List your good, inexpensive mods

[ecf34]

Originally Posted by moomeacow

has anyone tried the ebay carbon performance spoiler? I was gonna get one but I was scared of yellowing or quality since its gonna be in direct sunlight in florida. I can probably see the diffuser or lip you can go cheap cause its on the bottom and all they are gonna do is get scratched up, but for the spoiler I went with OEM. That M tax hurts lol. I wonder how is the quality on the cheap carbon spoilers.

I think the quality varies. I've heard good and bad things about them. I had an eBay spoiler which fit 90% but the shape of it was a little off from OEM. I agree that the spoiler is worth going OEM for because it's very noticeable, so after a month I ended up replacing the eBay spoiler with OEM.

[ecf34]

Originally Posted by f80

As much as I'm tempted to save a few bucks, this uneven gap would drive me completely nuts.
Edit: At least it's symmetrical.

Yup I noticed that as well but only after comparing it with the OEM one. Before that I didn't really think there was anything wrong with it since it's symmetrical. Honestly though the diffuser is probably the last thing I notice on my car, so I can live with it.

[igagjan]

Thank you all for great inputs

[Naz24]

Originally Posted by f80

As much as I'm tempted to save a few bucks, this uneven gap would drive me completely nuts.
Edit: At least it's symmetrical.

Yeah i saw this. I ended up not getting the eBay one. and instead went with one from JL Motoring ( a sponsor who seemed to have good product) so i'll update you guys. Sure, its $200 more, but still cheaper than the MP one and seems to be of similar quality. Stay tuned

[Naz24]

Originally Posted by moomeacow

how long have you had it? I used to have a carbon hood on my evo x and after like 3 years the clear coat was starting to fade. the florida sun destroys it

I've had it for only a week. Probably worth getting the OEM one? Maybe wrap it in XPEL

[mdemon]

I did a CF 5d Gloss carbon wrap on my splitter area and it's decently priced. It came out beautiful and I love it.

2nd best mod is Nitrogen from Costco $12.

I also did a muffler delete and my car sounds amazing. No rasp whatsoever.

[Adcampo]

Black M4 ZCP emblem from GetBMWparts.com. $18.

[ecf34]

Originally Posted by mdemon

I did a CF 5d Gloss carbon wrap on my splitter area and it's decently priced. It came out beautiful and I love it.

2nd best mod is Nitrogen from Costco $12.

I also did a muffler delete and my car sounds amazing. No rasp whatsoever.

Is there a reason you went with nitrogen?
And the muffler delete is irreversible right?

[hwalk]

Originally Posted by Soap

I've been looking to do this but can't find a set of black ones. Where'd you get yours from?

I bought them from a private seller via ebay (special section for private sellers, i guess there's something similar in the US...)

[mike@x-ph.com]

My 2 favorite mods
JB stage 1 (lots more power for cheap)
VRSF or AA exhaust tips (does not cost much but makes a big difference)

[SaMaster14]

I have to say, the BMS CANFlap OBDII module was probably the best investment I made this far! Really changes the personality of the car, and has a lot of functionality that is not limited to opening/closing the exhaust valves when you want.

All of the small iND stuff was great (grill, reflectors, etc) for a good price.

All of the exhaust options aren't worth the price imo, and since I have the valve module, i simply purchased a set of 90mm polished chrome tips from CCM (sadly I think they only did one batch). For ~300 they look amazing and I've gotten more compliments and questions about them then most other parts of my car.

My other cosmetic mods, so far, are mostly 'brand name' (autotecknik splitters and mirror cap replacements coming soon) and ModeCarbon spoiler since I've had almost since I got the car. For some, these will be a steal compared to Vorsteiner/HRE/BMW OEM products, but for others, they may be considered on the expensive side.

Probably the BEST bang for buck was my diffuser replica though. I ordered a diffuser/lip replica combo from a seller with a good reputation on ebay. the lip looked good, but was made with poor quality (as expected), so it lasted about 3 weeks before cracking. The diffuser exceeded my expectations for the price though. It seems to be carbon fiber through and through, has about 99% perfect fitment (the left side sticks out maybe 1cm more than the right...), and used the same fitment as the OEM diffuser. Really impressed for what would have been ~$300 had I not bought it with the lip as a combo set (vs. brand name and OEM parts that are $1000+)

[mdemon]

Originally Posted by ecf34

Is there a reason you went with nitrogen?
And the muffler delete is irreversible right?

The reason was price lol. It usually cost $200 at dealers and it stops the erosion of wheel from the inside and does give some rotational mass loss.

The muffler delete is reversible but there have been cases where my dealer asked me not to reverse it at a trade in lol

[M2 Pilot]

It's been a long, long time since I had a college course in chemistry & I've forgotten most of what I learned, so correct me if I'm wrong.

I don't think you saved enough rotational weight to make any difference. I think the mass of a cubic meter of air is 1.2 kg. & that of a cubic meter of Nitrogen gas is 1.16 kg. I haven't done, hell I probably can't do, the math but that's such a minute difference that a bit of dirt in a tire grove might be more important weight wise.

[fkhan83]

Originally Posted by mdemon

I did a CF 5d Gloss carbon wrap on my splitter area and it's decently priced. It came out beautiful and I love it.

2nd best mod is Nitrogen from Costco $12.

I also did a muffler delete and my car sounds amazing. No rasp whatsoever.

Do you have any close up pics of the wrap on the splitter area?

[Xtabi]

Originally Posted by BTWoody

painting over chrome exhaust tips with left over BBQ/stove black paint in the garage. Just to eliminate any chrome on the car

I need to do that this summer for the muffler that droops down.

[igagjan]

Originally Posted by dinonz

Power Stop ceramic brake pads - reduced brake dust for around $70

Is it to replace regular pads or ceramic (yellow) ones?

[igagjan]

Originally Posted by Alvinized52

I've always liked roof spoilers but wasn't digging all of the more expensive brands like PSM and AC Schnitzer. I wanted something more subtle... and yes... something less expensive. I found this $90 roof spoiler on Ebay and thought it was worth a shot. Fits perfectly and great quality. Very happy with this purchase.

Beautiful car
What about the rest of kits?
Spoiler and diffuser ?

[dinonz]

Originally Posted by igagjan

Is it to replace regular pads or ceramic (yellow) ones?

Regular ones

[igagjan]

Originally Posted by dinonz

Regular ones

Thank you

[Alvinized52]

Originally Posted by Naz24

Who has "knock off" diffusers, and what do you recommend? I just cannot justify spending $1200 on a piece of carbon fiber cosmetics.....

Try looking into RW_Carbon ( they are banned from this forum because of their knock off) Search the threads and you will find some images and reviews.

[TheMidnightNarwhal]

Originally Posted by Yessir

dps - Vrsf
Exausts -Bms or maximum psi but still under development.
Cheap CF splitters with decent quality- cnautofans
Best bang for the buck - jb4
Cheap oem grill surrounds- f30 grill
Yeah thats all I have at the moment

I don't understand how JB4 is best bang for buck. Wouldn't it be M4 Stage 1 tuner. Simple plug gives you HP. JB4 surely has unneeded features?

[Powaup]

Originally Posted by Adcampo

Black M4 ZCP emblem from GetBMWparts.com. $18.

WHAAAA!? that cheap? i remember when IND was selling them for $75!!!