[Biginboca]

Edit 3/3/21:

It’s clear to me now this build thread has gotten way out of control due to my obsession with this car! If you want to just see pics of the latest my IG is updated weekly with the new mods:

@328CSL

Also, to make it easier to sort through here’s some quick links to newer mods not mentioned in this original OP...

Weight Reduction Mods (M3 Carbon Roof Swap, M3 Crash Bars, Carbon Hood and Trunk, Recaro Seats, Antigravity Lithium Battery, etc)

Start Post 105 (page 5)

https://www.e90post.com/forums/showt...1579797&page=5

Chassis Bracing Mods (M3 Chassis Plate, Cusco Rear Strut Brace, E93 Convertible Front Bracing)

Start Post 243 (page 12)

https://www.e90post.com/forums/showt...579797&page=12

...Also more bracing (page 19)

https://www.e90post.com/forums/showt...579797&page=19

Unusual Suspension Mods (Fr/Rr Monoballs, M4 Front Spindles and Hubs, etc)

Start Post 533 (Page 25)

https://www.e90post.com/forums/showt...579797&page=25

Underbody Aero Mods (A90 Supra Control Arm Covers, Simple DIY Aluminum Aero Rear Panel, DIY Cheap Ebay Diffusers)

Start Post 331 (Page 16)

https://www.e90post.com/forums/showt...579797&page=16



———————Original Build Thread Below———————

Did you ever wonder what if BMW had built a more performance targeted version of the 328i, like a “328is” or “328csl” model? Probably not lol... but if they had then I like to think it would have come out something like what my car has become today.

I have modded my 328i using many take off parts from other BMW models and significantly enhanced its performance in all aspects and yet I believe not compromised its reliability or utility in any way. Please enjoy my build thread...

This all started in April 2017 when I decided that I wanted a second car to daily 20-25k miles a year and I had a budget around $12k. The original idea was to keep the miles from piling up on the current daily at the time, a Jeep Wrangler Rubicon highly modified but only getting 8-10mpg.



At that time I realized if I financed a car around $12k that got 20mpg average, well then the gas savings would make the payments on the car and it would be in essence a “free car” under my current spending. Also if the car lasted long enough then after it was paid off I would be putting an extra $300/month into my savings account. (In 2016 I averaged spending $550/month on gas on the Jeep driving 25k miles a year, and getting 20mpg would cut that spending to $250/month.)

After lots of researching and test driving I found the 128i/328i with a manual transmission would offer the best compromise between price, reliability, driving enjoyment, comfort, and could deliver the gas mileage for what I wanted.

Note... I had zero plans of modding the new car having spent $30k on mods for the Jeep I just wanted a reliable and fun daily.

My Jeep is a manual, and the new car had a be a manual also. Spending so much time driving I wanted to enjoy the car and a manual is just way more fun for me. Unfortunately, finding a manual 1 or 3 series car in my area was not easy. Maybe 1 out of 100 cars I found was a manual and they were never local, so when one popped up on a local carmax lot after 3 weeks of me checking the internet daily... well it would be an understatement to say I acted fast.

I had this car on hold before the pictures even went live on their website. Once I saw the car in person I felt like I had really lucked out, it was pretty much perfectly optioned for me...

Manual Transmission
Manual Sport Seats
Euro Mirrors
Sunroof
Comfort Access
No I-drive

Carfax shows it was a Euro delivery purchased in Georgia in 2009 but it didn’t come to the US until 2012 with 27k miles on it. It then spent 4 years in the Florida Keys where the mileage climbed to 57k. In 2017 it was sold to a carmax in Miami and then yours truly snatched it up. Here is is the day I purchased with 57k miles on it:

[Biginboca]

So after 1 month of enjoying the new ride, and after spending 5 years building and modding the Jeep... I guess I couldn’t just leave the new car alone. One question that I had in my mind was...

What if BMW had made a E92 328is model?

In my mind this would be a 328i with oem parts to enable higher “track capable” performance but not compromise on comfort and utility. It would have upgraded power, cooling, handling, use lightweight parts, and still favor comfort for daily use.

So my build is dedicated to the concept of a 328is... and honestly is still somewhat of a “budget build”. At least half the parts on this car are junk yard take offs from other BMW’s and I wanted to use as many oem “parts bin” parts as possible.

As the build progressed I began to wonder if it was possible to make a N/A e92 that would perform on par with a e46m3. Although I didn’t care for the interior and the hassles of maintenance on a M motor at 25k miles a year, the attraction of its N/A performance is undeniable. As attractive as the e46m3 is, I had originally been looking to purchase an easy to maintain second car to be somewhat “disposable” and just to pile miles on so M cars weren’t even on the list.

Having said that, I honestly never expected to fall in love with this 328 the way I have and at this point wouldn’t trade my car for a e46m3 because this car now ticks all the same boxes for me.

So here is how the build went. All parts marked with an asterisk (*) are OEM BMW parts either from the performance line or take off from another model BMW

[Biginboca]

Interior Upgrades:

*BMW Performance Short Shifter Kit
eBay modified stock steering wheel
*BMW X1 Steering Wheel Trim
*BMW Performance Shift Knob and Ebrake w/Alacantara Boots
*BMW 335is E92 Black Door Panels
AC Schnitzer Aluminum Pedals
eBay red start button surround

I kept the wood interior trim because it seemed more luxury and also kind of wanted to keep some of the cars original charm. Now I love how it matches the wheels too lol

[Biginboca]

Power/Engine Upgrades:

After all the mods still looks like what would be a stock BMW engine, because almost all the modded parts are oem BMW parts...



Bimmer Performance Center Remote Tuning with 7500rpms raised redline
Secondary Intake Ram (DIY 2.5” inlet pipe from bumper)
AFE Intake Scoops
K&N Drop In Air filter in Stock BMW Airbox w/Charcoal Filter Delete
3.5” Silicone Piping from Airbox to Throttle Body
*BMW Bored Out N52 Throttle Body
*BMW 335i N54 Intake Manifold
*BMW Valvetronic Supports Machined (MILV’s)
Advanced Autowerk Catless Headers
Supersprint Secondary Cat Deletes
Advance Autowerk Gen 2 Muffler with Anti Drone feature
*BMW 328xi Automatic 3.91 Rear Differential
*BMW 530i Vented Diff Cover
*BMW 335i N54 Oil Filter Housing with Oil Thermostat Housing
*BMW 335i N55 Oil Cooler, Fender Liner, and Cooler Ducts

Secondary Intake Ram (DIY 2.5” inlet pipe from bumper)



*BMW Bored Out N52 Throttle Body



*BMW Valvetronic Supports Machined (Cobra Marty MILV’s)




Advanced Autowerk Catless Headers



*BMW 328xi Automatic 3.91 Rear Differential with Pinion Trimmed



*BMW 530i Vented Diff Cover



*BMW 335i N54 Oil Filter Housing with Oil Thermostat Housing



*BMW 335i N55 Oil Cooler, Fender Liner, and Cooler Ducts





Exhaust Sound Clip

[Biginboca]

Handling/Braking Upgrades:

*BMW F30 435i Front 340mm Brembo Brakes and 340mm 2 Piece Rotors
M-Factory Helical LSD
*BMW 12:1 Ratio E92M3 Steering Rack
*BMW Performance Suspension with front sway bar
*BMW E92 M3 Front Control Arms
Added Camber by Opening Front Strut Mounts (-1.7 front and rear camber)
UUC Strut Brace
SRP Front Drop Spring Perches
*BMW E92 M3 Rear Control Arms
Manzo Adjustable Rear Toe Arms
Whiteline Rear Subframe Inserts
Apex Bullet Nose Wheel Studs
Turner 10mm Wheel Spacers (Rear)
Apex Arc 8 18x9 ET30 Wheels
Michelin Pilot Sport 4S 255/35 Square

*BMW F30 435i Front 340mm Brembo Brakes and 340mm 2 Piece Rotors



M-Factory Helical LSD



*BMW E92M3 Steering Rack Install



Added Camber by Opening Front Strut Mounts (-1.7 front and rear camber)

[Biginboca]

Exterior Cosmetic/Exterior Upgrades:

*BMW M Sport E92 Front Bumper with eBay front lip
*BMW Gloss Black Kidney Grills
LUX LED Angel Eyes
*BMW E92 M3 Side Skirts with eBay side skirt extensions
Aftermarket High Kick Rear Spoiler
Depo LCI Taillights
Vanity Plate “NA6MT”

[Biginboca]

Final Results Today:

I am thrilled with how this car came out! It is averaging 19mpg with me on the throttle wot constantly. It’s so much fun to drive... and it’s hard not to wind it up to 7500rpms.

I feel like there have been minimal compromises in comfort or amenities and this car is still perfectly suitable as a daily driver with full interior and oem creature comforts. The ride is firmer than stock but it’s definitely not jarring and is perfectly comfortable as a daily. The good reports of the BMW performance suspension’s ride quality is what steered me that way and I couldn’t be more pleased with the ride quality.

That being said even though I favored comfort for the suspension aspect, I’m also quite certain this car will out handle a stock e92m3. (It’s about 400-500lbs lighter and running more camber and a suspension spec’ed at least equal to that car.)

As far as power goes, I’m very pleased as well. This car is around 260whp and has acceleration comparable to Civic Type R, Golf R Manual, and E46M3. Here’s my 2 best 1/4 miles so far. These are with revving to 2500rpms and dropping the clutch.



I’m not a pro at drag racing but I believe a 2.00 second 60’ is possible with slipping the clutch which should land a 13.5-13.6 second @ ~103mph 1/4 mile...

And my favorite feature... There isn’t one “M” Badge anywhere on this car. It’s not an M car and not pretending to be.

A few Glamour Shots:

[N55xi]

Love your car, would love to see a video walkaround of it!
Also, do your front wheels rub at all with 255 tires?

[Biginboca]

Originally Posted by N55xi

Love your car, would love to see a video walkaround of it!
Also, do your front wheels rub at all with 255 tires?

Thank you sir! That’s a great idea about a walk around video I’ll have to make one.

I had minor rub on the front that “self clearanced” in about a week of driving. Seems like the plastic front fenders shaved themselves lol

The rear I added a 10mm spacer to get the fitment I wanted and that required a fender roll, pull, and shave to get to work.

Currently I’m rub free all around

[Joebie]

Holy cow, great job!

[Noir]

DAMN!
Things I want: Your M factory Diff (WHERE?!)
That diff cover too!
That OFH setup too.. unh...

Great work on this build, Big. <3

[UncleShrek]

I would love to do this to my 4 door 328i.
Great work and very kool keeping it OEM+

[Biginboca]

Originally Posted by Noir

DAMN!
Things I want: Your M factory Diff (WHERE?!)
That diff cover too!
That OFH setup too.. unh...

Great work on this build, Big. <3

Find a $200 take off Diff on eBay (328i XDrive Auto 3.91 or 328i Auto 3.73) and have it shipped directly to M Factory and they will rebuild it and install the LSD for around $1500.

[E91Swagger]

Well done!
The car looks great and must be a blast to drive.
Like the NA route you're taking.
Thanks for sharing.

[Torgus]

That is a nice build man. Super clean.

Future plans or goals?

I say meth and a SC with the smallest pulley you can run...I am sure it is a last to drive as is. Just depends if you want to chase power/speed which you obviously know.

[Biginboca]

Originally Posted by Torgus

That is a nice build man. Super clean.

Future plans or goals?

I say meth and a SC with the smallest pulley you can run...I am sure it is a last to drive as is. Just depends if you want to chase power/speed which you obviously know.

Thank you sir! I considered the SC route but the cost/benefit just doesn’t seem to be there and I’m pretty happy with the n/a power it’s making now.

That said, I’m very interested in the exhaust cam mod being researched now which would likely be my final power mod if it pans out, otherwise this car is about done.

Only certain future plans (outside of maintenance and daily enjoyment) are a rear brake upgrade when they are due for a change.

[Needbmwpartzz]

Beautiful N/A build.....cant see a 328 getting much better without mucho dinero

[The Nightman]

Very well done. I hope you keep it NA!

How did you connect the air ram duct to the airbox?

[Biginboca]

Originally Posted by freedomfries

Very well done. I hope you keep it NA!

How did you connect the air ram duct to the airbox?

Definitely only see this car as N/A. That won’t change!

I cut a hole in the bottom corner of the airbox and pushed the 2.5” corrugated piping through it. The hole is slightly undersized, like 2.4” diameter so I had to squeeze the piping through and the fit was very tight. (The hole and hose routing are the same as they would be for the Dinan ram air intake kit.)

[Torgus]

Originally Posted by Biginboca

Thank you sir! I considered the SC route but the cost/benefit just doesn’t seem to be there and I’m pretty happy with the n/a power it’s making now.

That said, I’m very interested in the exhaust cam mod being researched now which would likely be my final power mod if it pans out, otherwise this car is about done.

Only certain future plans (outside of maintenance and daily enjoyment) are a rear brake upgrade when they are due for a change.

I agree 100% the bang for your buck is not there with a sc.

I'm jealous you have two awesome toys!

[6ixSpd]

Nice build!

I too share your sentiments of maximizing the last N/A straight 6 from BMW. I think it's the sweetest spot in the non-M range for daily driving and reliability.

After doing MILVs, headers, 3SM, Intake, I feel like I've reached those goals. It's basically a modern day E36 M3 sedan now, minus the LSD

[PORTMOODY]

best na build ive ever seen. bravo.