Virgin M3/4 Mods?

[m3f_DTampa]

Hello all, I've just joined the M3 club by purchasing a 98 M3/4 with black/black coloring and 73K miles. :rockband: Car runs great and I'm having all the little maitenance items done to get it perfect prior to modding the hell out of it. :whistle:



Ok here's a few questions for the experts:



1. Waterpump replacement: I've read that the plastic impeller went away after 97 and therefore I should be safe with the stock pump. True or false? I have no problem replacing it if needed.



2. Exhaust: If I don't go with Dinan, would like to get something with a deep and throaty sound while avoiding buzz/drone sound of R!cers and not trying to be too loud. I'm assuming all products have essentially same effect (or lack thereof) on performance. So far, Stromung and Tubi seem like good candidates. Any experience or thoughts about these or other options?



3. Dinan stage 5 power mods or mixture of other tuner's offerings (for CAI, HFM, TB, Intake manifold?, software, others?)?



4. Splitsec fuel meter/airflow/adjustment system. Seems to be good alternative to a OBDII flash or perhaps this could be used in conjunction with a perfomance upgrade flash. Do chips/flashes have benefits other than fuel mixture that invalidate the Splitsec approach? Any thoughts?



5. Suspension: bilstein vs. koni? coilover? This will be a street car but there may come a time when I stray onto a track but not often if ever.



6. Intake manifold: Stock, M50 or Schrick?



Sorry for the long list of questions that maybe should be in separate threads. Thanks for any input. :thumbsup:

[m3f_AMPowerJ_e8f979e5cd]

Welcome to the M3 club. You have come to the right place to get your questions answered. I would suggest that you start by searching the forum for each question you asked and check out the FAQ section. These have been common discussions multiple times. Then come back and ask specific questions. You already seem to know in general terms what is out there. It really boils down to the amount of $$$ you want to spend and personal preference after that.

[m3f_Sammyzuko_f27405666b]

1. Waterpump replacement: I've read that the plastic impeller went away after 97 and therefore I should be safe with the stock pump. True or false? I have no problem replacing it if needed.:

True



2. Exhaust: If I don't go with Dinan, would like to get something with a deep and throaty sound while avoiding buzz/drone sound of R!cers and not trying to be too loud. I'm assuming all products have essentially same effect (or lack thereof) on performance. So far, Stromung and Tubi seem like good candidates. Any experience or thoughts about these or other options?

From the vids I've seen I like Stromung.



3. Dinan stage 5 power mods or mixture of other tuner's offerings (for CAI, HFM, TB, Intake manifold?, software, others?)?

Goign with other tuners would be the less expensive route and would give you the same gains.



4. Splitsec fuel meter/airflow/adjustment system. Seems to be good alternative to a OBDII flash or perhaps this could be used in conjunction with a perfomance upgrade flash. Do chips/flashes have benefits other than fuel mixture that invalidate the Splitsec approach? Any thoughts?

Don't know about this



5. Suspension: bilstein vs. koni? coilover? This will be a street car but there may come a time when I stray onto a track but not often if ever.

If you have the cash I'd go with coilovers. Then you can have the exact spring rate you want and drop the car to your liking.



Shock/Spring combo works great too. Word on the street is that Koni shocks are less harsh than Bilsteins, but perform similar.



6. Intake manifold: Stock, M50 or Schrick?

no comment

[m3f_Sirius_880bd69485]

Congrats. Check out the FAQ section.

[m3f_DTampa]

Thanks for the replies so far. I've been reading and searching on this forum and bimmerforums for a few weeks and haven't found conclusive answers to these questions. Thanks also for pointing out the FAQ section where some good info is turning up. I'll keep looking there.



Good to know that the waterpump is fine and doesn't need replacing. I'll just throw that much $ more into the mods.



Does anyone know some good links to clips of the various exhausts? Some of the more popular ones are easier to locate but I haven't found sound clips of the Stromung or Tubi.



I know the Dinan versus other mods is somewhat rehtorical but is there a reliability difference btw Dinan and others? It's been argued that the Dinan products have great synergy with each other which is why they should be exclusively used but I'm not sure I buy that. I don't mind spending the extra money if the car is going to last longer with one product versus another.



Sammyzuko, thanks in particular for taking the time to consider each question. eace:

[m3f_Sammyzuko_f27405666b]

www.understeer.com has some vid clips of the Stromung about midway down on their home page.

IIRC people like Dinan because their mods won't void the factory warranty. Also, buying parts from Dinan earns you Dinan points, so if you buy enough parts from them they give you Dinan badges and stuff.

[m3f_bmw4life13_0098c1d2b1]

that's incorrect. the water pump still needs to be replaced even after 97. the metal water impellar will still fail but in other ways. It should be replaced as preventive maintainence every 60k miles.

[m3f_95blkbimm3_9842002abc]

I have Active Autowerke Gen III exh. and love it, everyone has their personal fav's though, they all pretty much perform the same www.aatuning.com www.eurosporthighperformance.com www.understeer.com www.uucmotorwerks.com www.pelicanparts.com http://www.logun.org/bmw_site.htm



some of my frequently visited sites, or fav's

[m3f_Sammyzuko_f27405666b]

that's incorrect. the water pump still needs to be replaced even after 97. the metal water impellar will still fail but in other ways. It should be replaced as preventive maintainence every 60k miles.

I've never heard that before. How does it fail?

[m3f_95RogueM3]

that's incorrect. the water pump still needs to be replaced even after 97. the metal water impellar will still fail but in other ways. It should be replaced as preventive maintainence every 60k miles.



Thats untrue. You might be thinking of the thermostat housing which is plastic and fails around 60k miles. The upgraded waterpump will be good for pretty much the life of the car.



Regarding the manifolds....get the s50 as it flows better than the Schrick and costs much less.



As far as Dinan goes, you are much better off not buying all of your mods through them as in the end you will have spent far more than with www.turnermotorsports.com or www.aatuning.com

In regards to their products being of higher quality that is untrue. They use the same Euro HFMs, similar intakes, manifolds, bored throttlebodies, etc...all of these things can be purchased outside of dinan for much cheaper.



-Richard

[m3f_VTRick01_f4e20f34c1]

Best Exhaust comparison: http://www.europeancarweb.com/tech/0301ec_techbmw/

[m3f_Predator_7d824d33ea]

congrats on the ride !

[m3f_DTampa]

Thanks everyone for your responses. :wave:



After doing lots of reading, here's what I'm thinking of doing. Any comments or suggestions are welcomed.





Suspension: Koni DAs, either Eibach or H&R springs, Racing Dynamics adjustable swaybars, X-brace, Understeer E36 suspension install kit (except polyurethane RSMs), and some type of new RTABs (don't know yet)



AA CAI

Stromung exhaust

Spitsec chip/air/fuel calibrator

3.5" HFM (perhaps TMS?)

M50 manifold

BBTB (brand suggestions?)



JB Racing LtWFW



SSK (perhaps UUC or Rogue - thoughts welcome)

Illuminated shift knob

New Steering wheel - really need suggestions here



I'm going to keep the stock wheels for a little while. Have already changed the thermostat and housing. Decided not to change waterpump since car is a 98 (thought the build date is Sept 97 so do I need to change it?).

Staying away from pulleys and cams for the time being.

Not sure about the ASC delete - any thoughts welcomed.



If anyone has any feedback on the above, I'd love to hear it. :beer:

[m3f_salty_80d4b8491b]

As far as steering wheels go, I'd opt for a threee spoke wheel from a 99 M3.

[m3f_bmw4life13_0098c1d2b1]

replacing the water pump is definitely a must. Ask your local bmw stealership and they will concur. In fact there was an article on this in feb 04 issue in Bimmer.