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      08-31-2014, 10:50 PM   #1
e90n1nja
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New BMW owner questions

Hey everyone I have just purchased a 2007 BMW 335xi. I have finally made the decision to buy the car that I want and will make me happy everyday I drive it. It was a hard and long decision but I finally concluded that for my budget and overall want/need this car fit the criteria perfect. First of all I hate being a newbie but it's unavoidable. I have done quite a bit of research but I still have a couple simple questions that I think I know the answer to most them however would love to be 100% clear on what I think I know about my new car thus far.

All stock no mods

Questions

1. Is my car an E90? Given my username I created I hope that I didn't pick the wrong name(I know I can change it) and wrong forum.

2. I see on some aftermarket parts websites that it has listed next to the 335i as xDrive no xi. Is that my car? I thought xDrive was a newer feature not available on mine?

3. The motor? N54?

4. Do I have the exact same motor as the 335i of the same year? So technically if I am looking for engine parts(most likely aftermarket) its ok to buy parts for/off a 335i?

5. Is it best to take it to a BMW dealership for maintenance. I am pretty handy but I don't think handy enough to do major repairs, maintenance, and tuning.

6. Good websites for mods?

7. What are the best mods cost/looks/performance to do first or what would you all recommend?

Sorry for the novel, I will save any additional questions for later. Thanks for taking your time and reading this and thanks in advance for replying if you do!
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      09-01-2014, 10:57 AM   #2
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welcome and congrats

1. sedan=e90, coupe=e92

2. xi=pre-LCI, xdrive=LCI, LCI=lifecycle impulse (mid life crisis facelift within a model

3. yes, n54 for you, n55 came out around 2011 with lci models

4. a lot of parts are exchangeable but be careful and do your research. downpipes are and exhaust are the first thing that comes to mind that arent the same

5. if you can find a dealership you trust, then sure. otherwise you should search for someone who at least specializes in bmws to some extent

6. this one is a good one, look at the vendors section. personally, i have had good experience with ECS, hpautowerks has a great reputation here. ive also gotten stuff from mod bargains. tischer is a good place for oem stuff.

7. the mods that i appreciate most was a nice set of coilovers and light weight forged wheels with good tires. this saved almost 10lbs per corner of rolling mass and improved feel and handling. the car definitely felt faster and looked better afterwards. I also have a uuc ssk, z3m weighted knob, and m3 steering wheel which i love. it may sound silly but whenever i go to a "regular" steering wheel, i constantly notice how shitty it feels compared to what i have. this is just a personal thing, but it is important to me.

another combo would be a tune, intake, and exhaust. there are tons of clips out there that sound vastly different. personally, of the ones that are available today, i like the way AE sounds, but i have rennart exhaust and ar design catless dps and for me, this combo sounds better than anything else i hear online, but again, this is all personal preference. as for tune, i have been with vishnu for a long time, but there hasnt been many new things developed lately for stock turbo and fuel system. that is by no means a sign that the tune isnt good. i am quite happy with it still. these days i mainly hear about cobb and jb4 so you can look through the forums for those two and decide which one.

a lot of this depends on what you would want out of the car. i think some subtle bare minimum that i personally would think to do (and by minimum i dont mean price) is to talk to hpauto and put together a simple drop on coilovers for daily driving/hpde work, good lightweight rims, (over all, the functional stance of a car and fitment of the wheels and tires is the most important in my opinion) cobb tune and ae exhaust, and the m3 steering wheel (and z4m knob if you have manual). this combo isnt cheap but i think it will give you a lot of accessible performance and all around fulfillment that you will constantly notice in your day to day driving experience.

finally any money left over, you should invest in a helmet and some good driving experience, either driving school or hpde or whatever.
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      09-01-2014, 10:24 PM   #3
e90n1nja
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Quote:
Originally Posted by jadeddjay
welcome and congrats

1. sedan=e90, coupe=e92

2. xi=pre-LCI, xdrive=LCI, LCI=lifecycle impulse (mid life crisis facelift within a model

3. yes, n54 for you, n55 came out around 2011 with lci models

4. a lot of parts are exchangeable but be careful and do your research. downpipes are and exhaust are the first thing that comes to mind that arent the same

5. if you can find a dealership you trust, then sure. otherwise you should search for someone who at least specializes in bmws to some extent

6. this one is a good one, look at the vendors section. personally, i have had good experience with ECS, hpautowerks has a great reputation here. ive also gotten stuff from mod bargains. tischer is a good place for oem stuff.

7. the mods that i appreciate most was a nice set of coilovers and light weight forged wheels with good tires. this saved almost 10lbs per corner of rolling mass and improved feel and handling. the car definitely felt faster and looked better afterwards. I also have a uuc ssk, z3m weighted knob, and m3 steering wheel which i love. it may sound silly but whenever i go to a "regular" steering wheel, i constantly notice how shitty it feels compared to what i have. this is just a personal thing, but it is important to me.

another combo would be a tune, intake, and exhaust. there are tons of clips out there that sound vastly different. personally, of the ones that are available today, i like the way AE sounds, but i have rennart exhaust and ar design catless dps and for me, this combo sounds better than anything else i hear online, but again, this is all personal preference. as for tune, i have been with vishnu for a long time, but there hasnt been many new things developed lately for stock turbo and fuel system. that is by no means a sign that the tune isnt good. i am quite happy with it still. these days i mainly hear about cobb and jb4 so you can look through the forums for those two and decide which one.

a lot of this depends on what you would want out of the car. i think some subtle bare minimum that i personally would think to do (and by minimum i dont mean price) is to talk to hpauto and put together a simple drop on coilovers for daily driving/hpde work, good lightweight rims, (over all, the functional stance of a car and fitment of the wheels and tires is the most important in my opinion) cobb tune and ae exhaust, and the m3 steering wheel (and z4m knob if you have manual). this combo isnt cheap but i think it will give you a lot of accessible performance and all around fulfillment that you will constantly notice in your day to day driving experience.

finally any money left over, you should invest in a helmet and some good driving experience, either driving school or hpde or whatever.
Thanks a ton for the info it really helped. So far I just ordered a black grille x-) gonna do some exterior mods first I think. Then Save up for some performance mods. Would you recommend going with exhaust first? Whatever will make the car sound better. Then I'll probably get some coil overs (that is if the general consensus is coilovers over springs) and finally some rims and tires after I wear down this pretty much new set of tires.
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      09-02-2014, 12:04 PM   #4
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Quote:
Originally Posted by jadeddjay View Post
welcome and congrats

1. sedan=e90, coupe=e92

2. xi=pre-LCI, xdrive=LCI, LCI=lifecycle impulse (mid life crisis facelift within a model

3. yes, n54 for you, n55 came out around 2011 with lci models

4. a lot of parts are exchangeable but be careful and do your research. downpipes are and exhaust are the first thing that comes to mind that arent the same

5. if you can find a dealership you trust, then sure. otherwise you should search for someone who at least specializes in bmws to some extent

6. this one is a good one, look at the vendors section. personally, i have had good experience with ECS, hpautowerks has a great reputation here. ive also gotten stuff from mod bargains. tischer is a good place for oem stuff.

7. the mods that i appreciate most was a nice set of coilovers and light weight forged wheels with good tires. this saved almost 10lbs per corner of rolling mass and improved feel and handling. the car definitely felt faster and looked better afterwards. I also have a uuc ssk, z3m weighted knob, and m3 steering wheel which i love. it may sound silly but whenever i go to a "regular" steering wheel, i constantly notice how shitty it feels compared to what i have. this is just a personal thing, but it is important to me.

another combo would be a tune, intake, and exhaust. there are tons of clips out there that sound vastly different. personally, of the ones that are available today, i like the way AE sounds, but i have rennart exhaust and ar design catless dps and for me, this combo sounds better than anything else i hear online, but again, this is all personal preference. as for tune, i have been with vishnu for a long time, but there hasnt been many new things developed lately for stock turbo and fuel system. that is by no means a sign that the tune isnt good. i am quite happy with it still. these days i mainly hear about cobb and jb4 so you can look through the forums for those two and decide which one.

a lot of this depends on what you would want out of the car. i think some subtle bare minimum that i personally would think to do (and by minimum i dont mean price) is to talk to hpauto and put together a simple drop on coilovers for daily driving/hpde work, good lightweight rims, (over all, the functional stance of a car and fitment of the wheels and tires is the most important in my opinion) cobb tune and ae exhaust, and the m3 steering wheel (and z4m knob if you have manual). this combo isnt cheap but i think it will give you a lot of accessible performance and all around fulfillment that you will constantly notice in your day to day driving experience.

finally any money left over, you should invest in a helmet and some good driving experience, either driving school or hpde or whatever.
I'm not going to reply to all of your questions since someone already did, but the BEST thing I ever did for my '06 330xi was to get rid of the run-flat tires. They wear out quickly and the very technology that allows them to run when there's no pressure (still sidewalls) detracts from the handling of the car.

I don't have a spare, which is taking a bit of a risk, but I've never had a flat since putting on my first set of Hankook Ventus 12s. I do have a AAA membership so they are my safety valve.

Not only do the Hankook's last much longer, they're a lot cheaper (bought mine on line for about $400.00) and your handling will improve by a mile.
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      09-02-2014, 10:50 PM   #5
e90n1nja
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Swish View Post
I'm not going to reply to all of your questions since someone already did, but the BEST thing I ever did for my '06 330xi was to get rid of the run-flat tires. They wear out quickly and the very technology that allows them to run when there's no pressure (still sidewalls) detracts from the handling of the car.

I don't have a spare, which is taking a bit of a risk, but I've never had a flat since putting on my first set of Hankook Ventus 12s. I do have a AAA membership so they are my safety valve.

Not only do the Hankook's last much longer, they're a lot cheaper (bought mine on line for about $400.00) and your handling will improve by a mile.
Thanks for the reply. I have some continentals on there right now. Looks like they were just recently replaced. I don't believe they are run flats but I have to figure out which ones they are exactly. Ill let you know and maybe you can give me your opinion on wether they are worth a shit or not.
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      09-03-2014, 02:15 AM   #6
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Look up Golf Tee Mod.... Do this till you get your After market exhaust installed.

Pull the rubber vacuum line under the left tail pipe and stick a golf tee in it.
Zap strap the line to something so it is out of sight.

Enjoy deeper sound all the time.
DN
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      09-03-2014, 08:17 AM   #7
e90n1nja
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Quote:
Originally Posted by DarkNemesis View Post
Look up Golf Tee Mod.... Do this till you get your After market exhaust installed.

Pull the rubber vacuum line under the left tail pipe and stick a golf tee in it.
Zap strap the line to something so it is out of sight.

Enjoy deeper sound all the time.
DN
Ill check this out thanks for the suggestion!
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      09-03-2014, 09:26 AM   #8
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Just my opinion, but I would take care of suspension first, car will look and handle better, I saw these h&r coils for an xi e90http://www.e90post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1022675
Also the BMW performance exhaust is a nice upgrade
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      09-03-2014, 09:49 AM   #9
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Quote:
Originally Posted by jadeddjay View Post
welcome and congrats

1. sedan=e90, coupe=e92

2. xi=pre-LCI, xdrive=LCI, LCI=lifecycle impulse (mid life crisis facelift within a model

3. yes, n54 for you, n55 came out around 2011 with lci models

4. a lot of parts are exchangeable but be careful and do your research. downpipes are and exhaust are the first thing that comes to mind that arent the same

5. if you can find a dealership you trust, then sure. otherwise you should search for someone who at least specializes in bmws to some extent

6. this one is a good one, look at the vendors section. personally, i have had good experience with ECS, hpautowerks has a great reputation here. ive also gotten stuff from mod bargains. tischer is a good place for oem stuff.

7. the mods that i appreciate most was a nice set of coilovers and light weight forged wheels with good tires. this saved almost 10lbs per corner of rolling mass and improved feel and handling. the car definitely felt faster and looked better afterwards. I also have a uuc ssk, z3m weighted knob, and m3 steering wheel which i love. it may sound silly but whenever i go to a "regular" steering wheel, i constantly notice how shitty it feels compared to what i have. this is just a personal thing, but it is important to me.

another combo would be a tune, intake, and exhaust. there are tons of clips out there that sound vastly different. personally, of the ones that are available today, i like the way AE sounds, but i have rennart exhaust and ar design catless dps and for me, this combo sounds better than anything else i hear online, but again, this is all personal preference. as for tune, i have been with vishnu for a long time, but there hasnt been many new things developed lately for stock turbo and fuel system. that is by no means a sign that the tune isnt good. i am quite happy with it still. these days i mainly hear about cobb and jb4 so you can look through the forums for those two and decide which one.

a lot of this depends on what you would want out of the car. i think some subtle bare minimum that i personally would think to do (and by minimum i dont mean price) is to talk to hpauto and put together a simple drop on coilovers for daily driving/hpde work, good lightweight rims, (over all, the functional stance of a car and fitment of the wheels and tires is the most important in my opinion) cobb tune and ae exhaust, and the m3 steering wheel (and z4m knob if you have manual). this combo isnt cheap but i think it will give you a lot of accessible performance and all around fulfillment that you will constantly notice in your day to day driving experience.

finally any money left over, you should invest in a helmet and some good driving experience, either driving school or hpde or whatever.
jadeddjay nailed it. I would recommend getting a set of coilovers for your first non-appearance mod. The visual wheel gap on xi/x-drive's isn't pleasant and the handling will drastically improve.

+1 to the golf tee mod...especially since it's free!
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