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#1. Anyone else have their horn go south? - from Chester Wong
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Date: Wed, 16 May 2001 22:32:50 -0700 (PDT) From: Chester Wong <chester_p_wong@yahoo.com> Subject: Anyone else have their horn go south? I think during the first year of ownership for my '99M3, the high pitched horn (there are two of them) went bad. The dealer replaced it and as of last Friday, the replacement went south as well. Bad luck? Anyone else experience the same problem? It's not a big deal, but it's a pain in the butt to get to. And I don't feel like scheduling an appointment just for a dead horn. Mr. Tech dude will really love my HID retrofitted ellipsoids...DOH! Thanks, Chester ===== __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Yahoo! Auctions - buy the things you want at great prices http://auctions.yahoo.com/
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#2. E46 M3 First Impressions - from Mark Kern
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Date: Wed, 16 May 2001 23:03:25 -0700 From: "Mark Kern" <markkern@home.com> Subject: E46 M3 First Impressions Tonight I got to drive my friend's E46 M3 (Hmmm..he might be reading this now). He had it on order for over a year, and was number 2 on his dealer's list. Paid MSRP too! It was amazing. I expected it to be different, but I was suprised about how many things were different. But first, the specs: 2001 E46 M3 Carbon Black Cinnamon Leather Moonroof Xenon Headlights In-dash CD, Harmon Kardon Upgrade, Changer in trunk And everything else (this car was loaded) The color is very odd. It is a black with a hint of blue. Most of the time it is pretty close to Cosmos Black, but under night skies and some forms of street lights, it is positively a dark blue color! Definitely a love it or hate it think. I loved it. The new leather seats are very comfortable and feature the same generous "catcher's mitt" quality as the E36 series. They don't look quite as racey as the E36 seats with their integrated headrests, but feel firmer and somewhat snugger on this driver's posterior. The steering wheel is beefy! The wheel is quite a bit thicker than the E36 version, and looks to be smaller in diameter. It has a tremendous race feel to it. After getting back into my own car, my wheel felt positively wimpy and reed-like. Driving it was something else. The clutch is silky smooth to the point where I could barely feel the point where it would engage, which was unnerving at first. The shifter sits higher than the E36, and felt notchier, but didn't seem to require any more of a throw than the older model. The ride is definitely firmer than the stock E36, but still civilized. I liked the firmer tone, and it fits well with the more agressive feel of the entire car. The engine sound was superb! The stock exhaust is very agressive sounding. From reading how many reviews jugded the regular E46 3-series as too quiet and sedate, I was woried for the new M3. My fears evaporated as the throaty purr of the engine easily sent thrills up my spine from within the closed cabin. The sound of the engine is agressive yet refined, and is very distinctive, much more so than the stock E36 M3. The acceleration was smooth and volcanic at the same time. The engine pulls gracefully to the 8000RPM mark with the power band feeling linear all the way. The drive-by-wire trottle is fantastically responsive (thanks to the six throttle bodies I suppose), but has a non-sport mode to make it easier to drive around at low speeds. I was worried that the drive-by-wire would make me feel disconnected from the car, but this turned out not to be true at all. And the braking? Incredible! The new M3's brakes are to the E36 M3 what the E36 M3 brakes are to a 325. No kidding! As I came up to stops, I found myself hitting the brakes far too early and stopping a good distance from the line every time. It was so astounding that when I got back into my own 99 M3, it felt as if my own brakes were suffering from severe brake fade. My drive was over far too soon, and I didn't get much of a chance to check for the understeer tendencies noted in other E46 M3 reviews. I hope to see that (or preferably the absence of that) for myself when he shows up at the Santa Anita Autocross at the end of this month. It sure is going to be hard to wait for some more new M3s to become available. :( - Markus Cosmos Black, 99 M3
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#3. San Diego group lunch - from Jim Powell
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Date: Thu, 17 May 2001 00:08:05 -0700 From: Jim Powell <jsp98m3@apexcone.com> Subject: San Diego group lunch I'll send out another notice just to those that have responded by mid-day Thursday. But if you are interested in getting together on a monthly basis and work in San Diego near the Sorrento Valley, let's meet at Chili's on Mira Mesa and Lusk this Friday, May 18th. at 11:30-12:30. It is conveniently located and there is enough parking available. We can discuss alternate meeting times and places for future meetings. See you there. Jim
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#4. STOLEN ///M3 - from Bill P
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Date: Thu, 17 May 2001 03:37:14 -0400 From: "Bill P" <casanova@yorkhost.com> Subject: STOLEN ///M3 A friends 1995 Dakar Yellow ///M3 was stolen in the Philadelphia Area (King of Prusia Mall). The car had an ERT Supercharger, 18" Breyton Inspirations with 245/35/18 P-Zero (99% new) and a RD Sport High Wing amoung other things. If anyone in the Philly area either sees this car or sees parts of this type for sale please let me know. Thank You Bill P
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#5. Prices - from Mark Greene
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Date: Thu, 17 May 2001 06:22:44 -0400 From: Mark Greene <gsa@arpinintl.com> Subject: Prices Just as a benchmark, I just bought a 96 estoril blue with lux package, modena interior, coupe, hard top, w/ certification (1 year - 30000 miles left), 64420 miles, 24300.00 in Rhode Island. Dealer retail on Edmunds.com - 24414.00 Mark
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#6. WTB: used OEM front struts - from Robert Liu
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Date: Thu, 17 May 2001 04:51:43 -0700 (PDT) From: Robert Liu <bob_a_liu@yahoo.com> Subject: WTB: used OEM front struts I am getting a set of Koni shocks this week. Does anyone have a pair of used front struts they'd like to part with? I'd like to have the front struts assembled and ready to go in the car before I tear it down. Thanks! Bob ===== ------------------------------------------------------------ Robert Liu bob_a_liu@yahoo.com ICQ# 22765210 __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Yahoo! Auctions - buy the things you want at great prices http://auctions.yahoo.com/
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#7. Toyo RA1 versus Yoko A032R - from John Bergstrom
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Date: Thu, 17 May 2001 06:41:26 -0700 (PDT) From: John Bergstrom <john0990@yahoo.com> Subject: Toyo RA1 versus Yoko A032R About a year and a half ago, a buddy and me set up a timed, hot-lapping event. We had very, very similar cars with almost exactly the same setups: M3/4 with stock suspension, xbrace, Eibach sway bars, a few other misc goodies. The only major difference was he had swapped his hats. We had 2 sets of 17x8 IFG A5 wheels, 1 mounted with Yoko A032R and 1 mounted with Toyo RA1. We drove and drove and then swapped wheels and drove and drove. Neither of our lap times changed significantly between the 2 tires. Wear seemed similar as well. So, for all practical purposes, in my experience, these tires are nearly identical . . . John '95 M3 >>>>With talk of good track tires on topic again, I thought I would generate some discussion on the order of good track tires (R compound) based on their competence and ranking them in the order of most aggressive, lower wearing, higher grip, less forgiving (i.e., fastest track times) to less aggressive, higher wearing, lower grip and more forgiving (slower track times) as follows (based on the collective opinions flying around on this board from what I can tell): 1. BF Goodrich G Force Comp T/A R1 2. Hoosier Radial RS303 3. Kumho V700 Victoracer 4. Toyo Proxes RA1 5. Yokohama Advan A032R <<<<< __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Yahoo! Auctions - buy the things you want at great prices http://auctions.yahoo.com/
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#8. [E36M3] Brackets on Brake Pads? - from twisty M3
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Date: Thu, 17 May 2001 08:37:13 -0700 From: "twisty M3" <twistym3@hotmail.com> Subject: [E36M3] Brackets on Brake Pads? Just got my new brake pads that will be installed on Saturday morning (Pagid 4-2-1). Opened the boxes to check them out just for fun and noticed something I found questionable (especially since I've never messed around with pads before). The fronts look fine, I guess. Four pads, two of which have a 3-pronged "bracket" on the back and two that don't. The rears, however, don't match up in that way. Three have the 3-pronged bracket and one doesn't. I'm not installing them myself (will watch and learn though), but I'd like to make sure I've got everything correct before I get there. Do I need to remove one of the "brackets" from one of the rear pads, and if so, how do I do this without damaging anything (a flat-head screwdriver to pry it up)?? Thanks! Jonathan L. _________________________________________________________________ Get your FREE download of MSN Explorer at http://explorer.msn.com
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#9. One more Toe Question - from Andrew E. Kalman
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Date: Thu, 17 May 2001 08:58:55 -0700 From: "Andrew E. Kalman" <aek@pumpkininc.com> Subject: One more Toe Question Hi All. When toe is measured as an absolute number (e.g. 1/16" toe-in), and not in degrees, where exactly is it measured? Is it the difference between the distances when measured at the front and rear edges of the _wheels_ (for a specified wheel size)? Is it the difference between the distances when measured at the front and rear edges of the _outside_edge_of_the_tires_? The two measures above are not the same. Each is (of course) done at the height of the hub center. Or is it something else? Thanks. -- ______________________________________ Andrew E. Kalman, Ph.D. aek@pumpkininc.com
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#10. Air temp sensor - from dbruce
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Date: Thu, 17 May 2001 12:01:56 -0400 From: dbruce <dbrucepoip@yahoo.com> Subject: Air temp sensor I have a check engine light caused by the air intake temp sensor. Where is it? Bentley points to the Intake Manifold......but it isn't where the picture says. I have heard it might be under the manifold or in the airbox. I ask again, where is it? Boy is it frustrating when you can't find something. Thanx.