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#1. Re: tire wear - from mill
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Date: Thu, 15 Jun 2000 14:08:18 +0200 From: mill <mill99@gmx.net> Subject: Re: tire wear >> The rear tires on my '95M3 seem to be wearing out much faster in the center >> of the tread, which used to be considered a sign of running over-inflated, > >John, > >It is normal. Not much you can do about it. The rims on a '95 M3 are >too >narrow for a 235/40 tire. I'm using wimpy 225/45ZR17 Dunlop 8080E on 7.5x17 ET35 BMW/BBS cross spoke 2-piece wheels. Tire wear is absolutely even. Just swapped the front and rear tires. The rears wear about 3-times as fast as the fronts! I wont be surprised, if the 225/45 have better grip than squeezed-into-7.5"-wheels 235/40 tires. mill
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#2. RE: [E36M3] E36M3 #235 - from Thissell, Jeremy
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Date: Thu, 15 Jun 2000 08:21:36 -0400 From: "Thissell, Jeremy" <Jeremy.Thissell@USPTO.GOV> Subject: RE: [E36M3] E36M3 #235 I should have known that would have caused someone to stir in their seat. :-) Jeremy Thissell Patent Examiner Art Unit 3762 US Patent Office > -----Original Message----- > -------------------- 2 -------------------- > Date: Wed, 14 Jun 2000 16:57:37 -0500 > From: "jbergstrom" <john@intellectsys.com> > Subject: where oh where have all the racers gone? :-( > > >>>>My point is, you can't go wrong with a BMW with an automatic, as > long as it doesn't have M suspension or exhaust. It'll be smooth, safe, > comfortable, and reliable. All the things you want in a commuter, > right?<<<< > > AAACCKKKK!!!! What's happening on the digest?!?!?!? Where are all the > die-hard boy racers?!?!??! > > John > 97 M3/4 with stuff > soon to be 95 M3/2 with lots and lots and lots of stuff >
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#3. Re: 4 VANOSes - from Hunter Johnson
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Date: Thu, 15 Jun 2000 15:21:55 +0100 From: "Hunter Johnson" <HJOHNSON@dbmail.debis.de> Subject: Re: 4 VANOSes Sean says: >actually that pisses me off quite a bit. after my car having the same >problem 4 times in a year i'd expect them to say: Two words: Lemon Law. Insist on talking with the District Zone Manager from BMW. He will get to the bottom of it. And don't forget to tell the Service Writer that you'll give them a "0" on Customer Service -- which puts them in the hot seat for dealer money and allocation of X5s -- if he gives you any grief or won't help your cause with BMW NA. No doubt the dealer wants to fix this right, too, because these VANOS things can't be cheap, and their EPUR must be going thru the roof with you (EPUR = expense per unit repaired, the industry way of measuring if a dealer is pushing too much warranty work. If the EPUR gets too high, BMW NA will insist on the DZM approving ALL heavy tech work, like engine and transmission, and maybe even medium and light tech work). How exactly does BMW NA think *you* are breaking these things? That's the real question. Hunter
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#4. Tire Wear - from Darling Christopher AMC/CEOP
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Date: Thu, 15 Jun 2000 08:27:12 -0500 From: Darling Christopher AMC/CEOP <chris.darling@scott.af.mil> Subject: Tire Wear Lowell Seaton wrote: "In general, the rear tires wear much faster than the front tires due to the wear during aggressive acceleration." I agree with this. My 95 M3 has 75K miles, and as a rule of thumb, I'd say the rear tires last approximately half as long as the fronts. And to tell you the truth, I do not push my car very hard on the street. No, really! I have a separate set of wheels/tires for autocross and track events, so my street set doesn't get beat up at all. Nevertheless, the rears do wear out much sooner. But this is ok, because it makes tire replacement much more progressive, an important point when new Pilot Sports are going for $260 per, or whatever it is. Anyway, I buy my tires in sets of two instead of all four at once--put new ones on the front, and move the 1/2 tread fronts to the rear. Throw the bald rear tires away. Obviously, I don't worry about tire rotation with this arrangement except for one exception. I swap my rear tires from side to side whenever I happen to have them off the car for race days or whatever. This helps even out the right side wear that John Webber observed. (My theory on this "right-side wear" phenomenon is as follows: picture any traffic intersection you want. Turns to the right are always tighter than to the left. Therefore, the inside (right) rear tire will tend slip and spin more than the outside tire, since it is unweighted. The LSD feeds more torque to the left side to compensate, but it is not a lockup differential, so this only helps somewhat. Bottom line: over time, the right rear tire undergoes a little more wheelspin than the left.) __________ Cod Capt Chris Darling HQ AMC/CEOP DSN 576-5930, Comm (618)256-5930
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#5. Featherlite trailer - from Holeman, David
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Date: Thu, 15 Jun 2000 09:22:47 -0500 From: "Holeman, David" <david.holeman@viaticus.com> Subject: Featherlite trailer Hi, Does anyone use a Featherlite 3110 open trailer. I am interested in any impressions or tips that others might have. David Holeman www.racepad.com
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#6. Stereo question... - from Eric Gravengaard
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Date: Thu, 15 Jun 2000 10:38:07 -0400 From: "Eric Gravengaard" <elg@alum.mit.edu> Subject: Stereo question... Sean, fellow listers, countrymen lend me your ear: Stop talking about how fast you can get your kids to school! I have a serious question. Or at least I think it's a serious problem you may disagree. I installed an Eclipse 5302 (CD Head Unit), A/D/S Amp (PK15?), Nakamichi Crossover, and MB Quart Speakers in my '95 M3/2 (non lux). I wired the head unit into existing power in the dash. The crossover gets power from the old amp location, and the amp gets power from the battery and is grounded to the Airbag sensor ? under the rear seat. There are separate and good quality RCA coax running from the head unit to the crossover. This configuration causes a loud alternator whine. That is not dependent on volume. My MP3 player (Diamond Rio 300, AA battery powered) when connected to the crossover produces no whine. Different RCA cables that run out the sun roof and in the trunk produce the same problem. So I assume it's not them picking up noise. So after trying every gizmo available at Radio Shack [power conditioners for the amp, capacitors, ground loop isolators, etc]. I ran a new wire for power from the crossover power source to the head unit (battery, always on). 75% of the whine disappeared. But, I'd like to get the last 25% out. Should I try to find a better switched power supply? Any suggestions, debugging procedures I missed, etc? Thanks, Eric G. '95 M3/2 whiny stereo in boston and willing to let others check out the setup which I think is great, at loud volumes to overcome the whine.
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#7. Re: Tire Wear - from shane.a.kleinpeter@ac.com
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Date: Thu, 15 Jun 2000 09:20:10 -0400 From: shane.a.kleinpeter@ac.com Subject: Re: Tire Wear John wrote: The rear tires on my '95M3 seem to be wearing out much faster in the center of the tread, which used to be considered a sign of running over-inflated, but I watch the tires pressures carefully. Unless my imagination is running away with me, the right side seems to be worse than the left. This is a bone stock car -- no track time, no mods. The fronts have no such wear pattern. Any ideas? Shane replies: John, you've just described the normal tire wear on just about every BMW out there. The fronts wear on the shoulders from turning, the rears wear in the center from acceleration (faster than the fronts as a result). The rear right wears because that's where the limited slip sends the power when the car loses grip on the driver's side. All normal. Since you have the same size tires front and back on your '95 you may want to start rotating them every 5000 miles or so. I know the owner's manual says not to, but I have been doing this on my 535is for years with no adverse affects. Can't on the M3 due to staggered wheel size for street tires, and I have the same situation you do on this car. YMMV. Shane Kleinpeter Tarheel Chapter '96 M3 Lux/track car '88 535is
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#8. Re: [E36M3] heresy - from bob1
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Date: Thu, 15 Jun 2000 07:57:01 -0700 From: bob1 <bob1@sns-access.com> Subject: Re: [E36M3] heresy Sean, Isn't Lux mostly appearance ? My '97 has all those ergo goodies and more, but not lux. I thought lux is just wood trim and other items. The sunroof, computer, were standard. The other commuter goodies such as cruise, split rear seats HK stereo were all separate options, not necessarily paired with lux. I'd upgrade to a low-miles '99 with no lux but all the other stuff if I were you. Bob Larson
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#9. RE: [E36M3] Stereo question... - from Peter Guagenti
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Date: Thu, 15 Jun 2000 08:07:53 -0700 From: "Peter Guagenti" <peter@guagenti.com> Subject: RE: [E36M3] Stereo question... > Any suggestions, debugging procedures I missed, etc? Check your ground wires. I've done a ton of custom car audio set-ups and 90% of the time alternator whine was eliminated through better grounding. Now keep in mind where I'm coming from -- I'm not an electrical engineer, I'm simply speaking from personal experience -- so YMMV. Your headunit should be powered and grounded normally (no need to feed off of the battery -- especially if you don't have an in-line fuse!). Your amp and crossovers should be powered at the battery, with an in-line fuse on each. Make sure to ground both units AT THE BODY with wire of the same gauge and type as the power wire, if not bigger. I don't know how intelligent it is to ground at the same source as the airbag controller (it just doesn't sound like a great idea). This may be an obvious one, but also make sure that your RCA and speaker wire run down a different side of the car than your power wires. On my E36, the big, fat battery cable runs down the P/S, so I ran all of my audio cabling (CD wire, RCA's, etc.) down the D/S. It also helps to seperate each of these cables and put a plastic loom around each. It's a bit of overkill, but it doesn't hurt. If you've still got a buzz in the system, double check every other connector that you wired, making sure that they are not exposed. Griots sells a butane-fueled, mini heat gun that you can use to put heat shrink tubing on electronics. Also, you can add ground loop isolators on each piece. You add them to the RCA's where they meet your amps and in-line with the power/ground for your headunit. I did a custom set-up in my wife's Pathfinder (head-unit, EQ, multiple amps, subs, etc.), including converting the factory tool storage area under the rear storage area into an amp location with custom cooling fans. It was a very trick set-up. After the install, I had to fight a bad alternator whine. It ended up being a simple case of the system not being grounded properly. After I swapped grounding points and upgraded the wire, no more buzz. Hope that helps. -peterg
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#10. Re: 0-60 times - from COVINGTON,WAYNE (HP-FtCollins,ex1)
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Date: Thu, 15 Jun 2000 09:41:53 -0600 From: "COVINGTON,WAYNE (HP-FtCollins,ex1)" <wayne_covington@hp.com> Subject: Re: 0-60 times > BRAKING > 70-0 mph @ impending lockup - 158 ft. > HANDLING > Roadholding, 300 ft. dia. skidpad - 0.86 g And the tires on that car were ... ? (Yeah, yeah. I can already hear all the flip answers. :-) Wayne Covington