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Thread: What are the best cheap and easy to install performance upgrades for Z3 3.0i?

  1. #1
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    What are the best cheap and easy to install performance upgrades for Z3 3.0i?

    I just bought a 2000 z3 3.0i roadster and would like to make it higher performance than an M without breaking the bank. I am new to working on cars especially bmws but would like to buy some easy to install but cheap ways to get more power out of the car. I will probably end up buying a performance chip, and a cold air intake for now, but I would like to hear what else you guys have to say and what the best type is (by that I mean most reliable and best performance). I would also like it to be in production so I can buy parts for it/fix it if it breaks and not have to cruise ebay for five hours because little ten cent part has broken. I would also like to know about some suspension/shock kits to basically make the car better than the M version without making it look like I used a lowering kit or something. For the suspensions/shocks I don't really care what the price is I just want to know the best types and I will have some help from people more experienced with repairing cars to install those so how hard it is to install doesn't matter as much (I probably won't buy the best ones if they're really expensive I just want to know the best companies/kits for reference). For everything you suggest please put the price, the website in which to buy it, and (if it is tricky to install for a car noob) a youtube on how to install it. I can't wait to see what you guys suggest.

  2. #2
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    Well, it depends on your definition of cheap, but the only mod that fits your bill is supercharging--figure 4-5K all told for around 100HP gain. Save your money on a CAI or chip.

  3. #3
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    S70 swap

  4. #4
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    A 3.0 has enough torque to have fun with. Maintain it and drive it well.
    There are no 'cheap' mods that will make this better than an M.
    They are very different beasts.
    Save your $$ and buy a supercharger if your so inclined.


    Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

  5. #5
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    2000? The 3.0 was available in Z3s in 2001 and 2002...

    The engine is already pretty cool, with double vanos (variable intake and exhaust camshaft system that gives better low-end torque yet better high-end power), well-optimized airflow (including the trick DISA variable intake manifold system that uses resonance pulses to improve airflow... eh, I won't try to explain it, just read up on it). It's a beautiful, buttery-smooth engine with a lot of torque and power for a light car.

    But if it's not enough for you, the most sensible way to get substantially more power seems to be to supercharge / turbocharge, but not cheap either. You can spend a lot of money on things like cold air intakes etc, but again the motor is pretty well optimized as it comes from BMW... you might not get much performance improvement for your money. But there are a lot of things not related to power that can be / need to be done on a Z3 (including Ms) to improve driving or avoid catastrophes.

    One thing I hated from the start was the lousy laggy strange throttle response. It was BMW's first fully drive-by-wire electronic throttle, so I sort of cut them a little slack, but they could have done a LOT better with the programming (more on that in a minute). This sent me on a long expensive quest to make the engine rev more quickly and directly so I could do proper double-clutched rev-matched downshifts. Lightweight flywheel (makes engine rev quicker but makes horrible rattling noises and low speed maneuvering is noisy and clunky and takes some getting used to), dinan throttle body (only 1mm wider than stock, not sure it made much difference), shark software (tweaks a few things including throttle response, but not a dramatic difference).

    Finally, this year actually (note that I got this car new in 2002...) through a screwup where I dropped a piece of plastic tubing in my transmission, I was connected with a member here who does tuning of the computer maps on these. He altered the maps that control amount of response (based on how much you press the pedal and other factors) which helped. However the delay / lagginess / whatever was still there. So he kept digging and found all sorts of other maps that affect the speed of the throttle body electric motor, etc, and we started testing. This was huge... The throttle is super-responsive now. But he's not ready to do this on other cars yet so I'll leave it at that. But it was one of the best upgrades I've done on the car.... BMW could have done so much more with the electronic throttle, but ended up giving us a crappy throttle behavior that actually made the car a pain in the ass to drive. Sort of like the Clutch Delay Valve which screws up clutch engagement (is your car a manual? you'll want to get rid of the CDV). He also raised the idle speed of the engine, which helped a lot with the problems caused by the lightweight flywheel.

    Other good upgrades are somewhat stiffer transmission mounts (otherwise as the transmission rotates on its mounts, the gearshift gates will move while you're trying to shift and you can end up shifting into a different gear than you wanted). I used Rogue Engineering rubber mounts. Also get upgraded rear shock mounts (Rogue also makes those) before your stock ones rip out. It's very helpful to get polyurethane subframe bushings to cure the slop in the rear subframe (Ireland Engineering is a favorite). If you're going to add more power (even if you aren't) you should seriously consider Randy Forbes' subframe reinforcement (differential is mounted to trunkfloor sheetmetal and can rip spotwelds apart leading to bad problems).

    Consider doing something about the mechanical engine fan. It can explode once the plastic wears out and shred your hood. I removed it and replaced with an electric fan. Need to replace cooling system parts before they fail and trash engine through overheating (well-known weak point on this era of BMWs).

    Suspension... I tried various cheaper options (bilstein sports etc), but never liked the results. Ended up eventually going to AST 5100s, which are spectacular (and adjustable... I have it setup to basically stock height, maybe a little lower). The car feels glued to the road at all times, almost eerily so. As long as I've had this car I've pushed it to the limits traction-wise, and was comfortable doing so. Now, however, the ASTs have raised the limits so much that I'm not actually sure where they are any more. Not cheap... But pretty great.

    Anyway, I think you can do a lot to the car to vastly improve it and you'll enjoy it much more than the sloppy / sluggish way it came from BMW. All Z3s, M or non-M, came with crappy suspension, crappy sloppy bushings, etc. A lot of room for meaningful improvement. More power isn't so easy. A few HP here and there with exhaust, etc. But if you want a LOT more power then you probably need to look at super / turbocharge. Or swap in a corvette motor.

  6. #6
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    I have the M54 3.0 in my E46 330i ZHP, and I have the following mods:

    - catless headers
    - aftermarket tune by Eurocharged
    - big bore throttle body by Riot Racing

    I've yet to finish the bolt-on mods by adding underdrive pulleys, but at the moment, the car definitely has alot more pickup and mid range torque. Even in 6th gear on the freeway going 80mph, I don't have the need to downshift to 5th for overtaking. Even with the ZHP stock muffler, it sounds like a mini/tame E46 M3, had to add Vibrant Exhaust resonators in order to reduce my rasp.
    Last edited by AutoM3otives; 05-15-2017 at 12:19 AM.
    M3 E30 | 190E-16V | M Coupe E36/8 | S2000

  7. #7
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    This is not a Chevy. BMW didn't leave 150 HP on the table because they were too cheap to design a decent manifold/airfilter/software/etc. While you will always find people that claim their 10 cent mod made remarkable improvements, you won't find a dyno to back that up. You can spend many thousands on cams and software and exhaust and intake changes... and end up with a few more horsepower at the very top. Or you can drop the same coin on a supercharger, close the hood, and enjoy. Many have not believed this, gone the first route, only to toss it all and start over with a blower.


    /.randy

  8. #8
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    Quote Originally Posted by rf900rkw View Post
    This is not a Chevy. BMW didn't leave 150 HP on the table because they were too cheap to design a decent manifold/airfilter/software/etc. While you will always find people that claim their 10 cent mod made remarkable improvements, you won't find a dyno to back that up. You can spend many thousands on cams and software and exhaust and intake changes... and end up with a few more horsepower at the very top. Or you can drop the same coin on a supercharger, close the hood, and enjoy. Many have not believed this, gone the first route, only to toss it all and start over with a blower.
    But first route is much more fun as the process itself

  9. #9
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    Ah yes, the old " the journey is the adventure" argument. That's fine if you have no end goals and just want to take a strange and frustrating trip.


    /.randy

  10. #10
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    Compression, and a cam are going to be the only way if you want to stay NA, and I'm not sure that will make the same power. Prepare to spend 4-5k if you do the assembly and install yourself. Supercharger if you don't.

    The gains from a "chip" (reflash) and CAI are zero. A re-flash will help with drivability, and it will feel better, but the gain is not large. (the best part, is you can get rid of the speed limiter) CAI I don't believe will get you anything, and may hurt, if it is poorly designed.

    That said, you can drive these cars very quickly. With the right tires, and suspension, and DRIVER, you will be as fast or faster than S52 M's

    Suspension wise, front control arm bushings, rear subframe bushings are mandatory, add a good coil over kit like Ground control, or TC Kline, and you are in business. I am looking at the MCS set up as well. I have heard good things from the spec E46 guys. (currently on ground control)

  11. #11
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    Give more information on those AST 5100?

    Cams is best way to produce more power. Schrick is good manufacturer. Go with ones that are mild enough to keep other original valvetrain components.

    Z3 & E36 RamAir systems, send private message for more information.

  12. #12
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    Quote Originally Posted by rf900rkw View Post
    Ah yes, the old " the journey is the adventure" argument. That's fine if you have no end goals and just want to take a strange and frustrating trip.
    I don't find it strange or frustrating. Very interesting, educational, requires lots of research and filtering skills, enjoyable. Might be an expensive hobby, but tuning the car bit by bit, step by step lets understand how things work, what are weak spots, what works and what not. I like how told one experienced car guy I know - "If you just want a faster car, just buy a faster car, don't start with grandma zed"

  13. #13
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    3.0 here as well. the guys over at e46fanatics did a nice write up on mods for the same engine.

    do you have an auto or manual?

    if you have a manual, swapping to a higher 3.46 LSD from an auto will increase acceleration, and i find the 2nd and 3rd gear performance to be awesome. BUT it will increase revs at higher speeds (i think im at 3500rpm at 80 mph), and first gear is SHORT.

    catless headers, the stock headers are very restrictive, i recently went to the only smog place in town that used a flash light to look under my hood, and put my car on the lift to look at the exhaust system. needless to say i was required to install my factory headers back in, and let me tell you the difference is night and day. if it didnt take about 4-5 hours to swap everything back out again.. i would have installed the headers back.

    tune, i dont think anymore power can be had from a tune, it will make the throttle more responsive, but i dont think an HP increase will occur.

    cams? i dont think its worth the time or money.

    CAI, pass on this too, again, minimum gains for the money.

    exhaust, will only reduce some weight. i dont think there are much gains, unless your talking about sound.

    save money for boost, if you go blower, get headers first and move on from there.

    if you go turbo, then its all new anyways so just save up and have fun.
    Last edited by ZoO; 05-15-2017 at 10:10 PM.

  14. #14
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    buy z3 with larger engine

  15. #15
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    I have a 3.0i roady, and find it pokey enough for on the road. For track events, this is the wrong car.
    As the others have said, chips, forget about it, other Na mods will have you spending an arm and a leg for Jack crap additional performance. Just enjoy the car as is, if you require additional performance, buy another car.

  16. #16
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    A tune alone will gain you at best maybe 4hp.
    There just isn't much more ignition advance that can be added, BMW really put that to the max, maybe 2 degrees can be added before it complains.
    There's a slight VANOS tweak that can be done to have faster/ more ready cam position for instant torque. The catalytic overheating protection fuel enrichment can be brought down a little, as it enrichens the mixture and lowers hp under high loads. If catless, overheating protection can be disabled, and it will not add additional fuel... then there's slightly more gain.

    I was able to edit the throttle pedal maps to make it MUCH more responsive after testing with raubritter here, so that alone may be worth it. It can be made to be brutal and annoyingly fast response.
    Raising the fuel cutoff to ~6950 lets you use an additional 300 rpm of good power still.


    So, no really big gains on the 3.0 from tune. I think the dual vanos 2.8 has more potential for increase, after some deliberate detuning from BMW.


    A differential with a bit tighter gearing will do very nicely on a Z3 3.0i. Stock manual 3.0i with 3.07 gearing would love a 3.46.
    Last edited by 328 Power 04; 05-16-2017 at 10:22 AM.
    -Abel

    - E36 328is ~210-220whp: Lots of Mods.
    - 2000 Z3: Many Mods.
    - 2003 VW Jetta TDI Manual 47-50mpg
    - 1999 S52 Estoril M Coupe
    - 2014 328d Wagon, self-tuned, 270hp/430ft-lbs
    - 2019 M2 Competition, self-tuned, 504whp
    - 2016 Mini Cooper S

  17. #17
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    Is anyone running the TRM Tuning software for the E46/Z3 cars?

  18. #18
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    A few more questions

    Sorry, I believe I have a 2001 not 2000 and it is manual.

    Modifications for the 3.0 that I will probably get:
    • Electric Fan: Who should I buy this from?
    • Rouge Engineering Rubber Mounts
    • Rouge Engineering rear shock mounts
    • Ast 5100: What is the difference between the Double Digressive Piston and the Standard Piston? What is coilover? Also what is the difference between the 5100, the 5200 and 5300 series?
    • Schrick Cams: I can't buy directly from Schrick since the pdf is in German but have been looking at US companies that carry them (Turner Motor Sport and VAC motor sport). Is it worth the $1000 or so?
    • I will probably get a cold air intake anyway even though you guys say it is not worth it because I don't really want the car to overheat on a hot day as I will be driving the car mostly in summer in 90-100 degree weather.


    I don't really want to get turbo/super; don't need that much more power. Raubritter, please tell me if and when your friend will be ready for do the computer maps, that sounds amazing. Also is the 3.0i a S52 or S54?
    Thank you guys for all of the suggestions, they have really helped me in deciding the mods for my car.

  19. #19
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    Quote Originally Posted by sauerkrautcars View Post
    Sorry, I believe I have a 2001 not 2000 and it is manual.

    Modifications for the 3.0 that I will probably get:
    • Electric Fan: Who should I buy this from?
    • Rouge Engineering Rubber Mounts
    • Rouge Engineering rear shock mounts
    • Ast 5100: What is the difference between the Double Digressive Piston and the Standard Piston? What is coilover? Also what is the difference between the 5100, the 5200 and 5300 series?
    • Schrick Cams: I can't buy directly from Schrick since the pdf is in German but have been looking at US companies that carry them (Turner Motor Sport and VAC motor sport). Is it worth the $1000 or so?
    • I will probably get a cold air intake anyway even though you guys say it is not worth it because I don't really want the car to overheat on a hot day as I will be driving the car mostly in summer in 90-100 degree weather.


    I don't really want to get turbo/super; don't need that much more power. Raubritter, please tell me if and when your friend will be ready for do the computer maps, that sounds amazing. Also is the 3.0i a S52 or S54?
    Thank you guys for all of the suggestions, they have really helped me in deciding the mods for my car.
    i would not spend 1000 on cams, but that depends on how deep your pockets are, the hp:cost is not enough.
    i dont think a CAI will keep the engine from overheating, im sure randy can science/engineer it up for you.
    finally 3.0 is a m54b30, and since we are at it, chances are you are running a MS43 dme as well.
    the s52 and s50/s54 engine where all roughly 3.2.

  20. #20
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    Cold air intake has nothing to improve with our cars, it is already very good system as it is.

    Z3 & E36 RamAir systems, send private message for more information.

  21. #21
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    Revised List

    OK so I've revised my list:

    • Electric Fan (Using this forum for help deciding what to get)
    • Rouge Engineering Rubber Mounts
    • Rouge Engineering rear shock mounts
    • Ireland Engineering Rear Subframe Brushings (is this the correct one? There is nothing that exactly matches with what you said but this is what I think you meant)
    • Randy Forbes' Subframe reinforcement (Is it worth $610 including shipping?)
    • Ast 5100
    • Shark Injector (is it worth $350?)
    • BimmerBrakes header (should I go with the Gen3 which is $450 or the v1 which is $325? They both work on the M54b30)

    Is there anything else that is essential that I am missing on this list?

    sauerkrautcars

  22. #22
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    Shark Injector is not worth $350 at all. Not in this case, in my opinion.
    -Abel

    - E36 328is ~210-220whp: Lots of Mods.
    - 2000 Z3: Many Mods.
    - 2003 VW Jetta TDI Manual 47-50mpg
    - 1999 S52 Estoril M Coupe
    - 2014 328d Wagon, self-tuned, 270hp/430ft-lbs
    - 2019 M2 Competition, self-tuned, 504whp
    - 2016 Mini Cooper S

  23. #23
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    Quote Originally Posted by sauerkrautcars View Post
    Randy Forbes' Subframe reinforcement (Is it worth $610 including shipping?)
    That's gonna cost you a lot more than $610 unless you are a proficient welder

    Going into my TENTH YEAR of providing high quality reproduction BMW fabrics!

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  24. #24
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    Aren't bimmerbrake headers made in China? Pretty much the $100 headers I bought from ebay. Which were straight bolt on. I did buy oem gaskets for the head, and used Mr gasket "custom" self cut gasket for a better seal to the oem exhaust.

  25. #25
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    Cross the shark injector off your list, and, unless you have spot welds letting go in the trunk floor, or the differential mount tearing loose, you don't need the Forbes kit at the moment. As has been pointed out, the Forbes kit is significantly more than $610.00. If your trunk floor and differential mount are ok, the Ireland subframe bushings may be all you need in that regard. It would be silly to do any normally aspirated engine mods--like headers--at least as regards power improvements--but if you're doing it for fun then by all means. As you get used to it, you'll probably find that the 3.0 has more than enough power as is. If not, save your $$$$ toward a supercharger.

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