what should i do next?

[beans2_98]

well as most people here I've got a list of things I want to do but not sure which one I should do next. Here's what I've got installed as of now:
Dinan stage 3 suspension, CAI, reprogrammed stock chip, supersprint catback, ZKW DDE gen V lights, Alpine CD/MP3 HU, CF interior trim pieces, CF trunk, CF hood, and clear corners.

Here's what I would like to do:
lightweight flywheel, 6000k HIDs, tint windows, new rims, SSK, paint CF trunk & hood with a tinted clearcoat.

Is there something else that I should do, ultimately I want to get some more power out of the car without going FI. Thanks for everyone's help.

[yellowbullet]

i vote for either the HIDs or the SSK. Those are great for your everyday driving..the rest i would say should come later.

[ChipM]

Here's what I would like to do:
lightweight flywheel, 6000k HIDs, tint windows, new rims, SSK, paint CF trunk & hood with a tinted clearcoat.

Is there something else that I should do, ultimately I want to get some more power out of the car without going FI. Thanks for everyone's help.

Well, if its more power that you want, then I'd start with headlights, followed by rims.

[comptechgsr]

HIDs,
they have been my most useful/practical modification on all the cars I've owned.

[shim]

HIDs,
they have been my most useful/practical modification on all the cars I've owned.
absolutely. its the best improvement in nighttime safety....

[95beema]

absolutely. its the best improvement in nighttime safety....

Really. I have been thinking headlights last. They are just not a priority to me.

[99DakarM3]

Headlights seem like a waste of money unless your looking for the bling factor. I've never had any problem seeing in the dark so... I know I'll get flamed for saying that as well, but everyone always says how much it improves safety, etc... Well prove it - just cause theres more light doesnt mean they are safer (what if they aren't aimed properly and blind oncoming traffic?) if the stock lights met DOT regulations then I think they are safe - period.

With that said the SSK should be the next mod for sure. You'll get to feel it every time you shift and it'll show you just how sloppy the stock shifter really is. I was amazed at the difference. Go with the DSSR or a heavy shift knob as well to help out with any notchiness and make the shifts 'easier'.

Cheers and good luck.

[comptechgsr]

you can only drive as fast as you can see.
-comptechgsonurface

[nightkrawler]

540/3.5in hfm!

[///MacDaddy]

540/3.5in hfm!

That's what I'd do for more power, you'll need new software too. May as well go with 24lb. injectors while your at it.

[shim]

you can only drive as fast as you can see.
i couldn't have said it better :alright

[99DakarM3]

you can only drive as fast as you can see.
-comptechgsonurface

And you cant see with the stock headlights?

Give me a break - so what you are saying is that driving at 140 with HID's is safer than driving at 140 with OEM bulbs? I dont think so.

But to each their own.

EDIT: After thinking a bit now let me ask you something. So where exactly do you drive at such high speeds at night that HID's make it safer? There arent too many driving schools, track events, etc. that i know of that run at night. So if I am understanding you correctley then the HID's are for driving at high speeds on the streets at night - correct. Therefore having HID's makes it safer to drive at high speed on public roads???? Nice - cant wait to hear this....

[shim]

And you cant see with the stock headlights?

Give me a break - so what you are saying is that driving at 140 with HID's is safer than driving at 140 with OEM bulbs? I dont think so.

But to each their own.
you don't have to be traveling at 140. hell, you could be going down a dark, country road at 40-50 mph, and with HIDs w/ projectors, i bet it will save your car if you can see that deer way up ahead.

[comptechgsr]

And you cant see with the stock headlights?

Give me a break - so what you are saying is that driving at 140 with HID's is safer than driving at 140 with OEM bulbs? I dont think so.



With a less extreme example, and maybe more practical and realistic than driving 140mph,
HIDs usually provide more 'light' on the road to see more things, such as potholes, seeing the road better during fog/rain, etc etc.

[nightkrawler]

screw the hids, get the extra hp from the euro hfm, and you'll hit the deer so hard it'll probably flip right over the car, lol. :devillook

[nightkrawler]

obviously you must take my last post with a grain of salt, lol, but i have always leaned more twoards performance ie increasing hp mods than asthetic. to each his own, but the hfm is a good bang for the buck mod.

[JR-M3]

And you cant see with the stock headlights?

Give me a break - so what you are saying is that driving at 140 with HID's is safer than driving at 140 with OEM bulbs? I dont think so.

But to each their own.

EDIT: After thinking a bit now let me ask you something. So where exactly do you drive at such high speeds at night that HID's make it safer? There arent too many driving schools, track events, etc. that i know of that run at night. So if I am understanding you correctley then the HID's are for driving at high speeds on the streets at night - correct. Therefore having HID's makes it safer to drive at high speed on public roads???? Nice - cant wait to hear this....


:lol :lol :lol
You win the BFC idiot of the day award for April 6, 2005.
Take a 1950s car's lighting, then upgrade to halogen. Better or worse? Or, would you just say F*** it and continue driving with the 1950s lights. Upgrade to halogen right? Well, HIDs is to halogen as halogen was to the old-style lights. I take it that you've never driven a car with HIDs to appreciate them. They're more than just aesthetic modifications to make your car look 'cool'; those are DDEs, LOL.


As for extreme examples,
You think rally cars could go as fast and as safe as they could with just regular lights.
"You can only drive as fast as you can see"

http://i1.ebayimg.com/01/i/02/bb/bc/f9_1.JPG

http://members.iinet.net.au/~matthew/SPOT.jpg

[mazur]

Join the dark side and get a Crank pulley. :devillook

The increased low torque will become addicting.

[nightkrawler]

after reading the thread i started on the opn failure, i will never get a crank pully. iirc everyone who experienced the failure had one if not two things in common, tracked car and :devillook . unless you are going to race the car and want every possible extra hp available, i'd steer clear of the crank pully if the car is never going to see the track. yeah, im paranoid about the opn.

[99DakarM3]

:lol :lol :lol
You win the BFC idiot of the day award for April 6, 2005.
Take a 1950s car's lighting, then upgrade to halogen. Better or worse? Or, would you just say F*** it and continue driving with the 1950s lights. Upgrade to halogen right? Well, HIDs is to halogen as halogen was to the old-style lights. I take it that you've never driven a car with HIDs to appreciate them. They're more than just aesthetic modifications to make your car look 'cool'; those are DDEs, LOL.


As for extreme examples,
You think rally cars could go as fast and as safe as they could with just regular lights.
"You can only drive as fast as you can see"


First off lets get something straight. I never once said that HID technology wasn't better, projected more light, etc. Thats not even an argument, I understand the technology is better, it doesnt take a genius. I'm not even going to comment on your brilliant analogy to 50's technology as the statement shows you did not comprehend one bit of what I was trying to say.

What I did say was that for a street driven E36 M3 (not a 50's ride) the HID upgrade really isnt worht it IMO. I mentioned how I dont think they are any safer than the OEM lights BMW put on the car. Now maybe I spoke out of line due to the fact that I dont live in a rural area where deer and other wild animals become obstacles on the road on a regular basis and I hold an exception for those who may deal with that situation or have some other special case where the extra light may be needed. (And by the way your amazing ability to post the rally car pics was amazing insight, thanks I had no idea!)

But to the topic at hand - for most everyone who drives mostly on the street upgrading to ILLEGAL HID's and using the excuse that it's 'safer' for dirving faster (as most everyone mentioned "you can only drive as fast as you can see") is just that - a justification to spend the money or make yourself feel better driving at illegal speeds on the street. If the car wasn't 'safe' from the factory it wouldn't be on the market - period. Now I also understand that some people may want them to see more potholes, drive in rain, etc. but that was never mentioned and was not a priority for the original poster since he has already put DDE's on the car. If HID'S were needed I would think they would have been put in when the DDE's were?

This argument is pointless, its obvious that everyone here is going to have their own opinion on the matter (its like the fan delete subject) and its obvious that most didnt understand at all what my point was - maybe I dont articulate my thoughs well through the boards.

For comptechgsr - never once did I mention the HFM - I suggested the SSK go back, read and comprehend whats written.

Oh and JR M3 - yes I have driven with HID's (my other 2 cars have them from the factory) and I dont at all feel safer when I drive those because of it.

Cheers - and to beans2_98 - sorry for the huge debate in your thread, good luck with the mods.

[nightkrawler]

good points, i have to agree with you on the topic of converting to hids. dont get me wrong, i love the way they look and the increased beam coverage. i love a lot of things the newer bimmers have, auto hid turn on, auto leveling, power seats with memory, idrive , heads up display on the winshield(really like that one, saw it on the new 635), etc. but unfortunately our cars didnt come with these options. but also imho, the hid upgrade is more of an asthetic mod. and they are probably more beneficial to those in rural areas where deer etc are common. i've owned 6 bimmers, 5 e36's, 2 being m3's and have never changed the main lighting, if my current m3 didn't have ellipsoids already installed, i would have stayed with the stock lights. although im not against asthetic mods, i have a few low cost mods, im more into performance mods though. also, i just cant justify spending the amount of money and time to install them, plus it seems that a lot of people who have installed them experience problems with them. hey, im not knocking anyone who has installed them, and if they come way down in price sometime in the future i may consider them, but for now they just aren't for me.

[beans2_98]

thanks for all of the advice guys! I swear I didn't mean to start a war on here! I think I'm going to get the SSK & DSSR and then once I get used to the shifting I'm going to go with the 3.5" HFM (good call on that one, I totally forgot about it). My question with the kit is: if i change injectors and ecu and crap and should i do cams with it (down the line) can they modify the programing for cams later or something? Thanks again.

[nightkrawler]

ecu? why would you change the ecu? im not sure about who makes what chip for the hfm, cams, and injectors. cause i have the stock injectors with the euro hfm/cai/turner chip for my setup. i'd call turner and aa and ask the techs there about what chips are available for what setups.

[RotaryBzzz]

screw the hids, get the extra hp from the euro hfm, and you'll hit the deer so hard it'll probably flip right over the car, lol. :devillook

LOL

[nightkrawler]

sometimes comic relief is necessary.... :)

[rmani]

SSK. My favorite mod so far.

[99DakarM3]

sometimes comic relief is necessary.... :)

True Dat!

[mazur]

after reading the thread i started on the opn failure, i will never get a crank pully. iirc everyone who experienced the failure had one if not two things in common, tracked car and :devillook . unless you are going to race the car and want every possible extra hp available, i'd steer clear of the crank pully if the car is never going to see the track. yeah, im paranoid about the opn.

My opn is secured. BTW, an opn failure can happen to any of our cars. Pulley or no pulley.