2003 325i Build thread Clean your feet before stepping inside

sooo decided to start my build thread, on al the forums ive been on this is the first time im actually taking the time to do so. I picked the car up This past march (2012) and swore to god that i was only going to do the appropriate repairs to keep the car running smooth and on the road. Since its my daily driver and i told myself i grew out of moding my cars...I didnt follow that at all

some details
2003 325i
Black Sapphire
Black leather Sport seats
Titanium Trim
matte black window trim
matte black front grills
depo headlights with 6k HIDs
OEM zhp wheels (135's)
....5-speed thank god.


id attach the first picture i took of the car here, but i dont know how to attach aside from having them all ugly on the bottom of the post


regardless...

i then started modding.
first went on the
smoked corner
smoked sidemarker
smoked EE taillights
20% window tint
hardwired my Passport 9500xi "blue"
Oem style lit 5-speed knob
new shift boot
interior LED kit
6k turn signal bulbs with resistors LED
6k reverse LED
sidemarker LED



a couple months later, new job, new fat paycheck..new mods

I always wondered why bmw thought black leather, whatever trim and then an entirely different color headliner/pillars looked good..

so i Fabric dyed my Headliner and Sunroof cover black (matches perfectly)
and bought A,B,C pillars along with the rubber trim around the sunroof along with visors and lights throughout the entire interior. Having it all black looks light years better then 3 tone interior.

BSW Single subwoofer enclosure with amp for sedan without ski pass.
That install sucked, i did it myself and honestly, laying on your back half hanging out of the trunk while holding up a 40-50 lb enclosure with your face so you can bolt it to the frame was not fun. but SO WORTH IT. The sub sounds great and looks fantastic too.

I also purchased Orion V2 Predators 6k To keep the same Color lights together. while installing these myself i went ahead and swapped out my headlight lenses for new ones, and painted the bowls semi-gloss black to match the car and give her a meaner look.

In between all of this i had all my preventative repairs done (cooling, pulleys, belts, sparks, oil, head gasket, yadda yadda)

As much as i love Mtech 2 front bumper, i went with the M3. I love its look and honestly before someone can say everybody does that, true, well the only way i can be different there is to have kept my rock chip riddled mtech 1 bumper on there. in the mean time i also purchased new foglights with 6k hids as well to keep it uniform.

Then i painted the gauge needles red and put silver rings in.

My steering wheel was starting to wear so i bought an M3 wheel from a member and used my airbag for it.

Since most of those purchases were on the less expensive side i decided to start to step it up.

Borla exhaust
AFE stage 2 intake
Dynavin D99+ WinCe model



ALL of those are on the car right now. it maintains the BMW look without going out of control. The car is clean and EXACTLY how i want it. well theres still more to come.

What hasnt gone on the car yet?
OEM M3 mirrors that im gonna need help retrofitting to my car (anyone in the tri state done this yet? ill pay for help)

Turner adjustable endlinks
OEM reinforcement plates for front and rear strut towers
Rogue RSM's
new OEM front strut mounts..

Oh and KwV2 Coilovers...



so after all those things here is what i have next on the agenda..


OEM Mtech 2 rear. (i work at BMW so shits cheap)

CSL style CF trunk (going to be painted Black sapphire)

Bimmer Brakes Gen 3 Headers with O2 sims

Wilwood 4 Corner brake kit with stainless lines and slotted rotors (hopefully a low dust pad)

i want me some new kicks too...
Either 19'VMR 701's in silver 8.5-9.5 or Vortex Tuning vt996 19" 8.5-9.5 in silver

ESS tuning Stage 2 S/C will be my last mod. that will put me in M3 territory is not more and im more then happy with my sedan after that.

hope you guys like
ill post some pics of the KWv2 when they go on next week.

Thank you Turner Motorsports, Mod Bargains, ECS Tuning, Khoalty, Umnitza and Motorcepts, ASC Automotive for all the help! and Von Geiss for helping me destroy my bank account

suspension is a must!

Originally Posted by pinoybmr3

suspension is a must!

have all the parts! going on in a week!

Love it! Now post some bigger better pics!

Can you tell me how? I only know how to add attachments

So a little update, my clutch is starting to go (115,000 miles stock) and since I'm going to be supercharging the car I figured I'd go with the UUC lightweight flywheel/ e39 m5 clutch package :-) anyone have any comment about this? Is this the best alternative for me? Or do you think just an oem 325i replacement clutch will hold up fine? That and painted the ZHP wheels gold and the brake calipers black. Still pretty clean..

Front control arms are being replaced as well with Meyle hd with bushings and brackets...


When does it end...

Car looks good man! I love the look of style 135 wheels! Keep up the good work

I like it! Very clean.

The way you modded the lights looks good. And I don't usually like AEs or painted lights!

Originally Posted by zhp43867

I like it! Very clean.

The way you modded the lights looks good. And I don't usually like AEs or painted lights!

Thanks man!!! Yea I tried matching all the lights so it wasn't a bunch of different colors, and painting the housings was a pain lol.

Originally Posted by patrickmurray2

Car looks good man! I love the look of style 135 wheels! Keep up the good work

Thanks man! KW need to get here soon!!!

KW v2 and new Meyle front control arms and bushings will be her next Wednesday, pics when it's all done!

very clean and nice mods. I think your car would look better with clear corners.

Originally Posted by rizwan1377

very clean and nice mods. I think your car would look better with clear corners.

Thanks brother :-) I had clears but they cracked..

Got some new shoes :-) 19x9.5 R 19x8.5 F vortex tuning vt996

And I know drop it and it is this week

Little update...

Got the KW V2 system in but the drivers side front shock was blown... Motherrrr fukerrrrr so I am riding ghetto now while its sent back to kW for rebuild... 160$ isn't too bad a price considering its 700$!!!! For a new one. Turner adj end links, front strut reinforcement and new top hats on. Rogue RSM on, just waiting on that last coilover to go in.... Oh and change the bimmer brakes headers idea... I picked up Super Sprint instead :-) that's installed and on the car. Along with the new wheels... Car is coming along nicely.

The wheels are front et 35 rear et 33

How do you upload videos? I have an exhaust video I made this morning, while in the middle of storm Nemo

Personally not a fan of m3 bumpers on a facelift as well as smoked corners. Nonetheless good progress and I wish I had gotten the roundels you got instead of mine.

Edit: love the vortex wheels by the way, can't wait to see It properly dropped.

Originally Posted by JZambrano7

Personally not a fan of m3 bumpers on a facelift as well as smoked corners. Nonetheless good progress and I wish I had gotten the roundels you got instead of mine.

Edit: love the vortex wheels by the way, can't wait to see It properly dropped.

Thanks man yea unfortunately vortex has closed up its doors :-( always loved the VT996's finally picked them up from a local member. KW turn around time is 3-1/2 weeks

Anyone know how to post a video? And any input between the hotchkis sway bars or turner ones?