ur suggestions! =)

[shimajer]

let say i hav 500-600 and my car is pretti much stocked except for the clears

wat shud i do?

1) get intake
2) exhaust/muffler
3) save up for rims/tires
4) get springs to lower car
5) sound system
6) save up for bodykit

help me out here . my fellow toronto e46 fanatics!
u guys hav the best ideass.

[christyles]

let say i hav 500-600 and my car is pretti much stocked except for the clears

wat shud i do?

1) get intake
2) exhaust/muffler
3) save up for rims/tires
4) get springs to lower car
5) sound system
6) save up for bodykit

help me out here . my fellow toronto e46 fanatics!
u guys hav the best ideass.
Well regardless what our opinions are, I think you should mod on what makes you happy and what your purpose will be.

If you're trying to pimp out, I'll tell you what to do. :p I would probably go rims and lowering first. The first mod i ever got was rims. It's the "rings" to the car and clears would be your "earrings". I look at it like she's my girl. However, depending on what rim style you have now, you may be able to get away with what you have...

Plus that thing that they call "mod plan"... no such thing. I keep trying, but it's hopeless. I'm averaging about 2 mods a month which was NOT the plan.

My only advice, is take your time. Don't buy any mods you think you won't be happy with. Do the researh ask around, and try to build around a theme or vision of what you want your car to look like or sound.

I'm goin witht the solid stealth theme, all black and accents of chrome. Here's an idea...but far from finished.

[shimajer]

nice car u got there! and nice rims =)

yah i guess ur right, but i was just lookin for sugggestions , i guess for fun haha

[laziemofo]

personally i would lower the car first...well atleast that was my first mod... id go for some lower springs if not save up for coils!!! coils are teh way to go!!

[BlueSky]

depends on which way you want to go... show or go...

for show...
i would get wheels / lower / body kit first

for go...
i would get intake / exhaust / software

what i did was i list out a bunch of mods that i wanted to get.. and just wait till i see a good deal and jump on it...

[shimajer]

i always wanted to lower my car first..
but i hav the stock 16 right now.. so if i was to buy 17 or 18 later, they would rub?

anyone can suggest me wat type of spring i can use for my car?
and coilover

[laziemofo]

pss9s just got me some very gd ride!!!!

[christyles]

i always wanted to lower my car first..
but i hav the stock 16 right now.. so if i was to buy 17 or 18 later, they would rub?

anyone can suggest me wat type of spring i can use for my car?
and coilover
no... they won't rub. Far from it. I have stock non=sport suspension and 17" and i have another 3 fingers of space to fill.

Can't say from experience, but based on talking to many members here about my goal in doin my 323 as a show car according to my taste, Eibach Pro Kit and Bilstein shocks. no rake look. Then i'd like to move up to 18" if my 17's don't look right.. IMO.

[BabyBlack]

i always wanted to lower my car first..
but i hav the stock 16 right now.. so if i was to buy 17 or 18 later, they would rub?

anyone can suggest me wat type of spring i can use for my car?
and coilover

No, even you go with 19 or 20 with proper offset and tire will not going to rub the fender. I say lower the car first which gives you better look and little better handleing woot

[shimajer]

how much do i need for a decent set of springs..
any suggestions

[BlueSky]

the price varies...

just an rough idea for used ones...
springs only... from $100 up
springs & shocks combo... from $300 up
coilovers... from $800 up

check out for sale sections... u can always find something there... ;)

[shimajer]

the price varies...

just an rough idea for used ones...
springs only... from $100 up
springs & shocks combo... from $300 up
coilovers... from $800 up

check out for sale sections... u can always find something there... ;)

ya man, theres something i dont get..
its that wat are the differences from all three types? i mean, of course the more expensive, the better.. but as an occasional driver, not lookin for races, just cruising around u kno, which one shud i get.. just springs ?

[Magnus]

isn't it not good if u put lower spring on a stock shock ?? i hurt u might kill the shock in 2 yrs (depends on how u drive ) but with the road condition in the GTA area ... :Qboy:

[M007]

If you're not lowering more then 2', you should be ok. If you have sports suspension, I wouldn't worry about it.

[enarchy]

go for the drop!
u'll love it, it'll feel like a totally new car!

[Ace]

i would say go for the wheel and tire upgrade first...find some really good looking wheels and buy yourself some performance tires...i think that this is the best compromise between show and performance....for someone coming from 16" stock wheels you are going to really feel the car "stick" in the corners more, and it also makes the car look way more aggressive! that's my 2 cents...good luck!

[shimajer]

im currently tryin to find some 1999-2001 clear oem rears to b installed on the 2004 320i sedan.. got this suggestion from lazie, heard from him it would look sickk

anyone done that before?

[alexm520]

im currently tryin to find some 1999-2001 clear oem rears to b installed on the 2004 320i sedan.. got this suggestion from lazie, heard from him it would look sickk
anyone done that before?

If 320i is yours, I thought you said in the original post that you already have clears (?)

Plus, unless you are willing to pay top dollar for very light rims (under 19lbs), you probably want to think twice of getting 18-20" rims for your car ( I am guessing the other guys would not have recommended those large sizes if they knew you drive 320 - it helps to post such info up front). You are going to really feel the weight of those large rims/tires on your car (ie, your stock acceleration will decrease). 17" rims are probably as large as you should be going to at least maintain your stock performance.


AlexM520

[M333ee]

Alex is correct,

Even with ultra light 18's or 19's, the rotational mass of the larger wheel and tire combo will greatly affect you acceleration and overall feel of the car. The only positive is they will make your car look :cool: str8pimp

If you are going for show and don't care about stoplight shootouts and burn outs go for the larger wheels and tires....

It will cost you at least $2000+ for a nice used set though.

[shimajer]

ya mang, i m brokee all the time.. only a high skool student.. so spends my money right away all the time lol hahah
thnx for all the suggestions

[ianS]

Alex is correct,

Even with ultra light 18's or 19's, the rotational mass of the larger wheel and tire combo will greatly affect you acceleration and overall feel of the car. The only positive is they will make your car look :cool: str8pimp

If you are going for show and don't care about stoplight shootouts and burn outs go for the larger wheels and tires....

It will cost you at least $2000+ for a nice used set though.

Hm... I dun understand that now! if the tire & rim combo have the same weight & diameter then why 18, 19 has higher rotational mass? :Idunno: It still shouldn't make that much difference even if you count the weight distribution along the wheels diameter since the weight of tire and usually quite close to the rim.

BTW, usually you will put at least 225 width of tire on 17"+ rims instead of 205 on 16" on 320, so it still will hurt your performance.

[Regin8r]

Hm... I dun understand that now! if the tire & rim combo have the same weight & diameter then why 18, 19 has higher rotational mass? :Idunno: It still shouldn't make that much difference even if you count the weight distribution along the wheels diameter since the weight of tire and usually quite close to the rim.

BTW, usually you will put at least 225 width of tire on 17"+ rims instead of 205 on 16" on 320, so it still will hurt your performance.

Although the overall weight is the same, the placement of the weight is different.

Here is a science experiement to illustrate the point further:

Tie a string to a weight and swing it around in a circle. Note how much effort was required to get it spinning. Now let the string out more so that it is longer. Now try to get the same weight spinning around in a circle with the longer radius. It should be more difficult to get the same weight spinning in a circle. Do you get it now?

[M333ee]

Yup,

Reg has a good example!

I went back to my old 17" M68's after having the 19's for 2 years.
Wow what a difference...

[ianS]

Although the overall weight is the same, the placement of the weight is different.

Here is a science experiement to illustrate the point further:

Tie a string to a weight and swing it around in a circle. Note how much effort was required to get it spinning. Now let the string out more so that it is longer. Now try to get the same weight spinning around in a circle with the longer radius. It should be more difficult to get the same weight spinning in a circle. Do you get it now?

Since no matter 16, 17, 18 or 19" rim but you still need to have the same overall diameter after the tire on and usually the weight of a normal tire is quite close to the weight of the normal rim so we can assume the weight distribution along the wheel & tire combo is linear and we can assume an average rotation mass should be accurate enough. So if a 16" rim & tire have the same weight of 19" rim & tire then they should have the same rotational mass.

[M333ee]

No incorrect.

Assuming the same diameter and overall weight, a 16" wheel and tire combo will have more mass at the center of the wheel then at the outer diameter. A 19" wheel will have a lot more mass on the outer diameter because of the inner flange of the wheel being further away from the middle.

[Regin8r]

Since no matter 16, 17, 18 or 19" rim but you still need to have the same overall diameter after the tire on and usually the weight of a normal tire is quite close to the weight of the normal rim so we can assume the weight distribution along the wheel & tire combo is linear and we can assume an average rotation mass should be accurate enough. So if a 16" rim & tire have the same weight of 19" rim & tire then they should have the same rotational mass.

If they made wheels that were one solid cylinder, and rubber and aluminum had the same weight and density, you would be correct. Only in the situation where you have the SAME weight and density for rubber AND aluminum though, since the overall diameter and overall weight are the same.

However in reality, the weight distribution of a wheel is not uniform.

If you cut off the spokes of a rim, and weighed the spokes separately from the fat part (I don't knowwhat it's called) that attaches to the tire, you will find different weights (hence, the weight distrbution is not uniform). The weight of the spokes is much less than the weight of the fat rim part.

I mean, logically, think of the shape of the rim. The spokes are much thinner than the part that attaches to the rubber. Don't you think that fat part would weigh more?

If you cut the spokes off the smaller diameter set of rims, you will find the same thing, the majority of the weight is in the fat part of the rim. Now imagine the fat rim part is further away from the centre.

Here, this should help:

http://theory.uwinnipeg.ca/physics/circ/node6.html

That boy Newton was a smart man. :nerd:

[ianS]

No incorrect.

Assuming the same diameter and overall weight, a 16" wheel and tire combo will have more mass at the center of the wheel then at the outer diameter. A 19" wheel will have a lot more mass on the outer diameter because of the inner flange of the wheel being further away from the middle.

Ah... totally forgot that the outer lip of the rim is where the mass is! :}:

[alexm520]

Another point to consider is the width of a tire on a larger rim (even if overall diameter and rim weight are the same). For example, going from a stock 205 to Plus-1/2/3 concept (225, 235, 245+ sizes).

It has been established that a larger (width) tire will hurt acceleration and improve corning. On a larger engine cars you may be willing to give up a bit of acceleration for looks and cornering improvements, but on smaller engine ones the last thing you want to do is to install much larger rims/tires that will slow you down even further.

AlexM520

[ianS]

Actually, I have another noob question too. Usually a camber kit is needed after lowering the car but I never heard ne1 on this board or the old E46To did mention about the camber kit also I never saw any camber kit for E46 too. :Idunno: Is it because the stock camber on E46 is already fully adjustable, so an alignment is already able to correct the camber? But I have seem some E36 & E46 toe in very badly! :Idunno:

[Asmodeus]

GruppeM.

You'll love it :)