bought a new car, now need opinions on how to mod it

This car is beautiful!!! I love black BMWs!
Start with getting rid of the amber side reflectors and Borla exhausts.

Damn...I'm too late!

OP, I'll just say that when you make your exhaust louder, you're masking the sound of the engine. Personally, I prefer hearing my engine...my exhaust is stock and my stereo is off. Why do all of you want to hear the sound of the exhaust?

Hint...you really don't. You want others to hear it and think your car is faster, better, more special than other cars. It is as it is.

100K miles? New plugs, cooling system, CAs/CABs, probably vcg and ofhg are due too. You'll be wanting a new guibo and csb pretty soon...your icv/tb are dirty, the intake boot is probably ripped, and I bet you need a new fuel filter too.

Anyway, MJ mostly beat me to this, but I prefer my own trolling!

Originally Posted by dementievafan

no carfax was like $40 or something for a one time thing

the 328ci sounded pretty good, not sure how it sounds when you're inside the car

If you give me the VIN I'll send you the autocheck report.

Originally Posted by drift.mechanic

AFE stage 2 Pro Dry S and delete both resonators while keeping the stock muffler. Headers if you h e the budget and time to spend.

Problem solved.

+1
mine is ebay headers to oem resonator and muffler then i had the rear resonator replaced with 2 glasspacks.
its deeper in real life but youll have all the high end rasp you want
2004 325i

Originally Posted by MJLavelle

In before Mango, dmax and others: Take care of the maintenence issues before modding. If you have records, then check to see that the entire cooling system was replaced, along with the usual control arms, bushings, etc. At that age, it may be time for a new suspension, and please don't say you want coilovers and a massive drop. If so, PM me, and I will buy it from you at $1k more than you paid, just to see it does not get ruined.
That is an excellent looking car. Please restrain yourself modding it too much, or find one that does not look so great to ruin with stance mods. Of course, if it has been wrecked, then I am not interested, and you can drop it, roll the fenders, add giant wheels with tires too small for the wheel, and add an aircraft wing to the rear. I am not saying you are going to do any of those things. You may have good taste, and not be planning any ridiculous mods. If so, I apologize for my remarks.
But, if you are planning such stuff, and the car is accident free, then my offer to buy it stands.
I hope you plan to modify it tastefully. But get it up to a well maintained condition before doing so. Do not assume that keeping up with the oil changes, and keeping the paint looking so good qualifies it as "well maintained". If he does not have records of a complete cooling system change, and replacement of the suspension bushings, as well as the shocks and struts, you need to do that stuff first. It will feel like a new car once you were done, and be ready for some tasteful mods, including an upgraded suspension, with Koni or Bilstein shocks, H&R sport springs, and Turner Motorsports sway bars, Meyle HD control arms and FCABs, or some urethane FCABs if you want it stiffer, and Meyle HD RTABs with the stiffener inserts, and a good quality exhaust, not just a muffler.
Good luck with everything. She's a beauty.

thanks for all the advice, this is my 4th bmw so i know not to ruin the car , I have actually always modded my cars tastefully but i actually don't plan to do any real exterior mods except for maybe getting rid of the spoiler/replacing it with one of those smaller ones that looks like it's a part of the trunk. I will check on the maintenance and cooling system.

Originally Posted by MJLavelle

BTW, my fog lights looked like yours, or maybe worse. I did not want to pay the ridiculous price for new ones, since I knew I could fix mine. Now, this can be done by hand, or you can use a 3in buffer. I did most of the sanding on mine by hand. Due to the depth of some of the defects, I did some tests, and settled on starting with 200 grit wet sanding paper. I then worked up to 600, 800, 1000, 1500, and then finally 3000 grit. The photos below show a comparison of one light that has been sanded up to the 1500 grit, and one that had not been touched. The second photo shows what it looked like after 3000grit sanding. I finished with a 3 inch buffer, and Meguires 105 compound. I then used another softer compound. I finished it off with a few coats of Klasse sealant. When I was done, it was as clear as when it was new. It took some work, but it was better than spending $170 for new lights. I do not have pics of the finished product, but I can get them in a few days, when I get back home. They turned out perfect!

Click on the pics for a larger version.
After working up to 1500 grit sanding:

Untitled by MJLavelle, on Flickr

After 3000 grit sanding:

Untitled by MJLavelle, on Flickr

I finished them off with a set of LED bulbs from the link below. They match the color of the Xenons really well. They do not project out so far, but we never have fog here, so it does not matter to me. They are a perfect color match to the factory Xenons.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/68-LED-H11-S...item3363a7de26

great input, never even thought of those!

Originally Posted by Stickbuilder

Let me see if I understand you..............You can't afford (or won't pay) 40 bucks for the CarFax, but you will pay whatever to do the modifications, right? I'd wonder about your priorities.......Just sayin.....

well i figured i already bought the car, and i fully trust the guy who sold it to me, but i suppose you're right, i think i remember carfax being like $15 back in the days if im not mistaken

Originally Posted by MercForHire

This car is beautiful!!! I love black BMWs!
Start with getting rid of the amber side reflectors and Borla exhausts.

borla exhaust? is that the stock exhaust you speak of? will do with the ambers

Originally Posted by dmax

Damn...I'm too late!

OP, I'll just say that when you make your exhaust louder, you're masking the sound of the engine. Personally, I prefer hearing my engine...my exhaust is stock and my stereo is off. Why do all of you want to hear the sound of the exhaust?

Hint...you really don't. You want others to hear it and think your car is faster, better, more special than other cars. It is as it is.

100K miles? New plugs, cooling system, CAs/CABs, probably vcg and ofhg are due too. You'll be wanting a new guibo and csb pretty soon...your icv/tb are dirty, the intake boot is probably ripped, and I bet you need a new fuel filter too.

Anyway, MJ mostly beat me to this, but I prefer my own trolling!

thanks for the input, i actually am seeking more of the engine noise, the metallic roar, but i have heard that this noise is in fact "Exhaust noise" and there is no such thing as "engine noise"

Originally Posted by WDE46

If you give me the VIN I'll send you the autocheck report.

sent thanks man

You've heard there's no such thing as engine noise? Was that from an infomercial on the Fox network?

I'm pretty sure I can hear my engine. I am deaf in one ear though, so maybe I'll listen again and focus on my echolocation.

Originally Posted by dementievafan

i have heard that this noise is in fact "Exhaust noise" and there is no such thing as "engine noise"

Not true, friend. Especially not in our cars.

Originally Posted by dmax

You've heard there's no such thing as engine noise? Was that from an infomercial on the Fox network?

I'm pretty sure I can hear my engine. I am deaf in one ear though, so maybe I'll listen again and focus on my echolocation.

Originally Posted by kaldE46

Not true, friend. Especially not in our cars.

posts #15 and 16
http://forum.e46fanatics.com/showthr...886&highlight=

quoted in order

"You're not understanding that engine noise is not a thing. You only hear two things: intake and exhaust sounds. Are you expecting to hear the combustion process or the valves lifting or something?
An aftermarket exhaust doesn't have to sound a certain way. It can sound any way you'd like. But hearing "engine noise" makes no sense. It's not a thing"

"I'd sure hope that you don't want to hear "engine noise". That would mean that you'd hear the affects of increased friction from an engine that wasn't operating properly.

You hear 2 things:
-Intake noise
-Exhaust noise

Hearing the engine is bad. But they are right...if you want to hear the engine, just drain some oil out. You'll hear the engine working plenty after that."

Originally Posted by dmax

Why do all of you want to hear the sound of the exhaust?

Hint...you really don't. You want others to hear it and think your car is faster, better, more special than other cars. It is as it is.

[IMG]
ovation gif pics on Sodahead[/IMG]

Originally Posted by kaldE46

You should take the spoiler off!

spoiler dates the car. i'll lend u a hamma' if u need one....

At that mileage get ahead of the maintenance curve if none of these have been done within last 30k miles:

valve cover gasket
oil filter housing gasket
CCV and all new hoses
maf to throttle body intake hoses
exp tank, water pump and thermostat
M3 motor mounts and new tranny mounts

For almost any muffler upgrade, Eisenmann is really hard to beat.

Makes me miss my black one.



Enjoy it.

The reason the rear resonator alone does nothing is because of the way the single chamber is made, there is a slight cutout that diverts some of the exhaust gasses through a glass packed chamber, but 80% doesn't go through there. Plus the gasses from all 6 cylinders are pushing through t high speed.

The front resonator is where the sound is, BMW engineers aren't dumb. They damped both banks individually then merge them killing almost all the sound.

To get some sound the rear resonator must be deleted then the front. The front can be a simple Y pipe or a hand made 2x1.750 to 1x2.5 collector
This was a hand made collector made from 3.5" tubing worked by hand.

When all is said and done, you get that signature sound.

And the sound inside the car doesn't change. Windows down, I hear my AFE stage 2 way more than the exhaust. I didn't want to hear the exhaust, I wanted others to hear it. It's a BMW guys, not a civic with a watermelon launcher as a muffler.

this is similar to what im looking for, and please dont say go buy a e36 m3

Well your 2.5 will never sound like the 3, no matter what you do, the 3l sounds much hallower compared to the 2.5.

Don't let the sound of the exhaust fool you though, that is a twin piped without cats and no resonators. That car also has a lightweight flywheel (quick rev drop when free rev at light).

There is a book called "Harmonics and Flow Paths of Exhausts and Intakes". It's a engineers guide to manufacturing headers, exhaust systems, intake tubes and intake manifolds, for both turbo and n/a

Originally Posted by drift.mechanic

Well your 2.5 will never sound like the 3, no matter what you do, the 3l sounds much hallower compared to the 2.5.

Don't let the sound of the exhaust fool you though, that is a twin piped without cats and no resonators. That car also has a lightweight flywheel (quick rev drop when free rev at light).

There is a book called "Harmonics and Flow Paths of Exhausts and Intakes". It's a engineers guide to manufacturing headers, exhaust systems, intake tubes and intake manifolds, for both turbo and n/a

my car is the 330ci .........

My bad thought I remember 325ci,

Originally Posted by drift.mechanic

My bad thought I remember 325ci,

np, i forgot to update my profile, still had the 325i on there

should i replace the o2 sensor too? the car seems to accelerate slow in 1st gear, itll only go fast when i push the pedal 50% down.
ive driven other 330's so i know 1st gear isnt supposed to feel like that, ive already bought a new fuel filter that im going to change, but the o2 sensor is pretty expensive so dont know if i should wait on it.

I knew I wasn't crazy for seeing 325 somewhere