First big mod??

[007MCoupe]

So...

My birthday is coming soon (next month) and I'm saving as much money I can to get my first 'major' mod. I've 'narrowed' it down to 3:

Wheels/Tires

Coilovers

HeadersExhaust


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Here's where I am right now with my decision. I don't track at all right now, but I really want to start. There's no local track, and from what I've read the closest one would most likely be 3 1/2 - 4 hours away. My ///M isn't my daily driver to/from work/around town (plus it's been rainy here a lot lately) and the ride isn't bad at all, so I've got the KW V3's in third place.

Along the same lines, since I'm not tracking I don't require the HP gains that a new exhuast system would give me. Now don't hang me, but I'm one of the guys that likes sound > HP in exhaust. Just from Youtube, I've pretty much fallen in love with the SS sound. I haven't seen/heard anything in person as far as RPI/SS/AA/etc and I would like to before I made a final decision.

The wheels/tires have been on my mind since the day I bought my car. It's pretty much the first thing anyone does to make the car theirs. And as much as I love the ARC-8s, a lot of people run them, and I don't like having the same shirt as someone else, let alone rims! lol Now if I were tracking on a more regular basis, that might change. But for aesthetic purposes, I'm leaning towards the M310's with the Hankook V12s.

All that said, I don't have a lot of room in my garage (nothing that can't be fixed by actually cleaning it out!) but I also don't have a set of tools. Wheels and shocks/struts I've R&R on previous cars myself, so I'm comfortable doing them myself, headers, not so much. There's not a stealership within 4 hours of me and I haven't had any work done to know and trust a local shop. I've gotten so many reccomendations from co-workers, but I just don't know. So headers might be an issue getting installed, at least the way I want them...properly with no damage to anything else.

So, yes wheels/tires are in first place but I'm just wondering if anyone has any input to sway me!

[Blind32]

19s look great on our cars. Only downsides are slightly harsher ride, tires are more expensive.

Depending on how soon you want to do the headers/suspension, I can offer my garage, tools and I'm sure a few of my friends would be willing to help. Never done headers, but I've done suspension on three 3-series, one E46 M3, an E38 7 series, and a Miata. Headers shouldn't be a problem, just time consuming. Problem is, if I help you install any of this, it will cause my mod bug infesation turn into a full blown outbreak.

Good luck with your choice and happy early birthday!

[E82tt6]

I'd suggest headers.

19s would make performance worse, and you're unlikely to be able to dramatically improve upon the stock suspension with any sort of aftermarket system, unless you're talking about track use/extreme spirited driving.

I could be wrong, but given how good the suspension is from the factory, I don't think there's much of a point in changing it if you're primarily going to street drive teh car.

[03BeastCharmer]

I'd say wheels, but don't shy away from a wheel you like because you see it a lot of forum cars. While you may see a lot on ere, I doubt you'll see a lot on your drives in Texas. If you say another ///M, I doubt it's going to have the same shoes.... Get what you want.

[ARISIN]

I would leave suspension out, since you're not using it on a track just yet. As E82tt6 said above the suspension is really good out of the factory and doesnt make sense for the occasional track event.

Personally I would change the shoes first . Good luck and happy birthday!!

[Erhan]

Lightweight wheels & tires. But stay with 18", since 19" will degrade performance.

[thekurgan]

Not sure how many miles you've got on the Zed, but I would bet the suspension could use a "refresher", I've not seen stock shocks go much past 30-40k miles.

[schwank]

I do track. My first by mod was suspension (used kw v3's) and I love them. The lowered sttance is awesome! That said. If your not looking for performance, wheels will look awesome!

[VinnieAces]

i voted wheels, i dunno i just feel its always gotta be the first big mod someone does to their car

[007MCoupe]

thanks all so far!

i bought it with 37K and it's approaching 39K. if I were to do a self-inspection to see if anything were wrong or anything, what would I be looking for?

now, when you say 19's will affect performance, since i'm mainly driving street right now, how does it affect drivability? more bumpy? stiffer? i'm sure the travel of shocks would be affected and that's why i was looking at suspension as well. AGH! it's all so 'stressful'! lol I want to do things, but I don't want to mess anything up in the process. This is the first vehicle i've owned that i've had the opportunity to hook-up like this.

[Erhan]

This is what I know:
Bigger wheels mean you'll have smaller wall on the tire. In order for tire to support this, it has to be a harder compound. Harder compound will absorb less bumps/potholes. Also, harder compound will have less grip.

[inTgr8r]

From what you describe, wheels will give you the biggest right now.
But I would also add a drop with a set of springs to finish the look.
Used ones come up fairly often for very little money.
And, they will bridge the gap for you until you NEED coil overs.

19s will be fine for day to day on the street.
You shouldn't notice much in the way of performance loss if you don't track it.

From the usage you describe, you should never consider headers.
That's a different mod path entirely.

[AWM3]

Wheels and tires for sure.
Your chinese junk wheels that you've selected are the wrong offsets and a better tire selection would be 245 front and 275 rear.

[007MCoupe]

Originally Posted by car62

Wheels and tires for sure.
Your chinese junk wheels that you've selected are the wrong offsets and a better tire selection would be 245 front and 275 rear.

thanks, i'm still looking. i guess it was a bit misleading to post THOSE were what i was buying...still doing a LOT of looking around...

[Kream]

I vote wheels. Nothing like getting a new pair of shoes. I've seen 15-20 ///M and Z4 Coupes in Austin and there are two including my M with wheels. It sure does stand out. You will get plenty of compliments and looks. Well if the shoes match the suit.

[Nate2046]

Definitely do wheels first. They're going to make the biggest visual impact and I think you'll get more satisfaction out of that than exhaust or suspension mods. As far as 19" setups go, I don't know why people think that the size alone will degrade performance. ANY wheel that is heavier than your OEM will degrade performance and ride quality to some degree. 19" tires do NOT have harder compound rubber, they do have a stiffer sidewall but that is due to the sidewall being shorter given the same outside diameter. My 19" setup is lighter than the OEM by a decent margin and doesn't give me any degradation in ride quality that I can feel. I would recommend being patient and see if you can pick up a high dollar forged setup or even a set of ZCP's used from one of the forums. I got my wheels for ~20% of their new cost (I got REALLY lucky). Good luck and enjoy your modding

[OldArmy]

Lightweight wheels and sticky tires definitely!

But your priorities are all wrong--fuzzy dice come first!

[Starscream]

4.10 Gears

Made the biggest noticeable difference on my car

[nmulax]

Wheels and tires will make the biggest visual impact. You could always do H&R springs as well. Gives you a lower ride, and a nice stepping stone to investing in some V3's.

[crfine88]

Originally Posted by nmulax

Wheels and tires will make the biggest visual impact. You could always do H&R springs as well. Gives you a lower ride, and a nice stepping stone to investing in some V3's.

^ +1

Wheels and tires give a personal touch to the M that helps visually set it apart from others. I would also combo this ugrade with the H&R springs. In my opinion, they improve the ride quality and give the car a more aggressive look.

[DarkstarZero]

Tires should be the first thing you change, hands down.

If you're not worried about performance at all then wheels are the obvious answer. But if you think you'll want good performance down the road then make sure you get good light weight wheels like the ZCPs.

I've thought about wheels a lot and to me it just comes out to be a lot of money to pay for good looks with somewhat equal performance. And since the stock wheels are pretty light and don't look bad to begin with... I'd rather spend that money on a couple performance mods, like headers + tune, or 1 big mod like 4.10 gears.

[nesrevival]

I don't like this poll...