Re: E9x M - Ideal upgrades
What's your purpose?
I say this because I've seen over the years - people spending thousands (5 digit types), on their cars for "performance" when all they do is drive on the street, and take it to the track every now and then.
Here are some of the brutal facts:
- You're not going to be able to use close to 100% of your M3's capabilities on Singapore's streets. If you come close to doing so, you're a menace on the roads and obviously driving too dangerously.
- You're probably not good enough to wring out 100% of your stock car performance on track either, or until you've spent a long time with your car/naturally good driver.
To the mods parts however- you're going to do it primarily for a few reasons (primarily for how it sounds and how it looks).
If you don't track:
Get an Akrapovic full exhaust - sounds bloody awesome, has good horsepower gain.
Air intake, subjective, however expensive if you go for a full - CF gruppeM type. The Akra will drown it but it's a good to have if you have cash to spare.
Brakes - don't bother. The stock ones are good enough, unless you're lapping some unknown street track and braking from 220-40 every 200 metres.
If you do track..
The M3 could use the brakes, but even then - you just need steel braided lines, good pads and you're set. Overcooking the pads on track won't happen if you're doing 3-5 hot laps all the time.
Don't bother lightening your car. The M3 is a GT high performance car. It's built that way. No amount of stripping/lightening etc will help. It's still going to be a pig, and you'll just be disappointed after spending XX,XXX dollars, and having a Civic Type R sedan rip past you in the corners because of their light weight. I've seen it happen, even with my car.
Save the dollars - put it into maintenance, keep your stock bits for good resale, reduced hassles. If you want to drive a really fast car, get a go-kart or share a dedicated race S2000. Those two will give you 3 times the thrill at a fraction of the price.
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Don't mean this to be a rant, but this is the reality of it. Someone's always going to be faster, better. If you want your car to look the part - brakes and a nice set of coilovers will be good, but they are an expensive option to do and a compromise on comfort anyway.
The M3 is a great car by itself. If I were you, i'd keep it stock, invest the money in driver training (check out Ascendant Motorsports in the forum), and just enjoy the daily comfortable beast it is.
