1985-1998 [Subscribe to Daily Digest] |
Bill Davies and Noel have covered most of the important stuff. Here is what I would do in order of necessity.
1. Bring all maintenance up to date/ensure plugs/vacuum hoses etc are all good and car is running properly. Shift linkage may need to be rebuilt, tie rod ends, etc.
2. 16" wheels with a good tire of your choice. You don't need a premium brand tire to get a decent tire; you may buy a premium brand tire and get something that sucks for what you want; read tire rack and other online reviews for tires that interest you.
3. One (not two) poly upper motor mount bushing.
4. 3" downpipe and 3" cat. Up to you whether you want 2 1/2" or 3" cat back.
5. Better shocks/struts (and possibly springs - your call) and I strongly recommend SAS sway bars. If you don't do those, at least do poly sway bar bushings. Also poly 'butterfly bushings' (rear bushing in the front wishbone).
6. Brake pads & rotors and stainless steel lines. I like Porterfield R4S pads; as Noel said, you can get them in the size for the 1988-91 BMW M3 and grind the backs a tiny amount to make them fit the 9000 caliper. The M3 size pads have about 20% more swept area than the 9000 pads. As for rotors, there are lots of choices, I don't think there is a huge difference between Zimmerman and Brembo and stock, but beware of some cross drilled rotors you find online, if you decide to go cross drilled. Cross drilled rotors should be specifically made cross drilled by the manufacturer, not cross drilled in a machine shop somewhere after the fact.
7. ECU upgrade. With what you have above, you can easily handle 300 bhp. ECU tuning has become so inexpensive for T5 cars, you could easily afford to get a stage 1 or similar right away, and get a stage 3 or 4 upgrade later as you add more mods.
8. Performance clutch and Quaife diff. As regards your post on the performance board, I'd say the chance of finding one used is almost non-existent. They weren't available as an option from the factory, so only a few people have added them to their cars. They are expensive, and a lot of work to install.
9. Turbo upgrade/injectors/intercooler upgrade/performance cams. This will certainly require an ECU reprogram.
As to what you buy, I'd look for the best condition/best maintained/newest/lowest mileage car I could find, in that order. There aren't enormous differences between model years 1994-1998. 1994/5 cars are OBD 1 and do not have heater plates and a couple of other emissions things that later 1996/7/8 OBD 2 cars do have. Aeros are very nice, and come with better bodykit, seats, suspension and bigger turbos, if 5-speed. However, all Aeros are now 14+ years old, so there is a significant chance that they've been through multiple owners and the chances of neglect/abuse goes up. I think there is even a strong case to specifically look for a CS/light pressure turbo car, because it will have been less beaten on. A CS transmission has been dealing with 185 lbs/ft of torque, whereas an Aero has had about 40% more - significant over 100k + miles. CSE's and Aeros got Harmon Kardon audio in 1995, which is a nice upgrade. However, after 15 years, you may want to upgrade the speakers to something more contemporary anyway.
posted by 146.115.6...
, Tue, 26 Jul 2011 19:13:36
, Tue, 26 Jul 2011 16:30:06
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