New to the site, Long time ti owner
 

I see alot of newbies introducing themselves so I figured I would do the same. I just found 318ti.org a few days ago and I can't believe that I have owned a ti for all this time and never heard about this site (I finally found a home:wave:). I have had my '96 M-tech ti since '99, I am the second owner. It currently has about 125,xxx on it right now. I have kept it completely stock all these years for two basic reasons...

1) I don't want to screw it up. I know that some of you know what I mean (thanks to the "Rate the most tastefully modded ti" thread) if you do too much, or even just one or two Distasteful mods, then there is usually no going back. In my opinion there is not much you can do to improve the look of an M-tech ti anyway, other than maybe some rims (I like M contours).

2) As far as the internals, I have been really quite satisfied with the performance and fuel efficiency of the stock motor. Shortly after I got the car I had the thought to do an M3 swap, but I have never performed a project of that size and I didn't want to break it. So here I am almost 10 years (geez that makes me feel old) after making the purchase, and I still have the stock power. It has always been fine with me, but.....

Now one of my best buddies (finally listening to reason) sold his integra, his TL, and took out a loan and bought a 2000 M5 with 50k on it... I took it for a spin. Damn M-power!! Now I have to either get an M myself or power up the ti. I have always really liked the e36 M but it was a bit out of my price range as a 19 year old back in 99.

What do you guys think I should do? Keep the ti stock and get an M3 too? Or just add some power to the ti (M swap, supercharger,ect.), and if so, what do you think would be the best way to go?

-Thanks for reading

http://i531.photobucket.com/albums/d...0524081058.jpghttp://i531.photobucket.com/albums/d...0524081057.jpg[IMG]http://i531.photobucket.com/albums/d...0524081059.jpg
ps. Pics are not the best I know, leaves and tree "things" always falling on it (althought they go away with just a quick push on the gas pedal :) Will post some more flattering pics soon.

welcome, let me guess, googling 318ti? ;) as for doing an M3 swap or buying an M3 and keeping the ti, do whichever is in your price range

Dont get me wrong, the ti is an awesome and rare car, plus it is quick aswell. But if you have the cash I would definately go for the M3 because it already looks amazing, plus it has power just from the stock motor. A supercharged ti is super-fun but in no way competes with any M (other then the sound it makes). Another plus is that with a 6 cylinder under the hood, any type of engine mod will have a much larger impact on horsepower gains. The only downside would be the price. Good luck deciding what to do and keep us posted on your plans.

Grimm

e36 M3's have been coming down a lot in price over the past few years. I love my ti and plan on keeping it for awhile too. I recently started thinking about the power issue, and there's either: swap in a 6, rebuild then supercharge the M44, or rebuild the M44 for more hp/tq (like through Metric Mechanic). OK, sure, there are a few other options out there, the the 3 listed are the most feasible.

The ti is indeed unique and rare in it's own right. I've kind of fallen in love with the idea of keeping the little 4-banger in there. This leaves me with limited and expensive options for upgrading...oh well.

If I had the money, I'd totally look for a cheaper M3 and keep the ti too. It's not too hard to find a nice one with decent mileage...they're all over the place on bimmerforums.com. Then maybe up the road you can supercharge and have two really nasty BMWs :)