I have been a member of the forums since 2012, and recently I have been thinking about creating a build thread to consolidate all the mods I've done to my car, entail my experience with certain mods, and also keep a track record for myself to look back at in the future.
About the car:
E92 335i Coupe, Automatic transmission (later on converted to manual), it was built on June/2007 at the Regensburg assembly plant in Germany, as a result it had the stronger bolted big pumpkin differential and the larger driveshafts to suit from factory
.
I really wanted to buy a manual, but it was out of my price range at the time. Manual E92 335i's carried a $10,000 price tag over the equivalents automatic cars with the ZF 6HP21 transmission. I thought if I am buying an auto, I should at least buy one built after 03/2007, so I can flash the Alpina B3 TCU flash on it. N54 cars produced before that build date had the 6HP19 ZF auto transmission which had a different TCU and the Alpina TCU flash couldn't be flashed on it (this was well before the days of xHP TCU flash).
In terms of exterior body colour, I wasn't too fussed, as long as it was a dark colour, any shade of grey or black. For the interior leather colour, I was also only interested in black leather.
I ended up finding an E92 335i for sale in Sparkling Graphite Metallic and black interior. The only problems, it was an auto and it didn't have the M Sport Package. I went to check it out regardless, 3 months have passed driving around in a $200 shitbox, and I was starting to get itchy to buy something. I inspected the car, and I like it, the seller accepted my offer immediately, and I took delivery of the car on the same week. OHHHH! the joy of that first week of ownership
Advertisement pictures at the time of purchase:
Certainly nothing appealing in stock form.
Couple of pictures after roughly ~3.5-4 years into ownership:
Pictures as it stands now 
Current list of mods:
Engine:
- MSD81 DME with the IKM0S from the 1M and correctly working ///M button on the steering wheel (originally my came with MSD80, I upgraded for peace of mind)
- Wagner EVO2 Performance FMIC
- Custom MHD tune
- AR Design catless 3" downpipes
- Turbosmart Kompact diverter valves with 24mmx3.5mm thicker diverter o-rings
- S55 oil filter
- VAC Motorsport sump baffle
- PE mod rear muffler (only done on the valved side like the Genuine BMW Performance exhaust)
- M3 Microfilter cowl with custom 8AN brake booster line
- Silicone vacuum lines
- Billet cylinder head ->thermostat hose coolant fitting
- RB External PCV with blocked head ports, accompanied with Mishimoto OCC (attached to the off-boost/low side of the PCV system only only)
- MHD Stage 2+ flash tune (removed)
- AFE Stage 2 Magnum Force DCI intake (removed)
Transmission:
- Manual Conversion
(
link to incomplete conversion thread, I'll finish it off when I have time)
- UUC Black transmission mounts
- UUC DBO delrin shifter carrier bushings
- Turner motorsport rear carrier shifter bushing
- 335is/550i clutch
- Clutch Delay Valve (CDV) delete
- AD Engineering oil block off
- XHP Stage 3 - when it used to be automatic (removed)
Diff:
- Hardrace solid rubber diff bushings
- I kept the 3.46 final drive after the manual conversion (manual F87 M2 and M2 Competition also have a 3.46 final drive and the same manual transmission gear ratios as manual N54, so mine is still sort of a factory setup).
Suspension and Handling:
Electronics
- M3 DSC Module (with all the nannies coded off)
Dampers and Springs:
- Öhlins Road & Track coilovers with custom spring rates
- Front Swift springs 8kg 7" long, and rear Swift springs 14kg 9" long
- Bilstein B12 Prokit (removed)
- Front Swift springs 7kg 8" long, and rear Swift springs 12kg 9" long (removed)
Front axle:
- Dinan front camber plates
- E93 M3 front sway bar (28mm)
- M3 Steering rack (discussed in
post 3)
- M3 tie-rods
- M3 strut brace
- M3 front lower control arms
- M3 front tension struts
- German Autosolutions (G.A.S.) Monoballs pressed into the M3 tension struts
Rear axle:
- 23.6mm E93 M3 rear sway bar
- Nolathane polyurethane rear subframe bushings
- Hardrace rear toe arms (fully ball-jointed at both ends)
- Hardrace rear guide rods (fully ball-jointed at both ends)
- Hardrace rear upper camber arms (fully ball-jointed at both ends)
- Monroe rear upper shock mount kit
- 22.5mm E92 M3 rear sway bar (removed)
Brakes, wheels and tires:
- Ferodo DS2500 front and rear brake pads
- Genuine 437M BMW wheels forged, super lightweight with hollow spokes (off F82 M4), front : 9" ET29, rear 10" ET40
- Michelin Pilot Sport 4S 245/35/19, 265/30/10
- DBA slotted and cross-drilled factory replacement (to get me by for now until I find a reasonably priced BBK)
Exterior mods:
- Full respray at BMW dealership (Bundoora BMW Bodyshop in Melbourne,
link)
- Full M Sport Package retrofit, including undertray panels, done completely OEM down to every screw and bracket
- Rear M Sport diffuser painted gloss black (by Bundoora BMW Bodyshop)
- Genuine 437M BMW wheels forged, super lightweight with hollow spokes (off a F82 M4)
- E92 M3 side skirts
- Genuine E92 shadowline window surrounding trim
- Genuine BMW Performance E92 carbon fibre boot lip
- E92 LCI taillights
- Genuine BMW Performance gloss black kidney grilles
- LED angel eyes (cheapos off eBay, but planning to replace with LUX 180 H8 7000K soon)
- Philips 7000K HID bulbs
- GP Thunder 7000K cornering lights to match
- Foglights deleted and coded off, and 335is air ducts fitted instead
- 313M wheels (removed)
Interior mods:
- BMW Performance alcantara steering wheel with white stitching and yellow stripe
- E92 M3 cluster
- Aluminium oxide dash and door trim
- F10 M5 illuminated gear knob
- Armrest phone cradle replaced with the rubber tray for more storage space
- Black M Sport anthrazite roofliner complete retrofit with all its parts.
- BMW Performance alcantara shift boot with white stitching (to match the stitching on the steering wheel)
Entertainment and electronics:
- CIC iDrive (unlocked to have BMW Apps, Internet and BMW Live)
- Combox
Maintenance:
1- Low kilometre secondhand Genuine turbos
2- New Genuine Valve cover
3- New OEM Pierburg Boost solenoids
4- New Genuine Index 12 injectors
5- New OEM Eldor coils
6- New Genuine Oil cooler lines
7- New Genuine Radiator top hose
8- New OEM Rein Radiator reservoir overflow hose
9- New Genuine Engine head to thermostat coolant hose
10- New OEM Continental electric Waterpump and thermostat
11- New Genuine Vanos solenoids
12- Walnut blast
13- New OEM Elring Oil pan gasket
14- New OEM Continental serpentine drive belt with four new belt pulleys
15- New Genuine Power steering pump pulley
16- New OEM Lemforder Strut top mounts
17- New Genuine sunroof surround rubber/felt seal and new Genuine front and rear windshield seals
18- Secondhand good condition black rear parcel shelf (old one started discolouring from the sun)
19- New OEM Brembo rear rotors
I will retrospectively review and post info on every retrofitted and upgraded part listed above. Luckily I have taken plenty of photos over the years of owning this car, and I have DIY'd everything myself, and I remember all the details It's certainly a long list to cover, stay tuned