328 Questions

[daa328]

I recently purchased a 98' black/black 328i (4 door) with sport package. My questions about "sport mode": Can you shift between all the gears (1,2,3,D) or just 3rd and drive?, When at a stoplight do you shift to first or stay in current gear? When launching what is the best gear to start in? I am trying to decide what mods I want to do, and so far I think I might get a JC chip, intake, possibly exhaust. Sorry for the list of newbie questions but i'm just curious. I'll post pics soon-

[daa328]

So far I found bavauto.com a good starting point for a few things. I am new to BMW (Used to drive Land Rover) and I realize the 328 isn't a racecar especially when auto and stock. I am basically asking if anyone can give me some worthwhile mods that are within reasonable price. For instance will an CAI really make a difference more than a few horses over just a k&n filter? I was looking for an e36 m3 exhaust until i discovered that it's heavier than stock, so I am looking for a replacement muffler with maybe a better sound to it. Once again, thanks for the help and I realize I won't see significant gains without going forced induction.

[stevewashington]

It is easier and cheaper to make a 328 handle like a M3 than it is to make it run like a M3 in a straight line. The K&N or CAI only add a few HP but they sound GREAT. Same with the exhaust. The biggest improvements I have found are with suspension upgrades. Shocks & Springs, Sway bars & lower control arm Bushings. X-brace, Front & rear Strut tower braces. I usually run top 15 at my local auto cross. With many Corvettes & Porches behind me. But in a straight line I would be lucky if I could keep up with a Maxima or v6 Accord. If you want to go fast in a straight line you need to spend about 8k on a Turbo kit or start with a M3. I am thinking about getting an M3. Have fun.
Steve
96 328i SCCA STS
88 MR2 SC GRM $2003

[Baby M3]

Congratulations on your purchase!

You may shift from 1,2,3 and D on your auto tranny but I am almost positive that you will achieve the best result by stepping on your brake until your RPM hits 3 grand, and just floor the car in third gear. I would not recommend doing this often as this launching method puts a lot of wears and tears on your tranny.

I usually drive around in 3rd gear and I think it feels better than manually shifting my auto tranny and it's more responsive under most circumstances.

Chip is NOT available on E36 3 series BMWs produced in 1996+ years. Due to the more advanced OBDII design, you'll have to upgrade your ECU by buying software upgrades from either J. Conforti (it's called the Shark Injector) or Dinan. The software upgrade costs about $300 or so.

The most common, performance oriented intakes I've seen nowadays are either:
1. J. Conforti (expensive though. $400+ new),
2. Dinan (almost as expensive as the J.Conforti one but it utilizes a carbon fiber tube and looks nice. The only problem is that it extends down to the bottom of the engine and many have worried about the possibility of the intake's sucking in water when it's raining, which would cause great damage to your engine).
3. Active Autowerke
4. ECIS (Very similar to the AA intake but it does not cost as much. In my personal opinion the ECIS is your best bang for the buck for which intakes will hardly give you any hp anyway).

Exhaust wise, the ones that received the most amount of hypes are:
1. Active Autowerke exhaust (known to produce that Ferrai sound in E36 3 series).
2. UUC exhaust
3. Rogue Engineering exhaust
4. Tri Flo exhaust (known for being loud)
5. RMS exhaust (also known as Fox exhaust in Europe. This is what I currently have on my car and it's very loud. Prob. even louder than Tri Flo's Loud Version exhaust).

If you have more questions, you can try the search function and I am pretty sure you'll come up with a lot more than you can imagine.

Good luck.

Jon

Originally posted by daa328
I recently purchased a 98' black/black 328i (4 door) with sport package. My questions about "sport mode": Can you shift between all the gears (1,2,3,D) or just 3rd and drive?, When at a stoplight do you shift to first or stay in current gear? When launching what is the best gear to start in? I am trying to decide what mods I want to do, and so far I think I might get a JC chip, intake, possibly exhaust. Sorry for the list of newbie questions but i'm just curious. I'll post pics soon-

[daa328]

Hey thanks for the responses- I was a little unsure about the sport mode but I think I have it now. As far as mods, I only had an m3 suspension put in when I got into a minor front end accident. For now I might just put a k&n panel in and start looking for exhaust pretty soon. Hopefully I can take a few pics when I get my smoked corners and indicators in from bavauto.

[xicethugx]

thanks guys i needed to know also

[daa328]

Right now i'm at 57k miles and I have my next service date coming up at 60k. What does this service include, and is there anything relatively simple I can do or check myself? Also, how much will this service cost at a dealer?

[SinCity328]

The service is expensive, but you must do it. My service wasn't done at 60k, i bought the car at 70k and found out when my automatic tranny fell apart at 80k, luckily i had a warranty!

As for the Engine, the 328 makes about 18-25HP less to the wheels then the m3 of the same year, many people pretend their a ton faster but i go to the track every 2 weeks and my 328 w/Dinan intake is within .3-.6 seconds of every e36m3, it has alot to do with the drivers but even on the steet the 2 different m3's i raced couldn't get more than 2-2.5 cars on me by 90.

Check out

www.eurospeedperformance.com/Products/intake.htm

I have talked to alot of people and the Older style intake manifold can produce alot of topend with the right mods.