'99 323i : What can I do with it?!

[The Godfather]

Hello everyone!!

First off, great place you've got here! I like it I've been lurking around for a while, now it's time for me to post something!

As my s/n says, I'm a Benz maniac...but I'm getting tired of it.. I want BMW now

I find the 323i ('99) to be in my price range, so I'm thinking about getting it. The thing is, I hear it's not powerful and so on.

What is your take on it? I haven't had the chance to drive one yet, but I probably will this week.

So my questions: What kind of chip would give me some extra power ? (Upsolute?)
What kind of body kit would give that 4 door an ///M3 looks (Front bumper, flared fenders)

I hope you can help me out

Also a lil' plug for my site, Euromotorsport.net . It's mostly forums about all European cars, check it out if you have time

Thanks !

Mike aka Dr. ///AMG

[The Godfather]

/me sad nobody wants to help me

[BMWBOY]

I am getting a 323i black on tan soon.

What can we do to our cars?

[mikiejack]

I have the e36 version but have driven both. The 323 is by no means slow. 0-60 in a listed 8 secs and Bmw are always conservative with their figures. A completely standard 323 will drop all the standard GTI's, give a Honda Civic Type R a damn good run etc. Plus you get the glorious straight 6 noise. Don't let people make you think a 323 is not that good, it is. Mine with a few grand in mods will keep pace with a 330. Forget about the M3 body kits as it stands out a mile that it isn't an ///M on a e46. Just get the sports package (the one you see on a lot of on 330's) as that looks sweet. Forget about mods for now, I suggest a driving school as it will teach you the skills to extract the best performance out of your car and make you faster A to B than a chip could. One final thing to think of is if you are prepared to buy a 323 and mod it would it not be better to wait a little longer and use the money you would spend on mods and get a better model to start with. Hope this helps.

[austo]

Go pick up the newest Eurotuner they have a write up about there 323ci. I suggest getting the basic intake,exhaust and chip. Also maybe get a underdrive pulley. Thats what im doing to myn. Also im going to get a UUC short shift kit, that will make it quicker also.

[OPTIMO]

First 2 mods I would do are intake (Dinan) and exhaust (your choice). That helps a bit, it makes the engine sound mean, and you will notice a little more pull at highway speeds.

If you are looking to drop $7k or so, you can get an ESS Stage 2 installed which would give you some serious #s. www.esstuning.com

I have a '00 323ci cabrio and I've done intake, sways, front strut brace, exhaust and DDEs.

Go pick up the newest Eurotuner

What's on the cover? I normally by EC, but I just want to know what to look for on the newstand.

Forget about the M3 body kits as it stands out a mile that it isn't an ///M on a e46.

Agreed. I like the OEM Aero kit myself. Just stay away from Hamann.

What kind of chip would give me some extra power ? (Upsolute?)

I've been in comminique with Upsolute but they still haven't provided me with a dyno chart of what to expect. From looking at their site, they specialize in VW based turbo engines (Skodas, Audis, VWs). Turbo and S/C engines can seen kick ass results from chipping, most n/a cars will see little. That $350 can be applied better in my opinion.

Driving school is always a good idea, too. Glad you are venturing away from the Silver Arrow...even though your man D.C. finished 2nd at Montreal this weekend, and both Williams exploded.

[austo]

The red project e46 is on the cover. With the ACS body get and black wheels...
Maybe its not on newstands yet, you need to get a subscription.

First 2 mods I would do are intake (Dinan)

Dinans is very nice, but you don't have to get that if you don't feel like spending the money ( don't wanna get into the ecis dinan war)

[OPTIMO]

Dinans is very nice, but you don't have to get that if you don't feel like spending the money ( don't wanna get into the ecis dinan war)

I agree. I think ECIS is $250(?) the Dinan is $350 (w/CCA discount). I can send you pictures of my beautiful Dinan intake if you wish. ECIS is definitely a viable option. Looks like I'm going to the newstand tomorrow morning. And yes, I need a subscription. I read EC right now with their Project E36 (black with AA). They have a nice article on 996/s with twin KKK-K24s.

[mfino]

The 323 5Sp is no slouch doing 0-60 in 7.0 seconds. Without having your motor go through some surgery, I would highly recommend the Shark Injector, wich reprograms the computer, as well as the ECIS intake. I currently have both, and they complement each other extremelu well. Shark Injector is $350 and the ECIS is $250. Now, the next mod I would recommend is the Exhaust. It's going to run you anywhere from 350-600 depending on what you like (I have a Scorpion) All exhausts in general are going to yield about the same in power, maybe a 1-2hp difference. What will differ is the sound. BUT, some Evosport Pulley kits will yield you probably a bit more power (compared to the exhaust) for a $399 price. I haven't done this yet, but will soon. Hope that helps you out.

What is the Eurotuner magazine someone posted? I would love to see that writeup if any can scan it in. Is it on newsstands?

[kevln]

Originally posted by darke36
Go pick up the newest Eurotuner they have a write up about there 323ci. I suggest getting the basic intake,exhaust and chip. Also maybe get a underdrive pulley. Thats what im doing to myn. Also im going to get a UUC short shift kit, that will make it quicker also.

the red ac schnitzer ci? that thing is sweet

[vti]

I've got a 99 323i, I'm looking for performance with looks being secondary. I've found a number of things I can do to increase the speed, handling, and overall driveability.

I went with the ECIS intake (www.ecisbmw.com), because of the heatshield and the easy installation (takes 15min). I'm going with the UUC Motorwerks (www.uucmotorwerks.com) exhaust mainly because I think it looks cool. I would like to replace the headers, but I haven't found any out there (anyone know of some?). Okay, so now the car can breath.

I couldn't stand the extremley long throw of the manual so I went with the UUC Motorwerks short shifter with the ball bearings.

To increase the power throught the power curve and remove the top speed governor I'm going with the Shark Injector. You can get that from a number of places.

IMHO the 323 revs slow, so I plan to go with a lightweight flywheel from Rogue Engineering (www.rogueengineering.com). This also drops about 15lbs from the weight of the car.

I also plan to go with a dry cell battery to further remove weight (www.performancedistributors.com/batteries.htm), this should drop 30+ pounds according to stuff I've read.

I haven't decided what coil over system I want to go with yet, but to reduce body roll and the unsightly gap between the wheel well you've got to lower the car. I also plan to go with a front shock tower brace (www.racdyn-usa.com), and sway bars from UUC Motorwerks. All of this should dramatically reduce body roll and increase the cars cornering capability.

I'm also going to do rims, just trying to find some nice looking lightweight one (hopefully around 15lbs-18lbs for 17's).

Brakes should be done also. You can get lighter rotors since the stock ones are really heavy.

Okay so all in all, after all of this, you should have a car that should be able to hang with a 330. If a shop does the work you've spent a few thousand dollars.

If that's not enough, go with a Supercharger (www.esstuning.com).

Sorry for the long reply. Do you feel better now? :-)

[The Godfather]

Woah overwhelming responses!!

Well today I went down to LA and test drove a 323i. It was nice (except the car had been in an accident and they tried to lie about it, but I'm the Doc damn it , I can tell when a car has been resprayed!), power was adequate, but could use some extra HP. I think I want to Dinan the car out, kinda like Brabus with benz, although it seems more exclusive (I heard you "earn" the dinan badge and can't just buy it).

I think I'll get a 323 on eBAy. I just shelled out 2k to pay credit cards so I"ll wait a bit :P

BTW, are there any known problems that a 99 323i might be prone of having?

Also I'll go AUTO out of convinience, but manny is so nice though, I always have a blast driving one, but I get outta control and speed!

[mikiejack]

A review I found last night! Enjoy

2000 BMW 323Ci: Exquisitely Balanced Fun.

After a prolonged drive I can't help but say that the 323Ci with the sport package is one of my favourite cars at any price. Smooth, comfortable, beautiful, fun, fuel efficient, impeccably assembled and did I mention fun. The 2.5 litre in- line six is a jewel, and I prefer it to the 2.8 litre six in the 328Ci discussed elsewhere. Why? Simple, the engine is smoother, revs more quickly, gets better gas mileage and can be heard, if only just barely, singing its melodious tone.

Rated at only 170 hp and 181 lb-ft of torque the 323 isn't the fastest car but it never left be wanting. Acceleration is brisk (approx. 0-60 in 7.5 seconds) and torque is plentiful at low speeds. Which makes you wonder whether thos "horses" are Clydesdales or Arabians because they aren't 170 normal "horses".

With the sport package this car's dynamic balance is perfect. Defaulting to understeer, as most production cars do, the chassis can be balanced with the throttle and in tight slow corners it is easily induced into a flash of oversteer. Despite unmatched handling prowess the 323Ci also delivers first rate ride quality, that in conjunction with its quiet interior makes it an ideal highway cruiser. The gearbox can best be described as fluid and precise and pedal placement is ideal making heel and toe downshifts effortless and consistent. For whatever reason i never tripped up in the 323Ci's gate but the same cannot be said for the 328Ci. Equally the more immediate throttle response of the smaller engine made heal-and-toe downshifts that much more transparent.

The 323Ci with the sport package is good value but adding expensive BMW option packages quickly diminishes the value and starts to make the 323 a really expensive small car. The biggest option to pass on in my book is the $3800.00 ($1800 US) navigation system with incorporated HVAC and stereo controls. Almost four grand buys an awful lot of road maps and the screen controlled functions look cool but really are difficult to adjust while driving, which incidentally you tend to do in the "ultimate driving machine".

It seems that I can most often get comfortable in German sedans, and the 323 and 328 are not exceptions. Despite their small exterior dimensions these cars are right sized inside if not overly spacious in the rear compartment. Trunk capacity is generous. At $38,900 ($28,990 US) base at about $42,000 ($29,990 US) with the sport package and some goodies there are few better automotive values and surely no reason to spend more on any coupe. That is of course until the new M3 comes ashore with 340hp and a price in the mid-sixties.
~Michael La Fave

[OPTIMO]

I went with the ECIS intake (www.ecisbmw.com), because of the heatshield and the easy installation (takes 15min).

Easy installation and price are nice ($250 versus Dinan's $350). The installation is a more complex, but not at all difficult, just a bit time consuming. This is personal preference, mine was for the Dinan.
Here's a picture:
ftp://68.65.54.118/FSB/MVC-033F.JPG
Either way, get a CAI, not just the cool sound, but it helps pulling on the highway.

BTW, are there any known problems that a 99 323i might be prone of having?

One thing that affects the 328, as well as X5 and a few other engines is a problem with one of the heater/a/c modules burning out. This will make it impossible to turn on the heat/a/c on your own. Warren at the Service Dept. in Arlington had mine fixed within two hours. A few seat recalls I believe, but nothing major. I think the main difference between the 323/328 and 325/330 is the crank shaft on my car is forged not cast (? something like that? lil' help?). This will make a difference down the line when you s/c or t/c I suppose, but I haven't heard of any problems with s/c 323/328 using the ESS kit.

I couldn't stand the extremley long throw of the manual so I went with the UUC Motorwerks short shifter with the ball bearings.

I would recommend the RE SSK w/WSR www.rogueengineering.com I believe this is the superior short shift kit out on the market for E46s. When I get some money to blow I'll probably go with this.

IMHO the 323 revs slow, so I plan to go with a lightweight flywheel from Rogue Engineering (www.rogueengineering.com). This also drops about 15lbs from the weight of the car.

Nice recommendation. I plan on doing this as well. I did notice from their site:
Fits 1999-02 323 and 325 with clutch disc and pressure plate change (to E46 328/330)
It's $600, but probably well worth it:
http://www.rogueengineering.com/Merc...gory_Code=LTWF

haven't decided what coil over system I want to go with yet, but to reduce body roll and the unsightly gap between the wheel well you've got to lower the car.

H&R. I used to be a big fan of the PSS9s, but I've seen a few problems posted with them. Never seen a problem with H&R.

I also plan to go with a front shock tower brace (www.racdyn-usa.com),

The real Racing Dynamics is www.racingdynamics.com or www.racdyn.com
That URL is to a bootleg R/D shop. I would not suggest buying anythign from them, but most FSBs are one in the same so it couldn't hurt. Click that ftp link above to see a pic of my FSB.

sway bars from UUC Motorwerks.

Either UUC or R/D. I personally love my R/D ones, but have never heard a bad thing about the UUC. Just make sure you get them without adjustable endlinks (the newer R/D). I've heard issues with the adjustable endlinks.

If that's not enough, go with a Supercharger (www.esstuning.com).

Either ESS or G-Power.de Problem is, G-Power never got back to me on the list of questions I sent them. I have never heard of a problem with an ESS kit for our cars. I've also seen the install up close and personal and it is very sweet looking.

Vti gave you some great suggestions...so I would listen to him for the most part. I just offered my two cents on his take, since it seems we both spend half the day looking at mods for our cars.

Oh yeah, the one cosmetic mod I've done:
ftp://68.65.54.118/DDEs/Occoquan/MVC-013F.JPG

[bimmerphile]

yeah bringing this thread back from the dead, i know

what kind of HP gains can be expected from the shark injector + dinan/ecis CAI combo?

What would addind an AA/UUC exhaust onto those numbers do?

Thanks

-Kris