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#1. Re: painting calipers - from DrDan976@aol.com
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Date: Wed, 24 Jan 2001 18:12:54 EST From: DrDan976@aol.com Subject: Re: painting calipers The way I did it... Take off calipers. Sandblast the crap off. Take them apart, piston and seals. Powdercoat them red. Reassemble. Put calipers back on. Be careful with the brake fluid, it can eat away a bit at the powercoat. Now my calipers look like Mini-me's version of the P-car brakes (w/o the logo of course). Thanks to Jim Powell for the help. Daniel Wang 95 M3 with bigger (332mm)red brakes coming soon.
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#2. RE:Sway bars. Anyone tried more than one brand? - from Joe Tan
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Date: Wed, 24 Jan 2001 15:30:57 -0800 (PST) From: Joe Tan <mailjtan@yahoo.com> Subject: RE:Sway bars. Anyone tried more than one brand? I'd recommend the Eibach instead of the RD. The RD bars are smaller, they were originally designed for the regular 3 series. The Eibach have bigger bars which suits the M3 better. Joe. ----------- Has anyone had more than one aftermarket brand of sway bar on their car? I've been following all the posts on bars over the past few months and everyone seems to be happy with the bars no matter what brand they have, yet most offer different diameters and therefore different handling characteristics. Has anyone tried different brands back-to-back? I'm mostly concerened with Eibach vs. RD Sport. Thanks, Rob __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Yahoo! Auctions - Buy the things you want at great prices. http://auctions.yahoo.com/
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#3. Re: painting calipers - from Carguymb@aol.com
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Date: Wed, 24 Jan 2001 19:16:51 EST From: Carguymb@aol.com Subject: Re: painting calipers Even powder coating may not be the answer. Standard polyester-based powder flows out around 400 degrees (F), (+/- 50 degrees) when it's baked. We were looking into marketing our powder coating system for brake calipers when I worked at Eastwood, but based on the temperatures my brakes reached at Watkins Glen decided we couldn't guarantee the longevity of the coating. For a street-only car, you'll probably be ok though. Eastwood and others (Harbor Freight, for example), offer DIY powder coating guns for around $150. All you need is a compressed air source, and a dedicated oven (even a toaster oven) for baking the powder. Results are professional grade. There are lots of colours to choose from, and a full range of accessories. Best of all, once you've done your calipers, or whatever, you have a new toy to play with, and all sorts of other parts you can powder coat, all for the price of one professional job. BTW, there is also a school of thought that says you shouldn't paint calipers anyway, at least on a track car, since it holds in heat, promoting fade and seal failure. HTH, Martin Bullen '95 M3 '97 Z3 2.8 In a message dated 1/24/01 6:07:15 PM, e36m3@bmw-m.net writes: >Date: Wed, 24 Jan 2001 12:58:10 -0500 >From: "Bryan Watts" <wattba02@wfu.edu> >Subject: Re: painting calipers > >Mark wrote: >> The Porsche rotors almost look enameled. That's the look I want. > >So far, none of the paints I have seen are shiny, and none of them stand >up >to racing heat at the track. > >I think the best bet is to powdercoat. If is more durable, more protective, >and gives the glossy shine you are looking for. If I had to take a guess, >I >would assume that the P-Car calipers come from factory powder coated. >I >assume powdercoating will stand up to heat... anyone know? > >I don't think it is too expensive either. I had my entire rollbar in my >street car powdercoated grey to match my interior...looks great and cost >less than $100. > >-Bryan Watts >'95 M3 >'92 325is KP/ITS
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#4. Re: painting calipers - from Kin Fong
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Date: Wed, 24 Jan 2001 18:20:21 -0500 From: "Kin Fong" <kinfong@erols.com> Subject: Re: painting calipers =20 Bryan wrote: I assume powder coating will stand up to heat... anyone know? Form my memory the powercoat can stand up only to 475 degree, then it will turn a little brownish color. =20 Kin Fong 97///M3 NJ Chapter
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#5. RE: Premature Leather Wear - from Dennis Bowcut
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Date: Wed, 24 Jan 2001 18:46:01 -0800 (PST) From: Dennis Bowcut <dbowcut@yahoo.com> Subject: RE: Premature Leather Wear Just a data point: I've been using Lexol for the last couple years on my '97/4 with no noticeable negatives--ie. no stitching issues or cracking. My car is garaged at home as well as at work, so not too much direct CA sun or weather on the black cowstuff. Plus, I'm a lightweight so not too much stitch stretching, and passengers usually only ride with me once ;-) Note that I use the cleaner sparingly--about 1-4x, and the conditioner does seem to wane away rather quickly. Last year there were a couple threads on various leather treatments, products, chemical compositions, etc... Now that I'm all paranoid about my pretty though, I guess I'll try the costlier stuff--the car ain't getting any younger, it just makes me feel that way. Dennis > Date: Wed, 24 Jan 2001 12:33:49 EST > From: WCRoswell@aol.com > Subject: Premature Leather Wear > > Has anyone had premature leather wear? If so have > you gotten any remedy from > BMW? __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Yahoo! Auctions - Buy the things you want at great prices. http://auctions.yahoo.com/
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#6. E36M3 stock parts upgrade? - from Michael Turgeon
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Date: Wed, 24 Jan 2001 18:50:49 -0800 (PST) From: Michael Turgeon <turgeon1@yahoo.com> Subject: E36M3 stock parts upgrade? Hi Gruppe! Has anyone investigated upgrading the brakes on the e36m3 using stock bmw parts? Specifically, I was thinking of the e34m5 nurburgring package. Since the brakes on this car were lifted off the e34m5 would the larger dual piston nurbrugring calipers and disc bolt right up, or was a different knuckle or spindle used for that rare package? Also, can the rears be upgraded to the 5401S rear brakes? Any ideas Rob L.? Thanks, Mike Turgeon BMW CCA #166866 95 M3 Avus __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Yahoo! Auctions - Buy the things you want at great prices. http://auctions.yahoo.com/
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#7. Re: [uuc] E36M3 stock parts upgrade? - from Rob Levinson * UUC Motorwerks
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Date: Wed, 24 Jan 2001 22:20:16 -0500 From: Rob Levinson * UUC Motorwerks <rob@shortshifter.com> Subject: Re: [uuc] E36M3 stock parts upgrade? Good question! Without taking any comparative measurements (bring your car on over and we'll lift your M3 and my M5), I would bet that the carrier is the issue. Rotor offset (and therefore caliper positioning) is the big difference. The 345mm '95 Euro M5 brakes (technically not the Nurburgring package which is just the suspension, the brakes were standard) use a different carrier for which no E36-compatible offset unit exists and the carrier offset is "the other way" - an adapter would not be possible. Even if the offset were close enough, the mounting holes would probably not line up and an adapter would be impossible. Due to the convolutions of the carrier, it is a cast part (machining would be very complex and expensive), and setting up a casting is, once again, a costly proposition. You would still need custom rotor hats. Besides, as good as the '95 E34 M5 brakes are, they are very expensive (close to $3K) and superior aftermarket brakes that fit the E36 are available at a lower cost. - Rob > From: Michael Turgeon <turgeon1@yahoo.com> >Subject: [uuc] E36M3 stock parts upgrade? > Hi Gruppe! Has anyone investigated upgrading the brakes on the e36m3 > using stock bmw parts? Specifically, I was thinking of the e34m5 nurburgring > package. Since the brakes on this car were lifted off the e34m5 would the > larger dual piston nurbrugring calipers and disc bolt right up, or was a > different knuckle or spindle used for that rare package? Also, can the rears > be upgraded to the 5401S rear brakes? > Any ideas Rob L.? >Mike Turgeon BMW CCA > #166866 95 M3 Avus
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#8. Premature Leather Wear & Lexol - from Tom Tice
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Date: Wed, 24 Jan 2001 22:46:07 -0500 From: "Tom Tice" <tetice@triad.rr.com> Subject: Premature Leather Wear & Lexol On the other hand, I used Lexol regularly (but not obsessively) on my previous 325iS which I owned from day one. When I sold it, it was 10 years old, had 115K miles and the black leather looked almost like new. I didn't even have the usual wear on the driver's seat side bolsters. Some of that was due to the fact that I was very careful not to overly stress the bolsters getting in and out of the car. I have used Lexol on all of the BMW's that I have owned (that had leather) and it has served me well. Tom Tice '98 M3/4 '99 540i/6 Date: Wed, 24 Jan 2001 09:59:08 -0800 (PST) From: Chester Wong <chester_p_wong@yahoo.com> Subject: Re: [E36M3] Premature Leather Wear > Has anyone had premature leather wear? If so have you gotten any remedy from > BMW? > > I have a 98 M3 4 door sedan 5-speed with 22,000 miles. The leather is spider > > cracking bad on the drivers seat and passenger (don't usually have passengers > > in the back) I hve cleaned and treated the leather with Lexol. First, you have to stop using Lexol. It's been said that the lanolin in it will ruin the stitching. Also, the Lexol stuff is very watery. Try something from Leather Master (http://www.leathercaremaster.com/product/kit1.html) or Leatherique (http://www.leatherique.com), which is much more thick and appears to feed the leather better. When you say spider cracking, do you mean that you have the crease marks or are the crease marks cracking? If the dealer doesn't do anything about it under warranty, you can also consider removing the coloring and reshooting new coloring. It's usually the color layer that cracks...or if you sweat a lot... HTH, Chester ===== __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Yahoo! Auctions - Buy the things you want at great prices. http://auctions.yahoo.com/ ************************************************************* List Commands UNSUBSCRIBE - (in subject line) unsubscribes you from the mailing list. DIR - sends a listing of files available in the list's GET directory. GET filename1.ext,filename2.ext - sends the requested file(s). To issue a command/request to the server: Send a message with the command you wish executed as the subject of the message. *************************************************************
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#9. Re: [E36M3] Shock life - from Chris Teague
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Date: Wed, 24 Jan 2001 20:06:19 -0800 From: "Chris Teague" <cteague@home.com> Subject: Re: [E36M3] Shock life Matt, I would think it would be better to adjust roll stiffness with bars/springs, but I know in my case, I run SCCA stock class rules for AutoX, and they do not allow any spring changes, or a rear sway bar change. So shock changes are the next best thing to fit into the rules for me. For others, shock changes may be a quick at the track solution to dial the car in. That's my $0.02. Chris Teague 97 M3/4 ----- Original Message ----- From: "Matt Henson" <hensonator@yahoo.com> To: "E36M3" <e36m3@bmw-m.net> Sent: Tuesday, January 23, 2001 10:54 AM Subject: Re: [E36M3] Shock life > Date: Tue, 23 Jan 2001 10:44:00 -0800 (PST) > From: Matt Henson <hensonator@yahoo.com> > Subject: Re: [E36M3] Shock life > > I have a question.. what does shock valving have to do > with weight transfer? Weight transfer is a function > of acceleration and the COG. The shocks can affect > body roll. And there is a little weight transfer > associated with the roll but it's minimal. I'm > guessing that it comes down to F/R roll stiffness > ratios. The end with the most stiffness will break > loose first. > > If you're getting understeer when exiting turns then > this is becuase the weight has transferred to the > rear. You can adjust the roll stiffnesses but isn't > is more appropriate to do this with bars/springs than > shocks? Or is the idea that by adjusting the front > rebound/rear bump that you can effectivly adjust the > transient roll stiffness of each end in a way that > affects accelerating from a corner rather than under > all conditions? It's very difficult to have a car > that's neutral under both braking and accelerating > since weight will transfer. > > Any insight would be appreciated :-) > -Matt > > --- Chris Teague <cteague@home.com> wrote: > > Date: Tue, 23 Jan 2001 09:05:21 -0800 > > From: "Chris Teague" <cteague@home.com> > > Subject: Re: [E36M3] Shock life > > > > Eric, > > > > If you want to make your car oversteer more > > (understeer less), > > you will want to *stiffen* the rear shocks, or > > soften the front > > shocks. Increasing the rebound adjustment on the > > shock adds > > to the weight transfer at that end of the car. > > Running stiffer > > springs or swaybars also does the same thing. > > > > FWW, I run my Koni SA full stiff on the rear, since > > I autocross > > heavily. It's a little stiff on the street, but > > still not too bad. > > > > Chris Teague > > 97 M3/4 > > > > ----- Original Message ----- > > From: <Eric.C.Dotson@travelers.com> > > To: "E36M3" <e36m3@bmw-m.net> > > Sent: Tuesday, January 23, 2001 5:10 AM > > Subject: Re: [E36M3] Shock life > > > > > > > But I still don't have the Konis adjusted where > > > I want. I've got them at 3/4 front and rear - the > > car turns in ok, but > > > understeers as I accellerate out of the turn. I > > think I need to bite the > > bullet > > > and remove the rears and soften them up a bit. > > Any tips from you racer > > types? > > > > > > Eric > > > 95 M3 > > > 00 Passat Wagon > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > ************************************************************* > > List Commands > > UNSUBSCRIBE - (in subject line) unsubscribes you > > from the mailing list. > > DIR - sends a listing of files available in the > > list's GET directory. > > GET filename1.ext,filename2.ext - sends the > > requested file(s). > > > > To issue a command/request to the server: > > Send a message with the command you wish executed as > > the > > subject of the message. > > > ************************************************************* > > > > > > > __________________________________________________ > Do You Yahoo!? > Yahoo! Auctions - Buy the things you want at great prices. > http://auctions.yahoo.com/ > > > ************************************************************* > List Commands > UNSUBSCRIBE - (in subject line) unsubscribes you from the mailing list. > DIR - sends a listing of files available in the list's GET directory. > GET filename1.ext,filename2.ext - sends the requested file(s). > > To issue a command/request to the server: > Send a message with the command you wish executed as the > subject of the message. > ************************************************************* > > >
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#10. Re: Shock Life - from WNiaura@aol.com
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Date: Wed, 24 Jan 2001 23:30:02 EST From: WNiaura@aol.com Subject: Re: Shock Life Dampers do not affect the degree of weight transfer, they affect the rate of transfer ... hence the damper's ability to be used as a tuning aid for transient (i.e. corner entry) maneuvers. Degree of weight transfer during cornering is affected by the vehicle's weight, CG height, track, and cornering force (g's). Bill Niaura '95 M3 << Date: Tue, 23 Jan 2001 10:44:00 -0800 (PST) From: Matt Henson <hensonator@yahoo.com> Subject: Re: [E36M3] Shock life I have a question.. what does shock valving have to do with weight transfer? >>>