E36 Upgrades?

[anxious]

As you may be aware my car is pretty much stock standard. see http://www.bmwe36blog.com/2007/11/27/cute-bmw-e36-can-you-make-it-look-better/#comments I got the car in April 2007. The first few months of my ownership was very traumatic. see http://www.bmwclubmalaysia.com/forums/showthread.php?t=12081 I am currently enjoying my ride. Since I have decided to keep my car for anor 3 years or so, I was wondering what kind of upgrades can I do? I have decided to get 16" or 17" rims but since my tires are still very new, I may only change the rims sometime next year. Anyway I am on the lookout for a good deal. I shall be servicing my car in a couple of months. (i)Thinking of iridium apark plugs. Some swear by them others say its snake oil, what do you guys think? I understand that a set of 6 Iridium plugs cost RM250. The normal plugs cost me RM60. Are the plugs really better or do they only last longer? (ii)KNN drop in filter, another hotly debated topic. (iii)Suspension, well my absorbers are new Bilstein Black so Eibach spring + Yellow Bilsteins are out for now (maybe I;ll try them on my next car.) (iv)What abt Eibach Anti Roll Bar Kit vs MTECH/M3 Anti Roll Bar? How does it suit standard absorbers? (v) What about strut bars? I would appreciate your comments/input,which would not onlly benefit me but also all who read this forum. Thanks.

 

[chairoger]

Save money so that can buy 5 series next time. Maintain the car cause we dont know what part will kaput next month and drive it as it is. Its good enough as it is.

 

[anxious]

Your absolutely correct Roger but those who choose to drive cars like ours do not think that way.

We get burnt...lick our wounds and come back for more.

I just happen to be in the "mood" for more now.

So guys any advise/experiences would be grealty appreciated.

 

[chairoger]

Dont say I didnt tell you. Guys, kasi dia manyak racun. Kekeke :top:

 

[elwine30]

well, you may put in all the mods, but do you drive them as hard to reach the maximum.

But for ride comfort, i would suggest you to go for thicker ARB, whether it's eibach or M3, it should do better for you.

For lowering your ride, well i think you will take a hit from penang roads. Doing so will potentially introduce noise into cabin and etc. But lowering do make your car look good though. .

But you can always put in and take it out if you don't like.

 

[fabianyee]

On rims.. bigger rims and lowered springs would lead to more wear and tear on your suspension components. So make sure you have factored that into your upgrade cost as well..

As for performance, platinum plugs are good for long life as it is more durable... As for iridium, do you drive it hard enuf to make full use of it? Come lah HPC track events...

Antiroll bars are good upgrades but make sure u reinforced the rear antiroll bar mounts on the chassis. These points may get ripped out of the chassis when fitted with stiffer antiroll bar.

Get the strut bars, X-brace if you want to stiffen the car... Or even foam the door sills and B-pillar for rigidity.. It can also serve to reduce NVH.

 

[anxious]

Thanks guys, a friend of mine suggested to get a hold of M3 ARB for the front. As there is no adjustment needed , it would be just "plug and play".

Eibach needs adjustment as there are a few holes on the bar.

Anyway I am very interested in the ARB upgrade.

Any idea what the costs are?

Also can I just get thicker Mtec ARB for the Front as suggested by my friend?

Thanks.

As for plugs, I was hoping it would help a bit with low end torque. I am not so much into power.

 

[loafer]

anxious,

Modifications really depends on what you're looking for. As for myself I'm not that much of a sucker for straight line speed but I do love taking bends as fast as my car can push it.

Therefore what I've started off is by changing the standard rubber bushes on my E36 to SuperPro PU bushes. Next I got front strut bars (decided the rear didn't really need it and I wasn't ready to sacrifice boot space as well) and changed my suspension setup to Bilstein B8 with H&R lowering springs. These changes has improved my car's handling substantially and I'm a happy camper for now

I would suggest that you set yourself a target to achieve and preferbly in stages or else you'll be splurging so much money that you won't even realise it till it's too late.

 

[loafer]

Thanks guys, a friend of mine suggested to get a hold of M3 ARB for the front. As there is no adjustment needed , it would be just "plug and play".

Eibach needs adjustment as there are a few holes on the bar.

Anyway I am very interested in the ARB upgrade.

Any idea what the costs are?

Also can I just get thicker Mtec ARB for the Front as suggested by my friend?

Thanks.

As for plugs, I was hoping it would help a bit with low end torque. I am not so much into power.

I would suggest that you upgrade your suspension (absorber + springs) prior to getting an ARB upgrade. ARB alters the handling characteristics of your car by a lot and can be quite punishing on your standard suspension.

Last I checked, H&R ARB (28mm front, 21mm rear) is RM2,500.

cheers.

 

[anxious]

Another thought that crossed my mind is leather seats. That would make the car more presentable.

Any one know what is the goin rate for leather seats now?

Thansk

 

[Abe Jak]

wah anxious,got more money now ah...won lottery ka?

 

[astroboy]

Another thought that crossed my mind is leather seats. That would make the car more presentable....

Leather seat very slippery wan, if can avoid, pls avoid. If just want to show off or ease of maintenance because kids always pour Coca-Cola on your seat then different story la..

And leather after few years, will crack wan.. unless u r "lucky"..

 

[loafer]

Try this thread, only the front driver and passenger seats though.

http://www.bmwclubmalaysia.com/forums/showthread.php?t=17898

And yes, agree with astroboy. Leather seats are very slippery. I slide around whenever I take corners on my car and its getting annoying

 

[anxious]

wah anxious,got more money now ah...won lottery ka?

No-lah, after 1 year of ownership a bit gatal now. My budget is limited ...got about RM2k to play with, just trying to decide what to do.

When I visited AB Pg on Sat I was smitten by the E46 330Ci but at RM250k it was beyond me.

So,just thought I'd pamper myself to some little indulgence vis a vis my present ride which I plan to keep for anor 3 yrs.

 

[fabianyee]

RM2k? not much new stuff you can get unless from the potong shop...

 

[astroboy]

RM2k u can put on some bling bling light replica alloys before we move on to the aerokit and suspension department.. :love: Seat is my least priority unless they start to tear..

 

[cempaka]

Suspension upgrades should be done in sets, not piecemeal. If you just throw on a stiffer bar in front, you may actually worsen the handling as the car will understeer more.

Best is to upgrade the ARB front and rear together with a matched set, be it m-tech, eibach, IE etc...also keep in mind that fitting thick ARBs may make your car less forgiving to drive. For example, a very stiff rear bar will make it easier for the car to oversteer if the driver is not experienced in correcting for it, which could have dangerous consequences.

Also as others have mentioned, it will be a bit of a mismatch if you have an extreme ARB with bilstein black and ori springs (mild). So be prepared to drop a lot of money upgrading the rest of the suspension if you want to get the most out of every part.

Best way to upgrade is to treat it like some unknown sambal, don't just throw it all into your rice at once or you might not like the way it tastes. Out of all the things you suggested, I say start with the drop-in filter. It's the safest and easiest. If your ori ARBs are in good shape (mounts/bushings) they should do for now. Then throw on front and rear strut brace bars and see how you like it. If still hungry after that, then consider upgrading ARB/Absorbers/Springs, preferably all to the same level (medium, hot, super spicy etc)

 

[anxious]

The seats on this car look very good.

http://www.bmwclubmalaysia.com/forums/showthread.php?t=17623

The rims too.

 

[astroboy]

There u have it..

This is what you want to look like when u "grow up"..

 

[anxious]

Suspension upgrades should be done in sets, not piecemeal. If you just throw on a stiffer bar in front, you may actually worsen the handling as the car will understeer more.

Best is to upgrade the ARB front and rear together with a matched set, be it m-tech, eibach, IE etc...also keep in mind that fitting thick ARBs may make your car less forgiving to drive. For example, a very stiff rear bar will make it easier for the car to oversteer if the driver is not experienced in correcting for it, which could have dangerous consequences.

Also as others have mentioned, it will be a bit of a mismatch if you have an extreme ARB with bilstein black and ori springs (mild). So be prepared to drop a lot of money upgrading the rest of the suspension if you want to get the most out of every part.

Best way to upgrade is to treat it like some unknown sambal, don't just throw it all into your rice at once or you might not like the way it tastes. Out of all the things you suggested, I say start with the drop-in filter. It's the safest and easiest. If your ori ARBs are in good shape (mounts/bushings) they should do for now. Then throw on front and rear strut brace bars and see how you like it. If still hungry after that, then consider upgrading ARB/Absorbers/Springs, preferably all to the same level (medium, hot, super spicy etc)

Thanks thats excellent advise Cempaka. Whats your take on spark plugs?

I think I can break the upgrades into a few categories:-

i) Performance:-KNN drop in filter, spark plugs
ii) Suspension:-Strut Bar, Bilstein Yellow/Eibach Springs/ARB.in that order?
iii) Looks:- 17in rims, Perforated Leather Seat

Well I amy not be able to do it all at once but at least I can look forward to slowly do it up. As I have mentioned before I got the car cash and therefore I am instalment free. I was reluctant to do much work on the car last year as my repair bills had overwhelmed me. Now I am breathing a bit more easily. So we'll see how it goes.

Anyway your contribution here is not only to my benefit but all other E36 owners who at various stages of their ownership have similar intention.

Thanks guys. Your comments are very much appreciated.

Cheers