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#1. RE: [E36M3] Luxury Package question - from John Firestone
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Date: Sat, 22 Feb 2003 19:30:22 +0100 (CET) From: John Firestone <john.firestone@nord-com.net> Subject: RE: [E36M3] Luxury Package question On Fri, 21 Feb 2003, Michael Michalski wrote: > Hunt wrote: > Is there any definitive > or unique feature that makes an M3 "Luxury Package"? > > I believe the "luxury package" included head rests for the back seats. I > could be wrong though :) I believe manually-adjusted, rear head rests became standard safety equipment in Europe around 1994, and in the U.S. a few years later. I think they would have been a luxury if they had copied Mercedes and, on command, could drop out of sight! -John '96 318is
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#2. competition tires for sale - from Mdriver13@aol.com
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Date: Sat, 22 Feb 2003 14:12:18 EST From: Mdriver13@aol.com Subject: competition tires for sale Group, I have four old Kumho V700 Victoracer tires for sale. Size is 245/45/17. They have three autox seasons on them (approx. 30 autox's). They were shaved and heat cycled by TireRack. I don't think there is much rubber left, but you can still see the lengthwise groove and they don't have much grip, IMO. Shipping would be around $50 based on my experience unless you live near Bethlehem, PA and can arrange a pick-up. Make me an offer. Bob Gill 97 ///M3 coupe - baby gets new rubber this year! Philly Region SCCA AS Champion '97 & '00 BSP Champion '01 & '02
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#3. 528i Wgn - from KResener@aol.com
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Date: Sat, 22 Feb 2003 15:36:58 EST From: KResener@aol.com Subject: 528i Wgn I'm thinking of replacing my wife's '95 Volvo 850 Turbo wagon with a '99 528i wagon. Can anyone tell me what to look out for or steer me towards a link somewhere to learn of any issues with that year/model? Kurt '95 ///M3 w/ stuff...
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#4. Thank You - from Jim Mihal
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Date: Sat, 22 Feb 2003 15:08:04 -0800 From: "Jim Mihal" <jmihal@jt-designs.com> Subject: Thank You Hi Folks, I would like to take this opportunity to say Thank You for supporting us over the last few years. In support of this list, from now until March 31st 2003, we are offering free UPS ground service to the continental US with use of a secret code to be used upon shopping cart check out. The code is: SUZYLIST Thank You all Again! Best Regards, Jim Mihal Unique BMW Specialties www.jt-designs.com
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#5. Setting Up My M3 for OTC (long) - from Peter Guagenti
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Date: Sat, 22 Feb 2003 20:56:03 -0800 From: Peter Guagenti <peter@guagenti.com> Subject: Setting Up My M3 for OTC (long) Gruppe, This week we started getting my '95 M3 ready for the Open Track Challenge (http://www.opentrackchallenge.com/). Bill Arnold and I will be co-driving the event and, frankly, I couldn't ask for a better partner with Bill's experience, skills as a driver, and mechanical abilities. We did some pretty new and interesting things to the car (http://www.guagenti.com/M3/PeterG_M3.jpg), as well as some old favorites, so I thought I'd share them with the group. I'll be covering the event for Roundel again, including a sidebar piece with details on how we set up the car (anyone other vendors out there wanna help us be quick -- hint, hint ;-). Here's a sneak peek. Fixing Common Problems ----------------------- We spent a great deal of time with general maintenance and replacing things that could break (wheel bearings, bushings, etc). One of the things we did was reinforce the one system that managed to break on every BMW last year (including the Mini) -- the Power Steering lines. We clipped off the front line at the trombone, at the same time removing the brass fitting. We then replaced it with new hose, cut to length, and secured with two hose clamps (http://www.guagenti.com/M3/Power_Steering.jpg). Under high torque load and hard cornering, the motor shifts _a lot_ in the mounts. A little more slack in the hose fixes that. This is a must-do for any E36 that sees the track. Nothing like spinning in your own power steering fluid. Relocating Fuel Filter ----------------------- To make at-the-track maintenance easy in the car, one thing we did was relocate the fuel filter (we were replacing it any way -- http://www.guagenti.com/M3/Fuel_Filter.jpg). The link shows the fuel filter from a V8 located just behind the X-Brace on the driver's side of the car, replacing the standard unit that sits under the intake. We can now swap it out in minutes if need be. I was afraid of potentially damaging the filter with it so low (Bill and I both like to ride the berms on track), so we bolted a left-over standard transmission brace in the two holes to the rear of the x-brace (http://www.guagenti.com/M3/extra_brace.jpg). Now we've got all the protection we need. Making More Power ----------------------- With the stock 3.0L engine, we are definitely going to be at a disadvantage compared to the high-horsepower 911, the 944 turbo, and the supposedly-500hp Supra in our class. Anything we can do to accelerate harder is a good thing. The car is cam'ed (Jim C's kit), but we did a few more things to make it go. The first thing I did was replace the ECIS intake I had with a UUC-sourced JC intake (http://www.guagenti.com/M3/intake.jpg). I did this because of recent dyno numbers I saw that had the JC kit making a hair more torque throughout the range, a very good thing on a 3.0L. The ECIS will now have a good life on the M3-engined '71 Bavaria Bill's building for One Lap, but that's another story. ;-) The stock fan clutch is worth a few horsepower according to many club racers. As we will be driving through the desert for quite a while (with the potential for heavy traffic), I was wary of pulling the fan altogether. So, Bill installed the fan and fan clutch from an E30 (http://www.guagenti.com/M3/fan.jpg). It's smaller, lighter, and has fewer blades. Now not only do we have less mass to spin, but we also have a lot more room to work in the front of the engine. The clutch was the next to go -- replaced with UUC Motorwerks' 8.5lb flywheel (http://www.uucmotorwerks.com/flywheel/LFWLE36SH.htm) mated to an M5 sprung-hub clutch (UUC is a sponsor of the car). With the sprung-hub clutch, you get all the benefits of a light flywheel with none of the chatter. The car now pulls like mad, with a noticeable difference in mid-range power. There also seems to be more grip from the M5 clutch, with a more solid engagement. The only downside is the light parts make the clutch effort almost non-existent. For someone with a kickboxer's legs like mine, the low effort is a little annoying. Then again, my wife loves it as her leg used to get tired in traffic. YMMV. We still need to make more power. I'm planning to put on a new UUC TSE Exhaust shortly (http://www.uucmotorwerks.com/html_product/brakes/tech.htm) -- that should help some. We're going to be putting in a shortly geared differential (although we haven't sourced a diff cover yet), and are still on the lookout for pulleys, headers, and something to replace the cat with. OTC is a game of escalation. We need all the power we can get to take the game to our competition. Any other ideas out in M3-land? Dinan blowers and Euro motors _are_ legal in class. ;-) Making the Car Handle ----------------------- This is our one advantage against all of our other competitors (minus the NSX we'll face), so we're making the most of it. My existing set-up was replaced with UUC Sway Barbarians, and a complete coil-over set-up from Ground Control (another sponsor, Thanks Jay!). The GC coil-overs are amazing -- even with the single adjustable Koni's I'm running (http://www.ground-control.com/gccatm3.htm). Jay set us up with the perfect spring rates, so now we're just tuning the alignment. Right now the car is dead neutral, leaning towards oversteer on rough surfaces. It feels great, and all but the tightest corners can now be taken without any understeer. It's a shame that we have to run a straight street tire (Treadwear 140), but we have a plan to do make most of that as well. All the other accoutrements are on the car -- front and rear braces, RTAB reinforcers, etc. The suspension on this car should be the best part. Slowing Things Down ----------------------- Bill's an E30M3 driver, so I don't expect him to use the brakes much. Me on the other hand, I'm a big wuss and expect to use them often and hard. ;-) To make sure I don't have any scary moments, the UUC VSB's that are on the car (http://www.uucmotorwerks.com/html_product/brakes/tech.htm) will be replaced shortly with their new 4-piston front-and-rear Porsche-style kit (http://www.guagenti.com/M3/4pot_front.jpg). The VSBs were great, but these new brakes are absolutely amazing. They grip like mad, are completely fade-free, and have excellent pedal feel. The design of the caliper also means that changing pads is a dream -- a full swap should take no more than a few minutes once all the wheels are off. Having driven kits from most manufacturers, these brakes seem to perform on par with the Brembo full kit (the 800lb gorilla in the space) at almost half the price. We should see what wear and tear is like as well, with 8 days on the track and 1500 highway miles going on the car once the event begins. That's what we've done so far. I think it's going to be an uphill battle, but we have a damn good shot at the podium. And with so few BMWs entering this year compared to last, including the probable absence of Navid Kahangi's second-place overall E46 M3, we may be one of the only ones to hold up Bavarian honor. Come out and cheer us on if you can. OTC takes place in the second week of April. Event details are on the web site. -peterg
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#6. Odd Vibration - from Ed Yee
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Date: Sun, 23 Feb 2003 00:37:08 -0500 From: "Ed Yee" <edyee@attbi.com> Subject: Odd Vibration Group, Recently, my M3 has developed an odd vibration as though my tires/wheels all of a sudden became very unbalanced. I have less than 5K on a set of ContiSport Contacts that where optimized on the super duper Hunter machine. I just rotated fronts to rear and didn't see any weights missing. The vibration doesn't seem to start until I've been driving awhile, then it=20 comes and goes at various speeds. As I come to a stop, the=20 frequency of the vibration lessens. When I accelerate there's typically no vibration at first then it will usually start again. I = don't see a correlation with the road surface quality. When it starts,=20 it gets very noticable, almost violent. Perhaps related, there's a=20 strong smell of what appears to be burnt brake/clutch lining, but the car doesn't pull to either side abnormally and the=20 clutch doesn't slip. When braking, I don't feel any noticeable pulsating in the brake pedal. Any ideas? I'm thinking the following: - Tire(s) going bad (internal belts?) - Failing control arm bushings - Failing steering linkage, rack, PS hydraulics I believe the wheels are straight, haven't bashed any curbs lately. Thanks.. Ed
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#7. Track pipe with OEM Muffler? - from William T. Wallace
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Date: Sun, 23 Feb 2003 08:17:43 -0500 From: "William T. Wallace" <daddy30@earthlink.net> Subject: Track pipe with OEM Muffler? Has anyone installed an AA Track Pipe with the OEM M3 Muffler? Would it be correct to assume that I would see approx. the same amount of TQ and HP gains with the track pipe alone? Sincerely, William T. Wallace 95 M3 00 528i Tarhell Chapter
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#8. Where to buy RTAB and a few other OEM parts... - from DocWyte
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Date: Sun, 23 Feb 2003 11:51:48 -0800 (PST) From: DocWyte <josh_wyte@yahoo.com> Subject: Where to buy RTAB and a few other OEM parts... Need to buy a set of the '96+ RTAB's, as well as the front strut tower reinforcement plates and gaskets, and an aluminum thermostat housing. Where's the best place to order these? I'd prefer to not deal with Circle BMW, they're billing and shipping practices make it difficult for me to pay and receive my goods... TIA! -josh ===== Josh Wyte Momentum Motorsports 508-833-3024 After 5 pm EST __________________________________________________ Do you Yahoo!? Yahoo! Tax Center - forms, calculators, tips, more http://taxes.yahoo.com/
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#9. Camber plates... - from DocWyte
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Date: Sun, 23 Feb 2003 11:54:57 -0800 (PST) From: DocWyte <josh_wyte@yahoo.com> Subject: Camber plates... Hi, I have a few questions about camber plates. I have a '95 M3 with stock springs, koni sa's and '96 strut bearings swapped side to side. I'm thinking about getting a set of camber plates so I can adjust camber and equalize my front cross camber. I don't want to change anything else about my suspension setup, and this is a daily driver. Easy adjustment is key, I don't want to have to jack up the car to be able to adjust the plates. What's the consensus on the KMAC's? The TC Kline plates look good as well, but momma, are they pricey!! -josh ===== Josh Wyte Momentum Motorsports 508-833-3024 After 5 pm EST __________________________________________________ Do you Yahoo!? Yahoo! Tax Center - forms, calculators, tips, more http://taxes.yahoo.com/
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#10. EWS and 506 vs 413 questions - from DocWyte
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Date: Sun, 23 Feb 2003 11:56:02 -0800 (PST) From: DocWyte <josh_wyte@yahoo.com> Subject: EWS and 506 vs 413 questions Hi, What's this EWS I've been hearing about? I have a 8/95 M3 with the 413 dme. Do I have EWS? How can I tell? Could I swap out my 413 dme for a 506 dme with no other changes? -josh ===== Josh Wyte Momentum Motorsports 508-833-3024 After 5 pm EST __________________________________________________ Do you Yahoo!? Yahoo! Tax Center - forms, calculators, tips, more http://taxes.yahoo.com/