Costed Out Mods Today - OMG!

[Dlpfcb]

So I broke down everything I want to have completed to my Alpine White E92 today. Everything from EAS - IND - MDB - Alex @ Alpine. My grand total came to about $13k. That is just crazy, I will probably end up doing all of over the next year but why are parts so much for the E92 as for the E46. I modded my E46 M3 with quality mods from coilovers to CSL decklid wheels etc and cost nothing close to the E92. Why is this? Man I hope there is some good Black Friday Sales from our vendors here to push me to get more of my mods all at once. Cheers to my bank account going backwards.

[BOOF-M3]

Originally Posted by Dlpfcb

So I broke down everything I want to have completed to my Alpine White E92 today. Everything from EAS - IND - MDB - Alex @ Alpine. My grand total came to about $13k. That is just crazy, I will probably end up doing all of over the next year but why are parts so much for the E92 as for the E46. I modded my E46 M3 with quality mods from coilovers to CSL decklid wheels etc and cost nothing close to the E92. Why is this? Man I hope there is some good Black Friday Sales from our vendors here to push me to get more of my mods all at once. Cheers to my bank account going backwards.

And cheers to you going FASTER in STYLE.

[pbonsalb]

I hope some of the parts are go fast parts rather than just cosmetic parts.

[roastbeef]

Just $13k? You aren't even into the meat and potatoes.

[Dlpfcb]

Originally Posted by roastbeef

Just $13k? You aren't even into the meat and potatoes.

That's awesome. Love the motivation.

[Dlpfcb]

Originally Posted by pbonsalb

I hope some of the parts are go fast parts rather than just cosmetic parts.

Yea it's a mix of both. Think eisanmann race exhaust as my first item. Just trying to figure put how I want to pair it with that exhaust. Go track pipes or go x pipe.

[Helmsman]

Originally Posted by BOOF-M3

And cheers to you going FASTER in STYLE.

Originally Posted by pbonsalb

I hope some of the parts are go fast parts rather than just cosmetic parts.

Haha, wow you guys are tough to follow! After I spent $3200 on parking, $2300 on insurance and another $1000 on general maintenance my yearly M3 budget is done!

[Ngilbe36]

You must not have a supercharger on your wishlist yet. Mine is at about 22k. Note: I have no intention of doing most of the list. In my first year (Feb-Nov) I only did headers back exhaust in terms of mods. The rest was all preventative and getting it all up to date on maintenance so I had a good starting point after the previous owner. You just never know how someone else treated them. Do the important stuff first that could effect life of the car. Save the fun stuff for later.

[6ixSpd]

Rule #1: NEVER, ever, ever total up your mod expenses.

Rule #2: always shop around. I bet 90% of the parts you're looking at from the big name vendors can be had cheaper elsewhere - especially the cosmetic stuff. Vendors are seldom the source for the best prices on mods to be honest.

[pbonsalb]

In 7 years, I have spent about $6000 on going faster and handling better. Many parts were used or on sale.

$3800 on performance - xpipe, catback, tune, water/meth injection, pulley, intake, and carbon fiber driveshaft.

$2100 on handling - bilstein b8, H&R springs, stop tech brake pads, braided lines, 18x9.5/10.5 wheels, zhp knob, bronze clutch pedal bushings and spring removal, Poly subframe and diff bushings.

I have spent more than the $6000 total above on maintenance over the past 7 years and 60k miles that I have owned the car. Bought about $3000 in tires, probably $400 worth of new suspension arms, maybe $1500 in oil and fluid changes, $100 on spark plugs, $300 on filters, $100 for motor mounts, $325 for front felt under tray, $600 for rod bearings, $1200 on throttle actuators, $100 for low pressure fuel sensor, and just recently at 90k miles a pair of front rotors for $450. I think the car has been really reliable — much of that was preventative maintenance in that the parts were still serviceable.

I do all my own work so no labor just parts costs.

[Montaver]

I picked the stuff that has a tangible impact and least labour intensive first.

- Tires
- DCT tune (if you drive DCT)
- Coding
- Exhaust
- Smaller cosmetic mods (reflectors, grill etc).

There loads of other little things i'd like which i'll get over time, but that don't make a massive difference i.e. Aluminium pedals, M performance alacantra wheel, M performance carbon front splitters etc.

Also once you start getting into brakes, suspension etc. you really are out of 'OEM+' territory and into modded car territory. Unless your really into tracking / auto X I don't feel this stuff is that necessary. A set of 6k brakes may look nice, but probably aren't making much difference on the street.

[Dlpfcb]

So let me just make sure this is accurate. So gloss black grills from MD Bargains are going to be the same quality as IND. Same with painted reflectors?

[DSilk]

I have catless exhaust and tune, underdrive pulleys, and Eibach springs.

[yidgyi]

I think I'm somewhere in the $12k ball park. That's maintenance, power/handling and cosmetic. M tax is real on the E9x.

[Patrón]

Originally Posted by 6ixSpd

Rule #1: NEVER, ever, ever total up your mod expenses.

Rule #2: always shop around. I bet 90% of the parts you're looking at from the big name vendors can be had cheaper elsewhere - especially the cosmetic stuff. Vendors are seldom the source for the best prices on mods to be honest.

no shit, i did that yesterday and almost fainted.

with that said i have two recommendations:
1) buy used and try to install yourself. keep all your stock parts
2) just do a tune and filter. everything else is kind of a waste, yes catless yields the most power etc but the car is already crazy fast

exterior mods are fun too but they are really expensive for quality products.

[UPSROD]

I spent $15.00 on ///M valve stem caps! That's it, I consider my car PERFECT as delivered to the dealer!

[Flying Ace]

Look at it this way...Some mods, if you bought it used, come out to an almost free rental. I bought used ZCP wheels. And when I'm done with it, I can sell it for 95% of what I paid for it.

I know mods like a tune and especially suspension pieces are a sunk cost, but most cosmetic mods can be recovered at 80 cents on the dollar if you bought used and 50 cents if you bought new.

My total in cosmetic mods is about $3000. I expect to get $2400 back when I sell them.

My mods are (condition when purchased) - recovery percent:
ZCP wheels (used) - 95% recovery
CIC controller (used) - 95%
CIC center console (new) - 50%
IND reflector (new) -50%
Edition Grills (new) - 60%
ZHP knob (new) - 50%

[Flying Ace]

Originally Posted by UPSROD

I sent $15.00 on ///M valve stem caps! That's it, I consider my car PERFECT as delivered to the dealer!

That's a great mod, bc the return for cost is like 1HP per $1 spent.

[xander_g]

Counting the money you spent on mods is a bad idea. Just to get one specific discontinued piece cost me almost 5k - that's half a supercharger kit.

[kyippee]

Yup things add up quick. My car doesn't even look wild, it's just OEM/authentic aftermarket carbon bits, a BBK, 2 sets of good aftermarket wheels/tires, a bunch of other minor stuff and I'm over $15k in parts, ~$19k total including labor. This includes all spend on the car - even oil changes, key fob batteries, and floor mats. (does not include track day fees though)

I think the learning point is that we should all be sure our financial house is in order before buying big boy parts on big boy cars. On my past E46 M3 my financial health wasn't as good, so I sacrificed on parts quality. Some things turned out well, some things were a waste of money.

[ByeFelicia]

Originally Posted by Dlpfcb

Think eisanmann race exhaust as my first item. Go track pipes or go x pipe.

Get a used set of test pipes. I have this combo

Worth it and it will probably be easier to find a set test pipes in the classifieds than the X.

[BimmerRookie]

Costed?, *Priced

Also, buy used. In most cases, there's almost no reason you should be buying straight up new..