Free Mods?

[CBD328is]

I was looking around in the FAQ section, maybe I didn't look hard enough, but I didn't see any threads on all of the free mods that you can do to these E36 cars. Is this because nothing is free anymore? What about removing the screen from your MAF? That has to be worth 0.43 hp at 5k rpms, right ? Anything else? I haven't struck it rich yet, so I'm looking for all the freebies I can get to increase my smile when mashing the throttle coming out of a turn...

Thanks for anyones input to this thread.
-C

[Torque]

you take out the intake pipes/filter, and you take your exhaust off--everything behind the downpipe.

you can also put 12 inch wheels on it, better acceleration. you swap your rims for some 12inch tercel wheels.

no such thing as free mods.

[bitcore]

Airbox debaffel & weight reduction (stripping stuff out) are both free.
Remove seats, LOTS of sound dapening material, rear headrests (5 lbs + a shitload of visibility), Don't *FILL* up at a gas station
The screen on the MAF is an interesting idea... It might fuck up the MAF's ability to detect temperature... imean, it's there for a reason. But if you did remove it and the MAF sensor worked just as well as it did before, I bet it would help out around 5 hp compairable to debaffeling... There's a lot of plastic in that mesh screen...

With liposuction, anorexia and bulemia, you can loose upwards of 200 pounds depending on your origional weight.

[Autotechnica]

Weight reduction.. rip out everything you don't need/use and you'll be a heck of a lot faster. Bypass useless emission sensors and junk. That's basically it.

You have to spend something even if you want to make home made mods. The only thing free is weight reduction.

[CBD328is]

Removing the MAF screen is something the Chevy peeps have been doing for a long time... Z28s and stuff.

I think there are more 'free' mods on these cars and I'm not talking about dumping off the exhaust so it sounds like a broken truck on the street or tearing out the interior so your hot lady doesn't want to ride in it anymore.

Does the IAT sensor get in the way of air flow? any way you can shim it away? Just an example of the type of mods I was thinking of. Who's creative out there? Please leave out the duct tape...

[BLACKBMW]

I bet nycbmw has a few tricks up his sleeves!

The above sound good so far and I have never thought about the fact that a litre of liquid weighs 1KG!!

J...

[skawful]

i wonder if their is any downside to removing the insilation under the hood?
is there any upside?

[leibniz]

Originally posted by BLACKBMW@Sep 17 2004, 02:38 PM
I bet nycbmw has a few tricks up his sleeves!

The above sound good so far and I have never thought about the fact that a litre of liquid weighs 1KG!!

J...

... and with a full 60 litre tank of gas, thats the equivalent of having a [small] dead body in the trunk...

[Hoppy's535i]

take out the spare tire too... ( at your own risk, meaning dont call me when u get a flat)

[nycbmw325is]

Originally posted by BLACKBMW@Sep 17 2004, 02:38 PM
I bet nycbmw has a few tricks up his sleeves!

The above sound good so far and I have never thought about the fact that a litre of liquid weighs 1KG!!

J...

Damn i hate shooting down one of my biggest cheerleaders... but i gots to do it...

According to the Material Safety Data Sheets provided by BP Amoco, each of the unleaded, fuel-grade gasolines has a specific gravity around 0.75 g/ml (grams per milliliter). In British units, this specific gravity can be expressed as lb/pt (pounds per pint), since a pint of water with a specific gravity of 1.0 weighs a pound. Since there are 8 pints to a gallon, 8 x 0.75 = 6, so:

a gallon of gasoline should weigh 6 pounds.
(Likewise, 1L of petrol weighs 750 g, for everyone outside of the US.)


you were thinking of water at a kilo per liter. however, think about the effect of a couple of gallons of coolant way up front in your campartment sloshing about and impacting handling... i think i will save ten lbs or so and start using gasoline instead of antifreeze... whaddayathink guys?

[theogill]

I like the gasoline idea ---you'll get a lot of BANG for the buck :P

[Kevin325i]

Jack some exaust piping and bypass your cats.

Or just turn your headers upside-down and cut a hole in the hood.

[Eggrolled211]

Originally posted by skawful@Sep 17 2004, 03:14 PM
i wonder if their is any downside to removing the insilation under the hood?
is there any upside?

I was thinking of removing that insulation under the hood too....but I've noticed it does get VERY HOT under there...I'm assuming if I remove it..it might get too hot and discolor the hood from underside,cooking it etc. making the paint chip off or dull from above...know where I'm getting at? It might also be used to insulate the engine noise....about the MAF grill removal is that wise? will it help throttle response or HP? I don't want to damage something for nothing if theres no benefit...those thing are expensive new..

[skawful]

Originally posted by Eggrolled211+Sep 17 2004, 11:41 PM--></div><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td>QUOTE (Eggrolled211 @ Sep 17 2004, 11:41 PM)</td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'> <!--QuoteBegin-skawful@Sep 17 2004, 03:14 PM
i wonder if their is any downside to removing the insilation under the hood?
is there any upside?

I was thinking of removing that insulation under the hood too....but I've noticed it does get VERY HOT under there...I'm assuming if I remove it..it might get too hot and discolor the hood from underside,cooking it etc. making the paint chip off or dull from above...know where I'm getting at? It might also be used to insulate the engine noise....about the MAF grill removal is that wise? will it help throttle response or HP? I don't want to damage something for nothing if theres no benefit...those thing are expensive new.. [/b][/quote]
look under the hood... at the mounts and around there... the paint is in pefect condition
but maybe the middle of the hood would get major hot.... anyone know????

[bitcore]

Originally posted by leibniz@Sep 17 2004, 04:27 PM
... and with a full 60 litre tank of gas, thats the equivalent of having a [small] dead body in the trunk...

Gas tank is under the rear seat. It's really close to the center of the car, since that weight can varry a lot and adversely affect handling. Yes, it's damn heavy when full, that's also why we don't have huge 40 gallon tanks that cost 80$ to re-fill all the time.

According to autotechnica and my observations, the insulating material is mostly there for sound. It does block a lot of the heat. Yes, all that heat won't be "good" for the paint, but you don't plan on driving this car for 15 more years do you?

Either way, it's really not that heavy, maybe a few pounds (says autotechnica, I have neglected to remove mine)

Or just turn your headers upside-down and cut a hole in the hood.

Saw's cost money kevin! Unbolt the hood.