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#1. Unsteady Handling. Thoughts? - from Peter Guagenti
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Date: Tue, 04 Sep 2001 14:37:48 -0700 From: Peter Guagenti <peter@guagenti.com> Subject: Unsteady Handling. Thoughts? It seems to be that time of year for suspension complaints, so here's mine: Just lately, my car has felt unsteady under steady-speed cornering. I don't know how else to explain it, except that the car used to take a set in a long high-speed turn and now it floats and requires constant correction. On top of this, it feel like the car generally feels unstable -- the road will pull the wheels more than usual, it feels like the weight transfer is more abrupt, and the rear end feels loose. With 125k miles on the car, I'm assuming it's one or more of the following: - Rear Trailing Arm Bushings (replaced once in it's life, pretty early on) - Control Arm Bushings - Worn Shocks (Konis, don't know exactly how old) I plan on replacing all three (if only as preventative maintenance), but I'm dying to know if it's most likely one of them specifically. Or even worse, could it be something else as well? Any advice would be appreciated. -peterg
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#2. RE: [E36M3] Rear Trailing Arm Bushing? - from Dames, Mark
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Date: Wed, 4 Sep 2002 14:50:25 -0700 From: "Dames, Mark" <Mark.Dames@PDO.Co.Santa-Clara.CA.US> Subject: RE: [E36M3] Rear Trailing Arm Bushing? Rich What is a GC shim/what does it do? Explain "better feel" Mark -----Original Message----- From: Rich Beebe [mailto:rich@beebecomm.com] Sent: Wednesday, September 04, 2002 12:24 PM To: E36M3 Subject: Re: [E36M3] Rear Trailing Arm Bushing? Date: Wed, 04 Sep 2002 15:17:56 -0400 From: Rich Beebe <rich@beebecomm.com> Subject: Re: [E36M3] Rear Trailing Arm Bushing? at 86k miles, not to mention the track time, i think it's probably safe to say that your RTBs will be toast. i did my M3 at 75k and they were pretty well torn. i did the LTW at 50k and they were in better shape, but still worn. i'm sure you will feel a difference with the new bushings. i believe the GC shims also go a long way towards the better feel. rich 2 95s with 96+ bushings and GC shims From: "twisty M3" <twistym3@hotmail.com> > Quick inquiry... I've always tried to ignore all the talk of rear bushings, > 'cause I'm hoping that ignorance will lead to bliss. ;) It sounds, however, > that the rear trailing arm bushings tend to go bad on tracked cars. I don't > *think* mine are too bad, but I'm having some front end suspension stuff > taken care of this weekend while I'm out of town, so I'm wondering if this > is some sort of preventative work I should have done. > > At what "age" do these tend to go bad? I've got about 86k miles on my '99 > and I've recently upped my track dosage to 1-2 events per month. Is it > worthwhile to ask them to replace these while they have the car on the lift? > (If so, I'll probably go with stock parts for now, rather than dealing > with poly. issues) > > Thanks, > Jonathan L. ************************************************************* 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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#3. 235/40/17 GFORCE R1s anyone?? - from Ahmad Lutfeali
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Date: Wed, 04 Sep 2002 21:54:23 +0000 From: "Ahmad Lutfeali" <m3_racer99@hotmail.com> Subject: 235/40/17 GFORCE R1s anyone?? I have a set of Gforce from last year. There is meat left in 2 of them while the other two seems to be a bit lean. Wondering if anyone has a tire or two sitting around that they want to part? Email me privately. Thanks. A.L. _________________________________________________________________ Chat with friends online, try MSN Messenger: http://messenger.msn.com
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#4. Re: [E36M3] Unsteady Handling. Thoughts? - from cteague@cox.net
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Date: Wed, 4 Sep 2002 18:12:57 -0400 From: <cteague@cox.net> Subject: Re: [E36M3] Unsteady Handling. Thoughts? Peter, As far as parts go, the bushings are likely. What could happen is that they toe is changing. However, have you just checked the static toe front and rear? If you have toe out in back, that can cause this also. Even if you do have toe-out in back, it is also possible that is due to a worn out rear trailing arm bushing. Chris 97 M3/4 > > > Date: Tue, 04 Sep 2001 14:37:48 -0700 > From: Peter Guagenti <peter@guagenti.com> > Subject: Unsteady Handling. Thoughts? > > It seems to be that time of year for suspension complaints, so here's mine: > > Just lately, my car has felt unsteady under steady-speed cornering. I don't > know how else to explain it, except that the car used to take a set in a > long high-speed turn and now it floats and requires constant correction. > > On top of this, it feel like the car generally feels unstable -- the road > will pull the wheels more than usual, it feels like the weight transfer is > more abrupt, and the rear end feels loose. > > With 125k miles on the car, I'm assuming it's one or more of the following: > > - Rear Trailing Arm Bushings (replaced once in it's life, pretty early on) > - Control Arm Bushings > - Worn Shocks (Konis, don't know exactly how old) > > I plan on replacing all three (if only as preventative maintenance), but I'm > dying to know if it's most likely one of them specifically. Or even worse, > could it be something else as well? > > Any advice would be appreciated. > > -peterg
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#5. Re: Euro Headlight Trivia - from Alan Taur
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Date: Wed, 4 Sep 2002 15:21:56 -0700 (PDT) From: Alan Taur <alantaur@yahoo.com> Subject: Re: Euro Headlight Trivia Hey, Reid. What you received was the replacement lens for the later Bosch parabolic reflectors. These were original spec lights for cars built after mid-'94. Those molded glass nubs were used to quiet down windnoise. If you ever played with the non-"nubbed" Euro lights before, they car create a serious high-speed whistle if you set the gaps wrong while installing the light. The later "nubbed" lights have no such issues. Interestingly, this whistle appears only when you set the gap between the hood and top of headlight too small. The US lights have no issues whatsoever because you could conceivably stick your whole hand through the yawning gaps that define the subpar US DOT units. Your parts man is absolutely correct in stating that the ZKW was a sedan only thing. Actually, the ZKW part is only a OEM replacement item, not a factory installed piece (only Bosch lights left the assembly plant). Is was only listed as a replacement for the sedans, however, a move that does not make any sense whatsoever. Anyway, I've had almost every permutation of E36 headlights pass though my hands at one point or another. My current setup is the keeper: early Bosch ellipsoids (no nubs) with the Autolamps-Online Philips 6000K H1 HID kit. Protected by X-Pel covers. Also, I'm glare-free with my headlight washers and headlight vertical aim control. I really want the light where I need it, and not where it'll do the most harm. With this setup, I'm easily King of the Nighttime Road (though S2000s have a wicked setup that have the unfortunate ability to blind most oncoming drivers whenever they hit a bump). -Alan __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Yahoo! Finance - Get real-time stock quotes http://finance.yahoo.com
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#6. Re: [E36M3] Unsteady Handling. Thoughts? - from Jeff A
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Date: Wed, 4 Sep 2002 18:12:15 -0500 From: "Jeff A" <aabel@austin.rr.com> Subject: Re: [E36M3] Unsteady Handling. Thoughts? > > It seems to be that time of year for suspension complaints, so here's mine: > > Just lately, my car has felt unsteady under steady-speed cornering. I don't > know how else to explain it, except that the car used to take a set in a > long high-speed turn and now it floats and requires constant correction. > > On top of this, it feel like the car generally feels unstable -- the road > will pull the wheels more than usual, it feels like the weight transfer is > more abrupt, and the rear end feels loose. > > With 125k miles on the car, I'm assuming it's one or more of the following: > > - Rear Trailing Arm Bushings (replaced once in it's life, pretty early on) > - Control Arm Bushings > - Worn Shocks (Konis, don't know exactly how old) > > I plan on replacing all three (if only as preventative maintenance), but I'm > dying to know if it's most likely one of them specifically. Or even worse, > could it be something else as well? > > Any advice would be appreciated. > > -peterg > FWIW, worn t/a bushings got me a noticable rear-steer characteristic. Use of Powerflex ones solved this, and further stability was gained by going to solid rear t/a bushings, though improvement with the solid bushings can only be felt on the track running sticky tires. Worn front control arm bushings caused the car to never really take a good set cornering, street and track. I was constantly making little corrections mid corner to stay on line. Bimmerworld's bushings fixed this. Worn shocks almost masked the above worn components. Migrating from worn stock to new H&R c/o's was dramatic, then to a custom GC setup based on Koni DA's and SA's dramatic again. Your symptoms almost sound like all of the above are implicated. You may want to look into new front control arms as well. Jeff
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#7. Re: [E36M3] Aluminum vs. steel doors (LTW owners, please comment) - from Michael
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Date: Wed, 4 Sep 2002 19:44:43 -0400 From: "Michael" <95m3ltw@charter.net> Subject: Re: [E36M3] Aluminum vs. steel doors (LTW owners, please comment) Same here, no noticeable difference except in lighter feel when moving them. Having owned both a Lux 95 M5 and LTW M3 at the same time. Mike ----- Original Message ----- From: "Rich Beebe" <rich@beebecomm.com> > having a direct comparison, i would say that i sense little/no > difference in road noise or door 'feel' between the 2 cars. if > any additional road noise is transmitted, i'd say it would be > through the floors, rear seat and trunk area. even though the > doors feel lighter when you swing them open and shut, they > still close with a relatively solid 'thunk'. as for safety, i'd > also say that that relies on internal structure.
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#8. Dim Radio display -> possibly WTB: used headunit - from Mike Frank
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Date: Wed, 04 Sep 2002 18:52:31 -0500 From: Mike Frank <mfrank28@comcast.net> Subject: Dim Radio display -> possibly WTB: used headunit Does anyone else have a radio with a flaky display - dim to nonexistent? Is there a fix short of a new radio? Does anyone have a stock (non-HK if they're different) headunit they've replaced and want to get rid of? Thanks, Mike Frank 97 M3
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#9. RE: Rear Trailing Arm Bushing? - from Mike Frank
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Date: Wed, 04 Sep 2002 18:52:31 -0500 From: Mike Frank <mfrank28@comcast.net> Subject: RE: Rear Trailing Arm Bushing? Jonathan, My money says they're shot. Go with new 96+ bushings and GC spacers. The spacers have the same "ouch" factor as Bimmerworld backing plates when you see what you're getting for your money. But like the plates they do the job well. Make sure you get the 96+ part #'s. Nick Alexander sent me some 95 bushings by accident which I've been meaning to return since April. The 95 P/N is 33 321 097 009 - DO NOT GET THESE. I think you should do these yourself. It's so much fun, especially when they're corroded to the trailing arm. It should be some sort of right of passage. HTH, Mike Frank 97 M3 > -------------------- 4 -------------------- > Date: Wed, 04 Sep 2002 11:46:36 -0700 > From: "twisty M3" <twistym3@hotmail.com> > Subject: Rear Trailing Arm Bushing? > > Quick inquiry... I've always tried to ignore all the talk of > rear bushings, > 'cause I'm hoping that ignorance will lead to bliss. ;) It > sounds, however, > that the rear trailing arm bushings tend to go bad on tracked > cars. I don't > *think* mine are too bad, but I'm having some front end > suspension stuff > taken care of this weekend while I'm out of town, so I'm > wondering if this > is some sort of preventative work I should have done. > > At what "age" do these tend to go bad? I've got about 86k > miles on my '99 > and I've recently upped my track dosage to 1-2 events per > month. Is it > worthwhile to ask them to replace these while they have the > car on the lift? > (If so, I'll probably go with stock parts for now, rather > than dealing > with poly. issues) > > Thanks, > Jonathan L. > > _________________________________________________________________ > MSN Photos is the easiest way to share and print your photos: > http://photos.msn.com/support/worldwide.aspx > > > > > -------------------- 5 -------------------- > Date: Wed, 4 Sep 2002 11:52:26 -0700 > From: Reid Conti <reid@conti.net> > Subject: Euro Headlight Trivia > > Hey, I just learned some interesting things. > > Now we all know that the ZKW ellipsoid Euro lights were on 94 and > earlier euro cars, correct? They use H1 bulbs. My understanding has > always been that the 95 and later euro cars used a mix of Bosch and > Hella lights, which actually were H7 equipped, and used a freeform > reflector, instead of an ellipsoidal lens. > > The word on the street has always been that the H7 freeform > units were > more efficient with light, but didn't have the same > razor-sharp cutoff > that the ellipsoids have. > > So I took a rock clean through my passenger side > (rectangular) lens. I > ordered a replacement from Pacific BMW (list: 118.00, your price > $84.78). I said that yes, I have a 95 M3, but the lens I need is for > the ZKW's, which I believe were on 94 and earlier cars. They > gave me a > part number, and told me that it would take some time since it was > backordered from Germany. Imagine my surprised when the lens > showed up > less than 2 weeks later! Once it became available, it had to be > shipped from Germany to California, than California to Seattle. > > Anyhoo, it showed up, but it was the wrong lens. The lens is > not just > the clear glass rectangular part, as I thought. It also includes the > black (plastic?) housing on the back, and the two round > lenses as well. > The part I got was a Bosch lens. The main difference is it has a > whole row of nubs across the top of the rectangular part, molded into > the glass. Weird. Also, the round lens for the low beam was > wrong -- > on the ellipsoids it has a perfectly smooth opening for the light to > shine through, this one has a diffuse lens. > > I didn't play with it, but the dimensions looked identical. > I think I > could have pulled out the low beam plastic lens and replaced it with > the round plastic lens from my ZKW, and then fit the whole > unit on, and > it would have worked ok.. this is assuming the dimensions are > the same > and the optics match up (it's also assuming the ellipsodal > lens is part > of the rear headlight bucket, and not part of the front > piece). But in > the interest of having a matching rectangular lens (without > the nubs), > I just called Pacific BMW to get it straightened out. > > The guy on the phone explained that the ZKW lights are listed for 4 > door only, and the Bosch are for coupes! Weird. Anybody > know if this > is true? Obviously the lights are interchangeable, but why would BMW > use one style lens on the coupe and another on the sedan? Is this > correct? > > Anyhow, they're shipping me the ZKW lens, and sending UPS to > pick up my > Bosch one. It sounds like they're covering shipping on everything, > which is incredible -- it was $12 freight to ship the original, so > maybe they're eating $24 more between picking up my return, and > shipping the new one. Or maybe they'll bill me for some of > it. Either > way, I'm pleased with the customer support. I've ordered stuff from > them before, they always have good prices on BMW stuff. > > Here are the part #'s for those who are interested: > Bosch Passenger Side Lens: 63 12 8 363 506 > ZKW Passenger Side Lens: 63 12 8 363 508 > > - reid > > > > > -------------------- 6 -------------------- > Date: Wed, 4 Sep 2002 12:02:10 -0700 (PDT) > From: Chester Wong <chester_p_wong@yahoo.com> > Subject: Re: [E36M3] Euro Headlight Trivia > > > The guy on the phone explained that the ZKW lights are listed for 4 > > door only, and the Bosch are for coupes! Weird. Anybody > know if this > > is true? Obviously the lights are interchangeable, but why > would BMW > > use one style lens on the coupe and another on the sedan? Is this > > correct? > > That is true...or at least consistent with the ETK. Someone > asked for the part numbers recently so I posted the ones for > the ZKW as most people have those. > > Chester > > ===== > > > __________________________________________________ > Do You Yahoo!? > Yahoo! Finance - Get real-time stock quotes http://finance.yahoo.com > > > > -------------------- 7 -------------------- > Date: Wed, 04 Sep 2002 12:05:21 -0700 > From: Jim Bassett <jimbassett@attbi.com> > Subject: Re: [E36M3] Rear Trailing Arm Bushing? > > At 11:53 AM 9/4/02, twisty M3 wrote: > >At what "age" do these tend to go bad? I've got about 86k > miles on my > >'99 > >and I've recently upped my track dosage to 1-2 events per > month. Is it > >worthwhile to ask them to replace these while they have the > car on the > >lift? (If so, I'll probably go with stock parts for now, > rather than > >dealing with poly. issues) > > At the very least, they should be inspected every time you > have the car > inspected for the track. It's pretty easy to see if they need to be > replaced (I was able to inspect mine, and my untrained eyes > could tell they > were dead :-)). > > It's a couple of hours labor per side, plus you need an alignment > afterwards. Stock parts are inexpensive. > > Jim Bassett > 1998 M3/4 - new stock rear toe bushings > 1993 325is #44 KP - TC Kline monoball rear toe bushings > > > > > -------------------- 8 -------------------- > Date: Wed, 04 Sep 2002 19:05:02 +0000 > From: sma280@att.net > Subject: question > > Hello: > Wondering if anyone has info on a check engine light > which codes "secondary air > flow sensor low cyl 4-6" on peake research. My car > seems fine but I have thrown > this twice in the last 4 months. > > Thanks, Mark Greene > > > > -------------------- 9 -------------------- > Date: Wed, 04 Sep 2002 15:17:56 -0400 > From: Rich Beebe <rich@beebecomm.com> > Subject: Re: [E36M3] Rear Trailing Arm Bushing? > > at 86k miles, not to mention the track time, i think it's > probably safe to say that your RTBs will be toast. i did my > M3 at 75k and they were pretty well torn. i did the LTW at > 50k and they were in better shape, but still worn. i'm sure > you will feel a difference with the new bushings. i believe > the GC shims also go a long way towards the better feel. > > rich > 2 95s with 96+ bushings and GC shims > > From: "twisty M3" <twistym3@hotmail.com> > > > Quick inquiry... I've always tried to ignore all the talk of rear > > bushings, 'cause I'm hoping that ignorance will lead to > bliss. ;) It > > sounds, however, that the rear trailing arm bushings tend > to go bad on > > tracked cars. I don't > > *think* mine are too bad, but I'm having some front end > suspension stuff > > taken care of this weekend while I'm out of town, so I'm > wondering if this > > is some sort of preventative work I should have done. > > > > At what "age" do these tend to go bad? I've got about 86k > miles on my > > '99 and I've recently upped my track dosage to 1-2 events > per month. > > Is it worthwhile to ask them to replace these while they > have the car > > on the lift? (If so, I'll probably go with stock parts for > now, rather > > than dealing with poly. issues) > > > > Thanks, > > Jonathan L. > > > > > -------------------- 10 -------------------- > Date: Tue, 04 Sep 2001 14:30:47 -0700 > From: Peter Guagenti <peter@guagenti.com> > Subject: Parts Needed - Any racers out there? > > I have recently had a couple of stupid little things break on > my car, so I'm hoping some of you with stripped-racers may > have the parts. > > - Heater vent -- from the center of the dash on a coupe, must be black > - DS Front Seat Belt -- from a coupe, black > > Let me help clean out your garage. ;-) > > -p > > > > > ************************************************************** > Digest Commands > UNSUBSCRIBE DIGEST - (in subject line) unsubscribes you from > the digest. 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. Radio Code... - from Juan Rico
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Date: Wed, 4 Sep 2002 17:04:37 -0700 From: Juan Rico <juan_rico@captionsinc.com> Subject: Radio Code... Hi All, My M3 has 4 wheels again, thankfully. But no radio. Just picked up my car today and, of course, they forgot to enter the code on the radio. Does anybody have the quick fix for this? I've looked in my owner's manual and it's not there. Is it written on the back of the radio, or is that an urban legend? Can I call anywhere...? Otherwise, I'll have to go to the dealer... Thanks, Juan.