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What next for my car?

7K views 60 replies 21 participants last post by  Knight 
#1 ·
Ok, so i am new to the car forms as i recently just purchased an 04 330ci ZHP in white. First i'll start with what the previous owner had done to the car.

Stainless steel headers
UUC clutch and short shifter
Cold air intake
3.38 differential vs. 3.07
Active Autowerke software upgrade
DeCatted
Also slotted and drilled rotters (pretty sure he said they were made by ECS)

Thats what he had straight from the listing, so my question is: What should i do next for power and torque or just anything to increase performance. I dont really want to go much lower because of where i live there are a lot of speed bumps and its my daily driver.

Also i am looking at VMR CSL rep rims and am curious on if i should get 18's or 19's.

Lastly I was wondering if anybody knew the brightest bi-xeon lights for the e46 face lift.

Sorry if this stuff has been posted a lot, but its getting close to the holidays and i would like to get a good start on it by december.

Thanks, Connor
 
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#5 ·
330 zhp's are pretty we'll maxed out in terms of performance from factory unless you go forced Induction. However there are little things you can do for weight reduction and freeing up power. Easiest thing to do would be to remove your spare tire and jack. It's about 35lbs and free to remove. Just pick up one of those fix-a-flat cans in case you do get a flat. Another thing you could do is pulleys which will give you a few ponies if your looking for power. In terms of handling and braking I would look into stainless steel brake lines for that stiffer pedal feel, and a set of thicker sway bars such as Hotchkis or Turner.


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#10 ·
No thanks. I actually prefer installing a set of sway bars on a vehicle as opposed to installing lowering springs. Sure, the springs give a car a nice appearance, but I felt a huge gain when I installed sways on my 330i. I think sway bars do much more for handling then a set of springs, granted everything else in the suspension has been replaced/maintained. Installing incredibly stiff springs will probably be more of a detriment to the handling capability of a car than an improvement if they're too stiff and ruin the roadholding ability of the car. Of course the same can be said for sways that are way too stiff. I know it's not particularly relevant but I haven plans to lower my S4. I'm going to new dampers and sway bars and calling it a day.
 
#15 ·
maybe you didn't have them set correctly. the adjustments on them actually control the in turn characteristics of the car. it will make the car oversteer or understeer. i actually didn't believe it until i got mine and tried it. definitely makes the rear whip around. with my square setup i have pretty much no understeer now. which can be dangerous. :evil:
 
#18 · (Edited)
I wouldn't really try and get extra power out of the engine, BMW already did that with the ZHPs, new cams raised redline, couple other things. The suspension is also tuned pretty well too on a ZHP, you should be happy with how it feels and if not chances are things just need to be refreshed with new parts. Drove one ONCE for a couple minutes and it is a great car. Congrats!

I concur with removing the cold air intake, the stock intake already pulls pretty cold air and no use in dealing with oiled filters or worrying about getting water up in there and other CAI related woes. I also concur with Peyton, everything he's said about springs vs sway bars goes along with what I've been taught by autox and track day enthusiasts in my local club. It all makes sense too. Bigger rear bar can lead to more oversteer and the break-away point can be abrupt and unexpected if you don't dial things in right. Some may like this but I really enjoy how the tail comes out with the stock sport suspension.

I think I saw a post on here where Mango drove a ZHP and noted his well maintained normal 330 felt faster, if that's some motivation to keep up on the preventative maintenance as a top priority.


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#19 ·
thank you all for the input. I did forget to mention he added a front sway bar but i'll look into a rear and do you guys know of anything i could do to increase power or torque aside from boosting. Just a ballpark answer how much do you guys think i could gain from a new catback, cold air intake and throttle body?

Thanks
 
#20 ·
If you have just an aftermarket front one I'm blown away that it doesn't understeer like crazy. As for your question maybe 10whp... keyword maybe. Just as compcrasher86 had stated, BMW did a stunning job with the 330ci zhp and it is pretty tapped out for performance. You got an amazing machine so just enjoy it how it is! While you may not be the fastest car on the road, it is still a pretty quick car that is quite well engineered.
 
#22 ·
Am I the only person here that finds aftermarket intakes (aside from BMW performance) out of place in the engine bay?

What about running a different tune? Maybe squeeze a few more hp that way? These cars weren't really built for going fast. It's more like a jack of all trades, master of none.


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#23 · (Edited)
No. Many people including myself have been saying that for years. You think you are the only person cause you haven't been here that long. :rofl:

As for sways, they are good to "upgrade." That's why BMW provides so many different combinations and sizes.

They are required to help control body roll on our street cars. We use relatively soft springs versus a track/race setup. Some track/race prepped cars with stiff spring rates use very small sway bars or even no sway bars at all. There's no real rule to it.

Also keep in mind the lower you guys slam your cars, you are introducing even more body roll and you'll need bigger sways to counter that
 
#24 ·
What mileage on the car? Any mention of maintenance by the PO or was all the money put into "performance" mods?

I'd be checking up on all the maintenance, then I would put $2k away for when something breaks, if you still have money left over then you can think about minimal performance gains.

You mention performance and 19" wheels in the same post, does not work that way. IMO 19s are for looks only and depending on the car don't always look the best. Get a set of 18s, they look great, will give a bit better ride and will likely weigh less.

As far as the other things you mention, I wouldn't screw that car up by treating it like a tuner car. It is a great car to begin with, many would love to have an unmolested ZHP. If you really feel you need a lot more power then do some research on forced induction, but throwing little tuner parts at this car is not a great use of money IMO.

For me, I want my car in top running condition with the like new feel to the suspension and I want to know that I will have no problems with it. For the once in a while when I feel like risking a speeding ticket, the car is plenty fast enough. If I get bored with it and have a pile of money to throw at it I would consider FI, but only once everything else was in top shape.
 
#26 ·
usually 325/323 guys who have intakes. adds power? highly doubt it. i'd bet that it actually takes away power. Reduction about 1 hp to the wheels if I had to guess based on similar real world experiments.

BUT...

Lets play nice though and say it adds 3 whp. Just for the sake of argument. Thats less than whats required (percentage wise relative to total output) to actually perceive a difference in a 3,200 lb vehicle. adds response? well... someone on this board can chime in about their "cold air intake" throttle response experience ;)
 
#36 · (Edited)
My oppinion, take it for what it is. The M54B30 is a beautiful sounding engine. I wish it were just a tad bit throatier and louder when you bury the pedal. I don't like the hissing and sucking noises you get at idle and if you blip the throttle with a CAI, its kind of tacky. I love the sound it gives the engine under load. My stock exhaust is plenty loud, I wouldn't want it any more. Intake noise is pure bliss to my ears. With a ZHP I imagine the engine is so well tuned that a new intake would only benefit you in terms of engine noise... which is funny because it seems like nowadays manufacturers like to get rid of engine noise, only to decide to pipe it back in with sound pipes and simulated sounds through the speakers...
 
#40 ·
Well as said you don't have many options on the M54 3L left than maybe some pullies and then you have to jump to FI at this point. You already have the usual goodies, even a cat back isn't going to do much more than sound on your "zhp" exhaust and headers.

Don't worry about the rotors, if they're ECS and have some good pads then keep 'em and don't think twice about needing to replace them for stock.

I don't know what aftermarket intake you have but true some are a bad choice while others are great. Again, if it's a quality one then absolutely keep it as it does have benefits. Any rookies proclaiming otherwise need to shut their pieholes :slap: this topic comes up all the time and they get squashed by the end. Do a search if needed proof. I'm tired of it and the misinformation allowed to be set forth again and again by some.

And NO, don't take off your swaybars and run extremely firm springs. Ridiculous advice on a street car not dedicated to track racing.
 
#43 ·
The rotors are probably fine. I wouldn't say replace them cause they will fail but replace them because I'm not sure the holes are benefitting a street car versus a blank rotor. yes it looks cooler and has superior gas/water venting capability under track/race condition but less surface area for pad contact and possibly less heat handling capability. a trade off i'm not sure i'm willing to accept for the street/light performance duty. Best case scenario (for the drilled rotors) i'm not sure it's worth it unless they are much lighter such as the BMW performance ones.

I'm curious as to what drilled rotors ECS offers for the 330. OP, can you link to them?
 
#50 ·
how do i do popcorn gif??

really interesting stuff on the sway bars; should I remove just the endlinks? I'm afraid I don't have access to a lift right now and this would be the best choice. Don't think I would want to actually remove the sway bars as that would probably offset the weight ratio of the vehicle and I don't want to mess with that.
 
#55 ·
OP just leave well enough alone. It sounds like the previous owner may have spent all his money on modifications and very possibly could've neglected important maintenance. You will get more bang for your buck removing some of the crap he installed, returning the car to its original state, and refreshing the parts that the car is supposed to have on it. Oh these kids with their first BMWs are a trip! Always feeling the need to change perfection. If you want fast OP then go buy a Turbo 911 and call it a day. You bought a 200 hp mid luxury automobile. Enjoy the car for what it is and save your money for a sports car if you wanna go fast.


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#56 ·
You will get more bang for your buck removing some of the crap he installed, returning the car to its original state, and refreshing the parts that the car is supposed to have on it. Oh these kids with their first BMWs are a trip! Always feeling the need to change perfection. You bought a 200 hp mid luxury automobile. Enjoy the car for what it is and save your money for a sports car if you wanna go fast.
so you saying that BMW had made perfection before the changes :rolleyes:

No, BMW made the car with things to consider and meets halfway on many things. Now if BMW had infact made it the best if would have already had it's BMW Performance line high-performance intake system, it's strut bar and floating design cross-drilled rotors to name a few. Just because a stock car from BMW is what you like doesn't mean it's the best for other's desires/needs. Also sure doesn't mean that it's the best car BMW could make.
 
#61 ·
It's the same thing with the B7 crowd...unfortunately these cars are not very responsive to intake upgrades in terms of pure horsepower gains.

The factory box is well engineered, although I'm surprised no one was able to improve upon the somewhat small air inlet. I've looked into the Dinan CAI and the Conforti intake, which, despite being a short ram style, looks to be decently shielded. On the dyno it picked up a couple horses, which is nice not in the sense of perceived power (there is none) but in the comfort knowing you're not paying a cost in power to gain a nicer sound.
 
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