[uucdigest] Wednesday, February 26 2003 Volume 03 : Number 6150
_________________________________________________________________ | | Search the ARCHIVES: | http://www.mail-archive.com/[EMAIL PROTECTED] | | Visit Richard Nott's Ultimate BMW Database: | http://www.bmwdatabase.com | | For all available Digest commands including unsubscribe/subscribe, | visit the BMW UUC Digest page: http://www.uucdigest.com | | Send SUBMISSIONS to [EMAIL PROTECTED] | Complaints? Send 'em to [EMAIL PROTECTED] if you must. | Technical Problems? Send 'em to [EMAIL PROTECTED] |__________________________________________________________________ In this BMW UUC Digest: RE: [uuc] 1995 BMW 540i 6-speed pre-purchase info? [uuc] Changing the Tone (was re: fuel filters) <wob> Re: [uuc] Custom Chip Programming [uuc] Re: Custom Chip Programming [uuc] Re: Custom Chip Programming <wob> [uuc] RE: Custom Chip Programming Re: Re: [uuc] Re: Custom Chip Programming/OFFER of help [uuc] Latest in Custom Gauge Faces [uuc] E34 M5 Engine Diagnostic (Long) ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Wed, 26 Feb 2003 15:37:15 -0500 From: "Doug Foster" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Subject: RE: [uuc] 1995 BMW 540i 6-speed pre-purchase info? If you want an auto, let me know... I'll take the 6-speed and sell you mine ;-) Seriously, it is the best auto I've ever owned... But it is still a slushbox. I'm saving my pennies and slowly wearing down the wife so I can upgrade. I bought the iA when it was my only option. Other things to check beyond Sean's list that I have found on mine: 1. see if the seats rock... Fore and aft. The seats need to be in the middle of the travel, not at top or bottom to do it. There is no decent fix for this (that I know of) I've been told new seat rails are $200 or so. 2. Heater valve goes. This results in either no heat or only heat. Get the car to operating temperatures and turn on each of the separate heat vents (def, up, down)you should get heat when you request it... And none when you don't. Mine gives me heat even with the A/C on. The heater valve is about $120 part. Just assume you will be replacing the thrust arm bushings. If they're good now, they won't be next year. I replaced the thrust arms, idler arm, sway-bar links... Rides much better now. The biggest issue is the Nikasil. Lots of debate on it. I definatly would use that to negotiate down. General consensus is that if it made it this far, you may be okay. I would look to find one with the Alusil block... But that's me. Good luck, it's a great car. You gotta love a car that can fit 2 car seats and an adult in the back, and still cruise at 120! Doug Foster 94 540iA - Alusil, 104,000 and still going, but looking for a 540i/6 - -----Original Message----- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Howard Poe Sent: Wednesday, February 26, 2003 12:21 PM To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: [uuc] 1995 BMW 540i 6-speed pre-purchase info? I'm looking at the possible purchase of a '95 540i with 6 speed transmission. Car has 130k miles, and original nikasil engine block, but has been exclusively on the west coast, so probably hasn't been exposed to sulfurous fuel. Car looks to be in good condition. It is not a 540i sport, however it does have the M technic suspension and seats. Guy is asking $15k for it, book is $13,500 for private party retail sale. I'm hoping I can talk him down a bit. I'm thinking about the advantages of the 6 speed over the automatic... any thoughts? Only other problem is that it's black on black, which will get very hot and dusty here in the summer. Is the A/C good on the 540i (my 325iX didn't like to cool sitting stuck in traffic or in a drive through on hot days)? Anything to look for problem wise with this car? Car has new tires, clutch and brakes. - -Howard ex-'89 325iX (rear-ended) ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 26 Feb 2003 12:53:15 -0800 From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: [uuc] Changing the Tone (was re: fuel filters) <wob> Tim, tone changes can best be accomplished by manipulating the trebble and bass controls. Better systems will have additional attenuation devices for mid-range. Graphic equilizers are helpful, but the "graphic" is never exactly what I had in mind, if you know what I mean. No tone controls on my fuel filter though. Well, my mother used to say, "don't you take that tone with me, young man", but she didn't actually mean the "tone" either. Go figure. Scott Miller, who knows full well what you meant >Date: Tue, 25 Feb 2003 21:30:15 -0700 >From: "Tim Pfister" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> >Subject: [uuc] re: fuel filters > >What? You mean they are SUPPOSED to be changed? >Just trying to change the tone.:) >Tim Pfister ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 26 Feb 2003 15:54:39 -0500 From: "Michael McCoy" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Subject: Re: [uuc] Custom Chip Programming - ----- Original Message ----- From: "Brad Couvillon" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Sent: Wednesday, February 26, 2003 3:05 PM Subject: Re: [uuc] Custom Chip Programming > > --- "Dorffer, Rich" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > > Umm....a motor perhaps! But, we are talking about > > Brad here....he probably has a spare motor cobbled > > together from parts other people were getting rid of > > and would be able to swap it in over a weekend if > > need be. > > Sometimes I hate you, Rich! ; -) > > I actually DO have a spare engine, but I went and sold > the ECU, head, intake manifold, and exhaust manifolds, > so I guess all I really have is a bottom end now. Oh > well! > > > > Rich - Brad's nemesis...but also cheering him on, > > don't forget about me when your able to do custom > > programming ;-) > > Yeah, I won't. I'll definitely have a "special" chip > for your car. Can you say "full lean at redline"?!! > : -) > I'd say make it run great at redline... but also make redline idle... or idle redline... your choice... :oP - -Michael McCoy > Brad Couvillon > > __________________________________________________ > Do you Yahoo!? > Yahoo! Tax Center - forms, calculators, tips, more > http://taxes.yahoo.com/ ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 26 Feb 2003 13:02:27 -0800 From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: [uuc] Re: Custom Chip Programming Way back in the early '80s, before I was into BMWs, I remember reading in Car & Track - or was it Road & Driver? - about a guy who imported a gray market E23 745i. The shop that was doing the EPA/DoT conversion could not get it to pass the smog testing needed to get EPA certification. The owner was an electronics engineer, so he retrieved the car, and rigged up test gear (I think it was a scope, plus I don't know what else) inside the car where he could watch it as he drove. He then tried to determine which inputs caused what outputs from the ECU, and under which conditions. Once he thought he knew, as he drove around, he would apply a different voltage to one input or another to see what would happen. More than once he nearly killed the engine when he manually gave a range of inputs that was off the map, literally. Eventually, he figured out how to progam a re-mapped EPROM that would let the car pass the smog testing. I don't remember the name of the engineer in the article. I wonder if it was anyone we know? Scott Miller GGC BMW CCA >Date: Tue, 25 Feb 2003 20:56:25 -0800 (PST) >From: John Bolhuis <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> >Subject: [uuc] Re: Custom Chip Programming > >On Tue, 25 Feb 2003, Chris Baker wrote: > >> I don't think "hacker" and "hack" equate quite the way you imply. <snip> > Indeed. A hacker (in technology anyway) is one who enjoys exploring >the details of programmable systems and how to stretch their >capabilities. (courtesy of the New Hacker's Dictionary) > In our case here, a hacker learns by poking, prodding, guessing, and >reverse engineering when the manuals are hard to come by or >nonexistent. The engineer is the same guy with all the manuals, >design specs, and circuit diagrams. :) ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 26 Feb 2003 13:04:39 -0800 From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: [uuc] Re: Custom Chip Programming <wob> ROMuLator? That would be imported from Romulus, no? Scott Miller GGC BMW CCA >Date: Tue, 25 Feb 2003 22:18:42 -0800 (PST) >From: Brad Couvillon <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> >Subject: Re: [uuc] Custom Chip Programming > >Andre, > >Your comments were very helpful and cleared up much of >the jargon for me. Thank you! > >What it looks like I'm going to need is a ROM >emulator. I saw one for about $175 called the >ROMuLator or something silly like that. <snip> ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 26 Feb 2003 13:09:38 -0800 From: russelc <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Subject: [uuc] RE: Custom Chip Programming One pcs of info you might be missing is "adaptation". I believe the Motronics 1.0 has adaptation also. This will be a significant issue to work through and understand. Good luck, RussC '88 535is Dinan Turbo Final Edition(let Steve Dinan do the DME tuning) On Wednesday, February 26, 2003 12:37 PM, wrote: > > [uucdigest] Wednesday, February 26 2003 Volume 03 : Number 6149 > > Date: Wed, 26 Feb 2003 12:05:44 -0800 (PST) > From: Brad Couvillon <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > Subject: Re: [uuc] Custom Chip Programming > > - --- "Dorffer, Rich" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > > Umm....a motor perhaps! But, we are talking about > > Brad here....he probably has a spare motor cobbled > > together from parts other people were getting rid of > > and would be able to swap it in over a weekend if > > need be. > > Sometimes I hate you, Rich! ; -) > > I actually DO have a spare engine, but I went and sold > the ECU, head, intake manifold, and exhaust manifolds, > so I guess all I really have is a bottom end now. Oh > well! > > > > Rich - Brad's nemesis...but also cheering him on, > > don't forget about me when your able to do custom > > programming ;-) > > Yeah, I won't. I'll definitely have a "special" chip > for your car. Can you say "full lean at redline"?!! > : -) > > Brad Couvillon ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 26 Feb 2003 13:34:01 -0500 (EST) From: Brian Daley <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Subject: Re: Re: [uuc] Re: Custom Chip Programming/OFFER of help - -------Original Message------- From: Brad Couvillon <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Sent: 02/26/03 11:46 AM To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: Re: [uuc] Re: Custom Chip Programming/OFFER of help Back to the point: I've got three ECUs already. One has a stock chip, one has a Dinan chip (in my car), and one has a Mark D'Sylva chip that I'll put in my car once I do the clutch job this Saturday. Having two performance chips to compare to a stock chip is a wonderful thing indeed. Sure is. Taking a look at what memory addresses the chips are changing and playing with the values in those addresses should give you a good start. Without knowing anything about the Bosch code specifically, one thing to beware of is that parameters may have a valid range. If you exceed that range the value will probably roll over (say max value is 100, entering 101 may be read as 1) with potential negative consequences. You might want to check out http://autos.groups.yahoo.com/group/EECTuner/ It's a DIY Ford tuning group but anyone interested in electronic tuning is welcome. You're starting with the Bosch DME where these guys were with the Ford EEC a few years ago. The Ford guys have the advantage of a choice of hardware and software to work with as well as a number of decoded calibrations. Several of the folks on the group were involved in creating the tools now being used and decoding the calibration files so they may be able to offer some general advice on how to ! approach disassembly of the code and identification of which memory locations hold which parameters. As with everything, there's more than one way to skin a cat. I don't know about mail-order BMW chips, but most of the Ford mail-order stuff is pretty crude compared to what the folks on the list are doing. It'll put some ideas in your head too - how about adding a DIY wideband O2 sensor and data logging to your project? Good luck, Brian 94 325ic with unmolested DME 94 Mustang Cobra, supercharged with DIY tune and datalogging ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 26 Feb 2003 13:33:27 -0800 From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: [uuc] Latest in Custom Gauge Faces New. slightly sexist twist on custom gauge faces: <http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=2405359568&category=6755> No, I'm not buying a set. I prefer white on black. (That's numbers on background, you preverts.) Call me old fashioned, but I'll get my sexist content somewhere other than on the dash of my car. Scott Miller GGC BMW CCA ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 26 Feb 2003 13:46:11 -0800 (PST) From: kjk <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Subject: [uuc] E34 M5 Engine Diagnostic (Long) I have a problem with my M5 that just suddenly appeared. The week before the problem, which I will get to, I did notice some slight hesitation or surging on acceleration at part throttle. It only happened once or twice. I drove the car about 180 miles, never really using full throttle as it was the freeway. I was on my way to the track by the way. I got normal gas mileage during the trip and noticed nothing unusual. I put in a half tank of 100 octane (just to avoid any detonation, we get 91 oct. here in Calif.) and got the car ready for its first session. I was on my warm up lap at only about 4500rpm when I noticed the car simply would not rev and was really struggling. I did one lap and exited using lots of bad words (how often is it sunny and only 65 degrees at Thunderhill). A fellow BMW owner (thank you Jim Bassett) had a code reader and it said the O2 sensor was throwing a fault code. Another BMW owner (SSF Motorsports) simply gave me an M3 O2 sensor to try which we attempted to splice into the much longer M5 cord. That made no difference. Then some people suggested just disconnecting the 02 which didn't change anything either. I also left the battery unplugged for a while to try to clear the codes. At one point it did seem to get better and driving around the paddock it seemed smooth after struggling to come off idle. However, it then got progressively worse and the car would barely idle. Another guy suggested the cat might be gone because, in his words, "it sounds like a potato is in the exhaust pipe". Anyway, not wanting to risk the drive home, we stuck it on a trailer and I drove it 180 miles home Saturday. I then turned around and drove the trailer back to the owner on Sunday and hitched a ride home with a buddy. Yesterday, we checked fuel pressure at the hose leading up to the fuel injection rail, the one down on the side of the block under the brake master cylinder. 47 lbs. Then we dropped the cat to see if the car would start to run better. No improvement. While we were down there we put a new O2 on it. After charging the battery a bit, we were able to get it to hold revs above idle, although there was lean backfire through the intake (or so my more knowledgeable friend says). We are going to do another code read and see if anything new pops up and maybe pull the plugs to have a look at them. Suggestions before I tow it to the shop? It has 4,000 plus miles on a rebuild and was running fine before this. It seems to be an ignition, fuel or timing issue. Obviously, if it is related to the rebuild the shop will have to fix it but mechanically the engine seems fine and there have been no distressing noises. Kevin Kelly //M less again __________________________________________________ Do you Yahoo!? Yahoo! Tax Center - forms, calculators, tips, more http://taxes.yahoo.com/ ------------------------------ End of [uucdigest] V3 #6150 *************************** | | In memory of Michel Potheau - friend, enthusiast, founder of the BMW CCA. |________________________________________ | Please visit these UUC-approved BMW parts vendors/service providers: | (listed alphabetically) | | Autoscope-Motorsports - http://www.autoscope-motorsports.com | |==================================================== | | Koala MotorSport . BMW technical information, special tool sales/rental | http://www.koalamotorsport.com | |==================================================== | | Taylor BMW - http://www.taylorbmw.com - Doc Bimmer! | UUC Motorwerks . http://www.uucmotorwerks.com |__________________________________________
