What to get for graduation present?

[jillybooty]

I'm about to graduate high school in May and my parents are starting to ask me what I want for a graduation present. I would like something for my car, but I'm having trouble finding anything under $400.

I want something to tighten up the feel of my car and the only thing I can think of is an understeer.com short shift kit. So my question is:

What can I get to tighten up the feel of my car that won't break the bank?

It's a '97 318i BTW.

[Zodiacbw]

Control arms, tie rods and bushings. Lots of bushings.

[scooper]

what the above poster said. If your suspension is good get a z3 short shifter, zhp shifter knob, and some used aftermarket sway bars...TMS, HR, UUC. Another idea is to get a LSD. Not sure what ratio you have but go with a slightly shorter one.

[inevitable08]

If i had $400 bucks to spend on whatever I'd go with a suspension/steering or brake refresh. That would definitely improve the feel of your car... But it can get expensive $400 will get you the bushings, and tie rods. The control arms are pretty expensive about 50-100 each depending on which brand (oem or uro parts). :/

[Moron95M3]

If I had the $400...

Xbrace: 100
Z3 nonM steering rack: $250?
ZHP knob: 50-100

now these might only reallllly help if you're on some stiffer springs than stock, but damne what a difference the first two will make!

[blueberry]

328is stock sport sways. I bought mine for $60. Great upgrade for $60. Just look up your oem size and find a 3 series that has thicker sways(from craigslist or forum classifieds)

Meyle HD rtab $37.84 (www.ecstuning.com (http://www.ecstuning.com))

Pelican rtab limiters $20.50 (www.pelicanparts.com (http://www.pelicanparts.com))

Meyle HD front lower control arms $197.20 (www.ecstuning.com (http://www.ecstuning.com))

Meyle HD control arm bushings $85.90 (www.ecstuning.com (http://www.ecstuning.com))

Thats $401.44. Thats pretty close to being as I can put together for $400.




Other than that I might get the Meyle HD rtab's with the limiters and JOM coilovers. That should be about $418.34. Not alot you can do for $400, but there are some decent options.

[jillybooty]

Thanks for all the replies. I think I'm going to go with replacing my front control arms and a few bushings here and there (maybe shift bushings).

[UnderCoverGuy11]

Would of went with exhaust personally...need to take of other things first though

[Moron95M3]

Im just going to say this again...

Z3 nonM rack.


I don't think the nonM community really understands its awesome-ness.

[rllynch1]

Thanks for all the replies. I think I'm going to go with replacing my front control arms and a few bushings here and there (maybe shift bushings).

http://www.fcpeuro.com/products/bmw-control-arm-kit-8-piece-e36-e36cakit8p

Plus they have a coupon they're running right now. SPRING10 for 10% off. Trust me, this will change your car.


Im just going to say this again...

Z3 nonM rack.


I don't think the nonM community really understands its awesome-ness.

I've seen you mention this many times in the past. What exactly does it do?

[Moron95M3]

instant go-kart.

let me find the data.

Ok, so think about how the steering works. People always say ratios matter, but what really matters is how much the rack moves (and inturn how much your wheels turn) per steering wheel turn.

Data:
Car-----------mm/ per. turn--------BMW Part #
E30------------36.5 mm------------32 13 1 092 335
E30 M3---------38 mm--------------32 13 2 225 556
E36 M3 '95------39 mm--------------32 13 2 227 191
E36-------------45.5 mm------------32 13 1 096 280
E36 M3 96+------45.5 mm-----------32 13 1 096 280
E36 Z3 M---------45.5 mm-----------32 13 1 096 280
E46 Std-----------50 mm------------32 13 6 755 065
E85 Z4 M----------51 mm------------32 13 7 836 844
E36 Z3 non-M------53.5 mm----------32 13 1 095 575

that's a 17% increase over stock. Even better for 95Ms - which is what I did mine in. (37% improvement on the 95M) - maybe this is why it's bigger on the M board. It feels so much better. and even with my beater (nonM E36 rack) the Z3 in my M feels much quicker.


Here's the link where this data comes from.

http://forums.bimmerforums.com/forum/showthread.php?t=1654735&highlight=zhp+rack