The BMW UUC Digest Volume 2 : Issue 446 : "text" Format Messages in this Issue: Re: interesting car rentals in france? Re: interesting car rentals in france? audi catalytic converters European car rentals Re: BMW Oil Change Intervals Re: [E39] BMW series 5 disables Dynamic Stability Control and ABS < ot>LA Area: motels around the 5/ 22/ 57 interchange Re: interesting car rentals in france? Brake Bleeding - Alien Cars Re: Brake Bleeding - Alien Cars FW: my Mobil 1 use
---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Wed, 1 Dec 2004 12:12:43 -0600 From: "Roy T. Collins" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Subject: Re: interesting car rentals in france? Message-ID: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> I don't know of any alternative rental agencies. Everything is owned by the state in France anyway, right :) From my expirences the upgrade path puts you into a Focus or some chrysler model. But since you are going to be in France see if you can upgrade to a Peugeot. I know they offer them as a top end rental but I don't know any prices. The 206 is supposed to be fun to drive so see if you can get one of those, convertible of course. Plus, if you are going to be in Brittany in August check out the Celtic music festival http://www.festival-interceltique.com/ its good stuff. One more suggestion to try is see if you can rent one of the new Smart roadsters. They just look like they would be fun to drive since they are so small. Plus they look cool but they don't seem to be the touring package you are looking for ;) -----Original Message----- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Scott Staewen Sent: Wednesday, December 01, 2004 11:09 AM To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: [UUC] interesting car rentals in france? Hello All, I recall in the past some discussion on this list about "alternative" rental agencies in Europe. I've searched the archive to no avail. My family will be making a trip to Brittany this summer and I'd like to rent something interesting, if the cost is not too exorbitant. Something cool that isn't available here, esp. tourings, would be nice. Can anyone help? TIA, Scott Staewen Search the ARCHIVES:http://www.mail-archive.com/bmwuucdigest@uucdigest.com ________________________________________________________________________ __ In memory of Michel Potheau - friend, enthusiast, founder of the BMW CCA. UUC Motorwerks - BMW Performance Fine-tuning and home of the Ultimate Short Shifter - accept no substitutes! 908-874-9092 . http://www.uucmotorwerks.com ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 1 Dec 2004 10:55:04 -0800 (PST) From: Jonathan Brush <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: Re: interesting car rentals in france? Message-ID: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Dear Scott, I don't know about France, but my wife and I went to England last spring. I researched alternative rentals, thinking about a Mercedes "A" range or other smaller interesting car. Prices were pretty high for my budget, so I went with the standard Ford Mondeo 5-door hatch, with 1.8 litre engine and a 5sp. Through Hertz, on a special rate through British Air. This car is not available on this side of the pond and I actually liked it a lot. It appears to be your basic rental unit like a Ford Taurus is over here. The difference is night and day though, nice handling on the back roads, engine needs revs but moves right along with the traffic on Motorways, 80+ mph. Enough room for the two of us (big suitcase for the SO as we were going to a wedding) but I don't know how much your family tends to haul along. I would think that in France you could get a nice larger Citroen touring or Renault, maybe with a diesel, which you would never see over here, from one of the major rental companies. That's what I'd do anyway, unless I wanted to bust the budget with a Merc or Bimmer. Jon Hello All, I recall in the past some discussion on this list about "alternative" rental agencies in Europe. I've searched the archive to no avail. My family will be making a trip to Brittany this summer and I'd like to rent something interesting, if the cost is not too exorbitant. Something cool that isn't available here, esp. tourings, would be nice. Can anyone help? TIA, Scott Staewen __________________________________ Do you Yahoo!? Yahoo! Mail - You care about security. So do we. http://promotions.yahoo.com/new_mail ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 01 Dec 2004 15:19:11 -0600 From: Clarence <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: audi catalytic converters Message-ID: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Please excuse me for using this forum, but many here either own Audis or are very familiar w/them. My friend has a '98 A4 2.8 Quattro and needs a catalytic converter. Local general repair shop (used by him for many years) quotes $1700 EACH; car has 2; this if for the part alone. BMA shows a DEC cat for $415 ($895 list). My question is whether the DEC cat is good; is there something better for a like price? Where would somebody come up w/$1700 each is beyond me, although I do not know the cost of a factory unit. Suggestions very welcome. TIA Clarence West Bend, WI ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 1 Dec 2004 21:47:41 -0800 From: mslesser <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: European car rentals Message-ID: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Try Europacar. They have a website. I have rented twice from them, once a small Renault and once a Peugot 206 diesel. Both were fine, and especially the Peugot diesel which was a kick to drive--powerful and inexpensive to run. Europacar has especially good rates for long term (3 weeks +) rentals. By the way, not everything is owned by the state. France has a mixed economy with most everything owned privately. Cheers, Michael ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 01 Dec 2004 17:26:34 -0500 From: Neil Maller <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: "[EMAIL PROTECTED]" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Subject: Re: BMW Oil Change Intervals Message-ID: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> on 12/1/04 12:10 PM, JKerouac <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > When draining the oil, I jack up the rear > left side of the car to tilt the pan, and let the residual slimier > particles drip til it stops dripping, usually about a day. What comes > out is clearly used oil, but nothing scary looking. I've always changed my oil/filter two to three times per year. Always using Mobil 1: from winter 5W-30 to summer 15W-50, then usually one mid-season change, and back to winter weight again. Since I drive fewer than 10K miles per year, that's obviously a more than averagely frequent regimen. Last year on installation of the Eurosport cam kit and last month when I replaced the head gasket I found the cam box to be very clean, with no cam journal or lobe scoring. Early this year at about 80K miles I installed a baffled oil pan. The old pan was spotless inside, with no trace of sludge or other deposits. on 12/1/04 12:10 PM, Richard Dorffer <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > Judging oil by what it visually looks is nearly meaningless. You might as > well taste it while you are at it. What? I thought everyone did that! Neil 96 M3 ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 1 Dec 2004 14:53:07 -0800 From: "Marco Romani" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Subject: Re: [E39] BMW series 5 disables Dynamic Stability Control and ABS Message-ID: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> cool, so now I can turn it off with my foot. Does anyone know if when you turn off the DSC on an E39 is it really turned off or is it still lurking somewhere in the background? Marco -----Original Message----- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Behalf Of Neil Maller Sent: Tuesday, November 30, 2004 2:26 PM To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: [UUC] [E39] BMW series 5 disables Dynamic Stability Control and ABS The following is forwarded from the Risks Digest, which deals with computer-related risks Neil 96 M3 Date: Mon, 8 Nov 2004 23:59:42 +0100 (W. Europe Standard Time) After two accidents involving police cars of Berlin, Germany, at first the drivers were blamed and appointed to a security training. But taking into consideration the driver's nearly identical reports, which claimed that the cars on-board drive dynamic control systems had failed, BMW took on and inspected the case. The result was: Yes, after an emergency brake exceeding a certain preset pressure on the pedal, all stability systems are disabled and can only be re-enabled by switching off the ignition for five seconds... Originating report (German only): http://www.daserste.de/plusminus/beitrag.asp?iid=254 Follow-Ups (German ditto): http://www.autobild.de/aktuell/neuheiten/artikel.php?artikel_id=7348 http://www.autoservicepraxis.de/sixcms4/sixcms/detail.php?id=81192&_topnavi= 32454&_zielcb= Search the ARCHIVES:http://www.mail-archive.com/bmwuucdigest@uucdigest.com __________________________________________________________________________ In memory of Michel Potheau - friend, enthusiast, founder of the BMW CCA. UUC Motorwerks - BMW Performance Fine-tuning and home of the Ultimate Short Shifter - accept no substitutes! 908-874-9092 . http://www.uucmotorwerks.com ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 01 Dec 2004 15:32:38 -0800 From: JKerouac <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: bmw digest <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>, "[uucdigest]" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Subject: < ot>LA Area: motels around the 5/ 22/ 57 interchange Message-ID: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Anyone travel the 5/ 22/ 57 interchange in Orange? Will be driving down there for business and am looking for an inexpensive motel. If you see any in your daily commutes around that interchange, and if possible their posted rates (Motel 6 type of place?), please send me info via private reply. OBMWC: Just an excuse to take 'Jack "On the Road" to take in a nice breath of fresh (cold intake) air. Also will be doing acceleration timings at highway speeds with the intake snout open versus covered to see what, if any, effect it has. Tia, Barry ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 02 Dec 2004 09:34:38 +0000 From: nick brearley <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: "Scott Staewen" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Cc: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: Re: interesting car rentals in france? Message-ID: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Scott, Four sites you might like to check: http://www.autoeurope.com/carsplash.cfm http://www.justcarrental.com/france/car-rental-france.php http://uucurl.com/x.jsp?p=516 http://www.easycar.com/aspx/nossl/default.aspx If you're flying into Paris there will of course be the usual multinational hire firms at the airport. Avis offer a range of cars you possibly won't have driven before. As far as choices go, if you want to avoid too much fuel price shock look for a diesel. Peugeot/ Citroen and Fiat/Alfa both make good turbodiesels around 2 litres. Jon Brush suggested the Ford Mondeo and for a good usable hirecar he hits the nail on the head. I don't know how many of you there are (you mentioned family) but I don't think you would want to go much smaller than that with all the clutter that accumulates during a holiday, particularly if you are covering many miles. A few suggestions for cars that won't send you to sleep: Small. Peugeot 206, Ford Fiesta, Opel Corsa, VW Polo, Mini. Bit bigger. Ford Focus, Opel Astra, Peugeot 307, Renault Megane, Citroen C4 supposed to be v. good and should be available nest summer). Usable. Ford Mondeo, Opel Vectra, Peugeot 407, Alfa 156 (if you're offered one of these, grab it, you won't want to stop driving). Larger. Renault Laguna, Peugeot 607, Citroen C6, whatever your pocket will stretch to... MPV. Opel Zafira, VW Touran up to Renault Espace (best but most expensive) Fiat Multipla, definite contender for the ugliest car on the road but also one of the most practical and good to drive. Merc A Class. Hope you enjoy the trip, you're going to one of the best parts of France. Look out for the Gallimard guides in a bookshop, www.gallimard.fr/guides/ They are beautifully produced books that make great souvenirs, even if you can't speak French! Nick Brearley ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 2 Dec 2004 11:18:01 -0000 From: "Nancy and Bob Fluharty" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: "BMW Digest" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Subject: Brake Bleeding - Alien Cars Message-ID: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> I've got the Motive brake bleeder, with BMW-compatible cap. Naturally, this cap does not work with our other cars (wife's Accord, beater Subaru). Has anyone devised a way to adapt these to Japanese cars? Bob Fluharty 87 325is/3.0 Cincinnati ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 2 Dec 2004 08:25:32 -0800 (PST) From: Richard Dorffer <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: [EMAIL PROTECTED], [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: Re: Brake Bleeding - Alien Cars Message-ID: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Bob, I have the same bleeder... --- Nancy and Bob Fluharty <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > I've got the Motive brake bleeder, with BMW-compatible cap. Naturally, this > cap does not work with our other cars (wife's Accord, beater Subaru). Has > anyone devised a way to adapt these to Japanese cars? Motive has: http://www.motiveproducts.com/ or here: http://www.motiveproducts.com/frame-adapters.htm I have the "UNIVERSAL ADAPTER KIT" to use on my wife's Accord. Although not nearly as convenient as the BMW cap, it works. If you want to borrow mine, let me know, I will send it to you. Later, Rich ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 2 Dec 2004 10:50:40 -0600 From: "BMWBits" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: "Uucdigest" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Subject: FW: my Mobil 1 use Message-ID: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> As a follow-up to recent dialog re oil useage and change frequency I thought UUCers might be interested in the att comments from a guy who is a BMW-space-CCA Tech advisor whom I have known 35 yrs . Interesting comments on new versus old BMW engine designs.I know fer-sure that at about 450,000 mls he 'thought' it time to look inside one big-six motor cyl head.....everything in there was still within mfrs specs, so it went back together with just new seals and gaskii !! As a corollary , my son was involved until recently with repair/rework in a cyl head shop (Ferrari, Deusenberg etc ) and makes the comment that in general , modern high-revving engines are designed such that ALL the valve-gear is disposable due to all the small and intricate bits that slide , crunch and grunt in there . Makes it totally nonsensical to try to rework lots of them due to the highly depreciated value of the cars at 5 yrs of age . TRUE "throw away " motoring has arrived .. Quote Bill For customers, I suggest annual/25k mile Mobil 1 15W-50 oil changes on non hydraulic tappet early engines. I suggest using the heaviest oil possible for longevity. Only lighten-up if you have cold-cranking problems due to oil viscosity. I wish I could have followed that advice on my own. My wife used to drive 55k annually. I tried to do her oil filter at 25k and change the oil and filter at 50k......sometimes it slipped......15 months & 70+ k miles..... Due to such abuse, the 732i currently has 530k miles, the 76' 530i has 480k miles, mom's 735i only has 303k miles........ Petro-chemists at seminars have said the synthetics don't wear-out, or chemically change to ethers, esters, ketones and carboxylic acids as water is introduced due to condensation when engine is cold. Synthetic chemistry is totally different. The water boils away...krap filtered out..... Hydraulic tappets are a newish topic, but I suppose contaminants can get in and not get out. On new motors/valve jobs, I've used synthetic oil to fill the chain tension piston cavity for two decades. This is a stagnant area and the synthetic stays thin and oily, it doesn't turn to kreosote...... End Quote Just another heavy user's point of view ...and very 'conservationist' when one thinks about it... Bill Proud, 35 yrs messing with BMWs ... ------------------------------ End of [bmwuucdigest] digest(11 messages) **********
