New to forum. Own 2003 330i zhp. 64k miles. Stock(except muffler from dealership). I want to add torque. Need advice.1/4 mile at 14.1. Want to get mid/(preferably low) 13's w/out charging or NOS.
Clueless. I want headers (but what kind?) filter/intake(K&N isnt as good as people think but Dinan?) Chip (Pros/Cons???)Is Bilstein worth it?? Or should I just go to ActiveAutoWerkes? Bottom line is that I wanna tune my car as best as possible without charging it or slappin' on NOS.
Well, since you're mentioning quarter-mile times, I can only assume that you drag the car. In that case, getting some better tires with lots of grip would be a good idea, especially on the rears. Wider tires offer more grip, so the compound and the width are important in that department. Chipping your car does add some power, but not a whole lot. Some cars benefit 5hp/tq from a chip and others benefit 20, so I would suggest you research which performance chip to add to your vehicle. I don't know how simple this would be in a 330i. Be prepared to sacrifice some fuel economy with this mod. I like "290064"'s idea of a lower ratio differential. Would definitely help your acceleration times a bit. I honestly don't know if headers would improve performance (I'm not that knowledgeable ) but if you are interested in spending some $$$ so that it won't rust, I've seen a nice stainless steel system on a car and it has been used for 10 years. No bit of rust whatsoever. Gorgeous too.
Lower diff ratio.. Whats the process to achieving lower gear ratio??? Was told chips are the fastest and cheapest way to gain torque. Im not too concern about fuel economy and I dont drag nuch at all. Just like driving fast and safely (grinning). And those WRX STI keeps picking on me. Just want revenge. And 1 more thing I have 225/40 ZR 18 (front) and 255/35 ZR 18. What is a good ( and safe) fit for my rims. I think the fronts are 8 by 18 and backs are 8.5 by 18 if not mistaken.
Sorry mate, that problem's not gonna go away without doing some turbo/supercharging. Those things are wicked fast. I drove a WRX non-STI and it felt quicker to accelerate than my brother's ex-540i 6-speed. I don't know if it really was quicker in reality, but it was a crazy fast car. Imagine the STI now. Anyway, you're pretty limited in what you can do without some serious tuning. It's true; a chip is the cheapest way to get power, but there's only so much it does for you. I don't know what kind of fuel you run in your car (don't E46's require 91+ octane?), but once you chip it, you'll be required to use 91+ octane. The ratio difference can be obtained by swapping the diff. If you have the ZHP package, which judging by your name I think you do, then you already have a 3.07:1 final drive as opposed to the 2.91:1 on the stock models. I don't know if there are others available for your car, but yours is set up for faster acceleration from the factory. If you want to swap this part, I recommend a limited-slip differential if you can get one.
Shark Injector? I do have a 3.07:1 ratio.I'm a tad quicker than the 2008 hatchback wrx. I want to save the super/turbo last (about 1 1/2yrs from now). But my goals is to tune it as much as possble NA...then time it. Then slap on supercharger for grand finale. I was told about shark injector (clueless). Heard it was cheap. My only delimna is that I want to do the work myself (labor too much $$$) however afraid to touch my car. Just started to go to a mechanical school. Anyone in the Orlando area??? (looking for good mechanic-maybe even to teach).
Some other things come to mind; cold air intake, the injectors you mention, free-flow exhaust; these are some things that can be done. I don't know what else can be done because I'm a mechanical dummy as well.
Cold Intake or Forced Induction Whats better cold or forced induction?? I am looking into the Dinan parts. Staying away from K & N.
Never heard of cold induction... but forced induction is what you want to avoid till the last minute. I'm speaking for limited technical knowledge, but it is my understanding that cold air coming into the intake yields better performance as opposed a stock setup. I think what they do with a cold air intake is get some kind of performance air filter and block it off from the rest of the engine compartment so that the hot air doesn't get to it. Then they route cold air to it via a duct from the front of the car so that the cool air rushing at the car when in motion provides cooler air for the intake compared to the hotter air that a regular air filter would suck in from the hot engine compartment. The cold air intake is sectioned off from the rest of the engine so that the hot air is kept away and the cold air can come in through the front of the car. I don't know how much extra performance can be had from this and I don't know if what I said is completely true. Can somebody please verify this? Here's a picture of one in an E46: http://www.turnermotorsport.com/image/Intake_Exhaust/intake_cai_e46_330_LG.jpg
There are no cost effective ways to add hp to your car. You are better off with forced induction than spending $300 here and $500 there on little things that don't add anything. The diff idea is probably the best, make sure to get a LSD, but its gonna cost $1k's. The best bang for your buck is to trade it in on another car. You can probably get a similar M3 for cost of forced induction.
I know there is a shop in Maitland just north of Orlando. www.europaorlando.com. They even install customer supplied parts . BTW, I am relocating to the Orlando area sometime next year. What area's do you recommend?
The outskirts of orlando. I wouldnt recommend to live IN Orlando. Maitland, and altamonte Springs are good. Winter Park is pretty good too (yet cost of living is high). I love M3's but since the new 414hp/295 torque is out, not interested in the old ones. love my car now but wanna tune it as much as possible.I'm gonna start w/ chip, shark injection, bilstein suspension, CSL 19" wheels. Debating on what kind of intake and headers...Any suggestion?
