version wasn't available standard in a RHD model. Oddly enough, my friend owns one, as do many other people in NZ.

Ahh, right so mine would be the N42B20 then?? 1996cc

Hmm, I've owned a couple of Legacies, both of which were turbos... one import, one NZ new... although the Aussies did stop bringing in the "Liberty RS Turbo" as it is called there after about 1996 (ish) until only a few years ago....