Please help - What should i change about my M3?

[m3ben05]

Hi Guys, im drawing up a list of stuff i want to do to my M3 while its off the road and id really like everyones opinions.

These are the cosmetic things im thinking of doing in the 8 months until its back on the road -

17" BBS RS's with a 3" dish
H&R coilovers
Smoked rear lights
Smoked hella's
black grill
Sport evo front splitter
Sport evo gurney flap
Sport evo steering wheel
Modified group A exhaust
Paint the side skirts
Paint the carbon mirrors
Badge put back on the boot

Im just after opinions on these thing really, are there any of these mods that will look shit and is there anything else you can think that will look good?

Mechanical mods will also be done but these are already decided on

For anyone who hasnt seen the car, this is how it looks now.













Tell me honestly, what would YOU change about the car.


Cheers in advance guys

[maxfield]

I think you got it right with everything you said altho not sure about the lights with the colour (rear)?

[E30BeemerLad]

leave it as it is, looks absolutely spot on

[oguz327]

Only thing id change in all that would be rear lights.
instead of smokies, red rears would looks sweet me thinks

[m3ben05]

Thanks, im not sure about the rear lights either. Im really into the euro M3 look at the mo, which means it has to be uber slammed and quite dark.

Other things im not sure about are the front splitter under the evo 2 chin and painting the mirrors.

[oguz327]

Mirrors look good as they are i reckon ben

[fuzzy]

subtlety is best for a car like that and i think id change the same things as your list tbh.why is it of the road/whats your mechanical plans?even though some would say ive ripped the heart out of mine mechanically ive only made minor cosmetic changes to the exterior as the e30 is a classic look and shouldnt be messed with to much

[m3ben05]

Cheers for the comments guys, keep em coming!

My main problem with modifying a car is knowing when to stop, id hate for my car to look shit because id done too much!

Oguz - id not even considered all red rears, thats definately another option.

[m3ben05]

Nothing stupid, the engine and box are both coming out to be rebuilt using proper OEM parts. Only exception at the moment will be a set of 284 cams

[maxfield]

You will never stop modding look at my dad for an example

[d6dph]

Pretty much perfect imo. Its easy to keep doing little bits and slowly ruin what is a stunning car.

[m3ben05]

So you know where im coming from, this is one of the cars im taking inspiration from at the moment, i love the ride height, front end and rear end -

http://www.s14.net/forums/showthread.ph ... adid=14961

and

http://web.mac.com/flipy/iWeb/power/Oll ... 20evo.html


Your Dad's gone more OTT than i want to go, like fuzzy said, subtle is the way to go (IMO)

[Pal318is]

I think all of the things that you have listed are spot on, they will only enhance a car that already looks good IMHO...

Just hurry up and do it, so we can all have a look

Pal

[maxfield]

So no c/f box and alpha n whens that happening?

[Simon]

I'd do it all, it's all bolt on, so all easily reversible!

The only thing I wouldn't bother with is the Sport evo steering wheel, look great for the first 5 minutes, but look awful after little use, most cars you see at shows with the sp evo wheel have a new spare so they can fit when they get to the show.

[m3ben05]

I think all of the things that you have listed are spot on, they will only enhance a car that already looks good IMHO...

Just hurry up and do it, so we can all have a look

Thanks. Some of these things will happen soon but some of these parts can be very hard to source!

A mate has a set of RS's reserved for me incase i want them soon but there would be no point in putting them on until the car is back on the road so i might give them a miss and get a set nearer the time.

The exhaust is an absolute bitch to find and a bitch to modify by all accounts!

All others should be fairly easy and will happen soon....

So no c/f box and alpha n whens that happening?

When i have the money!

[maxfield]

Fair enough i thought they was first on your wishlist but i was rong.

[m3ben05]

Thanks Simon, your car is another iv taken ideas from, everything you've done to it looks spot on!

Whats your opinion on painting the skirts gloss to match the rest of the car? They are original matt finish at the moment.

Anyone think of anything else that might look good??

[bigkev]

smoked rears dont do it for me otherwise go for it

[m3ben05]

Fair enough i thought they was first on your wishlist but i was rong

In an ideal world i would do it tomorrow mate but its not just the Ԛ£1500 odd that the gear costs, its the labour charge to fit it all and get it mapped right. Firstly i cant afford it and if i could it cant really be done when the cars off the road!

smoked rears dont do it for me otherwise go for it

Im hearing that a lot and im not sure how good it would look. I might do a photoshop then decide.

[gareth]

Oguz - id not even considered all red rears, thats definately another option.

i'm not too keen on the totally all red rears but the indicator section does look nasty.

a cheap and easy thing to try is to mask up just the indicator section and try tinting that red a bit at a time. mine are still definately orange but nowhere near as pronounced as before. it loses the 'nastiness' but retains the factory look. the best bit is that you can try it with some red tint for about a tenner to see how it looks!

[Templ8e30]

IMHO you should go for broke and do the lot, she looks lovely as-is but would look really sweet with those mods

Cheers,

Iain T

[m3ben05]

Crap photoshop but it gives you the idea. Lowered more like it would be with the H&R coils

[m3ben05]

IMHO you should go for broke and do the lot, she looks lovely as-is but would look really sweet with those mods

Well to give you an idea, the list of mods above would cost around the 4k mark and i wouldnt sell anything i took off the car to reduce the costs.

Add to that Ԛ£1500 for the arbon box and alpha N management system plus another Ԛ£500 minimum for fitting and mapping.

Next, remember that im already getting the engine and gearbox rebuilt. I dont have to pay for labour on that but it will cost at least Ԛ£1500 in parts alone!

This will all be done but unless someone can lend me some money, some of the more expensive parts will have to wait until next spring.

So, all in, this comes to a tidy sum of around Ԛ£8000!!!!!!!

[Simon]

Crap photoshop

Agreed!!

They don't look anything like your photoshop that's the problem!

Markus can get some MHW smokes for your car for a tidy price.
They never made red tinted for pre-facelift, so if you wanted red, they would be DIY.
Try the smoked, and if you don't like, sell them on, there's always someone looking for them, and MHW don't make them anymore so shouldn't have a problem selling.

As for the sideskirts, then if they are looking shabby, then yes, get them painted, I know it's not original, but it looks better when it matches the rest of the paint!

Edit..cheers for the comments on my car btw, when I first bought my car, I had the vision of exactly how I wanted it, and it's how I wanted it too, still things I'd would have liked to have done though!

[m3ben05]

Yea, i know about the rears Si, i think its impossible to photoshop them over standard rear lights without having a picture of them at the right angle!

Markus definately has the rears, im also trying to persuade him to sell me the smoked hellas from his amazing red M3 but thats proving difficult

[FBF]

i voted to 'put it back cos it looks shit' purely cos im well jealous of you and your car.. call it bitterness.

[m3ben05]

fair enough mate. Do you get to any of the meets? Always happy to give peaople rides etc.

Who was the other person who thinks its shit? Come on, own up and tell me why

[hammoj28]

17" BBS RS's with a 3" dish - Yes but im likin schnitzers at the mo.
H&R coilovers - Yes
Smoked rear lights - possibly(bit different)
Smoked hella's - yes
black grill - yes
Sport evo front splitter - definately
Sport evo gurney flap - definately(i assume thats the rear spoiler thing)
Sport evo steering wheel - yes
Modified group A exhaust - yes
Paint the side skirts - do they need it?
Paint the carbon mirrors - nah, i like em as they are
Badge put back on the boot - i like it debadged.

But tbh honest ur car looks spot on as it is.

[Falkster]

If you get the BBS ill have your current wheels.....liking those alot!!

Is there a real need for the extra cost for the coil overs?? I thought the same when I was changing my suspension and opted for the Bilsteins and H+R spring combo.....works very well and was half the price. How often are you going to change the height of the platform etc?

Smoked lights?? I, again, thought the same but its down to personal taste. Quite a few people dont like it and it also depends on the colour of your car!!

[m3ben05]

Thanks for the offer but i would still want to keep them for for winter so i can put semi slicks on the BBS's

Not sure about the coilovers, its got koni's on there now but i want the car a bit lower!

[maxfield]

H&R coilover and is very still been told about welds breaking ETC with it. Maybe KW varients.

[Dan318-is]

is there really any need for hnR coilovers on a road car. i no you may use the car for mild track use but are you serioulsy serioulsy going to tweek witht he stiffness/ride height before and after you go round the track? the problem is they are almost too stiff. Get some bilsteins on there ben with some good springs/roll bars and invest the money in brakes of the engine i say!

my 2 pence

[Jhonno]

all except leave mirrors carbon

[pacerpete]

So much wrongness ! . Ben the main problem with your car is you need to swap me your interior and i can then give you my two tone grey and purple leather trim out of my mint ,otherwise stock evo 2, my interior would definately be more in keeping with all of your' tasteful ' mods