For many car nuts, once they purchase a car, that is just the very start of an extensive and frequently expensive project of tuning to result in higher BMW performance. There are many thousands of different decisions on how to go about this process. Where does one start, what can be done by the typical backyard mechanic and what requires professional assistance? Also, where can one find quality parts at the best price? Sourcing parts is the area of modifying that you have the most control over and where you can save time and expense, if done correctly.

There is more than one school of thought on this topic. For BMWs, a lot of design and engineering was completed by the factory to make a world class vehicle that is arguably a better performer than many of its competition. It's far too easy to end up heading backwards in your objective for speed by sourcing inferior parts, installing them incorrectly or not matching up the performance characteristics of different systems on your car. Also, BMW itself is producing an ever growing line of its own aftermarket performance parts so you can be confident of the quality and engineering in these parts just like the rest of your car. The drawback is that these parts are often more expensive than their non-BMW counterparts.

So, how should one locate quality parts for your car? I am a big fan of doing research online. There are some good forums out there made up of many thousands of BMW owners. With a little effort you can often find someone with your same vehicle who has already done the same modifications to their vehicle and can often give valuable information on what works, who has the lowest price, installation tips and more. Some of my favorites are bimmerforums, e46fanatics and roadfly.org. Time spent here can save you signifiacnt money and frustration so you don't have to repeat the mistakes of others.

Another great resource that is often overlooked is eBay. The number of choices is often overwhelming and there are a lot of cheaply made, knock-off parts that you should try to stay away from. However, if you purchase from a known seller with great feedback and do your research on the part you need and at what price, you can certainly extend your modifying budget. You can find new parts, OEM BMW parts and used BMW parts quickly and easily to make your performance project a the car you have dreamed of.