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#1. excellent experience with The Tire Rack - from Chris Papademetrious
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Date: Fri, 16 May 2003 11:19:05 -0400 From: Chris Papademetrious <chrispy@ieee.org> Subject: excellent experience with The Tire Rack I just wanted to share a very positive experience I had with The Tire Rack. I recently ordered four 235-40R17 Bridgestone Potenza S03 tires for my 95 BMW M3. I tracked down a shop in my area (Tire Discount Center) which has a very nice (read: expensive) Hunter road-force balancing machine, and had the tires mounted and balanced on my 17" BBS RK wheels. In addition to doing a normal weight balance, it also rotates the wheel/tire assembly against a drum, and measures the actual force against the drum. Dean invited me back for the entire balance procedure, and explained each step of the process. He took a great deal of time to carefully balance and force-measure every wheel and tire combination. Three of the wheel/tire combinations measured absolutely beautifully, zeroing the weight balance, and showing less than 5lbs road force variation at speed. The fourth wheel/tire combo weight-balanced perfectly, but showed a whopping 34lbs of road force variation! Dean went back to the mounting machine and rotated the tire on the wheel according to the Hunter machine's suggestion, but the balanced combo still weighed in with 24lbs of road force variation. The verdict was an out-of-round tire. I sent Tire Rack Customer Service an email that day, explaining my situation and asking for it to be resolved. The next morning I got a very professional and polite phone call from Tire Rack, stating that: 1. they were shipping a new tire to me 2. they were sending me a call tag to have the old one shipped back 3. I should fax my remount/rebalance receipt to them, and they would issue a credit on my card Now that is customer service! I am an extremely satisfied customer of The Tire Rack, and I wanted to share my satisfaction with my fellow enthusiasts. Also, for those of you near Pocono International Raceway here in eastern PA, I strongly suggest you drop by Tire Discount Center and have your wheels rebalanced. Dean is the owner, and has several BMWs himself (cars and motorcycles). He is very meticulous, appreciates how sensitive our cars are to balance issues, and would be happy to show you how the machines work. Give him a ring at 570 992-6595 (Brodheadsville, PA). They also have a pricey touchless tire mounter, which uses a series of hydraulic gizmos to mount the tire without the wheel ever being touched by crowbars or other metal implements (aside from the mounting hub, of course). - Chris
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#2. RE: Re: [E36M3] ETK, TIS and other manuals - from ROWERS41@aol.com
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Date: Fri, 16 May 2003 11:30:22 -0400 From: ROWERS41@aol.com Subject: RE: Re: [E36M3] ETK, TIS and other manuals Just wondering where, if any, there are available the cd's of the ETK, TIS and other maintenance manuals. Cheers, Steve
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#3. tranny fluid choice . . . depends - from John B
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Date: Fri, 16 May 2003 08:41:46 -0700 (PDT) From: John B <john0990@yahoo.com> Subject: tranny fluid choice . . . depends So I guess the moral of the story is that it depends on the individual car/tranny. Keep on trying until you find one you like or works best with your car. >>>Tried it. Didn't like it. Best so far is Redline D4-ATF. I have some Mobil1 ATF to try next. Others seem to like the RP. Who knows? <<< __________________________________ Do you Yahoo!? The New Yahoo! Search - Faster. Easier. Bingo. http://search.yahoo.com
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#4. Re:Brake Rotors - from Paragonloan@aol.com
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Date: Fri, 16 May 2003 11:43:35 EDT From: Paragonloan@aol.com Subject: Re:Brake Rotors I use the Euro floating rotors from Pacific BMW I think they were 100 a piece. I have used them at Sebring,Moroso, and Roebling rd. for a total of about 12 lapping days plus normal daily driving and and they have hardly any wear so far. I was running Hawk HT8, I am now running Cobalt GTR V spec (awesome pads). Brian Jacobs 97 M3
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#5. Long Shot - Fuel Level Sending Unit Voltage at Empty - from shane.a.kleinpeter@accenture.com
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Date: Fri, 16 May 2003 12:20:23 -0400 From: shane.a.kleinpeter@accenture.com Subject: Long Shot - Fuel Level Sending Unit Voltage at Empty This is admittedly a long shot, but I figured that maybe somebody has it and it will save me a week or so. I need to know what voltage the fuel level sending unit (brown wire with yellow stripe in '92-'97 cars) sends to the instrument cluster when the tank is empty. I know that when it is full, it is 0 Volts, but forgot what the reading is at empty. The reason I ask is that I am trying to install a replacement fuel gauge on the race car (which no longer has the stock instrument cluster) and the BMW sending unit is apparently working the opposite of what most cars do (i.e. they expect the voltage to climb as the tank empty's). The company that makes the gauge (SPA technique) is willing to start making an adapter box to work with BMW's but I need the voltage readings (they use mV by the way). I would do it myself, but I won't be home for another week :-( If somebody knows this (or is just curious), I would appreciate it. Thanks, Shane K. '96 M3 '94 325i #335 JP 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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#6. Re: [E36M3] Long Shot - Fuel Level Sending Unit Voltage at Empty - from Andrew E. Kalman
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Date: Fri, 16 May 2003 09:47:58 -0700 From: "Andrew E. Kalman" <aek@pumpkininc.com> Subject: Re: [E36M3] Long Shot - Fuel Level Sending Unit Voltage at Empty Shane asked: >I need to know what voltage the fuel level sending unit (brown wire with >yellow stripe in '92-'97 cars) sends to the instrument cluster when the >tank is empty. I know that when it is full, it is 0 Volts, but forgot what >the reading is at empty. The reason I ask is that I am trying to install a >replacement fuel gauge on the race car (which no longer has the stock >instrument cluster) and the BMW sending unit is apparently working the >opposite of what most cars do (i.e. they expect the voltage to climb as the >tank empty's). The company that makes the gauge (SPA technique) is willing >to start making an adapter box to work with BMW's but I need the voltage >readings (they use mV by the way). Voltage information won't be of any use to you, because battery voltage varies. The fuel tank level gauge is a current-driven device to avoid these problems. Well, actually, it's a stepper motor or simple gauge controlled by an MCU -- but in theory (and in practice, as per the way VDO does their aftermarket guages) what you do is you have an armature and coil that is affected by two currents: one current is from Vbatt to ground via a reference resistor inside the gauge, and the other is from Vbatt to your sensor (the fuel tank rheostats) via the gauge. The armature moves based on the ** difference ** in current between the two. This is invariant of battery voltage. Slick. I measured the two fuel tank sender units when I put in my second pump. They are each a 10-120 Ohm rheostat, and they are wired in series. Slick (again). So, a completely empty tank will measure 20 Ohms if you disconnect at the sender that's closer to the gauge. A completely full tank will measure 240 Ohms. Dunno what the current is (it's unlikely to be 14V/R_senders). Regards, -- ______________________________________ Andrew E. Kalman, Ph.D. Salvo(TM), The RTOS that runs in tiny places(TM) Pumpkin, Inc. 750 Naples Street San Francisco, CA 94112 tel: (415) 584-6360 fax: (415) 585-7948 web: http://www.pumpkininc.com email: aek@pumpkininc.com
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#7. Re: [E36M3] Where to Buy CoverCraft Covers? Which Type? - from Rex Tener
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Date: Fri, 16 May 2003 10:12:33 -0700 From: Rex Tener <rex_tener@yahoo.com> Subject: Re: [E36M3] Where to Buy CoverCraft Covers? Which Type? At 09:24 AM 5/16/2003 -0500, Andrew E. Kalman wrote: >Date: Fri, 16 May 2003 07:08:54 -0700 >From: "Andrew E. Kalman" <aek@pumpkininc.com> >Subject: Where to Buy CoverCraft Covers? Which Type? > >Hi All. > >Where is the best / cheapest place to buy custom-fitted CoverCraft Covers? Hi Andrew, I used to buy all my car covers from Beverly Hills Motoring Accessories (ten covers over a ten year period for various vehicles), but their customer service has become non-existent. A friend who had a custom cover for his Jeep Wrangler made by California Car Cover, raved about the cover's fit and quality. A co-worker, a friend, and I have all bought covers from them in the last six months with good results. I got my new cover a month ago for my E36 M3 and I am very happy with the fit and the quality of material. The cover arrived about a week after ordering it. They can be found on the web at: <http://www.californiacarcover.com/> -- Rex Tener rex_tener@yahoo.com 2002 BMW M3, SCCA SFR Solo II A-Stock #32 (national autox rent-a-ride) 1996 BMW M3, SCCA SFR Solo II Street-Mod #173
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#8. M3 driving on I-80 in Nevada, Utah, Wyoming, and Nebraska - from AVUSM3@aol.com
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Date: Fri, 16 May 2003 13:49:19 EDT From: AVUSM3@aol.com Subject: M3 driving on I-80 in Nevada, Utah, Wyoming, and Nebraska In about a week, a friend of mine and I will be making a cross country trip in an M3 from San Fran CA, to New Hampshire. We will be taking I-80 through NV, UT, WY, and NE. For those that drive that road frequently, can you advise what the common "cruising" speed is out there. I live back in New England where 55/65 mph is the limit so I'm not used to the faster cruising speeds out there. I am trying to figure out how many hours it will take to get across country on our quasi-cannonball run. Will a Valentine One be effective out there? Thanks, John
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#9. Re: [E36M3] Brake rotors - from e36m3digest@jedinite.com
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Date: Fri, 16 May 2003 13:24:10 -0500 From: "e36m3digest@jedinite.com" <e36m3digest@jedinite.com> Subject: Re: [E36M3] Brake rotors Just run stock rotors, Brembo or Zimmerman. Bimmerworld has the best prices and excellent service: http://www.bimmerworld.com. Bimmerworld will also give you good pricing on a set of higher-performance Hawk brake pads to go with your new rotors. Eric M. Foster Performify.com
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#10. Euro Oil Cooler - long - from Dorffer, Rich
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Date: Fri, 16 May 2003 15:24:05 -0400 From: "Dorffer, Rich" <RDORFFER@CleIndians.com> Subject: Euro Oil Cooler - long > - The ancillary pieces I purchased were as follows: > > 17 51 2 243 659 1 holder - plastic bracket with an unthreaded brass insert > 17 22 2 227 282 1 euro holder - metal bracket with two holes one is threaded > for M6 it looks more Euro than the plastic bracket > 17 20 1 712 209 4 plastic snap together brackets with holes in them > 17 22 2 227 340 1 bolt - an M6 x 30mm bolt > 11 65 2 243 770 1 bolt - an M6 x 20mm bolt > 17 22 1 712 349 1 spacer - flared unthreaded bushing > > To me, these pieces seem useless. I can't tell how they would be used to hold the oil cooler in place at all, at least not > on the US car. I can see how I can fabricate my own metal brackets which would insert in the plastic brackets on the under > side and hold the oil cooler in place. Has anyone else done this or are there brackets already fabricated out there? > > Also, where exactly do these two pieces go: > > 17 21 2 227 344 1 air duct > 07 11 9 900 409 3 screw > > Stephen: Do you have a write-up related to the images found on your web site with regard > to the installation of the Euro Oil Cooler? I'm considering the purchase of a 'kit' and > I am now wondering how complete it might be in terms of being a true 'bolt-on' upgrade. > Did you use the parts that Rich purchased and successfully install the cooler with them? Actually, I wrapped up my installation last weekend. I ended up using the air duct (and three screws). The air duct attaches to the top side of the underpanel near the back with the three screws. It is a tight fit on reinstallation but it works to direct air through the cooler and replaces the stock panel that slips into the underpanel (and is where the oil cooler resides). The first six part numbers above aren't really necessary in my opinion. The first two holders don't work on the US radiators. The plastic snap together brackets (you only need two and I believe they come two to a pack for the one part number) snap together around the metal portion of the cooler lines and in conjunction with the bolts and spacer and another metal bracket, help secure the cooler lines to the alternator. Again, it doesn't work with the US motor/alternator. I did use the bracket, one bolt and bushing along with some washers/nuts I had in order to secure the cooler lines to each other above the alternator but it surely isn't very effective and I haven't determined what type of bracket I might make to secure it to. Regards, Rich 95 M3 - hopefully further preventing any overheating.