| PARTS FOR SALE My BMW's Picture Gallery 4 (New!!!)
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Exterior wise, it has AC Schnitzer Type II front bumper, AC Schnitzer Type II sport mirrors, AC Schnitzer roof spoiler, Carbon Works carbon fiber BMW E46 ///M3 rear lip spoiler, Auto Style E36 rear bumper diffuser and BMW OEM ///M3 Luxury sideskirts. I have also added ///M3 door mouldings, switched to custom chrome front E46 style grills (I am keeping two sets of 96' 328 front grills and blacked out 325 front grills as spare parts), tinted the windows, added BMP carbon fiber door handle covers, carbon fiber decal overlay on the hood, and AC Schnitzer badge/emblem. I then complemented all these mods. with a pair of ZKW european ellipsoid headlights, Generation II Daytime Demon Eyes, Philips Ultinon 6000k HIDs, In Pro smoked front corners, BMW OEM clear taillights, green rear license plate bulbs, Kamei head light trims, european style chrome trunk handle lid, and european front mounted license plate (with optional front bumper strip filler if I choose not to display my front european front plate). Just to finish off the overall appearance, my car also sports a chrome U.C. Berkeley Alumni rear license plate frame, and decals representing U.C. Berkeley, www.speedoptions.com, and www.dtmpower.net. When I go for a long distance drive, I use a Colgan custom sport hood bra to protect my hood from rock chips. And when my car has to spend a night without being in the garage, I pamper my car with a Noah car cover to prevent excessive moisture and dust from hurting its exterior.
For the interior, I chose to go with a BMW OEM/AC Schnitzer wood kit and paste-on burlwood pieces to complement the parchment/beige interior color. I have always loved the way classic Jaguars look with their rich, creamy leather and wood trims. In addition, I have also added a few BMW OEM pieces such as BMW's first aid kit, ///M3 black floor mats, tan leather rear headrests, 97'+ rear interior reading lights, and door sills. All these interior pieces are complemented by a pair of powered ///M3 tan leather front vader seats, which will be installed in the near future. There are also ///M3 red instrument cluster needles and E36 chrome gauge rings to make my instrument cluster look like the ///M Roadster's unit. Other interior mods. in my car include AC Schnitzer pedals/dead pedal, "AC Schnitzer" shoulder pads, "Powered by BMW" shoulder pads, carbon fiber shift knob (now replaced by a burlwood pistol shift knob), Napoleon wide angle rear view mirror, Uniden radar detector, new color coded BMW emblem push button key light, etc. Recently, I have finally successfully converted my carbon fiber auto transmission T-shifter to a newer, burlwood pistol grip shifter from 97'+ E36s, along with a burlwood shifter plate and custom cut 3A leather shift boot. Hopefully, my auto transmission shifter console now looks close enough to the steptronic one found on many newer BMWs. To protect my car from being stolen, I arm it with an Alpine 8070 security system with a Varad alarm scanner.
As for the stereo system, I opted for the shiny, ebonic Kenwood eXcelon line up because of its stealthy "mask" face rotation capability. I also added an eXcelon 10-disc CD changer to accomodate my CD collections as well. As for the empty sunglasses tray, I chose to fill it with an Alpine 3342 sound field processor's digital remote controller. It allows me to fine tune my music into different settings, further enhancing the sound that comes off the MB Quart QM325.20 component speakers up front. As the last touch, I selected a 10' inch Infinity Kappa sub in a custom made sealed box. The sub would pump the bass through two circular holes that I custom cut in the rear deck. All my speakers and sub are powered by a pair of PPI Sedona 460ix and Art 200.2 amplifiers connected via Monster Interlink XLN cables and American Accessories distributor. To me, PPI Art series amps are one of the best amplifiers ever produced.
Performance wise, my car has all the basic bolt ons such as the J.Conforti engine chip, Dinan transmission chip, E.C.I.S. Intake with heat shield with E.C.I.S. black metallic intake cover, ERT crank pulley, and a R.M.S. cat-back exhaust. I will not be doing any forced induction works on the engine since my car is equipped with an automatic transmission. However, I am still debating if I should switch my differential from the standard 3.91 ratio unit to a custom 4.10+ one in order to boost my low end speed.
As of now, other than swapping in an E36 ///M3 front brake assembly in place of my stock front brake, I have not really touched the rear brake setup on my car. I am more than certain that given the modest increase in power from my bolt-on performance mods, the BMW OEM ///M3 front brake setup is more than enough to serve its purpose. With that said, the only other modification I have done in this department so far is coloring the calipers with a bottle of red brake caliper paint from Folia Tec. In the near future, I may also replace my stock brake pads with Axxis Ultimate brake pads, add stainless steel brake lines, and perhaps change my stock rotors to slotted rotors or the floating rotors found on the European E36 ///M3s just for the looks.
Finally, I upgraded my car's handling characteristics with a front strut bar from Robocar (however, I am currently looking for an AC Schnitzer one), ///M3 20mm rear sway bar, 328 sport package 25.5mm front sway bar, Koni adjustable sport struts/shocks, H & R Sport springs (now replaced by a set of 328 sport package springs), Bekkers spring seats, BMW X-brace, and JT Design aluminum rear shock mounts. All these components work with a set of 17' inch Antera 123 wheels with Sumitomo HTR-Z tires (sitting in rolled rear fenders) to help my car stick to the ground better. Just recently, I purchased a set of 18' inch BBS RSII rims with Sumitomo HTZ-Z II tires. I also bought a set of Bavarian Autosport springs as my future replacement springs. This should enhance the overall appearance of my car without destroying its sleek looking exterior.
I think I have finally reached the end of my craze for modifying my car. It has been fun for the past 6 years to learn and observe from others the valuable information about modifying BMWs. Except for the upcoming Rogue Engineering or Evo Sport accessory pullies, and minor brake upgrades, I am not sure if I will be investing any more money to modify this car. Too much money has been spent without sponsorship and too much time has been devoted to make things happen. I will focus on maintaining the car in its top shape and hopefully, purchase a new E46 BMW ///M3 to go along with her someday.
Jon
Aftermath (as of Jan. 6-2004 and edited on Jan. 20-2004 & Sep. 4-2004):
It has been many months since I have worked on my BMW. Over the last six years, this car has been more than just my love and passion, she has been an icon that allows me to come to appreciate how fun and entertaining modifying a car can be. As of now, she is being maintained and well kept in my garage until I have time/money to freshen up her look in the future. In the meantime, there were some changes in my plans for this car; I decided to not use my Folia Tec red brake caliper paint to paint my calipers. I actually painted my front and rear calipers in silver to better match the color/texture of my new BBS wheels. Also, instead of installing a pair of mint, fully powered tan leather BMW OEM E36 ///M3 vader seats, rear headrests, and E36 ///M3 front brakes I bought just a while ago, I decided to stay with my stock E36 325is seats and front brakes. It was hard to see these parts (especially the tan vaders) go because it actually took me more than 5 years to find these seats. Unfortunately, I could not hold on to them for money reasons.
On the bright side, I have just recently replaced my old Nissan Pulsar daily driver (I do miss my Nissan dearly but it was time to let it go; years of driving have made it too problematic for me to keep it in the long run) with a Lexus SC400 luxury sport coupe. Like my BMW, the SC4 also wears a dark green coat of exterior paint along with dark tinted windows. However, I do not intend to heavily modify my Lexus with any aftermarket performance part. Instead, I simply upgraded the SC400 with a set of Supervision 6000k HIDs, Uniden radar detector, lowered it with a set of Eibach lowering springs, painted its front and rear calipers in silver color, accented its rear with a pair of 3.5 inch 3A Racing exhaust tips, personalized the car with a personal plate + a chrome U.C. Berkeley alumni plate frame, and added Lexus OEM parts such as the center cup holder, a set of GS400 silver 17x8 inch rims, and a pair of grippy Michelin Pilot Sport 235/45/17 tires up front and 255/40/17 tires in the rear. I have also replaced worn parts such as front rubber lip spoiler, transmission, windshield, instrument cluster, faded gold emblems, etc. with brand new Lexus OEM units. Last but not least, I got rid of all the dings/dents on my SC400 and waxed it with Meguiare's car care products to make sure that it stays in showroom condition.
Compare to my BMW, the Lexus drives and rides a lot more quietly; its 4 litre four-cam V8 engine is simply a work of art, providing adequate power in a silky smooth manner. The SC4 is also more refined in providing luxury features, comfort, reliability, and craftsmanship. The BMW, however, is a blast to drive on windy roads; its high revving 2.5 litre inline-six engine simply loves to be driven hard. Although not as quick as my Lexus in straight lines, the BMW's motor definitely screams with more authority (thanks to its E.C.I.S. cold air intake and R.M.S. cat back exhaust) in high speed accelerations. As much as I love the Lexus and its sex appeal, to me the BMW will always be the ultimate driving machine and my favorite weekend warrior.
Overall, these two cars make a perfect combination in providing me all the right driving pleasures. For now, I am more than satisfied to have a daily driver and weekend toy. In the meantime, I will continue to save up and hopefully, come up with enough money to work on more future project cars.
Jon
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