[GEOS07335i]

Looking for advice on a budget build(cheap in price not in quality). Does it exist?Before doing any mods I wanted to get as much maintenance out of the way as I have a higher mileage 08 335i E93 with 124K. I have a fairly small budget for parts in mind and would like to target somewhere a little over 400-425 WHP. Anyone have an idea of what the labor is to install DP's? That's the one job I dont want to tackle.

I have recently done the following maintenance: Flush coolant, PS, brakes, recent VC Gasket and serpentine belt. New Coils, and plugs and newer vacuum lines, and replaced fuel injectors. I would still like to change out rear diff fluid and trans flush but that might have to wait a little while.

Now I'd like to start adding some power to the car. It's quick I'd like to make it quicker. Plans are to go with an upgraded FMIC, Catless DP's, CP with a BOV, and MHD tune. There are a ton of options and a lot of the threads I've read seem old. VSRF has done a great marketing job and a lot of followers seem to point back to there products. For my consideration I would put them on the high end of my budget. However they seem to be on the low side of the good stuff which is to me at least cost prohibitive. However there are still a lot of other vendors trying to make it out that seem to have good stuff for budget minded people that's what Im trying to target and need help with. Not trying to build a track racer just trying to hang with my neighbors 2016 convertible mustang GT 5.0. He's currently stock.

I'm going to try and do some of this myself and leave some of it to more experience pro's. For example I'm going to install the FMIC looking for a direct replacement swap. Install CP and BOV. I'm going to find someone to install the DP's and do either a custom tune or have someone do some data logging and make adjustments and go with an MHD 2 tune.


DCI:
I was just going go with the cheaper route.
http://www.vr-speed.com/performance/...0-e92-e60.html $89

I dont know if something like the INJEN is worth $400 way out of my budget anway.

CP: It seems as long as I go with an aluminium charge pipe I'm way better off than the stock plastic CP so I dont want to spend a bunch of money on this for $106 and get a "FAKE" Tial BOV and buy a real Tial Spring. I hear the big fault with the fake Tial knock off's is the spring is actually pretty weak.

Cheap https://boost-monkey.com/ixiis-n-cha...pe-tial-flange $106
BOV: https://www.ebay.com/itm/222746500107 $65
Anyone have any experience with either of these two? Good or bad please chime in.

DP's:
Cheap route: 1320 Stainless Steel Downpipes. https://www.ebay.com/itm/1320-Perfor...JYJMPC&vxp=mtr for $239 I like the fact that these are just bent not welded. Less likely to crack? Anyone have any experience with these especially around fitment?

Goto alternative: VRSF http://www.vr-speed.com/vrsf-3-stain...-bmw-135i.html $359

There are other options for DP's but it seems VRSF has a big following and I only hear positive things.

FMIC:
Budget ebay FMIC: I know I see and hear a lot of bad mouthing on EBAY crap but I've seen several post and videos by folks that are perfectly fine with an EBAY FMIC and that have data logged and show a significant decrease in IAT temps. So is spending 2x or 3x the extra money worth justified? Anyone have any experience on a cheap FMIC that works and isnt going to break the budget? I was looking at this one https://www.ebay.com/itm/Turbo-Inter....c100005.m1851

VSRF seems to be the defacto standard FMIC Alternative but again there $400+ more than twice as much as the cheaper ebay crap. Any of it anygood? There are plenty of others like Mishmoto, ER, Wagner, DINAN, ETS but these are 600+ Way out of my budget. Would I rather have these sure but not in my budget.

So here is the conclusion I came up with it's kind of the mid road the two biggest IMO are the fitment of the DP's and the FMIC?

PARTS LIST:
MIDROUTE: FBO TOTAL: $813 for pretty much full FBO??
DCI-VSRF $89
DP- VSRF $359
CP (BM) $106
BOV(Gen) $69
TIAL Sring $15
FMIC(Ebay)$175

[Jeff@TopGearSolutions]

If your goal is just to check off your parts list in the cheapest way possible, I can understand your goal.

But if you are trying to find a happy medium of Power, Performance and Quality with a budget mindset, I'd sooner say just stick with the VRSF line up through and through.

DCI, CP, FMIC, Downpipes. You'll be a lot more pleased with the result instead of playing with no name brand ebay parts that may not even fit well, have compromised quality and/or lack of performance (depending).

I know I'm a vendor so it comes off biased but I'm also a consumer and have been modding cars for nearly 2 decades. I've been there before, trying to seek the cheapest stuff possible. I know there is a certain great feeling of getting a mod for a fraction of the cost and having it "work". It works sometime and other times I've wasted hours and hours, head aches, returns and everything in between. I've lost 10's of thousands in the mod game between all my cars and playing around with stuff.

I'm actually of the mindset today of doing it once and doing it right with the utmost in quality these days but I still understand the idea of going for a budget build.

I don't recommend cheap knock off BOV, 1 bad BOV and you can damage a lot of stuff. Stick with Genuine Tial or HKS.

Although there are better intakes then DCI's, Injen won't perform much better, it just looks better.

A true performing Intake is the AFE Momentum GT.

I can go on for days about cheap ebay fmic's and although they may be better then stock they still leave a lot on the table.

To recap, just go with VRSF all the way though.

If you have any questions, we're here and I'll try to give you an unbiased response.

Agreed. Don't cheap out with eBay parts...unless you're capable of "making things work" if/when they don't end up fitting, it's not worth the headache. If you wanna save money, buy used.

Any E85 stations near you? That, a tune, and a decent front mount will be the biggest bang for the buck mods without a doubt. If you won't run E85, I'd skip DPs altogether IMO.

[GEOS07335i]

Thanks I do hear what your saying and I agree with you in general. My goal is to spend the least amount possible and get the biggest performance gain possible. The whole reason to use this medium is to find people that have already gone through all of the pains and share feedback on what works what doesn't. If I went the VSRF route I'd spend considerably more. Like $1338 not sure what shipping would be. And at I do not want to make that investment in my car at this time. But I agree would I rather have VSRF stuff absolutely. Is it all going to work absolute. Is it all going to fit absolutely. Is it more expensive that the stuff I'm looking at? Absolutely. My goal is to leverage the collaborative nature of the FORUMS and see what works and what doesn't. Get opinions and reviews from people that have actually used the cheaper stuff to see if it works. See if there are fitment issues etc... If I can get those people to chime in and tell me, yeah that EBAY FMIC you posted is crap I bought this one instead and works great. Then that's the kind of feedback I'm looking for. I think we all know that VSRF is the good stuff and it all works. What we want to do is compile a list of the cheapie stuff that is good and also works so I can build a budget build. Some of the cheapie stuff is good some most of it is not? I just want to identify which of the cheapie stuff is worth looking at.

Originally Posted by Jeff@TopGearSolutions

If your goal is just to check off your parts list in the cheapest way possible, I can understand your goal.

But if you are trying to find a happy medium of Power, Performance and Quality with a budget mindset, I'd sooner say just stick with the VRSF line up through and through.

DCI, CP, FMIC, Downpipes. You'll be a lot more pleased with the result instead of playing with no name brand ebay parts that may not even fit well, have compromised quality and/or lack of performance (depending).

I know I'm a vendor so it comes off biased but I'm also a consumer and have been modding cars for nearly 2 decades. I've been there before, trying to seek the cheapest stuff possible. I know there is a certain great feeling of getting a mod for a fraction of the cost and having it "work". It works sometime and other times I've wasted hours and hours, head aches, returns and everything in between. I've lost 10's of thousands in the mod game between all my cars and playing around with stuff.

I'm actually of the mindset today of doing it once and doing it right with the utmost in quality these days but I still understand the idea of going for a budget build.

To recap, just go with VRSF all the way though.

If you have any questions, we're here and I'll try to give you an unbiased response.

[GEOS07335i]

Originally Posted by FCobra94

Agreed. Don't cheap out with eBay parts...unless you're capable of "making things work" if/when they don't end up fitting, it's not worth the headache. If you wanna save money, buy used.

Any E85 stations near you? That, a tune, and a decent front mount will be the biggest bang for the buck mods without a doubt. If you won't run E85, I'd skip DPs altogether IMO.

Great points thanks for the feedback. I've been looking for used "good stuff" but there hard to come by. And a lot of the used stuff out there is more expensive than NEW VSRF stuff so I'd rather just go the VSRF new route if it came to that. I thought DP's can give up to 15-30RWHP with out having to go E85 route and if I wanted to go the E85 route I would have to upgrade my LPFP?

[puppydax]

The thing that is great about this platform and your HP goal is that it isn’t too far to get, especially if you use ethanol. Labor to install DP’s isn’t too bad, but also depends on where you go. Indy’s near me in CA charge about 200-300 for the install. After reading the maintenance that you’ve done, I’m sure you capable of tackling it if you have patience. It’s honestly not a bad job, just slightly time consuming.
To start, I would get the MHD Tune first and start off with a Stage 1 reflash, which is just stock configuration with more power. That will give you a good base to start from to see how much more you want to go.

After that, I would go FMIC. Not sure if your area gets hot, but that’s going to be a big factor in your consistent power. Then DP, then CP (unless it blows off). I maxed out my turbos and never had an issue with my chargepipe leaking and some people will say replace it if it blows off or if you have the extra money. If anything, you may just need DV’s if yours leak.
If you’re DIY’ing, you’d honestly have more of an issue buying an off brand FMIC as it may require cutting, trimming, custom fab for mounting etc. It would be more work than the DP’s lol. The MHD can be done solo as long as you purchase the correct license and have an Android device that is capable.

Off to your mod list.

Those DCI’s are just fine. There is not much difference in quality, just branding.

Charge pipe. This is debatable. Some people have had success with ebay BOV’s after replacing the springs. Personally, I wouldn’t just because it’s a critical piece that can fubar some expensive parts if it doesn’t function correctly. I would keep the factory CP until something happens to it if you’re being conscious on your budget.

DP’s. You’re not buying DP’s based solely on the material used, you’re buying DP’s because the company has taken the time to ensure they fit. Will the other brands fit? Probably, but it’s not something I’d like to risk considering the time it takes to replace them (or pay someone for labor if they don’t fit). Buy a proven quality DP such as VRSF. Cracking DP’s is not really an issue when it comes to welding vs bending.

FMIC. As stated above, buying a quality/reputable brand is ensuring that it will fit. Disclaimers will be given if you need to trim depending on size, but going the ebay route is going to require EITHER cutting or fabbing to make it neat and reliable. I had a VRSF and loved it. This time I might be going with the CX Racing intercooler, but you have to keep in mind it’s just the core and you need to source everything else in the correct bend, length etc.

In your price list, that is fine, but I wouldn’t get the eBay CP+BOV simply because of it’s history. Other people may say otherwise, which is cool. I’d vote for keeping the stock setup until you realize it’s not working. You are also forgetting MHD. I think it’s $129 for the flasher license, $49 for the map packs and another $$ for the logging license.
Good luck and don’t forget to keep up on maintenance .

[puppydax]

Originally Posted by GEOS07335i

Great points thanks for the feedback. I've been looking for used "good stuff" but there hard to come by. And a lot of the used stuff out there is more expensive than NEW VSRF stuff so I'd rather just go the VSRF new route if it came to that. I thought DP's can give up to 15-30RWHP with out having to go E85 route and if I wanted to go the E85 route I would have to upgrade my LPFP?

There are budget friendly fueling options if you're good at DIY. A Walbro GSL392 is $79 and the install kit from Fuel-It is $99. Easy option to run E85 (but the pump is not rated for Ethanol use, but it works). I ran E70 with just the inline pump lol.

[Faredo]

DCI:
I have relocated inlets on stock turbos. if i did it again i would just use a drop in filter with the oem airbox

CP: I use an ebay CP with CHial BOV. works fine no issues



DP's: you dont want to go ebay cheap here. its a VERY tight fit and ive personally fought and hammered ebay DPs into submission for fitment. Get at lease VRSF


FMIC: the other area not to ebay.
get a 7" VRSF or CTS. sure others work to decrease iats but those iats get out of hand in the summer. the lower iat the happier your engine will be.

[asiflicious]

ARM motorsports or VRSF. If you buy all at once, you can get everything for 800-1000 from ARM

[dpaul]

I second the suggestion to keep original charge pipe. I've had no issues with the stock pipe and DVs in 5 years with peak pressures ~19psi. Unless you really love the sound of a blow-off valve. Not my cup of tea

[Brandon818]

+1 on jeff's comment. I understand you want to save money, but this isn't the car to cut corners on by buying cheap parts, and fake bov's. It's better to purchase good products at a slower rate and make your car fbo at a slower rate than to cheap out and do everything at one shot. Vrsf is decently priced option I think you should go with.
I think a honda would be a better car for you (IMO) if you want to cheap stuff

[Jklad]

If vrsf prices are truly on the high end of your budget, then you should start by RE-evaluating your budget and saving up a couple more bucks.

Vrsf parts are as low as you get in pricing while still having decently made parts that you can expect to fit properly. Don't buy any of the parts you listed from offbrand eBay sellers - you will likely have fitment problems and other headaches now or later on down the road that you don't foresee. Sure if you were building up a 99 mustang gt, use cheap ebay shit. Just not here.

Vrsf 5in or ideally 7in fmic will work great - do not get an fmic that is a direct bolt on into factory couplers (like forge.) Get one that replaces the factory connectors.

Vrsf dp does the job and fits fine.

Vrsf cp does the job and fits fine also.

I have had all 3 of the above for years and they work well.

Intake is personal preference, arguments here seem to lean against dci in favor of a simple drop-in filter. Either way your only spending around $100 here and gains are minimal.

Get your mhd, get it custom tuned, and you'll be at or close to your hp goals.

Good luck!

[GEOS07335i]

Originally Posted by Jklad

If vrsf prices are truly on the high end of your budget, then you should start by RE-evaluating your budget and saving up a couple more bucks.

Vrsf parts are as low as you get in pricing while still having decently made parts that you can expect to fit properly. Don't buy any of the parts you listed from offbrand eBay sellers - you will likely have fitment problems and other headaches now or later on down the road that you don't foresee. Sure if you were building up a 99 mustang gt, use cheap ebay shit. Just not here.

Vrsf 5in or ideally 7in fmic will work great - do not get an fmic that is a direct bolt on into factory couplers (like forge.) Get one that replaces the factory connectors.

Vrsf dp does the job and fits fine.

Vrsf cp does the job and fits fine also.

I have had all 3 of the above for years and they work well.

Intake is personal preference, arguments here seem to lean against dci in favor of a simple drop-in filter. Either way your only spending around $100 here and gains are minimal.

Get your mhd, get it custom tuned, and you'll be at or close to your hp goals.

Good luck!

Just curious and I'm reading into what your saying so please correct me. Are you saying with VRSF DP,CP,7"FMIC and tune your not making 425RWHP? I would think that along with better fitment, quality and efficiency I would easily see 425WHP on MHD 2 tune. Can anyone confirm?

[JuniorB]

With your mileage, your exhaust may be starting to break down, Frankenturbos is making over 500 with stock dps, so do these last, your gonna have to bump the boost, depending what and who does your tune, make sure the turbos breath, and keep cool. First make sure your turbos are healthy before you start uping boost, then look to replacing old and brittle cold side parts, and that your fuel pumps are in tip top shape, Start with MHD so you can log ands look for your weak spots. 4-450 is doable with stock hardware, intakes, e85, good pumps and tune should get you there. Talk to the tuners out there, they'll know what you'll need to get there. Or you can just run a 100 shot of nitrous, and be done with it.

[Mit_Boost]

If you're gonna be cheap on parts, don't expect to push 400 WHP+ on stock turbos. 420 WHP+ can be done with quality parts, particularly an FMIC. And inlets to the mix, and mid-400s are doable.

Also, you're only gonna have reliable power if you have a quality tune underlying everything. A crap tune can destroy even the best mix of parts.

[mweisdorfer]

Rome wasn't built in a day.

FMIC & charge pipe first in my mind.

Cobb makes a nice charge pipe for $195.00; they have a newly redesigned model back in April 2017, that does indeed fit.

https://www.cobbtuning.com/new-and-i...e-n54-and-n55/

ARM Motorsports makes a nice FMIC for about $300-325.00.

AFE Momentum GT CAI is worth it. - $365 to 450.00

https://topgearsolutions.com/afe-col...free-shipping/

ARM also makes down pipes for $247.00 VRSF also makes one for about $360.00

https://www.armmotorsports.com/category-s/107.htm

http://www.vr-speed.com/vrsf-3-stain...-bmw-135i.html

FMIC- 27hp
MHD - 30 hp
AFE CAI - 16hp
Downpipes - 25hp

398hp

You might get more than 30hp from MHD. I use that as a conservative est.

I would say that you should have installed new injectors, new coils, new O2 sensors & new spark plugs BEFORE you install MHD, or you are likely to have problems.

[RSL]

Originally Posted by GEOS07335i

I would think that along with better fitment, quality and efficiency I would easily see 425WHP on MHD 2 tune. Can anyone confirm?

I think you've seriously over-estimated both the stock turbos and OTS pump gas maps (not to mention DPs). You'll never hit 425whp on a pump gas OTS map and stock turbos, unless N20 is one of your bolt-ons. Over 400whp is easier with E85 mix, E30 or higher OTS should get it closer to 425whp. MHD 93 Stage 2s though, guessing 360-380whp depending on ambient conditions and just how good the 93 is, regardless of how many bolt-on's you have or their quality/price.

[vncung]

Newbie here.. we have about the same hp goal
if i was to mod, i would go in this order:

Plugs and coils
Vacuum hoses
Intake valves clean
Mhd e30 maps (with stock lpfp)
Lpfp stg 2 (e50-e60)
Fmic
Dp(if you really want it)

I would save the money on dp, cp, dci, bov for a lpfp stg 2. This is assumming you have access to e85.

Ymmv
Im in california so im not gonna touch the dp.
And with my driving style, i dont think i will ever gonna blow up a cp.
Only big difference is my car has 68k miles.

[TemjinX2]

are you still on original turbos? at 124k your original turbos are probably on there way out.

just go to the dyno thread. They list a dyno of whp and mods. That should answer your hp questions and parts.

[Rival]

did you basically just enter this stuff....

https://www.armmotorsports.com/Articles.asp?ID=255

[Thewind727]

[/ATTACH]

Originally Posted by RSL

I think you've seriously over-estimated both the stock turbos and OTS pump gas maps (not to mention DPs). You'll never hit 425whp on a pump gas OTS map and stock turbos, unless N20 is one of your bolt-ons. Over 400whp is easier with E85 mix, E30 or higher OTS should get it closer to 425whp. MHD 93 Stage 2s though, guessing 360-380whp depending on ambient conditions and just how good the 93 is, regardless of how many bolt-on's you have or their quality/price.

heres my dyno before custom tune on e60 mhd v7e60 tune , ARM fmic, ARM dp,s, stock inlets with bms dci, and stage 2 fuelit lpfp

This is about right think i got 384whp with stage 2+ mhd and fbo

not sure why the pic isnt loading but 422whp and 467wtq

[WTF?]

I'm probably where you want to be. I bought cheap and used as this is my daily work car and I couldn't care less about whp...I just jump on deals and mod for fun.

2.5 inch Raceland DP's. Fit perfect....100 bucks on CL.
MMP inlets.....100 bucks.....CL
Ebay 169 dollar intercooler to dump the stock connections.
Phoenix CP...New in bag...75.00 CL
DIY walbro 450....200ish....could do cheaper now that Ive done one.
JB4....NEW whatever they cost...I forgot.
JB4 Race BEF.....79 bucks.
Homemade meth kit wired to JB4.....probably 100 bucks...Run WW fluid not meth.
JB4 Bluetooth....150ish bucks.
6 gallons e85....
Stock turbos maxxed out...forget boost....
I beat on this car religiously....Although I do good maintenance and take very good care of it. It's a 2010 Msport E90. Very fun and quick for what it is.

If you look at my list...I have the things that matter and don't have the things that don't. Fuel system....Tune.....and octane are what you need. Not bigger DP's or bigger intercooler.

Look on here or on your local CL if you really are on a budget. But, these cars are prone to little issues so if you are stretching to mod....maybe you should buy a used Ls1 Fbody and just spray it. Cheaper in the long run.

For what it's worth. I don't think the inlets did anything at all. Just more noise.