Avant Garde M359 Matte Black 18×8.5 ET35 / 18×9.5 ET45 Hankook Ventus V12 Evo2 235/40-18 / 265/35-18 H&R OE Sport Springs
A few simple changes can make a big difference in the look and performance of your BMW E90 328i, like Dany F did with some help from Mod Expert Sean. No, 328i’s don’t come from Germany looking this sharp. It takes the right parts to pull off that act. In just one visit we turned this E90 from standard to stunning with a few choice mods. A set of wheels and lowered suspension is the best place to start – and this particular E90 came in halfway there, having been fitted with a set of H&R OE Sport Springs for BMW E90 at some point during its lifetime. These lower the car with a much more conservative drop than “normal” H&R Sport Springs.
Avant Garde M359 Matte Black 18×8.5 ET35 / 18×9.5 ET45 Hankook Ventus V12 Evo2 235/40-18 / 265/35-18 H&R OE Sport Springs
As we said in our Best Mods for E90 BMW 328i guide a while back, the first mod to really make a difference in the look and performance of your E90 is a set of wheels, and Sean set Dany up with a set of Avant Garde Wheels. Sean recommended the AG M359 in Matte Black, spec’d at 18×8.5 ET35 / 18×9.5 ET45 for the perfect staggered fitment on an E90. The Avant Garde M359 is lighter than most factory wheels, and offers a sporting look with its bold split 7-spoke design.
Since the BMW E90 suspension was already slightly lowered on H&R OE Sport Springs, the next best mod for a 328i after wheels is an upgraded exhaust – and upgrade we did! We’ve installed a very rare Remus Quad Exhaust for E90 BMW 328i with 76mm Angled Silver Tips.
Here you can see our Installer Juan tightening everything back down into place after cutting the rear bumper to make the exhaust opening on the passenger side.
Here’s how the Remus Sport Exhaust for E90 BMW 328i with Quad Tips looks when installed in axle-back configuration. The Remus Exhaust, beyond the addition of the quad tips, gives the car a much deeper, more authoritative sound that gives the car a much more sporting, intimidating vibe. But we weren’t done yet.
Next, we moved on to upgrading the E90 BMW 328i Intake system to help that BMW Straight Six breathe. On naturally aspirated cars there’s not a whole lot of horsepower to be had here, but it makes a very noticeable change in the sound of your engine at wide open throttle, dresses up your engine bay and does shave a bit off your 0-60 time.
Featuring a streamlined large diameter intake tube and a conical filter element that offers a massive increase in filter surface area over stock, the Injen Intake’s included heat shield directs incoming air drawn in from the kidney grilles at the Injen filter inlet for a cooler air charge, resulting in more horsepower and torque to the wheels.
Speaking of horsepower, about those gains – though we don’t have a dyno of the SP1121 on a 328i, we do have this same intake on the same engine, just slightly different car. On a stock E82 BMW 128i, the same Injen Intake (SP1121) yielded a 8whp / 6wtq gain, which isn’t bad at all for just an intake on a non-turbocharged car.
Paired with an exhaust, power to the wheels should be somewhere in the neighborhood of 220whp / 213wtq.
Avant Garde M359 Matte Black 18×8.5 ET35 / 18×9.5 ET45 Hankook Ventus V12 Evo2 235/40-18 / 265/35-18 H&R OE Sport Springs
With everything now installed and in place, it’s time we take the car outside and get a look at how the whole package came together. The matte black M359’s pair nicely with the darker finish of the car’s paint, and sitting low on the H&R OE Sport Springs, it looks mean, like an angry guard dog.
Avant Garde M359 Matte Black 18×8.5 ET35 / 18×9.5 ET45 Hankook Ventus V12 Evo2 235/40-18 / 265/35-18 H&R OE Sport Springs
The quad tips really make a huge difference in the aesthetics of the car, creating a distinctly Euro tuner kinda feel. It suits the car and feels wholly appropriate.
This is a straight on look at the quad exhaust setup.
Staying straight on, here’s the view looking slightly downward to give you a better idea of the fitment on the rear bumper.
The 76mm angle cut tips also feature an embossed Remus logo for a nice touch.
Avant Garde M359 Matte Black 18×8.5 ET35 / 18×9.5 ET45 Hankook Ventus V12 Evo2 235/40-18 / 265/35-18 H&R OE Sport Springs
In just one day, we’ve made a world of difference in the look and feel of this 328i, and if the grin on Dany’s face when he saw the car was any indication, he was thrilled with the change in his car. It’s a lot like seeing a kid get exactly the toy they wanted at Christmas, and it makes our day when people get that feeling when they take in their finished car at the end of the install.
Avant Garde M359 Matte Black 18×8.5 ET35 / 18×9.5 ET45 Hankook Ventus V12 Evo2 235/40-18 / 265/35-18 H&R OE Sport Springs
As Dany’s E90 shows, the car in your driveway can so easily be the car you know it can – and should be. The new deep exhaust note and aggressive quad tips are sure to get noticed wherever this car goes and the added oomph of an intake and an exhaust system give this 328i the gusto to leave other 3-series behind. So when your
Not sure what to do to spice up your boring E90 328i? Check out our guide to the Best Mods for the BMW E90 328i, 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