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#1. FS M3 stuff - from Dinah DeRoller
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Date: Mon, 13 Nov 2000 13:37:52 -0500 From: Dinah DeRoller <dinah_g_deroller@redcom.com> Subject: FS M3 stuff Greetings... I'm trying to get rid of some of the "unloved" parts of my M3, and clean out my garage, so that I can finance more toys... therefore, I'm selling the following stuff (car is a '97 M3): - Stock swaybars, used 27K miles, asking $150/bo - Schroth Rallye-4 Harnesses (Red), used 9 drivers' schools. Includes harness pads. Were $270 new, asking $125. - 15 mm H&R Spacers. Hubcentric, with centering bore. Were $95 new from Steve D. @ Ultimate Garage, used only 600 miles (street only) (am using 10 mm instead). Asking $75. All prices include shipping. Cert check or MO only. If anyone's interested please e-mail me privately at dinah_g_deroller@redcom.com. Thanks, Dinah
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#2. Re: [E36M3] Sway bars - from Matt Henson
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Date: Mon, 13 Nov 2000 10:56:41 -0800 (PST) From: Matt Henson <hensonator@yahoo.com> Subject: Re: [E36M3] Sway bars The Eibach bars are adjustable. There's more to sway bar rate than just bar thickness. You also have to consider the bar material and arm length. You can adjust the Eibach bar to reduce understeer and probably even dial in oversteer. Also, I've never seen a Dinan bar but I was under the impression that they were the same as the Eibachs (26/24). Maybe it was a different brand.. -Matt --- "DiVincenti, A.J." <ADiVin@lsuhsc.edu> wrote: > Date: Mon, 13 Nov 2000 09:53:58 -0600 > From: "DiVincenti, A.J." <ADiVin@lsuhsc.edu> > Subject: Sway bars > > Lowell commented that, "Smaller front/larger rear > will greatly reduce > understeer." So do I understand that the Eibach > bars 26/24 will not greatly > reduce understeer. They will reduce body roll, but > not address understear > since the front bar is larger than the rear? > > aj > > > > >>>> > The one item I don't know about is the front sway > bar. I think the '96+ > front sway bar attaches differently and won't fit on > a '95 M3. Somebody > else > will have to answer this one. But I do know that > Dinan has a different > philosophy on sway bars. Everybody else enlarges > both the front and rear > sway bars. Dinan actually makes the front sway bar > SMALLER and make the > rear > bar larger than stock. Yep! I'm pretty sure of > this. This is not as bad > as > it sounds. Smaller front/larger rear will greatly > reduce understeer. This > is the desired result so Dinan may have the best > combination? > > > > A.J. > 95 > > > ************************************************************* > List Commands > UNSUBSCRIBE - (in subject line) unsubscribes you > from the mailing list. > ************************************************************* > > __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Yahoo! Calendar - Get organized for the holidays! http://calendar.yahoo.com/
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#3. Re: [E36M3] Fuel Filter - from Jim.Millet@intermec.com
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Date: Mon, 13 Nov 2000 11:08:39 -0800 From: <Jim.Millet@intermec.com> Subject: Re: [E36M3] Fuel Filter <<There is a bracket holding it in, and I've not figured out how to remove it -- the bracket has a hydraulic line (I think) on one side, and I wasn't comfortable forcing everything apart. As usual, the Bentley manual's write-up on the fuel filter is worthless and provides no guidance. Any suggestions?>> As usual, Ron Stygar has addressed this subject: http://www.unofficialbmw.com/e36/engine/e36_fuel_filter_replacement.html It's a good idea to replace the two short pieces of rubber hose on either end of the filter as well as the hose clamps. Your friendly BMW dealer sells the hose in one meter lengths; enough to do at least nine fuel filter changes. I don't have any hose pinchers so I simply disconnected the rear hose closest to the fuel pump first and got out of the way of the gasoline pouring out into the drain pan (God forbid that any gasoline fall onto the bare earth). Jim Millet 1995 M3, Hellrot, Sharked and more.
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#4. Re: [E36M3] Sway bars - from Bora Akyol
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Date: Mon, 13 Nov 2000 11:48:02 -0800 From: Bora Akyol <akyol@pluris.com> Subject: Re: [E36M3] Sway bars No Dinan's are 22mm both front and rear, but the suspension does come with adjustable Konis that you can use to firm up the car a bit. Bora Matt Henson wrote: > Date: Mon, 13 Nov 2000 10:56:41 -0800 (PST) > From: Matt Henson <hensonator@yahoo.com> > Subject: Re: [E36M3] Sway bars > > The Eibach bars are adjustable. There's more to sway > bar rate than just bar thickness. You also have to > consider the bar material and arm length. You can > adjust the Eibach bar to reduce understeer and > probably even dial in oversteer. > > Also, I've never seen a Dinan bar but I was under the > impression that they were the same as the Eibachs > (26/24). Maybe it was a different brand.. > -Matt > > --- "DiVincenti, A.J." <ADiVin@lsuhsc.edu> wrote: > > Date: Mon, 13 Nov 2000 09:53:58 -0600 > > From: "DiVincenti, A.J." <ADiVin@lsuhsc.edu> > > Subject: Sway bars > > > > Lowell commented that, "Smaller front/larger rear > > will greatly reduce > > understeer." So do I understand that the Eibach > > bars 26/24 will not greatly > > reduce understeer. They will reduce body roll, but > > not address understear > > since the front bar is larger than the rear? > > > > aj > > > > > > > > >>>> > > The one item I don't know about is the front sway > > bar. I think the '96+ > > front sway bar attaches differently and won't fit on > > a '95 M3. Somebody > > else > > will have to answer this one. But I do know that > > Dinan has a different > > philosophy on sway bars. Everybody else enlarges > > both the front and rear > > sway bars. Dinan actually makes the front sway bar > > SMALLER and make the > > rear > > bar larger than stock. Yep! I'm pretty sure of > > this. This is not as bad > > as > > it sounds. Smaller front/larger rear will greatly > > reduce understeer. This > > is the desired result so Dinan may have the best > > combination? > > > > > > > > A.J. > > 95 > > > > > > > ************************************************************* > > List Commands > > UNSUBSCRIBE - (in subject line) unsubscribes you > > from the mailing list. > > > ************************************************************* > > > > > > __________________________________________________ > Do You Yahoo!? > Yahoo! Calendar - Get organized for the holidays! > http://calendar.yahoo.com/ > > ************************************************************* > List Commands > UNSUBSCRIBE - (in subject line) unsubscribes you from the mailing list. > *************************************************************
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#5. Re: [E36M3] Sway bars - from Ben Liaw
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Date: Mon, 13 Nov 2000 14:50:19 -0500 From: "Ben Liaw" <ben@shortshifter.com> Subject: Re: [E36M3] Sway bars > Also, I've never seen a Dinan bar but I was under the > impression that they were the same as the Eibachs > (26/24). Maybe it was a different brand.. > -Matt actually, the dinan bars are actually 7/8" diameters front and rear (22.225). ben ------------------------------------------- ben liaw - ben@shortshifter.com http://www.uucmotorwerks.com
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#6. Re: [E36M3] Fuel Filter - from Rich Gay
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Date: Mon, 13 Nov 2000 13:53:45 -0600 From: "Rich Gay" <rich_gay@linbeck.com> Subject: Re: [E36M3] Fuel Filter on 11/13/00 1:35 PM, Jim.Millet@intermec.com at Jim.Millet@intermec.com wrote: > <<There is a bracket holding it in, and I've not figured out how to remove > it > -- the bracket has a hydraulic line (I think) on one side, and I wasn't > comfortable forcing everything apart. > As usual, the Bentley manual's write-up on the fuel filter is worthless and > provides no guidance. > Any suggestions?>> > > As usual, Ron Stygar has addressed this subject: > http://www.unofficialbmw.com/e36/engine/e36_fuel_filter_replacement.html > It's a good idea to replace the two short pieces of rubber hose on either > end of the filter as well as the hose clamps. Your friendly BMW dealer > sells the hose in one meter lengths; enough to do at least nine fuel filter > changes. I don't have any hose pinchers so I simply disconnected the rear > hose closest to the fuel pump first and got out of the way of the gasoline > pouring out into the drain pan (God forbid that any gasoline fall onto the > bare earth). Thanks, I'd not been able to find this when I'd looked on Ron's site last week. But, it doesn't really resolve my question: the clamp which secures the fuel filter has a single fastener one one side, and it has two brackets, bent, in slots on the other side. There is also a run of what appears to be a hydraulic line (brakes?) snapped in on the side of the braket (this is clearly visible in the photo on the Web page you referenced above. When I removed the fastener, I was unable to remove the bracket, even after unsnapping the hydraulic line from the plastic retainer. I'm not sure if the proper procedure is to just loosen the clamp and slide the filter out (and the new filter slide in), or if I should remove the bracket so the filter can drop out. I didn't want to just force it and see what happened, since it is the fuel system, and fuel is a bit flammable :) - Rich
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#7. funky HVAC smell - from Alain van der Heide
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Date: Mon, 13 Nov 2000 13:24:45 -0700 From: "Alain van der Heide" <ajvdh@attglobal.net> Subject: funky HVAC smell The fambly and I were out Saturday night, and just before pulling into the garage we stopped at the mailbox. I picked up the mail, leaving the car running. As I pulled into the garage, we noticed a burning smell coming from the heater vents. I turned off the engine, and popped the hood. No smell from under there, no smell from outside the car. So, the next day, I drive the car around the neighborhood, cell phone in one hand, fire extinguisher in the other (figuratively), and the smell comes back at first (but not as strong), and then fades. That's been the pattern since. I smell it when I first start the car, then it fades. It's a strange smell. It's got a little of that "burning insulation" odor, but it's really closer to tobacco (none of us smoke). The fan blower works on all speeds. Any ideas? Is the blower or its speed control dying? Or did I suck some organic stuff into the HVAC system? Oh yeah, the car's a '95 M3 with the "two knob" dual zone climate control.
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#8. re: Sway bars - from Ron Katona
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Date: Mon, 13 Nov 2000 15:40:45 -0500 From: Ron Katona <rkatona@bellatlantic.net> Subject: re: Sway bars DiVincenti, A.J wrote: > Lowell commented that, "Smaller front/larger rear will greatly reduce > understeer." So do I understand that the Eibach bars 26/24 will not greatly > reduce understeer. They will reduce body roll, but not address understear > since the front bar is larger than the rear? Technically... yes. Realistically... maybe. Here's the thing: it all depends on how the rest of the car is set up. There's no simple "one size fits all" answer. Some cars respond poorly to body roll because of adverse changes in camber that occur as the suspension loads or unloads. There's also roll centers and other suspension esoterica that are effected by body roll. In cases where these effects are adverse to getting the tires to grip the road, a stiffer roll bar can do a great deal to increase grip at that end. On the other hand, a suspension with ideal geometry will maintain a perfect camber curve and not require stiff sway bars. In fact, the perfect suspension geometry with the perfect spring and shock rates would not require sway bars _at all_... other than to fine tune the balance of the car in response to changing fuel loads, tire wear, etc. In that case, the end of the car with less grip needs less sway bar stiffness. Somewhere in between perfection and a poorly designed suspension is your BMW. If you look at a stock M3, the general consensus is that a stiffer front sway bar will increase grip at the front due to limiting body roll and the associated ill effects thereof. In SCCA Solo-II stock classes, springs are restricted, but front sway bars are not. Some competitors therefore go to massive front sway bars since it's one of two major (shocks being the other) legal changes they can make to the suspension. By the book, this decreases the weight transfer to the outside tire and therefore adds understeer. In practice, it aids turn in and keeps the contact patch flat on the pavement thus increasing grip and limiting understeer. The downside is that it makes the independent front suspension less "independent" over single wheel bumps. The car won't feel as supple and connected to the road in real world conditions of potholes and bad pavement. The upside is that you can increase cornering grip without going to stiff springs which increase ride harshness. Looking at the stock M3, the spring rates a are much more stiff in the rear than the front. After adjusting for the relative motion ratios of the front and rear suspension, you still get wheel rates about 50% higher in the rear than the front. That should make an oversteering car. So why do M3s and all E36s understeer? My humble opinion is that the rear suspension is a newer design which has a better camber curve than the front. Static front camber is also limited to modest values in the E36 from the factory and is not adjustable. What happens in a corner is that the rear contact patch is just better maintained than the front which causes the car to push. In Dinan's case they must feel that their spring rates and camber from their camber plates offsets the factory understeer. They can therefore use a more ideal approach to sway bar sizes. Frankly, it's a more advance approach requiring a lot more testing and engineering to get all the parts working together just right. That's probably some of the reason their prices are so high. There's a downside of increasing the rear sway bar stiffness though. It makes it hard to put power down coming out of a corner since the inside rear wheel will tend to lift from the pavement and spin. A good LSD (M3s are only 25%) is a necessity here. Another approach is just to go to extremely stiff springs which will limit roll and eliminate the changes in camber. Autocrossers also like the stiff springs because they make the car transition much better - a key in autocross. I run 500# springs with the stock sway bars, but lots of front camber to get the car neutral. So, to make a loooong story short... You have to decide what you're going to change other than sway bars and how you want to use the car before you can determine what the best sway bar setup will be for your car - there's no true rule of thumb that will work in all situations. Street driving with no other changes will benefit most from a larger front bar. Track or autocross may or may not benefit depending on what else you're willing to change. No matter what, there's _always_ a compromise and even the "no downside" sway bar swap has downsides in reality. -- Ron Katona
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#9. Re: [E36M3] HP to Rotating Weight Question?? - from Gerry Miranda
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Date: Mon, 13 Nov 2000 13:28:22 -0800 (PST) From: Gerry Miranda <gerry_miranda@yahoo.com> Subject: Re: [E36M3] HP to Rotating Weight Question?? I see these on wheel weight, but lets not ignore tire weight. They have more rotational inertia since they are on the outer circumference. I was surprise to see that my MXX3 weigh 4 lbs. mre than the pirelli snows of the same size. The Kumho out weight the A032R by just as much. People changing to newer tires never consider this. Even if it's the same tire, a worn out one weights considerably less than a fully treaded one. I weighed my spare MXX3 compared to the worn out fromnt MXX3 and saw a large difference. If you dont look at tire weight, all that money used to buy lightweight wheels goes down the tubes.... G --- Rob Hatrak <Hatrak@ix.netcom.com> wrote: > Date: Mon, 13 Nov 2000 09:31:44 -0800 > From: "Rob Hatrak" <Hatrak@ix.netcom.com> > Subject: Re: [E36M3] HP to Rotating Weight > Question?? > > FWIW - When I switched from the factory Contour > wheels to 17x8 BBS RC > wheels, I could really feel a difference. The car > seemed to accelerate a > bit easier. The difference surprised me so much > that I mounted the factory > wheels back on to see if I was imagining things. > Nope. The car felt a > touch more "sluggish" with the heavy shoes. I've > been very happy with the > wheel purchase ever since. > > Rob > > > ************************************************************* > List Commands > UNSUBSCRIBE - (in subject line) unsubscribes you > from the mailing list. > ************************************************************* > > ===== Gerry 97 M3/4 __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Yahoo! Calendar - Get organized for the holidays! http://calendar.yahoo.com/
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#10. how heavy is a stock hood from the dealer.. - from ClassiGuy3@aol.com
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Date: Mon, 13 Nov 2000 17:16:01 EST From: ClassiGuy3@aol.com Subject: how heavy is a stock hood from the dealer.. wanted t oknow because im thinking on installing a carbon fiber on for 800 bucks..only weighs 11 lbs!! Leo 95m3
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#11. [E36M3] E36M3 - from ENF
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Date: Mon, 13 Nov 2000 18:22:56 -0500 From: "ENF" <enf@iglou.com> Subject: [E36M3] E36M3 Hello all, Everyone has been so helpful with all of these basic newbie questions I've had that I decided I should go to the well yet again. Driving school has been the next suggestion that has been made rather than any additional mods to my car. It sounds reasonable at the very least logical. The question is: Where do I find a school in my area. I live in Louisville, Ky. 2 hrs from Indy, 1 1/2 hrs from Cincy. OH. Is there anything in my area or any of these? What kind of price range? Anything I should "Go For" or "Stay Away" from? Do I have to block a weekend to do this? Etc. Etc. Thanks in advance, Ed Frank 97M3/4