Dinan Performance Intercooler for BMW E90 335i & M-Sport Front Bumper for BMW E90
When cars come in, sometimes it’s really amazing how dramatic the transformation can be from bland to badass in a single day. James L came all the way from the San Fransisco Bay area to bring his E90 BMW 335i BMW Performance Edition (aka ZMZ package) to see the Mod Experts here at ModBargains – specifically our E9X M3 Specialist, Mod Expert Sean.
Sean had quite the list of goodies planned for James when he got here, and we’ll get into it all in this post. Up front, we converted the car’s less-than-exciting standard front end to the much sportier M-Sport Front Bumper for BMW E90 models, taking years off the BMW E90 exterior appearance.
M-Sport Rear Bumper for BMW E90
We updated the rear end as well with an M-Sport Rear Bumper for BMW E90 to match, which looks stellar with the BMW Performance badging and the cleaner LCI tails.
The cosmetics are important, but by no means the whole story – we made some major performance improvements as well.
First up is a Dinan Performance Intercooler for BMW E90 335i models. Check out how the thing friggin DWARFS the stock intercooler.
The DINAN intercooler offers a massive increase in core volume, resulting in improved air charge temperatures, and the intercooler’s integrated ducting helps drive temps even lower by forcing air to pass through the fins rather than around it.
Here’s a closeup of the Dinan intercooler. The Intercooler is an important and often overlooked piece of the puzzle when it comes to making power on any turbo or supercharged car. An upgraded intercooler allows you to run more aggressive fuel and spark, thereby making more power. To borrow from the “Staged” modding explanation, you can’t upgrade to stage 2 or stage 3 and make big boy horsepower without a bigger intercooler.
Installing a larger intercooler can often mean removing the front bumper, and the stock front bumper had to go anyway, making it an ideal time to upgrade the intercooler.
Say goodbye to the boring stock front end.
To install the Dinan FMIC, some minor trimming is necessary, as per the directions.
The M-Sport Front Bumper for BMW E90 also includes fog lights, seen here being installed into the bumper.
With the front bumper off and the intercooler mounted, you get an idea for just how damn big the Dinan FMIC for BMW E90 335i really is.
Let’s take one last look at the stock bumpers.
BYE BORING STOCK BUMPERS!
And “Helloooo Nurse!”. With that bigass D behind the grille, nobody’s going to ask “Whose Intercooler is That?”. The difference the M-Sport BMW E90 front end makes is jaw-dropping – and drop jaws it did; namely James’! We weren’t even done, but just mounting the bumpers totally seemed to blow James’ mind. For a moment, we got to know what it felt like to be the crew of Overhaulin’ or something, that instant when they do the reveal to the customer/mark – it’s a great feeling when you can see how much joy you bring someone when they see their made-over vehicle.
Forgestar F14 Hand-Brushed 19×8.5 / 19×10 with 235/35-19 / 265/30-19 Michelin Pilot Super Sport Tires
Forgestar F14 Hand-Brushed 19×8.5 / 19×10 with 235/35-19 / 265/30-19 Michelin Pilot Super Sport Tires
We weren’t done yet, but we had to make sure the wheels and tires cleared so it needed to come off the lift, giving James his first glimpse of the car with its new host of mods.
Forgestar F14 Hand-Brushed 19×8.5 / 19×10 with 235/35-19 / 265/30-19 Michelin Pilot Super Sport Tires
The rear profile of the car is incredible. When Sean was talking with James about what kind of wheels he wanted, James wanted the brightest silver possible, and brilliant Silver just wasn’t enough. Sean recommended he go with the custom hand-brushed Finish to get the ultra-bright effect he was after – and as you can see, Sean delivered on exactly that.
Forgestar F14 Hand-Brushed 19×8.5 / 19×10 with 235/35-19 / 265/30-19 Michelin Pilot Super Sport Tires
Forgestar F14s are already a great choice for an E90, offering lightweight and strong rotary forged construction along with that mesh concave look, and the addition of the Hand Brushed finish makes the Forgestars stand out from every angle, in any light. Hell, we bet you could see these in the dark!
Forgestar F14 Hand-Brushed 19×8.5 / 19×10 with 235/35-19 / 265/30-19 Michelin Pilot Super Sport Tires
Here’s another look at that booty. The M-Sport rear bumper for BMW E90 adds so much more depth to the car, and the indent that mirrors the “mouth” on the rear of the car really adds to its sportiness – not to mention the M-Sport rear end opens up a wide host of diffuser options to you.
Forgestar F14 Hand-Brushed 19×8.5 / 19×10 with 235/35-19 / 265/30-19 Michelin Pilot Super Sport Tires
There’s only so much we can say about how badass it looked, and it was really satisfying to see James’ jaw hit the floor and stay there as he took the car’s new style. Check it out.
M-Sport rear bumper for BMW E90
Forgestar F14 Hand-Brushed 19×8.5 / 19×10 with 235/35-19 / 265/30-19 Michelin Pilot Super Sport Tires
Forgestar F14 Hand-Brushed 19×8.5 / 19×10 with 235/35-19 / 265/30-19 Michelin Pilot Super Sport Tires
Dinan Performance Intercooler for BMW E90 335i & M-Sport Front Bumper for BMW E90
Forgestar F14 Hand-Brushed 19×8.5 / 19×10 with 235/35-19 / 265/30-19 Michelin Pilot Super Sport Tires
After we’d done all this, James thought for a moment and said, “It looks great, but I think we gotta do something about the exhaust”, and fortunately for him, Sean knew we happened to have a genuine BMW Performance Exhaust for E90 335i right here in stock, and we had plenty of time left in the schedule to fit that into his install timeslot. While we had the exhaust pulled from our warehouse, we took the opportunity to snap a few photos. This is the last time you’ll see the factory exhaust.
The BMW Performance Exhaust for BMW E90 is renowned among enthusiasts as one of the better sounding exhaust options around, and the thin-walled polished tips look a lot more aggressive than the soft-looking double-walled rolled edge factory tips, not to mention the thin walls contribute to the distinctive sound.
Interestingly, while most BMW Performance Exhaust systems are axle-back, the 335i system includes a midpipe as well.
Here’s the old system on its way out.
Out with the old, and in with the new. You can see the stock exhaust on the floor.
Our tech carefully positions all the mounts for the mufflers so that the exhaust looks best.
Our tech confirms the spacing between the bumper valance and the exhaust tip is spot on.
Here’s the BMW Performance Exhaust as it appears installed.
BMW Performance Exhaust for E90 335i + M-Sport Rear Bumper
With the new BMW E90 Exhaust installed, all that was left to do was to take the car back outside to get a look at the finished car.
Forgestar F14 Hand-Brushed 19×8.5 / 19×10 with 235/35-19 / 265/30-19 Michelin Pilot Super Sport Tires
The profile looks as good outside as it did inside, and the Hand Brushed finish really pops, just like James wanted it to. There’s really no more we can say that the photos won’t say for us, so check out the rest of the gallery below.
Forgestar F14 Hand-Brushed 19×8.5 / 19×10 with 235/35-19 / 265/30-19 Michelin Pilot Super Sport Tires
Forgestar F14 Hand-Brushed 19×8.5 / 19×10 with 235/35-19 / 265/30-19 Michelin Pilot Super Sport Tires
Forgestar F14 Hand-Brushed 19×8.5 / 19×10 with 235/35-19 / 265/30-19 Michelin Pilot Super Sport Tires
Forgestar F14 Hand-Brushed 19×8.5 / 19×10 with 235/35-19 / 265/30-19 Michelin Pilot Super Sport Tires
Check out our guide to the Best Mods for the BMW E90 328i & 335i, then talk to our team of Mod Experts like our resident E9X M3 specialist Sean (x8009 for Sean), give us a call at 714-582-3330 to chat with our team of experts or stop by the ModAuto showroom in La Habra CA during business hours (8-5 M-Sat) and talk to our experts in person.
Story & Photos Nick Gregson