Plan for first car - BMW 318is
Discussion
Modifying a car is very much down to the individual, it seems to be one of two directions.
Modifying to improve performance,
or
Modifying to be part of a 'scene'.
Personally I have always modified my cars for perfomance, even on my Honda which is currently our family car I've fitted an MG ZS 180 rear anti roll bar just to tighten up the handling a touch. I work next to a BMX shop, which surprisingly/unsurprisingly allows me to see quite a lot of 'scene' cars, some have some great mods and are beuatifully executed, some are not. Sticker bombing is very common though and looks hateful, if you wish to turn your car in to some bizarre mobile free billboard for various companies, fair enough, not my bag though. My friend a has a slammed Corrado G60 on Borbet C's, which is probably pumping out 200+bhp, yet when ever we go out, he can't even get near my family estate car, mainly because he's weaving around manhole covers, pot holes and every undulation in the road. Makes me wonder why he bothered. Always up for upgrading sound system though, unless the car has particularily good O.E sytem in it, being early 90's BMW, unlikely.
Best of luck to you when you decide your chosen directiom though
Modifying to improve performance,
or
Modifying to be part of a 'scene'.
Personally I have always modified my cars for perfomance, even on my Honda which is currently our family car I've fitted an MG ZS 180 rear anti roll bar just to tighten up the handling a touch. I work next to a BMX shop, which surprisingly/unsurprisingly allows me to see quite a lot of 'scene' cars, some have some great mods and are beuatifully executed, some are not. Sticker bombing is very common though and looks hateful, if you wish to turn your car in to some bizarre mobile free billboard for various companies, fair enough, not my bag though. My friend a has a slammed Corrado G60 on Borbet C's, which is probably pumping out 200+bhp, yet when ever we go out, he can't even get near my family estate car, mainly because he's weaving around manhole covers, pot holes and every undulation in the road. Makes me wonder why he bothered. Always up for upgrading sound system though, unless the car has particularily good O.E sytem in it, being early 90's BMW, unlikely.
Best of luck to you when you decide your chosen directiom though
Ignore the unenthusiatic demotivating negative idiots on here, nice choice of first car there.
I started with a 316, then 325, then m3....
If u can find a 4 door 318is the insurance may be a bit cheaper, but they are rare. Although I would try to insure a 6 cylinder (320>) if at all possible, much nicer engines and hardly any worse on fuel.
Have you considered an E30? Might be able to find a classic policy to cover you?
E36 compact use the E30 rear suspension btw (lighter and less grippy) and being shorter wheelbase they change direction a bit quicker, maybe cheaper to insure?
Don't weld the diff on a road car, especially if you've not been driving long and aren't fully up to speed with RWD. It will feel hideous and eat tyres.
All your initial planned mods there are to encourage oversteer for drifting, not what a novice in a rwd car wants on public roads trust me! 3 series beemers are lethal enough as is.
Leave it as is or swap in an LSD from a 328 sport, then spend as much time as possible on wet car-parks learning how to control a slide/drift before transfering those skills to the road. If you want to get into drift days then buy a spare diff and weld that up, then just swap it in whenever you want it lairy for the day.
Poly bushes work wonders on the front of these, get the offset front wishbone bushes which give more castor for sharper turn-in.
Fit E46 cab rear shock mounts and a Z3 gear-lever (standard part from a dealer £30 gives a shorter shift)
Bilsteins with eibach springs are nice for road use, somethin stiffer like apex springs on adjustable gaz shocks work well for track days and will loosen up the back end a bit more for drifting once you've aquired the skills!
Check out e36coupe.com for lots of info/ideas and like minded-peeps.
Enjoy, good luck and keep safe dude!
I started with a 316, then 325, then m3....
If u can find a 4 door 318is the insurance may be a bit cheaper, but they are rare. Although I would try to insure a 6 cylinder (320>) if at all possible, much nicer engines and hardly any worse on fuel.
Have you considered an E30? Might be able to find a classic policy to cover you?
E36 compact use the E30 rear suspension btw (lighter and less grippy) and being shorter wheelbase they change direction a bit quicker, maybe cheaper to insure?
Don't weld the diff on a road car, especially if you've not been driving long and aren't fully up to speed with RWD. It will feel hideous and eat tyres.
All your initial planned mods there are to encourage oversteer for drifting, not what a novice in a rwd car wants on public roads trust me! 3 series beemers are lethal enough as is.
Leave it as is or swap in an LSD from a 328 sport, then spend as much time as possible on wet car-parks learning how to control a slide/drift before transfering those skills to the road. If you want to get into drift days then buy a spare diff and weld that up, then just swap it in whenever you want it lairy for the day.
Poly bushes work wonders on the front of these, get the offset front wishbone bushes which give more castor for sharper turn-in.
Fit E46 cab rear shock mounts and a Z3 gear-lever (standard part from a dealer £30 gives a shorter shift)
Bilsteins with eibach springs are nice for road use, somethin stiffer like apex springs on adjustable gaz shocks work well for track days and will loosen up the back end a bit more for drifting once you've aquired the skills!
Check out e36coupe.com for lots of info/ideas and like minded-peeps.
Enjoy, good luck and keep safe dude!
Edited by oversteerxj12 on Thursday 9th June 14:10
Im think of getting a 318 either a compact or a normal 3 door for my next cars 1 years driving should mean its slightly lower. Im also an apprentice going into my 3rd year and im glad my wage is doubling in september 
.
Ignore some people on here they just like to argue. Im against weldding the diff and a roll cage but its your car after all and it a hell of a lot better than some of the s
t cars that most youngsters buy.
Insurance on bigger cars tend to be either the same or less than small cars due to them being less of a risk of being crashed by youngster to the people who think insurance will be a killer.
Its your car after all enjoy it and your apprentership in the end you will save thousands in repair bills because you can repair your car yourself.
Enjoy your time on ph.
. Ignore some people on here they just like to argue. Im against weldding the diff and a roll cage but its your car after all and it a hell of a lot better than some of the s
t cars that most youngsters buy. Insurance on bigger cars tend to be either the same or less than small cars due to them being less of a risk of being crashed by youngster to the people who think insurance will be a killer.
Its your car after all enjoy it and your apprentership in the end you will save thousands in repair bills because you can repair your car yourself.
Enjoy your time on ph.
Good choice for a first car, just take it easy round the tight bends and roundabouts till you get used to the vehicle dynamics!
As for modifications- don't. The mods you have planned will transform a fairly average, slowish BMW into a hideous, slowish BMW, plus I doubt you will get insured, and insurers can be funny about roll cages, especially for younger drivers, and many companies wont cover modifications full stop.
Get a years or two experience on this and save your money and work up to something like a 323/ 325/ 328, these cars have a lot more scope for modification, and alot more tune- ability.
As for modifications- don't. The mods you have planned will transform a fairly average, slowish BMW into a hideous, slowish BMW, plus I doubt you will get insured, and insurers can be funny about roll cages, especially for younger drivers, and many companies wont cover modifications full stop.
Get a years or two experience on this and save your money and work up to something like a 323/ 325/ 328, these cars have a lot more scope for modification, and alot more tune- ability.
I'd personally aim for the 1.8 M42, not the 1.9 M44, I think the M42 is a bit more peppy and fun, whilst the M44 is a bit lazier. (had an E30, not an E36 mind) And the M42 has a forged bottom end (for some reason) which the M44 does not. Potential for modification is greater on the M42, lots of S/Ced ones running about, even a few turbo ones.
However, you're never going to get much without serious moneys on the 4 cylinder BMWs (M3's excepted of course - but completely different engine) so I reckon you'd be best off sticking with it standard for as long as possible. I found it quite hard to find decent exhaust manifolds as well (though luckily E36 exhausts are far more commonplace than E30 ones). You can chip the ECUs for a couple of BHP more in some cases, but its not night/day.
I had one for a second car, bear in mind most start off in a 1l, maybe a 1.4? This is a 1.8/9 so you'll be paying more in fuel/tax and insurance, and won't be really that much quicker (apart from on motorways) than a lot of your mates in 1.4/1.6s.
If you can insure it, and don't drive like a complete arse, then good luck to you! Its a good car, and I'd be quite envious of that as a first car.
However, you're never going to get much without serious moneys on the 4 cylinder BMWs (M3's excepted of course - but completely different engine) so I reckon you'd be best off sticking with it standard for as long as possible. I found it quite hard to find decent exhaust manifolds as well (though luckily E36 exhausts are far more commonplace than E30 ones). You can chip the ECUs for a couple of BHP more in some cases, but its not night/day.
I had one for a second car, bear in mind most start off in a 1l, maybe a 1.4? This is a 1.8/9 so you'll be paying more in fuel/tax and insurance, and won't be really that much quicker (apart from on motorways) than a lot of your mates in 1.4/1.6s.
If you can insure it, and don't drive like a complete arse, then good luck to you! Its a good car, and I'd be quite envious of that as a first car.
No way is the insurance going to be £1800 legit.
I assume that there will be no mods declared or under a parents name. I have little faith in the OP assuring us that his quote is legit when he was also considering fitting the manifold from a 6 pot onto a 4 pot. I have the mechanical ability of a plank and even I can see something wrong here, he is a mechanics apprentice!
I assume that there will be no mods declared or under a parents name. I have little faith in the OP assuring us that his quote is legit when he was also considering fitting the manifold from a 6 pot onto a 4 pot. I have the mechanical ability of a plank and even I can see something wrong here, he is a mechanics apprentice!
And let's just remember for a moment that we aren't saying "don't modify", we're just saying "don't do these particular modifications".
Instead of welding, we're saying get an LSD. Rather than doing all of the other "tramp drifting" modifications this single change will make it a better car for drifting, as well as a better car for the road.
Instead of welding, we're saying get an LSD. Rather than doing all of the other "tramp drifting" modifications this single change will make it a better car for drifting, as well as a better car for the road.
Gassing Station | Readers' Cars | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff