Best Car Mods For BMW Drivers


There is a wide variety of car modifications that you can make to affect several different aspects of your car. Some are affordable, and some are very expensive. Some are quite easy to do yourself, but others take a bit more expertise or the services of a professional to complete. You can mod your car to change the car's appearance or performance.

Exterior Appearance

There are several modifications you can do to change the appearance of your vehicle to better suit your style. Both the inside and outside of your vehicle can be personalized for your liking.

BMW Exterior


Wraps

If you're just no longer thrilled by the color of your car, or you want to add some pop, this car mod is for you. Vinyl wraps are a much cheaper way to change the color or accents of your vehicle without undergoing an expensive paint job. You can get a wrap to cover the whole car, or just the roof, or you can get accents, like stripes, to make your car look snazzier. 

Most people have a professional put these on as it needs to be very precise, but it could also be done yourself with a lot of time and patience. Finish off the look with either matching or contrasting door mirror wraps. There are also wraps available for the interior trim of your vehicle, which is a great way to make the inside and outside of your car have a cohesive look.

Wheels

One of the most effective ways of improving your car's appearance is to change the wheels. You can choose from so many different styles, designs, and sizes to make your car look awesome. Check with your parts supplier that the wheels you want are safe and appropriate for your vehicle.

If you don't want the expense of buying new wheels, a cheaper option is to get wheel paint and change the color of your rims. This will give your car a unique new look. To protect your new or newly painted wheels from scratches, add a protector to the edges of the rims. Rim protectors come in different colors which can make even more of a statement.

Spoilers

As well as giving your car a sportier look, fitting a spoiler can reduce drag to improve performance and give you better fuel economy. A front spoiler reduces the air going beneath the car and decreases lift. The rear spoiler creates downforce and can enhance the car's handling at higher speeds. Many spoiler designs are available with some being extremely efficient, while others are more for the sake of appearance. 

Headlights

The first part of your car that most people see is the front. Upgrading your lights from halogen bulbs to xenon high intensity discharge bulbs not only gives you better night vision, but also improves the look. Take it a step farther by adding headlight covers that give them a cool, smoky look without reducing the brightness of the lights.

Window Tints

Putting a dark tinted film on your windows not only gives your car a cool new sleek look, but also blocks ultraviolet light and helps to keep the interior cooler. Regulations govern how dark the tint can be, so check the law in your state.

Wind Deflectors

Most modern cars are optimized for their aerodynamic performance, but older vehicles can benefit from small aerodynamic improvements such as wind deflectors, also called rain guards. Fitting these around the side windows is a cheap modification that can reduce drag on your car. 

If your car has a sunroof, adding a wind deflector to the front edge reduces wind noise and deflects air over the car rather than inside where it causes drag. Ensure that you get good quality wind deflectors that fit securely. Even the smallest gains in fuel-efficiency can add up to significant savings.


Interior Appearance

Some simple mods can change your interior from the mundane to the spectacular.

BMW Interior


Seat Covers or Racing Seats

Seat covers are an easy way to spruce up the interior of your vehicle and give it a completely new look, especially if your seats are looking a bit worn. There are so many designs and materials that you can create a unique look that suits your style. They are inexpensive and can be easily put on yourself. 

If you're really looking to improve your interior, racing seats are an even bigger upgrade. Racing seats and harnesses not only look really cool, but they are designed to hold you securely in place while cornering and provide the best support. When you don't have to concentrate on bracing your body against the cornering forces, you'll be surprised at how much more quickly and confidently you can make acceleration, braking, and steering adjustments.

Floor Mats

A really quick, easy, and cheap way to update your car's interior is simply to replace the floor mats. A variety of designs, materials, and colors are available to give you the look you want.

Racing Pedals

Replacing your car's standard pedals with racing pedals adds sporty styling to your footwell. Various designs feature rubber pads or strips to contrast the bright aluminum or stainless steel and to give better grip. 

Custom Shift Knob

A cheap, but effective interior modification is to upgrade your car's shift knob. You can get knobs in differently colored leather with contrast stitching, or sports shifters. It's now even possible to design your own unique shift knob with 3D printing technology.

LED Interior Lighting

Usually, only top-of-the-range car models offer LED ambient lighting. But you can add LED lights to your BMW relatively easily to enhance the interior features of the cabin and give a cool vibe to the footwells. These lights can create a dramatic effect with the color scheme of your choice.


Under the Hood

Most of the car mods that are done under the hood are for performance or fuel efficiency. These mods can fine tune your machine to work as efficiently and effectively as possible.

BMW Engine


ECU (Engine Control Unit) Flash

The ECU controls the fuel to air ratio that your engine uses, which in turn controls the efficiency and power. The parameters for these are set in the factory, and they are usually conservative in their settings, meaning that the engine likely is not operating at its absolute best. By reprogramming the ECU, you can unlock the potential in your engine for better power, and it can sometimes increase fuel efficiency as well. 

Spark Plugs

Upgrading your spark plugs will create more combustion in your engine. The higher combustion translates into more power and better fuel efficiency. Spark plugs are a great place to start because they are cheap and easy to install.

Replace the Bushings

The bushings sit between the frame, the engine, and the chassis and they help to reduce road vibrations from the road and the engine. The factory fitted bushings are made of rubber which tends to crack and wear out. For longer lasting bushings that are better at damping the vibrations and reducing weight transfer, replace the rubber ones with polyurethane ones.

While you're at it, replace the steering rack bushings as well to give your steering a more precise feel. It's a job that's more complicated than swapping your spark plugs but you'll be pleased with the results.

Fit a Cold Air Intake

Your engine thrives on cool, dense air and fitting a cold air intake provides that as well as improving the flow of air to your engine. An engine that breathes more freely will run better.

Automatic Transmission Fluid Cooler

Whether you're out chasing down lap times on the track or just having fun out on the road, a cooling system for your automatic transmission fluid keeps the transmission temperature down and can help to prolong its life.

Adjust the Throttle Cable

A quick and easy modification is to adjust your car's throttle cable. Despite the simplicity of this job, you'll notice the improvement in the time your car takes to respond when you push down on the accelerator pedal.


Handling

If you're looking to increase the performance, speed, and fuel efficiency of your car it's important that handling matches the performance. You can carry out a number of modifications to give you the confidence you need as well as the pleasure of driving a well-tuned machine.

BMW Handling


Tires

You can spend a whole lot of money enhancing the handling and performance of your car, but if you don't have the right tires fitted, it could all be for nothing. Your tires are the only point of contact with the road and a set of good quality high-performance tires helps to improve all aspects of the performance, from acceleration to high-speed cornering to efficient braking. 

If your location experiences prolonged winters, it's wise to have two sets of wheels and tires for summer and winter, each with the optimal rubber compound to operate efficiently in cold or hot temperature ranges. Tires are one area where you shouldn't compromise.

Limited Slip Differential

High-performance cars are often equipped with a limited slip differential, but if your car isn't, then most of the power will often be going to the wheel with the least traction. You could be spending money on making tweaks to the engine to get small gains in horsepower while you're not using the power you already have effectively.

Shocks and Springs

To help keep your tires firmly planted on the road, the shock absorbers help to soak up the bumps in the road. They also help to control the floaty bouncing motion of the springs to give a much more stable feeling to your ride. 

By fitting a set of lower and stiffer springs combined with good shock absorbers you'll notice a vast improvement in the handling. Fancy adjustable shocks are available for those aficionados who really know what they're doing, but regular good shocks are fine for most cars.

Adjustable Ant-Roll Bar

An anti-roll bar, or sway bar, helps to stop body lean under cornering conditions by connecting each side of the car's suspension. The weight of the car is distributed more evenly around the tires. The advantage of an adjustable anti-roll bar is that you play around with the settings until your car feels just right.

Front Strut Tower Bar

Two of your car's main chassis stress points are the front strut towers. Fitting a front strut tower bar connects the towers together increasing the strength of the chassis by enabling the two towers to flex jointly.


Convenience

Adding some convenience features to your car can make any drive a pleasure.

Infotainment System

A new infotainment system is a great upgrade, especially if you have an older car with outdated technology. Head units are fairly easy to install and with it comes an upgraded touch screen, music, navigation, and additional available applications. If you often carry your kids in the car, you could add rear video screens, a DVD player, and a video game console to keep them amused on long road trips. This is also a great time to add in cameras or new speakers to complete the package.

Phone Holder and USB Charger 

We all know the dangers of using a cell phone while you're driving. Having your phone mounted on the dash enables you to use the hands-free functions and makes using the navigation function safer and more convenient.

However, your phone or other mobile device is no use at all if the battery is dead, which is something nobody wants to happen. A USB charger is something every modern car should have and fitting one will keep you connected with no worries.

You might choose to modify your car to improve the performance and handling, or to add more convenience features to increase your driving pleasure. Maybe you just want to give your ride a cool and unique look with your own personal style. You can get all the parts you need for your modifications here on our BMW Parts Store.