perfomance mods

[momorugger]

autocross season is just around the corner, and I have 400 bucks burning a hole in my pocket. I already have a performance exhaust, so what would provide the biggest performance gains for that kind of budget? Having searched the threads, K&Ns are out, are there any good performance chips out there for that kind of money, or should I get some suspension work?

[mohaughn]

You are not going to be able to do that much suspension work with only 400$. I guess you could if you bought OEM parts and did the labor yourself. Replacing worn out suspension parts will make a huge difference..

But you should be able to get a chip for around 200-300$. Probably your best bet for less than 400$.

[weezer]

BMWCCA driving school $350.00 - gain: skills
Suspension work: $600 shocks + $200 springs - gain: handling
X-brace, OEM BMW : $100-120 - gain: tight handling and chassis rigidity
Dinan/Nickg/superchips flash: $249-295 - gain: claims 3-15hp, 7000rpm, speed gov. off
CAI; $25-250 - gain: claims 2-5
DASC: $3k - gain: 70-75hp
DIY classes: free depending on your chapter/region
Being able to fix/mod your own car, knowing how to handle and knowing what it needs: PRICELESS!!!..........:wink: :biggrin:

[momorugger]

I am already enrolled in a local performance driving school, and while probably not on par w/ BMWCCA, I am gonna use it for driving school credit. I am pretty handy around a car, and have access to a lift to work on all of the underbody components. thanks for all the tips.

[bullmand]

For $400 I second the X-brace. Take the leftover money and replace suspension bushings with polyurethane. The Powerflex stuff is nice and you could probably get just about everything they have for $300. Or you could piecemeal it from Bavauto.com or bmpdesign.com. IMHO, you'll always get more bang for the buck from suspension goodies than you will from a chip for our cars.

[Bam2002]

what shape are your tires in? you can have a great suspension set up and without the ability to keep it stuck to the ground its useless. So getting a used set of rims and some R compound tires is also a good investment. If you plan to auto X regularly. So you can get the used rims for less that 400. and if you get 15s. you can find R compounds for under $100 each. or 16s at 120 Ea on close outs.

B

[mohaughn]

Another very cheap and very beneficial upgrade is all synthetic fluids. Transmission(manual), differential, and oil. Royal purple and Redline both make good synthetic transmission and differential oils. The usual major players for oil. I noticed a major improvement in the performance and overall noise/vibration of my transmission when I switched to redline MT90. Same for the LSD. Grassroots motorsports showed on a dyno that they could get power from their 318ti lower(sooner) in the powerband just by running all synthetic fluids. Nothing major, but for the low price it probably has the most return in performance and longevity.

Also check your air filter. Buy a new one if it is even questionable. You should check it before every event.

8.0 or 8.5mm magnecor spark plug wires are another popular upgrade. Get them from apexperformance.net.

[momorugger]

I have brand new tires, w/ less than 1000 miles on them. I JUST changed the oil, about 10 miles ago. And I have a new air filter on the way. When I had my car up on the lift changing oil, I noticed that the rubber casing for the suspension strut had cracked. I couldn't see any damage to the metal it was encasing, but should I still be concerned? Thanks for all the pointers

[aceyx]

BRAKES! Good pads and a bleed will do wonders.

It's not always about being able to go fast, sometimes it's about being able to slow down at the last minute.

[Viper3812]

What year is your ti? if you have an m42, I have a chip for you, Jim Conforti.

[momorugger]

it's a 99, so I've got the M44.