[Ajowhan]

Some people love the performance aspect, might be a tune first or an LSD then build on that.

Some people needed a better sound system, swapping speaker and stuff.

Some people care about the looks as much, I know I did the black carbon cap and grill asap and wow what a difference they make.

Just wondering, especially for the longer term owner, what is your favorite Mods? No matter how small or big, lets hear them!

This could becomes a list of Mods to browse too.

[dradernh]

I buy cars I really like, then modify them to suit me. That frequently costs as much as 40-50% of the car's purchase price. Since I like the cars, I tend to keep them for 10+ years.

1) LSD (along with solid rear subframe bushings in our cars): It's much easier to put the power down. It transforms daily driving, too. This is always #1 in a non-LSD car.

2) Coilovers, with Camber Plates: Better transitional response, and much better cornering capabilities.

3) Wheel Studs: Even my wife's Mazda 3 has wheel studs, so why does a performance car company still sell its cars with wheel bolts!?!

4) Central Side Jacking Points: I had to go to a full-on IMSA race shop to get these designed, built, and installed, but it's really nice being able to jack the car up from the center on each side and then drop it onto two jack stands under each side's jack points. It takes all of 3 minutes to put the car up on four jack stands.

5) Wide Tires and Wheels: Our cars are under-tired, especially in front. With camber plates and moderate negative camber, we can fit appropriately-sized wheels and tires. In my case, 255mm-wide tires fit just fine. Along with the modifications listed above, the difference in front-end grip and responsiveness is night-and-day. The car is transformed by the combination.

6) Paint Protection Film and Ceramic Coating: I don't like cleaning cars. These modifications makes it easier.

7) Dinan Elite V2 & Dinan CAI: Who doesn't want more power, even if you can't use it except on a race track or in a straight line. (Generally, and many won't be aware of it, but speed enforcement is quite a bit less than it used to be in this country. My take is that jurisdictions can no longer afford to flood the streets, roads, highways, and interstates with officers devoted to catching speeders. Except for the occasional idiot, I'm okay with that. )

[M2lci_]

Personally, a good set of wheels and tires can really improve the looks and handling. Also anything to make the engine/exhaust noise more audible, but in a tasteful way to enhance the experience of driving. Straight piping might be fun temporarily but will drive you mad after a while.

[Sportstick]

1) M2 LCAs
2) Rogue Engineering short shift kit
3) PS4S tires
4) Active Autowerke intercooler
5) KC Design strut tower brace

The driving experience is the reason I have the car.

[KennyFSU]

1) BM3 flash tune
2) Enkei Victory wheels/BFG tires
3) xHP trans tune

[TheSniper]

When I first started down the path of modifying my car, I thought it was all about the power (who doesn't like more power, right???).

Now don't get me wrong, more is great and I'm super glad I did it. But, I feel like modifying the suspension did more to bring the car alive than anything.

I remember when I first joined this group, I read a post where someone was touting the exact same thing. Something along the lines of, 'Upgrading the suspension will do more for the car than any other mods'. I of course was more interested in adding horse power at the time, but I did always keep that advice in the back of my head.

Looking back now, I could not have read a more true statement.

I also went with 19x8.5 rims with Pilot Sport tires, and man, do they stick.

I did a brake upgrade recently as well with dimpled and slotted rotors.

[60_Driver]

Enjoying this thread. Good info, gents.

[1more1]

Thanks for starting this thread, much needed! Unfortunately not enough mods on my car yet but I'll chime in.

1) New tires are a must especially if you're on RFTs.

2) BM3 Stage 1 is good fun. It really took the car from fast to FAST. It's not so much about how much power it makes but the way the power comes on. I really like the consistent throttle pedal sensitivity in all modes. I could not stand switching between modes on the stock tune and having to adjust to the new pedal feel (6MT).

Not sure what to do next?! Hopefully this thread can give me some ideas.

Edit: Forgot my car came with a SSK! I guess that's a pretty good mod but I can only compare to my old stock e82 shifter. Not even sure which kit this is.

[MarcoZandrini]

- Performance Friction-08 pads (I track the car)
- Audiotec-Fischer amp with USB input (bypasses the head unit's digital to analog converter).

[SG_92]

love this thread! I havn't done any performance mods yet but getting more ideas as to where to start from here.

Most work I've done on any vehicle was self installing an upgraded audio package from Integral Audio.

[Ajowhan]

Originally Posted by SG_92

love this thread! I havn't done any performance mods yet but getting more ideas as to where to start from here.

Most work I've done on any vehicle was self installing an upgraded audio package from Integral Audio.

Thats a great one! I was eyeing it and then figure my wife is going to kill me if I get that before getting our house first.

[SG_92]

Originally Posted by Ajowhan

Thats a great one! I was eyeing it and then figure my wife is going to kill me if I get that before getting our house first.

House first!!

[XutvJet]

I have lots of mods to my M235 6MT slick top, but here are the mods that made the biggest performance improvements and grins:

1) M Performance LSD. HUGE increase in rear traction and control. It's a different car even at 4/10 driving.

2) 245/35R18 Michelin Pilot 4S square tire setup done by way of 18x8 et43 wheels. Massive increase in front end grip. Significantly reduced front tire should wear as well. No spacers needed.

3) Bilstein B6 Damptronic shocks and Dinan springs with 10mm lift spacer; these mods only done to the rear axle. Everything in the front is still stock. The rear axle always felt underdamped and wonky compared to the front axle. I'll likely do Bilstein B6 Damptronic shocks in the front because they made such a huge improvement for the rear in terms of control. They're backordered everywhere right now though.

4) Used Dinantronic Stage II piggyback. Big increase in power. Linear power delivery. No hiccups in how power is delivered.

[MLJR235]

15 235 6SPD MT.
Here are my big 4-

1. Rogue SSK - Easily the single most satisfactory upgrade I have done. I could not believe how well this kit brings this transmission together. The car is just a joy to drive now vs before.

2. Swift Spec R lowering springs- a very subtle drop of approx 1' front and rear added some needed neg camber which def. helps add some road feel. This and looks 100x better than a 4x4 lol. Also, did not want to go too far down as I didn't want to destroy the shocks with an excessively low spring drop.

3. fbo + e20 stage 2+ MHD tune ( + 1 step colder plugs) - Okay so this is a bit of a bundled mod but boy does this transform this car. The power that becomes available on tap is extremely nice. The only problem now is when I actually do speed limit, it feels like I'm crawling around town.

4. Remus axle-back race muffler - Last but not least, had to go with a personal preference, my exhaust. The oem exhaust was hell for me. It was wayyy too quite with no real presence of what this car was actually packing. My current setup consists of a catless downpipe, Dinan resonator delete pipe, & finally the Remus muffler. The beauty of this setup is the valve remains fully functional. With the valve closed, the exhaust is very tamed and completely flies under the radar of cops or quiet neighborhood areas. On the flip side, once that valve opens up, you are just about as loud as you can get without introducing annoying drone. I've had a complete straight pipe no muffler setup and I know how loud we can get. Again, the Remus muffler really combines and offers practicality for those who want to be able to go on a no-frills drive or open up the gates of hell and make that n55 sing.

*A notable mod to mention, which was done at near the same time as the lowering springs, is my set of 18x8(f) + 18x8.5(R) Enkei wheels. Each wheel a few pounds lighter than stockers, placebo effect or not, I felt the car to be more nimble or "lighter on its feet" in a way. It's hard to explain but I think they def helped with reducing rotational mass and they look good soo win win .

That's my list for now. I have been eyeing an LSD but at near $3k, it's been on the back burner.