I'm looking do get some mods for my 323i this christmas. It's a 1999 e46 4door. I was trying to think of some things that will make driving it a little more fun for me, and I'm not terribly worried about making it go much faster than it already does. Right now I already have lowered sport suspension and low profile tires, which have made a huge difference in the way it handles. I'm looking for a budget of about 1000 dollars, what small mods would you make to have it be more fun to drive? I only drive it in the city and put 100-150 miles a week on it. Thanks.

An intake is good, makes it sound better, more of a roar and better throttle response. An exhaust might be a good option too if you want it to sound more sporty. You could look into a chip, but I don't think they yield much on our cars and not worth it for the $$.

yeah, that's sort of along the line that I was thinking. I only drive my car in the city relativly short distances, and have no intentions of really racing it or taking it to a track. I'm just trying to figure out from people who already have a modded 323i what types of mods that are relativly in exspensive would enhance the fun of driving that car under those conditions. I want to get a louder exhaust, primarily just so I can hear the engine better, the stock is so quite that I can barley hear it when I drive. At the same time, I don't want to attract to much attention from police etc.

i'd get exhaust, maybe intake, maybe xenons

Yeah, I was considering new headlights as well. The stockers in it now are sort of pitted and chipped, not to mention when I wash it or it rains, you can see condensation inside of the right headlight, which I'm assuming means that it's cracked somewhere anyways.

...whats the story with chip mods btw???

Cheers!!

Just a suggestion. Have you thought about performance driving schools? Especially the ones offer by BMWCCA? I had so much fun at the last one I attended and it made me appreciate what my car can do.

Just a suggestion. Have you thought about performance driving schools? Especially the ones offer by BMWCCA? I had so much fun at the last one I attended and it made me appreciate what my car can do.

wow, thats a great idea, how much was that?

har har, learning to drive the car fast for $150 or so is so much better then trying to make the car go fast with stupid mods.

I am in a similiar situation, I own a 2000 323Ci. Currently it is all stock. But for christmas I am putting an aFe air intake under the hood to get a little quicker throttle response as GKGreen mentioned. I also am looking forward to the noise change as well :-D. I am also changing tail lights and headlights within the next couple of months to give it a newer look. Let me know how you go with your mods. I am pretty young so I dont have a lot of money so i am also under the 1000 dollar barrier. Fill me in on your upgrades. THanks


Clutch

wow, thats a great idea, how much was that?

Locally we just put one on that cost our members $225. That's about as cheap as they go around here. Usually in the Midwest they run about $300. I understand that the coastal DE's cost closer to $500.

I too would agree with spending the cash on a DE before mods. :redspot It will make you appreciate your car more. Do some AutoX's too. :evil2

DE's are blast. Highly recommend.

sounds fun. hmmmmm

wow, thats a great idea, how much was that?
The one I attended: $35 for tech inspection. $75 for the school (including lunch). Oh, and the $40 BMWCCA membership (yearly). Trust me, it's well worth it!
har har, learning to drive the car fast for $150 or so is so much better then trying to make the car go fast with stupid mods.
:buttrock

Definitely look into a driving course, that is probably going to be your best bang/buck ratio. Learn the limits of your car before you worry about pushing them with mods. However, if you have caught the mod bug (which it sounds like you have) an intake/exhaust/shark injector package is probably what you should be looking at. Go with a conforti style intake (short ram), they are cheaper and the shark injector is specifically designed for them. I would also recommend looking at Borla’s exhaust system, although it isn’t as popular as the TSE3, it is cheaper and much quieter while at the same time being one of the very few full cat back exhaust solutions for E46.

Happy modding! :redspot

Wow, thanks for all of the great ideas guys. The track/driving school thing isn't really my cup of tea. Personally, since this is my daily driver, I don't want to ever take it onto a track. It's also quite exspensive out here. I don't have any issues pushing my car to it's limit as far as 0-60 is concerned, I'm not that fast off the line, since I like not thinking about how much my clutch is grinding if I launch it. I'll reiterate that I have no intentions of racing in this car, either street or track. On an aside, my dad showed me how to up and down shift by ear(without the clutch) and although I've gotten good at it, a louder exhuast and perhaps the the sound of a short ram intake would at least make that easier to do. I've pretty much decided on an AEM short ram, a short shifter, and custom cat back exhaust.