$2500 to spend, what would you do?

[asbrr]

Originally Posted by gary_william

Or a middlle aged man who wants a fun car and is willing to drop a litttle responsible coin to maybe make it funner.

Tires and suspension seem to get the nod. Thank you those who intelligently participated.

One question - did your car come with the sport suspension/package? The stock sport suspension is not terrible, and you can divert some funds into wheels/tires and other chassis improvements like the rear sub-frame bushings. If you did that you'd end up with a nice handling "funner" version of a mostly stock car that won't destroy you on bumpy roads etc and you can daily drive without pissing off the wife.

[gjm120]

If the car does not have the sport suspension it's easy to find a used one or go with one of the aftermarket options like Bilstein B12 kit. Also I would imagine a non-sport suspension with go-flat tires would be very 'cushy'. The runflats are very stiff.

[elitesales305]

1000 kw coilovers , 1m bumper 500 , the excess on rims and tires.. maybe some tints..
128 to me isn't enough engine to tune the little fucker..
I mean, even as I get used to my 135.. im starting to think now.. why waste the money on perf.. just make it look even slicker..
if I want to go fast, I mean scary fast.... American v8.. cheap parts and a lot of room to work on shit urself..or just buy a streetbike,,

[Tommm]

I would install a set of koni sports which when done will run around $1,000 in parts if you change the peripheral parts too. Then maybe a set of bigger sway bars. That will make it more fun yet keep it streetable. I wouldnt go for the stiffer bilsteins, or lower the car if just a bit more fun is your objective.

[E91WAG3N]

Go faster - headers, 3 stage manifold, tune

Handle better - RSFB, M3 arms, non-runflat tires

[gary_william]

Originally Posted by ubersteuer

Go faster - headers, 3 stage manifold, tune

Handle better - RSFB, M3 arms, non-runflat tires

This. And thank you. Handle bettter first, go faster second. Track days 3rd.

Thank you everyone.

Mods, feel free to close this thread now.

[Matticus91]

Originally Posted by The Wind Breezes

will teach you nothing. There, I finished the sentence for you. You need HUNDREDS of hours on track to be competent, let alone good.

Doing a single hour with a pro on a track will leave you in a better spot than where you started.

The guy didn't ask his question in the clearest way possible, so what? No need to be a dick the whole time.

gary_william With $2500 on an auto 128 I'd do an exhaust, suspension, brakes, and wheels/tires. That should leave you with some left over for maintenance too. Personally I wouldn't bother with too much "gofast" stuff, you'll get more enjoyment out of the car sounding a little better and handling a LOT better.

[gary_william]

Originally Posted by Matticus91

Doing a single hour with a pro on a track will leave you in a better spot than where you started.

The guy didn't ask his question in the clearest way possible, so what? No need to be a dick the whole time.

gary_william With $2500 on an auto 128 I'd do an exhaust, suspension, brakes, and wheels/tires. That should leave you with some left over for maintenance too. Personally I wouldn't bother with too much "gofast" stuff, you'll get more enjoyment out of the car sounding a little better and handling a LOT better.

I left the question vague on purpose to not limit my options or to add to my preconceived or illconceived ideas.

Thanks again to those who intelligently contributed.

[sprp85]

Best bet of all arounder:

- Tune $600ish
- M3 front control arms $350ish
- Whiteline rear subframe bushing insets $50
- Dinan cmaber plates $140ish
- B8 shocks or Koni Yellows $600ish?
- lightweight wheels and tires (used, varies), or just good tires. Square setup for more fun IMO.

$1600 not including wheels/tires.
Also excluding labor for suspension bit installation.

Good luck!

[desertman123]

Originally Posted by Siajoon

sell the 128i put the 2500 as a down and get a 135i

-----

And this thread is TRASH. E90Post levels of trash. I'm not mad. I'm disappointed.

Ever consider the possibility he set aside $2500 for the specific purpose of modding his new toy?

ANYWAY.

Most people have already covered the basics. Take a look at my build thread, there's some good low-key mods in there that won't break the bank.

Obviously, before anything make sure maintenance is 100% up to date. Common issues either being monitored, or already dealt with, fluids topped off, brake fluid bled, spark plugs, belts, etc.

In no particular order:

- Rear subframe bushing inserts (for $40 you can't go wrong)
- Some sort of suspension. Maybe a stock sport suspension setup, or B12 kit if you like low.
- 3 stage intake manifold/tune (AA or BPC)
- Exhaust (I have a muffler delete and it's very civil, even when I want it to be loud)
- Toss the runflat tires in the trash where they belong, since you're in Cali grab some nice summer tires. I have almost 20k miles on my Yokohama S.Drives and they're still decently meaty
- Intake upgrade (this is purely for noise), I have the Rev Motoring silicon intake and its nice for the price
- M3 control arms

Here's a free mod! Look up the camber pin delete. It ends up adding a tiny bit of camber in the front wheels if you don't feel like buying camber plates or going wild.

[chris82]

Originally Posted by The Wind Breezes

will teach you nothing. There, I finished the sentence for you. You need HUNDREDS of hours on track to be competent, let alone good.

Are you crazy? You will learn so much in just one 20 or 30 minute session at an HPDE

[The Wind Breezes]

Originally Posted by chris82

Are you crazy? You will learn so much in just one 20 or 30 minute session at an HPDE

No, but you may be responding to something that I didn't say. I said you need hundreds of hours to be competent. Yes you will learn a lot during your first track day but you won't be remotely competent afterwards. Unless you plan to go regularly I'd just spend the money on something useful...like drugs and girls.

Originally Posted by Hops128i

i only have 7 hours on the track in novice and have gone from being one of the slower cars to one of the fastest.

Then you probably have really terrible competition. It's a novice run group, dude. You won't find fast people there, and if you do, they get bumped up.

[Hops128i]

Originally Posted by The Wind Breezes

Then you probably have really terrible competition. It's a novice run group, dude. You won't find fast people there, and if you do, they get bumped up.

I'm not sure understand your point. I was ok in the novice group, and after a few events now i'm one fastest, and have decided to go into intermediate (this is track night in america with no in car instructors). No one is 'terrible' they're just learning just like me.

[Hops128i]

Originally Posted by The Wind Breezes

No, but you may be responding to something that I didn't say. I said you need hundreds of hours to be competent. Yes you will learn a lot during your first track day but you won't be remotely competent afterwards. Unless you plan to go regularly I'd just spend the money on something useful...like drugs and girls.

Assuming you mean 'competent' to mean 'expert' or 'skilled', you have a really strange philosophy. So you won't do things like skii, shoot clays, play soccer, garden, golf, fish ... etc unless you're on a dedicated path to being an expert? Do you have to be an expert at something of have fun?

[chris82]

Originally Posted by gary_william

Bone stock 2013 128i AT. Where do you drop your $2500?

In all seriousness, I'd focus on simpler mods before going Gung ho on a big suspension or engine mod. Its a good place to start and you can always build on top of it

I'd recommend these and see where you want to go from there.
M3 front sway bar and M3 control arms
BMW performance exhaust (or of your choice, but the BMW PE sounds the best imo)
Rear subframe inserts
A good summer tire like mpss

Cant go wrong eith ANY of the above. the car will be instantly transformed and you can build on top of any of those; the M3 fsb and control arms will go perfect with any future coilover mod. All of them will give you a sense of what you want more of, engine performance, suspension, etc.

[The Wind Breezes]

Originally Posted by Hops128i

Do you have to be an expert at something of have fun?

No, but being competent helps, and all the things you mentioned are made vastly better by proficiency. Performance driving is really sexy and rewarding when you're good at it, and kind of scary and awkward if you're not. I don't recommend driving schools in general unless you either 1) have a foundation to learn on or 2) have a whole lot of money and can take as many as you want. A really expensive weekend might be fun but won't matter much in the scheme of things if you only do it once and in that case the money could really be put to better use.

[chris82]

Originally Posted by The Wind Breezes

No, but being competent helps, and all the things you mentioned are made vastly better by proficiency. Performance driving is really sexy and rewarding when you're good at it, and kind of scary and awkward if you're not. I don't recommend driving schools in general unless you either 1) have a foundation to learn on or 2) have a whole lot of money and can take as many as you want. A really expensive weekend might be fun but won't matter much in the scheme of things if you only do it once and in that case the money could really be put to better use.

Every point you mentioned is dependent on the person. Some people think the money spent at the track is worth every penny, even if it doesn't make them an expert driver. Then there are those who'd rather spend it on something material like a engine or suspension mod that they can enjoy every day. I don't know what/why you're trying to argue here.

[The Wind Breezes]

The point is that paying a fortune for a one-off weekend at a driving school is a huge waste of money unless you're rich...and in that case you wouldn't be modding a 128i with a $2.5k budget. Just because some people (non-rich participants of one-off expensive driving schools) make ill-informed decisions and try to justify them retroactively doesn't mean we can't avoid the problem in the first place by correctly advising the OP.

[sprp85]

I wouldnt call SCCA / NASA HPDE events a fortune. Who knows, the OP might be a quick learner.

$2500 could probably set him up with 6 weekends.

Or 4 weekends if he gets a proper wheel setup for the driving events. (~$1000)

[chris82]

Originally Posted by sprp85

I wouldnt call SCCA / NASA HPDE events a fortune. Who knows, the OP might be a quick learner.

$2500 could probably set him up with 6 weekends.

Or 4 weekends if he gets a proper wheel setup for the driving events. (~$1000)

I don't think 6 unless he lived close and didn't need a place to stay. my guess is 4 events and that's a lot, especially at PCA where they give you a lot of track time. 4 two day events and I think you'd move into intermediate class

[Matticus91]

Originally Posted by The Wind Breezes

The point is that paying a fortune for a one-off weekend at a driving school is a huge waste of money unless you're rich...and in that case you wouldn't be modding a 128i with a $2.5k budget. Just because some people (non-rich participants of one-off expensive driving schools) make ill-informed decisions and try to justify them retroactively doesn't mean we can't avoid the problem in the first place by correctly advising the OP.

What? Can we just stop now?

[asiflicious]

Keep the money, and I'm not saying that to belittle you.