The UK's Premier BMW Tuning Company & Specialist
Birds are a family-owned BMW tuning company and independent specialist based in South Bucks, UK.
Established in 1985, we are experts in BMW performance tuning, diagnostics and repairs, and routine servicing for BMWs classic and new.
We are internationally recognised for our affiliation with German tuner Hartge during the 80s/90s, and more recently for our exclusive agreement to distribute Quaife ATB Differentials worldwide.
We have also garnered a reputation for being one of the most reputable BMW specialists in the UK. Led by chief engineer and owner Kevin Bird, and a workshop that contains only Master or Senior BMW technicians, we are highly skilled at solving problems with BMWs that even the dealers can't resolve without resorting to expensive 'blanket repairs'.
More about us
Birds as a company has been around the motor industry since the 1930s and started getting involved with BMW in the early ’70s, originally as a BMW dealer.
In the late ’80s technical director Kevin Bird developed a tuning arm of the business, which today focuses on suspension tuning and limited-slip differentials to open up the ride and handling envelope of BMWs past and present.
‘That’s what makes us unique,’ Kevin says. ‘there are many companies which can offer power upgrades, but we focus on making changes that you can enjoy at any speed, and often enable you to get more out of the car overall.’
Our B-Series Complete Conversions and performance upgrades are all designed purely from a road car performance perspective and uniquely developed specifically for UK roads.
We work with some of the world's leading brands, industry consultants, and professional drivers to achieve genuine driver appeal and superior performance from our BMWs, without sacrificing the integrity of the standard car.
We also offer expert BMW diagnosis, repairs and servicing for all BMWs from classic to modern models.
Background
Founded over 70 years ago by James Bird, the organisation is now in its third generation of family ownership. As one of the first companies to be awarded a BMW franchise back in 1970, and with a unique depth of engineering backgrounds amongst the staff, Birds Garage quickly made a name for itself as one of the UK's leading BMW technical experts, often dealing with complex issues that other BMW dealers and specialists couldn't resolve. Independence in the late 80’s began a new era involving BMW performance tuning, and led Birds to obtaining the exclusive UK contract from Hartge GmbH - the internationally acclaimed German tuning company. You can view our editorials dating back to the 70’s on our website, where we rival Alpina and AC Schnitzer in creating some of the most stunning high-performance road BMWs.
A move to Uxbridge in the early 90’s - a great location near Heathrow and a building consisting of over 7,500 sq ft of workshop space and engineering labs - saw Birds grow into one of the most reputable independent BMW specialists in the country. Birds is one of the very few tuning companies that undertakes all work 'in house', and are often asked to provide consultative services for many of our apparent competitors.
In 2008, Birds moved to a new building less than a mile away with a fully facilitated BMW workshop. With an average experience of over 30 years in BMW environments (dealership and engineering) between the technical staff, we are capable of carrying out all BMW tuning and maintenance work to perfection. Our engineering capabilities have allowed us to create unique products, and have helped us grow and compete with the world’s leading BMW tuning companies.
Philosophy
A Dynamic Direction
Few advertising slogans lay it on the line as plainly as BMW’s "the Ultimate Driving Machine". Buy a BMW and you know what to expect: a great experience behind the wheel. Quite a responsibility for any car maker to shoulder. And, as with so many things in life, open to interpretation.
Over the decades, BMW has provided a set of ground rules that work so well they’ve become virtually cast in stone. All BMW saloons, coupes and sportscars have the engine in the front driving either the rear wheels or a rear-biased four-wheel drive system. The reason is simple: it’s the most effective division of effort. With the rear wheels doing all or the bulk of the driving, the front wheels are free to steer. The inevitable result is a purer, more responsive driving experience with a more neutral cornering attitude. Closely coupled with this is near perfect 50/50 front-to-rear weight distribution. The basic ingredients, then, are ideal for fine-tuning and finessing and, most importantly, exploiting un-tapped potential.
At Birds, we believe that a BMW, first and foremost, must deliver pure driver appeal - a far more subtle and finely-textured concept than raw straight-line performance or cornering grip or, indeed, any other headline asset. In contrast to the fleeting thrill, it’s the route to lasting satisfaction. Our mission? To engineer and offer performance upgrade packages for road BMWs that will transform the standard car into a true Ultimate Driving Machine.
Engineering Evolution
What Birds offers might seem expensive compared to apparently similar upgrades sold by our competitors. But our products are developed purely from a road car performance perspective. There are no bogus claims to satisfy the often hugely disparate requirements of motorsport.
Although swift and stealthy, our cars aren't always defined by their headline performance stats. Chasing the most impressive peak power figures or the quickest 0-60mph times isn't an abiding obsession at Birds. Chassis dynamics, however, are a different matter and we have developed a set of criteria, fine-tuned over many thousands of miles, that takes Birds’ BMWs to another level.
The key, we believe, is to deliver a multi-layered dynamic repertoire that provides exceptional engagement and consistency under all conditions. Steering that answers inputs alertly and accurately and provides fine communication, but also filters out the jarring rigors of bumpy or poorly surfaced roads. Suspension and damping that combines control with pliancy while suppressing harshness. And a progressive chassis balance that truly exploits that 50:50 weight distribution, a task brilliantly executed by the Quaife ATB Differential for which Birds is the exclusive worldwide BMW and Mercedes distributor.
Going the extra mile
Just as major car manufacturers purchase their rivals’ models to see what makes them tick, we always buy the latest BMWs to learn first-hand about their strengths and weaknesses. Only by doing this can we reliably develop and test products on them before demonstrating a finished car to our customers.
As well as being the exclusive worldwide distributor for BMW and Mercedes Quaife ATB Differentials, Birds B-Series Suspensions use specially valved Bilstein dampers and our own unique springs to improve ride and handling on UK roads, and are bespoke for each individual BMW model. In addition, Birds B-Series Anti-Roll Bars are manufactured by H&R to custom specifications.
Re-selling various brands and products via a webshop does not make a BMW tuner. We ONLY sell what we know works. And if we cannot find something that works, we will engineer our own solution. Additionally, everything we sell, we stock. If a seller is not willing to invest in the product, then why should the customer?
Let us prove it
Allow us to demonstrate how and why Birds BMWs are unrivalled in the U.K. We have a fleet of demonstrators fully equipped to our spec waiting to be test-driven at our premises near Heathrow. Our BMW experts are here and ready to listen to your personal requirements, and guide you towards achieving them.