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#1. 330i - from Foley, Brian
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Date: Tue, 26 Sep 2006 18:49:05 -0400 From: "Foley, Brian" <bfoley@cmpd.org> Subject: 330i My father purchased a 2006 330i sport package last year and I have driven the car several times since then, including some lengthy highway miles. My impression of the car was better than I had expected. Pluses: exterior styling (especially in silver) is much better than I thought. This car is beautiful in person. Interior room is much improved for front seats, but I was surprised to feel a little cramped in the back seats over my M3/4. Brakes are excellent for street use and the car is well equipped. Minuses: Throttle - this is a drive-by-wire system I've been told; no actual physical connection to the throttle. Response is not nearly as smooth as my M3. (Anyone know if the planned '08 M3 sedan will be drive-by-wire?) Run-flats: these handled fairly well but tramline in any ruts and are VERY hard over impact strips and any other pavement irregularities. I would opt for aftermarket rims/tires, but hate the fact there is no spare. I hope this isn't too off-topic, but I'm salivating at the thought of an upcoming M3 sedan, even if I have to mortgage my mother-in-law's single-wide! Brian Foley '97 M3/4 Receiving Koni cut-n-gut next week (finally) '74 911 Carrera '87 F150 (for rainy days and to park in the lot at work)
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#2. Re: [E36M3] Re: '07 335i sedan - from Mark Dadgar
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Date: Tue, 26 Sep 2006 16:05:45 -0700 From: Mark Dadgar <mark@pdc-racing.net> Subject: Re: [E36M3] Re: '07 335i sedan On Sep 26, 2006, at 1:56 PM, Mark Dadgar wrote: > On Sep 26, 2006, at 9:19 AM, Richard Harden wrote: >> Here is another thread, in which the owner of Vishnu Tuning (HUGE >> Mitsubishi EVO tuner) purchased a 335i and has begun to play with >> the ECU parameters, etc of the new 335i: >> http://forums.bimmerforums.com/forum/showthread.php?t=597621 >> >> Thought it might be interesting to you folks discussing upgrades... > > Ooh, boy. Shiv's cars are very fast, but they tend not to last too > long ... > > - Mark, 2005 Car & Driver 25 Hour Enduro team member ... Oops, sorry, that should have been *2004* C&D Enduro team member. That was the year we ran the Shiv car that, well, didn't last long. In 2005 we ran a just-built, never-raced-before STi and took 3rd overall. - Mark ----- mark@pdc-racing.net Check out my JustRacing Home Page at: http://www.justracing.com/homepage/mdadgar
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#3. Steering Rack? - from Greg Gantt
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Date: Tue, 26 Sep 2006 20:52:58 -0400 From: "Greg Gantt" <ggantt@gantt-consulting.com> Subject: Steering Rack? I removed my tie rods tonight and to my surprise I got about a pint of some type of light gear oil that drained from the rack boots. I'm not seeing any fill plug or fluid specs for the rack itself as I understand the rack is a sealed unit. I'm finishing up my preparations for Watkins Glen this weekend and could use some list wisdom on how best to proceed. Thanks. Greg '95 M3
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#4. RE: [E36M3] Steering Rack? - from Greg Gantt
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Date: Tue, 26 Sep 2006 21:49:33 -0400 From: "Greg Gantt" <ggantt@gantt-consulting.com> Subject: RE: [E36M3] Steering Rack? Thanks for the quick response Dave - not what I wanted to hear tonight but that's life. Would there be any safety issue with installing the tie rods, refitting new boots, and refilling the oil that had drained out? From what I see, the rack itself isn't pressurized so I can't see that it could "pop" other than if my new boots were to develop a leak. I'm just looking to buy some time before I replace the rack as I'm not sure I'd be able to source one tomorrow and install before heading to WGI Friday morning. I've had no issues with the steering on the car before I discovered this - would driving with the steering rack with leaking seals but tight boots be a safety issue? Greg -----Original Message----- From: Dave Thomas [mailto:dave@sasdatalink.com] Sent: Tuesday, September 26, 2006 9:07 PM To: Greg Gantt Subject: Re: [E36M3] Steering Rack? On Tuesday 26 September 2006 5:56 pm, Greg Gantt wrote: > I removed my tie rods tonight and to my surprise I got about a pint of some > type of light gear oil that drained from the rack boots. I'm not seeing > any fill plug or fluid specs for the rack itself as I understand the rack > is a sealed unit. I'm finishing up my preparations for Watkins Glen this > weekend and could use some list wisdom on how best to proceed. Thanks. Your rack has a leak. From what I have heard you cant buy parts to rebuild them yourself, so a $600 re-manufactured rack is in your future. If the leak is real slow it might not be a biggie...but if it 'pops' on the track its going to get real slippery really quick ;-) I feel your pain. My rack has a very slight amount of slop on the drivers side, but since I cant get the parts to rebuild it myself, I will also have to bite the bullet and purchase a re-man soon. Dave
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#5. Re: [E36M3] Steering Rack? - from Dave Thomas
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Date: Tue, 26 Sep 2006 19:27:55 -0700 From: Dave Thomas <dave@sasdatalink.com> Subject: Re: [E36M3] Steering Rack? On Tuesday 26 September 2006 6:49 pm, you wrote: > Thanks for the quick response Dave - not what I wanted to hear tonight but > that's life. Would there be any safety issue with installing the tie rods, > refitting new boots, and refilling the oil that had drained out? From what > I see, the rack itself isn't pressurized so I can't see that it could "pop" > other than if my new boots were to develop a leak. They have been known to fail and leak *all* of the hydraulic fluid at once. They are under quite a bit of pressure...that's how it moves the wheels ;-) > I'm just looking to buy some time before I replace the rack as I'm not sure > I'd be able to source one tomorrow and install before heading to WGI Friday > morning. I've had no issues with the steering on the car before I > discovered this - would driving with the steering rack with leaking seals > but tight boots be a safety issue? I personally would not track a car with that bad of a leak. If it failed at a real bad time it could be ugly. In fact, I think someone on this list just had that happen to them in the last few months. Also...if someone responds to your query privately...don't post their message to a list... Dave
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#6. Re: [E36M3] Steering Rack? - from Chester Wong
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Date: Tue, 26 Sep 2006 20:44:30 -0700 (PDT) From: Chester Wong <chester_p_wong@yahoo.com> Subject: Re: [E36M3] Steering Rack? Yah...you have a leaking rack. Not sure about slapping it together and filling it back up (hopefully you meant adding fluid to the reservoir and not the boots...hahaha). The rack is under a lot of pressure in order to move the wheels. The rack has a cylindrical wall that forms a seal against the body of the housing. Depending on your applied pressure from the steering wheel, either side of the piston is pressurized and moves the assembly. You can buy a rebuild kit, but the biggest problem is getting to/removing and installing the inner seal (it's in the middle of the housing). Can the rack fail? I guess so. You could run the rack in manual mode, but then you'd burn out the power steering pump if you run it dry. Some people have gotten racks from Autozone. I haven't checked...is there a lifetime warranty on that thing? I've obtained a reman rack from BMW (btw, all remans share the same steering ratio) and had it leak as well... =/ Having said that...where are you located? I have a brand new reman sitting in my drawer that I might let go for a reasonable price =P Good luck, Chester --- Greg Gantt <ggantt@gantt-consulting.com> wrote: > I removed my tie rods tonight and to my surprise I got about a pint of some > type of light gear oil that drained from the rack boots. I'm not seeing any > fill plug or fluid specs for the rack itself as I understand the rack is a > sealed unit. I'm finishing up my preparations for Watkins Glen this weekend > and could use some list wisdom on how best to proceed. Thanks.
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#7. RE: [e36m3] Re: [E36M3] Steering Rack? - from Marco
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Date: Tue, 26 Sep 2006 20:58:58 -0700 From: "Marco" <m3driver@iname.com> Subject: RE: [e36m3] Re: [E36M3] Steering Rack? Speaking of racks. My latest off track excursion resulted in a bunch of damaged bits, one of which is the steering rack now leaks like a sieve. So does anyone know if a 325 rack will bolt up to an M3? I bought a roller 325 for $200. Chester mentions reman racks have the same steering ratios. And would that be a faster or slower ratio than a stock M3 rack? Marco -----Original Message----- From: Chester Wong [mailto:chester_p_wong@yahoo.com] Sent: Tuesday, September 26, 2006 8:47 PM To: E36M3 Subject: [e36m3] Re: [E36M3] Steering Rack? Date: Tue, 26 Sep 2006 20:44:30 -0700 (PDT) From: Chester Wong <chester_p_wong@yahoo.com> Subject: Re: [E36M3] Steering Rack? Yah...you have a leaking rack. Not sure about slapping it together and filling it back up (hopefully you meant adding fluid to the reservoir and not the boots...hahaha). The rack is under a lot of pressure in order to move the wheels. The rack has a cylindrical wall that forms a seal against the body of the housing. Depending on your applied pressure from the steering wheel, either side of the piston is pressurized and moves the assembly. You can buy a rebuild kit, but the biggest problem is getting to/removing and installing the inner seal (it's in the middle of the housing). Can the rack fail? I guess so. You could run the rack in manual mode, but then you'd burn out the power steering pump if you run it dry. Some people have gotten racks from Autozone. I haven't checked...is there a lifetime warranty on that thing? I've obtained a reman rack from BMW (btw, all remans share the same steering ratio) and had it leak as well... =/ Having said that...where are you located? I have a brand new reman sitting in my drawer that I might let go for a reasonable price =P Good luck, Chester --- Greg Gantt <ggantt@gantt-consulting.com> wrote: > I removed my tie rods tonight and to my surprise I got about a pint of > some type of light gear oil that drained from the rack boots. I'm not > seeing any fill plug or fluid specs for the rack itself as I > understand the rack is a sealed unit. I'm finishing up my > preparations for Watkins Glen this weekend and could use some list > wisdom on how best to proceed. Thanks. ************************************************* 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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#8. Re: [e36m3] Re: [E36M3] Steering Rack? - from Dave Thomas
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Date: Tue, 26 Sep 2006 21:14:02 -0700 From: Dave Thomas <dave@sasdatalink.com> Subject: Re: [e36m3] Re: [E36M3] Steering Rack? On Tuesday 26 September 2006 9:06 pm, Marco wrote: > Speaking of racks. > > My latest off track excursion resulted in a bunch of damaged bits, one > of which is the steering rack now leaks like a sieve. So does anyone > know if a 325 rack will bolt up to an M3? I bought a roller 325 for > $200. > > Chester mentions reman racks have the same steering ratios. And would > that be a faster or slower ratio than a stock M3 rack? > > Marco Not sure exactly what is different between them...but all of the folks that sell rebuilt racks show the '95 M3 rack being unique and they also show the 96+ rack being different (different BMW part number at least) than the normal E36 rack. Have a peek here: http://www.griffiths.com/shop/index.php?main_page=index&cPath=1_3_4 BTW: Anyone know if Griffiths does quality rebuilds? After a nightmare I had a few years back with 'rebuilt' axles for my E30 I trust very few rebuilders these days. Lots of 'spray and pray' items being sold as rebuilt it seems... Dave
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#9. Re: [E36M3] Steering Rack? - from Dave Thomas
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Date: Tue, 26 Sep 2006 21:17:49 -0700 From: Dave Thomas <dave@sasdatalink.com> Subject: Re: [E36M3] Steering Rack? On Tuesday 26 September 2006 8:46 pm, Chester Wong wrote: > The rack is under a lot of pressure in order to > move the wheels. Lots of pressure...up to 110 bar from what I have read. Whats that...1600psi? Dave
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#10. Re: [e36m3] Re: [E36M3] Steering Rack? - from Christopher Bauer
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Date: Tue, 26 Sep 2006 23:19:17 -0500 From: Christopher Bauer <chrisbauer@vzavenue.net> Subject: Re: [e36m3] Re: [E36M3] Steering Rack? ive purchased one of their racks. it was as advertised. They are advertisers in the roundel as well. Chris ---- Original message ---- >Date: Tue, 26 Sep 2006 23:16:47 -0500 >From: Dave Thomas <dave@sasdatalink.com> >http://www.griffiths.com/shop/index.php?main_page=index&cPath=1_3_4 > >BTW: Anyone know if Griffiths does quality rebuilds? > >Dave > >
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#11. Re: [e36m3] Re: [E36M3] Steering Rack? - from Mark Dadgar
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Date: Tue, 26 Sep 2006 21:20:47 -0700 From: Mark Dadgar <mark@pdc-racing.net> Subject: Re: [e36m3] Re: [E36M3] Steering Rack? On Sep 26, 2006, at 9:06 PM, Marco wrote: > My latest off track excursion resulted in a bunch of damaged bits, one > of which is the steering rack now leaks like a sieve. So does anyone > know if a 325 rack will bolt up to an M3? I bought a roller 325 for > $200. It will fit, but it's slower than an M3 rack (either M3). Ask me how I know. - Mark ----- mark@pdc-racing.net Check out my JustRacing Home Page at: http://www.justracing.com/homepage/mdadgar