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#1. Re: Track Trailer - from Vern Anderson
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Date: Fri, 19 Apr 2002 17:58:11 -0400 From: "Vern Anderson" <vernon_anderson@yahoo.com> Subject: Re: Track Trailer Yes, I do have a Trailex tire toter and I'm very pleased with it. I have been out of town at a client and I have about 15 E36M3 and 25 UUC digests to catch up on, but I saw this one. I will catch up on the messages over the weekend and send a more detailed reply... Vern Anderson 98 M3/2 -------------------- 6 -------------------- Date: Fri, 19 Apr 2002 11:33:43 -0400 From: "Dorffer, Rich" <RDORFFER@CleIndians.com> Subject: Track Trailer Pictures Wayne, That is a nice little trailer for the money. I know it has been done before (there are companies that sell these little trailers specifically for this purpose) and I have seen it before but I thought it will bear repeating. This seems like a very good idea where one can make it easier to get to the track without having to load all your stuff into the car, especially if you are going to lug around tires. It is a lot less expensive than trailing your vehicle and buying a tow vehicle ;-) I will end up going this route some day (the little trailer that is), I can just tell. www.trailex.com for the Tire Toter. More money than Wayne spent though :-) I think Vern Anderson has the Tire Toter. Regards, Rich PS - Too bad about the damage to your car, I just hate that stuff and am still battling a claim on my 325is (where their is no dispute who is at fault (the trucking company) but who is going to pay). How do you like the Kuhmos? and when are you going to send me those LTW wheels on your car?
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#2. Re: Track Trailer Pictures - from Ned Coonen
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Date: Fri, 19 Apr 2002 17:12:43 -0500 From: "Ned Coonen" <ncoonen@hotmail.com> Subject: Re: Track Trailer Pictures Just a note of reminder to those going this route. I built one of these back in 1998 using a little trailer from Northern Tool. Watch your wheel bearings carefully. I almost lost a wheel at highway speed after only about 1,000 total miles on the trailer. It was very dramatic when the left trailer wheel started locking up at highway speed. I was lucky to get off the road. I recommend that you clean and repack the bearings provided when you assemble your trailer. Use a top grade synthetic wheel bearing grease. This is especially important if your trailer has the smaller, 8' wheels. Those have to spin pretty fast when you are tooling along. Repack or replace the bearings regularly. The bearing sets are pretty cheap from Harbor Freight, Northern, and most RV shops. Repack new bearings since you don't know what grade of grease is one them. ...ned. '98 M3 HP '88 M5 '01 Dodge Ram '01 Texas Rollback trailer > Date: Fri, 19 Apr 2002 11:33:43 -0400 > From: "Dorffer, Rich" <RDORFFER@CleIndians.com> > Subject: Track Trailer Pictures > > Wayne, > > That is a nice little trailer for the money. I know it has been done before (there are companies that sell these little trailers specifically for this purpose) and I have seen it before but I thought it will bear repeating. This seems like a very good idea where one can make it easier to get to the track without having to load all your stuff into the car, especially if you are going to lug around tires. It is a lot less expensive than trailing your vehicle and buying a tow vehicle ;-)
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#3. Vanos? noise - from Gary A. Preece
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Date: Fri, 19 Apr 2002 19:38:23 -0400 From: "Gary A. Preece" <gapreece@entreky.net> Subject: Vanos? noise Is it OK to take the cam cover off to look at tension on the chains, etc. then put back on using the same gasket? I think it is rubber and I need a new one anyway since it is leaking, so I just wanted to take a peek before taking it to be worked on. Thanks. Gary Preece
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#4. oil sludge - from Gary A. Preece
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Date: Fri, 19 Apr 2002 20:14:55 -0400 From: "Gary A. Preece" <gapreece@entreky.net> Subject: oil sludge Would someone look in the oil filler hole and tell me if they see dark brown sludge. Mine looks like someone has poured chocolate syrup in there. About the same consistency too. Thanks. Gary Preece Louisville, KY BMWCCA #158110 1995 Avus M3
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#5. tire valve stems - from Paul Elliott
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Date: Fri, 19 Apr 2002 22:54:00 -0400 From: "Paul Elliott" <elliott.paul@worldnet.att.net> Subject: tire valve stems Well, my Fikse FM-10s arrived tonight, and I installed them, while boxing up my BMW Forged LtWts in the fikse boxes to await the arrival of their buyer Sunday. The order arrived properly, and the wheels look great. I was surprised though to find 2 of the valve stems quite loose and leaking air...I couldnt mangage to fine any valve stem tighteners, but I was able to make do with a pair of tweezers I had knocking around...that was on one of them...On the other, I simply could not tighten the stem enough to prevent any leakage, although its slow at the moment. I dont have alot of experience with tire valves, but I seem to recall that you can buy valve stems at the auto parts store, along with those valve caps that double as stem tightners...Is this all I need to do to fix the problem, or do I need to hassle getting the tire removed and the whole valve replaced? These are need fikse metal valves and I hope I dont need to replace them.. Please advise. I think the leak is slow enough to get me to the autoparts store so long as this is the way to fix this problem. thanks much. Paul Elliott --------------------------------------------------------- '99 White M3; < 45K miles; Dinan stage II SC kit with 6" RMS crank pulley: 11 psi; AA Water Injection; Fikse FM-10s; X-Brace; Dinan Koni Suspension; Stygar SS and Clutch Stop; Sound by Polk, Excelon, JLAudio
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#6. cross-drilled rotors review - from Mdriver13@aol.com
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Date: Fri, 19 Apr 2002 23:31:30 EDT From: Mdriver13@aol.com Subject: cross-drilled rotors review First, thanks to everyone that responded. I received enough replies that I thought I'd write-up a review for those interested in c/d rotors. 1) it seemed to be general consensus that using c/d rotors on a tracked car was not a good idea (possible cracking) 2) use of c/d rotors for autox purposes is OK 3) most people who had c/d rotors found that they did help stopping distance, a few said they couldn't tell the difference 4) most people had either Zimmerman or Brembo, one person had Stillen 5) everyone that responded who had Brembo or Stillen had no rusting of the center cap 6) some people claimed to have lots of rust building up on the center cap, I think these were Zimmerman, and some other unknown brands (note: to avoid rusting, some people painted center cap before installing) 7) a lot of people just installed c/d rotors on the front 8) price-wise (from least expensive to most) Zimmerman < Brembo < Stillen 9) most people love the look ;-)) I'm currently leaning toward Brembo, based on happy customers, their reputation and no rusting! I might be willing to be the point person on a group purchase if others are interested (I would need to get an OK from Suzy first). Or, maybe she can take the point on this if she is interested. Well, in any event, I hope the information is useful to others out there thinking about a c/d purchase. Bob Gill 97 ///M3 coupe Philly Region SCCA AS Champion 1997 & 2000 BSP Champion 2001
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#7. Re: [E36M3] oil sludge - from Mdriver13@aol.com
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Date: Sat, 20 Apr 2002 08:14:22 EDT From: Mdriver13@aol.com Subject: Re: [E36M3] oil sludge In a message dated 4/19/02 8:20:33 PM Eastern Daylight Time, gapreece@entreky.net writes: > Would someone look in the oil filler hole and tell me if they see dark brown > sludge. Mine looks like someone has poured chocolate syrup in there. About > the same consistency too. Hi Gary, Yep, though what I see is not what I would call "sludge". More like a thin, brown varnish film and slightly tacky to the touch. For reference, I only use Mobil 1 and change my oil every 3,000 miles or less. Only have 30,000 miles on her ;-)) Hope that helps, Bob Gill 97 ///M3 coupe Philly Region SCCA AS Champion 1997 & 2000 BSP Champion 2001
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#8. RE aluminum "flywheel" noise was NOT the flywheel... crap! - from Chris Papademetrious
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Date: Sat, 20 Apr 2002 17:17:04 -0400 From: Chris Papademetrious <chrispy@ieee.org> Subject: RE aluminum "flywheel" noise was NOT the flywheel... crap! About two months ago, I purchased a Rogue Engineering aluminum flywheel, short-shift kit, and WSR. After these parts were installed, I noticed a great deal of noise in the car during acceleration and engine-braking. I posted a message here, asking how anyone could tolerate this noise. Most people responded that theirs wasn't bad, and it was a small price to pay for the improvement in acceleration. Aside from the noise, the car really woke up with the flywheel. I was used to timing the first-into-second shift, but with the flywheel it was over so quick that I hit the rev limiter despite watching the tach to know when to shift. Second gear flew by too, and third was downright snappy. It felt great! Last week, my mechanic had my car for Inspection II and noticed the noise too. He put it on the lift and ran the rear wheels in gear, and noticed a noticeable sound from the transmission outlet, where the driveshaft goes in. It almost sounded like nuts and bolts in a dryer. It changed in relation to wheel speed and not engine RPM, and was clearly coming from very low in the case. Diagnosis? Bad bearing in the output shaft section (or something like that, I didn't write down precisely what he said). We found a lower-mileage used transmission, which should go in next week. After hearing the noise from outside the car, we both came to the same conclusion on what we were hearing. When the flywheel went in, I also installed the RE short-shift kit. Due to the tighter shift linkage bushings, a substantial amount of noise was transmitted through the shift lever. In addition, the transmission racket was likely amplified by a flywheel which lacked the heavy damping capabilities of the stock dual-mass flywheel. So, it looks like I was wrong on my original diagnosis. For as loud as the noise was from underneath the car, I'm surprised I didn't hear it more from inside the car. I'll keep everyone posted on what happens. I haven't read of many (if any) transmission replacements on the list. I sure hope this is an isolated incident. - Chris
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#9. Re: [E36M3] RE aluminum "flywheel" noise was NOT the flywheel... crap! - from Jeff A
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Date: Sat, 20 Apr 2002 16:50:29 -0500 From: "Jeff A" <aabel@austin.rr.com> Subject: Re: [E36M3] RE aluminum "flywheel" noise was NOT the flywheel... crap! > After hearing the noise from outside the car, we both came to the same > conclusion on what we were hearing. When the flywheel went in, I also > installed the RE short-shift kit. Due to the tighter shift linkage > bushings, a substantial amount of noise was transmitted through the shift > lever. In addition, the transmission racket was likely amplified by a > flywheel which lacked the heavy damping capabilities of the stock dual-mass > flywheel. > > So, it looks like I was wrong on my original diagnosis. For as loud as the > noise was from underneath the car, I'm surprised I didn't hear it more from > inside the car. I'll keep everyone posted on what happens. FWIW, I experienced no increase in cabin noise due to the Rogue SSK and WSR. But then again, I didn't notice much increase in noise with the UUC Mounts/TME's. Jeff
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#10. Wheel Locks - from Paul Elliott
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Date: Sat, 20 Apr 2002 19:27:10 -0400 From: "Paul Elliott" <elliott.paul@worldnet.att.net> Subject: Wheel Locks When I installed my new Fikses, I used the BMW wheel locks which I had been using...These are the less expensive ones with the splined portion which fits the key. These locks come with a black plastic cover which make them a close match, from a little distance, to the standard black BMW wheel bolts. Now, my Fikses come with Chrome colored bolts, and I find the black wheel locks make it look like there's a missing bolt from each wheel...Not good. So I think I'll replace the with chrome, or at least silver colored locks. I remember a thread not too long ago where someone had a real bad time with a wheel lock or key coming apart leaving him in a bit of a lurch...then, others chimed in with their comments, but I dont remember if there were any we should be staying away from Right now, Im considering Mc Gard in the chrome color from BMPD for $36. There's a very similar looking chrome set by ACS. Are either of these the type that guys had trouble with? Theyre the type with the eccentric pattern in the top of the lock. Thanks. Paul Elliott --------------------------------------------------------- '99 White M3; < 45K miles; Dinan stage II SC kit with 6" RMS crank pulley: 11 psi; AA Water Injection; Fikse FM-10s; X-Brace; Dinan Koni Suspension; Stygar SS and Clutch Stop; Sound by Polk, Excelon, JLAudio