Performance Modifications:

I'll have to hand it to BMW, they make a very solid and capable car straight from the factory. While this car was definately "born" cool, like most things, there was opportunity for improvement (or better suit my tastes).

When BMW or any other car manufacturer designs a vehicle, they have to make compromises. Most importantly the car needs to appeal to a wide audience in order to sell in large numbers. While there are a few performance nuts who don't mind a stiff ride or a little cabin noise, the majority of potential customers desire that higher level of refinement... leading to a car that might be a little soft for your hardcore car nut. My tastes side with the latter.

After a few years of ownership, I discovered dtmpower.net, a popular BMW community forum. This place was great... literally thousands of fellow BMW enthusiasts, and they were into all sorts of cool things! I read through pages upon pages of popular M3 mods, track events, car shows, exterior styling, routine maintenance, and almost anything else BMW related. I later heard about bimmerforms.com (where I now spend most of my car forum time), another BMW forum that was just as active (if not more) and was even more oriented towards performance mods and had an active track section for the track rats. I was in information overload! It was great.

After reading of all these cool things to do with your BMW, I was ready to mod!

Anytime I meet somebody new who compliments my car, the first thing they ask it "What have you done to the motor?". That always seems to be what everybody wants to hear first, but I view it as the icing on the cake. I took the route of building the car up first, learning how to properly drive it, and then add more power. With 240HP stock, it's really more car than most drivers can get the most out of.

Like most things, your foundation is very important. Before I started going faster, I wanted to make sure the rest of the car (and the driver) was ready. This means making sure the suspension, brakes, drivetrain, and cooling system were up to the task.

My Modding philosophy:

My main goals in modifying this car:

- Improve performance over factory
- Replace known weak-points with strengthened or improved parts
- Increase longevity or endurance of extreme conditions
- To not completely alter the nature or characteristic of the car
- keep undesirable side effects to a minimum

While modifying this car, I wanted to remain true to the style, frequently asking myself "How would BMW make an e36 M3 special edition if they still made them today?". More like a modern day M3 CSL or Porsche GT3... it has to be something track capable and with a bit of an edge to it, but without completely altering the nature of the car.

Everything needed to be track proven or capable as that is my favorite activity to do with my car.

Suspension:

It was February of 2003 and my car had 87k miles. It was definately overdue for a suspension refresh.

At first I was considering a Dinan stage II suspension, but the price premium was very high, and while the product was an improvement over stock, it wasn't as "track ready" as other options. After much research, I settled on a set of Ground-Control coil-overs. I went with their Track/School kit, which included front struts (in custom strut housings), rear shocks, rear height adjusters, rear shock mounts (RSM's), new bumpstops, RTAB (rear trailing arm bushing) shims, and 6" springs. Front spring rate = 450, rear = 525.

Ground-Control coil-overs. (factory photo)

I also ordered up a few other goodies to improve the car's handling. I ordered an Active Autowerks (AA) front strut tower brace and a BMW Motorsport factory X-brace, which is a chassis reinforcement that mounts under the engine bay.

I installed these parts with the help of my brother-in-law. I'm no mechanic but do consider myself mechanically inclined. My local BMW dealership would get shy at any mention of installing aftermarket parts and I didn't really trust anybody else with the task as any place I asked seemed apprehensive. This was the first time I ever really "worked" on my car. It was fun and challenging at the same time. Really helps you learn a lot and get a feel for how things work.

First impressions with the coil-overs? They absolutely rock!!! First thing I noticed was the quicker steering response. It was just turn and go! Cornering was MUCH flatter (less body roll) than stock... almost felt like it defied gravity. Looking back, no other mod has made me as giddy.

Picture of the car with its lower stance. Looks faster standing still!

Strut tower brace and X-brace also made noticeable performance improvements. Really helped stiffen up the front and helped give it more "bite" in the corners.

Of course, I couldn't just stop there. Over the next two years I also made the following suspension improvements:

- Ground-Control camber plates so I can run more than -1.7* degrees of front camber
- UUC SwayBarbarians. Stiffer front and rear sway bars and new polyurethane bushings.
- BMW Motorsport front strut tower brace. I had to sell the AA brace as it would not clear my camber plates. Another benefit to the factory part is that it is not hinged, providing even better support.
- Ground-Control Rear Trailing Arm Bearing. The RTAB's are a known weakness in the e36 chassis.
- Ground-Control Front Lower Control Arm (LCA) Bushing. The stock parts were shot.

Suspension getting a good work-out at Road Atlanta! No better way to enjoy the suspension improvements than a good ol' track event!

BMW ///Motorsport front strut tower brace.

UUC sway bars (stock photo)

The car is also cornerweighted and has a track (road course) alignment. Very aggressive for the street (-3.3* front camber) and not exactly nice for tire wear. I will probably have it toned down a notch this spring so I can get more life out of my tires.

Between all of these upgrades, the cornering is absolutely amazing!

Table of Contents:

Page 1: Quick pics, Intro, and car selection
Page 2: The New Whip
Page 3: Mods and Suspension
Page 4: Brakes, Wheels and Tires
Page 5: Drivetrain and Engine Mods
Page 6: Exterior Mods and Lighting
Page 7: Track Events and Drag Racing
Page 8: Mod and Spec Summary, Future Plans
Page 9: Other Cars and Friends
Page 10: Car Stereo Upgrades