To Mod or not to Mod

[timothy2001]

A recent thread got me thinking about the classic M3 look vs. cosmetic and performance mods.

Clearly there are different schools of thought with words like ricer and cheesy on the negative side and other more positive comments regarding modified cars.

The chrome kidney grille replaced with a black one was the very first mod I did to my car which obviously makes some shudder. All good and to each his or her own.

Would love to see a list of mods you have on your car and I'll go first:

Black Kidney Grills
Black side grills
Black emblems on body and wheels
Ultimate Clutch Pedal
Aluminum pedals from Ultimate Pedals
Dark bronze powder coated ZCP wheels
BPM Engine Tune
OEM exhaust mod
Black chrome exhaust tips
Dinan strut braces
Dinan intake
BMW valve stem caps
K&N air filter

[FindingNick]

[Banana Hammock]

Don't have much but here's my short list:

KW Variant 3 Coilovers
Volk TE37 in Mag Blue
Vorsteiner Trunk
Akrapovic Slip-On with CF Tips
BMC Air filter
ARC Titanium Shift knob

[Montaver]

I'm generally most impressed by a super clean OEM+ style car,..

Variety is the spice of life though, and there are some pretty heavily modified tasteful cars out there. Performance related mods (BBK, seats, lightweight wheels etc) are awesome, and you can tell the owner has driving dynamics in mind. When I see cars with decals, joke low suspension, tacky aero, wraps, oversized exhaust tips etc I think they are designed to impress 15 year olds. Seeing a great car ruined so it can crawl along on chopped springs blasting crap music doesn't float my boat. Sadly more and more cars will fall into this category as they get cheaper.

Right now I have -
M Performance Exhaust
DCT Flash
Black grills, matched reflectors
Upgraded com box
Macht Schnell drop in filter
Set of ZCP 359's

Next on my list will be Coilovers and BBK if I can start tracking, otherwise i'll probably leave it there.

[timothy2001]

Originally Posted by FindingNick

I am actually a pretty conservative and traditional guy but that car looks awesome!

[jd501]

I came from a E46 with CSL parts, really loved that car and was planning to keep it forever, but it got totaled from a rear end.

So with my E92, I tried to keep it CSLish, and relatively clean:

Black kidney grills
Painted reflectors
OEM CF splitters
CF side markers
Vörsteiner CSL trunk
Vörsteiner Type II diffuser

[Raek]

I don't even know where to start, haha...

But, here goes:

Eisenmann Race Exhaust
Active Autowerke X Pipes
BPM Sport Tune
A bunch of coding
Airlift 3P Air Suspension w/ Hidden Cabin Controller, iPad slot in back custom built deck
Rotiform CHD Wheels w/ Nitto Invo tires
Brembo BBK
Turner Motorsport Aluminum/Delrin Subframe Bushings
Poly LSD Bushings
Oracal Wrap
Knock-off CRT Carbon Fiber Lip
Forcewerkz Carbon Fiber Sideskirts
I forgot what knock off rear diffuser
Carbon side things off the rear bumper
Carbon fiber mirror caps
Custom Headlights
LCI tail lights
CCC to CIC upgrade w/ new iDrive controller
Carbon Fiber Trim (Center Console, too)
BMW Performance V2 Steering Wheel
Hardwired Valentine One

Still have a bunch of stuff sitting in my garage: ESS 650 vt2, LTMW 1M front bumper, knockoff amuse carbon fiber trunk

[Raek]

Originally Posted by Montaver

blasting crap music

Annnnd, this is relevant how? First of all, music is 100% subjective...your tastefully modded, driving dynamic-oriented car could totally be "blasting crap" music to others.

[jiggz]

Originally Posted by Montaver

I'm generally most impressed by a super clean OEM+ style car,..

Agreed.

[DreamTime]

Originally Posted by Raek

I don't even know where to start, haha...

But, here goes:

Eisenmann Race Exhaust
Active Autowerke X Pipes
BPM Sport Tune
A bunch of coding
Airlift 3P Air Suspension w/ Hidden Cabin Controller, iPad slot in back custom built deck
Rotiform CHD Wheels w/ Nitto Invo tires
Brembo BBK
Turner Motorsport Aluminum/Delrin Subframe Bushings
Poly LSD Bushings
Oracal Wrap
Knock-off CRT Carbon Fiber Lip
Forcewerkz Carbon Fiber Sideskirts
I forgot what knock off rear diffuser
Carbon side things off the rear bumper
Carbon fiber mirror caps
Custom Headlights
LCI tail lights
CCC to CIC upgrade w/ new iDrive controller
Carbon Fiber Trim (Center Console, too)
BMW Performance V2 Steering Wheel
Hardwired Valentine One

Still have a bunch of stuff sitting in my garage: ESS 650 vt2, LTMW 1M front bumper, knockoff amuse carbon fiber trunk

You already know I like your car. It is fascinating to see the actual list of mods you have done.

[Gbiz]

You absolutely should mod! It's all about personalization and customization; each person has their own taste.

I've definitely done work to mine. I wanted it pretty much murdered other than the factory ZCP wheels. Here's what I've done:

Exterior: OEM BMW Black Chrome Kidney Grills and Gills, IND Jerez Black reflectors, IND tinted turn signals, Lux V4 @ 5700k, GP Thunder H3sa 7500k, and Dinan Carbon Fiber Strut Bars.

Interior: OEM BMW Gloss Black Interior Trim. Tri-stitched E-brake and shift boot with ZHP shift knob. ///M pedal covers.

Engine: Dinan Carbon Fiber Intake, Dinan Underdrive Pulley, Dinan Tune, and Dinan Exhaust.

Big future plans: AP Racing BBK on hand along with a MFactory carbon fiber driveshaft, then buy an ESS 625 supercharger, upgraded cooling, UCP clutch pedal, BE bearings and ARP bolts. I should be pretty complete after all this.

[MattM3SVT]

OEM+ for me

* IND Painted side reflectors
* IND Gloss black side markers
* 12mm front,12mm rear APEX Spacers
* F10 M5 Illuminated Shift Knob
* OEM Exhaust Mod (Bypass method)
* Cyba 80mm Exhaust Tips
* BMW Performance gloss black front grills
* BMW M Performance Splitters
* BMW M Performance Spoiler
* BMW M Performance CF Mirror Caps
* Gloss Black hood vents
* LUX H8 160 Angel Eyes
* Metak Diffuser
* Active Autoworker Green Performance Air Filter
* APEX 75mm Stud Conversion
* OEM GTS Wheels

[eatsleepboost]

I am oem+ at the moment...
-Borla atak
-25% tint
-ESS 625
-Painted front reflectors
-p3cars vent gauge


Plans...
-Interior trim to replace the wood
-x-pipe
-bbk
-wheels/tires


I will be getting a professional detail soon and some good pictures.


I suppose I am getting away from oem+ a little

[codinge90]

Mod it!

Custom purple color liquid wrap
Forgestar wheels
H&R springs (do not recommend way too bouncy)
Catless x pipe with stock resonators
Oem modded muffler
Gintani e85 tune
Carbon fiber splitters
Apr splitter with rods
Upgraded led angel eyes and blacked out housing
Matte black kidney grills, hood vents, side marker grill
Carbon fiber spoiler
Carbon fiber diffuser
Carbon fiber mirror caps

[303e90]

OEM+ is my preference. Only have had the car a month so it only has black kidney grilles so far, but it won't get much else cosmetically -- comp wheels and slight drop down the line.

Performance wise, she'll be getting a blower before long

[///IVI III]

Great to see the different styles and everyone's approach to mods.. My contribution is below...

-evolve Tune, X-Pipe & Exhaust, bilstein coilovers, MS intake, BBS wheels, studs and tuner lugs

-Headlights (Bavgruppe) & LCI taillights
-Front and rear spoiler;
-Rear diffuser, custom fins & Side Skirt Extensions;
-Tint, Front Kidney and side Grilles, mirrors, Badges, number plate, valve stems, oil cap;

-Steering wheel, parking brake & Shifter Knob, LED Interior, boot for shifter;
-custom Floor mats, Pedals & Heel Plate

Currently considering front only BBK ... :

[NeverL8]

Originally Posted by eatsleepboost

I am oem+ at the moment...
-Borla atak
-25% tint
-ESS 625
-Painted front reflectors
-p3cars vent gauge


Plans...
-Interior trim to replace the wood
-x-pipe
-bbk
-wheels/tires


I will be getting a professional detail soon and some good pictures.


I suppose I am getting away from oem+ a little

How do you like Borla Attack?

[eatsleepboost]

Originally Posted by TheRussski

How do you like Borla Attack?

Love it. Sounds great, no drone, good fitment, and looks wayyy better than oem which is why I didn't want to do the oem mod.

[Dr. Dre]

My only mod will be stop Tech Trophy front and rear. Already purchased just haven't installed yet.

[Scharbag]

I said to myself: self, if you get an M3, you will leave it stock...

That did not last long... Bought an M3 that had:

Dinan underdrive pulley
Dinan CF intake
Dinan strut braces
Dinan axle back exhaust
Dinan throttle bodies (not sure what these accomplish)
Dinan tune

Over the winter, I have added:

Macht Schnell 12mm spacers
Macht Schnell 75mm stud conversion
Alpine stage II
Active Autowerks test pipes

These cars are very cool and there are so many directions that one can go. I prefer the "stock" look. Although, some of the cars on here look pretty sweet. Some of the wraps do intrigue me

My plans are to keep the car for a good long time. In the future, I may do a stroker rebuild. Not sure if I will go SC ever. They are reeeeeeaaaaly fun but I am sure I will go through enough tires while NA!!

Cheers,

[New2Roundel]

I tend to be on the conservative side when it comes to modifying cars. I hate anything in life that's overly showy, so the fairly understated look of the standard M3 is pretty perfect to me. Though I suppose I should really be driving a black C63, which is even more understated than our M3s. When I mod a car it's based on what I perceive as the car's greatest weaknesses in relation to how I drive it.

For the M3, my biggest issue is how quiet the car is--it's fast enough for me at the moment, and if I want to go substantially faster, I'd rather have a different car. But to the point of noise, I have a modified OEM muffler and Dinan intake. It's about perfect for a stock powered car and definitely louder than stock. Next up are the visuals. The front end is a bit too soft for me and I didn't like all the chrome on the car, especially with the black window trim. So I replaced most of the chrome (grille, exhaust tips, and side gills with black version). I am at a bit of a loss with the front end. Changing that up could unbalance the overall look of the car. So for now, I'm keeping it stock. Could change at any point however. I would like to powdercoat my oem ZCP wheels black or maybe gunmetal.

[DSilk]

Mods can be a mixed bag in terms of value for the buck. My car has catless aftermarket exhaust and tune, underdrive pulleys, Eibach springs, 20" alloys, and a CSL trunklid. I also have all black body trim (on a Space Grey exterior). I had an aftermarket front clip, but t sat so low that it scraped on every driveway ramp and speed bump, so I went back to stock. The plus is that I love the way my car looks, sounds, drives, and handles. The downside is that the mods will add nothing to (and may detract from) the resale value. The latter is not much of a concern, since I have no plans to sell or trade my car in the foreseeable future.