[dannyhavok]

Hey everyone,

I was around a little last year, driving an R50 MINI and asking about 328/335, sparking a few serious shitflinging threads. Being the prudent and thrifty Scotsman, I ended up looking for a 328i with a stick shift.

It was a long search and I'd actually decided to just keep the MINI as I did still enjoy driving it. I went down to the BMW/MINI Garage Sale to look for a new set of tires, and a jet black 328i sedan with a 6MT caught my eye. It's a stripper "Classic" model, with xDrive and 2 years of factory extended warranty. It's in immaculate shape, the price was right, and the 1.9% financing offer made it too good to pass up, also keeping in mind the mini is starting to need expensive repairs.

Considering what I'm coming from it feels quite quick, so I'm going to try to avoid falling too deep down the modification rabbit hole. I'm planning on picking up some bigger wheels and better tires (It's got 16" with Conti SSR's now) as well as improving the audio, tinting it, and maybe lowering a little, maybe exhaust... man this is getting to be a long list.

Anyway it's good to be here

[Rick328]

Good move! 328 6MT are great cars

[dannyhavok]

Thanks! I was just checking out the AA tune, and it turns out there's an authorized shop in town, so that'll probably be my first modification.

[bkwld]

Black with 6MT is a great combo. Congradulation. 328i is great car for spirited driving especially with tune and some great tires. Get the Super Sport if your budget alllow for it. I've heard it makes difference. Wishing I had those tires right now.

[NGEE]

pics?

[stewey]

Hey Danny, are you by chance in Victoria? If so I was there too.

[GoRomeo]

Nice choice. Congrats!

[dannyhavok]

Originally Posted by stewey

Hey Danny, are you by chance in Victoria? If so I was there too.

Hey there, yes I am! I was there most of the morning getting everything sorted out. Did you pick up anything good?

Not many pictures yet, sorry for the blurry cell phone shots...

[stewey]

Nice! Good looking car Danny. Yes I got a bunch of parts. The best find was a euro spec xenon headlight brand new for $85.

Since you're in Victoria, I wonder if we could share AA's update tool and do the tune ourselves. Not sure if they allow sharing but if they do the cost savings could be nice and we can retune as we add parts.

[dannyhavok]

Thanks, I'm really enjoying it! Even a base model is a pretty nice ride to be in, it turns out. That is a good find! My 328i has halogens, which seems odd, I thought all the Canadian models had Xenons. I'd like to swap them out, but I'm sure it's an expensive nightmare.

Because it's a CPO car I'm a little worried about voiding the warranty. I'm just going to chat with one of the service writers and see if it's anything to worry about, but if not and the flash tool works that way, I'd be interested for sure.

[JingChai]

Nice! Love the red bow, wish mine came like that too.

[stewey]

Yeah its not worth it to retrofit them IMO. Put the money towards a three stage intake and tune

[mashimarho]

Welcome!

[dannyhavok]

Yeah the bow was a nice touch! They didn't let me keep it though

I think you're right Stewey, that's probably a better use of funds. I'm looking at the euro airbox and PE as well, the car is a little quiet.

[stewey]

The euro airbox and PE are pretty expensive options for what they do IMO. There are some much cheaper options that do add a little power. The rev motoring silicone intake tube is one. The other that I'm looking forward to is a secondary cat delete. Or if you do want to spend some cash consider catless headers or high flow headers on stock exhaust.

I think your car would look great with some 19" wheels.

[dannyhavok]

They do seem pricey, but for probably neurotic reasons I'm interested in mostly factory stuff whenever possible. I checked out a thread on the intake tube though, that seems like a worthwhile addition! Thanks for the heads up!

I'm having a tough time deciding on wheel size.. I do want it to stand out but I don't want to destroy the ride quality either. Coming from a lowered mini I'm really enjoying this comparably comfortable ride. Thinking of lowering a bit to even it out and reduce wheelgap, but having the same dilemma.

[stewey]

For what it's worth I have 19s on the factory sport suspension and the ride is quality is good. Previously the largest wheels I had were 17s, so I didn't know what to expect. If you want you could try it out at lunch sometime. I have kids so my evenings are pretty much shot.

[tgyberg]

Nice car! - great minds think alike!

[dannyhavok]

Nice, another 6MT Xi, seems like a rare combo!

Stewey, thanks, I appreciate that! I work odd hours, but when I've got my mod budget set aside I'll try to take you up on the offer.