[karikaalan]

Carbon Fiber Components - West vs China

Budget 5L to 8L, looking for aftermarket (read eye candy) components in carbon fiber for a G20 LCI2 M340i in Sapphire Metallic fully blacked out.
Fender and Hood probably painted black with only carbon fiber contrasts visible.

1. Side Fender
2. Hood
3. Rear Spoiler Wing
4. Exhaust Muffler
5. Skirt and Lips
   In hindsight, given the M340i's questionable GC front/side lip can wait a few thousand kms.
   
   Main dilemma is this, are made in american/europe worth the premium or go for Alibaba as most of the western ecommerce sites peddle carbon fiber products from Chinese factories anyway?
   

Vendors identified

1. RW Carbon (USA, ecommerce and installation workshop) - Good stock options, probably chinese but decent value landing with spoiler wing from the link landing in India at 2Lakhs. Total kit from this site working out to 8L+ including Shipping, Import duty etc.,
   https://www.rwcarbon.com/bmw-f80-m3-...iber-wing.html
2. Bimmerplug (USA, ecommerce) - another ecommerce platform for G20 products, Chinese products but reliable badge and trust
   https://bimmerplug.com/products/v-st...mw-f-g-chassis
3. DarwinPro Aerodynamics (USA, manufacturer) - Made in USA, Offers Hood, Spoiler and Trunk
   https://darwinproaero.com/collections/3-series-g20-g28
4. Maxton Design (Poland, manufacturer) - in house design and brilliant, but expensive at almost 5Lakhs landing for the wing alone
   https://maxtondesign.com/product-eng...ndard-G20.html
5. Alibaba (China) - Cheapest option, going this way a full kit for the G20 can be assembled with a budget of 5-6L (Hood 1L, Side Fender 70k, Skirt and lip kit 1.2L, Trunk boot 85k)
   https://www.alibaba.com/product-deta...254268773.html
6. Carcraftindia (India, ecommerce)- provides assorted products from Alibaba.
   https://carcraftindia.com/collection...-vent-m3-style

Other upgrades which will have to wait for EMI's to clear and the warranty ends

• Sound system - Plug and Play amp and speakers are expensive and not sure if justified spending 5Lakhs for this. Will have to wait
• Tyres - Figured drive the car till the run-flats are dead then make the switch to tubeless
• Engine Mods - Upgrading from an 1.2L sub 100bhp engine so I'm sure the stock B56 will keep me happy for a few years
• Exhaust system - too broke in the near foreseeable future
• Brakes - need to reassess urgency upon delivery of the car.
• Rims - probably with the tyre upgrade, hopefully the stock Pirelli run-flats last for 10,000km. Again tempted by plenty of Chinese forged options, with some reasonably priced US/Europe manufactured ones as well. Rims can wait until the rest of the visual mods comes through. CMSTTuning offers customized carbon fiber rims for 1,000USD with carbon fiber lips as well but will dent another 5Lakhs from a fictional wallet. So stock for the time being (note to self - disable tempting Alibaba notifications )
  https://cmsttuning.com/products/forg...37041828659354
  

Thanks in advance for the feedback, Beep Beep!!

[ImportedLlama]

Just my personal opinion, but the spoilers you’ve shown are not that good looking. If I were you I’d either go for an oversized spoiler or a simple ducktail spoiler to keep it either loud in a good way or subtle and clean. The mid sized spoiler options don’t look fitting on these cars. Excited for the build! All the best!

[sunikkat]

Any wheel upgrade, go for branded ones like BBS, Borbett, OZ Racing etc. You need to have best quality wheels, and these brands have gone through stringent quality measures. Non branded / cheap alloys are a total NO for any cars.

[Downshift98]

Regarding the wheels, IMO for a performance car like the 340i which can do a ton in 4s, it's better to go for branded options(BBS,HRE, OZ Rays - HRE has very sick-looking ones for BMWs).

Think about it, while doing triple-digit speeds if you misjudge the road and encounter a bad pothole, you never know when it may crack. Also, the branded wheels do have counterfeit options available in the market so try to stay clear of them.

You can search in the forum where there is a thread which talks about stock BMW wheels that bend/crack, imagine non-branded wheels!

[AbhiJ]

Personal experience - Avoid Carcraft like the plague.

They sent me incompatible fittings for my M340i and refused to provide any support. Money down the drain. Others might have had better luck but for it was a very bad experience for me.

The person who provides "support" asked me to drill and cut OE bumper because the rear diffuser he sent was wrong.

Also, the Engine is B58

[wheelspinner]

Just a tip, try visiting the scrap yards for supercars. You might get matching alloys or suitable mods at way cheap. Sometimes they are relatively unused as the cars got totalled right after buying.

[karikaalan]

Originally Posted by AbhiJ

Personal experience - Avoid Carcraft like the plague.

They sent me incompatible fittings for my M340i and refused to provide any support. Money down the drain. Others might have had better luck but for it was a very bad experience for me.

The person who provides "support" asked me to drill and cut OE bumper because the rear diffuser he sent was wrong.

Also, the Engine is B58

Thanks for the feedback! Hope modding culture becomes more mainstream in India now that alibaba has opened up lot of options in what was otherwise a very niche market reserved only for the ones with lot of money to spare. My first choice was to get a used 2-3year old M340i LCI 1 but their resale seem to be holding better than expected. No car below 60L (incl. 20% TN registration tax) and the ones in excellent condition less km cost upto 67L. Now forced to save/make more money in order to afford the dream car

[AbhiJ]

Originally Posted by karikaalan

Thanks for the feedback! Hope modding culture becomes more mainstream in India now that alibaba has opened up lot of options in what was otherwise a very niche market reserved only for the ones with lot of money to spare. My first choice was to get a used 2-3year old M340i LCI 1 but their resale seem to be holding better than expected. No car below 60L (incl. 20% TN registration tax) and the ones in excellent condition less km cost upto 67L. Now forced to save/make more money in order to afford the dream car

I just got mine last october and got a decent discount since a model change was due. Have got it to Stage 2 already and am absolutely living my dream.

[karikaalan]

Originally Posted by AbhiJ

I just got mine last october and got a decent discount since a model change was due. Have got it to Stage 2 already and am absolutely living my dream.

@AbhiJ Btw checked out your video on Tuning Potential of the B58 engine, enjoyed the data oriented and technical approach! Wanted some other feedback from you regarding the commercials of the M340i

• The good folks at BMW Chennai have hiked up Ex-Showroom prices of the M340i LCI2 to 75,90,000. What realistic discount can be expected if booking by end of year? 70L ex-showroom is viable? As per my SA not more than 3L but then again, I have no relationship with said dealership.
• 4,13,500 for Bumper to Bumper one year and 3rd party upto 3 years seems excessive. But some say not worth the trouble as repairs take longer with 3rd party insurance providers.
• If taking the mods route, does it make sense opting for RSA and BRI?
• Any other disadvantages of going Stage 1/2 on a brand new car, compared to say doing them after warranty/3years?
• 72,500 Logistics and Handling charges are mandatory? Or just a sales tactic to give the illusion of discounts lol
• Anyways, Road Tax of 20% is unavoidable in TN so theoretically it is possible to get the car sub 90Lakhs?
• Does BMW allow us to take delivery from their factory where baby Beemers are made?
  

[AbhiJ]

Originally Posted by karikaalan

@AbhiJ Btw checked out your video on Tuning Potential of the B58 engine, enjoyed the data oriented and technical approach! Wanted some other feedback from you regarding the commercials of the M340i

You mean the insta account? If yes, so glad you liked the content. Trying to share my learnings and the journey with fellow enthusiasts. A lot of information to share. Wish me luck.

1. It all depends on car sales. If sales slump, you ll get discounts. That said the price of the m340i is acceleration faster than the car itself. The OG M340i was launched at 62.9 Lakhs in 2021. The LCi at 69.2 Lakhs. You get the drift.

2. This is a weekend car for me. I didnt get insurance with the showroom. I in fact got limited kilometer insurance to save costs. Lets just say I paid a fraction of the amount you mentioned.

3. I knew I would be modding the car so no additional warranty or service coverage.

4. Wait for the break-in period for the engine before mods.

5. I was charged 24k

6. Death and taxes are both unavoidable brother.

7. Not that I know of. But you should ask!

[nikhil1300]

any one into body kits for BmW 320 D 2014 model in bangalore