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#1. Re: [E36M3] E36 M3/4-door vs E36 M3/2-door... - from Jeremy Lucas
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Date: Tue, 24 Dec 2002 07:26:47 -0500 From: "Jeremy Lucas" <jlucas@columbus.rr.com> Subject: Re: [E36M3] E36 M3/4-door vs E36 M3/2-door... Just open a door on a coupe, and then a four door. The coupe door weighs about 2-3 times the weight of a sedan door. In un-caged form the sedan body is a little stiffer. For me, since my car is not my year round driver I have no need for traction control (i.e. winter), I prefer the ODB I motor since it's easier to modify for more power and maybe just a little sweeter to rev. If you get the sedan, your stuck with ODB II, since ODB I was only available in 95 coupes (no sedans till '97?). Also if you were to get a '95, I'd avoid the early production 1994 build date cars. If it's going to a year round car you may want the traction control that comes with OBD II motors. Jeremy Lucas 95 M3 ----- Original Message ----- From: "Chris Teague" <cteague@cox.net> > and no other options. Other than options, I think they > are about the same weight.
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#2. Re: [E36M3] Any gains/drawbacks to removing the AC? - from Jeremy Lucas
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Date: Tue, 24 Dec 2002 08:36:21 -0500 From: "Jeremy Lucas" <jlucas@columbus.rr.com> Subject: Re: [E36M3] Any gains/drawbacks to removing the AC? It's to keep the seals in the A/C system lubed so they don't dry out and cause a leak. There is a small amount of special oil in with the refridgerant that only get's circulated when the systems runs. Most new cars now automatically run the A/C when you have the defrost selected. Jeremy Lucas 95 M3 ----- Original Message ----- From: "Skip Bogard" <skip.bogard@alumni.duke.edu> > Everyone remember to run your A/C at least once per month > in the winter (it's in the owner's manual somewhere I think)...the > purpose is to preserve your A/C system's condition (I can't remember > why, but you are supposed to run it occasionally in the winter)
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#3. Re: [E36M3] Steering wheel vibration - thanks - from Dave Kelley
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Date: Tue, 24 Dec 2002 08:49:52 -0500 From: "Dave Kelley" <d.kelley@usa.net> Subject: Re: [E36M3] Steering wheel vibration - thanks > Date: Mon, 23 Dec 2002 10:28:20 -0800 > From: Jim Bassett <jimbassett@attbi.com> > Subject: Re: [E36M3] Steering wheel vibration - thanks > > At 12:13 PM 12/20/02, Jim Bassett wrote: > >OK, the steering wheel has developed a vibration lately (within the last > >couple of weeks), much like an out-of-balance tire. > > Thanks everybody for your suggestions, I appreciate it. > > Tires were road-force balanced last week. As mentioned, the control arms & > bushings are new as well. > > A couple people recommended swapping the front wheels left to right - > <shrug> I'll give it a try, it's free :-) > > I've got an appt with my mechanic on the 2nd to have a look-see; the whole > front suspension & subframe were out of the car in Oct, maybe something > loosened up? (I doubt it, but we're running out of ideas :-)). > > Anyway, thanks again, and if you have any other thoughts, I'd like to hear > them. > > Happy Holidays, > Jim Bassett > I don't think anyone else has mentioned it, but I have gotten a slight vibration at times as my brakes rotors became worn and/or slightly warped or when I changed between street and track pads. It has always gone away when I installed new rotors and/or pads during the normal course of maintenance. Dave Kelley 98 M3/4 94 325i
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#4. RE: [E36M3] AST light staying on - from Bob Lenarcik
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Date: Tue, 24 Dec 2002 08:21:39 -0800 From: Bob Lenarcik <lenarcik@pacbell.net> Subject: RE: [E36M3] AST light staying on It must be contagious - my car starting doing the same thing except that the ABS light comes on at the same time. I've checked the connector to the traction control module and it seems to clear the problem temporarily but I'm not sure if turning off the engine "fixes" it. It's also come on even after restarting. I've heard that an ABS wheel sensor going open-circuit would do this but I can't see how it would be intermittent. Does your AST light always remain on even after restarting the car? Anyone have ideas? - Bob 1997 M3/2 -----Original Message----- From: Shelhart2@aol.com [mailto:Shelhart2@aol.com] Sent: Monday, December 23, 2002 7:01 PM To: E36M3 Subject: [E36M3] AST light staying on Date: Mon, 23 Dec 2002 17:58:44 EST From: Shelhart2@aol.com Subject: AST light staying on I was driving home from the BMW dealer (picking up a new $5 blinker bulb) and the AST light came on. I depressed the switch and nothing happened (the light remained light). The brakes are functioning properly. Has anyone had any experience in diagnosing the problem? TIA and have a wonderful holiday. Shel Hart 1998 M3
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#5. RE: [E36M3] Kumho MX's vs Falken Azenis - from Bob Lenarcik
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Date: Tue, 24 Dec 2002 08:56:06 -0800 From: Bob Lenarcik <lenarcik@pacbell.net> Subject: RE: [E36M3] Kumho MX's vs Falken Azenis Josh, I have the MX tires on my 97 M3. I switched to 245/40-17 all around with the car's 3rd set of tires to reduce understeer and make rotation possible. I have yet to find a negative with the MX. I previously had the Kumho 712s in the same size and the MXs are a huge improvement. They stick really well in the dry and seem to resist hydroplaning (the last storm dumped 15" of rain in 3 days here). They are definitely a bigger tire all around, also. The car has H&R Coilovers and it was corner balanced. I had to have all 4 corners raised ..5" to prevent rubbing on the front when hitting dips in the road at highway speeds. I paid $138/tire at Discount Tire which included mounting, balancing and metal valve stems. Hard to beat and I highly recommend them. - Bob -----Original Message----- From: DocWyte [mailto:josh_wyte@yahoo.com] Sent: Monday, December 23, 2002 7:01 PM To: E36M3 Subject: [E36M3] Kumho MX's vs Falken Azenis Date: Mon, 23 Dec 2002 17:51:01 -0800 (PST) From: DocWyte <josh_wyte@yahoo.com> Subject: Kumho MX's vs Falken Azenis Well, after looking at my tire choices in the 235-40-17 size, I've decided to heck with that size and just go with the later ('96-'99) M3 tire size. I have a '95 M3 with the staggered ltw wheels. So I'll go with 225-45-17 fronts and 245-40-17 rears. I'd like to hear from people who are using the MX's and Azenis. How are they driving around, wear, wet traction, auto-x, etc. I had the Azenis on my old 16v auto-x car and was very impressed with them. Extremely sticky, good in the rain and cheap. Tire Rack seems to really like the MX, compares them favorably to the S03, but I'd like to hear from people who have them... (even better if you've had the azenis too!) TIA! -josh -josh ===== Josh Wyte Momentum Motorsports 508-833-3024 After 5 pm EST
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#6. Re: [E36M3] Steering wheel vibration - thanks - from Jim Bassett
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Date: Tue, 24 Dec 2002 10:20:34 -0800 From: Jim Bassett <jimbassett@attbi.com> Subject: Re: [E36M3] Steering wheel vibration - thanks At 05:50 AM 12/24/02, Dave Kelley wrote: >I don't think anyone else has mentioned it, but I have gotten a slight >vibration at times as my brakes rotors became worn and/or slightly >warped I think someone did mention it. It's a possibility, since I know the rotors are near minimum. I was going to check the thickness (and possibly change them) in another few months, but since I have the rotors on hand, I may go ahead now just to see if that cures it. Might as well try all I can before going to the mechanic on the 2nd (BTW, can't swap F tires L<->R - they're directional :-( ). Thanks, Jim Bassett
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#7. RE: [E36M3] E36 M3/4-door vs E36 M3/2-door... - from Dames, Mark
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Date: Tue, 24 Dec 2002 14:11:23 -0800 From: "Dames, Mark" <Mark.Dames@PDO.Co.Santa-Clara.CA.US> Subject: RE: [E36M3] E36 M3/4-door vs E36 M3/2-door... Dave said, "I'm 6'3" and 225 lbs, so shoulder width and leg room are issues for me." No actually head room is going to be the issue for you. Unless you're anatomically disproportioned, you will NOT fit in a coupe with a helmet on. Bassett said an inch more headroom with a sunroof, I think it's more. If you can find an M3 sedan with no sunroof, you're golden . . . a lot more head room. Try sitting in a coupe with a helmet on. It won't work. Mark. 6'2", 195 lbs. 98 M3/4 w/sunroof, just fits w/da helmet and seat canted back. -----Original Message----- From: Dave Kelley [mailto:d.kelley@usa.net] Sent: Sunday, December 22, 2002 5:14 PM To: E36M3 Subject: Re: [E36M3] E36 M3/4-door vs E36 M3/2-door... Date: Sun, 22 Dec 2002 20:11:48 -0500 From: "Dave Kelley" <d.kelley@usa.net> Subject: Re: [E36M3] E36 M3/4-door vs E36 M3/2-door... > Date: Sun, 22 Dec 2002 10:33:52 -0500 > From: "Patrick Buthmann" <patrick@teutonic.ca> > Subject: E36 M3/4-door vs E36 M3/2-door... > > > Gang, > > Since I'm looking at selling my race car, it's going to be replaced = > by an E36 M3 as a combo daily driver / heavy track use car (20 to 30 = > days). > > However, I'm also at that age where a 4 door car is just so much = > more useful than a 2-door (at least I've kept all my hair so far....). > > Any known drawbacks to running the M3/4 as a track car? According = > to all the info I've dug up, curb weights are identical for the coupe = > and sedan (I thought the extra door frames / windows would add some, but = > apparently not). > > Anybody out there have a major preference for the 2 door over the 4 = > door? Generally I prefer the appearance of 2 door cars, but the M3 = > sedan is a good looking car, and having 4 doors may *temper* the = > downgrade from a prepared race car to a combo daily driver / track car = > somewhat. > > Any problems with front seating on the 4 door vs the 2 door? I'm = > 6'3" and 225 lbs, so shoulder width and leg room are issues for me. = > Also, any issues with dropping street friendly buckets (such as the = > Recaro SRD and other suggestions from my other post; thanks again) into = > the sedan? > > Any and all insights from the members of this list would be greatly = > appreciated. > > > Thanks, and hey, have a Merry Christmas! > > > Pat > You actually get an inch more headroom in the 4-door, all other things being equal. But with a rollbar, you get no use out of your rear seat, even if you have a removeable cross-brace, i.e. with an Autopower bar for the 4- door. I'm a big guy, 5'11" 275#, and I'm keeping my stock seats. They fit well and I don't move at all with my harnesses! Dave Kelley 98 M3/4 94 325i ************************************************************* 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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#8. Re: [E36M3] Chugging in 1st through 4th gear (update) - from Carguymb@aol.com
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Date: Tue, 24 Dec 2002 17:35:22 EST From: Carguymb@aol.com Subject: Re: [E36M3] Chugging in 1st through 4th gear (update) In a message dated 12/24/02 1:23:17 AM, e36m3@bmw-m.net writes: >Date: Mon, 23 Dec 2002 10:38:04 -0800 >From: Jim Bassett <jimbassett@attbi.com> >Subject: Re: [E36M3] Chugging in 1st through 4th gear (update) > >At 03:33 PM 12/22/02, Chris Conner wrote: >>I just spent some time under the car, checking every nut and bolt in regards >>to my tranny noise issue. One of my stock tranny mount bolts is completely >>missing. Replaced, tightened all the others, it still makes the noise. >Stock >>m3 shifter is going on tomorrow. > >Doubtful that that's the problem. > >How many miles total on the car? My guess is a worn out guibo. Check it >for >cracks, esp. around the bolt holes. > >Also, since you were already missing one bolt, I would do a complete check > >of all fasteners under the car, front to rear. > >Hope that helps, >Jim Bassett Chris, I concur with Jim. Check the guibo. While you're there, take a look at the motor and diff mounts, and all the exhaust hangers. All are possibilities which, if worn, could cause ralative movement from the torque load under acceleration. Look for any signs underneath of components underneath rubbing or being rubbed by the driveshaft. I don't recall the start of your thread, but I assume you recently installed the short shifter, and that's when the problem first started? Double check your installation underneath, and that you got everything back together securely, especially the exhaust, if you dropped it to do the install. Good luck! Martin Bullen '95 M3 '97 Z3 2.8
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#9. M3 Speedometer Intermittent Failure - from shane.a.kleinpeter@accenture.com
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Date: Wed, 25 Dec 2002 11:59:58 -0500 From: shane.a.kleinpeter@accenture.com Subject: M3 Speedometer Intermittent Failure Hi All, First off, Merry Christmas to you all. Driving up from NC to PA on Sunday an old problem that I thought was gone has re-emerged. A year or so ago I wrote in asking if anybody had a problem with their speedometer working intermittently. Mine will stop working on long trips (i.e. longer than 3 hours). Sometimes it will come back on it's own, other times it will stay off until the car is stopped and restarted after sitting a while. Just killing the engine and starting again won't do it. It has been suggested in the past that the speed sensor in the diff gets hot and quits working, but this is never a problem at the track, even in summer when I cook the diff, only on the highway. Anyway, I got a new piece of data on this trip since it was over 8 hours. Around D.C., which is a good 6 hours into the drive, the speedometer quit working when we encountered some traffic. It stayed off for several miles. During this time, all other gauges work properly, and only the speedometer, odometer, and trip meter do not work. After ten minutes or so, the speedo suddenly came back on. As it did so, the radio increased in volume. About 30 minutes later, we came on another traffic slowdown and the speedo died again. It came back in the same manner, with the radio increasing in volume. We spent the night in Baltimore, visited the aquarium on Monday morning, and the speedo died again by the time we got to our destination, which was less than a two hour drive. It did not come back on so I did not encounter the radio volume increase. My wife took the car out on an errand yesterday while I was doing brakes on my father's E38 and reported that the speedo worked fine. So, what I'd like to know is: 1. Has anybody else encountered this problem? If so, how did you fix it? 2. I took the car into the dealer a year ago with this problem and they could not find anything wrong (you're all shocked, I know). The car is now out of warranty. Since the problem was reported during the warranty period, does BMW still have a responsibility for fixing the problem? Does anybody have experience in getting this sort of after-warranty service provided? 3. Since the odometer quits working when this happens, I now cannot honestly say that the odometer is correct if I sell the car. This is a HUGE problem. I think BMW owes it to me to find the problem and fix it since this affects my resell value in a huge way. What do you guys think? Thanks! Shane K. '96 M3 '94 325i JP/ITS This message is for the designated recipient only and may contain privileged, proprietary, or otherwise private information. If you have received it in error, please notify the sender immediately and delete the original. Any other use of the email by you is prohibited.
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#10. Re: [E36M3] M3 Speedometer Intermittent Failure - from Dave Kelley
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Date: Wed, 25 Dec 2002 12:16:40 -0500 From: "Dave Kelley" <d.kelley@usa.net> Subject: Re: [E36M3] M3 Speedometer Intermittent Failure > Date: Wed, 25 Dec 2002 11:59:58 -0500 > From: shane.a.kleinpeter@accenture.com > Subject: M3 Speedometer Intermittent Failure > > Hi All, > > First off, Merry Christmas to you all. > > Driving up from NC to PA on Sunday an old problem that I thought was gone > has re-emerged. A year or so ago I wrote in asking if anybody had a > problem with their speedometer working intermittently. Mine will stop > working on long trips (i.e. longer than 3 hours). Sometimes it will come > back on it's own, other times it will stay off until the car is stopped and > restarted after sitting a while. Just killing the engine and starting > again won't do it. It has been suggested in the past that the speed sensor > in the diff gets hot and quits working, but this is never a problem at the > track, even in summer when I cook the diff, only on the highway. > > Anyway, I got a new piece of data on this trip since it was over 8 hours. > Around D.C., which is a good 6 hours into the drive, the speedometer quit > working when we encountered some traffic. It stayed off for several miles. > During this time, all other gauges work properly, and only the speedometer, > odometer, and trip meter do not work. After ten minutes or so, the speedo > suddenly came back on. As it did so, the radio increased in volume. About > 30 minutes later, we came on another traffic slowdown and the speedo died > again. It came back in the same manner, with the radio increasing in > volume. > > We spent the night in Baltimore, visited the aquarium on Monday morning, > and the speedo died again by the time we got to our destination, which was > less than a two hour drive. It did not come back on so I did not encounter > the radio volume increase. My wife took the car out on an errand yesterday > while I was doing brakes on my father's E38 and reported that the speedo > worked fine. > > So, what I'd like to know is: > > 1. Has anybody else encountered this problem? If so, how did you fix it? > 2. I took the car into the dealer a year ago with this problem and they > could not find anything wrong (you're all shocked, I know). The car is now > out of warranty. Since the problem was reported during the warranty > period, does BMW still have a responsibility for fixing the problem? Does > anybody have experience in getting this sort of after-warranty service > provided? > 3. Since the odometer quits working when this happens, I now cannot > honestly say that the odometer is correct if I sell the car. This is a > HUGE problem. I think BMW owes it to me to find the problem and fix it > since this affects my resell value in a huge way. What do you guys think? > > Thanks! > > Shane K. > '96 M3 > '94 325i JP/ITS > Shane, This has happened on my car 2 or 3 times in the past year, most recently just a couple weeks ago. After the car sat for awhile, the speedometer was working again with no problem! I have no clue what is causing this, so I would be curious if anyone knows. Apparently it is not all that uncommon! Dave Kelley 98 M3/4 94 325i