We've Given Our Project Car A Complete Facelift With New Lights, Black Grilles And A Splitter.
If you've been following our Project M3 series, you saw us gain a measurable acceleration advantage by adding lighter SSR wheels from Tire Rack (et 9/07), followed by a gain in horsepower with the Eurosport High Performance Stage 2.5 intake kit, good for over 240whp using stock cams and exhaust (et 12/07).
While more power-adders are planned for the future, we wanted to spend a day updating the car aesthetically for a more sporty look.
Our first call was to Umnitza, a respected company in the BMW community that outfits a variety of models with updated lighting, including our E36 M3.
We chose to update the lights with the affordable Umnitza Depot DOT headlight housings, which are replicas of the more expensive Euro ellipsoid units, but at the bargain price of $100 per side.
Like the ellipsoids, they have glass covers and offer enhanced lighting over the plastic housings of the US-spec lights.
For Project M3, we took it a stage further by ordering them with Umnitza's Predator Chromium angel eyes and a xenon upgrade. At the turn of the millennium, a setup like this would've set you back over a grand and many hours of installation. Today, the housings, xenons and angel eyes cost only $650, and come with a lifetime warranty. We then added clear blinkers and side markers for a further $80 or so.
Umnitza's latest and greatest E36 lighting is its CrystalLED tail light conversion. At night they're considerably brighter and update the overall look. At around 15 minutes per side, they're a cinch to install, and retail at $320 for the pair.
If you phone Umnitza, mention eurotuner and they'll give you a $40 discount! If that's still too much coin for you, Umnitza has Euro-style clear corners for about $140 a pair, which is very competitive considering we paid $275 for them ten years ago!
We also wanted to black out the chrome kidney grilles to continue our update/makeover. However, there aren't really any black covers available for the '97-99 E36, so we opted to paint ours in three steps with products you can buy in any paint store. The process took just one afternoon, and while the paint was drying between stages, we simply continued with the head- and tail light installation.
The upgrades were rounded off with a pair of splitters under the front spoiler from Max Velocity. These were similar in style to the ones supplied with the E36 M3 Lightweight, but at $130 a pair, they are a bargain when compared to the $300 factory units. And since they're flexible, they stand up to accidental rubs against parking curbs.
As long as you can get under your car and know how to remove four screws, installing the splitters on each side takes less than 10min. You'll appreciate the improved looks from this simple mod, and it works on any E36 with an M3-style bumper and lip.
After around $1200 spent and a full afternoon working on Project M3, we're happy to say the car was significantly improved, both from an aesthetic standpoint and in terms of lighting performance. Stay tuned for another installment very soon.
Author's Note: When handling bulbs, particularly xenon, avoid touching them with your fingers. Always use a cloth or gloves to handle them. Natural oil from your fingers will stick to the glass, potentially trapping heat inside and leading to bulb failure.