E36 328i Touring mods ?? any must do's

[addsvrs]

Looking at breathing new life into the old girl (155000 miles), so been looking at firming up the ride abit, changing the airbox for something fruiter, maybe a nice exhaust etc etc.

Bit of a minefield this tuning lark so wondered what people have done to their's, where did you buy it from and rough costs.

Not to bothered about speed, it can be quite a hooligan when provoked, but with so many E36's looking like ripspeeds adverts I want to choose wisely.

By the way its a 1998 e36 328i touring, 155k on the clock, no evidence in the history of any suspension/bushes etc being changed so probably well past their best.

cheers in advance

[DennisCooper]

Hi

What's your budget? what kind of style of modifications are you wanting? - i think the usual popular choices will apply

1. Quality 17,18 or 19 inch wheels
2. Lowered suspension with uprated shocks or coilovers
3. Purposeful stainless steel backbox/full exhaust with decent choice of tips
4. Sport front seats / leather interior if you don't have that already
5. Uprated brakes
6. Tasteful cosmetic interior and exterior mods

Also, pretty much the sky's the limit with potential choices of what you could do !

I'd also suggest performance or uprated versions of suspension bushes or oem replacements to freshen up that aspect and then the boring stuff like servicing and renewal of worn and broken bits and pieces

It'll feel like a new car! and I used to have access to a E36 328i Touring for a short while... it'd had some recaro seats fitted and they felt great!

Cheers, Dennis!

[liquidken]

I have one. Fantastic cars. Like all old cars though, you have to start with the basics.

Make sure the necessary stuff ball joints etc are all in good shape. This will literally give you a solid foundation to build on. After that, it depends on your taste, driving style and wallet size.

I wanted a well-rounded car that will deal with the day-to-day commute as well as excite me on a deserted A-Road or weekend at the Nuerburgring. Performance wise, I've fitted...

H&R coilovers
LSD
Hartge Design D 17" (OE/Tuner wheels look so much better than the majority of aftermarket rims)
K&N Gen 2 induction kit
E30 front control arms
M3 Evo brake master cylinder, Porsche 4 pot calipers (from a Carrera 2) with E46 M3 discs, Brembo pads and braided hoses all round.

I have a front strut brace in the wings along with adjustable ARB's. A lot of E36 owners prefer the underbody x-brace (found on the convertibles) but a strut brace does make a difference, too.

Ideally, I'd fit a BBTB (big bore throttle body) and upgraded inlet manifold which is good for around 25bhp on most engines so is a solid investment and probably a new exhaust. With other cars and other projects to deal with, they'll have to wait a while longer.

Edited by liquidken on Wednesday 4th May 12:51

[addsvrs]

thanks for the replys guys

probably just going to go down the suspension/handling road, currently go 17" E36 M3 alloys on,which i'm happy with, so going too see my mechanic and get him to have a look at the suspension, see what needs replacing and go from there. As for budget, its as small as possible lol. Is there a preferred supplier for upgrades, or is Ebay/classifieds just as easy.

[liquidken]

Ebay and forum sale sections normally work best for me.

[mgmrw2003]

addsvrs said:

Is there a preferred supplier for upgrades, or is Ebay/classifieds just as easy.

I've got a 96 320 tourer (113k) and just had the same debate, done the following:

> new discs and pads at front (upgraded)
> 4x new shocks, 4x new springs (35mm drop), new ARB links, new ARB front and rear bushes
> full set of 17" e46 wheels with goodyear eagle f1 rubber

Transformed the ride immensely. As for air filter/exhaust options, that one seems to be down to personal preference...... Know a couple of lads who run the obligatory DTM style stainless systems, and induction kits, they like the noise. Personally, on a daily work warrior, I prefer the muted standard note and nice straight six noise. That said, my previous was a 200SX with full stainless, cone filter and dump valve, so anything's quiet after that!

As for where, so far: ebay. PH classifieds. Acquaintances who have E36s. A local guy who buys/sells E36s and breaks crashed one. And a motorfactors that I've used for years. All suspension parts came to around £490 inc VAT @ 20%...... Money well spent.


Only thing I'm struggling to find in budget are: black leather interior and M3 front bumper as they attract a premium.

I avoided coil-overs and big brake upgrades as it's a daily hack, not a track weapon, so just wanted things "improving" not "radically altering"

Enjoy!