-------------------- 1 --------------------
#1. Re: Tire trailer q's - from chuckbrazeau@aol.com
Top
Date: Thu, 18 May 2006 17:21:19 -0400 From: chuckbrazeau@aol.com Subject: Re: Tire trailer q's I use a tie-down strap that folds over itself and locks into place like a ratcheting strap, so they're locked down pretty tight when strapped on the rack. I've done a couple of Texas to Denver trips with them and never had a problem with them getting loose. Chuck Brazeau http://www.chuckbrazeau.com/ -----Original Message----- Date: Mon, 15 May 2006 16:29:36 -0500 From: "Jeff Bjerke" <jbjerke@charter.net> Subject: Re: Tire trailer q's Chuck, Do the tires/wheels stay secure with just the strap going across the top of the tires? I was concerned that if the tires rotated while bouncing around that the strap could fall off. Ended up running the strap through the hub center. Major pain to tighten the strap though. Jeff Bjerke
-------------------- 2 --------------------
#2. Why lithium grease over WD-40 for some things... - from Harvey W Bogard Jr
Top
Date: Thu, 18 May 2006 21:44:29 -0400 From: Harvey W (Skip) Bogard Jr <skipb@bellsouth.net> Subject: Why lithium grease over WD-40 for some things... This snippet is kinda-sorta true: > WD40 isn't a lubricant. In fact, it'll take off any lubricant that's still in place. Every year just lube up > the door handles with some white lithium grease. Work the door handle some and all will be well. WD40 is an amazing concoction of two things & some propellant according to the Material Safety Data Sheet: 1) Stoddard solvent 2) Oil Funny that one would put two chemicals in a can that aren't really the best of friends... Knowing this, it should now be obvious how it works. The Stoddard solvent disolves grimey oils, old solidified grease-like oil, greases, & gunks. And then it leaves a bit of oil residue in its place. The forceful spray action of course helps to "move out the old...in with the new". But since a bit of volatile solvent remains on surfaces during application it of course thins out the applied oil spray. In that sense, it's a lubricant, but not a great one....in some sense it's a better cleaner than an oil. Lithium grease won't attack some plastics the way petroleum-based solvents & oils will. It won't mess up clothing as bad either if you rub up against it while getting i the car....so it makes more sense to use it on things like the door latches. Even less messy on clothing...Napa Auto sells a "door lube stick" that is made of a combination of solid wax & oil....it looks like a big fat crayon. Or, you could use what the Romans used on their chariots...animal fat....washes out with a little Era or Tide. - Skip
-------------------- 3 --------------------
#3. Society of Automotive Engineering article on E36 v. M6 body materials - from Harvey W Bogard Jr
Top
Date: Thu, 18 May 2006 22:02:04 -0400 From: Harvey W (Skip) Bogard Jr <skipb@bellsouth.net> Subject: Society of Automotive Engineering article on E36 v. M6 body materials Carbon Steel vs. Carbon Fiber, as well as other materials....a pretty good technical synopis of a BMW paper presented in April 2006 at the Society of Automotive Engineering World Congress conference: http://www.sae.org/automag/material/04-2006/1-114-4-74.pdf Reading between the lines...learn how to stiffen your E36 M3's body to make it not blow up after converting it to run on Hydrogen in 2010. - Skip
-------------------- 4 --------------------
#4. Re: [E36M3] Why lithium grease over WD-40 for some things... - from Carlos.F.Lopez@jci.com
Top
Date: Fri, 19 May 2006 08:45:43 -0400 From: Carlos.F.Lopez@jci.com Subject: Re: [E36M3] Why lithium grease over WD-40 for some things... Always wondered what's in PB Blaster. Could you work on that one next Skip? ;-) -Carlos. :-)
-------------------- 5 --------------------
#5. FS - Camber Plates and Brake Pads - from Neil Maller
Top
Date: Fri, 19 May 2006 11:06:32 -0400 From: Neil Maller <neil.maller@gte.net> Subject: FS - Camber Plates and Brake Pads Tidying out the garage, have a couple of items for sale: TC Kline Racing E36 camber plates --------------------------------- These were used briefly on an E46 330i PP a couple of years ago pending availability of model specific parts. Here's what they look like: <http://www.tcklineracing.com/monoball.htm> and <http://www.tcklineracing.com/bigccamber3.jpg> except that no assembly is required! They can be used with stock struts or on coilovers. Price new is $550, yours for $300 plus shipping from 46807. Performance Friction PF97 track pads ------------------------------------ Due to installation of a BBK I've got one full set of Performance Friction PF97 track pads I no longer have any use for: Front: PF97 compound, brand new, never installed Pad shape 394 for E36 M3 front (Current online price $225 at Bimmerworld) Rear: PF97 compound, used very briefly but essentially full friction material thickness remains Pad shape 396 for E36 M3 rear (Current online price $175 at Bimmerworld) Somebody please make me a reasonable offer for these so that they get put to good use, rather than taking up space in my garage! They're boxed all together in a handy Tupperware track container. Neil 96 M3
-------------------- 6 --------------------
#6. Speaker Repair - from Ron & Brenya B.
Top
Date: Fri, 19 May 2006 12:43:52 -0500 From: "Ron & Brenya B." <rbuchals@hotmail.com> Subject: Speaker Repair I saw Mark's post about speaker foam rot, and thought I'd pass this on... I had the woofers on a set of home speakers repaired by a place in Illinois called Decware. http://www.decware.com/ They also sell speaker repair kits. I don't know if they can either repair BMW factory speakers, or have repair kits available for them (for you do-it-yourselfers), but if you're interested, give them a call, or check out the website. -rb> -------------------- 7 --------------------> Date: Tue, 16 May 2006 00:21:25 -0400> From: "Mark D." <mdlkml@atari-source.com>> Subject: Re: [E36M3] WTB: Door Speakers> > On Mon, 2006-05-15 at 17:37 -0500, twisty M3 wrote:> > Date: Mon, 15 May 2006 15:32:38 -0700> > From: "twisty M3" <twistym3@hotmail.com>> > Subject: WTB: Door Speakers> > > > I somehow managed to blow one of the driver's side speakers, It's either > > the midrange or tweeter, but I wouldn't mind picking up both (or all four in > > case future issues on the other side come up). If anyone has the HK units > > just sitting around collecting dust, let me know.> > > > Jonathan L.> > Not likely. These old HK's are starting to get foam rot. Priceless as> they cost $80 each at dealer for midranges. My tweeters don't do> anything as far as my ears can hear ;)> > Thanks,> Mark
-------------------- 7 --------------------
#7. Got my M3 (woo!) and What about the undertray? - from Peter Loron
Top
Date: Fri, 19 May 2006 11:10:43 -0700 From: "Peter Loron" <peterloron@gmail.com> Subject: Got my M3 (woo!) and What about the undertray? I finally was able to make everything come together and I'm now the owner of a 98 M3/4 5-speed. I've been lusting after this car for years. Nice to finally realise a dream! Now I need to be careful about not falling into the bottomless money pit of mods. :-) My particular car is missing the undertray. I've read about the JTD aluminum replacement. What I haven't seen is information about what it actually does for the car. I'm assuming since BMW put it there, there's a reason for it, but a bunch of folks seem to be driving fine without them. Can anybody shed some light on the +/- of not having an undertray? Thanks! -Pete 98 M3/4/5
-------------------- 8 --------------------
#8. Re: [E36M3] Got my M3 (woo!) and What about the undertray? - from Raza Uddin
Top
Date: Fri, 19 May 2006 11:34:11 -0700 From: "Raza Uddin" <raza.uddin@gmail.com> Subject: Re: [E36M3] Got my M3 (woo!) and What about the undertray? On 5/19/06, Peter Loron <peterloron@gmail.com> wrote: > I finally was able to make everything come together and I'm now the owner > of > a 98 M3/4 5-speed. I've been lusting after this car for years. Congrats! The sedans really are the best of the lot- bit I am a bit biased! > Now I need to be careful about not falling into the > bottomless money pit of mods. :-) Famous last words of many people on this list! I give you a few months :) > My particular car is missing the undertray. I've read about the JTD > aluminum > replacement. What I haven't seen is information about what it actually > does > for the car. I'm assuming since BMW put it there, there's a reason for it, > but a bunch of folks seem to be driving fine without them. Can anybody > shed > some light on the +/- of not having an undertray? It is mainly to protect the front of the engine from road debris. I think people definitely need one to tidy up airflow and the baffle to put air into the radiator. An argument could be made that it helps downforce, but to probably see any real effect, it would have to much bigger and stretch farther down the car. Interestingly, my sedan still had its underpanel intact when I bought my sedan, even after 6 years of use. Personally, I replaced it mainly to tidy up the front bumper (I hate to see the ground and wires when looking through the mesh) and to prevent a future failure at the track or the highway. Hope this helps! Enjoy the sedan! Drive Safely, Raza
-------------------- 9 --------------------
#9. Re: [E36M3] Got my M3 (woo!) and What about the undertray? - from Mark D
Top
Date: Fri, 19 May 2006 14:42:33 -0400 From: Mark D <mdlkml@atari-source.com> Subject: Re: [E36M3] Got my M3 (woo!) and What about the undertray? On Fri, 2006-05-19 at 13:17 -0500, Peter Loron wrote: > Date: Fri, 19 May 2006 11:10:43 -0700 > From: "Peter Loron" <peterloron@gmail.com> > Subject: Got my M3 (woo!) and What about the undertray? > > I finally was able to make everything come together and I'm now the owner of > a 98 M3/4 5-speed. I've been lusting after this car for years. Nice to > finally realise a dream! Now I need to be careful about not falling into the > bottomless money pit of mods. :-) > > My particular car is missing the undertray. I've read about the JTD aluminum > replacement. What I haven't seen is information about what it actually does > for the car. I'm assuming since BMW put it there, there's a reason for it, > but a bunch of folks seem to be driving fine without them. Can anybody shed > some light on the +/- of not having an undertray? Well, Here's my unsubstantiated opinion on the subject. The undertray IMHO helps protect the accessory belts and lower accessories like the A/C compressor from rain spray and road dirt, and it does a good job. My older Chevy beretta had all the ducting removed and it caused it to overheat easily and the air flow through the radiator to be poor. The factory duct weighs around 1-2 pounds I'd say and the only reason to replace it is because it has 4 weak mounts. In my case, I'm a big fan of OEM since the M3 is such a wonderful car from the factory. I purchased a new duct. On the rear I made a small brace out of a 3" IIRC piece of aluminum with holes in it. The fronts can be braced with a ~1/2" washer. This will help distribute the load a bit. You will also inevitably need to replace the plastic nuts behind it which are real cheap from the dealer. Best bet is to get the proper parts and do it right because if you drive it around with only 2 of 4 bolts installed it WILL break out again. ;) The factory duct is ~$85... A real ripoff. As far as airflow characteristics are concerned, I noticed very little difference with or without but who knows really without doing wind tunnel tests like BMW probably did. Thanks, Mark
-------------------- 10 --------------------
#10. RE: [E36M3] Got my M3 (woo!) and What about the undertray? - from Scott Stiles
Top
Date: Fri, 19 May 2006 16:13:11 -0700 From: "Scott Stiles" <stiles_s@hotmail.com> Subject: RE: [E36M3] Got my M3 (woo!) and What about the undertray? Congrats on the car. My personal opinion (backed by how I spent my money) is that the factory piece serves two functions: 1) keeping things clean 2) managing airflow under the car, and if I'm lucky providing a few lbs of downforce. The factory piece is shaped such that it could realistically create a bit of an airfoil, creating a bit of downforce. IMHO, the factory piece is somewhat functional, and is sturdy enough to hold as long as you don't bang it off of any curbs. I installed the factory piece after I bought my (used) '97. Search bimmerforums for part numbers, and be sure to purchase the vertical piece (that slips into the factory undertray) that helps force air through the radiator. My service guy swore up and down that the part was invalid/unnecessary since he'd never sold one (and they don't install them when customers come in missing undertrays). IMHO this is a critical piece of the overall system and should be replaced if missing (which it surely will be if the tray is missing, since it's held in place by the tray :) ). Scott. -----Original Message----- From: Mark D [mailto:mdlkml@atari-source.com] Sent: Friday, May 19, 2006 11:48 AM To: E36M3 Subject: Re: [E36M3] Got my M3 (woo!) and What about the undertray? Date: Fri, 19 May 2006 14:42:33 -0400 From: Mark D <mdlkml@atari-source.com> Subject: Re: [E36M3] Got my M3 (woo!) and What about the undertray? On Fri, 2006-05-19 at 13:17 -0500, Peter Loron wrote: > Date: Fri, 19 May 2006 11:10:43 -0700 > From: "Peter Loron" <peterloron@gmail.com> > Subject: Got my M3 (woo!) and What about the undertray? > > I finally was able to make everything come together and I'm now the > owner of a 98 M3/4 5-speed. I've been lusting after this car for > years. Nice to finally realise a dream! Now I need to be careful about > not falling into the bottomless money pit of mods. :-) > > My particular car is missing the undertray. I've read about the JTD > aluminum replacement. What I haven't seen is information about what it > actually does for the car. I'm assuming since BMW put it there, > there's a reason for it, but a bunch of folks seem to be driving fine > without them. Can anybody shed some light on the +/- of not having an undertray?