As with anything worth having in life, you’re going to have to work for it. Patrick G is a RN (registered nurse) currently pursuing his masters degree – an endeavour that requires a lot of mental and physical energy, especially when one has a full time career. Patrick first fell in love with the F30 platform as he was wrapping up undergrad Nursing School, promising himself that an F30 3-series would be his first large purchase once he started his career. Among today’s college grads this is especially critical as the job market is tougher than ever. After landing his career in nursing, the time was right for an F30 to be a part of Patrick’s life. And that’s where our story starts.
Patrick opted for a BMW 335i Sport line – while he’d wanted an M-sport model, but none were available at the time with the specs he wanted – so he took the 335i Sport home and set to work. Patrick likes to stand out and be different – for instance, you probably wouldn’t expect an RN to compete in NPC Men’s Physique competition, but coming from a medical-industry background at home, being ripped in a hospital-type setting makes a lot of sense – you need to have power to move patients from gurney to gurney. In Patrick’s case, that power is also necessary to keep patients under control sometimes. As a Psych & Jail Nurse, he’s got to deal with some situations that may require power applied in a careful, precision manner. Much like Patrick works to improve his own strength and size for his own Physique competitions, over the past year, the muscle under the hood has increased in power too. After taking the car home, Patrick got in touch with ModBargains Senior Modification Expert (and BMW specialist) Alan Wei, who was able to recommend the F30 335i Mods Patrick needed to achieve his goals.
“I mod my car because I want my car to be different than all the other BMWs on the road, and I wanted supercar performance whenever I needed it. Thank you to Alan Wei and the guys at ModBargains for helping me transform my car into something noone else has.”
That right there, sums up the philosophy of many enthusiasts who customize the aesthetics of their vehicle – this author included – we want to have something noone else have. Something special. Something uniquely our own.
Setting out with the goal of making more power, Patrick and Alan started planning how they’d do it – making massive power created in a careful, measured manner. Much like a bodybuilder will carefully pick and choose what he eats and add certain supplements, how much and when to get stronger and bigger muscles. Choosing the wrong supplement can throw off his body, much like a lower-quality or poor-fitting part can throw off your build, and it’s that level of care when selecting what to fit the car with that’s created such a potent, tailored package. When you’re building a car, remember, you often get what you pay for – an item that’s had a lot of engineering behind it might cost more, but generally will fit better.
Before we dig into the muscle under the hood, let’s take a moment to appreciate all the fine details that comprise this outstanding build – first and foremost, the overall car as a package is so clean it looks damn near factory – and that’s probably because a lot of the exterior upgrades are legit OEM BMW Performance parts.
The roof is wrapped in gloss black vinyl, complemented by ceramic tint on the windows. Up front the car has undergone a dramatic transformation – the stock bumper is long since gone, replaced by an F30 M-Sport front bumper, equipped with a BMW Performance F30 3-Series M-Sport front splitter. A set of BMW F30 3-series Carbon Fiber Kidney Grilles gives the car a more aggressive edge, a matching pair of Carbon Fiber Eyelids lends further menace to the car’s aesthetics, as if it were a hawk narrowing its eyes as it hones in upon its prey. When people talk about themeing a car, this is a great example of how to do it right. The carbon fiber and black matte accent theme is repeated again and again throughout the build, creating an amazing look.
Moving on to the side profile more of the details emerge – BMW Performance F30 Carbon Fiber Mirror Covers for 3-series help continue the carbon theme running above the beltline while the BMW Performance F30 M-Sport Side Skirts keeps the matte-accent from the M-Sport splitter going along the car’s flanks. You might notice the car’s a bit lower than stock, and that’s courtesy of a set of KW V1 Coilovers for BMW F30 335i. Good for a drop variable between 1.0-2.0 in, it’s just the right amount of drop for the 335i. This set of BMW F30 wheels are Rohana RC10’s in 20×9 up front and 20×11 out back.
A closer look at the wheels also lets you know that the stoppers hiding behind them aren’t OEM either – a BMW Performance ///M Performance Big Brake Kit for BMW F30 peeks out, its bright red calipers and distinctive ///M logos make them immediately recognizable.
From the rear, the muscle underhood starts to make itself known. The rear bumper was swapped out for a BMW F30 3-series M-Sport Style Rear Bumper, but that’s been given a custom treatment too, making it especially distinctive. A Carbon Fiber rear diffuser from Eros gives the car a sportier look than the body-color diffuser of the OEM M-sport package. The carbon fiber diffuser is an excellent compliment to the aFe Power “Race” Cat-Back Dual Exhaust for F30 BMW 335i, fitted with black tips for a final matte-black touch to have the look wrap completely around the car’s ground effects. The aFe Power exhaust system has been engineered for a deep throaty exhaust sound in a package that’s been designed to drastically reduce restriction in the exhaust system.
Which brings us to the interior. That’s right, the look doesn’t stop on the outside of this F30 – as you might expect from someone in the medical profession, there is a lot of attention to detail, and it shows.
The interior started out looking like this… and with a little love and time, it became this…
The interior today is drastically different – BMW Performance F30 3-Series Stainless Pedal covers are immediately recognizable, wreathed by BMW Performance Floor Mats for F30 3-Series. Carbon fiber is everywhere with a custom Carbon Fiber shift knob, Carbon Fiber BMW F30 Steering Wheel trim and Carbon Fiber interior trim give the inside of this 3-series a look on part with its exterior.
And now we can finally get to the meat of this beast. As we mentioned, the motor is by no means stock either. A BMS Performance Air Intake for 2012+ BMW 335i (F30) lets the car breathe freely, but that’s not all optimizing the airflow of the N55 Turbo Six underhood.
Airflow is enhanced even further with Evolution Racewerks N55 BMW 335i (F30) Chargepipes – but that extra airflow can’t be used to its fullest potential if intake air charge temperatures are too high – which is why Alan recommended Patrick opt for a Wagner Tuning Competition Intercooler for BMW 335i (F30) to keep air charge temps cool and consistent for dependable, reliable power.
A larger FMIC is what I like to call a “preventive” upgrade – in addition to its performance potential, the cooler operating conditions help lend to the overall longevity of your engine and the Wagner Tuning Intercooler offers 85% more surface area than the factory intercooler, and with a Wagner Tuning product, you can expect a OEM-level perfect fit for your application.
And we’re still not done with the beef under the hood. It goes on – the car has also been fitted with a few more upgrades. The ECU has been remapped with a BMS Jb4 N55 Stage II Tuner, coupled with a 2.2 gallon Methanol Injection Kit. With a custom tune for the methanol and running E85 fuel (which is not only cheaper than 87 here in Southern California, but also burns cooler than regular gas giving it great anti-knock/detonation properties, making it a popular – and potent – choice for forced induction (turbo) cars.
So, all in all, what do all these goodies for the car get to the ground? Factory, an F30 BMW 335i will make around 280whp of the 300 CRANK HP it’s rated for – with the bolt ons, tune and running E85 fuel with methanol, the N55 Engine – even run through an automatic – delivers a very respectable 400 rwhp. Okay, you might say, 400hp is cool. But then there’s the torque. 505 lb/ft of it at the rear wheels. That’s STUPID torque for a gas engine – and we mean that in a good way- that’s as much torque as many diesel trucks!! A famous racer once said, “Horsepower Sells Cars, but Torque Wins Races”, and with 505wtq on tap, you can bet not only will this F30 melt the tires, but that torque will get the biggest-yet 3-series moving faster than it has any right to.
All in all, we love what Patrick has done with his F30 335i with a little help from ModBargains Mod Experts, like Alan. If the drive to get stronger physically is any indication, I would bet the upgrades for this F30 aren’t totally done yet either and are excited to see what the future may have in store.
Thanks to Patrick for letting us share his story and his build!
If you’re interested in modifying your own F30 3-Series or F32 4-Series, we invite you to talk to the Mod Experts at 714-582-3330 – dial x8006 to speak to Alan directly– or chat live with us at ModBargains.com – or just email us at sales@modbargains.com ; whether your question is about how to get the most power out of whatever engine’s under your hood to how wide of a tire you can fit if you have rolled fenders, you can depend on our staff for enthusiastic Expert advice.
Story & Photos Nicholas Gregson in Collaboration with Sr Mod Expert Alan Wei (x8006)
Interested in modifying your F30 335? Check out our list of the best Bolt Ons for F30/F32 335i & 435i N55 Engines here.