w/parts list
Then after I had my chip installed, I went to eip Tuning in Westminster MD (best known for creating some 911 slaying turbo VR6s) for some more parts (I went there primarily since they got discounts on AutoThority parts). I had an AutoThority Carbon Fiber FloTech and short shift kit installed along with a Momo shift knob.
See updates section on UUC Evo II Shoft shift kit!
Back in 1997 no one really heard of a heat shield (not like now) as I discovered the problems of an open element filter in the summer finding myself having a harder time beating my friend's Integra GS-R (but still beat him!). ECIS had a great heatshield for an affordable price and that helped a lot. Now the car feels much stronger in the summertime than it used to. I highly recommend ECIS's heatshield to anyone that has an free flow intake. I also purchased the intake cover-it doesn't do anything, but really dresses up the engine compartment!
Next I needed an exhaust. Why not go to the source? BMW Motorsports. A BMW M3 exhaust to be precise. I was able to get a 1995 M3 exhaust from e-bay for only $100. It was in perfect condition with low miles! It was a great modification and the car had more punch on the top end-the engine pulled from 4K to redline quicker and stronger. Not to mention the niice sound. However, after a year, I bolted on a Borla exhaust made for the M3. As much as the M3 exhaust growled, this one screamed. A much throatier sound and a great burble at idle. I would say that top end performance improved slightly. At 21 pounds (measured at Rogue Engineering) its lighter than my old M3 exhaust!
See updates section on new Rogue Engineering exhaust!
Now that I had some mild basic mods, the suspension was next. The sport suspension on my car was great-lower stance than stock and handled well. But its age started to show. What now? Luckily I was able to procure a 1995 M3 suspension from my friend Luis. It came with shocks, struts, springs, and sway bars. The suspension only had about 30K miles on it and the part is...it was $300!
See updates section on BMW Motorsports X-Brace, Bilstein PSS9 Coilover Suspension, UUC Strutbarbarian
1/02 Update:
Added OEM BMW clears: Finally upgraded the corner tails and fronts to OEM clears from VOB BMW in Rockville for the European look. I've seen people only do the fronts. If you do this do them all-it look kind of cheesy if you only do 1/2 of the car.
2/13/02 DC/MD/VA Coffee Chat and DTMPower meet pics
2/15/02 Update:
Installed UUC Motorwerks Evo II Short shift kit with Cartridge Bearing upgrade and Delrin bushing upgrade. RK Magnum Polished Aluminum knob installed: After suffering with the AutoThority Shortshift kit, I finally had the UUC SS kit with all the upgrades installed. The actual length of the throw is the same as the AutoThority, BUT it has none of the sloppiness. A lot of the side to side slop has been eliminated with the UUC and shifts are more positive with less effort than the AutoThority. The shift from 4th to 5th is not an exercise of pushing the lever all the way to the right. The RK Magnum is a great looking shifter and falls very well to the hand, contributing to precise and smooth shifting due to its hefty weight.
Installed BMW Motorsports X-Brace: Didn't feel an immediate change at low speeds, but once carving the twisties, noticed more responsive steering-feels a bit more solid. More of a subtle mod that should be evident in an autocross. Purchased from Turner Motorsports.
2/23/02 Update:
Installed Rogue Engineering DMS Exhaust: Very sweet indeed. Looks incredible and a perfect fit-Ben and Mark at RE installed it at their shop. The staggered tips look awesome! This exhaust is fairly loud-at first I didn't notice how loud it was since I was used to my Borla, but after driving back home from Jersey, I did notice it was a little bit louder than my Borla at cruising speeds. It has a great bassy sound and burble when driving it and sounds great when I start it up. Sounds more aggressive and deeper than the Borla. There is the dreaded resonance at 2K rpm, but nothing earthshattering. No real loss on the bottom end, but there is definitely more pull from the car at higher rpms-the engine spins up quicker and harder than before. Very nice!
2//27/02:
Fried my DME in a carwash. Car starts stalling bigtime and the engine is flooding really bad. Took apart the firewall that night-saw leaves and a puddle of water in the compartment. Let it dry overnight. Next morning, car started, but shortly started flodding again. Took out the DME this time, wiped it down-the box and the connections. Still no luck. Saturday, started it up with no problem and ran like nothing happened. What's the moral of this story? DO NOT TAKE YOUR BMW TO A CARWASH!
3/7/02:
Dyno at Altered Atmosphere:
Uncorrected (70 degrees today):
184.3 hp (at the crank, approximately 223hp)
170 torque (at the crank, approximately 205.7)
SAE/Corrected
177.6 hp (at the crank, approximately 215hp)
163.9 torque (at the crank, approximately 198.3)
See the dyno charts for my car
Baltimore, MD: Import Eurasia is at the Baltimore Convention Center! Those entered from the MD/DC/VA dtmpower crew were: Charlie Eleftheriou (1996 Audi A4 2.8L), Peter Eleftheriou (1991 BMW 318is), George Nychis (1995 BMW M3), and Peter Lee (2001 BMW Hamann 330Ci). You can tell from looking at their cars how much work they put into them prepping them for the show.
Pictures of Import Eurasia, courtesy of Nick Iliff
Suspension work: Installed Bilstein PSS9 coilover suspension, UUC Strutbarbarian, H&R 5mm spacers for the front, new front control arms, E46 M3 rear shock mounts and Z3 reinforcement plates: Very nice setup. Not a hardcore track suspension like a Ground Control or TCKline coilover, but still a very nice suspension-handles great-very flat with the sport package sways and X-Brace. Not harsh at all. The PSS9 has 9 SA damper settings (9 being the softest-mine is dialed to 7) and ride height adjustiblilty. If you do a suspension upgrade-especially with the stiffer dampers, I highly recommend stronger RSMs-like the OEM upgrades I have or ones from Turner, Ground Control or TCKline. The UUC Strutbarbarian is no longer in production (actually UUC has a Gen II coming out) and I was fortunate enough to have found one for sale on bimmerforums from Dan Wang. Unlike many strutbars out there that are hinged, this one is actually functional and not just engine jewelry. The car handles like a dream. Very flat and responsive. See the next paragraph.
Several hours later: Accident. This is what happens when you are not familiar with a stiffer suspension and take a turn too fast in the rain. Bent all four rims, blew out all four tires. The new control arms that were just replaced hours ago were bent into pretzels. Lost a foglight. Bent 2 fenders. And to anyone reading this: BUY AN X-BRACE. It's only $110 from Pacific BMW. It saved my oilpan and engine. My Rogue Engineering DMS was undamaged until the tow truck guy unloaded my car at Benchmark. Scccrraappppe. Sounded worse than it looked. Screw it-no real damage and it works.
A very big thanks to the guys that were there and helped me out that night: Pete Lem (teuton on bimmerforums and DTMPower), Andy Dhillion (Andy on DTMPower), Sunir Ghosal (Sunir on bimmerforums and DTMPower), Gregg and Eric.
8/02:
The car is out of Benchmark Motors and Elite Autohaus. This was a blessing in disguise. Elite did an incredible job-the car is like brand new and the side skirts are fresh looking again (they were fading). Benchmark replaced the front control arms (again) and rear trailing arm, which needed to be replaced anyway. To my joy, the Bilstein PSS9 DID NOT sustain any damage. So now I have a car that looks as new as it did when I got it from the showroom floor and a new suspension and suspension components! Now it handles better than the first day I got it. PLUS, I got new rims. After many jokes about rolling on my 15" stock bottlecaps, I got a nice looking set of rims-Mille Miglia MMII Sports with a gun metal gray finish, 17x8 shod with 235/40/17 Kumho Ecsta 712s. Should've gone with some Bridgestone S03s, but whatever.
10/29:
Added Harris and Matthew's sites to Tech Tips. Added 1994 BMW 325is Press Release link on E36 325is Specifications and Performance page. This is page that has every technical spec tidbit such as gear ratios, engine displacement, standard equipment, optional equipment, etc for that year.
5/31/07:
After 2 /12 months of waiting, I took delivery of a brand new 2007 E92 335i Coupe-300 horses of twin turbocharged fun! I ordered it with sport package, premium package, winter package and iPod integration.
