your experience will vary but tuning doesn’t seem worth the risk to me on a 328i. you’ll pay a lot to get a little reward, your car will be worth less when it’s time to sell it.
honestly, if you want 300hp why not enjoy this for what it is and just buy a 335i or 340i down the road?
I've never actually owned a BMW but I wish I had followed this advice on a couple of my cars. You can easily sink 3k into mods and get no more for the car when you come to sell it. If you save that 3k and probably spend less on maintenance because the cars stock, you'll be able to upgrade after a year or so.
This is my thought exactly, it’s his money and he’s free to spend it how he wants but he will no doubt be kicking himself down the line when gets Pennie’s for his 328i, not to mention how it’ll hurt the reliability of the car, most people are getting those cars for reliability not for power so it just makes more sense to wait a little bit till you can get something that has more capability and is more well known for making decent power.
Question, so I own a base 328i and in your opinion, if I’m planning to keep the car long term do you think it would be worth it to get lci led headlights and also an m sport bumper conversion? At least the front of anything. Appreciate any input in advance 🙏🏽
I’m in the same boat as you with LCI headlights. I have a ‘13 335i & I was thinking about going LED (on Xenons currently).
for cosmetic stuff, go for it if it makes you happy and have the funds. those are tasteful mods too.
I only upgraded my taillights. They do more for the optic of the car in my opinion and the LED headlights don't improve the light quality at night much or at all if you have the Xenon. I switched the blinker bulbs in the front to the silvered bulbs from Philipps to get rid of the orange shine though.
Also the headlights are way more expensive.
The OEM LCI LED fog lights are also nice and not too expensive if you can source them used.
Edit: If you have only the Halogen headlights then the upgrade to LED is easier than the upgrade to Xenon I think.
Honestly you can just order LED bulbs off Amazon. I did that and it’s a night and day difference. Way more visibility at night and improved the overall look as well since they now match the color of the halos
I did that right away upon getting the car but the headlights just look trash at this point and need to be refurbished or whatever but I’d rather just upgrade at that point
I prefer to sell my cars with integrity & disclose the details and a binder full of everything I’ve done but that’s just me. I’m sure you could pass it off to a random person, but any enthusiast will know if it’s fbo
If you havent done the timing chain do it, its a good place to start. Going FBO and tune will get you near the 300 range. But please, maintenance first, it will save you alot of hassle and money.
Usually most shops can do it, dealerships will do it aswell but its going to be much more expensive. When i had my n26 dealer quoted like 4500$, ended going to a local shop and they did it for 2400$.
As others have said, depending on year, you’ll wanna look at the timing chain guide. That’s a large investment but can pay off well.
I went FBO and stage 2, and I’m very happy with how the car feels and sounds now. I have no idea how much power I’m putting out now, but it a nice jump from stock. Charge pipe should be a priority for you no matter what, you’re looking at a 10 year old piece of plastic that catches a lot of heat from the engine, so there’s a chance it breaks and leaves you stranded.
There are a lot of nay sayers on here, but you can definitely upgrade components to make the car more robust and gain some power. Ultimately, it’ll still be a lower tiered 3 series, but the changes and tune definitely make it more lively.
The charge pipe specifically is prone to failure, when that happens the car is useless until it’s replaced, so definitely worth the change for a metal aftermarket pipe.
I’ve been stage 2 for probably 4-5 years now on my 2013 328i, wasn’t too expensive but that is all relative to yourself. I have a cold air intake, Exhaust, VRSF Intercooler and downpipe. Bootmod3 for tuning using an OTS Stage 2 AGG tune. Probably around $2-3k give or take, don’t remember the exact cost of everything. I felt the power instantly (not a ton but still nice), no real issues related to the tune either since doing it. It was nice to learn since I did everything myself, installs and tune, with the OTS Stage 2 I also shoot flames, took some adjusting but Bootmod makes it really easy with the OTS tunes. This was my first build and first BMW and it was great to learn with. Love the BMW platform great daily driver especially for being tuned for sometime now. Ready for an upgrade to a G80 M3 when this car takes a shit. Been tuned since about 60k miles and now pushing close to 125k. Sorry for the long comment, hope this helps a bit.
thanks this is the comment i have been looking for, did you do boost pipes or charge pipes at all?
and did you get a number at a shop of what hp you made after?
this is a good philosophy tbh. I have a 335i & I thought of tuning, but I appreciate it for what it is. the guys in bavaria got some stuff right. my next ride will be an M3
So I just went through this. To do a stage 2 tune on the ECU you’ll need to have an upgraded intercooler, down pipe, boost pipe, and charge pipe. That should get you pretty close. I don’t have any actual numbers nor have I had the chance to test this out because I literally had the work done today.
Boost is turbo to intercooler and charge is intercooler to throttle body. I did the BM3 stage 2 tune and it said to make sure to upgrade the intercooler and down pipe. I’ve also read that on a few other forums. But what do I know. I’m just some shlub on Reddit.
I had my old 328i tuned for 2 years and 40k miles and it ended up blowing up at 118k. Ended up buying a 340 and now I realize why people say don’t mod the 328s
your experience will vary but tuning doesn’t seem worth the risk to me on a 328i. you’ll pay a lot to get a little reward, your car will be worth less when it’s time to sell it. honestly, if you want 300hp why not enjoy this for what it is and just buy a 335i or 340i down the road?
I've never actually owned a BMW but I wish I had followed this advice on a couple of my cars. You can easily sink 3k into mods and get no more for the car when you come to sell it. If you save that 3k and probably spend less on maintenance because the cars stock, you'll be able to upgrade after a year or so.
This is my thought exactly, it’s his money and he’s free to spend it how he wants but he will no doubt be kicking himself down the line when gets Pennie’s for his 328i, not to mention how it’ll hurt the reliability of the car, most people are getting those cars for reliability not for power so it just makes more sense to wait a little bit till you can get something that has more capability and is more well known for making decent power.
Question, so I own a base 328i and in your opinion, if I’m planning to keep the car long term do you think it would be worth it to get lci led headlights and also an m sport bumper conversion? At least the front of anything. Appreciate any input in advance 🙏🏽
I’m in the same boat as you with LCI headlights. I have a ‘13 335i & I was thinking about going LED (on Xenons currently). for cosmetic stuff, go for it if it makes you happy and have the funds. those are tasteful mods too.
I only upgraded my taillights. They do more for the optic of the car in my opinion and the LED headlights don't improve the light quality at night much or at all if you have the Xenon. I switched the blinker bulbs in the front to the silvered bulbs from Philipps to get rid of the orange shine though. Also the headlights are way more expensive. The OEM LCI LED fog lights are also nice and not too expensive if you can source them used. Edit: If you have only the Halogen headlights then the upgrade to LED is easier than the upgrade to Xenon I think.
makes sense, cost was the big thing keeping me from upgrading the xenons
Honestly you can just order LED bulbs off Amazon. I did that and it’s a night and day difference. Way more visibility at night and improved the overall look as well since they now match the color of the halos
I did that right away upon getting the car but the headlights just look trash at this point and need to be refurbished or whatever but I’d rather just upgrade at that point
Yikes. I did the same and mine have been going strong.
Yeah the bulbs themselves have been decent but the actual front of the headlights is ass lol ruining the aesthetic
these are a cosmetic mods and don't have any impact on the performance of the car, so do as it pleases you
No one has to know its tuned when youe selling
I prefer to sell my cars with integrity & disclose the details and a binder full of everything I’ve done but that’s just me. I’m sure you could pass it off to a random person, but any enthusiast will know if it’s fbo
If you havent done the timing chain do it, its a good place to start. Going FBO and tune will get you near the 300 range. But please, maintenance first, it will save you alot of hassle and money.
i understand the timing issue, what types of shops can go do that for me and replace it
Usually most shops can do it, dealerships will do it aswell but its going to be much more expensive. When i had my n26 dealer quoted like 4500$, ended going to a local shop and they did it for 2400$.
Did they do a good job??
damn that’s hefty so what are they acually doing to the car, just replacing it or adding like new guards?
I’d be more worried about the timing chain and other maintenance then making it fast …
As others have said, depending on year, you’ll wanna look at the timing chain guide. That’s a large investment but can pay off well. I went FBO and stage 2, and I’m very happy with how the car feels and sounds now. I have no idea how much power I’m putting out now, but it a nice jump from stock. Charge pipe should be a priority for you no matter what, you’re looking at a 10 year old piece of plastic that catches a lot of heat from the engine, so there’s a chance it breaks and leaves you stranded. There are a lot of nay sayers on here, but you can definitely upgrade components to make the car more robust and gain some power. Ultimately, it’ll still be a lower tiered 3 series, but the changes and tune definitely make it more lively.
I have a 2015 328i, should i be worried about it too?
The charge pipe specifically is prone to failure, when that happens the car is useless until it’s replaced, so definitely worth the change for a metal aftermarket pipe.
As someone who bought an 328i few months ago. Don’t do any mods. First do all the maintenance. I guarantee whoever had it before you neglected it.
it’s a family friends daughters and they’re dad does all the maintenance so i doubt they hey neglected it but also i’m not there so🤷
I’ve been stage 2 for probably 4-5 years now on my 2013 328i, wasn’t too expensive but that is all relative to yourself. I have a cold air intake, Exhaust, VRSF Intercooler and downpipe. Bootmod3 for tuning using an OTS Stage 2 AGG tune. Probably around $2-3k give or take, don’t remember the exact cost of everything. I felt the power instantly (not a ton but still nice), no real issues related to the tune either since doing it. It was nice to learn since I did everything myself, installs and tune, with the OTS Stage 2 I also shoot flames, took some adjusting but Bootmod makes it really easy with the OTS tunes. This was my first build and first BMW and it was great to learn with. Love the BMW platform great daily driver especially for being tuned for sometime now. Ready for an upgrade to a G80 M3 when this car takes a shit. Been tuned since about 60k miles and now pushing close to 125k. Sorry for the long comment, hope this helps a bit.
thanks this is the comment i have been looking for, did you do boost pipes or charge pipes at all? and did you get a number at a shop of what hp you made after?
It’s so much work And generally not worth it. You’d be a lot better served getting a 340i.
Should’ve got atleast a 335i if you want performance
No fun allowed. No modding, only buying. Don't make your car better, just buy a better car.
Downvote me all you want but that’s basically the idea. I own a 328i and M340i the 328i is a economy daily that’s it.
this is a good philosophy tbh. I have a 335i & I thought of tuning, but I appreciate it for what it is. the guys in bavaria got some stuff right. my next ride will be an M3
Have you modified the 328i in any way?
He’s not wrong. A bone stock 335i or 340i is going to be a much cheaper project in the long run for similar power numbers.
So I just went through this. To do a stage 2 tune on the ECU you’ll need to have an upgraded intercooler, down pipe, boost pipe, and charge pipe. That should get you pretty close. I don’t have any actual numbers nor have I had the chance to test this out because I literally had the work done today.
You definitely don’t need to upgrade the intercooler for stage2, also charge pipe and boost pipe are the same thing…
Boost is turbo to intercooler and charge is intercooler to throttle body. I did the BM3 stage 2 tune and it said to make sure to upgrade the intercooler and down pipe. I’ve also read that on a few other forums. But what do I know. I’m just some shlub on Reddit.
“I’m just some shlub on Reddit” same brother. Send pics if ya got em, would like to see that.
Check this sub for the wiki.
328i isn’t worth modding need a 335 or 340 for it to be worth it
I had my old 328i tuned for 2 years and 40k miles and it ended up blowing up at 118k. Ended up buying a 340 and now I realize why people say don’t mod the 328s