| A cold intake will not improve gas mileage. You may pick up a little better power at high RPM at the expense of having more intake noise all the time. On an e36, you get the same benefit by simply cutting the silencer baffle out of the air box. I have never looked at an e46 air box to see how it is designed. I advise against oiled permanent air filters which are often used on aftermarket air intake systems.
I know nothing of lowering because that is not something that I would ever consider doing to an e46. They have very little ground clearance as it is.
My advice - start with a nice clean car. Put on nice 17" wheels (no larger) if it did not come with nice wheels. Keep it clean and protected inside and out. Keep it mechanically as perfect as you can. Enjoy it. Don't waste money on things that shorten the life of the car and result in future expenses without really improving the performance of the car.
When you are looking for tires, I love my Michelin Pilot Sport All Season tires. They are much quieter and smoother than the Continentals that came on the car, and they seem to be holding up very well. They look good good on the 17" M wheels.
Last edited by Manolito : 02-25-2008 at 10:10 PM.
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