[AWBimmer]

Chaps,

Going to start the modding fairly soon and I'll stick to this 1 thread. As and when I've done something I'll keep updating this thread with pics ofcourse!

Paid my first visit to Teddy @ SSDD this morning to discuss parts etc. He's given some good suggestions and clarfied a couple of things I was unsure on in terms of modding E92s. I actually went there to pick up some LEDs for the rear number plate and it turned out excellent. Bright, nothing mental - but certainly compliments the door lits. Could be a little too bright for me but I can live with th fact they're no longer yellow. I'm not sure if I want to change the insides to LEDs - personally, probs too bright but that's me.

Plans for mod are as follows and it would help if you more experienced modders could guide me on where to start and what to leave to last.. this is going to be my first ever time really as previous cars were mainly run arounds (apart from the E90 of course! ;-))

So to begin with (pics will follow tonight hopefully):

Done:
1. LED no. plates which I'm chuffed about haha.

Plan on:
1. Rear Lip - Teddy gave me a good price and sampled a black rear lip on the boot so now I'm stuck for what colour to go for. My trim is black (in the light it's glittery - is this piano black or gloss black?)

2. Suspension / Spacers -
a/ Suspension - Decided coilovers are useless for me unless I do track days which I wont. For daily drive, Springs will suffice.. H&R or Eibach - how low to go in order to reduce wheel gap to minimum whilst maintaing a comfortable ride. Don't mind the ride being a little more stiffer to get the right drop.

b/ Spacers - Will 12mm all around do or should I go 15mm? How about a mxture? What do you all suggest? Want a nice clea / flush look - not compromise too much on the ride but enough to make heads turn for a nice flulsh finish

3. M Tech Aero front Splitter ? Any thoughts when adding directly onto an SE Bumper.. has anyone done this to the SE coupe and could provide some pics please?

4. M Sport Rear Diffuser? Does this mean I have to change the whole rear bumper?

5. Map - Jason @ BW Chiptune (that's a given, but worth mentioning)

6. M sport Steering Wheel Retrofit - Easily Do-able? Any guidelines on here which will also explain how to re-install the Paddleshits?

7. Alloys - 1st choice 313 OEM / 2nd choice MV4s / 3rd Aftermarket ones - any suggestions from wise ones? I envisage this to be a little later in the mod phase but want to keep an eye out for anything now.

If I've missed anything out, let me know.. but please comment on what should be done first followed by what else etc.. Want to get it right first time :-D

Excited to get the ball rolling but this forum is deadly lol

[Hotcoupe]

1. Rear Lip - Teddy gave me a good price and sampled a black rear lip on the boot so now I'm stuck for what colour to go for. My trim is black (in the light it's glittery - is this piano black or gloss black?)

Personally i'd go for a body coloured lip to retain the OEM look.
It sounds like your interior trim is piano black,as I don't think BMW did/do a gloss black,it could of course not be an OEM finish (pics would help)


2. Suspension / Spacers -
a/ Suspension - Decided coilovers are useless for me unless I do track days which I wont. For daily drive, Springs will suffice.. H&R or Eibach - how low to go in order to reduce wheel gap to minimum whilst maintaing a comfortable ride. Don't mind the ride being a little more stiffer to get the right drop.

Of the two,H&R will give the bigger drop by some margin,and aesthetically is the better choice,however the ride will suffer considerably,so if you're running runflats I'd dump them at the earliest opportunity (I'd do that anyway!).
So if looks are you're main priority it's H&R (Teddy can source these for you)


b/ Spacers - Will 12mm all around do or should I go 15mm? How about a mxture? What do you all suggest? Want a nice clea / flush look - not compromise too much on the ride but enough to make heads turn for a nice flulsh finish

So if we assume you go H&R + you dump the runflats in favour of non RFT's in 235/35/19 & 265/30's/19's, you can forget 15mm spacers (you can forget them regardless),you're left with 12's or 10's.

12mm on the rears will give an offset of ET27 which on the E92 will rub regardless,OK perhaps not on a good road surface,but add undulations + rear seat passengers it will rub,add in H&R springs + a larger width tyre and it's worse.
10mm on the rears and you're running an offset of ET29,you might get away with that.

So,I'd recommend spacers of 10mm all round which will retain the OEM staggered look. (again Teddy's your man for these)


3. M Tech Aero front Splitter ? Any thoughts when adding directly onto an SE Bumper.. has anyone done this to the SE coupe and could provide some pics please?

I can't comment on this as I have no experience as I've only had MSport's


4. M Sport Rear Diffuser? Does this mean I have to change the whole rear bumper?

I believe it does,yes

5. Map - Jason @ BW Chiptune (that's a given, but worth mentioning)

6. M sport Steering Wheel Retrofit - Easily Do-able? Any guidelines on here which will also explain how to re-install the Paddleshits?

Easy enough,I can think of two members who have done it - acerboo and awfully polite


7. Alloys - 1st choice 313 OEM / 2nd choice MV4s / 3rd Aftermarket ones - any suggestions from wise ones? I envisage this to be a little later in the mod phase but want to keep an eye out for anything now.

Have you considered the 269's?
http://www.alloywheelsdirect.net/bmw...ance_wheel_542
Lovely wheel and probably more exclusive than your first two choices



If I've missed anything out, let me know.. but please comment on what should be done first followed by what else etc.. Want to get it right first time :-D

Priorities-I don't think it really matters,your pocket may well determine the order you do the mods in though

[davyk31]

M Sport wheel is an easy swap, there is a good guide on here. Hardest bit is finding an M Sport wheel for sale with paddle cut outs.

[1sh@Crystalwhite]

Looking forward to seeing pics!

[davyk31]

Keep the 230 wheels, they look great !!

Add the BMW aero front and that's the front sorted.

[AWBimmer]

Originally Posted by davyk31

M Sport wheel is an easy swap, there is a good guide on here. Hardest bit is finding an M Sport wheel for sale with paddle cut outs.

I guess so - are they that rare to come by - well if you do come across any, I'd be really grateful for the pointer. I'm on here far too much, and go through these on / off phases! lol. Usually Audio would be my first call but in hindsight, I didn't even give that any thought!

Originally Posted by 1SH

Looking forward to seeing pics!

Me too! Just sent you a PM btw :-)

Originally Posted by davyk31

Keep the 230 wheels, they look great !!

Add the BMW aero front and that's the front sorted.

I do love these 230's. I think once I've sorted out the susp / stance, I'll be in a much better position to decide and in no rush to spend a bomb on allys as I do love these ones.

[AWBimmer]

Originally Posted by Hotcoupe

1. Rear Lip - Teddy gave me a good price and sampled a black rear lip on the boot so now I'm stuck for what colour to go for. My trim is black (in the light it's glittery - is this piano black or gloss black?)

Personally i'd go for a body coloured lip to retain the OEM look.
It sounds like your interior trim is piano black,as I don't think BMW did/do a gloss black,it could of course not be an OEM finish (pics would help)


2. Suspension / Spacers -
a/ Suspension - Decided coilovers are useless for me unless I do track days which I wont. For daily drive, Springs will suffice.. H&R or Eibach - how low to go in order to reduce wheel gap to minimum whilst maintaing a comfortable ride. Don't mind the ride being a little more stiffer to get the right drop.

Of the two,H&R will give the bigger drop by some margin,and aesthetically is the better choice,however the ride will suffer considerably,so if you're running runflats I'd dump them at the earliest opportunity (I'd do that anyway!).
So if looks are you're main priority it's H&R (Teddy can source these for you)


b/ Spacers - Will 12mm all around do or should I go 15mm? How about a mxture? What do you all suggest? Want a nice clea / flush look - not compromise too much on the ride but enough to make heads turn for a nice flulsh finish

So if we assume you go H&R + you dump the runflats in favour of non RFT's in 235/35/19 & 265/30's/19's, you can forget 15mm spacers (you can forget them regardless),you're left with 12's or 10's.

12mm on the rears will give an offset of ET27 which on the E92 will rub regardless,OK perhaps not on a good road surface,but add undulations + rear seat passengers it will rub,add in H&R springs + a larger width tyre and it's worse.
10mm on the rears and you're running an offset of ET29,you might get away with that.

So,I'd recommend spacers of 10mm all round which will retain the OEM staggered look. (again Teddy's your man for these)


3. M Tech Aero front Splitter ? Any thoughts when adding directly onto an SE Bumper.. has anyone done this to the SE coupe and could provide some pics please?

I can't comment on this as I have no experience as I've only had MSport's


4. M Sport Rear Diffuser? Does this mean I have to change the whole rear bumper?

I believe it does,yes

5. Map - Jason @ BW Chiptune (that's a given, but worth mentioning)

6. M sport Steering Wheel Retrofit - Easily Do-able? Any guidelines on here which will also explain how to re-install the Paddleshits?

Easy enough,I can think of two members who have done it - acerboo and awfully polite


7. Alloys - 1st choice 313 OEM / 2nd choice MV4s / 3rd Aftermarket ones - any suggestions from wise ones? I envisage this to be a little later in the mod phase but want to keep an eye out for anything now.

Have you considered the 269's?
http://www.alloywheelsdirect.net/bmw...ance_wheel_542
Lovely wheel and probably more exclusive than your first two choices



If I've missed anything out, let me know.. but please comment on what should be done first followed by what else etc.. Want to get it right first time :-D

Priorities-I don't think it really matters,your pocket may well determine the order you do the mods in though

Thanks Hotcoupe - great stuff! I'll look into everything you've said but from what I can remember, Teddy said to go for the Eibach ones for a more comfortable ride when compared to H&R, althought H&R as you right mentioned does give a lower drop!
I'm hopeless on these ET27 / 29s blurb, I need to read up on what they mean but it seems 12mm would result inr ubbing so stick with 10mm spacers all round and a drop of roughly how much? 35-4mm all round? I'm aiming for a comfortable ride given this is a daily drive, have to account for rear passengers (only rarely) and also want to have enough drop to make it look nice and flush - i.e. Minimal gap without rubbing whils taking into account rear passengers and DD.

P.S. Any idea where's best to source LCI tail lights from and whether I'd need to get recoding?

Thanks for the help!

[AWBimmer]

Ok, been doing lots of reading on Springs / Coilovers..

In short, I want to lower the car. I want to get as close to the top of the tyre (minimise arch gap!!) as possible without any rubbing issues. Car is currently on stock OEM 19" 230 style twisted spoke alloys with RFTs and I plan on sticking to RFTs as I don't find any problems with them on my E92. The E90 with RFTs was completely garbage!!

I know that H&R springs offer more lowering ability but gives harsher ride, esp with runflats.. anyway to overcome that without spending a bomb?

I also know that Eibach Pro Kit offer less a drop compared to H&R springs but proves to be better in ride quality..

Now as mine's a daily driver and I plan on keeping this for another couple of years or so.. what should I do and indeed, open to any other suggestions such as Eibach Pro System etc which I believe comes with shocks / dampers etc.

Many threads I've read say getting springs alone will not suffice and that later down the line the stock shocks will go quicker so if I'm going to do it, to do it right first time! Some say opt for coilovers, end of! Other interpret the above by way of getting say, Koni FSD or similar shocks etc to match aftermarket Springs..

My aim...

It's to be effectively clear those ugly wheel gaps and get a nice drop but not compromise TOO much on the ride (remember I have RFTs - for the foreseeable future - once these expire I'm sure to get back to Standard Tyres...

Anyways.. I mean I really want to start the mods and you guys have been instrumental so far so looking forward to more help

Sam.


sitting car on stock 230 19" alloys with RFTs.. as tucked in / low as possible without any rubbing issues

[P 5UML]

sam,

i got the eibach springs on my car but it hasnt lowered it as much as i had hoped!

i was thinking about the h&r springs but now i am definitely going down the coilover route! there are some good deals to be found and you can adjust the heights!

deck the crap out of it when its show season then back up for your daily driving

wheels, the 313s are lovely! you saw jags just bought his set and they look immense! other wheel choices worth looking/speaking to Mark at BMautosport.com

he is a top bloke and has a wide variety of rims for the E92s

if you are thinking of coming off run flats i would deff recommend it! i am running falken 452's and they are a brilliant set of tyres! alot smoother than RFT


the Aero front lip is a great choice for the SE front! i will PM you a link to some cars i know that have it

[xs2man]

A friend of mine went for the KW V1 coilovers. About £900 admittedly, but you get what you pay for. According to him, the ride is vastly improved with them on, but maybe his original shocks were gone. Who knows. Anyway, his car runs sooooo much better now on the KW's with non RFT.

http://www.aktivperformanceparts.co....554-616279.php

If I do decide to go lower, these will be the way I go.

If your wanting something a bit cheaper, the AP coilovers I have used in the past have been very good. Made in the same factory as the KW's, so should be almost as good. They are still £600+ though, so would probably fork out the little bit more and go for the KW's personally.

[AWBimmer]

Originally Posted by P 5UML

sam,

i got the eibach springs on my car but it hasnt lowered it as much as i had hoped!

i was thinking about the h&r springs but now i am definitely going down the coilover route! there are some good deals to be found and you can adjust the heights!

deck the crap out of it when its show season then back up for your daily driving

wheels, the 313s are lovely! you saw jags just bought his set and they look immense! other wheel choices worth looking/speaking to Mark at BMautosport.com

he is a top bloke and has a wide variety of rims for the E92s

if you are thinking of coming off run flats i would deff recommend it! i am running falken 452's and they are a brilliant set of tyres! alot smoother than RFT

the Aero front lip is a great choice for the SE front! i will PM you a link to some cars i know that have it

Thanks man, didn't know you were running Eibachs. Could you possible send me a pic or two of your stance? I'd be dead keen to see what they look like. I've googled this but still not quite clear of the drop height.

Ideally, I'd go for KW V2 as that's what everyone goes for and it seems that would be perfect for whatever the 'weather' but I don't want to spend that kind of cash as I've only just bought the car and I won't be tracking the car or needing to adjust heights anytime. I've never needed to and don't plan to either, so I would have thought that Springs will suffice...?!

I know what you're saying that coils are going to do everything and so much more but that's almost 8x more the price springs alone. I've got a guy locally who has quoted anywhere around £80-£130 for installing the springs and probs a tad bit more for the Shocks/spacers (!) so I'm lucky there, but I still can't seem to justify spending £1200 on KW v2's.

If I opt for H&R with RFTs (again, no plans in the immediate future to replace RFTs and I'm enjoying the drive with them tbch) how harsh will the ride be compared to the stock set up? Any clue?

If I need to come off RFTs then I'll only go Falken 452s and nothing else, never had them but they seem v popular with the BMWs it seems. Heard a lot of good things about Mark ar BM so if and when the need arises, I'll goto him but I am going to make this a beautiful car than it already is with the current alloys... I've not seen many before so I'd like to be a bit different (using OEM alloys) if that makes sense

If I had an AW coupe, then would deffo have gone with the BBS LM hypersilver reps (i know it's been done to death but love that look!)

Lastly, yes the Aero Front Splitter will be coming on onceI've spoken to Teddy - I'm definitely going to do that, but first want to make sure I've got the suspension part nailed!

Any links would be greatly appreciated!

Sam.

Originally Posted by xs2man

A friend of mine went for the KW V1 coilovers. About £900 admittedly, but you get what you pay for. According to him, the ride is vastly improved with them on, but maybe his original shocks were gone. Who knows. Anyway, his car runs sooooo much better now on the KW's with non RFT.

http://www.aktivperformanceparts.co....554-616279.php

If I do decide to go lower, these will be the way I go.

If your wanting something a bit cheaper, the AP coilovers I have used in the past have been very good. Made in the same factory as the KW's, so should be almost as good. They are still £600+ though, so would probably fork out the little bit more and go for the KW's personally.

Yeahhh see I'm just trying to save where possible so my ideal set up would be as low as possible without rubbing and not compromising too much on the ride comfort.. in saying that, is it better to get H&R springs for the lower drop and something like Koni FSD to offset the harsh ride? That way I can be happy with it aesthetically and in the ride comfort too...

Thanks for all your replies guys!

[P 5UML]

sure mate, this is the side view of the eibachs (my rear looks alot lower, thats JL audio's fault! lol)



front view




i know everyone will tell you to go for KW coilovers and hands down they are the best! BUT there are also alot of other alternatives that offer just as good a ride!

APEX, Gaz and BC racing offer good sets for nearly half the money

http://www.carnoisseurdirect.com/ape...08-15767-p.asp



il probs be looking into either the APEX or Gaz coils myself!!!

[MEGA]

Ian has answered exactly as I would

[P 5UML]

Originally Posted by MEGA

Ian has answered exactly as I would

its your fault i have your silly megaginge logo on my pics lol

[AWBimmer]

Ah that's your car P 5UML? Beautiful! Saw it courtesy of MEGA over at EVO T website pics and love it bro.

REF: APEX RDX Coils... http://www.europerformance.co.uk/pag...sub_category=1

Cheaper too ;-)

Can you give me any links to BC realtes Suspension set ups please?

[P 5UML]

Originally Posted by AWBimmer

Ah that's your car P 5UML? Beautiful! Saw it courtesy of MEGA over at EVO T website pics and love it bro.

REF: APEX RDX Coils... http://www.europerformance.co.uk/pag...sub_category=1

Cheaper too ;-)

Can you give me any links to BC realtes Suspension set ups please?

yea thats my baby thanks mate, appreciate it i cant wait to see yours once you have finished with it!

wow, the APEX for £540 is a steal!

these are the BC ones mate

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/BC-Coilove...#ht_500wt_1180

[dxb335d]

The great thing about the SE is that it DOESN'T have the rear fake diffuser. The twin pipes stand out so much better.

[AWBimmer]

Thanks mate, your car is one the 'cleanest' I've seen! Love the alloys and the drop is spot on I think for DD, but I see what you mean - it could do with being a tad bit lower!

Would you guys recommend Apex over BC / Gaz etc as the price is somewhat more affordable than KWs with push coming to shove lol. Does Apex have a good review on
E92s?

[AWBimmer]

http://www.europerformance.co.uk/pag...y=coiloverkits

Which one LOL!?