Your Input for a 3-series' Exterior

[jaylow]

I have a 318i and I'm planning on painting it next spring for a number of reasons.

Reason 1: BMW's come a dime a dozen in Calgary and I want mine to stand out.
Reason 2: I'm planning on shaving some weight with a carbon fibre hood/trunk.
Reason 3: I like the M3 front bumper and hate the grey side skirts.
Reason 4: People think it's cool to to open their doors really wide and don't have a care when their doors hit mine. Also other people's cars seem to like taking a bite out of my paint job when they go in/out of parking stalls.
Reason 5: The previous owner had a habit of backing into garbage cans and as a result, my rear bumper looks like it also belongs in a garbage can.

As you can see, even without new exterior parts, my car needs a fresh coat of paint. The thing is, I'm torn between different options with what to do with my car. I've laid out a few options.

Option 1: Paint the entire car the original color (Samoa Blue Metallic).
Option 2: Paint the entire car a darker blue (Laguna Seca Blue or Montreal Blue).
Option 3: Paint the entire car some kind of dark purple (Veilchenblau or Technoviolet).
Option 4: Similar to option 3, but leaving the carbon fibre showing on the hood/trunk.

As of now, it's either I make no changes to the car's color by sticking to option 1, or I go crazy with option 4 because it will totally stand out in the sea of 3-series found in Calgary (possibly even get me into a few local car shows). Also, I love dark purple in general. What do you think?

[Bimmer Man]

Montreal Blue

[Bimmer325]

Honestly I would keep it original. Do you have any pics of the now?

[driftinbmw]

Imola Red.

[SeanDub]

I didnt know LSB was darker than anything.

[jaylow]

http://memimage.cardomain.com/member_images/1/web/3049000-3049999/3049257_1_full.jpg2

Yup, there exists lighter shades of blue for bimmers. It almost looks grey in bright daylight, which makes it blend in with every other 3-series. Which is why I'm leaning towards other colors that stick out.

[SeanDub]

Never seen it, can you fix the link to the pic you posted? I'd like to see it

[jaylow]

Okay, so that doesn't work... Here's a shot from the rear.

[SeanDub]

Kind of a cool color, but I see your point. LSB is my vote. It'll make you're car stick out a lot

[Brocky36]

Rat it .....:buttrock

[villagethief]

Lsb +1

[4500 RPM]

That's a really pretty color but WOW are those some ugly mods!

[ponchiz318]

Avus Blue and Montrealblau are the darker shades. LSB is kinda bright, followed by Estoril which would be the brightest.

[jaylow]

That's a really pretty color but WOW are those some ugly mods!

Hey man, to each his own. Or different strokes for different blokes, or however you want to say it... I'm not trashing your car, so please don't trash mine. These were just random ideas that I thought would make the car stand out over here.

To everyone else, thanks for your input, I appreciate your help. LSB seems pretty popular. Most of you guys are leaning towards are darker blue.

[jared94e36]

id do a darker blue. by the way man, CALGARY?!?!?!?!?! that will be awsome if you do that, no one takes care of their bimmer's here....great to hear from another enthusiast in town
then again maybe i just haven't met any enthusiasts here haha

[E36ACschnitzer]

hellrot would look good

[jaylow]

id do a darker blue. by the way man, CALGARY?!?!?!?!?! that will be awsome if you do that, no one takes care of their bimmer's here....great to hear from another enthusiast in town
then again maybe i just haven't met any enthusiasts here haha

Actually, yes to Calgary! You might see me either "racing" to the airport (actually, it's probably because I'm late for work...), at the University or at SouthCentre.


hellrot would look good

Hellrot looks great, but every other car that's been in my family in the past few years with the exception of my Dad's MB was some sort of red. Looks great, but I want to stay away from anything Red.

[jared94e36]

you will definitly see me racing to the university!
haskayne...
did you see the 97 black m3 some guy parked over by the oval every day last year????? ughhh so beautiful

[redduck]

I would keep it the same color and color match all the black parts. its a pain in the dick to do a full color change. I would lose the wheels though. I know assholes are like opinions and everyone has one but this is a public forum so just take negative comments for what they are. The wheels look cheap IMO. I used to be in love with black rims with a lip but here lately they all look cheap to me. If you want your car to stand out just keep it clean and do what you want to it. If you get caught up in the BMW elitism you will spend thousands of dollars and have a car that looks like all the other e36s.

[M3@Apex]

id do a darker blue. by the way man, CALGARY?!?!?!?!?! that will be awsome if you do that, no one takes care of their bimmer's here....great to hear from another enthusiast in town
then again maybe i just haven't met any enthusiasts here haha


Actually, yes to Calgary! You might see me either "racing" to the airport (actually, it's probably because I'm late for work...), at the University or at SouthCentre.



Hellrot looks great, but every other car that's been in my family in the past few years with the exception of my Dad's MB was some sort of red. Looks great, but I want to stay away from anything Red.

Both you guys should join this local community:
www.projecttechnik.com

[///Ficarra]

Montreal Blau gets my vote. my first E36 was a Montreal 325i. Awesome colour.

[BoyNamedSue]

maritius blau! (sp?) that was my first 3er and i love the color

[EuroCar]

Byzanz

[jared94e36]

Both you guys should join this local community:
www.projecttechnik.com

thanks, will do that for sure

[The_Stig]

INTERRRRRLAAAAAAAGOOOOOOSSSSSSS

please

[jaylow]

Interlagos Blue is pretty nice. Thanks for that.

[bjh102]

BRG. i know you are looking for a blue but British Racing Green is better than all.

[jared94e36]

jaylow, i parked 2 rows down from you at the university this morning, noticed your car when walking back to mine. bumper looks like shit!!!!!! haha, but the rest of your paint looks great? why not just paint the bumper? ...and auto?!?!?!?!?! whyyyyyyyyyyy

[jaylow]

Haha, that's pretty crazy. Yeah, my bumper needs some serious help. Next time you see my car, check out my roof and the rear wheel well on the drivers side. Some one took a chunk out of the paint there. As for the roof... long story short, never try to shovel and throw the snow OVER your car... Remember that crazy snow storm last year around February/March? Yeah...

[jared94e36]

haha i wont ask.
yeah i took a peek inside your car and some guys were looking at me like i was about to rob it.
mine is a 4 door black e36 with a windshield eyebrow decal in burnt orange that reads "BMW Motorsport" i usually park in the back by the oval...theres some shit drivers around there
give a wave if you see me around there

[ruend]

:/

[jaylow]

And yeah... auto... my car's fatal flaw...

Back on topic, everyone likes some sort of darker blue.

[jared94e36]

yes, do something similar to....this
i know its not super dark....but alpina picked such a sexy color
http://robson.m3rlin.org/cars/wp-content/uploads/2007/10/2004-bmw-alpina-b7-sa-1280x960-copy.jpg

[curbsideprophet]

idea. sell the 318 and pick up ficarra's 328. otherwise before you paint it i'd suggest doing a few other mods first, i.e. suspension and wheels.

[///Ficarra]

idea. sell the 318 and pick up ficarra's 328. otherwise before you paint it i'd suggest doing a few other mods first, i.e. suspension and wheels.


Not for sale anymore. :shifty
















































Just kidding. :eyecrazy

[jaylow]

Way to take up the enitre board!

No kidding, that was a good one. I've got plans for suspension, but that's a little farther down the future.

[CrzE30]

yea have you thought of selling it and going for a beemer with a bigger engine?
but i know i know, you get attached to the car... that's what im like with 318....
but the engine wears on you... you constantly chase more power. estoril blue get's my vote...

[curbsideprophet]

Way to take up the enitre board!

No kidding, that was a good one. I've got plans for suspension, but that's a little farther down the future.

:confused

i can't tell what that is supposed to mean...

regardless. if you really love the car and have your heart set on keeping it i say go avus or mauritius. i stand by saying suspension and wheels before anything. i think that would probably set you apart from the other bimmers before a respray would.

[jaylow]

Haha, I'm pretty attached to the car. I honestly love the 4 cylinder over any 6 cylinder. Suspension's in the works (more like me working to save up for it).

[CrzE30]

agreed ^^
if you get a really tough stance happening with your car, everyone will be looking at it.... then after the new paint job comes... your car will be a real eye catcher:eek:

[jaylow]

Dark Blue... Suspension (which I'm saving for already)...
Keep the ideas flowing!

[curbsideprophet]

definitely tint. wider wheels - or if you're hellbent on keeping those wheels as well refinish them and get spacers for them. exhaust would go a long way as well. just try to keep it basic and clean looking. some of the nicest cars out there don't have a laundry list of mods, they're just extremely clean and everything just flows. stance, wheels, and paint will be 90% of what you're looking for though.

[jaylow]

I guess my picture doesn't do my car any justice. The rims were just covered in dirt since my driveway is made of... dirt. Rim cleaner and a little scrubbing does the job for me. Can't remember why I never took the car in for tinting, but I'll have to remember that for next summer when it gets hot.

[Bingo]

Imola Red, Le Mans Blue.

[jaylow]

Okay, so Dark Blue FTW. And of course, a nice suspension set up and some tinting. It'll take me some time, but it'll happen.

[SeanSerino]

LSB! ooooor Nogaro Blue from the Audi S4

[fijimon05]

Why not just sell it and buy a 328 or perhaps an M3? Im sure you could find a 3-series with some great mods already done to it.

[jaylow]

I'm bent on keeping the car. I like the 4 cylinder. There's no lovin' for the 318i, so I'm gonna give it some lovin'. :)

[margas]

I love the alpina color or else do technoviolet!!!