Getting start

[Sudo 0]

Since my E36 318Ti will be here soon, I am starting to thinking of what to do with it.

I will be keeping the exterior standard, because of the Mtechnik kit, and maybe change wheels(not yet though), so I was just thinking of small things I can do for powergain and handling?

Which things would be more appropraite?

I had in mind, exhaust, lower(shocks and springs) and strut brace(s).

Will these be effective? I don't have a huge budget, so I can't tune the engine like I'd want to, so I see those mods as fairly cheap. Any advice?

Edited February 9, 2005 by Sudo

[E30stz 0]

sorry if I'm mistaken but arent you under 18 ? Yeah Id try keep in mind insurance and the fact its probably quite expensive for you because of them if you mod ur engine.

[318is 0]

Well i'm kinda newish to BMW's ( year now ), but been in mechanical field for 17 odd years.

Power wise, let her breath and exhail better & computer chip for a start. ( K&N & headers - exhaust mods, CPU etc )

Handling wise I haven't played with for a few years now. Modded & lowered a few racing cars and built a kit car over the years. Sure - we modded for extra camber etc and the finalising of the setup was on a computer alignment machine. ( and never payed for as they were customer cars, so have no idea on price of this as I was a employee then)

So a quick fix for extra power is quite easy, but moderatly expensive. My beamer handles pretty well stock as. You may find yours does as well.

I suggest you play with the motor for starters, then if you wish, lower and adjust the suspension.

The worst thing you could do ( my opinion ) is totally mod your car BEFORE you even get it. Drive stock for a while, get used to that, then mod it so you can enjoy/see/feel the benifits of your hard work and/or hard earnt spent cash!

[Sudo 0]

Yeah, will be driving it stock for awhile, to see what I think needs changing, adding, etc

If I like it stock, it'll stay that way.

[Grant 4]

What is most important, above all, before you make it go faster is to make it 'stop and turn'......

Where have I heard that before????

Seriously, drive it a while and get any small niggles sorted out (there are bound to be a few), then when you are confident that it is all 100% then start making any mods to the car.

If it were me, I'd go for handling improvements first (some sports shocks and springs). What you'll find with the Ti is that it does handle pretty well as the wheels are right in the corners of the car.

They also look good with aftermarket wheels on them (no huge chromes or anything, but some nice 17's look good, maybe M3 replicas).

Good luck, I hope you get great enjoyment from your new purchase.

Cheers

[Juzzie Wuzzie 0]

First thing = fire extinguisher mounted on the floor in front of the driver's seat.

Second thing = drive it for six months before doing anything - save your pennies for when things go wrong. Then worry about mods.

[Carl 3]

First thing = fire extinguisher mounted on the floor in front of the driver's seat.

Speaking from experience?

I agree on the drive it a while before you mod it, although wheels are an exception.

I drove mine for 4 years with only the wheels being non-stock before I started making some serious changes. Be aware that as soon as you start playing with it you WONT stop playing with it - read $$$ - and Grant is right on the insurance thing.

Be sure to read the following threads before you do anything...

A must read for E36'ers

Car mods and insurance

[m325i 709]

Drop a 20B in it.

[Sudo 0]

Drop a 20B in it.

;runs away to barf;

[hybrid 1043]

heh ....

seriously .. the handling on a Ti is awesome ... I would go with just lowering coils to start with ... and maybe thinking of coil-overs later on ... but you will get great benefits from just a set of nice springs .. and a front and rear cross brace.

If you get new wheels .. make sure (due to the shorter wheel base) you stick with a non staggered setup (make sure all 4 wheels are the same width alround (225 max I think ?) as anything else will just kill that buetiful 48/52 weight split you'll have.