Anyone else a purist with there e9x?

[Siajoon]

I'm wandering if it's just me or not, but whenever any of my buddies ask me if I'm going to "mod" my car I always take a quick look at my car and ask them.. what could I possibly do to make it more stunning than it already is?

Maybe it's come with age, a younger me would probably mod the living heck out of this car, but the older me likes the pure look of my comp e90 M.. I've even considered going as far as taking off my tint because without it I think it just looks much much cleaner, only reason I've held back is because I want protection for my leather... Anyone else in the same boat? Or is it just to hard to resist modifying our platform for all of you fellow enthusiasts?

[ItsGary]

The only mods I can see worth doing are the aftermarket accessories that BMW M Perf offers themselves. IE; Carbon Mirror Caps, Carbon Fangs, Carbon Lip Spoiler, M Perf Exhaust etc

[Siajoon]

Originally Posted by ItsGary

The only mods I can see worth doing are the aftermarket accessories that BMW M Perf offers themselves. IE; Carbon Mirror Caps, Carbon Fangs, Carbon Lip Spoiler, M Perf Exhaust etc

I personally think carbon fiber atleast inexcess starts to make our cars look cheap

[ItsGary]

Originally Posted by Siajoon

I personally think carbon fiber atleast inexcess starts to make our cars look cheap

Good thing all those items are very small on the car

[Siajoon]

Originally Posted by ItsGary

Good thing all those items are very small on the car

Yes, but one has to actually enjoy the looks of carbon fiber to begin with. But I get where you're coming from!

[ItsGary]

Originally Posted by Siajoon

Yes, but one has to actually enjoy the looks of carbon fiber to begin with. But I get where you're coming from!

That's true, it also doesn't help that all these items from what I recall reading don't even have the same carbon pattern as the E92 carbon roofs

[amrazM]

Purist may be a bit extreme i have holes in my trunk.

[pbonsalb]

Definitely not a purist. BMW made the car a compromise for the average person who would buy an M3. I think it was a pretty good car for 2007-2008 when it came out, but it needed some power and handling mods to make me happier with it.

[IB M]

Mods done purely for looks can actually detract from the car to your point, however many mods are to realize performance gains. In that case mods can enhance the look, ie high quality suspension, wheels or exhaust and induction upgrades that add HP and improve sound also can enhance visually because they are functional.

[wfdeacon88]

On an E9x, CF splitters are a tasteful addition to the front end and do look OEM IMO. Other changes compliment the purist look and don't go over the top, such as M perf steering wheel, and a nice exhaust that can always be swapped back.

[KevinGS]

I mod less and less as I get older, but I love my exhaust and DCT tune (it reacts better, and in some cases the gear changes are smoother), and like all my cars, I had to lower it a tad, for aesthetics. Plus spacers.

I imagine the next few cars I buy I will mod even less, but I'll always do something, especially when it comes to tunes and such. It depends on the car.

Having said that, I can totally see enjoying an E9X car fully without a single modification. No mods needed, only due to individual tastes...

[LuckiSevens]

I'm a purist for sure. any money spent will go into maintaining the car as a stock example... The car was perfect out of the factory imo

[Siajoon]

Originally Posted by IB M

Mods done purely for looks can actually detract from the car to your point, however many mods are to realize performance gains. In that case mods can enhance the look, ie high quality suspension, wheels or exhaust and induction upgrades that add HP and improve sound also can enhance visually because they are functional.

To your point I agree very much. Things like suspension specifically does not alter the pure look of course. I will be getting a pair of high quality coil overs later on when my stock suspension is ready to be replaced.. no need to get stock suspension again

[jazzy1999]

IMO subtle mods agree with me, Blacked grills, CF OEM splitters and had to change the broomstick gear shifter to the F10

[Frozen]

GTS tune for DCT and stage 1 Tune for the proper octane of gas are must have mods.

Other than that, it's only M-performance mods for me. Including exhaust.

[6ixSpd]

Purist? Nope.
Life's too short to be boring, and the stock M3 does leave some room for worthy improvements (test pipes/tune/exhaust, minor aesthetics).

Minimalist - sure.

I enjoyed the "OEM+" style (M-Perf splitters, mirrors, paint matched trunk lip, smaller Vorsteiner diffuser) with the M3 for three years. Now I grew bored of it and wanted some more personalization and got new wheels and taking off the splitters - possibly replacing them with a lip or leave it as-is.

I agree that M cars don't need much out of the box to look/perform even better. However they definitely leave some things to be desired when stock. But there is definitely such a thing as too much with mods as well.

[Siajoon]

Originally Posted by 6ixSpd

Purist? Nope.
Life's too short to be boring, and the stock M3 does leave some room for worthy improvements (test pipes/tune/exhaust, minor aesthetics).

Minimalist - sure.

I enjoyed the "OEM+" style (M-Perf splitters, mirrors, paint matched trunk lip, smaller Vorsteiner diffuser) with the M3 for three years. Now I grew bored of it and wanted some more personalization and got new wheels and taking off the splitters - possibly replacing them with a lip or leave it as-is.

I agree that M cars don't need much out of the box to look/perform even better. However they definitely leave some things to be desired when stock. But there is definitely such a thing as too much with mods as well.

You mentioned you grew "bored" of it and decided to change it up. I personally believe that might have a lot to do with this whole idea... I think we are all purists at heart but by human nature once we have something in our possession we grow to believe it looks quite normal, when in reality to someone who doesn't have it or has a strong desire for it thinks it looks like an absolute beauty in its stock form.

[BayE30]

while im probably older than average e9x m3 owner at this point, i still would never call myself a purist. I enjoy customizing my cars to my own taste way to much.

Although when i initially purchased my current e90 m3 ZCP, i was very tempted to keep it 100% stock....that lasted about 24hrs.

[6ixSpd]

You're definitely correct to an extent, it is human nature indeed.

I made the OEM+ changes within the first 2 months of driving the car. I loved it out of the box for approximately 2-3 weeks, lol. After that I had to dial it in to my tastes and tilt the M3's luxury/sport balance more towards the sport side of things.

Test pipes, tune, and lowering were my immediate performance mods to uncork the M3 out of it's docile stock nature. Splitters, mirrors, painted trunk lip, diffuser were the visual changes to set it apart a bit more than every other white E92 on the road.

[neilum]

I agree in a sense, but I can't help but notice a few deficiencies cosmetically, or mechanically.

If I had a 991 GT3/GT2 or a Mcclaren MP4 sure I agree 100%. But this car isn't good enough out of the box to resist the urge to modify a few little things.

[bkfastwagon]

Originally Posted by Siajoon

I'm wandering if it's just me or not, but whenever any of my buddies ask me if I'm going to "mod" my car I always take a quick look at my car and ask them.. what could I possibly do to make it more stunning than it already is?

Maybe it's come with age, a younger me would probably mod the living heck out of this car, but the older me likes the pure look of my comp e90 M.. I've even considered going as far as taking off my tint because without it I think it just looks much much cleaner, only reason I've held back is because I want protection for my leather... Anyone else in the same boat? Or is it just to hard to resist modifying our platform for all of you fellow enthusiasts?

I recently updated the software at a shop which wiped out my "tunes" -both engine and dct. I still have the corsa exhaust on but that is the only modification on the car.

I actually feel that the car drives great without the tune. I think I will leave it this way for now. The tech at the shop who has a lot of experience with bmw's and owns several himself said that when you change one thing on the car it always affects other parts.

[Transfer]

Originally Posted by Frozen

GTS tune for DCT and stage 1 Tune for the proper octane of gas are must have mods.

Other than that, it's only M-performance mods for me. Including exhaust.

I agree although would add the need to start with ZCP car if staying OEM-ish. Also Euro MDM is a must as well as PS4S tires. I have all that, carbon MP spoiler, and M-Performance exhaust and there isn't anything else I'm interested in. The other carbon bits are great but pricey for what they are.