The following is a piece about Chase's 328Ci & how he got it all started:

"Ever since I walked out of The Fast & The Furious in 2001, I had a fascination with the personalization of a vehicle. Taking what was once somewhat common and ordinary and giving it a unique, one of a kind, appearance really was extremely appealing. Throughout high school I couldn't help but dream my 93 Jeep Grand Cherokee (wood paneling and all) was transformed into a Toyota Supra with all kinds of crazy alterations. Unfortunately, that never happened. Fortunately, I decided that I would begin working rather diligently and began setting aside money so that I could one day purchase that dream car. Come 2004, I had that opportunity and drove off the lot in a fern green metallic BMW 328Ci. To make the car even more appealing, the color had been discontinued only a few months into production and, as a result, was extremely uncommon. Being a college sophomore, the purchase drained my bank account but it was one of the most rewarding moments of my life thus far."

"Only a few days into ownership of my pre-loved 2000 328Ci and I had already began primping it for the ball. Sure it had 49,000 on the clock, but that didn't mean it could look its absolute best. In the first few weeks of ownership, I had already spent hours cleaning the car, removed the front license plate bracket, installed clear turn signals, clear reflectors, and hyper white bulbs in both the headlights and the fog lights. From there, I found www.E46Fanatics.com and www.Modbargains.com, a recently opened online parts store and the mod-bug bit harder than I could ever imagine. Within the first year of ownership, the car already had angel eyes, an ECIS intake, interior goodies (Hamann floor mats, Hamann door sills, Hamann shift knob, Hamann pedals, and Hamann ebrake), and a Hamann DTM exhaust system. With the smaller items out of the way, It was time to hone my inner Paul Walker and purchase some body work. And with that, I began assembling a kit."

"While I loved the "over the top look" of the tweaked out cars in the movies, I wanted my BMW to maintain a classy, subtle-yet-modified look. To try and stick with that, I ordered a Hamann rear add on, Hamann GTR sideskirts, an M3 front bumper, Strassentech carbon fiber lip, an AC Schnitzer 3 piece wing, and replica M3 mirrors. It took months to assemble the pieces but I figured the best way to put the car together was to first ensure I had everything ready. After all, what fun is a car with half a body kit? After months of saving, buying, and collecting the pieces, I was ready for the body shop. This turned into an even larger headache." "Despite the DC area having dozens of body shops, few have any interest in working on custom or aftermarket pieces and, given everything I had complied was NOT out of BMW's catalogue, shops

either laughed, told me no, or gave me a quote so astronomically high that I laughed at them. Fortunately, through a number of indirect referrals, I came upon Euro Pro's in Gaithersburg, MD who not only would do custom work, but rather, they encouraged it! In their capable hands, the car came out looking fantastic. With the addition of Bilstein PSS9 coilovers, the car sat very nicely and, while not a show-stopper, was ready for showing for fun." "At this point, I began attending various shows and took home a lot of trophies from smaller state and a few regional events (Sound of TriState and WR Revolution) and met  up with Team Solo, a nationally recognized show team with a fleet ranging from Scions to Hummers to Ferraris and back). It was through this experience in the show scene that I decided I needed to take my car to another level and go from a "clean" look to one far more "aggressive"."

"After speaking extensively with Mike Brown, Co-Founder of Modbargains.com, I was given a sponsorship through Vorsteiner, a leading manufacturer of carbon fiber products and signed up as a test vehicle for their newly released GTS-3 racing lip and offered to test fit their GT-R double sided carbon fiber hood (designed solely for the M3) on my 328. After waiting for the part and the paint/labor, I had the aggressive front end I always wanted. To go with it, I retrofit the latest 6K Orion V2 angel eyes and installed 6K xenon headlights, 6K xenon fog lights, and 6K led turn signals up front to finish off the lighting. While the front end of the car looked menacing, the rear needed to be beefed up. For the time being, I had my shop custom cut the Hamann rear add on to accommodate tips on the passenger side for a custom quad exhaust but, even then, the rear just wasn't enough for my liking. Again, it was back to the proverbial drawing board... Mike Brown."

"Through collaboration once again with Mike, I decided to take the plunge and go down a virtually untraveled (at least in the US) path and order the SRS-Tec rear bumper. As I had the quad exhaust already installed, it made no sense to do a single outlet version so I opted for the ribbed quad outlet diffusor, a piece I had not seen on any other car (in person or online). Despite taking around 8 weeks to finally get the piece (custom shipped from Germany on an order-only basis), it was worth the wait as the bumper looked immaculate. But the wait didn't end here as I had decided to take this already custom bumper a step further. Through my friend and long time fellow car enthusiast Navin Kumar, I learned of an individual internationally who could custom wrap pieces on a one-off basis. So, I stopped by my body shop, picked up the diffuser, brought it to FedEx, and off it went. Four weeks later, I had a one of a kind quad outlet carbon fiber diffusor for my bumper. The day it arrived, I drove straight to the body shop, which had painted the bumper in the interim, and had the bumper and custom diffusor installed. To date, this is my favorite and most commented/complimented mod. Oddly enough, despite being my favorite, it's also the one I least encourage individuals to try and duplicate. Reason being, it ended up costing almost three times the purchase price of the bumper (when you include the carbon work, painting, installation, etc) and took almost 7 months from start (purchase) to finish (getting it on the car)."

"With the new rear bumper, I was left with a few flaws. The exhaust tips and CSL wheels just weren't aggressive enough for the body work. The bumper was much larger than my older one and, as a result, needed larger tips. Through Luis Duran, the Jedi Master of all things E46-related, I found a shop in Miami that could provide a set of rather unique tips. I took Luis' (what then seemed to be) crazy advise and ordered 88mm double walled, slightly slanted tips. Almost everyone else aware of the move chuckled saying tips that large would never look right on the back of a BMW. After their arrival, I had Road Race Technologies (RRT) in Dulles, Virginia cut them down, run custom piping, and create various intricate bends on the pipe to ensure that the tips sat level on the passenger side, but, more importantly, that they sat as high and deep in the bumper as possible. With the shop's owner's trusty hands for a mere 15 hours of labor, they put together what many in the BMW world have called one of the nicest non-m rears in existence. After attending a few more shows, and listening to the advice of local BMW enthusiasts, I tinted the window, added carbon fiber accents and two tone door panels to the interior, and took another look at my wheels. With the aggressive front end, tinted windows, and new rear, it was time to consider something more aggressive. Once again, I contacted Mike." "Based on referrals, web persona, presence at shows, and a solid recommendation from Mike, DPE (Dynamic Performance Engineering) offered a sponsorship and a set of 19" staggered R16s with brushed aluminum face, polished lip, and rivets was set in motion both on the production end and, ultimately, on the road. DPE even went so far as to customize the offset on the front wheel to ensure it sat perfectly flush with the fender, ensuring the most aggressive look. Wrapped in Goodyear Eagle F1 tires, and lowered just a tad more, the car arrived at its finished state."

"The car has literally taken five years to arrive and has seen a whole lot along the 125,000 miles its ventured. It has seen almost the entire East Coast visiting various venues for different shows and returned to its home garage toting different trophies and awards. Most recently, the car took Top Honors: Best European Import at Tuner Evolution, a large regionally recognized show in York, PA and write-ups/pictures have been requested for a few different magazine features. But it's not the trophies, awards, or recognition that makes the car appealing. It's the sound of the engine starting, the push backwards at acceleration, the individuals I have met along the way, and the satisfaction that, at the end of the day, it has been built piece by piece. Given all the love, I find the Decepticons logo on the rear window rather fitting. The car is certainly more than meets they eye. After all, not only serves as transportation, but a hobby, social activity, and the ultimate way to enjoy a Sunday morning drive with my girlfriend, Amanda."

Modifications done on Chase's 2000 328Ci:

Suspension

Bilstein PSS9 Coilovers Price - $1626.97

Rogue Rear Shock Mounts Price - $99.95

Brakes
 

StopTech Stage 2 Brake Kit Price - $569.00 - $699.00	Axxis Deluxe Brake Pads Price - $31.95 - $49.95
StopTech SS Brakes Lines Price - $59.99 - $64.99	Motul Brake Fluid Price - $19.95