[jmscard]

So I just got back yesterday from having a bunch of maintance items done on my car from my local BMW dealer... Automaster in Burlington Vermont (was a great experience I might add!), as listed above its a automatic trans. 2006 Dinan 330i with the full Dinan S1 kit installed (dinan ram air, dinan exhaust, dinan strut crossmember, dinan pedals) Well had my fluids changed out (brakes, coolant, rear diff) and the old lube, oil job... my car has 62k miles on the clock.

Well I just bought the car from a BMW dealer with the kit already installed.. I had a e46 before, and was looking for a 330i e90 as I didn't want to deal with the issues some of the 335's are having with the fuel systems, and i wanted a car I could keep for a long time like I did my last e46.

My questions are what can I do to get some more power out of the car, I have done some research and seems as though a BMI powerbox would be a good idea?? what about a header? and who can I go to get a "tune" done in my area? I DONT want a turbo installed even if they end up making one in the future... I just want some more naturally aspirated power...

Any help would be very much appreicated!!!

[benzo23]

I would ditch those 20"s for one, that's unnecessary weight right there. Once you do that I would focus on removing the roof spoiler, your not getting any noticeable HP out of that, then i would look at suspension. A good handling car is a fast car. If you want a tune then go the AA route.

[CPWINCH]

haha that is a funny looking 3

[RupertPupkin]

Gavin @ mmw is having a group buy on headers right now add 15@ the wheels, AA tune will add an additional 15 or so. Could always lose weight, and I would do suspension. some companies are messing with the idea of a supercharger which will be cool but obviously FI. They have pretty much squeezed out all the power in this engine.

[heatfan03]

Hey I have the same dinan package as you on my 328xi pre lci.

rims prolly heavy ditch those

check my sig for the headers by MMotorwerkes

after I get those I am getting an AA tune prolly.

from there weight distribution and some other stuff I prolly don't know about given my knowledge

[jmscard]

Ohhh.. don't pick on my car its not funny looking heres a better less ghetto pick ... haha or maybe not less... I bought the car looking this way minus the wheels I put on... it has the sport package, premium package, and cold weather package, as well as titanium trim... all things I was looking for... being that it was a one owner with Dinan S1 kit installed by original owner made it a "shoe in"

BTW I am going back to 19's like I had on my e46.... rode much better, and you are all right the 20's are slowing her down!

As far as suspension works I would be willing to do something down the road, my car has the sport package so it does handle fairly well as is and I live in Vermont so lowering the car just isn't gonna happen. If you have ever seen a Vermont "frost heave" you know what I am talking about....

I am very interested in the Header idea, as well as a tune... would you still recomend the BMI powerbox if I was going with a tune? and where would I go to get the headers installed? how big of a job is installing the headers? and what about the tuning? I want to do this stuff very soon... i am not really interested in the supercharger route, as I am still looking towards keeping the car awhile, and I rack up ALOT of miles so want it to be as reliable as possible..

Thanks for everyones help so far

[benzo23]

You mean you willingly put those rims on? lol

[jmscard]

Originally Posted by benzo23

You mean you willingly put those rims on? lol

that hurts what I paid for them hurts even worse... but we won't go there !!!!

I had 19" ASA AR1's on my e46... should have kept them!!!!! but the buyer fell in love with them and paid me $1200 extra to keep them on the car.. regret it now as they had brand new sneakers on them too and were flawless... I am going back to a dish wheel though... I may be crazy and get some BBS wheels... depends on how my year end bonus looks too...

BTW I am looking at Gavins headers for the group buy... I think those who replied about them are very right... for my current mods I think they would compliment the car very well...

[benzo23]

You mean to tell me you willingly put those on AND paid money for them!?!? I would skip the deep dish look on this car, concave is in and deep dish is out...and save your money on the BBS's...you can get reps for 1/4 the price and no one will tell the difference. Yes the headers would accomplish what your looking for performance wise, i just hope the dinan rear muffler isant to free flowing. It might be pretty loud

[jmscard]

Originally Posted by benzo23

You mean to tell me you willingly put those on AND paid money for them!?!? I would skip the deep dish look on this car, concave is in and deep dish is out...and save your money on the BBS's...you can get reps for 1/4 the price and no one will tell the difference. Yes the headers would accomplish what your looking for performance wise, i just hope the dinan rear muffler isant to free flowing. It might be pretty loud

are the reps as light as the real BBS wheels though? and are the BBS reps as strong as the real wheels? I live in Vermont and the roads are as bad as they get....and yeh with the noise coming from the muffler (rattling) because the dinan baffles are coming loose... I am probably gonna replace it with something different as Dinan is NOT helping in the Warranty department... safe to say I wont be buying Dinan parts anymore, my e46 had plenty of dinan stuff too... always thought they went out of their way to keep their customers happy and company profile looking good... well not so much!

[benzo23]

From what i know some BBS's are quite heavy. If the roads are that bad you might want some 18's then and have that much more rubber between you. Its just funny you talk about the roads being poor and you put 20"s on there lol...you could always do a custom magnaflow setup or gavin from mmw has his own muffler too that is very similar to the bmw performance muffler and it is priced very very well...he re fabs the internals of a stock muffler. Something to consider too

[jmscard]

Originally Posted by benzo23

From what i know some BBS's are quite heavy. If the roads are that bad you might want some 18's then and have that much more rubber between you. Its just funny you talk about the roads being poor and you put 20"s on there lol...you could always do a custom magnaflow setup or gavin from mmw has his own muffler too that is very similar to the bmw performance muffler and it is priced very very well...he re fabs the internals of a stock muffler. Something to consider too

Thanks for your help, I may just do that with Gavin... seeing how I am probably gonna do the header upgrade why not have the same exhaust.... I def don't want 18's though... just are not big enough for my liking... luckily I try and stay on roads I know the condition of so I think 19's will be fine, just want a good quality wheel.... if the reps are as good as you say they are it sounds like thats the route I will go... do you have any knowledge of good pricing or where to find the reps? I am going to "try" lol.. to sell the 20's as I am going back to the sport 18's (162's) today with my snow tires so they will be sitting for awhile on the auction block.... btw you are right about making a poor decision on the 20's... one of my worst purchases!!!

[just4kickz]

dont expect to get much power. the only additional things you can get is probably a tune and headers. MMW is making new headers that are pretty affordable compared to the few other brands out there. gains are probably 10hp/10tq at the wheels so the gains are pretty substantial. they are of course catless, so you should get smogged before you put them on. there are a variety of tunes, but unfortunately they probably won't be optimized to your intake and exhaust (and headers if you choose to go this route).

if you want better performance, i'd ditch those wheels and get lightweight 17 or 18inch forged wheels, and perhaps new suspension.

[jmscard]

Originally Posted by just4kickz

dont expect to get much power. the only additional things you can get is probably a tune and headers. MMW is making new headers that are pretty affordable compared to the few other brands out there. gains are probably 10hp/10tq at the wheels so the gains are pretty substantial. they are of course catless, so you should get smogged before you put them on. there are a variety of tunes, but unfortunately they probably won't be optimized to your intake and exhaust (and headers if you choose to go this route).

if you want better performance, i'd ditch those wheels and get lightweight 17 or 18inch forged wheels, and perhaps new suspension.

I am a Sales Manager at a Car Dealership so no smog worries btw going to go back to 19's for sure... bought some 19's for the winter about 10 minutes ago with blizzak lm-60's.... and am thinking 19" BBS Reps ... but I do love these on clearance at Tire Rack and they are 18's and are real BBS... I think they would look good..

[benzo23]

Those are sick, and with 18's tires are cheaper...I would go that route with some high quality tires, maybe some michelin super sports, PS2's or bridgestone re 11's for the summer months...those along with some tuned suspension would really turn your car around.

[fdriller9]

Headers and aa tune. Everything else is marginal and not worth the money.

[e90pilot]

Originally Posted by jmscard

I am a Sales Manager at a Car Dealership so no smog worries btw going to go back to 19's for sure... bought some 19's for the winter about 10 minutes ago with blizzak lm-60's.... and am thinking 19" BBS Reps ... but I do love these on clearance at Tire Rack and they are 18's and are real BBS... I think they would look good..

Go with the tire-rack wheels for sure.

[jmscard]

I have a brand new set of Sumitimo tires that were on my sport wheels as I took them off and put winters on them too... lol... then came across the 19's I just bought today with blizzaks... do you think it would be stupid to use the tires off the sport wheels on the BBS wheels? 225/40 rears and 255/35 rears? just asking as then I would just need to buy the BBS wheels for now.. the tires stick well and have only 2,500 miles on them.. they are NOT runflats btw... they were brand new when I bought the car... if not what tire sizes would you recommend? after driving the car a couple days with the 18" sport wheels back on I was reminded how well the car handled and rode with 18's hence why I am thinking I probably should go with the tire rack bbs deal to use next summer..... anyone want a good deal on 20's haha... I even have a fifth wheel (rear) I bought just in case as I found a good deal on 1 rim on closeout

[Ateam]

Wow, that is probably the most tacky 3 series (or any bmw for that matter) I have ever seen. really blows my mind that someone actually chose to make their car look like that. So you want more "naturally aspirated power" yet you throw big 20 inch boat anchors on all 4 corners of the car?

VMR CSL wheels are nice and are relatively light at 26 pounds-28 pounds per wheel depending on exact size in 19's. Anything but those wheels

[jmscard]

Originally Posted by Ateam

Wow, that is probably the most tacky 3 series (or any bmw for that matter) I have ever seen. really blows my mind that someone actually chose to make their car look like that. So you want more "naturally aspirated power" yet you throw big 20 inch boat anchors on all 4 corners of the car?

VMR CSL wheels are nice and are relatively light at 26 pounds-28 pounds per wheel depending on exact size in 19's. Anything but those wheels

Well the stock wheels make it look like it should.... and you know yes I want to make the motor more powerful, sorry, didn't your momma ever tell you if you don't have something nice to say don't say it at all? and just FYI the car looked better in person then in the pics with the 20's..... and for your info I absolutely cant stand the VMR CSL wheels... I just don't like them... we all have different tastes... if we all drove the same looking car life would be pretty boring... if you think my car looks "different"/ "tacky" you should see my motorcycles... they don't look the norm either... and my bike has won every local bike show its been entered in, it draws a crowd with its tricoat camaro synergy green tircoat paint... because ya know sometimes people like different! And for what its worth without the wheels my car has the following: front carbon lip spoiler, rear decklid spoiler, rear window spoiler.. thats it... not all that different...

[benzo23]

I would order the 18" BBS's and yes 225/40/18 up front and 255/35/18 will work fine, thats what setup i have on my 18's now. *Actually I just looked on tire rack that they only have rear fitment which is 18x9.5 which calls for a 255/35/18...that wont work up front. Start looking for another set you like. Do you have any side shorts of the 20's id like to see it when its not off angle.

Heres a cpl links maybe youll find something you like,
http://www.europeanautosource.com/ca...C0%2C0%2C0%2C0

http://www.**********s.com/dept.aspx...013-005&page=1

[jmscard]

Here ya go... still looks better in person... and fact is I get compliments every where I go with the 20's... lets face it the youthful crowd loves big shiny wheels