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#1. rattling sound underneath - from Jeff Stowe
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Date: Wed, 03 Apr 2002 11:51:07 -0800 From: Jeff Stowe <jrstowe@pacbell.net> Subject: rattling sound underneath For quite some time now my 98 M3/4 has been making a tinny rattling sound underneth the car. The sound is most noticeable at low speed ie parking lots and residential streets due to the lack of wind and engine noise. It almost sounds like the exhaust is loose and rattling, but I have checked the exhaust system many times and it is very secure and the rattle can not be duplicated by hitting or banging. A P-car mechanic recently mentioned that he believed the M3 exhaust was double walled and that maybe the interior pipe was broken and rattling around inside the exterior one. Does this sound at all feasible? Any other suggestions on where this rattle may be coming from? thanks jeff
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#2. RE: [E36M3] Big Brake Kits - One addition with no personal attacks on anyone - from Wayne Miller
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Date: Wed, 3 Apr 2002 14:52:19 -0500 From: "Wayne Miller" <m3@waynemiller.com> Subject: RE: [E36M3] Big Brake Kits - One addition with no personal attacks on anyone So at lunch time today, I took a ride over to Rogue Engineering to have one of their heavy-duty selector rod things installed in my car. This was arranged yesterday before anybody even mentioned big brakes so that wasn't the purpose of my visit. When I got there, Ben wanted to try the car and he admitted that it still didn't feel right and he wanted to bleed the brakes himself so we put the car on the lift. Ben and Mark proceeded to bleed the brakes and there was some funky thing going on where the fluid didn't want to come out of the rear brakes with the pressure bleeder hooked up to the air tank. They tried manually bleeding them and everything worked so I have no explanation BUT quite a bit of air did come out of the rear bleeders. I honestly don't know how this happened because I have bled the brakes at least 4 times over the past month and I do know what I am doing. In any case, the pedal feel is even better than before so I am happy. Is it still as rock solid as Chester's? I don't know but it does feel good. -Wayne P.S. In case you were wondering, we didn't get to install the selector rod thing because it would have taken too long due to the lack of room to maneuver around my 6 speed (it is about 6 inches longer than the 5 speed).
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#3. Euro Rotors and RSMs in Solo2? - from ChuckBrazeau@aol.com
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Date: Wed, 03 Apr 2002 14:56:13 -0500 From: ChuckBrazeau@aol.com Subject: Euro Rotors and RSMs in Solo2? Are the Euro rotors legal in SCCA Solo2 Street Prepared Category? What about aftermarket rear shock mounts? (i know, i know... read the rule book. but... i'm at work and don't have one handy) :-P Thanks! ChuckBrazeau.com '95 M3 Violet/Black <---Finally!
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#4. Borla Exhaust Review - from AVUSM3@aol.com
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Date: Wed, 3 Apr 2002 14:57:58 EST From: AVUSM3@aol.com Subject: Borla Exhaust Review I recently went through the process of investigating, them buying and installing an exhaust for my E36 M3. I use the car on the weekends and at the track. There are now MANY good options out there for exhaust, RE, AA, UUC, Borla, etc. I felt there was not very much info available for on the Borla since it may not be as much in "fashion" as some of the other choices. I decided to take a little risk and bought the Borla. If you would like to read the review and see pics you can find them at: http://home.attbi.com/~avusm3/BorlaExhaustonanE36BMWM3.html Bottom line - Great sound. Nice appearance. Very light weight - 21 lbs. Fit was not so good. I had to bent the inside pipe about 1/4" to prevent it from hitting the suspension mounting box. Price - good. Overall - probably and 8 out of 10. Regards, John Cloutier '95 M3
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#5. Re: [E36M3] rattling sound underneath - from Chester Wong
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Date: Wed, 3 Apr 2002 11:59:02 -0800 (PST) From: Chester Wong <chester_p_wong@yahoo.com> Subject: Re: [E36M3] rattling sound underneath Does this happen at idle or while cruising? I get an annoying tinny sound when at idle and stopped. People suggest that it's the cat shields. Chester --- Jeff Stowe <jrstowe@pacbell.net> wrote: > For quite some time now my 98 M3/4 has been making a tinny rattling sound > underneth the car. The sound is most noticeable at low speed ie parking ===== __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Yahoo! Tax Center - online filing with TurboTax http://taxes.yahoo.com/
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#6. Re:Big Brake Kits (but really soft pedals) - from D Snyder
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Date: Wed, 3 Apr 2002 12:11:14 -0800 From: "D Snyder" <m3ltw@msn.com> Subject: Re:Big Brake Kits (but really soft pedals) In my old LTW, I had chronic issues of soft brake pedal (feel) with STOCK brakes (ducted, but stock calipers). I tried different pads. Different rotors. Stainless brake lines... Bleeding didn't help either. Finally bitched to a good dealer (Knauz in Chicago), who (even though the car had a cage, euro motor, etc) replaced the ABS pump and master cylinder under warranty! Afterwards, the pedal feel was much better. So, why did I upgrade (to an AP Racing setup)? For much the same reason as others do...given 340hp, the regular brakes couldn't keep up on the track (PFC pads had a life measured in minutes, it seemed). Now, you can never justify a brake kit as "saving money" in longer pad life (or rotors) because all of those parts are now more expensive and never overcome the investment in the calipers, etc (yes, I've done the math...that's what I do for a living). But, they work a heck of a lot better, stop with less effort and the components (pads, rotors-$200 each) last longer. Back to the battle of Chester vs. RE (Ben)...perhaps the problem wasn't in the brake system at all (once properly bled--including the ABS pump), but other braking components? That was my experience. JMTC (just my two cents), Dan PS: I'm always amazed at people's ability to extrapolate fact from opinion, causation from correlation and to make Ad Hominum attacks (attacking the person instead of their position/logic). When it comes to engineering, I rely on my friend, the rocket scientist (actually, he's an aeronautical/nuclear/mechanical/propulsion engineer, but it's all just peanut butter to me!). :-)
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#7. Apology (was Big Brakes) - from Chester Wong
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Date: Wed, 3 Apr 2002 12:19:44 -0800 (PST) From: Chester Wong <chester_p_wong@yahoo.com> Subject: Apology (was Big Brakes) Well, it seems that Wayne's car is back to feeling real good again. Go figure. I based all of my observations of the Rogue kit on Wayne's brakes. I don't even know when he got them...must have been as soon as it came out. But since the very first day he installed them, pedal feel wasn't quite right. Wayne is the type who doesn't really care and he attributed the feel to the larger piston surface area. Heck, at the time, I was real interested in the Rogue/TMS kit as it was direct bolt up and used E46M3 floating rotors (read: cheap $$$). And the only turnoff that I had was the pedal feel. Many months have passed and we bled the brakes many times, etc...and Ben even volunteered to do it again today and they found something amiss. So I guess I'll have to try his car again one of these days ;) ...those damn stupid black cars!!!!! Hahahaha. Anyway, Wayne and I always scratched our collective head when trying to determine the poor pedal feel. From the theory point of view, the pedal feel didn't make sense. 28mm vs. 30mm rotors, etc...so what, the pistons would just extend a bit more. And so we bled and rebled and then the whole thread about manual bleeding...and yes, I still don't like the bug-sprayer type bleeders if they pump the air through the fluid as the air bubbles stay suspended in solution...not good. So if everything is good now with Wayne's brakes, I would like to apologize to Rogue and Ben. I'm glad for Wayne that his car is even more better. Chester ===== __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Yahoo! Tax Center - online filing with TurboTax http://taxes.yahoo.com/
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#8. Re: [E36M3] rattling sound underneath - from Jim Bassett
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Date: Wed, 03 Apr 2002 12:26:04 -0800 From: Jim Bassett <jimbassett@attbi.com> Subject: Re: [E36M3] rattling sound underneath At 11:55 AM 4/3/02, Jeff Stowe wrote: >For quite some time now my 98 M3/4 has been making a tinny rattling sound >underneth the car. The sound is most noticeable at low speed ie parking >lots and residential streets due to the lack of wind and engine noise. It >almost sounds like the exhaust is loose and rattling, but I have checked the >exhaust system many times and it is very secure and the rattle can not be >duplicated by hitting or banging. A P-car mechanic recently mentioned that >he believed the M3 exhaust was double walled and that maybe the interior >pipe was broken and rattling around inside the exterior one. Does this >sound at all feasible? Any other suggestions on where this rattle may be >coming from? Hmm, a couple of suggestions: - Check all the heat shielding, make sure it's all secure. - Catalytic convertor going bad. Mine died at about 76,000 miles. Subtle, only noticed while idling next to pit wall at Laguna :-) - As you mentioned, muffler. There are baffles in the M3 exhaust which could break loose. Jim Bassett
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#9. RE: [E36M3] rattling sound underneath - from David Ngo
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Date: Wed, 3 Apr 2002 15:26:50 -0500 From: David Ngo <dngo@commvault.com> Subject: RE: [E36M3] rattling sound underneath This rattle is almost certainly the heat shields on the cat. I had the same problem on my car. For some reason (I haven't looked myself), the shields can't simply be welded back on. My dealer replaced my cat under warranty. Dave > -----Original Message----- > From: Jeff Stowe [mailto:jrstowe@pacbell.net] > Sent: Wednesday, April 03, 2002 2:55 PM > To: E36M3 > Subject: [E36M3] rattling sound underneath > > > Date: Wed, 03 Apr 2002 11:51:07 -0800 > From: Jeff Stowe <jrstowe@pacbell.net> > Subject: rattling sound underneath > > For quite some time now my 98 M3/4 has been making a tinny > rattling sound > underneth the car. The sound is most noticeable at low speed > ie parking > lots and residential streets due to the lack of wind and > engine noise. It > almost sounds like the exhaust is loose and rattling, but I > have checked the > exhaust system many times and it is very secure and the > rattle can not be > duplicated by hitting or banging. A P-car mechanic recently > mentioned that > he believed the M3 exhaust was double walled and that maybe > the interior > pipe was broken and rattling around inside the exterior one. > Does this > sound at all feasible? Any other suggestions on where this > rattle may be > coming from? > > thanks > > jeff > > > > ************************************************************* > 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 to the email address e36m3@bmw-m.net. > ************************************************************* > > >
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#10. Re: Big brake kits - from D Snyder
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Date: Wed, 3 Apr 2002 12:31:11 -0800 From: "D Snyder" <m3ltw@msn.com> Subject: Re: Big brake kits > Date: Wed, 03 Apr 2002 14:27:09 -0500 > From: Bob Stommel <rstommel@iquest.net> > Subject: Big brake kits > > I found the recent discussion of "big brake kits" amusing. Of all the > track-prepared E36 M3s I've owned, including an LTW, I never ran out of > brakes with the stock parts - even on heavy braking tracks like Road > America. Unless you're racing a highly modified car under race conditions, > the stock E36 M3 brakes are more than sufficient. Spend your money on the > 2-piece rotors, brake ducts, good track pads, and fresh brake fluid -- and > leave the $2000 brake kits to the posers. Bob is essentially right. (and not just with regard to brake kits) Although, with very large sticky tires (Hoosiers), I found that the stock system could not generate enough force to trigger ABS at Road America (most notably turn 5) once everything is warmed up (understatement). (145 mph down to ~50mph) You can still out brake almost any car out there, but it wasn't utilizing all the grip that the tires offered. Still, I am now a huge supporter of "stock" cars and lots of track time. Too bad it took me more money than I care to admit to figure this out (which is why I sold that car for a 325 race car--with stock 325 brakes). I wish that my brake kit was ONLY $2k!!! Dan "Stock 325 rotors...$34. Stock 325is calipers...$10 (rebuild). Pagid pads...$178. Knowing you can outbrake a 911? Priceless.