Could someone please point me in the direction of a good performace upgrade to my '91 525i for under $1000? I have been looking at a Dinan Engine and Transmission chip on ebay.

Anything against that? Anything additional between $500-$1000?

hmm definately a chip as far as bang for your buck..oh, and dinan is a waste of money..I'm also not one to buy chips off ebay (but there are plenty of people who do)

http://bmwe34.net/e34main/upgrade/Recipe.htm

Is your car still stock?

If so, IMO I'd start with the suspension.

Is your car still stock?

If so, IMO I'd start with the suspension.

I agree, if you want to spend about 1000, do a chip + suspension

then some nice 17" m-pars

then an m5 engine

then a twin screw sc

then a dual reactor warp drive with an integrated multi-spectrum ionizer.

Flux Capacitor :dunno

then a dual reactor warp drive with an integrated multi-spectrum ionizer.

Took the words right off my keyboard....

I agree, if you want to spend about 1000, do a chip + suspension

then some nice 17" m-pars

m pars come in 17"? would love to get a hold of one (preferably replicas) as i dont want 18"

m pars come in 17"? would love to get a hold of one (preferably replicas) as i dont want 18"


cheap replicas. they'll bend to shit on the first pothole you hit. go with the 18" OEMs and save yourself the trouble.

You can spend $1000 pretty quickly on these cars if you pick up good springs, shocks, and replace some of your worn-out bushings. And that money spent on suspension will make a MUCH bigger difference in overall performance than the 5-10 HP you get from a chip.

The unfortunate truth is that $1000 isn't enough to make a big difference in how much power the car has, but it can make a big difference in how the car drives.

You can spend $1000 pretty quickly on these cars if you pick up good springs, shocks, and replace some of your worn-out bushings. And that money spent on suspension will make a MUCH bigger difference in overall performance than the 5-10 HP you get from a chip.

The unfortunate truth is that $1000 isn't enough to make a big difference in how much power the car has, but it can make a big difference in how the car drives.



Amen. No point of "performance" mods, when your car handles like poo.

tires.

yeah. then chip before suspension..

Get the EAT chip and the Sachs kit... should be less then a grand.

Suspension + chip. Don't even think about wheels without suspension.

Rear Differential+Flywheel

or

Piston upgrade

or

Strut Tower Bar

Diff and chip if you want more power, but your best bet would be just to chip it and suspension mods.

Best car mod under a grand....
Modification of the nut behind the wheel.
Especially at the novice level, you'll find that taking some performance driver education will greatly enhance the performance of the car....and any other car you drive.
The real drivers here will tell you that we all came to the track thinking that by doing this mod and that mod we'd be able to just push the right pedal down faster and out perform anyone with a lesser car. Soon our wet dreams were ruined by the old guy with the old ratty BMW (completely stock), at the autocross or on the track, that has 15+ years experience, and beats your time or whips around you like you're standing still. At my first autocross, about 10 years ago, I had the absolute worst time. It was embarrasing. There is NO substitute for experience.
Fast forward 10 years later. I was at an autocross event...during the first half of the day, a former instructor of mine set FTD (fastes time of day) in a stock 335 BMW (approximately a 24.5). On my first run, I was able to pull a 24 in my car. Everyone thought it was the mods (and my red gloves). After I LEARNED the course, I hopped into the same stock 335 that everyone was beating on. My car has a LOT of torque, and I'm stil LEARNING how to drive it. When I got into the 335 (with traction control) I was able to bring my time down to a 22 clean because it was more predicatble at that time.

There's a theory (that's pretty well proven)....modify the engine, and you reduce reliability. Modify the suspension, and you reduce predictability.
But I've never heard anyone complain about modifying the nut behind the wheel.