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A few years ago when B&M Performance Products, well known for their aftermarket shifters, wanted to start producing products for BMW, they needed a way to display their new products at the SEMA show in Las Vegas. Instead of putting the parts on display, they decided the best way to show the new products for BMW would be to put them in a vehicle and show owners how the parts actually looked fitted to the car. The result was this 1998 BMW 328i, which has been fitted with some of B&M's products as well as a number other tasteful aftermarket parts.
B&M started with a base E36 328is painted in silver. The car sports an appearance package that has a more aggressive front fascia and side skirts. In fact, most will probably mistake this for an E36 M3, and only the 328is badge will give the disguise away. To further improve the look of the car, euro-style "Angel Eyes" headlights were added, giving the car an updated appearance. Also enhancing the visual appeal of the car is the 17" BBS wheels fitted on all corners. The wheels are paired with 225/45 Michelin Pilot Sport tires. Helping the wheels to fill out the wheel wells are Eibach springs that lower the car 1.5 inches. In addition, the Eibach springs also give the 328i sportier handling with the help of an Eibach front swaybar and a front strut brace from B&M.
The interior of the 328i keeps with the trend of subtlety set by the exterior. Standard black leather from BMW covers the seats, and the 5-speed B&M carbon fiber shift knob goes well with the rest of the interior. Other B&M products include a custom clutch stop and a carbon fiber e-brake handle. Rounding off the list of interior enhancements is an aluminum pedal kit from AC Schnitzer. Along with improving the appearance of the car, B&M also added some performance parts to add some horsepower to the 2.8-liter inline-6. A K&N air filter helps improving breathing as well as a Dinan cold air intake system. A Remus exhaust helps breathing on the other side and gives the car a more aggressive sound, especially during acceleration. Lastly, a Dinan Stage II ECU upgrade fine tunes the BMW engine to add a few extra horsepower. With all the performance bits, the engine produces 200 bhp, twenty up from stock. To go with the extra power and sportier suspension, the brakes have been upgraded to drilled Brembo discs front and rear with Brembo calipers.
The purpose of this 328is has served B&M well. They now offer short shifter kits for a wide variety of BMWs, including everything from sporty short throw shifters to shifter kits suited for racing.
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