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#1. Overheating Problems - Follow-Up - from peter@guagenti.com
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Date: Wed, 4 Apr 2001 13:03:33 US/Pacific From: peter@guagenti.com Subject: Overheating Problems - Follow-Up I had a few mails asking about this stuff, so I'm shooting off a mail to answer everyone: - The impeller that failed in the '96 328i was _plastic_. If you simply go by production date of the car, it should have been metal. (I had to call my mechanic to double check that one) My bad for not having it checked when the thermostat blew. Thankfully it did not shatter, so it was an easy removal. - Almost everyone who talked about their water pump failing had the same sequence of events Sean H. and I had -- thermostat breaks in the open position, get it fixed, water pump fails. Something's not right with that. What do you learn? If your thermostat breaks, pull the pump and make sure it's in good working order. If it's plastic, toss it. Hell, if you're already in there and your pump has high-mileage, replace it. - When you replace the water pump, you must absolutely replace the thermostat. Everyone's experience points to the fact that if the thermostat "cooks" like it does when the car overheats, it is eventually going to fail. Also, if the oil has been in the engine for a bit, now is the time to change it (for the same reasons). - If the engine starts to overheat, pull over and shut the car down immediately (seems like common sense, but not everyone did this). I was lucky in that I was on an empty highway so, when I overheated, I shut the car off while still rolling and pulled onto the shoulder. If you can't do that, at least disengage the clutch to get the car back at idle. I don't have any apparent gasket problems, and I'm hoping I won't ever -- probably due to the fact that I didn't let the engine run when it was hot. Hopefully that helps folks to not have the irritating (and potentially expensive) experience I and others had. Of course, YMMV... -peterg ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- This message was sent using HiSpeed Technologies Webmail. http://www.hispeed.com
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#2. F1 Drivers with BMW Engines ( was SMGII) - from Chris Brown
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Date: Wed, 4 Apr 2001 16:25:21 -0400 From: "Chris Brown" <ChrisB@Drextec.com> Subject: F1 Drivers with BMW Engines ( was SMGII) Ed - I'm pretty sure that Juan is a Columbian, not an American. I'd love to take credit for his driving skill as a point of national pride, but I think South America beat us to it! OBMWC -> Nice job BMW getting more revs and power than all the rest in the F1 field! Jos Verstappen <-Needs to go back to driving school Chris Brown ------------- http://www.ChristianBrown.com -------------------- 9 -------------------- Date: Wed, 4 Apr 2001 12:37:23 -0700 (PDT) From: Ed Tang <etangf1@yahoo.com> Subject: SMGII <snip> Some say that in Brazil, Juan Pablo Montoya was tapped from behind because he was an American driver. I mean, I'll be damned if an American passed up Michael Schumacher and took a 27 sec lead in a car that isn't supposed to perform better in a Ferrari-McLaren dominated sport.<snip> Ed Tang 95 Cosmos M3 Is there an SMG upgrade available? __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Get email at your own domain with Yahoo! Mail. http://personal.mail.yahoo.com/ -------------------- 10 --------------------
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#3. Re: [E36M3] Track pad setup question... - from Peter H Reinhart
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Date: Wed, 04 Apr 2001 16:27:46 -0400 From: Peter H Reinhart <reinhart@neuro.duke.edu> Subject: Re: [E36M3] Track pad setup question... At 02:00 PM 4/4/01 -0600, you wrote: >My question is: Is there any issue with running PF90's in the front and R4's >in the rear? >Granted, it's not perfect- but is it stupid? While the pads are cold you may have increased your rear/front brake bias, just because the PF90s will take longer to come up to temp. Give yourself an extra warmup lap and go easy on the trail braking....;-) I'm kinda surprised about the big difference in wear rates though. It's always amazed me how evenly my fronts and backs seem to wear out. >Also, the front rotors (Euro) are still good and have been used exclusively >with the R4's (track only, I swap them out). Are there any known issues or >break-in tips when I get the PF90's on them? I just did this procedure (long story revolving around my forgetting my PF90 spares at home, and a friend bailing me out with R4 pads). The R4 pads seem to leave a lot more deposit on the rotors than the PF90s. After switching back to FP90s I did get a little shudder for 3-4 laps. After a complete track session with the PF90s the rotors were 'clean' again, and the shudder was gone. Pads, rotors (and driver) all appear to be happy..... Cheers, Peter Reinhart
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#4. Re: [E36M3] brake pads for schools - from Sean Hester
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Date: Wed, 04 Apr 2001 13:28:18 -0700 From: "Sean Hester" <seanh_race@hotmail.com> Subject: Re: [E36M3] brake pads for schools >Okay, I don't wanna start a big debate about brake pads again, but I need >some advice on the best pads for my needs. I just wanna do probably 4 or 5 >track days this year, not racing, just driver schools and lapping days at >an >intermediate pace, and I will probably keep the pads on all season. The >car >is my daily driver/commuter. Would I be better off with something like the >R4S, rather than the PF-90? I don't need ultimate braking force, just >something that will survive the track and not ruin my rotors, but work on >the street and not be incredibly noisy. R4S no!!!!!!!!!!!! that S stands for STREET, not "compromise between track and street" and they MEAN IT. if you want one brake pad for the whole summer, i think you have two choices. stock pads, or R4 (not R4S) pads. your're compromising either way. stock pads are better for the street, ok for the track. R4 pads are better for the track, ok for the street. (obviously) it depends on how hard you plan on driving at the track. if you use stock pads and drive too hard you will warp the rotors. that's your clue that you shoulda gone with R4 pads. if you drive hard enough to warp rotors, use R4 pads, and live with the extra dust and noise. R4S pads are NOT good track pads. they stop way better then stock pads (not quite as good as R4 pads) but they warp rotors just as easy. and they last even LESS long then stock pads at the track. reed's criteria is "I don't need ultimate braking force, just something that will survive the track". this is the exact OPPOSITE of what R4S pads will give you. R4S pads give you better stopping at the EXPENSE of longevity. R4 pads give you better stopping at the expense of noise and dust (and cost). P.S. for those 15 people who are about to write and say "bah! i used R4S pads all year and never warped a rotor, they rule!!!" my answer in advance is "if you didn't warp rotors with R4S pads, you wouldn't have warped them with stock pads either. so why put yourself through the extra dust, and noise of R4S pads all summer?" _________________________________________________________________ Get your FREE download of MSN Explorer at http://explorer.msn.com
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#5. MiscTires and tail light - from Will Land
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Date: Wed, 4 Apr 2001 16:19:48 -0400 From: "Will Land" <wland@erols.com> Subject: Misc <FS> Tires and tail light 1) Michelin Pilot Alpin snow tires for sale 235/45-17. Quantity of (3). Used for one winter (approx 3000 miles). Excellent tread life left. One tire was a spare. When purchased new cost me $147 each. Best reasonable offer. 2) BMW OE Clear tail light. Only fits 4 dr E36. Drivers side only, quantity of (1). Cracked near the top but repairable. $40 plus shipping. Please respond with any interest to the e-mail address below. Thanks Will wland@erols.com
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#6. Re: [E36M3] brake pads for schools - from Sean Hester
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Date: Wed, 04 Apr 2001 13:32:31 -0700 From: "Sean Hester" <seanh_race@hotmail.com> Subject: Re: [E36M3] brake pads for schools >>I don't need ultimate braking force, just something that will survive the >>track and not ruin my rotors, but work on the street and not be incredibly >>noisy. > >Although, based on this criteria, stock pads would the ticket. :-) See, the >PF-90s don't have rattle clips on the inboard pad, and anti-squeal compound >burns off after one track session (BTDT). So they will rattle and squeal >like stuck pigs on the street. But the work fine on the street (I tend to >run them for weeks at a time on the street between track events), and >aren't too hard on rotors. > >So 3 out of 4 isn't bad :-) yay jim! you're so smart! you reccommend stock pads for reed's criteria too. jsut like me, hug! ;-) but for a second choice i pick R4 over pf-90. R4 pads have the clips. so you get rid of one of the noises. (the rattle) and they squeal a tiny bit less too. pf-90s stop a bit better, but based on reed not placing that as a criteria, i say go with R4 pads. P.S. as long as it's not R4S. ;-) _________________________________________________________________ Get your FREE download of MSN Explorer at http://explorer.msn.com
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#7. Re: [E36M3] Track pad setup question... - from Sean Hester
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Date: Wed, 04 Apr 2001 13:51:02 -0700 From: "Sean Hester" <seanh_race@hotmail.com> Subject: Re: [E36M3] Track pad setup question... >O.k, I just ordered PF90's for the front of my 95 M3 for an upcoming track >event at Thunderhill. > >The rear pads are Porterfield R4's and they are not worn out yet, about 1/2 >remaining or a bit more. The fronts were R4's and a few days at Laguna Seca >finished them off. > >My question is: Is there any issue with running PF90's in the front and >R4's >in the rear? > >Granted, it's not perfect- but is it stupid? well... i did this once but it was because i could not get matching pads in time. here's what happened to me. becasue of the different bias i got, the rears got hotter then they normally would have. so i was getting fade when i shouldn't have been. it was fade in the rear, so it wasn't MUCH fade, but it was enough to notice. but since i coudl still drive, because the fronts were fine, i kept going, heating up the rears ever MORE. so i burned out my rears (half pads remaining) in one day. so i basically wasted those rear pads. and it didn't make the rear calipers very happy either, getting so overheated, cracking the dust boots and making me rebuild the rear calipers sooner then i might have. if you have the time to get a full set of pf-90s do it. despite the "initial cost" analysis, you'll probably SAVE money in the end. i'd only mismatch them if you had to (like they sent you the wrong pads friday night, and you NEED to go to the track saturday morning) and if you DO go with mismatched pads, take it easy. and ifyou get a little fade, let the brakes cool down becuase you're probably cooking the rears. thankfully, t-hill is pretty easy on brakes though, so it'll be better they trying this a laguna. ;-) _________________________________________________________________ Get your FREE download of MSN Explorer at http://explorer.msn.com
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#8. Re: Track pad setup question... - from shane.a.kleinpeter@accenture.com
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Date: Wed, 4 Apr 2001 16:59:30 -0400 From: shane.a.kleinpeter@accenture.com Subject: Re: Track pad setup question... >My question is: Is there any issue with running PF90's in the front and R4's >in the rear? No. This is the way I ran all weekend at CMP this past weekend and there are no issues. >Also, the front rotors (Euro) are still good and have been used exclusively >with the R4's (track only, I swap them out). Are there any known issues or >break-in tips when I get the PF90's on them? I too was using R4's up front (on Friday at the track), but wore through the R4's completely and borrowed a set of PF-90s from a friend. When I got out on the track after swapping them, it felt like the rotors were slightly warped. Not so bad, but definately noticeable. This went away after about three sessions. I assumed that this was the old R4 pad material not playing nice with the PF-90 pad material that was being deposited onto the rotor surface. Once it went away, the new pads performed beautifully. If you want to avoid this, you may want to lightly sand the rotor surface with fine grit sandpaper before you do any serious track work. Otherwise just put up with the shuddering until it goes away. YMMV Shane Kleinpeter Tarheel Chapter BMW CCA '96 M3 '88 535is
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#9. Brakes (What else?) - from JUSTIN GERRY
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Date: Wed, 04 Apr 2001 17:15:02 -0400 From: "JUSTIN GERRY" <JGERRY@butchers.com> Subject: Brakes (What else?) I know this thread keeps reappearing over and over. Its time for a new set of brake pads/maybe rotors for my '97 M3. I do a few drivers schools a year. LRP was yesterday. What a fun course (first time)!! I know I boiled the brake fluid yesterday... I don't have much pedal at all. I also had just under 50% of my brake pad left at the beginning of the day. My guess is that my pads are really close to needing replacement. Considering the age of the rotors, I may replace them as well. I am using stock Jurids. Jurids lack the bite of a true race pad, but they are really easy on the rotors. Trying to decide whether to take the R4/PF90/other brakepad route or go with stock brakes again. Questions: 1) I've bled brakes on my old 2002, usually it was recommended that you start with the wheel that is farthest from the master cylinder, does this still hold true? Yes, I would like to use a 1-man brake bleeder, either a push type (through reservoir) or pull type (through caliper like Griots Garage). 2) Do people normally rebuild the brake caliper (or at least replace the seals) when replacing pads? I would imagine that heat/salt etc must be hard on the caliper seals. Is there a rebuild kit from BMW that I should get? Any P/N for this? Any tips? 3) Any special tools or tricks that people use to get rotors/calipers/brake pads off/rebuilt? Thanks, Justin -- '76 02 (Whimsical) '97 M3 (Orion) BMW CCA#77056 check out http://users.vei.net/jgerry
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#10. thanks to all you kind folks... - from Scott Yu
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Date: Wed, 4 Apr 2001 17:33:45 -0400 From: "Scott Yu" <scott@ditherdog.com> Subject: thanks to all you kind folks... I just wanted to say thanks to all the kind folks that helped me out with helmet, tire, and other advice for my first-ever track day, which was yesterday at Lime Rock. The Boston chapter did a wonderful job of setting everything up and running it smoothly. Dave Spragg remarked that "anything this good should be illegal" and I heartily agree. Many thanks to Scott for coming along and helping out with everything in a mentorly fashion, as well as hooking me up with a kick-ass instructor. I have finally experienced the bliss of coming out of the downhill and onto the straightaway with a faster cornering speed than the car in front of me, and getting the wave-by, and I want MORE. Other than Russian Roulet or trying to run from the FBI, I can't think of anything else that could give me such a huge adrenaline rush =) I'm going to spend the next month tightening up the car, cleaning the engine bay, and thinking about improving my smoothness. Oh, and maybe working a bit at the office ;) Hope to see some of you folks at NHIS next month! best, scott yu