Some years ago I heard Steve Dinan speak at a BMW CCA Gateway Tech seminar. He said that the acid test for any of his engine or suspension mods was installing them on his wife's car; if she didn't notice anything he considered the modification a success- the idea being that a performance upgrade should not affect the everyday driveability of the car.
I didn't follow that philosophy with my first car, where my engine build was a bit too aggressive for the street- but since then my modifications have mirrored Steve's outlook. My Wrangler is a pretty good example of how I approach upgrades. When a part fails I almost always replace it with an upgraded part- or OEM at the bare minimum.
The upgrades on the Wrangler include:
Banks Engineering stainless steel exhaust manifold
Bilstein HD shocks
Hella E Code H4 headlamps
Osram Night Breaker bulbs in headlamps and fog lamps
Bestop Sailcloth convertible top
MB Quart front/rear speakers
As for the Club Sport(my HPDE instructor car from 1996-2012):
Turner/Conforti power chip
Turner stainless steel clutch hose
UUC Motorwerks clutch pedal bushings, clutch pedal stop, RK II stainless steel shift knob
Phillips Vision Plus headlamp bulbs
My old Mazdaspeed 3 received a cold air intake, a flash tune, a stiffer transaxle mount, Koni FSD shocks, and a 50% stiffer rear anti-roll bar.
If I keep the 2 Series I'll add a Dinan tune(63 HP/108 LBFT) and the M Performance LSD.
I think that where a lot of people make a mistake is in their initial choice of a vehicle. As an example, I think it's silly to attempt to transform a 228i into an M2 killer- ditto for trying to make an EcoBoost Mustang hang with a GT350R. My modifications are aimed at making incremental improvements rather than massive changes that affect the everyday usability of the vehicle.
I didn't follow that philosophy with my first car, where my engine build was a bit too aggressive for the street- but since then my modifications have mirrored Steve's outlook. My Wrangler is a pretty good example of how I approach upgrades. When a part fails I almost always replace it with an upgraded part- or OEM at the bare minimum.
The upgrades on the Wrangler include:
Banks Engineering stainless steel exhaust manifold
Bilstein HD shocks
Hella E Code H4 headlamps
Osram Night Breaker bulbs in headlamps and fog lamps
Bestop Sailcloth convertible top
MB Quart front/rear speakers
As for the Club Sport(my HPDE instructor car from 1996-2012):
Turner/Conforti power chip
Turner stainless steel clutch hose
UUC Motorwerks clutch pedal bushings, clutch pedal stop, RK II stainless steel shift knob
Phillips Vision Plus headlamp bulbs
My old Mazdaspeed 3 received a cold air intake, a flash tune, a stiffer transaxle mount, Koni FSD shocks, and a 50% stiffer rear anti-roll bar.
If I keep the 2 Series I'll add a Dinan tune(63 HP/108 LBFT) and the M Performance LSD.
I think that where a lot of people make a mistake is in their initial choice of a vehicle. As an example, I think it's silly to attempt to transform a 228i into an M2 killer- ditto for trying to make an EcoBoost Mustang hang with a GT350R. My modifications are aimed at making incremental improvements rather than massive changes that affect the everyday usability of the vehicle.