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#1. Re: [E36M3] Re: Mobil 1 - from Carey Probst
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Date: Wed, 04 Oct 2000 13:33:26 -0400 From: Carey Probst <hcprobst@alum.mit.edu> Subject: Re: [E36M3] Re: Mobil 1 Snip > Amsoil makes a 10W40, and there are people who sell it at a discount, so > that might be another choice for you. BTW, I was talking to a Mobil 1 rep > at the F1 race two weeks ago, and he claims that Amsoil (and several other > unnamed oil companies) buy their base stock from Mobil, and put their own > additive packages in. > There are really only a few major refiners who produce most branded oils. Sun and Mobil are 2 of the largest. If you visit the Sun offices in Philadelphia they have a display outside the Marketing Department with about 40 major brand names who they produce under the brand specifications. They take a standard base formulation and add the chemicals requested by the brand, put on a label and suddenly the $1.39/qt. oil sold by Sun becomes the $1.99/qt. oil under a different brand. It's been a couple years since I last visited there so I won't name specific brands as they may have changed sources since then. From what they told me there, there really is a very little difference between oils that meet the same spec. -- Carey Probst Technical Director Business Intelligence and Warehouse Service Line Phone: (518) 584-4388 Fax: (518) 584-8037 E-Mail: Carey.Probst@oracle.com Member, M.I.T. Educational Council Perm: hcprobst@alum.mit.edu A well regulated militia being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed.
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#2. Re: [E36M3] Worst M3 upgrade? - from Bryan Watts
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Date: Wed, 4 Oct 2000 13:55:02 -0400 From: "Bryan Watts" <wattba02@wfu.edu> Subject: Re: [E36M3] Worst M3 upgrade? Jim Millet wrote: > Biggest waste of money is a front strut tower brace. You've obviously never seen a car with cracked front strut towers then. True, for the average street driver it may be a waste of money, but for track driven cars its a great upgrade both performance wise and to prevent future damage. I've even heard of it saving an engine during a wreck in the front quarter panel. For those of us who club race in Prepared class or in SCCA IT, its a great upgrade as well since we aren't allowed to tie our roll cage into the strut towers. > I notice that the UUC Motorwerks folks don't have their Barbarian brace for sale > anymore. I wonder why? Because they are currently developing and readying the Strut Barbarian II for production according to what I have heard from at least one person in the know. > Spend the $500 you saved by not buying a strut tower brace on driving > schools; much better return on investment. I agree with you there. -Bryan Watts 95 M3...street car, who needs a strut brace? 92 325is KP/ITS...rigid strut brace, keeps my suspension in alignment under heavy g-loads and prevents my strut towers from becoming stressed/cracked.
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#3. OT: M-coupe w/ E46 M3 engine? - from Kit Wetzler
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Date: Wed, 04 Oct 2000 10:57:00 -0700 From: Kit Wetzler <kitwetzler@mindspring.com> Subject: OT: M-coupe w/ E46 M3 engine? > remember (correct me if I'm wrong) the only BMW available with an exact > 50/50 weight distribution is the M Coupe. So... We've all heard the rumors about the M-coupe and M-Roadster getting the phat engine. What do y'all think? Gonna happen? Not gonna happen? The idea of driving a shoe with 333hp sorta makes my mouth water, like... well... like anyone thinking about a 3100lbs 333hp M-coupe would. ;) -kit 97 M3 w/ occasional aspirations towards shoes...
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#4. Re: [E36M3] Worst M3 upgrade - from Jeff Thompson
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Date: Wed, 04 Oct 2000 14:12:01 -0400 From: Jeff Thompson <jthompson@telco.com> Subject: Re: [E36M3] Worst M3 upgrade OK, this has gone on a while, and I have found that the fastest way to kill a thread here is for me to respond to it. :) The best upgrade that I have done so far is the JC intake/Euro HFM/chip. It absolutely rocks. Makes you feel like you've been driving with the air conditioning on all the time. After that, the X-brace is the hands down winner for the bang-for-the buck upgrade. A bridgable Alpine 90 watt amp and a subwoofer rounds it out and is fine (I think) for non-audiophiles. Maybe I just don't know any better. Worst "upgrade" so far is the JTD/Turner aluminum rear shock mounts. The installation instructions tell you that using the "race" bushings may damage your chassis mount points but the softer ones were so soft that the washers on the shocks would bang into the aluminum and chew up the rubber. Replaced them after 3 weeks, lots of noise, and about 750 miles. With OEM mounts and it is quiet, smooth and 1/2 the price. I do have the Bilsteins with stock springs, just as a data point. Other stuff: I have never been able to make the JTD tranny mount fit my car because the mounting holes are off by about 1/2 a bolt diameter (JTD was helpful and offered to take it back, I was just too lazy to ship it). Euro air box gives some improvement, but is a waste compared with the JC intake. And finally.... UUC is just a bunch of guys with a machine shop and too much time on their hands IMHO. Their SS kit is an OK substitute for the ACS kit, and a lot cheaper if you know what you are getting into. I epoxied the ERK into the carrier, then snugged the bolts the first time I even looked at the design. Selling the "StrutBarbarian" and touting the virtues of 4130 steel swaybars is simply silly. And for them to say that their clutch stop is fine but BMW's pedal sucks is just avoiding the fact that they didn't design for the application. Just my $0.03, -jeff '95 M3 with some extra stuff.
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#5. H&R Sports or Coilovers? - from VITOLO_JONA@LNMTA.bentley.edu
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Date: Wed, 4 Oct 2000 14:11:30 -0400 From: VITOLO_JONA@LNMTA.bentley.edu Subject: H&R Sports or Coilovers? Hi everyone I am planning on doing a suspension upgrade to my 99 M3 in the near future. The car will be a daily driver, and most likely not tracked. It seems the most common setup is H&R sport springs with Bilstein Shocks. A concern with that setup is that Ive been hearing it dosent lower 99's as much as it is claimed. I know bilsteins raise the car 1/4 inch or so and many say that H&R race springs are too stiff for the street. I have been doing some research and it seems that a true system would actually provide a nicer ride then simply matching some springs to shocks(not valved in accordance to each other) whereas the Coilover kits are designed to work in unison. Obviously there is a huge price difference between the two setups, but If I am spending the money, I only want to do it once. My objective is to lower the car some but not slam it. I would also like to stiffen the car a little bit. I like the low "tight" feeling. The roads in my area are not bad at all, however I might have the car in Boston for some time(roads arent great but ive seen worse). My interest in the H&R coilover setup is because it was designed to be used on the street specifically for the e36 M3. I like how you can adjust the height to your tastes whereas the H&R springs have been known to lower the car more in the rear then the front thus making it look unprorportionate. Another huge concern is uneven tire wear. I dont want to be messing with camber if I dont have to, i want to get even tire wear. I know ill need an alignment no matter what I do. I simply want to mod the car but keep it close to stock as possible in the sense of everyday usuability--I dont want clunks, unbearable harshness or any problems. I want to mod the car and forget I ever did it....nuisance free, just like stock. Could you recommend me what to do? Also, any pics? Feel free to email me privately so we dont use up space on the digest. I think I read Carl Buckland has alot of experience with this...you out there? Thanks alot, I appreciate it! Jonathan 99 Estoril M3 euro clears, triflo
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#6. WRECKED M3 - from B Horlacher
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Date: Wed, 4 Oct 2000 14:04:13 -0400 From: "B Horlacher" <Horlacher@carrindustries.net> Subject: WRECKED M3 EMAIL ME IF YOU WANT PICTURES OF MY NEWLY TOTALED M3 DESTROYED ON THE MORNING COMMUTE TO WORK "TODAY." CHEERS BILL HORLACHER
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#7. RE: [E36M3] R4 versus PF90 - from Robert Jackowitz
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Date: Wed, 4 Oct 2000 14:33:32 -0400 From: Robert Jackowitz <RJackowitz@HARVPART.COM> Subject: RE: [E36M3] R4 versus PF90 Sean and I have had a number of off-line discussions on brakes. I, like Sean, am unhappy with the clipless pads for the street. I have found that I can usually "hear" if my shock mounts are toast, if my sway-bar bushings are shot, if my brake wear sensor has disconnected and is dangling around. With the clipless pads, all of those telltale sounds are drowned out by the clatter of the pads. If I were to offer my ratings they would reflect the following: Track performance street performance PF90s 98 40 R4 96 80 Stock 70 95 And don't confuse the R4 pads with the R4S (where the "s" stands for "squeal") Rob
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#8. Re: [E36M3] '95 3.0L soft retainer issue? - from Skip Bogard
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Date: Wed, 04 Oct 2000 14:29:16 -0400 From: Skip Bogard <skip.bogard@alumni.duke.edu> Subject: Re: [E36M3] '95 3.0L soft retainer issue? > Anyone have the real story on the "soft" valve spring retainers in some > of the 1995 3.0L M3 motors? Well, the real story <short version> is that BMW engineers did in fact improve the retainers through nitriding. There is no question about that. So, what does "theory" mean if BMW engineers make a change like this? I'll repost one of JC's old notes, since he made it public once (to this list only): ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ I will read ya'll a quote from a memo that I don't have ;) Complaint Detail: Exceeding the Rev Limit of engines leads to widening of the center hole in the valve spring retainers on both the Intake and Exhaust sides to the point where the keepers are pulled through the retainers. At the same time the retainers are getting bent... Analysis: Affected part # 11 34 1 703 218 [...] 2) Damage could be limited if the hardening depth of the retainers was increased Counteractions: [...] PRODUCTION CHANGE approx. 10/95 - upper valve spring retainers were carbonitrided to insure a hardening depth of at least 10 microns. [...] While nothing will protect you from a full-on bonehead move like a 5-2 downshift at 100.. it WILL help protect you from a "minor" overrev. Also note.. some of these motors have had damage WITHOUT an overrev generally the damage is in the retainers/keepers ONLY. JC. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ >Is it really a concern on a car that only sees some track use? Nothing is a concern if you have enough money. All mechanical things break. I even hear those guys who built those pyramid thingys in Egypt 3,000 years ago are now trying to get their money back! Because they aren't holding up under warranty like they were told. >Is it even a real problem or just a theory? Welcome to engineering. Everything is real in theory. Hell, my M3 is a problem! The whole #&@^@ car is a real problem! It's a real joy too. Alas, I will probably outlive its useful & safe life. How do you interpret the memo? Well, one way to read it is "Don't hit the rev limiter" and you won't likely have a problem. To that I could say, "Never rev over 4000 RPM (EVER!) and you'll get 400,000 miles outta one engine!" Nuff said, back to building my pyramid. - Skip '95 M3 - Titanium retainers - Ceramic coated manifold - Pocket Ported Head - bunch of other stuff
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#9. Re: [E36M3] H&R Sports or Coilovers? - from Matt Henson
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Date: Wed, 4 Oct 2000 11:48:24 -0700 (PDT) From: Matt Henson <hensonator@yahoo.com> Subject: Re: [E36M3] H&R Sports or Coilovers? Hi Jonathan, Please see below.. --- VITOLO_JONA@LNMTA.bentley.edu wrote: > Date: Wed, 4 Oct 2000 14:11:30 -0400 > From: VITOLO_JONA@LNMTA.bentley.edu > Subject: H&R Sports or Coilovers? > > > Hi everyone > > I am planning on doing a suspension upgrade to my 99 > M3 in the near > future. The car will be a daily driver, and most > likely not tracked. It > seems the most common setup is H&R sport springs > with Bilstein Shocks. A Yep. > concern with that setup is that Ive been hearing it > dosent lower 99's as > much as it is claimed. I know bilsteins raise the > car 1/4 inch or so and > many say that H&R race springs are too stiff for the > street. I have been > doing some research and it seems that a true system > would actually > provide a nicer ride then simply matching some > springs to shocks(not > valved in accordance to each other) whereas the > Coilover kits are > designed to work in unison. > > Obviously there is a huge price difference between > the two setups, but > If I am spending the money, I only want to do it > once. My objective is > to lower the car some but not slam it. I would also > like to stiffen the > car a little bit. I like the low "tight" feeling. > The roads in my area > are not bad at all, however I might have the car in > Boston for some > time(roads arent great but ive seen worse). My > interest in the H&R > coilover setup is because it was designed to be used > on the street > specifically for the e36 M3. I like how you can > adjust the height to > your tastes whereas the H&R springs have been known > to lower the car > more in the rear then the front thus making it look > unprorportionate. I believe that they do actually lower the front more, it's just that the rear fenders are lower so it looks like it's sagging. If you adjust so that the fenders look balanced then the car will be much lower at the front. You'll be able to see this along the bottom of the car. It will also mess with your weight distribution. > Another huge concern is uneven tire wear. I dont > want to be messing with > camber if I dont have to, i want to get even tire > wear. I know ill need > an alignment no matter what I do. I simply want to > mod the car but keep > it close to stock as possible in the sense of > everyday usuability--I > dont want clunks, unbearable harshness or any > problems. I want to mod > the car and forget I ever did it....nuisance free, > just like stock. If you lower the car then you will increase camber up front. You will also change the steering geometry. It will ride differently. Not necessarily better. There's no free lunch. It will get harsher, especially if you don't cut the bump stops (probably not necessary in the coil overs). It will also lose stability due to the extra camber. If you really want it to be completly nuisance free then stock is the way to go. > Could you recommend me what to do? Also, any pics? > Feel free to email > me privately so we dont use up space on the digest. > I think I read Carl > Buckland has alot of experience with this...you out > there? Thanks alot, > I appreciate it! I think that this is much more on topic than most of the stuff that goes through here these days so let's keep it on-line. Personally I use Bilts. and have had H&R's and Eibachs. I found the H&R's to be of very high quality but it was a little too low for a turbo car. Also the ride quality was a bit rough. The Eibachs give up a fair amount of roll stiffness to the H&R's and don't look like they are as well made. But they do have a better ride. I would think that the Bilts, Eibachs and 26/24 sways are probably the best way to go for a street/DE car. Next to stock I mean :-). -Matt > Jonathan > 99 Estoril M3 > euro clears, triflo > > > ************************************************************* > List Commands > UNSUBSCRIBE - (in subject line) unsubscribes you > from the mailing list. > ************************************************************* > > __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Yahoo! Photos - 35mm Quality Prints, Now Get 15 Free! http://photos.yahoo.com/
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#10. Inspection II in LA... - from juan_rico
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Date: Wed, 4 Oct 2000 11:46:49 -0700 From: "juan_rico" <juan_rico@captionsinc.com> Subject: Inspection II in LA... Anybody on the list know of a dealership here in LA. who will do an Inspection II for around $500 other than Nick Alexander? I don't want to use them and I'm not having any luck finding anybody else... Thanks. Juan.