hey guys

[stinky]

im new to this bmw thing

on monday if credit permits im going to by buying a 1995 325is
black on black
18' rims <gun metal with silver lip>
gay front lights tho, they are all white looks funny with the black paint,
its all tinted out
nice mp3 deck
and a little ram air intake
other then that its stock

what are some good things to do after i buy my car, i mean like good purchases.

starting with small stuff then bigger

i know you guys will laugh but i used to own a done up civic engine work and body work, but i never put badges on my car, kept it clean, wanted to get a car that was a little......ok ok alot nice then a civic, hah
so i dont know a thing about bmw cars and how/where to upgrade and what

[SpeedInfusion]

well, first off all, welcome to bimmerwerkz
well as far as upgrades go, wat do u want out of ur car first? performance? looks?
if performance,then speed or handling?if looks, interior or exterior?
and also, it would be cool but not required to get a rough estimate of how much money ur looking to spend

once again welcome

[stinky]

i think first i will go with looks, because im happy with the power upgrade from a civic<with a b18 in it>

i like the rims they are nice 18's
ill put some pics up as soon as i bring this thing home,

as for money, it doesnt really matter i just need to know what are the cool things to get for bmw i only know honda and acura stuff right now,
and im sure if i went and put a whole bunch of jap style stuff on it i would be laughed at,

i dont have anything against japanese vehicles<as i am a jap myself, lol>
just wanted to get a bmw owners perspective on whats good for bmw's\

thanks for the response dude

[Dudesky_E36]

Welcome to Werkz

First things first tho. Before you start modding, make sure you have a water pump that uses a metal impeller. If you can't find out for sure, get it replaced anyway. The plastic impellers are the most notorious failure problem with these cars, and they go catastrophically and without warning. There are a few other things, but that is primo dude. I would say wait a month or so and observe how she behaves. Meanwhile, spend some time on the forums to learn more about your ride- good points, weak points, etc. Then if you have no other 'unfortunate expenses', go for the mods . . wouldn't want to see you make her pretty and all of a sudden she has a problem you can't afford

[stinky]

lol, yea sounds like a good idea,
thanks for the water pump info

[BMWjesterFAN]

You should definitely try to get it on a lift and check out the underside for any damage/rust/problem areas too. And here's another thing to look for. Open the trunk, on either side, pull the carpeting away from the rear strut towers. There will be a rubber blanket over the towers, pull that away. Now take a good look at your top rear shock mounts and make sure they are not cracked or damaged. This can be a big problem to fix if you don't catch it in time. Ask Delmarco.
And definitely change the water pump. Dudesky is right. My 318i engine was lost to a faulty water pump. I think this is so important, I have two new waterpumps sitting in my garage right now. One for the M3 engine I'm rebuilding, and one for about 50k miles down the road. Not taking another chance on that one.
As per everything else dudesky said, Amen brother.
Don't start modding untill you get some knowledge. And please, ask as many questions as you want.

[///M Power]

Where are you located?

Firsly some awesome sites for you to look into are..
www.bavauto.com
www.aatuning.com
www.turnermotorsport.com
www.dinanbmw.com

Check out what all these guys have.

What color is your car?

As far as typical mods go
Euro Clean corner lenses for your parking and tail lights and sidemarkers.
BMW e36 M3 style (M-Technic I) front bumper and rear diffuser.
Euro Glass headlights with Angel eyes and or HID's


The best thing you can do without a huge budget is suspension. This is whta makes a BMW fun. The best shock/struts out there are Koni fully adjustables. You can pair these up with H&R sport springs or Eibach Pro Kit and youll have a nice looking slightly lowered agressive bimmer. Another great shock/strut are Bilstein Sports. They are good and a decent amount cheaper than Koni's. If you're serious about BMW tuning then you should save up for some coilovers (H&R, Bilstein, Tein etc...).

As far as engine modifications go, always styick to brand names. This isnt somethign you can get away with universal tuning. Always stick to GOOD brand names. One of the best bangs for your buck is to buy a "Racing" chip from turnermotorsport or Dinan. They are $250 and will give you 10-19 hp and 10-16 lb/ft torque just fromt hsi oen modification. If you are really looking into more engine modifcations you have the typical bolt ons but you also have upgrading your cams. Look at turnermotorsport and aatuning, these are my two favorite.

Keep asking questions and do research. We're here to help.

Hope you stick around and Welcome to bimmerwerkz!

-Eric

[SpeedInfusion]

btw, feel free to post any questions you have but please do a search before hand...we always get repeat questions due to people just being lazy and it kinda floods the forum