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#1. Re: [E36M3] replacing knock sensors on '95 - from Dave Thomas
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Date: Fri, 7 Apr 2006 20:07:07 -0700 From: Dave Thomas <dave@sasdatalink.com> Subject: Re: [E36M3] replacing knock sensors on '95 On Friday 07 April 2006 8:50 pm, Brian Ruiz wrote: > Date: Fri, 7 Apr 2006 20:41:54 -0700 > From: "Brian Ruiz" <eurowerke@gmail.com> > Subject: Re: [E36M3] replacing knock sensors on '95 > > The stories of everyone that has changed their knock sensors leads me to > wondering something about everyone's reasons, as well as if it might help > out with my problem. I was getting error codes for the #1 sensor more and more frequently and from time to time I would hear a bit of a 'ping' on a throttle blip. > Has everyone that has replaced their knock sensors done it as a > preventative measure (i.e. if your car already has lots of miles, or a > 'while you're in there' kinda thing)? It has been my experience on other makes that knock sensors were fairly disposable, turbo charged Toyota engines being my main source of knock sensor failure, but I almost never hear about them being a problem on BMW's. That said...mine were so badly cracked that I was quite surprised to see it...they were in bad shape. Dave T.
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#2. Re: [E36M3] New BMWs - from Scott McClung
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Date: Fri, 7 Apr 2006 21:59:09 -0700 (PDT) From: Scott McClung <smlists@pacbell.net> Subject: Re: [E36M3] New BMWs got it - makes more sense as a coupe - agree very much there. Scott Rich Dorffer <E36M3Digest@gmail.com> wrote: Date: Fri, 7 Apr 2006 20:26:37 -0400 From: "Rich Dorffer" Subject: New BMWs Umm, we were talking about the Coupe, not the Roadster. Last I checked, there wasn't a Boxster S coupe unless you are talking about the Cayman S and that isn't going to be $20k. Why would anyone want a Porsche Boxster S? A Porsche for panties. ;-) First car BMW has produced since the E36 M3 that has made me want one. Regards, Rich - make mine an MZ4 Coupe in Glacier Silver (or even Imola Red or the Interlagos Blue) From: Scott McClung > > And still, you would have to really love the brand to pick a M-Z4 over a > Boxster S, especially when you can get a 1-2 year old one with low miles for > about $20K less than a new M-Z4 would cost. > > Scott > > Andrew Kalman wrote: > > Same here (what looks good). The Z4 series is the only group of > current BMWs I find attractive, and might therefore like to own. > > >From: "Jamie Howton" > >Subject: Re: [e36m3] [E36M3] New BMWs > > > >> MZ4 Coupe is on my very short list of appealing cars coming available > >> soon... at least that fall into the somewhat realistic list (although > it'll > >> take a lot of inner debate to justify $50K+). Donations are now being > >> accepted. ;) ************************************************* Please help support the E36M3 list by visiting our sponsors: Bimmerworld http://www.bimmerworld.com Turner Motorsport http://www.turnermotorsport.com Eurosport High Performance http://www.eurosporthighperformance.com Rogue Engineering http://www.rogueengineering.com Treehouse Racing http://www.treehouseracing.com Elephant Motorsports Inc. http://www.elephantmotorsports.com DIGEST INFORMATION: http://www.bmw-m.net/resources/digest_info.htm *************************************************
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#3. Subframe Bushings and RTAB H*lp - from dhogg
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Date: Sat, 8 Apr 2006 06:55:35 -0400 From: "dhogg" <dhogg@suscom.net> Subject: Subframe Bushings and RTAB H*lp My '98 M3/4 will turn 100K miles tomorrow (yippee!). It's never been tracked or A/C, but it enjoys a more exciting road life than most cars 8 ^ O. It's developed: 1) a startling metallic "clunk" on hard right turns, esp on bumpy roads, that can be felt in the seat of the pants, and 2) a metallic squeak that sounds almost like tire squeal on milder right turns. Two different shops have checked out the usual suspects: X-brace, RSM's, sway bars, other suspension pieces, and all appear innocent. From other comments on the List, it seems that the clunk can be a symptom of F/R subframe bushings gone bad. Am I right? Are these different from the RTAB? If I get the subframe bushings replaced, how big a deal is that in terms of $$ to the Stealer? Wallowing in ignorance, Dave Hogg
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#4. Re: [E36M3] Subframe Bushings and RTAB H*lp - from Zack Steinkamp
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Date: Sat, 8 Apr 2006 08:00:20 -0700 (PDT) From: Zack Steinkamp <thenobot@yahoo.com> Subject: Re: [E36M3] Subframe Bushings and RTAB H*lp --- dhogg <dhogg@suscom.net> wrote: > It's developed: 1) a startling metallic "clunk" on hard right turns, > esp on > bumpy roads, that can be felt in the seat of the pants, and ... > From other comments on the List, it seems that the clunk can be a > symptom of F/R subframe bushings gone bad. Before looking at the subframe, it may be a good idea to ensure the springs are properly seated on their perches. Just put the back of the car in the air on jackstands, remove the rear wheels, release the e-brake, and grab each spring and shimmy/twist them around. If you are lucky, this will fix the clunk. -zs
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#5. pinging - from Richard Sperry
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Date: Sat, 8 Apr 2006 12:18:07 -0400 From: "Richard Sperry" <richardsperry@comcast.net> Subject: pinging ------------------snip----------- Date: Fri, 7 Apr 2006 20:41:54 -0700 From: "Brian Ruiz" <eurowerke@gmail.com> Subject: Re: [E36M3] replacing knock sensors on '95 The stories of everyone that has changed their knock sensors leads me to wondering something about everyone's reasons, as well as if it might help out with my problem. Has everyone that has replaced their knock sensors done it as a preventative measure (i.e. if your car already has lots of miles, or a 'while you're in there' kinda thing)? My car has an unusual pinging under high load that I have never been able to get rid of except when I use race gas. I assumed the timing chain was stretched enough to cause a slight change in timing, and coupled with my Conforti chip, caused the pinging. So I figured I needed to replace the chain, but could it really only be these sensors? Thanks Brian build 8/95 ------------------snip------------------------------ First, where do you live? If you are California, the 91 oct gas you get kinda s***s. I think Jim Conforti wrote some new code that addressed this. Some cars were pinging and some were not... But there is a chip for pingers. Second, mileage on the injectors? Old injectors s***. Swap them out every 60K. Keep a fresh set on hand, and send the old ones out for service. New clean injectors really do fix a lot of driveability issues. Third, gas brand. There is a reason cheap gas is cheap. Usually not in the base product, but in the additive packages each oil company, or wholesale distributor, put in them. I used to work for Hess Oil, and we have an excelent additive package, but we only put it in Hess premium gas. Everybody else that loaded premium gas got a different additive package that cost about 10X less then the one in the Hess brand gas.When Sunoco leased tank space at my terminal, they built a new loading rack for thier premium 94. They had a different additive package for thier gas that cost about what the Hess reg package cost... So try changing to another brand, and toss a bottle of Tecron in the tank.
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#6. Re: [E36M3] pinging - from Brian Ruiz
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Date: Sat, 8 Apr 2006 23:59:41 -0700 From: "Brian Ruiz" <eurowerke@gmail.com> Subject: Re: [E36M3] pinging Yes, I do live in California, land of gas octane suckage and currently gas price suckage also (at least, maybe a bit more than most other places in the country...just passed by a station tonight and regular is at about 2.79, premium just under 3 =-O). In my previous email that I sent just a few minutes ago :-P, I mentioned that I switched to using the Conforti anti-knock version of the euro HFM chip, and the problem seemed to decrease, but only very slightly. It also seems that in the cooler temperatures this winter, the pinging had decreased, but this might just be me having tuned it out a bit more due to my annoyance with it. This is what then led me to think that the timing chain must have been a bit out of whack (upon looking at my folder of receipts from the POs, one of them autoXd the car, so that lended more indication that there was a problem with the chain). I have been trying to chase this problem down for quite a while, it's one of the niggling problems that really bother me, and when I talked to my mechanic about it, he said pinging wasn't harmful to the engine, but I certainly disagree. I think my car pings more than other M3s do, and that is very unsettling to me. I've come to the point of almost hoping the engine blows within the next couple of years so I can just get rid of the problem wholesale (...and perhaps have an excuse to throw in a Euro engine ;). Anyway, all ideas appreciated. Brian build 8/95 On 4/8/06, Richard Sperry <richardsperry@comcast.net> wrote: > > Date: Sat, 8 Apr 2006 12:18:07 -0400 > From: "Richard Sperry" <richardsperry@comcast.net> > Subject: pinging > > ------------------snip----------- > Date: Fri, 7 Apr 2006 20:41:54 -0700 > From: "Brian Ruiz" <eurowerke@gmail.com> > Subject: Re: [E36M3] replacing knock sensors on '95 > > The stories of everyone that has changed their knock sensors leads me to > wondering something about everyone's reasons, as well as if it might help > out with my problem. > > Has everyone that has replaced their knock sensors done it as a > preventative > measure (i.e. if your car already has lots of miles, or a 'while you're in > there' kinda thing)? My car has an unusual pinging under high load that I > have never been able to get rid of except when I use race gas. I assumed > the timing chain was stretched enough to cause a slight change in timing, > and coupled with my Conforti chip, caused the pinging. So I figured I > needed to replace the chain, but could it really only be these sensors? > > Thanks > Brian > build 8/95 > ------------------snip------------------------------ > > First, where do you live? If you are California, the 91 oct gas you get > kinda s***s. I think Jim Conforti wrote some new code that addressed this.. > Some cars were pinging and some were not... But there is a chip for > pingers. > > Second, mileage on the injectors? Old injectors s***. Swap them out every > 60K. Keep a fresh set on hand, and send the old ones out for service. New > clean injectors really do fix a lot of driveability issues. > > Third, gas brand. There is a reason cheap gas is cheap. Usually not in the > base product, but in the additive packages each oil company, or wholesale > distributor, put in them. I used to work for Hess Oil, and we have an > excelent additive package, but we only put it in Hess premium gas. > Everybody > else that loaded premium gas got a different additive package that cost > about 10X less then the one in the Hess brand gas.When Sunoco leased tank > space at my terminal, they built a new loading rack for thier premium 94. > They had a different additive package for thier gas that cost about what > the > Hess reg package cost... > > So try changing to another brand, and toss a bottle of Tecron in the tank.. >
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#7. RE: Looking for front spring suggestions - from Ahmad Lutfeali
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Date: Mon, 10 Apr 2006 10:54:38 -0400 From: "Ahmad Lutfeali" <m3_racer99@hotmail.com> Subject: RE: Looking for front spring suggestions Mike, The setup which you currently have is decent. However, you would require some minor tweaking here. For starters, since you have Konis, they should be set to full stiff both front and rear. The max these Konis can handle are 500lbs front and 600lbs rear and you are close to the envelop here (BTW the front springs are 400lbs and rears are 515lbs on the H&R Race; I have heard 345lbs out there and confirmed it with Roland at H&R). You are right on the ride height issues. The front of the car will sit a lot lower and the rear will rise a bit (as compared to the sports). Rake on these cars are VERY essential and you should run .75inches lower in the front than in the rear. To fix this and to eliminate the bottoming out and to get to close enough rake. Do the following: Add another 9mm pad at the bottom of the front strut (BMW Part number: 31332227901). No need to remove the front strut, just jack up the front, remove the wheel, CUT the pad at one end so it goes around the strut- this should be easy since you can lift the short spring up; worst come to worst, go to Autozone and rent one of their free spring compressors and put it on while the suspension is still on the car). Once the car sits back, it will keep the pad settled plus the strut housing will keep it in place too. With 2 9mm pads on both top and bottom of the strut and both the rear spring pads on top and the spring bottom cover removed (yes you can run it metal to metal at the rear), your ride height will be perfect (rake wise) and your front bottoming out issue will be solved. Ask me how I know ;) Ahmad Date: Fri, 7 Apr 2006 00:19:16 -0400 From: "Mike Frank" <mfrank28@insightbb.com> Subject: Looking for front spring suggestions My current setup: H&R Race springs, Koni Sports (single adjustable), K-Mac Camber plates, RD Sport swaybars. I'm very happy with the handling overall for both street & track. However, when I switched from H&R Sport springs a few years ago, the front end dropped quite a bit, maybe 1.5 inches or more, and the rear end actually went up about an inch. Go figure. I added and extra 7.5mm spring pad in front to get it to a reasonably streetable height. Right now I have just under 12.5" from the center of the front wheel to the fender (measuring straight up). One thing I immediately noticed when I switched from Sport to Race springs is that the front of the car will give a harsh bang over large (for the M3) bumps. I'm assuming the suspension is bottoming out. Note, with the Sports these same bumps did not cause the front end to bottom out. A peek at the springs with the suspension loaded confirms that there's not a lot of travel. I bought the springs used and I've always wondered if maybe they were not quite right, maybe for the wrong year or model (but they fit). Again the car handles great, so I'm not unhappy. I've been running like this for a few years and I'm finally deciding to have a go at improving it. My question is the following. Does anyone know if there is a front spring available for our cars that has roughly the same rate (345lbs./inch, progressive?) as the H&R Race but is slightly longer? I'd like to keep the ride height where it is or maybe raise it a little bit. A little stiffer would probably be OK, but I don't want to make a big change. Basically I'd like to turn the spring pad into suspension travel, plus maybe a little more. It's not really broke, so I don't want to fix it too much. I'd like to avoid going to a full GC coilover setup if I can. I'm open to any other ideas/solutions as well. Sorry for the lengthy post. Thanks, Mike Frank 97 M3
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#8. Re: [E36M3] Kumho V710s - from David Ngo
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Date: Mon, 10 Apr 2006 08:10:58 -0700 (PDT) From: David Ngo <rudngo@yahoo.com> Subject: Re: [E36M3] Kumho V710s Sorry for replying to my own post, but I figured there was some info there that was still pertinent. I autocrossed yesterday with the 710s and had absolutely no problems with rubbing at all, even with 4 passengers. Though it was pretty cold and the tires never got over about 80 degrees, they had amazing grip. They are the best autox tires I've ever driven bar none, including the A3SO5s I used last season. The wear looked to be excellent, though only time will tell if they last me longer than the 27 runs the Hoosiers lasted. Dave -----Original Message----- From: David Ngo [mailto:rudngo@yahoo.com] Sent: Monday, March 27, 2006 5:22 PM To: E36M3 Subject: [E36M3] Kumho V710s Date: Mon, 27 Mar 2006 14:20:09 -0800 (PST) From: David Ngo <rudngo@yahoo.com> Subject: Kumho V710s Just a quick update - Chester, Wayne and I mounted up a set of 245/45-17 V710s on Kosei K1s (17x8.5, 40mm offset) this past weekend. With a set of 10mm spacers for the fronts, I did not notice any rubbing in limited street driving, either over bumps or at full steering lock. It looks like the rears might rub in the upper part of the fender flares under some serious compression, but since I have fairly stiff springs and swaybars, I'm not sure how much it'll actually rub. We'll see what happens when I get the suspension fully loaded. I have stock strut housings in front, with Konis and the GC C/O conversion kit and 3.5 deg of camber in front and 2 deg in the rear. The fenders on my sedan are rolled. The car is slightly lower than stock. Dave
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#9. Re: [E36M3] replacing knock sensors on '95 - from Jim Bassett
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Date: Mon, 10 Apr 2006 10:39:10 -0700 (PDT) From: "Jim Bassett" <jim@jimbassett.com> Subject: Re: [E36M3] replacing knock sensors on '95 On Fri, April 7, 2006 8:50 pm, Brian Ruiz said: > Has everyone that has replaced their knock sensors done it as a > preventative > measure (i.e. if your car already has lots of miles, or a 'while you're in > there' kinda thing)? The ones on the race car were replaced due to a fault code. > My car has an unusual pinging under high load that I > have never been able to get rid of except when I use race gas. I assumed > the timing chain was stretched enough to cause a slight change in timing, > and coupled with my Conforti chip, caused the pinging. You assume wrong. It's, as mentioned, the cr*ppy CA gas coupled with the Conforti chip. My 98 M3/4 will ping a bit under heavy load; not sure about the race car, as it generally has some amount of race gas in it :-) While it's not impossible that there's a mechanical explaination, it's pretty common to have the problems you're experiencing with the combination of chip & gas you're using. Cheers, Jim Bassett 1998 M3/4 1993 325is #44 JP
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#10. Rear Seat Weight? - from twisty M3
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Date: Mon, 10 Apr 2006 12:45:40 -0700 From: "twisty M3" <twistym3@hotmail.com> Subject: Rear Seat Weight? Sorry, I've searched and can't seem to find the answer in the archives (I'm never able to get to the second page of results... anyone else have that problem?). Anyway, after enjoying a nice stint in an enduro over the weekend in an M3 MUCH lighter than mine, I'm thinking once again that my car could handle losing some weight. I never use the rear seat anyway, so I'm contemplating removal of everything back there and replacing the seat back with something that just prevents me from hearing all my tools bouncing around during the week. ;) Anyone know what the total weight of seat bottoms, fold down portions and side bolsters would come to? Is there a pre-fabricated, carpeted piece that can be purchased to utilize that might still fold down or at least be somewhat easily removed when storage space is needed? Thanks! Jonathan L.