[uucdigest] Tuesday, July 1 2003 Volume 03 : Number 6527
_________________________________________________________________ | | 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] SUVs. [uuc] SUV's [uuc] Aluminum Jacks RE: [uuc] E36 325 LSD? [uuc] Change of plans...Maybe a new M3... RE: [uuc] E36 325 LSD? [uuc] Sun Roof Problems [uuc] SUVs RE: [uuc] Change of plans...Maybe a new M3... ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Tue, 1 Jul 2003 10:50:37 -0500 From: "Ben White" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Subject: Re: [uuc] SUVs. Larry, Octoberfest would be an excellent opportunity for your wife to take a car control course and I agree that it is a good idea for her to do so. My wife took one at O'fest in 2001 and is a much safer driver as a result. The CCA course is non threatening and inexpensive in addition to being a very good one. If the two of you haven't participated in O'fest, this one should be excellent as it will be in Austin, TX. Ben White/Ocean Springs, MS - ----- Original Message ----- From: "Binder, Larry - Spine" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Sent: Tuesday, July 01, 2003 10:27 AM Subject: RE: [uuc] SUVs. > I think that everyone will agree that it comes down to the driver of any > motor vehicle that makes it safe or not safe. Motorcycles are very good at > maneuvering out of harms way. Would I drive one at high speeds on the > highway. Never. Mostly because I don't trust any other driver on the road. > It is just not worth the risk. In a perfect world my wife would get out of > the way of every idiot around her. In a worst case scenario I want her to > be safe if she or someone around her makes a mistake. She also said that > she wants to take a car control course. I'm sure that will help her as well. > Hope for the best, plan for the worst. > > Larry > ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 1 Jul 2003 09:32:30 -0700 (PDT) From: kjk <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Subject: [uuc] SUV's In the last year I have seen about 4 accidents during my commute. 3 of the 4 had an SUV on its side. If they leave the pavement they tend to tip over. Most accidents are caused by someone's over reaction to a situation. When you over react in an SUV they fall over. I also had a guy in an Expedition try to speed up as I came up on him in the left lane doing my normal 80-85mph. There was a slight bend in the freeway and irregular pavement due to an overpass, he literally almost lost it due to the weight transfer caused by the curve, irregular surface and too much speed. Because almost 50% of the vehicles on the roads are SUV's people are going to drive them just like a car. I have driven plenty and I hate the way the drive, stop, and ride, even the car-based ones. Sorry, I will stick with an actual car. Kevin J. Kelly '91 M5 '00 323iT P.S. I love pulling away from them in the big sweepers on I80 on the way to Tahoe in my little wagon. __________________________________ Do you Yahoo!? SBC Yahoo! DSL - Now only $29.95 per month! http://sbc.yahoo.com ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 1 Jul 2003 12:33:28 -0400 From: "Stan Jackson Jr." <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Subject: [uuc] Aluminum Jacks This thread has gone around a couple of times, so I hope I don't start another whole round of general speculation. But, I am seriously considering the purchase of some type of aluminum jack. Does anyone have an idea (beyond speculation) how to determine whether a particular jack is of low, moderate, or high quality? I've looked online at numerous jacks. There are cheap ones in the range of $150 - $275, moderately priced ones in the range of $275 - $450, and high-priced ones from there up. Some of the moderately priced ones appear to be (and very well may be) identical to some of the cheap ones. At the same time, I can't really see anything that makes the upper-level moderate jacks or the high-priced jacks any different, and some of them could be identical. So, how do you judge quality, reliability, and safety? Here is my speculation -- can anyone put engineering fact to speculation? 3-pumps versus 6? (I've never seen a 3-pump jack in the cheap range) 2-ton or more instead of 1 or 1.5 ton? Meets ANSI specs? Steel lifting beam? (or do they all have this?) High-strength, high-grade, T6, or heat-treated aluminum as opposed to simpy billet aluminum? (I don't remember my aluminum specs -- billet may be as good as any) Replacement wear parts or hydraulic seals included? Or is it just price alone? Unfortunately, determining country of manufacture seems almost impossible. It would seem to me that a 3-pump jack must be of at least moderate quality. Ditto for a 2-ton jack. I'm sure that there are quality 6-pump jacks and 1-ton jacks, but I'm speculating that there are not any poor 3-pump or 2-ton jacks. ANSI specs, type of aluminum, and steel support beam are likely the same in all aluminum jacks. But who knows? Even to change wheels you have to be partially under the car. Personally, I don't like the idea of even doing that with a jack I don't trust. Stan ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 1 Jul 2003 11:41:10 -0500 From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: RE: [uuc] E36 325 LSD? > > -----Original Message----- > > A friend of mine is considering a 325 (i or is) with a sport package > > for some daily driving and autocrossing. Will probably start > > autocrosssing it in DS, then maybe move to STS, STX or DSP. I'm an > > E36M3 guy, so my knowledge of the various E36 325's isn't great. > > He is looking at a late-93 to 95 325. A few questions: > > 1. Sport package - what exactly did it consist of? Same in the i > > and is? Vern, For E36s, 'i' means a 4-door and 'is' is merely a 2-door. No correlation with 'sports packages' as the case used to be with early E30s and E28s. Sports Package included slightly stiffer springs, shocks and sway bars. 16" instead of 15" wheels and sportier vs. all-season tires. All of the above will be replaced/upgraded once you start autoXing. > > 2. LSD - we were told that some 325's came with a LSD, but they had > > to be without traction control. I wasn't aware any E36 325's had a > > diff. Any ideas? "KMS - Brett Anderson" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > As far as I know, no E36 325s had traction control. That made it into > the 3 series with the 328 in 1996. Brett, TC was optional on '94-95 325's. Rare, but available. IIRC, when ordered, it would replace the LSD. > If an E36 had traction control (with the exception of the M3) it did > NOT have an LSD. If an E36 did NOT have traction control, it MIGHT > have had an LSD. LSD was optional for 325's and IIRC, came with the Sprot Package. That is if the TC was not present (like Brett said). alex f ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 1 Jul 2003 09:58:48 -0700 (PDT) From: Neil Deshpande <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Subject: [uuc] Change of plans...Maybe a new M3... Larry: I like the look of the ML more and would probably buy that, but the RX is a very impressive vehicle. I benchmarked one for one of the big 3 in 1999 and was very impressed by the engineering quality of things like engine vibration linearity, road noise penetration, chassis stiffness, park-disengagement rattle, etc., etc. The ML, or the X5, are simply not at this level of engineering refinement. I am also sure the RX is more reliable than any of the German offerings. So, for looks the ML, for engineering the RX. Neil Deshpande *** "Binder, Larry - Spine" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> My wife has narrowed down her choice between a 2000 and up ML320/430 or RX300. We may go and test drive a 2000 A6 Avant. We are also willing to spend in the low 20's. Which vehicle would you choose? ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 1 Jul 2003 13:38:10 -0400 From: "Vernon L. Anderson" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Subject: RE: [uuc] E36 325 LSD? Alex, Thanks for the info. I knew the i and is designations, but I wasn't sure if the sport package was the same for both. Munich is famous for making them different. Did the 93-95 sp cars come with 16"'s? Reason I ask is that some people autox that vintage car in stock with the sp and I thought they use the 15's, if they had 16's they would HAVE to use those. For stock, no upgrades are allowed. Of course, once beyond, into DSP and other areas, he can upgrade. I wasn't aware the TC was even available as I've never seen it - it must be rare indeed. The diff is critical for autox, so did ALL sp cars come with it if they didn't have TC, was it part of the sp? Thanks very much for the info.... Vern > -----Original Message----- > From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] > Sent: Tuesday, July 01, 2003 12:41 PM > To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] > Cc: Vernon L. Anderson > Subject: RE: [uuc] E36 325 LSD? > > > > > -----Original Message----- > > > A friend of mine is considering a 325 (i or is) with a sport package > > > for some daily driving and autocrossing. Will probably start > > > autocrosssing it in DS, then maybe move to STS, STX or DSP. I'm an > > > E36M3 guy, so my knowledge of the various E36 325's isn't great. > > > He is looking at a late-93 to 95 325. A few questions: > > > 1. Sport package - what exactly did it consist of? Same in the i > > > and is? > > Vern, > For E36s, 'i' means a 4-door and 'is' is merely a 2-door. No correlation > with 'sports packages' as the case used to be with early E30s and E28s. > Sports Package included slightly stiffer springs, shocks and sway bars. > 16" instead of 15" wheels and sportier vs. all-season tires. All of the > above will be replaced/upgraded once you start autoXing. > > > > 2. LSD - we were told that some 325's came with a LSD, but they had > > > to be without traction control. I wasn't aware any E36 325's had a > > > diff. Any ideas? > "KMS - Brett Anderson" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > As far as I know, no E36 325s had traction control. That made it into > > the 3 series with the 328 in 1996. > > Brett, > TC was optional on '94-95 325's. > Rare, but available. IIRC, when ordered, it would replace the LSD. > > > If an E36 had traction control (with the exception of the M3) it did > > NOT have an LSD. If an E36 did NOT have traction control, it MIGHT > > have had an LSD. > > LSD was optional for 325's and IIRC, came with the Sprot Package. That is > if the TC was not present (like Brett said). > > alex f > ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 1 Jul 2003 12:47:58 -0500 From: "David Miller" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Subject: [uuc] Sun Roof Problems I am having a problem with the sunroof on my 95 M3 Coupe. When I closed it the other day from the full open position, none of the trays that normally travel with the exterior roof panel came forward with the roof panel. They are stuck back under the roof I cannot pull the panels forward by hand. The roof panel will pop the back up for the flow through position, but I have not tried to make it open to the full open position. I am going to take the headliner down to see if there is anything visibly wrong because the Bentley Manual stops short of explaining how anything works. The only thing it explains is for closing the sunroof by hand. Does anyone know of a site that has information on the sunroof and how to repair them? Any advice would be appreciated. Dave Miller 95 M3 Coupe ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 1 Jul 2003 13:14:27 -0500 From: "Roberts, Clarence H" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Subject: [uuc] SUVs I would not get too wrapped up in the anecdotal SUV/Camry "evidence". Last year on I10 going South out of Phoenix a woman in a speeding Camry came upon traffic halted in her lanes; attempting to stop she lost control and her vehicle veered into the oncoming traffic. She hit an Expedition carrying 14 people causing it to rollover. Seven were thrown from the vehicle and several died. She was only slightly injured. Needless to say, the Expedition occupants were not wearing their seat belts. It probably did not have 14 sets even if they had wanted to wear them. Score: Camry 1, Expedition 0. A car, especially a BMW, might have avoided the oncoming Camry. The point is whatever vehicle you may choose, none will save you from stupidity. ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 1 Jul 2003 19:45:16 +0100 From: "Andrew Thomas" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Subject: RE: [uuc] Change of plans...Maybe a new M3... Larry <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> writes: "My wife has narrowed down her choice between a 2000 and up ML320/430 or RX300. We may go and test drive a 2000 A6 Avant. We are also willing to spend in the low 20's. Which vehicle would you choose?" I'm no particular fan of SUVs, and in that situation I'd frankly rather suffer the indignity of driving an Audi. Sorry :). However, if you've going to drive an SUV, drive the best. The RX300, X5 and Volvo XC90 are the best of their breed. The RX300 has only recently been launched in the UK - though we've seen them as imported Toyota Harriers for years - and is doing well, as befits the best-selling (car-related) SUV. The XC90 is regarded as being more capable than the X5; lack of urge is the only drawback. The X5's bully-boy image, a cause furthered by a small but intensely arrogant majority, is also avoided, if that would be an issue. Personally I'd buy a 530i or 530d estate/5-door/station wagon. The ML is what it is: a cheap Merc with a truck chassis. Good off-road, by all accounts, and the mid-life update was a good thing, but I found both the ML430 and an ML270CDi (I preferred the 270) about as refined as a Disco on the road. Which is to say, not very. Is the A6 Allroad available where you are? Andy T ------------------------------ End of [uucdigest] V3 #6527 *************************** | | 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! | |==================================================== | Turner Motorsport Inc . 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