Mark_T Posted September 25, 2005 Report Share Posted September 25, 2005 Im 18 years old and work for a car finance broker so Ive managed to acquire myself a nice '02 plate 318ti SE compact, I know a lot of people dont like them but its only my second car and at 18 im happy to say Ive done it all myself and managed to get a car like this, anyways.... As you do being my age I want to modify my car, only subtle changes but I cant seem to find ANYTHING to fit the compact, whether its exhausts, filters, chips, splitters, anything! can anyone recommend any good UK sites to get hold of these things and what particular mods do you guys recommend on these cars? thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thorburn Posted September 26, 2005 Report Share Posted September 26, 2005 Air filters, chips, exhaust and the like will all push the insurance up silly amounts and will do naff all for the power. Just enjoy the as standard, no point changing anything as it'll just cost you a fortune Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
randellp Posted September 26, 2005 Report Share Posted September 26, 2005 I spent about 1/2hr writing a long and angry rant at you Tilly, probably because I'm in a bad mood since I've had my phone & wallet nicked today. Then I thought that you are just a silly troll out fishing, which made me chuckle a bit, but I still felt better getting that out of my system, so thankyou, whoever you are! Either way I though better of posting my full response and attack on mindless teenagers, but the essence of my message is this: FFS leave the car alone - Keep it standard, but love it by keeping it clean and shiny and well serviced, which show more true appreciation of a car than adding bodykits & air filters ever would. Once you are older & rich enough to afford a better car spend your money on something that is already fast, bling & cool enough without having to change anything. The car you have now will have enough performance and kudos (just) having the BMW badge on the front for you to lord it round your mates who are still stuck driving Corsas and Saxos - most of which have been modded so badly they perform worse than they ever did before as standard. Every time you change anything to non-standard on your car (which cannot be reversed) you will pay in accellerated depreciation and you'll never get the money back on the mods when you sell. They will add negligible improvements to performance, and it's doubtful you will improve the look of what was never really a good looking car (i.e you can't polish a turd etc etc) If you have got the car on Finance - which seems likely given your job & age, you also have a very real chance of owing much more on the loan (& finance to Demon Tweeks)than the car is worth in 1-2 years time. Cheers! P. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark_T Posted September 26, 2005 Author Report Share Posted September 26, 2005 and why is it that everyone just happens to assume? Im not interested in kudos i dont care what people think, i want to do this for me, im not doing it to make the car look or sound different, im doing it for the driving, I like a car that responds nicely and drives smoothly, I work all day long with BM's, Merc's, porka's and the rest of it, im not bothered about all of that, all I want to do is simply improve upon what BMW have already done a great job on doing. They cant spend decades researching better airflow and engine internals, they'd be going forever and never release new models and neither can they produce amazing fuel maps because their cars are sold all over the world. What is so bad about wanting to to improve throttle response? losing flatspots, having increased torque and better, more efficient fueling? You;re assuming every last thing about me with the "oh your mates drive corsas and saxos blah blah blah" No offence fella but im not a little scrot from off the street, i take interest in cars and have from a young age growing up around performance modified cars. Im not even looking for silly high performance, just a more driveable toy for the 12 miles of back roads to and from work everyday, it gets a bit tedious and sometimes I like to have a little play about on them, whats so wrong with that? I think you're being unreasonable and OTT, like thorburn, fair play he doesn't agree with my plans and yeah I can understand that but at least he wasn't to put a blatantly.... an outright c*nt with me. You could have quite easily said "you're silly for modding it, leave it standard its a nice car" but no, you won't even ask my reasons and label me alongside the real "boy racers" who have no real interest in cars and dont know their exhaust from their arse. And if modifying is pointless and so ridiculous, why the f*ck do you decorate your house? why do you not drive a 1.0? Why is your car not yellow? better still why doesn't everyone go back to the good old model T and drive around in those, you tell me? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chav Posted September 26, 2005 Report Share Posted September 26, 2005 Good answer! You don't need to defend yourself though mate, lots of people on here mod their cars! ... and not just the younger members! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark_T Posted September 26, 2005 Author Report Share Posted September 26, 2005 its not a case of defending myself mate, its just i dont like being labelled before them even asking my reasons for doing it, im instantly tarred with the chav brush because im under 30. Well sorry for being successful and making it as a car salesman at only 18, i guess i cant enjoy myself til im past it, until then ill go and drink white lightning on the streets ey lads? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jsparkesuk Posted September 26, 2005 Report Share Posted September 26, 2005 its ok they will get used to you, ignore comments like the OTT one from randellp, listen to avid members, especially like chav! And i'm 19 drive a damn lime green polo mate so don't worry, you will get tarred with the brush by silly members but listen to the ones that count! I fecking hate saxo's and corsa's! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jbomz3 Posted September 26, 2005 Report Share Posted September 26, 2005 http://www.evilbeemer.com or here http://www.bavauto.com/shop.asp#undefined or even the ebay compact list http://search.ebay.co.uk/search/search.d...&category0= . Oh and don't bother about folks judging ya , that's their problem . JJ . You might even find mine on the evil gallery page and want to list yours . Cheers . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scorcher Posted September 26, 2005 Report Share Posted September 26, 2005 Loads of like-minded modders here mate... www.evotechnik.net and even a couple of Compact owners Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cerbera Posted September 29, 2005 Report Share Posted September 29, 2005 [ QUOTE ] I spent about 1/2hr writing a long and angry rant at you Tilly, probably because I'm in a bad mood since I've had my phone & wallet nicked today. Then I thought that you are just a silly troll out fishing, which made me chuckle a bit, but I still felt better getting that out of my system, so thankyou, whoever you are! Either way I though better of posting my full response and attack on mindless teenagers, but the essence of my message is this: FFS leave the car alone - Keep it standard, but love it by keeping it clean and shiny and well serviced, which show more true appreciation of a car than adding bodykits & air filters ever would. Once you are older & rich enough to afford a better car spend your money on something that is already fast, bling & cool enough without having to change anything. The car you have now will have enough performance and kudos (just) having the BMW badge on the front for you to lord it round your mates who are still stuck driving Corsas and Saxos - most of which have been modded so badly they perform worse than they ever did before as standard. Every time you change anything to non-standard on your car (which cannot be reversed) you will pay in accellerated depreciation and you'll never get the money back on the mods when you sell. They will add negligible improvements to performance, and it's doubtful you will improve the look of what was never really a good looking car (i.e you can't polish a turd etc etc) If you have got the car on Finance - which seems likely given your job & age, you also have a very real chance of owing much more on the loan (& finance to Demon Tweeks)than the car is worth in 1-2 years time. Cheers! P. [/ QUOTE ] randellp, Whilst I'm inclined to agree with most of what you're saying, there are ways of conveying your opinion without sounding like a patronising, grumpy old twat. Your response is hardly welcoming to a 'newbie' is it ? Tilly, FFS don't 'Max p*wer' your new car! Welcome to the forum. randellp - chill. JT Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shark_90 Posted September 29, 2005 Report Share Posted September 29, 2005 [ QUOTE ] ..there are ways of conveying your opinion without sounding like a patronising, grumpy old twat. [/ QUOTE ] You have such a way with words mate Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brabus Posted September 29, 2005 Report Share Posted September 29, 2005 Randellp, calm down. That's no way to treat a new member. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gino128 Posted September 29, 2005 Report Share Posted September 29, 2005 [ QUOTE ] Randellp, calm down. That's no way to treat a new member. [/ QUOTE ] I'm not sure it's any way to treat ANYONE!! That said, Tilly, I agree with the sentiment of what a couple of people have said. I looked into chipping my 325ci in the hope of getting better economy and performance and found that for the extra 13bhp, I woudl lose not only what warranty I have left on the car, but also the second hand value would be dramatically affected. Many people consider any mod'd car to be thrashed rather than simply enhanced for the driving pleasure which in so many cases is totally incorrect. So, I am sure there are lots of little things you could tinker with like the exhaust or the intakes or other "non-invasive" mods to improve things...but then again if you plan on keeping the car for a while, do what you want. By the time you come to sell it, cars may have moved on so much that a mod'd car may ve attractive to someone else who is your age now!! Chin up mate and welcome to BM land!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gino128 Posted September 29, 2005 Report Share Posted September 29, 2005 You could also try putting Optimax in it too. I asked this question months ago and it went on and on and on...to arrive at the conclusion that in some cars it made a difference, in others it didn't!! It IS supposed to work, being 98RON which can have performance benefits but I'm not so sure!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NewNiceMrMe Posted September 29, 2005 Report Share Posted September 29, 2005 Wow, what a rather strange welcome for a new member. Tilly, welcome to TSN and a very warm welcome to the BMW forums. I'd recommend that if you want to tastefully modify your car, be it mechanically or in looks alone, that you contact a BMW specialist who knows what they are doing. The likes of Hyperturismo Racing would be a good start. They might not be able to help you on the Compact...but Joe Gautier will certainly point you in the right direction in a helpful way. Hyperturismo Racing Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thorburn Posted October 1, 2005 Report Share Posted October 1, 2005 [ QUOTE ] and why is it that everyone just happens to assume? Im not interested in kudos i dont care what people think, i want to do this for me, im not doing it to make the car look or sound different, im doing it for the driving, I like a car that responds nicely and drives smoothly [/ QUOTE ] Possibly because of: [ QUOTE ] whether its exhausts, filters, chips, splitters, anything [/ QUOTE ] I've never seen a splitter that improves responce or makes the car smoother to drive I guess. Really there isn't a lot you can do to improve how the car will drive, the suggestion of using Optimax is a good idea, I used to use it in a 1250cc Fiesta because it cured a slight hesitation at around 2500rpm for example. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark_T Posted October 3, 2005 Author Report Share Posted October 3, 2005 Right im sick of people being out right f*cking knobs to put it politely, you guys do f*ck all but slate everything I do or say, I came to ask simple advice and get nothing but abuse for it. Ffs why do people insist on analysing every last word I say down to a tee and making assumptions about my actions and motives? because they're scrots with nothing better to do? Yes I want to put a splitter on my car because it neatens the exterior without looking ridiculous, its a simple modification, cheap and looks nice. I don't appreciate people quoting me and trying to make me look an idiot and inferior, I said I didn't want to change the look and the sound of my car for "kudos", I also said I want to do it for myself, I wasnt saying I was going to leave the exterior standard, I want the car to be individual but some of you guys are bang out of order with the way you talk down to me, no offence to those of you that've actually been civil to me but no wonder BM drivers have gotten a bad name for themselves as sarcastic knobs that look down on people, unfortunately Im beginning to feel like that is the case myself. The new generation obviously aren't welcome around here so Ill take my custom elsewhere where people can actually respect me, I've worked my arse off to achieve what I have, how many of you can say you made it into my position with their car at 18 years old without being a mummy or daddys boy and had it paid for them? Ive struggled and scrimped and saved to buy this car and opinoins like Ive seen here make me feel disheartened and like I shouldnt have bothered Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
randellp Posted October 3, 2005 Report Share Posted October 3, 2005 Hi Tilly, Big, big apologies for my response. It really did make me sound like a prize w*nker, and wasn't either very welcoming or helpful. So for that Tilly, you are welcome to call me a kn*b & a c*nt for being so insensitive, as there was no excuse for it. Particularly, I'm sorry you've now got such a bad impression of Tyresmoke & its users (and BMW drivers!), especially as it was really only me that was having a go. Everyone else was defending you and some were actually offering some very useful advice. I hope you stick around and contribute further as this is normally a really friendly, informative forum and it sounds like you are working in an interesting branch of the automotive industry that we could all learn something about, and probably have a lot more useful input than someone like me. What I should have said, with the benefit of hindsight, that personally I don't believe that a car like yours lends itself too well to having aftermarket changes made to it - the quality of design and attention to detail is such that enhancments are either unnecessary or redundant. Unless you were to spend a pretty large amount of money (and then you may as well have bought a more expensive car), I feel you would be hard pushed to make any improvements to it. I can appreciate that you want to make the car yours, and stamp your own style onto it the way you like it, but I'm of a school who thinks a standard, well kept car says a lot more than one that's been "enhanced". That mindset means that I don't have to constantly worry about having to improve my car's looks or performance either. I can love it just the way it is and keep my money in my pocket, and spend it on the other things I feel need more money spent on them in my life. These are only my opinions of course, and plenty of other people (especially on here - who hopefully have give you some useful links & contacts) have different ideas. After all, there wouldn't be an aftermarket modification industry or websites discussing how to, and what to do with your car. I really wish you all the best with your new car, you have not made a mistake buying a BMW, which are the best cars I've ever owned. Again, sorry I responded in such a negative manner, which was uncalled for and out of order. I hope this isn't the last we hear from you and look forward to finding out what you decided to do with the car. P. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark_T Posted October 4, 2005 Author Report Share Posted October 4, 2005 Thanks randell, means a lot, Ive actually backed out at the last minute on the compact and managed to sort a coupe so im picking it up this saturday fingers crossed, topaz blue with light beige full leather, not to everyones taste but i like it Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
randellp Posted October 4, 2005 Report Share Posted October 4, 2005 Nice one. You won't regret it. That is one of my favourite color schemes, and is really, really smart. What sort of engine/spec is it? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dadwhitey Posted October 4, 2005 Report Share Posted October 4, 2005 welcome tilly got a bmw in the family as well as the audi nice colour nearly beats the black /biege combo i have as someone mention on a previous post www.evotechnik.net are quite good . Can get some forum discount from some dealers on parts when you join . And as for modding its you,re car you do what you want for urself but is nice to get a few opinions even if heated what make,s this place interesting Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark_T Posted October 4, 2005 Author Report Share Posted October 4, 2005 engine spec *blushes* not much, im only 18 so insurance is a killer so unfortunately its just a 2.0 318Ci SE but im going to run an evolution chip which are made local to me and allows you to convert the ecu back to standard in seconds with no soldering so its good for resale and will help with the lack of two cylinders that the other motors in the range have, will just help give me that slight extra bit of torque and smoothness which'll be very desirable cos i have to drive 12 miles of backroads to and from work and love to play about sometimes so it needs to be reasonably torquey Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
randellp Posted October 5, 2005 Report Share Posted October 5, 2005 Hey Tilly, Don't worry, the 2.0 litre petrol engine (and no doubt someone will correct me if I'm wrong) is actually considered a little cracker, with the proper Vanos multivalve enhancements of the larger engines. Driveability and performance should easily be enough to amuse you on your journey to work. Although you might find it hard to win any drag races with people who have cars that weigh a lot lighter that yours, you'll still be able to pull around 8 seconds 0-60, which is not at all shabby. Best of all, the engine's built in the UK - so under the bonnet of your Beemer beats a pretty strong and economical British heart... Not an unwise choice in anyone's book, and nothing to be ashamed of. Enjoy! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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