Ideas for M3

[tdgm3]

Hi Guys!

New to the forum and I am looking to make my e36 M3 vert. better looking and preform better. I already have a BMP racing CAI and a BMP racing strut brace (I know, neither of them do anything to outstanding). I am looking for all ideas, if it is more expensive, it can be done later when I have more money.

Thanks in advance!

[Themachine]

I just ordered a header back exhaust which I'm very excited about. Or you could get the car detailed and polished

[Evtron]

Is your maintenance up to snuff? If not, start there. If so, then I would start with fresh tires and suspension upgrades. Aesthetically all an E36 needs is a detail and a pair of glass headlights IMO.

[tdgm3]

I was thinking of switching to the Euro projector Headlights and euro style LED tail lights. I know I have to do some maintenance stuff but not a lot, what should I look out for. The car has about 112kmi

[Evtron]

Cooling system. If you're unsure of the last time any of those components were replaced, then do it all. Same goes for the rest of the fluids throughout the car. Take time to inspect the car thoroughly and you'll see what needs to be addressed and what doesn't.

[JitteryJoe]

Focus on the basics. The car already performs well if everything is well maintained and working properly. Suspension, brakes, cooling, power steering leaks, valve cover leaks, fluids, spark plus, etc.

Performance mods can be expensive. A really well maintained car is a blast to drive even without expensive mods.

[TostitoBandito]

After addressing any urgent maintenance needs (leaks, etc...), start with the suspension and work your way up. Personally, I put in a full Ground Control suspension and replaced a grenaded factory diff (they don't believe in Loctite apparently) with a diffsonline 3.46 ratio before I touched anything power-related. Replacing any worn suspension/subframe bushings is also highly recommended, and something you should plan to do all at once since you have to sort of tear everything out to do it. Sway bars, or at least a nice front sway bar upgrade, is also a good idea.

After that, brakes/wheels/tires if needed, and then maybe look at a tune or an exhaust or something.

[jim89325is]

Learn to drive it

[Baby ///M3]

I think the sky is the limit when it comes to modding your E36. And it just depends on how far you want to go with it.

Most people start with a simple intake/exhaust, suspension, or wheels upgrade. I think given the car's age, it's a great idea to start from the chasis/suspension. Replace the old/worn parts under your car first before you look into other areas.

Also, people might be able to give you more helpful advice if you tell them more about the areas that you want to focus on modding your car. i.e. Do you want a really fast E36? Showy E36? An E36 with a great sound system? Or a great handling E36?

This would be an extreme example of ultimate vert with 100% period correct mods:
http://www.fast-classics.com/cars/ac...-cab-for-sale/

I just uploaded a short video of my supercharged six-speed M3 convertible. You might find some mods/ideas helpful:


Enjoy your M3 and hope you have fun modding it!

Jon

[tdgm3]

Thanks for the help! And I would like at some point down the road to make it fast, showy and have great handling. I know M3s are already great when stock, thats why I haven't done anything to it yet. I have to replace the top on it because the rear window fell out. I have to remember that this car is going to be a daily driver for me for a while so I am modding it slowly.

[btheo]

Is your maintenance up to snuff? If not, start there. If so, then I would start with fresh tires and suspension upgrades. Aesthetically all an E36 needs is a detail and a pair of glass headlights IMO.

Bingo!

[pbonsalb]

Since the convertible is heavier to start with, I would definitely mod it for better performance. But before buying little stuff that does not add much power, consider waiting until you can afford to use forced induction like a turbo or supercharger. I have run both and prefer the turbo for its torque, but the cheapest entry to forced induction is usually a used centrifugal supercharger kit.

[bhh1989]

I can't imagine what could have been a better investment than replacing the some 50+ rubber parts of the entire drive train and the suspension of my coupe when it had 150K. You won't be able to stop smiling when you feel the difference a suspension/bushing overhaul can make.

There's MANY bushings under there and trust me, they are all old.

[notMpowered]

Bushings, cooling system, shocks, brake overhaul.

[jprottas]

Same question re my 1999 e36 m3 convertible. What are my options for replacing a stock SUSPENSION?
What should I expect to pay to replace all bushings. SHOCKS. Struts etc.with oem parts? Any brands to stay with? Is there one area to splurge on an upgrade?

Sent from my SM-N950U using Tapatalk

[pbonsalb]

Parts or labor or both? Doing everything is labor intensive. A shop might have a couple of days in it. A DIYer might have 3 days in it. And you don’t know what you might find along the way that makes sense to do then. Weld in reinforcements? Wheel bearings? Parking brakes and cables? Brakes? Exhaust hangers and connectors, axle seals?

[TostitoBandito]

Yeah the list can get really long if you don't define the scope. It's a lot of labor, far more than parts, and once you spend the time dismantling basically everything under the car you tend to want to just replace everything you would potentially ever need to address "while you're in there". That said, here are some estimates. You can save on labor by doing a lot of these at the same time.

• Coilovers - replacing the stock shocks/struts/springs - $1000-2000+ in parts, plus most of a day in labor
• Suspension bushings/mounts/ball joints/reinforcement - $1000-1500 or so in parts, multiple days of labor unless you have a crew of people, and you need someone who can weld for the reinforcements (you can split parts of this up and ball joints are fairly accessible, but subframe bushings or reinforcement requires the entire subframe/suspension to be removed/disconnected)
• Sway bars - $200-800 in parts, 2 hours of labor
• Steering rack - $200-500 in parts, 3 hours of labor

Also, any of these aside from the sway bars will necessitate an immediate professional alignment right after. Another reason to combine as much as possible.