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Mods and upgrades explained - Very Long!!

335K views 422 replies 178 participants last post by  Mpowered1 
#1 ·
Hey

A lot of people on the fest ask what mods are best for their bimmer so i thought i would list the most popular ones and describe why they are good for your bimmer. Will put them in order you should do them too.

These include engine performance mods as well as stability etc

This is just my view but will try to be as accurate as possible. Am sure MANY of you will disagree with some of the things that i say, but that is the beauty of a forum. These are compiled from my experiences as a racing driver, test driver as well as an avid Bimmerfest member

1 - Decent petrol
People often go and spend HUGE amounts of money on enhancements or their cars and then use rubbish fuel. E36's are fitted with 'knock sensors' which will advance and retard your timing to sure different octane fuels. The higher the octane of the fuel, the higher the flash point. You want to make sure that the fuel is being ignited in the cylinder at the right time and not any where else. I recommendV-Power 98 RON or at least the highest octane car fuel you can find in your area (US octane ratings work a little different. Not only will you get more power and a more drivable car, but your engine will be cleaner and you also get better MPG.​

2 - Good Spark Plugs
Ok, so you have you good petrol being sprayed into your cylinders, now you need to make sure there is a good spark. The OEM plugs are great but improvements can be made for a small cost.​
The best plugs out there are NGK IRIDIUM IX plugs. They are brilliant and the affects can be felt right away. The car is smother through the rev-range and pulls better at low revs. They are cheap too and should only set you back around 35GBP ($70).​
DONT go for Platinums as they are very problematic and can cause some very strange engine issues. Iridium has a massive melting point and so the electrode gap stays the same no matter how hot or how hard you push your car​

3 - Decent Tyres
So often people spend loads of money on upgrades and then put crap tyres on their cars. Remember, your tyres are the only things connecting your car and power to the road and so decent tyres are an absolute must! Tyres are very personal and need to suit your driving style. I always run Pirelli P6000's on my cars as they are perfect for normal driving as well as when i push it. If you want them to last a long time but dont need massive amounts of grip then a hard compound like Bridgestone. If you want lots of grip but dont mind replacing them often then a soft compound like Yokohama is the way to go. There are of course tonnes of others out there!!​

4 - CAI (Cold Air Intake)
The most common upgrade for the E36 (and most cars for that matter) is a CAI. A CAI allows cooler, denser air into your engine. Dense air contains more oxygen and the more oxygen you have, the better the bang in your engine leading to more power. The stock airbox on a bimmer is very restrictive and so does not let in the maximum amount of air into your intake. A CAI is a cone filter (such as K&N) with a metal heatshield that replaces the plastic air-box. The heatshield creates a cold pocket of air around the filter that blocks a lot of the heat of the engine. The result is a more powerful (up to 10BHP) and smother engine that also sounds amazing. A good CAI will cost around 150 GBP ($300) but you could get the cone filter without the heatshield for 60GBP ($120) and will still see big gains due to the increased air flow. I recommend K&N​

5 - Brakes
Ok, so you have more power by adding the bits above, now you need to stop the flipping thing. An E36 weighs around 1.5 tonnes and so you need some decent brakes to stop it. The OEM brakes are ok but if you need to stop from a high speed in a hurry then you are going to get 'brake fade'. Brake fade is the sporn of all evil and occurs when your brakes get hot. The pedal goes hard and your braking efficiency is massively reduced. You need to install cross drilled discs (rotors) to dissipate the heat caused by the friction as well as some uprated pads. I recommend EBC Green stuffs pads for normal to spirited driving or EBC Red stuffs ceramic pads if you like to really push it or do track days. The increased braking is amazing and brake fade is almost completely eliminated. To get rid of it, you will need to install braided hoses. When your brakes get VERY hot, your brake fluid boils and the standard pipes expand losing efficiency. The uprated discs (rotors) should also stop 'warping' which can be VERY nasty​

6 - ECU re-map/chip upgrade
All cars that roll off the production line have to conform to emissions and country laws. They are also made to allow for the worst fuel, the worst drivers, bad servicing and bad weather conditions. Although the ECU is adaptive and so will advance/retard the ignition timing as described above, there is still plenty of power locked away behind your ECU maps. An ECU remap done via your OBC port or a physical replacement of your chip modifies the map to the most efficient possible. This give you lots more power throughout the rev-band and increased MPG as the engine is working at it's best. NEVER EVER EVER add cheap devices that claim to trick the ECU into thinking the air is colder. These are a con, plain and simple. Always go for a well known, reputable companies product. Your ECU is your car's brain and you should never short change it. You would not go to back alley doctor for brain surgery and the same goes for your bimmer. Price is anywhere from 100-300GBP ($200-$600)​

7 - Performance exhaust
After fitting the CAI, you will have increased airflow into your engine and it needs to get out. OEM exhausts are restrictive like the intake and so a decent cat-back exhaust will give you more power gains and a lovely sound too. There are many many brilliant companies out there that supply excellent systems for the E36 depending on what you want, what sound you like and how much you want to spend. Prices are anywhere from 100-500GBP ($200-$1000)​

8 - Strut Brace
Strut braces stiffen up the geometry of the front and rear suspension giving you a more positive turn in. Prices are around 50-150GBP ($100-$300)​

9 - Underdrive pulleys
Underdrive pulleys are smaller and lighter than the OEM ones and reduce the parasitic drag caused by running your alternator. Gains of around 6BHP can be seen with no ill affects to your electrical system. Prices are around 100GBP ($200)​

10 - Uprated Engine Bushes
Engine bushes hold your engine in place and the OEM ones can cause the engine to move under hard acceleration/braking and spirited cornering. This increases momentum and can destabilise the car. These stiffen up the engine and stop it moving around so much​

There are of course many more out there (including suspension upgrades) but these are the most common and the ones i have the most experience with.

Hope it helps

Pirate (Pete)
 
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#353 ·
So you're saying that the M/S50 manifold that they would still have had in stock in the many thousands, would make less sense to use than one they had to make more of specifically for the new cars they were building?

Seriously, think it over.
 
#354 ·
So you're saying that the M/S50 manifold that they would still have had in stock in the many thousands
I never said they have excess stock of M/S50 intakes, not sure where you got that from.

It just doesn't seem sensible that BMW would sacrifice a significant amount of top end power for a small gain in torque, unless there was some other motive (tax brackets or otherwise). The M54 doesn't have any extra features which would significantly increase power. Yet it produces the same torque per litre, and manages an extra 20% power from the 7% capacity increase.
 
#364 ·
Rieger Infinty II replicas?

I hope this is the right place to post this.. I've been reading around the forums and I've seen a few people mention Rieger replicas being out there but I haven't been able to find any. I'm looking for the fender flares specifically. I really want them but being a young father on a single income can't exactly afford the real deal. So anyone know where I can get some decent knock offs?

Thanks
 
#369 ·
I want to do a motor swap but want a faster motor, I don't want anything crazy fast, just want to end up at around 250 horsepower, I have a 1995 325i with the 2.5L and 5 speed manual, I just want to know what motor would be best suited for this job, I don't want to have to change over to obd2 unless I have to. Also I don't want to spend more than 5,000, I can, but want to keep this project fairly cheap


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#371 ·
I have swapped motors on my old Pontiac firebird, Chevy cavalier, and mitsubishi eclipse so I'm pretty sure I'll have the experience necessary to do all the work myself, is there a specific year m3 I should go for? With the transmission I have now work or will I need to get one? And what's the horsepower? And if you know of a website to but one off of please let me know


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#372 · (Edited)
Are you located in the United States? If so, the S50B30 engine came only in the '95 M3, so that's the year you'll want to get. It's also the only year of OBD1 for that engine. The subsequent S52B32 came in the '96-99 M3, (so, much easier to find since it was in production for longer), but was an OBD2 engine. You could covert an S52B32 to OBD1, however. Both the S50B30 and S52B32 have 240hp, although the S52B32 has a bit more torque than the S50B30.

Regarding transmissions, the Getrag 5-speed manual in your 325 is okay, but not as strong as the ZF 5-speed manual that came in the 328 and M3. I'd recommend getting your hands on a ZF 5-speed, since you'll have everything out in the open during the swap. Like I said, the Getrag 5-speed would be okay for a while if you didn't abuse the car, but wouldn't last as long as the ZF unit, which was built to handle the extra power.

If you've done engine swaps in the past, you should have no trouble with doing one in this car. They're really easy to get the engines out of.
 
#380 ·
There are a number threads where people have picked combos of parts from BMW I6 engines to build up stroker engines and get 3.2 liter displacements. Just depends on to what extent you're willing to go to get there. S52 swap is the most straight forward but probably the highest out of pocket cost. A stroker is the lowest out of pocket but the most labor. Here's just one stroker build thread. It's for a 3.0 liter but it's got a lot of good info.
 
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