Please help me with my new m3

[m3f_msj484]

Hello All,



First of all i am new to this board. I just bought a 1997 M3, with 69k miles. It is bone stock, was driven by a older lady. I need help with what mods I can do to my car. It is fast, but i want it faster. I have owned nothing but mustangs, but I am now ready for fast yet luxurious. .



Please give me your expect comments and suggestions. Looking around at other posts, it seems like it is gonna cost me a bit more than it did to put mods on my stang.



I am looking for speed and more HP, yet i dont want the car a whole lot louder. I am happy with the sound it gives now. Also is there any major service I will need done to the car soon? Also when i turn the car on at first where it says inspection, on the dash, it is like orange/red. Does that mean I need to take it in soon? Thank you all for your time and help.



Murris

[m3f_M3fun43]

Well welcome to the post, I myself am a fairly new bmw M3 owner.

1st BMW's are set up with a clock so to speak that alerts you when

the set time for an oil change is needed, thus the lights. I am fortunate

to know someone that has a reset tool which you can get from bavauto.

This is not a ticking bomb and the lights can be ignored, but keep up with a

regular maintenance. If it bothers you go to BMW and pay, they will reset it.

M3 I believe are on a 30,000 mile Dealer maintenace check your manual.

2nd little old ladies don't buy M3's. not to worry M3's were made to beat the crap out of and they like it. Show me another car (automatic) that holds it's shifts to 6500 rpms and that is a factory setting.

Performance....I've done extensive research here and basically to up the horsepower everything costs at least 700.00 .....lol

Like my friend said ...every Bmw owner is trying to make their car to be like

an M3 and you really don't need to do anything and horsepower is very hard to gain in these cars.

Mods...

cold air intake makes your car sound better and increases some rpm range and torque

exhaust....very few Hp here, maybe 5 hp gain with a UUC the resty are around 1 hp gain, some more torque.

Comp. upgrade (shark injector) really just adjusts your comp. to except

air intake and exhaust and increases shift and top RPM's , and in some cases

lifts the topspeed limiter (US cars) from the 138 mph restriction.

Oil if you read the BMW press releases, their F1 team is sponsered by Castrol

thus "Catrol is the recommended oil" the viscosity 5W-30 was changed due to the poor workmenship at BMW and the M3 bottom ends were exploding in I believe 2001, thus the change to 5W-60 once again Castrol. So the enormus jump in oil viscosity truely opens the door, I personally use Castrol 5W-50 because of it's availability and has a recommendation on the bottle for BMW use from Castrol so you make the call.

I think after you make the car load and have more torque I think underdrive pullies and fan delete kit are your best bet for some increase without spending too much.

If you really want more horsepower and have an extra 10G. get a euro motor and a supercharger....

Basically get in the car get it too 60 mph and downshift and punch it and enjoy the whiplash, don't try to beat ricers but enjoy the smiles from the girls and the older gentlemen driving the 745IL's .

Lar

[m3f_Sirius_880bd69485]

How does a fan delete kit work? Doesn't your engine need that fan? Or do you get an electirc one to compensate for the loss of the belt driven one?

[m3f_M3fun43]

the delete kit changes the thermastat setting and relys on the electric fan

I think underdrive has the kit, don't just remove the fan you will overheat,

i don't think this has been mentioned before but when your BMW is under a 1/4 tank of gas that little switch under your gas peddle tkaes over.

You will feel some lack of power in cornering and full excelleration, this is

all BMW settings to keep you from running out of gas I have been told.

Lar

[m3f_Leif E. Bronn]

If you want more HP, it usually comes at the cost of increase noise but not all the time. Chips and pulleys won't ad to the sound of the car. If you can handle some increases in the sound an intake or exhaust will give some good power. Hope this helps!



Let me know if there is anything I can help you with!

[m3f_msj484]

Wow! First of all, I just want to say that you all for the warm welcome. I didnt expect so much, but i really appreciate it all. I will take all the advise given. 1 More question. The AC on my car, it is weird. It will like shut off sometimes and not work, is that a problem with it, or is that some kinda technology that BMW put in the car for some reason, please help. Also i would like to put in a custom speaker job in my trunk, I wanted to do it myself and i am wondering where the remote cable for my amp that i bought goes 2. is there a place in the back of my stock radio? thankx all

[m3f_Sirius_880bd69485]

Its normal for the ac compressor to turn on/off at normal intervials. The compressor also turns off when you floor you car to give you maximum power.



As for the audio, go aftermarket. There are 100% better audio equipment than bmws stock head unit. BMWs stock headunit doesn't have sub outputs.

[m3f_KUpolo]

Exhaust gives very little power on this car compared to others.



As far as M3fun's mention of a euro motor swap, I think that money would be much better spent on forced induction.



AA makes a supercharger kit for $5K that will put you at 355+hp. http://www.activeautowerke.com/supercharged/E36-M3supercharger.cfm

[m3f_Max M3]

Well welcome to the post, I myself am a fairly new bmw M3 owner....





Good thing you put in that disclaimer!

[m3f_Edgy_592e912c16]

Damn KUpolo you're so smart. :bow: :thumbsup:



Most mods mentioned are nice but only provide very incremental HP increase. If you're a former Mustang owner and are jonzing for more straight ahead boost, save up for the supercharger.



The climate control in E36 M3's are notoriously fragile -- everything just stops blowing. Happened to me in my first M3, then mysteriously came back on normally. Good thing, b/c it was going to be expensive. There is a thread here somewhere on it.



Small point -- maintenance lights are far from gospel, often indicate service needed well before it actually is.



Do a search under "oil change" to see threads on this very subjective topic. For myself, I run synthetic and change every 6K miles. Right now I've only gone 2K and have only one green light showing...

[m3f_SG_M3_d1201712b5]

Best bang for the buck power mods are probably an intake and a crank pulley. All exhaust, not just UUC :roll:, will give about 5 rwhp, buy one for sound.



www.ecisbmw.com

www.dinanbmw.com

www.sharked.com

They all sell great intakes.



www.europeanracing.com

www.unorthodoxracing.com

Both sell crank underdrive pulleys.



Don't bother with computer upgrades, just yet.

[m3f_Sirius_880bd69485]

Hmm, I was told the S52 engine was designed for mineral oil.. which is what I run... now I am confused...

[m3f_SG_M3_d1201712b5]

i've always run synthetic in my car.

[m3f_Edgy_592e912c16]

Can go with either, here's a thread on it:



http://www.m3forum.net/m3forum/showthread.php?t=21816&highlight=Synthetic+Oil



I think most on the board are synthetic... ???

[m3f_M3Paul]

Interesting responses. Very informative. I'm new also. My 99 came with a factory warranty until 11/05. So I'm worried about changing things that would affect the warranty. Dinon exhaust is really expensive and from what I'm gathering it may not give me the.....bang for the buck. I figured, I'd just go with the Dinon CAI and the stage two download (recommended with the CAI). Although I know it dosen't give you more HP, has anyone heard anything about the Tranny Chip that Dinon offers?