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#1. Bumper Cover & grill for '96 M3 Lux - from Stan.Shaw@Excell.Net
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Date: Wed, 21 Nov 2001 11:07:59 -0500 From: <Stan.Shaw@Excell.Net> Subject: Bumper Cover & grill for '96 M3 Lux I thought I just read somewhere about where a bumper cover could be purchased inexpensively. I thought it was on this list. If so, please email me directly. Thanks! Regards, Stan Shaw Excell.Net Phone: (413) 599-0399 Fax: (413) 599-0421 Stan.Shaw@Excell.Net http://www.excell.net/ "They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety." - Benjamin Franklin
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#2. Fuel Pickup Fix - from Robert Biggs
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Date: Wed, 21 Nov 2001 12:44:17 -0500 From: "Robert Biggs" <parm3@home.com> Subject: Fuel Pickup Fix I have a 96 E36 M3 which is a dedicated track car. I use it for Club Racing and drivers' schools. For a long time, I experienced the same fuel pickup problem as many of you when going through right hand sweepers with a half tank of fuel or less. This summer, I installed a second fuel pump on the driver's side. I used a 325 fuel pump because it has two hose nipples on the top of the pump-- one for sending fuel and the other for returning fuel. And for you technophiles, I teed the sending line into the existing fuel line. This solved the pickup problem when the fuel level dipped to a half tank, but there are two remaining issues for which I seek your counsel. First, the fuel gauge is no longer accurate. It shows over a quarter of a tank of fuel when the tank is empty. And I don't believe the movement of the gauge from full to a quarter is accurate. This obviously makes it difficult to estimate fuel levels at any point in time and is particularly relevant when racing. I am not anxious to carry a half a tank of fuel at the end of a race. I am presently estimating fuel levels by keeping track of miles driven and using an average miles/gallon to estimate where I'm at (7 MPG on the track). While acceptable, I would rather operate with an accurate fuel gauge. Anyone else experienced this problem and know of any fixes? Second, when the fuel level gets low, the fuel pump makes a funny sound. It goes eeee......eeee.....eeee....eeee repeatedly (no its not laughing and I apologize for the amateurish effort to convey sound by text). But think of it as an intermittent hee, hee without the "h". Notwithstanding the annoying noise, the pumps seem to work fine. I think it may occur when the fuel level is low --one side of the saddle tank contains no fuel -- and the pump is picking up air. I am concerned that if this is the case, it could damage the pump over time. Any thoughts in this area would be welcomed too. Sorry for the long message, but I wanted to describe the conditions as best I could. Bob Biggs Just Bob Racing
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#3. RE: [E36M3] Hose clamps - from jim.bassett@alloptic.com
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Date: Wed, 21 Nov 2001 10:13:27 -0800 From: jim.bassett@alloptic.com Subject: RE: [E36M3] Hose clamps > No problem. As fixes go, this wasn't even a 1/2 beer job. > For those who > haven't done it yet, while you're on your hose clamp mission, > replace the > crimp clamp on the small coolant return line on the top of > the radiator on > the driver side. Those crappy crimp clamps (try saying that 10 times fast :-)) are everywhere. As a reminder, they are also on the hoses at the bottom of the power steering fluid reservoir, and should be replaced as well. Cheers, Jim Bassett 1998 M3/4 - all mentioned hose clamps replaced 1993 325is #44 KP - will be checked out SOON
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#4. RE: [E36M3] Fuel Pickup Fix - from jim.bassett@alloptic.com
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Date: Wed, 21 Nov 2001 10:19:18 -0800 From: jim.bassett@alloptic.com Subject: RE: [E36M3] Fuel Pickup Fix > Any thoughts in this area would be welcomed > too. Sorry for the long message, but I wanted to describe > the conditions as best I could. I'm not sure, but maybe the original pump and/or sender are going bad(?) I had an acting-wierd fuel guage on my '98, and we replaced the fuel pump (the sender is part of the pump assy), and that cured it. My 2 cents, Jim Bassett 1998 M3/4
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#5. FW: [E36M3] Soliciting opinions (power) - from Mel Silva
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Date: Wed, 21 Nov 2001 13:30:37 -0600 From: "Mel Silva" <melsilva@mindspring.com> Subject: FW: [E36M3] Soliciting opinions (power) Remember this note I posted (below)? Well, I bought a JC Cold Air Intake from another list member (thanks Dave), and the results are astounding. It may not have a single horsepower more than it had before, but it makes cool noise under the hood now. On the scale of perception per dollar, this is a good value. The car just sounds faster at full throttle now! Whoopee! Mel (having fun at WOT) Date: Sat, 10 Nov 2001 20:06:50 -0600 From: "Mel Silva" <melsilva@mindspring.com> Subject: Soliciting opinions Hi list, I'm concerned that either most of you are a load of filthy lying pigs, or that my 97 M3 is seriously down on power.
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#6. Where can I buy...? - from Paul Elliott
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Date: Wed, 21 Nov 2001 16:54:38 -0500 From: "Paul Elliott" <pelliott@rcn.com> Subject: Where can I buy...? This may be seen as slight off topic, however it really is related, I promise! Ok, here it is....I need to buy a quantity of Isopropyl Alcohol....either the 70%, 90%, or even the 99.9% stuff is ok. Whats the relation to M3s? I'm getting an Aquamist water/alcohol injection kit, the one marketed, tested, and warrantied by Activeautowerkes, and the suggested mixture is a blend of the Isopropyl, and water. But there's a wide variety in the price of this stuff...They can get it at Publix in Fla for a great price of $.70/qt for the 70% solution. Up here, in NY Metro, CVS parmacies carry the same mixture for $1.75qt. One of the reasons is the fact that the Fla stuff is the stores private label. So, if anybody knows of any stores or supply houses likely to carry it at a good price willing to ship nationally, I'd sure appreciate it. Thanks, --------------------------------------------------------- Paul Elliott '99 White M3; < 35K miles; Dinan stage II sc kit; Rotex pads;X-Brace; Stygar SS and Clutch Stop; Sound by Polk, Excelon, JLAudio
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#7. XM radio anyone? - from Kevin M. Gregg
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Date: Wed, 21 Nov 2001 17:19:44 -0500 From: "Kevin M. Gregg" <kevingregg@home.com> Subject: XM radio anyone? Hi- No BMW content here, sorry. I installed an XM ready Pioneer stereo in my car a while back. I am reading more about XM radio <http://xmradio.com/> and wondering if anyone has signed up for it. What do you think of the service? Thanks, Kevin M. Gregg kevingregg@home.com Columbia MD 1997 BMW M3 Estoril blue coupe BMWCCA member http://members.home.net/kevingregg/m3/
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#8. Conforti Cams for the '95 M3 - Post-Install Notes. - from Peter Guagenti
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Date: Wed, 21 Nov 2001 15:17:26 -0800 From: Peter Guagenti <peter@guagenti.com> Subject: Conforti Cams for the '95 M3 - Post-Install Notes. "There's no such thing as too much power..." So the saying goes, and so most of us on this list feel. Having owned my '95 M3 for a little over a year, I got used to the power from the intake/HFM/chip, and wanted more. After careful consideration, I opted for the Eurosport cam/injectors/chip combo. The kit cost me $1500, as I already had the intake and HFM. Not a bad price in comparison to the $4000 for a basic supercharger. The kit consists of a set of "mild' Schrick cams, 24lb injectors, and a custom chip. The promise of the kit is 300+hp at the crank, and a car that keeps pulling to redline. I brought the kit to Bill Arnold in San Rafael, CA for the install. Bill's a really knowledgeable guy, and an ace mechanic. He had never done the cams before, so asked that I be prepared to leave the car with him for a couple of days. I dropped it off on a Wednesday night, and he agreed to have it done before he left on Friday. I called Bill the next day to check in. He was having a hell of a time getting the old cams out and the new ones in. In order to do the swap, you have to put a BMW special alignment tool on the factory cams, and then remove them. Putting the new ones in is the reverse of that. The special tool wouldn't go on. He tried a ton of different things, thinking he was doing something wrong until he got it in his head to check the cam timing. Seems that the cams, which were supposed to be set at the factory at TDC, were both _way_ off. Like -10° and -15° respectively off. "Did the car stumble off idle?", he asked. "Yep." "Did it run out of breath at about 6k?" "Yep." That was why. Bill realigned the cams and took them off, droppign the new ones in. Seems that there was a TSB released early on that said some of the early E36M3's left the factory improperly aligned, putting them down on power. No one told me or the previous owner this of course, so it sat as-is. The total bill for the work was 16 hours labor -- a bit more than Josh @ Eurosport had estimated. I picked up the car with the new goodies installed and drove her home. Holy sh*t! There was a huge difference. The car screamed to redline, with much more pull throughout the revs. It was like a whole new car. I had the car dyno'ed at the Racer's Group @ Sears Point. They did a run prior to doing the cam kit and now this second run. Weather conditions were very similar. One thing to note. Racer's Group uses a Dastek Dyno. They use this dyno because they are the US importer for the Unichip, and this dyno is what the Unichip folks recommend. The thing to note is, the numbers this dyno puts out are vastly different from the numbers you'd see from a Dynojet. The Dastek dyno is a load dyno (like the mustang dyno). The numbers are supposed to be considerably more accurate, but are predictably lower than published figures. Don't be alarmed by the lower figures, just count the percentage improvement. Prior to the cams, it showed a peak rear wheel horsepower of 170 (@ 5500 rpms). With the cams it shows a peak rear wheel horsepower up to 200+ (@ 7000 rpms). Showing about a +18% improvement. Not bad at all. These are numbers that the shop will swear by. Yes they are lower numerically than a dynojet would estimate, but it is exactly what a mustang dyno or other load dyno would show. The shop accepts that these figures are lower numerically than what you'd see advertised, but they state that it provides the best apples-to-apples comparison. Keep in mind that both of these runs are done with 91-octane gas. The cams really require 92-octane, and show more power with higher octane gas, but I could not source anything higher for this test. The pumps at Sears were closed because of construction happening around them. I have run 96-octane unleaded from those pumps and have felt considerably more power. Jim Conforti claims a jump from about 265hp to 300hp at the crank. That's a +13% improvement. If you trust my loaded numbers (which I do), and you account for the fact that my factory cams were timed incorrectly, than JimC's claims seem to be accurate. Ultimately, I think this is a big bang-for-the-buck improvement. I would definitely recommend this kit to everyone else on the list. -peterg
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#9. VANOS Noise?? - from Roy Kao
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Date: Wed, 21 Nov 2001 18:11:05 -0500 From: "Roy Kao" <bimmerphile@hotmail.com> Subject: VANOS Noise?? I began noticing a noise coming from the engine just behind the radiator today. It sounds like a box of bolts being rattled around and quite frankly, makes the car sound like a diesel. Is this a noise from the VANOS mechanism? I am bringing the car to the dealer for them to take a quick listen but any input on the topic would be greatly appreciated. BTW, the car just breached that magic 50,000 miles (80,000 kms) mark. Roy '99 M3/2 _________________________________________________________________ Get your FREE download of MSN Explorer at http://explorer.msn.com/intl.asp
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#10. Re: [E36M3] Conforti Cams for the '95 M3 - Post-Install Notes. - from Reid Conti
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Date: Wed, 21 Nov 2001 15:35:18 -0800 (PST) From: Reid Conti <reid@conti.net> Subject: Re: [E36M3] Conforti Cams for the '95 M3 - Post-Install Notes. Wow! You notice any loss of power/driveability? Need a new chip? Are Ti valve springs recommended for the kit? Just a Q.. is the euro HFM useful w/out intake, or no? I kind of want to retain the stock airbox for the stealth sound, but wouldn't mind bigger injectors/chip/hfm/cams.. - reid > So the saying goes, and so most of us on this list feel. Having owned my > '95 M3 for a little over a year, I got used to the power from the > intake/HFM/chip, and wanted more. After careful consideration, I opted for > the Eurosport cam/injectors/chip combo.