[Shakinbakin]

Long time lurker and first time poster here! So happy to find a great active community.

Let's get to the point.

I'm picking up a 2008 355i sport AT at the end of the month.
Funny thing is I've already purchased

JB4
VRSF DP's
ER charge pipe
ETS fmic
Injen intake
Snow performance stage 3 meth kit
Vanguard v2 catback exhaust

MTech front bumper
Arkym carbon lip

I am fairly young and have not had the luxury of growing up working on cars and have never worked on cars in the slightest before (other than a tire change lol)
I would love to install all these parts myself (downpipes are a maybe) not only to save some money but to also learn and be able to say "I did this to my car".

NOW MY DILEMMA:
I'm currently residing in a houston area apartment and lack not only knowledge but also tools for the job and a place to install my parts.
I have struck a find by locating a DIY shop on westimer that lets you rent a bay with a lift and tools for the day for $175. This seems to be an ideal solution.
However as I have expressed previously my lack of knowledge hinders my confidence to achieve the professional quality install I need to trust my car will become the beast im expecting. My lack of confidence is not solved by performance shops installing my components because, like I previously stated I will not learn the ins and outs of my parts in case something we're to go wrong (METH KIT!!!), and the whole goal is to learn a thing or two.

NOW MY QUESTION:
Should I bite the bullet and get a performance shop (heard good things about Eurocarwerks for performance and metro collision for bumper on this forum) to install my mods and sacrifice learning anything?

Or should I reference my stockpiled e90post Diy threads (often vague) and see what happens?

And what I feel would solve my issue completly. Would anyone in the Houston area take the time (for compensation of course ie pizza and cash lol) to work with me and help me install my parts so I can learn something and have quality work on my car?

Thanks in advance for any replies. Im eager to learn and im excited to be moving from a 2001 civic to a beast of a german made beauty 335i.

Feel free to shoot me a PM for responses and recommendations
And please exuse me if I put this thread in the wrong location. Please direct me to a different sub forum if necessary

[924er]

Take it to a performance shop. U can do the intake on your own. But the downpipes can get tricky and even other easy things like FMIC can have its obstacles when things don't go your way. Save the headache and the chance of having to pay for another day at the DIY shop to fix it later.

I'm like you. I did my jb4 and intake but everything else was done by a friend who is a BMW tech. I watched him and was glad I didn't have to do it.

Most guys on this forum have experience in wrenching so they will tell you it's easy when it's not for you

[MahiC]

I would take it to a shop because complications can arise and since it's your first time DIY you're going to need time to replace all those things on your first go. I too am a first time diyer and my car was on stands for 5 days when I was changing out the water pump/thermostat/coolant lines because of several complications. If I was on a time constraint a DIY shop I wouldn't have gotten everything to fit perfectly, and my car would be stuck at the shop.

[Turbo_power4ever]

Buy tools with the 175$, get a buddy with some mechanical experience and start early morning on your weekend. And may the gods be with you.

[Turbo_power4ever]

Why dont u sell the injen and get a set of inlets?

[Shakinbakin]

Originally Posted by MahiC

I would take it to a shop because complications can arise and since it's your first time DIY you're going to need time to replace all those things on your first go. I too am a first time diyer and my car was on stands for 5 days when I was changing out the water pump/thermostat/coolant lines because of several complications. If I was on a time constraint a DIY shop I wouldn't have gotten everything to fit perfectly, and my car would be stuck at the shop.

Thanks for the quick replies guys. You hit my main concern about having to pay for multiple days at the diy shop thus negating the savings. Is the general consensus to only diy my intake and the jb4. The ETS fmic seems to be the next easiest but being that it's a 7" the bumper trimming is a bit intimidating. I have a friend who works on his old Nissan (kind of a ricer with shit parts), will this basic knowledge be all I need to get anything else done or should I put my trust in some real BMW guys.

[kong24680]

I would totally recommend doing the install for FBO by yourself. My 335i is my first car and prior to that I had nearly no experience working on cars. I installed everything on my car off of the DIY's from the forums. I did everything (including DP install) on ramps and it was a great and fulfilling experience. If you can get access to a lift, that would make your life even easier. I would also recommend having a buddy give you a hand with a few things such as fmic and exhaust install. But honestly don't be intimidated by the installs, as long as you take your time and carefully go over the DIY's everything should go smoothly

[Bimmer 808]

Totally agree with kong. Do the work yourself if you have a lift available. You will learn a lot and appreciate your car even more. It's also a chance to start building up your tool chest. The key is to do all the research up front and make sure you have the correct tools before attempting an install and not do it the day of. I just installed DPs this past weekend by myself and I'm far from an expert. It's not hard, you just need patience and elbow grease. This forum is also a great resource for DIY.

[kong24680]

Oh, and the only things you should need the lift for is the downpipes and exhaust. It would probably make the intercooler install easier too, but it's totally doable with just jack stands.

[Shakinbakin]

Originally Posted by Turbo_power4ever

Why dont u sell the injen and get a set of inlets?

Do u really think this is a viable alternative and worth the possible loss of dough to sell my brand new intake and pick up some inlets. Thanks for the reply btw

[Shakinbakin]

Originally Posted by kong24680

Oh, and the only things you should need the lift for is the downpipes and exhaust. It would probably make the intercooler install easier too, but it's totally doable with just jack stands.

I found a really nice craftsmen set for about $145 and jack stands would run about $50 or so and add a jack to that price. Add all that up and u have an exhaust or dp install at a performance shop. Also if I were to go that route I would still need to find a place to do the work. The actual time it takes wouldnt be a big deal for me but I wouldn't want to ask my firend to loan me his garage and end up having to leave my car at his house hogging his garage for a weekend because I can't get my installs in and running condition.

[csu87]

Originally Posted by Turbo_power4ever

Buy tools with the 175$, get a buddy with some mechanical experience and start early morning on your weekend. And may the gods be with you.

What tools are you buying for only $175? My impact wrench cost about that much.

OP, sometimes those DIY shops have mechanics available to assist for a fee as well. See if they do and see if you can get one to help you out. That way you are learning and have a professional to help guide you. It may take a couple days to get everything done that you want, but that is still gonna be way cheaper than having a shop do it for you.

[kong24680]

I did everything on the streets of my residential neighborhood. Plus it's nice to have the tools when you need to remove your parts, add parts, or work on other areas of your car.

[Shakinbakin]

Originally Posted by kong24680

I would totally recommend doing the install for FBO by yourself. My 335i is my first car and prior to that I had nearly no experience working on cars. I installed everything on my car off of the DIY's from the forums. I did everything (including DP install) on ramps and it was a great and fulfilling experience. If you can get access to a lift, that would make your life even easier. I would also recommend having a buddy give you a hand with a few things such as fmic and exhaust install. But honestly don't be intimidated by the installs, as long as you take your time and carefully go over the DIY's everything should go smoothly

Although I appreciate the people telling me to go to the shop, im glad I have someone who has gone through my situation. My main worry is the trunk mount snow performance stage 3 meth kit and the trimming involved with the fmic. Have you installed meth on your 335i if so I'd like to hear about your experience and also what did you use to trim the bumper lining for the fmic. Or did u just go with a 5" that required no trimming

[Shakinbakin]

Originally Posted by csu87

What tools are you buying for only $175? My impact wrench cost about that much.

OP, sometimes those DIY shops have mechanics available to assist for a fee as well. See if they do and see if you can get one to help you out. That way you are learning and have a professional to help guide you. It may take a couple days to get everything done that you want, but that is still gonna be way cheaper than having a shop do it for you.

The diy shop actually does offer help. My concern is they may not be experienced with the vital and more abstract things such as the meth kit. But I'll definitely keep that in mind. Thanks for the advice

[csu87]

Originally Posted by Shakinbakin

Although I appreciate the people telling me to go to the shop, im glad I have someone who has gone through my situation. My main worry is the trunk mount snow performance stage 3 meth kit and the trimming involved with the fmic. Have you installed meth on your 335i if so I'd like to hear about your experience and also what did you use to trim the bumper lining for the fmic. Or did u just go with a 5" that required no trimming

Installing the meth is easy. All you do is route the lines up to the engine from the trunk, either in or under the car; personal preference there.

the trimming is minor and can be done with a knife or dremmel. Obviously the dremel is easier.

I installed/removed DPs on an XI on jack stands in my garage. If I had a shop around me that would have let me use their lift/tools for $175/day, Id have done that in a heartbeat. I have more than enough tools to get it done, but working on your back is a pain.

[Bimmer 808]

Check out this toolkit from Schwaben. Wish I had purchased this set before I started all my DIYs. http://www.ecstuning.com/ES2953943/

[kong24680]

For the trimming of the shroud, I removed the front bumper and used a dremel to cut the shroud. And the meth kit does take a bit of patience to install, but it's totally doable as long as you follow the DIY. Many members have done installs for both, and there is a lot of feedback that highlights the challenges most people face when tackling them.

[MahiC]

Btw try looking for a tool chest on Craigslist. I picked up a chest filled with ratchets, air tools, every socket you could imagine for $500. There's about $2000 worth of tools in there, the guy was going through a divorce.

[Jeff@TopGearSolutions]

The intakes are DIY job for sure. Downpipes, not so much IMO. I'd prefer to see you find a local in your regional section that's willing to help or atleast guide you along the way. When customers ask me "is this something i can install myself", conservatively I tend to respond, "if you have to ask....". Although some just don't realize at the time of asking what's involved and they do in fact have a mechanical skill set capable of doing it.

I'd start with the intake first and if you find that problematic and extremely difficult pay someone to do the other stuff as they are bit more complicated.

[Shakinbakin]

Originally Posted by Bimmer 808

Check out this toolkit from Schwaben. Wish I had purchased this set before I started all my DIYs. http://www.ecstuning.com/ES2953943/

This is the tool set I was looking at

http://m.sears.com/craftsman-258-pc-...a=00931783000P

Thanks for the reply

[Shakinbakin]

Originally Posted by Jeff@TopGearSolutions

The intakes are DIY job for sure. Downpipes, not so much IMO. I'd prefer to see you find a local in your regional section that's willing to help or atleast guide you along the way. When customers ask me "is this something i can install myself", conservatively I tend to respond, "if you have to ask....". Although some just don't realize at the time of asking what's involved and they do in fact have a mechanical skill set capable of doing it.

I'd start with the intake first and if you find that problematic and extremely difficult pay someone to do the other stuff as they are bit more complicated.

Thanks for the response. You guys hooked it up with the powder coated fmic and it looks great