Appearance VS Performance
 

I'm in a little bit of a dilemma with myself
Basically my project car will more than likely take 2 years to complete because i want to spend my money on other things like moving out etc.

Should I in the first year concentrate my efforts on my rieger widebody kit, with all the other cosmetic goodies like rims, coilovers, paint, etc

or

should i spend the $6500 CDN on the supercharger kit and other engine mods like cams, headers, exhaust, and so on?

In my previous cars i've always done looks before performance, but with my current car i did performance and maintenance before cosmetics, so i'm very undecided.

Should I wait another year for the supercharger and install it as a finishing touch?

thanks

Whats a matter with you?? Ok looks are nice and everything but you have had that before man, go for the SC now, you name me one person on MAX that has a SC 325is??? Anyone I know?? Nope. I personally think that the best look for a car with a horseload of balls, is the sleeper look. I can just picture the look on peoples faces when they get blown away from a stock looking ride, kinda like this........*drunk*

POWER!!!!!
 

you can do small inexpensive things to make a car look good. but there is no substitute for hp. if your car looks nice it is a lawn orniment if it goes fast it turns heads... SC is how i would go*devil*

In van right now there is a huge uproar against street racing and modified cars.

I dunno how it is on your side of the water, but as I see it here are some pros and cons:

Apperance:
Pros:
U get more girls/attention in general
Cons:
have to worry about scaping your body kit, curbing your rims etc
U get more attention, maybe not the good kind (pulled over for no reason etc)

Speed:
Pros:
It's damn fast!
you dont need to worry about denting your body kit
Cons:
If you get pulled over and ordered for a inspection, you are screwed
Reliability goes down, higher compression = sooner rebuild

I had this same conflict a while back, I decided to go appearance, because I felt that the car needed a slight face lift. DJcontra, you already have wheels, I would go power imo. Although I do have some performance mods, yet they are small, suspension and chip.

I'm forced with the tough job of saving up for some performance.

I dont care how fast it is, I wouldnt be satisfied crusing with this:

early oll results
 

Seems the majority of so far likes the sleeper. My old ride was a '97 328i samoablau/black leather. I loved that car but when I looked at the cost of serious power upgrades/suspension work and brakes it got out of hand quickly. Decided against the sleeper sedan and picked up the current ride. Got the looks (IMHO) performance and warrenty for about the same money and a lot less hassle.*smoke* I would go with cold air intake, and cams and shark or chip and stay away from the cosmetics if I were in your shoes (is my age showing???):D Don't listen to others... it's your ride.
regards,

if you cant decide...do both of them...not all at once but each time you buy something switch, like 1 paycheck buy eyelids, the next save up for intake, etc..

cool,
thanks for all the input!
i guess i'll have to save up for stickier tires soon *devil*

My 2.5 cents. If you're seriously planning on moving out, $6500 is a downpayment on a $130,000 Condominium suite. Having all that power under the hood of your car is all well and good, but nothing compares to owning your own place. Plus, your car will not appreciate in value. If you can mod your car and still have LOTS of cash left to move out, then by all means pick up your SC and related parts. I just think it'll be awesome owning a place you can actually call your own. If the age indicated in your profile is your true age, you could have that place paid off before a lot of people aquire their first mortgage.

Maybe I'm just getting old.............:P

Gamite, it looked still fine heheh

Ok I think i'm going to just place the order for the supercharger kit this week. It should arrive within the next 20 days or so because it's comming from an australian distributor and uses the vortech blower.

I've already got rims, clears, eyebrows, coilovers, and hid's, so I think that's enough cosmetics for now. Maybe i'll have enough left over to paint the grey rockers the body colour. I am also working on LED tail lights which so far are turning out pretty cool, i just need to find some clears to mount the circuit boards into.

Phantom: you have an excellent point as well. I will be pretty broke until my current car is sold, and once it's sold everything will be paid off in an instant with that money, which will leave me with lots left over for an apartment for next year.
I dont owe anything on my current car right now so it's all good =)

Hey you dont have to paint the skirts, they are already painted. Ive read that people on DTM and Bimmerforums that they just remove the gray type of protective coating on the skirts and underneath is the body color paint.

Oh and by the way, to install a wide body kit on a car is serious $$$, more than your gonna actually pay for the car itself, I dont think its worth it. I dont know if this is true but check it out:


http://www.bimmerforums.com/forum/sh...light=widebody

Just get the blower, and save the rest of your cash, cause your gonna need it for maintanence.

When it comes to bimmer apearance is more visible...