New to the scene

[richter]

Hello fellow members,

I’m pretty new to the community and I was wondering If anyone would give me some tips/information about gaining substantial amount of performance for my ’94 325is.

First off I would like to say thank you for your time hopefully I can learn from the best.

Where do I start? Well the only thing I’ve done so far was installed an aFe intake from Bavauto.

I only know a little bit of everything that could be done to gain performance (i.e. chip (Dinan or Jim c.), exhaust (which?), delete mods (how to do?), headers (no clue?), and what else? If it’s not so much trouble could you guys shine some light on this subject? Thanks again for your help. I’m a nub .

[RSF5]

First of all welcome. Next of all, if you want substantial amounts of performance your going to need to go F/I (Forced induction(turbo/supercharger)). With N/A its hard and costly to get a lot of performance out of anything other than bolt ons. How substantial are we talking about? If you don't want gobs of power then just doing the suspension, intake, exhaust, chip, ssk, would be pretty good.

You should start by reading. also check out other forums also like bimmerforums.com, they have lots and lots information, just find some threads and read.

Were kind of a small community here so if you have any problems that you can't answer by searching just post up!

[theSMELSINATOR]

if you've opened up the intake, you'll want to open up the exhaust, too. you always want to do the two together; if more air is coming in, more air needs to come out. one by itself (either intake or exhaust) will help a little but when both are done together you should be able to really tell a difference.

[elsabor67]

Welcome. On the power side, set a budget on what you want to work on and build from there. If you start from the basic bolt ons and move up, you might have a better view on what your ultimate goal (power wise) will be. Now, if you have a big wallet, then you can go big off the bat, but won't have that build from the bottom up to compare what worked. Also make sure you get some time on the dyno with a shop that knows what they're doing. Good luck

[richter]

Originally Posted by RSF5

First of all welcome. Next of all, if you want substantial amounts of performance your going to need to go F/I (Forced induction(turbo/supercharger)). With N/A its hard and costly to get a lot of performance out of anything other than bolt ons. How substantial are we talking about? If you don't want gobs of power then just doing the suspension, intake, exhaust, chip, ssk, would be pretty good.

You should start by reading. also check out other forums also like bimmerforums.com, they have lots and lots information, just find some threads and read.

Were kind of a small community here so if you have any problems that you can't answer by searching just post up!

Yes, I see what you mean. I guess I don’t want to go extreme as to install a turbo/supercharger just yet. Maybe I’ll start off small with just bolt ons and then if I decide later on in the future head with F/I. I’ll go ahead and read up more on what I want to install. Thank you for your advice.

Originally Posted by RSF5

if you've opened up the intake, you'll want to open up the exhaust, too. you always want to do the two together; if more air is coming in, more air needs to come out. one by itself (either intake or exhaust) will help a little but when both are done together you should be able to really tell a difference.

Thanks I didn't know that. Actually now that you mention it my muffler is deteriorating and I’m going to have to get a new muffler. Which do you recommend on purchasing?

Originally Posted by RSF5

Welcome. On the power side, set a budget on what you want to work on and build from there. If you start from the basic bolt ons and move up, you might have a better view on what your ultimate goal (power wise) will be. Now, if you have a big wallet, then you can go big off the bat, but won't have that build from the bottom up to compare what worked. Also make sure you get some time on the dyno with a shop that knows what they're doing. Good luck

Yes, I’m going to have to set a budget since I’m currently a student. I would still like to purchase some of the good stuff.

Thank you guys for all of your advice!

[dinan540]

Welcome to the site. You can upgrade to the m50 manifold also. (e36 fans, correct me if I am wrong). You can do a cup kit for the suspension, that works wonders. A short shift kit (ssk) also helps with the sportiness. LTW flywheel and exhaust too.