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#1. 95 tires/wheels - from Jonathan Evans
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Date: Tue, 13 Feb 2001 10:22:09 -0500 From: "Jonathan Evans" <jonathanevans@hotmail.com> Subject: 95 tires/wheels except the LTW and the LTW wheel option that had the 5 spokers with 7.5 front, 8.5 rear and still had 235/40's all around. Jonathan 95 with staggered stock wheels >>95 m3>Didn't 95 M3s like mine come from the factory with 235/40s? >yes. 235/40 on 17/7.7 inch rims all around. and I never changed sizes. even for the track.
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#2. RE:Does toe affect traction? - from Jonathan Caldito
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Date: Tue, 13 Feb 2001 10:32:26 -0500 From: "Jonathan Caldito" <jonnym3@hotmail.com> Subject: RE: <Alignment> Does toe affect traction? Rob, To try and answer your questions: Q1:On the rear of an E36 if you add a bit of toe-in the car tends to oversteer less and *maybe* not turn in as quickly. Is this because we have reduced the traction on that axle or have we just changed the turn-in charcteristics?. A1: I wouldn't say it would reduce traction but the turn-in characteristics have because of the change of toe angles during a turn and may also depend on the condition the of the rear lower control arm bushings as well. Q1: On the front of the car if we add toe-in it is said to make the car more stable at high speeds, but if we reduce the toe to ZERO or even adjust for toe-out the car turns in much better. This is a bit easier to understand on the front axle but does it change the under/oversteer charcteristics of the car or...? A1: Most people don't know about this but BMWs come from the factory with little toe-in on both the front and rear axles. This will allow the wheel to splay out when rolling to achieve a zero running toe. I accidently zeroed out my front end and now the inside of my tires have worn a lot faster than the middle and outside. I was running toe-out whenever I drove. I proper alignement, at least close to factory specs is recommended so that the front tires won't srub when driving through the corners. If anything, sway bar and tire pressure tuning is better then messing around with alignment specs. Anything more than toe-in spec in the rear will cause premature wear on the outside of the tire. Hope this helps. Jon _________________________________________________________________ Get your FREE download of MSN Explorer at http://explorer.msn.com
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#3. Re: [E36M3] Wide tires and contact patch size? - from Steve Hazard
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Date: Tue, 13 Feb 2001 10:39:30 -0500 From: Steve Hazard <SHazard@nhboston.com> Subject: Re: [E36M3] Wide tires and contact patch size? Tire construction, rim width, Camber changes, weight changes from side, to side and from front to rear all effect the shape and size of the Contact patch. R Compound tires are of course not designed for street use and therefore the tire can be designed for minimum deformation. IE sidewall flex under load....Every suspension platform will reach the law of diminishing returns regarding tire width....Bob Tunnell realized this with extensive testing. I believe Mark Sipe played around with larger tires last year and also found out that wider at some point is not always better :-)...Of course in the Autocross environment heat cycling is VERY IMPORTANT.....There is the trade off of running a wider tire that takes longer to heat up vs a narrower tire that heat cycles sooner......... As Sean stated a wider lower profile tire will change the Shape of the contact patch, but not the total area of the patch....The only way to change the size/area of a contact patch is tire pressure, and the amount of weight that tire supports.... What is very important is to minimize changes in the shape/size of the contact patch.... Someone else can delve into that......There are so many variables involved with trying to maintain a CONSISTENT contact patch, Id rather not burn the brain cells, or hen peck on my keyboard trying to list them all ... Regards, Steve Sean posted> no no no. wider tires DO help with traction. (in the dry) but it's not because of a larger contact patch. it's because that a short wide contact patch is good for dry traction. it has to do with pretty complex stuff like how the tire deforms as it rolls, as it bends due to cornering forces and all that "way too much physics for a family list" kinda stuff. but it's NOT becuase there's more rubber touching the ground. the area of the contact patch is constant. if you get tires that are twice as wide you get a contact patch that's half as long. notice that i said "in the dry" though. in standing water or snow, a long narrow contact patch is better for traction. (mostly for ability to get water out from under the tire) i didn't mean to imply that wider tires aren't good for traction. they are. and the wider the better. as long as you stay on dry pavement. **
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#4. Re: E36 M3 Euro 6-speed gearbox - from Neil Maller
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Date: Tue, 13 Feb 2001 11:01:45 -0500 From: Neil Maller <neil.maller@gte.net> Subject: Re: E36 M3 Euro 6-speed gearbox on 2/13/01 "Wayne Miller" <m3@waynemiller.com> wrote: > If anyone is interested, I have the other 6 speed that came over in the same > box and mine is being installed (by Autosport Performance) at the end of > this week or sometime next week so I will give a full report. I think I know - correct me if wrong - that the first 5 ratios of the Euro 6 speed box are similar to the US 5 speed, with 6th being an overdrive. Are you going to keep the same final drive (more relaxed cruising) or go to a shorter ratio (improved acceleration)? Neil - Enquiring minds want to know 96 M3
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#5. ASC Question - from Jeff Kumler
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Date: Tue, 13 Feb 2001 10:21:41 -0600 From: "Jeff Kumler" <jdkumler@comdisco.com> Subject: ASC Question The M3 has been sitting in the garage more or less since mid December, due to Chicago weather. Thanks to comparatively nice weather lately I've driven it the last 2 days. I just noticed today that the ASC button in my '96 looks somewhat translucent. Don't know why I never noticed this before. And now for the question; Is this button supposed to be lit at any time? Not the dash indicator, the button. Jeff BMWCCA "Windy City Chapter" '96 M3 - IL "M PWRD 3", Conforti intake, Sharked, B&B, UUC STB & CS, Skaggs HT Pedals, X-Brace. Waiting for spring to install JTD Underpanel, JTD ODB and VDO gauge kit. '94 Izusu Trooper - Bone stock and usually dirty
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#6. [E36M3] Re: E36 M3 Euro 6-speed gearbox - from Wayne Miller
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Date: Tue, 13 Feb 2001 11:24:59 -0500 From: "Wayne Miller" <m3@waynemiller.com> Subject: [E36M3] Re: E36 M3 Euro 6-speed gearbox Neil is correct - the first 5 speeds in the 6 speed are just about the same as the gears in the 5 speed. The 6th is normally an overdrive but I decided that I would rather have better acceleration so I am also going with a 3.73 ring & pinion (compared to a 3.15 in the 1995, 3.23 in the 96+ cars and 3.38 in the automatics). I am also putting in a lightweight flywheel at the same time. The way that timing is working out, I may do the flywheel and 6 speed first and then add the 3.73 soon after (when it comes back from being rebuilt). I will admit that while driving on the highway recently, maybe an overdrive isn't such a bad idea but I am willing to try it out. If I really don't like it, I may go for a 3.46. -Wayne
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#7. fix for broken sway bar brackets. - from David Forster
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Date: Tue, 13 Feb 2001 09:20:54 -0800 From: David Forster <df@prolifixmedical.com> Subject: fix for broken sway bar brackets. I have been one of the listers with an ongoing problem with both the front and rear sway bar brackets breaking on my '98 ///M3 cab. I have installed what I believe to be a cure for the front bracket breakage. I believe the cause of the problem is that most sway bar bushings do not retain grease very well. The Racing Dynamics bushings will eventually squeeze out any grease that is put in them during installation. Any bar that has a polyurethane "squeak" does not have enough grease. For these bars to work properly and predictably the bar must be free to twist within the bushing, and I mean free. Any friction adds to the torsional stiffness of the bar and will imbalance the front and rear. The squeaky bushings are storing and releasing torsional loads in an unpredictable manner during cornering or bumps on one wheel. The cure for the front: Energy Suspension makes a bracket and bushing that fits the E36 ///M3. Part number is 9-5162-G. It has internal grooves that retain the grease, it is greasable, and is made of a graphite loaded polyurethane...did I mention it is greasable? I am very impressed with the product and happy with the performance. I noticed an immediate improvement in the handling of the car. These are distributed by Suspension Restoration @ http://www.suspension.com/. The cost for the front bushings and brackets was $16.00. These bolt right in, however I modified the foot print of mine at my office to match the stock bracket footprint prior to installation. I am 99.99% sure this was not required, but took all of 5 minutes on the band saw. I have broken the rear mounts as well...and am only partially finished with the fix for the rear. I have welded in the Turner motorsports reinforcing brackets. A bit of APITA for the home mechanic working with no lift, only jack stands. They are quite an improvement, but would be much better with a greasable bushing. I have not confirmed if any of the energy suspension bushings will fit. The rear bracket on the M3 mounts a little differently than many others. Energy suspension does have the right bushing diameter, but I am not sure about brackets. I will keep the list posted. Please do not shoot the messenger on this tip. I was told by someone at Energy Suspension that the critical thing most bushings need is a grease retention feature. He said that most bushings could be greatly improved by cutting a groove(s) in your existing bushing with either a thread tap, dremel tool, soldering iron, or what ever else you can think of. This is not my idea, but I do think it is likely to be a great improvement. Not as nice as greasable though. One last tip for those of you who have not experienced problems with aftermarket brackets and bars yet. The rear mounting bracket on the M3 is a very weak design and IMHO will break someday. I recommend reinforcing the rear brackets before they break. Thanks folks. Dave
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#8. Re: [E36M3]Does "toe" affect traction? - from Sean Hester
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Date: Tue, 13 Feb 2001 11:01:43 -0800 From: "Sean Hester" <seanh_race@hotmail.com> Subject: Re: [E36M3] <Alignment> Does "toe" affect traction? using toe to change oversteer and understeer (while it will work (kinda)) is NOT the thing to do. all you're doing by changing toe is making your tires work not at 100%. think about it. with zero toe (wheels straight ahead) when you turn 1 degree to the left, what's happenning? both wheels are 1 degree to the left. both are pointing in the direction the car is moving. so the car turns left. what if you have 1 degree of toe in on each wheel? well, when you turn 1 degree left, one tire is 2 degrees left and the other is pointing straight ahead. it hasn't begun to turn left yet. this is BAD for steering. neither tire is pointing in the direction the car is moving. they are both scrubbing. the car doesn't turn as much. and it slow down. and the outsides of the tires wear out. why do most passenger cars have toe in? because it's "more stable". why is it "more stable" to have toe in? well... bluntly... because it makes your car turn WORSE. which means it takes more effort to make it turn. which means, when you're on your cell phone, and you nudge the wheel a bit as you lean into the back seat to swat your crying child, your car doesn't turn as much as it would if you were at zero toe like you should be. and thank god. if minivans ran around with zero toe, they'd be driving off the road all day. >From: "Rob" <motor@cadvision.com> >Reply-To: "Rob" <motor@cadvision.com> >To: E36M3 <e36m3@bmw-m.net> >Subject: [E36M3] <Alignment> Does "toe" affect traction? >Date: Tue, 13 Feb 2001 01:17:46 -0600 > >Date: Tue, 13 Feb 2001 00:18:19 -0700 >From: "Rob" <motor@cadvision.com> >Subject: <Alignment> Does "toe" affect traction? > > Here is my tech question of the day :) > Does changing the cars "toe" in or out effect the overall traction on >that > axle or just the way the car behaves?. > > Here is my example: > On the rear of an E36 if you add a bit of toe-in the car > tends to oversteer less and *maybe* not turn in as quickly. Is this >because > we have reduced the traction on that axle or have we just changed the > turn-in charcteristics?. On the front of the car if we add toe-in it is > said to make the car more stable at high speeds, but if we reduce the toe >to >ZERO or even adjust for toe-out the car turns in much better. This is a bit > easier to understand on the front axle but does it change the under/over > steer charcteristics of the car or...? > If an E36 with stiff suspension and big sway bars is oversteering a bit >too > much which would be a better solution and why: > A-Soften the rear sway bar > or > B-Add more toe-in on the rear. > > Thanks for your time. > Rob > > > > >************************************************************* >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. >************************************************************* > > _________________________________________________________________ Get your FREE download of MSN Explorer at http://explorer.msn.com
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#9. 3 Spoke Sport Wheel --> '95 M3 - from Peter Guagenti
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Date: Tue, 13 Feb 2001 11:15:49 -0800 From: Peter Guagenti <peter@guagenti.com> Subject: 3 Spoke Sport Wheel --> '95 M3 Has anyone on the list successfully installed the 3 spoke sport wheel from either a '99-up 3 Series or a '99 M3 or Z3 into a '95? I'm looking to upgrade the factory 4-spoke wheel with either of those wheels and would like some insight into the conversion. Thanks for any help, -peterg
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#10. 3 Spoke Sport Wheel --> '95 M3 (clarification) - from Peter Guagenti
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Date: Tue, 13 Feb 2001 11:23:29 -0800 From: Peter Guagenti <peter@guagenti.com> Subject: 3 Spoke Sport Wheel --> '95 M3 (clarification) I'm asking about the _steering_ wheel. Usually helps to not just say "wheel" when talking about cars. ;-) ------------- Has anyone on the list successfully installed the 3 spoke sport wheel from either a '99-up 3 Series or a '99 M3 or Z3 into a '95? I'm looking to upgrade the factory 4-spoke wheel with either of those wheels and would like some insight into the conversion. Thanks for any help, -peterg