hey everyone, i am a virgin to the forum world

[Platanos]

was up yall. a little about myself i guess. I'm 26 yrs old. live in PA but will be moving to Florida when i return from Iraq (thats where i'm at now). i will hopefully be leaving here in November. i drive a black 96 ti (automatic, i know i made a mistake not going for the stick, but to late) i never had the chance to "hook up" a ride, so why not start with the ti right? i was able to go home in April for a 2 week R&R. i bought some 18 inch manaray's (gunmetal) and some falken 235/40/18 (i think). i'm not very good with cars, so i'm hoping to get schooled at this forum. after slappin the rims on (which i think look awesome) i noticed a big gap in the wheel well (front not so much in the back). so just last week i bought some H&R race springs offline. it ran me about $244 for the springs. do yall think i should've went with the sport springs insted? i guess i will need some new shocks to go with the race springs. any suggestions? i'm not rich, so price is kind of an issue. i have so many things i'd like do do with the ti but i don't know what order to do them in. i was thinking after dropping it i would get the rieger m3 body kit. is that a good idea? i hope to learn alot from you guys and ladies. i have some pics of the ti but haven't learned to post them yet. take care, and god bless the USA, and HAPPY INDEPENDANCE DAY

Fernando

[robcarync]

first off...i want to thank you for your service to this wonderful country...god bless you man and i hope everything goes OK over there...

secondly....WELCOME TO THE BEST TI SITE IN THE WORLD! when i first came here, I was 16....just got my license and just started driving the TI...i knew nothing about cars when i got here...and this site has been the best to helping me learn about my ride.

as for the automatic issue...i drive an auto too i picked the car out when i just started driving...and i learned to drive on an auto...so i didnt even think about considering a stick...but i kinda wish id gone with a stick now...im 18 now and still havent even driven a stick once...

[jflip2002]

Welcome to the site. I think appearance wise, youre doing things in the right order. If you need good shocks, that arent at a performance price, KYB has good shocks for lowered vehicles. Theyre about $75 per shock/strut. So its not too bad. Another quick and cheap mod you have to do is take off your amber/orange-ish colored corners and side markers. Clears are pretty cheap, especially if you look on ebay. Hope that helps at least a little =\

[robcarync]

yeah...clears are good! i bought my clear corners on ebay for about 20 dollars...as opposed to 50ish from bavauto...of course they arent 'BMW' Brand...but they work fine...

tail lights are TI specific...so you have to throw out 200 or so dollars on those from a BMW store...

[Platanos]

Yo, thanks for the welcome guys. I was looking into the "clears" and found this......http://www.turnermotorsport.com/html...3093SET6-CHECK its like $309 for the corners, side markers and the tail lights. I like this site, its where I got the H&R race springs. Now is there a big difference in the brands that sell this ****. Am I gonna regret paying less for something not up to my standars? I haven't looked into the shocks yet. I will look for the KYB and I also know of Bilstein, and Ebiach. Are there any others out there that would be worth checking out? Oh, how do I find the production date of my ti? For some reason this website wants to know??

[robcarync]

i ordered my clears off of ebay...my corners and sides came from a seller called 'revotec' and my taillights came from a user called 'genuinebmwparts' or something like that...

corners were like 14 dollars + shipping, sides were 10 + shipping, and tails were 200 + shipping since they were 'legit' bmw brand products...

i bought the 'cheap' corners/sides, and i have been 100% satisfied with them...fit perfectly and look exactly the same...

production date should be on the inside of the driver side door frame if im not mistaking...

[nick_hegel]

Originally Posted by Platanos

Yo, thanks for the welcome guys. I was looking into the "clears" and found this......http://www.turnermotorsport.com/html...3093SET6-CHECK its like $309 for the corners, side markers and the tail lights. I like this site, its where I got the H&R race springs. Now is there a big difference in the brands that sell this ****. Am I gonna regret paying less for something not up to my standars? I haven't looked into the shocks yet. I will look for the KYB and I also know of Bilstein, and Ebiach. Are there any others out there that would be worth checking out? Oh, how do I find the production date of my ti? For some reason this website wants to know??

Turner Motorsport is a great site! I've ordered there a few times and have been happy with them. The taillights in that link are not for the TI(not sure if you noticed). The TI tails might just be easier to get from a dealer, though it may cost a bit. Welcome and get home safely!

[jflip2002]

I believe I Got my clears and corners from revotec too, and theyre totally fine. You can get yoru clears and sides on ebay. But Im not too sure about the tails, I would get good ones from a site if youre worried about the quality. Theres nothign worse looking than cheap taillights. But once in a while you will find nice clears on ebay for about $150 or so.

[robcarync]

tail lights are specific to the TI...so most ebay sellers dont make them unless they are selling legit BMW brand products...so i bought revotec corners and sides, and BMW brand tails...

dont forget...corners for the TI are 4 door, and not 2 door

[jflip2002]

I see legit ti clears, identical to the ones you have on your ti. But there's also a seller who has ti tails with a cheap ricer design, with the totally crystal clear lens, chrome backing, and ugly red dots..... Like you'd see on a honda or crapura.I wish it wasn't so hard finding parts for our tis on ebay

[Tyler]

Originally Posted by nick_hegel

The taillights in that link are not for the TI(not sure if you noticed). The TI tails might just be easier to get from a dealer, though it may cost a bit.

Actually those lights are for a ti. The 1st thing it says is body style and the 3rd choice is 318ti.

Anyway Welcome to the site. You can find alot of helpful info on here through the search function. Try and post some pics when you get a chance.

[Platanos]

Originally Posted by Tyler

Actually those lights are for a ti. The 1st thing it says is body style and the 3rd choice is 318ti.

Anyway Welcome to the site. You can find alot of helpful info on here through the search function. Try and post some pics when you get a chance.

Yeah, I noticed that too. The 3rd option is for the ti (and it says it will be $50 cheaper in parenthesis) not sure how to spell these(). Anyhow, I think I will get these cause I'm not that good at ebaying...All I need to do is tell wifey to get me the production date of the ti...hahaha

Hey, How do I hook up the pics? I've tried but its not working out for me!! I'll keep trying. What the difference between a thread and a post? Since I can't get a picture up (it wants a 100x100 pixel) here is a link to my ti, enjoy, please let me know what you think.

http://pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/platan...40.jpg&.src=ph

[chepas]

Originally Posted by robcarync

first off...i want to thank you for your service to this wonderful country...god bless you man and i hope everything goes OK over there...

secondly....WELCOME TO THE BEST TI SITE IN THE WORLD! when i first came here, I was 16....just got my license and just started driving the TI...i knew nothing about cars when i got here...and this site has been the best to helping me learn about my ride.

as for the automatic issue...i drive an auto too i picked the car out when i just started driving...and i learned to drive on an auto...so i didnt even think about considering a stick...but i kinda wish id gone with a stick now...im 18 now and still havent even driven a stick once...

I little off topic, but, robcarync I thought you were like 40, just got the impression from previous posts...

[nick_hegel]

Originally Posted by Tyler

Actually those lights are for a ti. The 1st thing it says is body style and the 3rd choice is 318ti.

Anyway Welcome to the site. You can find alot of helpful info on here through the search function. Try and post some pics when you get a chance.

I just meant the ones in the pic.

[robcarync]

TEE HEE...not 40...im 18!

you silly goose!

checked them pics...SWEET rims man!

i think your car would look really nice with clears...i think its the most basic and probably worthwhile cosmetic modification one can make...i think they look so great on the TI especially!