[socalbimmer125]

I am a newbie to BMW, just bought my first one this past week! So far I love it. However i am ready to put some Mod's on it. I went from a modded 350z to a BMW so i loss a bit of power but its a BMW so i am not really complaining.I know it is going to put a dent in the wallet to get some good mods going. In the end it will most likely be supercharged when i am completly done with it. This being said what engine mods should i begin going with? if this post has already been dealt with, i apologize in advance for not seeing it. Money is not a huge factor however i would like to not go over the deep end. With that being said please send all the information all you experienced drivers have!

P.S. - I understand if i wanted power i should have gone with a 335i, however in 3 weeks of looking for 1 i couldnt find one for a reasonable price. So please no "Buy a 335I posts."

[luisphillips62]

in my honest opinion supercharging it wouldnt be a good power to what you will spend for it ratio lol. i too have a 328i and not much you can do performance besides exhaust, intake, and tune. itll be better of making the car look nice

[CombatNinja]

Your first modification should be to tighten the loose wing nut behind the wheel.

[jfisher160]

First you this question has been asked so many times, you should use the search button. But I will give you a breakdown.
Custom tune
Intake(K&N filter charcoal delete)
Exhaust
3-stage manifold
Headers
Suspension
Rims and tires

And your done. This should take you awhile to do.

Then you can look into the supercharger.

[tamster00]

OP welcome to the forums!
I use to have a 08' 328i and it was fun to drive. Mod wise its not going to be a whole lot, but what I've done to it made it more than enough. Had a Active Autowerke tune (stage 2 is available), charcoal delete with drop-in filter, front air scoops, and a BMW Performance exhaust setup. There isn't a purchasable supercharge kit yet on the market. One is still being tested and that can be a while before it comes out. Enjoy your new car, definitely enjoyed mines

[Delusive]

Welcome to the forums and NA section!

Like what the previous replies were, there isn't much you can do about horsepower gains on this engine. I bought my NA E92 for looks not speed, so I focus only on cosmetics.

First thing I would do is..

Ditch the run flats
19" Wheels
Coilovers or springs
Bumper of your choice
Sideskirts of your choice
Spoiler or bootlid
OSS Angel Eyes
LCI Taillights (If you don't have it)

For better response i'd definitely get a tune on it and for horsepower gains the other members mentioned it already

@Tamster00
Yo! how's it going?

[QUiKSR20]

Im sure you will enjoy your 328..... I had an E30 which is why I now have an E90 but the car I sold to buy my 328 was much faster and related to your old car.. 6MT G35 Sedan

Ill tell you straight up I love my new choice, Its more balanced overall! I have a Sport Pack 6MT 328 and love it.

Charcoal delete or Euro Intake, BMW Perf exhaust, 3 stage intake a tune etc are all great mods..

So far my only mods I plan are suspension, wheels, 335 brakes.

Best of luck and ask ask ask on any questions.. These are great cars.

[froz_v]

If you want speed, the only thing i would suggest is a nice pair of 18" light weight forged rims + 3 stage intake manifold + headers + Performance Exhaust + euro intake + AA Tune for performance and coilovers + sway bar for handling. That would be as good as a 328 will get with the reliability of a N/A engine

[Route 16]

Originally Posted by tamster00

OP welcome to the forums!
I use to have a 08' 328i and it was fun to drive. Mod wise its not going to be a whole lot, but what I've done to it made it more than enough. Had a Active Autowerke tune (stage 2 is available), charcoal delete with drop-in filter, front air scoops, and a BMW Performance exhaust setup. There isn't a purchasable supercharge kit yet on the market. One is still being tested and that can be a while before it comes out. Enjoy your new car, definitely enjoyed mines

Where's your review on the tune?

[tamster00]

Good question, I didn't do one. I read through other folks reviews and jumped on the AA tune. It was either ESS, AA, BMS, Gintani/OE Tuning. I went for whatever that was close by and had a bit more power to it.

[johnniewalker]

Originally Posted by froz_v

If you want speed, the only thing i would suggest is a nice pair of 18" light weight forged rims + 3 stage intake manifold + headers + Performance Exhaust + euro intake + AA Tune for performance and coilovers + sway bar for handling. That would be as good as a 328 will get with the reliability of a N/A engine

+1
Couldn't agree more

I would start with a nice set of light weight rims.
Give you performance and look. But take your time to do some research tho. otherwise you might end up spending more money. lol (personal experience)

[mlifxs]

Yes welcome to the forum. There is plenty of good advice and education to be found here. Folks here have helped me with mod and DIY advice.

IMO most cost effective thing is a tune (I did the AA tune) and an airbox charcoal delete.

Don't have experience with the 3 stage manifold, but those who've done it claim to be happy with it. Doesn't fit my budget for now.

I would be reluctant to supercharge my car. Cost and compatibility with drive-train would be big concerns for me. Think you would be better off with the other suggestions made here.

Suspension upgrades are economical, particularly if you wait for your stock parts to wear out before upgrading.

[CombatNinja]

You guys crack me up. Cutting out the charcoal filter is not going to do anything power-wise.

[mlifxs]

Originally Posted by CombatNinja

You guys crack me up. Cutting out the charcoal filter is not going to do anything power-wise.

yeah certainly no big gain with charcoal delete. it's basically a bet that one filter is less restrictive to airflow than two filters. Then, there is a big gain in money by not spending 400 on an aftermarket intake to acheive the same modest result

[D-Raw]

Can you guys explain to me what a charcoal delete is?

[SflBimmer8484]

Originally Posted by mlifxs

yeah certainly no big gain with charcoal delete. it's basically a bet that one filter is less restrictive to airflow than two filters. Then, there is a big gain in money by not spending 400 on an aftermarket intake to acheive the same modest result

This !

[Miami1683]

What I've done on my 2012 328 is add a lot of look mods .... Wheels... Springs ... Blacked out moldings .. Wrapped interior trim . Stuff like that....

Then added a performance exhaust and intake ... While its not a 335 it's enough for me at this point. I could get more power if I wanted to .. I just think its good for the 6 miles a day I drive

[Hooy]

Sorry buddy, you are screwed! Your car will stay slow.

Best you can do is a 3 stage intake manifold and tune. Forget intakes. Forget superchargers. Forget headers.

[mlifxs]

Originally Posted by D-Raw

Can you guys explain to me what a charcoal delete is?

here's a link to the DIY
http://www.e90post.com/forums/showth...harcoal+delete

US N52 stock airbox has two filters. One is a removable paper filter, one is a charcoal filter glued to the sides of the airbox.

People remove charcoal filter by cutting it out and by carefully sanding down the rough edges where it's glued. It's very important to remove and clean all of this up so stray filter residue does not make it to the engine.

By doing so, you go from two filters to one, and presumably increase airflow. You might notice a modest change in performance (maybe) and I did notice a modest improvement in gas mileage (about 1.5 mpg for constant hwy speed). I've never seen dyno measurement of this and I'm too cheap to dyno it myself for what might be a small gain.

Some folks like myself replace the paper filter with a K&N, but that is optional.

You could say it's a "free" mod, though you are irrevocably modifying the airbox, so you might not want to do it to a leased car.

[mlifxs]

Originally Posted by Hooy

Sorry buddy, you are screwed! Your car will stay slow.

Best you can do is a 3 stage intake manifold and tune. Forget intakes. Forget superchargers. Forget headers.

not slow! just "not fast"

the good news is the 328i is a great car. fun to drive and very competent in every way. It just can't keep up with 335i's

[RicheyBMW]

Pretty much like everyone said above you aren't going to get it that much faster, from what I know the AA tune seems to be a popular choice around here if you really want to increase some power. The 328i is a good overall car for a daily driver, no complaints about mine. It's not the fastest but it isn't the slowest either.

I would work on making your ride look good and I would also recommend the BMW Performance Exhaust!

[monza2t]

Originally Posted by mlifxs

not slow! just "not fast"

the good news is the 328i is a great car. fun to drive and very competent in every way. It just can't keep up with 335i's

Its funny how people percieve a car that does 0-60 in low 6's as "slow", which BTW is not much slower by just a few tenths than an E36 M3. The average car in 2010 had a 0-60 of 9.5.

This article is funny BTW where the 305hp TL is 0.5sec slower than an N52 328i (of course with 230hp) in 0-60. 75hp "advantage" and its slower.
http://carsort.com/compare/BMW-3-Series-vs-Acura-TL