Modifications

[jbush]

What kind of clear corners should i get for my 92 325is and where can i get them, also what kind of springs should i get i i want to lowere my car about 1-1 1/2 inches.

Also where xshould i get these things

[dapper83]

I don't know about the turn signals but i went with the h&r sport springs and i am really happy with them they handle great and get rid of the gap. However if you change the springs you should really consider changing the shocks as well i would go with konis or bilsteins. Just browse the web and you will find the sites which you can order from.

[Bijan]

Make sure you get a matched set of springs and shocks.

[supertack]

Corners can be a bit of an enigma, in that you can go with (3) types of looks, & each of them give the car a different appearance which may or may not make you wanna do further modifications. First there is the white chiseled look like these.......



These are pretty common replacements & usually the cheapest, but the 'white' look usually means you'll need to change out your side marker & tail lights to white also, to avoid looking choppy.

Then there is the clear lens corner (like below) with chrome housing. It's a contemporary look; however, If you don't change out your headlights to an ellipsoid style with chrome housing as well, it will have an 'unblended' look & clash with the headlight.



Then there is the clear lens with black housing. This is what I got, cause the black housing matches the headlight housing for a very clean & 'one piece' look. The tiny corner 'spot' where the bulb goes replicates the look of 5 series & that models one piece headlight assembly. In fact, if it weren’t for a tiny amber crescent in the furthest corner of that 5 series light, these would look almost identical.



I'd go on Ebay motors & search 'E36 corner', where you will get an array of choices. Most of these are all between $14-$28, minus delivery of course. One other trick I found cool, was painting the amber bulb you'll have to install in a clear corner. Stupenal (board member) turned me onto this in another thread, & it worked flawlessly. I really had my doubts about how an amber bulb could illuminate it's color through a layer of silver paint, but it does. Thanks Stup!

[copiche]

Hey Supertack. Would you mind posting a pic of your car so we can see how those black/clear corner lights look? thanks

[supertack]

Yah, I've been wanting to post a few pics for a while. I still haven’t unveiled my intake/heat shield combo yet either. I don't have a digital camera, so I've been tyin to 'mooch' my buddies for a few snap shots. I'll try & get some up soon.

[Drews323i]

There is also "smoked clear" they look good on silver, grey and black cars. Heres a pic on my grey 325i..

[Jared at Pelican Parts]

I think they all look tacky personally. However Pelican does carry a couple of different styles for ther E36, They willbe included in the updated catalog.

[stupenal]

Springs = Make sure you definitely get matching shocks. I'd go with either the HR Sports or Eibach Pro Kit for that level of drop. I personally like the pro kit - I've ridden in my friends nissan 240sx with the pro kit and tokicos (still awaiting my set!!!) and it was a very comfortable ride.

As for clears - it sort of does look "tacky" as Jared puts it on cars that are completely stock. I mean it really flat out looks terrible if you have unpainted skirts, stock bottle caps, stock EVERYTHING and just clear corners. It really looks out of place. Clears are purely cosmetic, thus I am going to put them on VERY LAST. After everything is done, then I will get the clears. Make sure your headlights are not all cloudy and foggy yellow. Mine were and they looked TERRIBLE!! A quick and easy fix is to just go ahead and get some metal polish and rub it on. The yellow fogged look will go away instantly!

As for the painted bulbs - definitely do that if you get clears!!! The egg yolk look is horrendous! Just dont get white blinker light bulbs - that looks pretty ricey IMO. And especially if you get fast blinking ones too. MAJOR rice!

[supertack]

What type of 'metal polish' are you referring to Stup? No scratching or swirling damage left behind?

[Drews323i]

I used plastic polish. that i picked up from my local paint shop. works great and leaves no scratches or residue there are a couple different brands.



1980 323i
1994 325i

[Jared at Pelican Parts]

I second that plastic polish works good on glass. So does toothpaste that hasd been diluted a bit.

[jbush]

thanks a lot, i think i will go with the clear with black housing they seem the best thanks a lot, also what should i do about a new front spoiler, side skirts rear wing and aluminum pedal sets,

also what would be the best brand of car cover to get

[stupenal]

You can get aluminum "M" pedals on ebay for $50 (w.o dead pedal) but I've heard they get really beat up from winter weather (salt on shoes). For the front and sides, I'd definitely go with M Tech stuff (oem M3 front and sides from sport models looks very clean). For the rear wing......I personally am not really a fan of the M3 wing unless it is on a coupe, and even then, I'm still not a fan.

I met up with a friend who has a black e36 with smoked corners - it was simply amazing! Combined with his ellipsoids, they made a very clean appearance. Throw in the new M3 front bumper he has, his car looks flat out beautiful.

Supertack - I used "Brite Boy" metal polish from Home Depot. This was done during March and I just make sure I put on some wax every now and then (or rubbing compound) to keep them nice and beautiful. I never even knew that the headlights had black housings!!! Thats how fogged up they used to be. But then again, I've been waxing them a lot lately, there's just so much spare time at the dealership so my car gets waxed pretty much every 3 days!

[supertack]

After lookin at Drews323i smoked, they do have a pretty nice appearance. However, there are a couple variables that make them look so nice on his ride. First of all, his color. Man, that's one of the sweetest exteriors I've seen. I don't think I've seen another bimmer with that color before, was that done after Drew? Also, he's got the euro ellipsoids. Those lamps will make just about any corner look good, but they really do wonders for the clear/black housing & smoked ones.

Speaking of rare exterior colors (like Drews323i), I've always been a big fan of the BMW Burgundy that's seen every so often. It almost seems like BMW puts out a preponderance of cars with the same color's, then there are only a select amount with others. For example; Black, White, Red, & Green are frickin everywhere, but it's a rare find to get Burgundy or Midnight Blue. Then when you couple that with tryin to find the car you want (model, trans, equipment), in one of those color's, you've got a better chance of gettin a 'bj' from Sarah Michelle Gellar! When I got my 328is, I looked for almost a full year. I had pretty strict criteria (IS model, 5 spd, under 60k miles, sport pkg, dual 5 spoke rims, cd changer), & the only colors I wouldn't consider where White or Red. Now that Burgundy was my first choice, & Black was my second. I actually took a pass on a few before I grabbed my Black one, cause I was holdin out for the Burgundy. But when my Black one came along, it had everything I wanted, & just couldn't wait any longer. I swear, I've only seen a handful of Burgundy’s since then, & they are usually on 7 series. Is it just me, or are they that rare?

[Drews323i]

supertack, the color is some what rare. Its arktisgau-metalic. i would call it silver/grey with a touch of blue.It was one of the first things that caught my eye when i bought it. my E21 is the same color without the blue tint.

As for the turn signals, i think the smoked clear are tasteful. not as "look at my white signals" I bought them from (TimTim2002) off of Ebay. I also have smoked rear lenses. To make them look even better, i installed silver bulbs that light up amber. This guy sells the best silver bulbs ive ever seen(lordalex1) off of ebay. Im working on getting euros with angel eyes, but its hard to shell out $300 when mine work great.

1980 323i
1994 325i

[Jared at Pelican Parts]

I dont know about all this, I honestly cant see the appeal, The clear lights scream RICE FACTOR to me...


But that just me.

[Drews323i]

Jared, Is your e30 Bone Stock? post some pics. I think we would all like to see it? I miss my e30..... oh to be in a small 325 again................ ok dreams over.. back to my fast e36 tank of a car..


1980 323i
1994 325i

[Jared at Pelican Parts]

Well the lenses are bone stock....

[jbush]

Jared you say that you don't like clear corners because they "scream RICE FACTOR" but if I am not mistaken clear corners are stock on new M3's