The BMW UUC Digest Volume 1 : Issue 61 : "text" Format Messages in this Issue: E36 M3 Battery Q Re: E36 M3 Battery Q Re: E36 M3 Battery Q Re: E36 M3 Battery Q Re: E36 M3 Battery Q Re: E36 M3 Battery Q Re: E36 M3 Battery Q Re: E36 M3 Battery Q Re: Saw the new 5 in person Re: Saw the new 5 in person Re: Saw the new 5 in person $99 aluminum jacks [uuc] Glasshouses Re: Harbor freight jack problem Re: Harbor freight jack problem
---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Thu, 18 Dec 2003 15:59:07 -0500 From: "Gaudio, Stefano" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: "'[EMAIL PROTECTED]'" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Subject: E36 M3 Battery Q Message-ID: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Time has come to replace my '98 M3 original battery (original? I don't see any dates just serial numbers). The local autoparts store sells a replacement for ~$90 while the dealer charges ~$140. Does anyone think that the OEM battery is worth the difference? Thx Stefano _________________________________________________________________ This e-mail and any attachments may be confidential or legally privileged. If you received this message in error or are not the intended recipient, you should destroy the e-mail message and any attachments or copies, and you are prohibited from retaining, distributing, disclosing or using any information contained herein. Please inform us of the erroneous delivery by return e-mail. Thank you for your cooperation. _________________________________________________________________ ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 18 Dec 2003 16:15:30 -0500 (EST) From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: Re: E36 M3 Battery Q Message-ID: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > Time has come to replace my '98 M3 original battery (original? I don't see > any dates just serial numbers). > The local autoparts store sells a replacement for ~$90 while the dealer > charges ~$140. Does anyone think that the OEM battery is worth the difference? Sounds like a reasonable life span for a battery. I believe that the stock battery is a Douglass (?), which is a fine battery, but an Interstate or Die Hard would be reasonably similar in quality for less money. Also, remember there is no such thing as a maintenance free battery. peel off the stickers and chak the water on a semi-annual basis to keep them healthy as long as possible. Marc Plante E36 325i, 216k Vienna, VA ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 19 Dec 2003 10:05:13 -0500 (GMT-05:00) From: Brian Daley <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: Re: E36 M3 Battery Q Message-ID: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> tango uniform? -----Original Message----- From: Marco Romani <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Every die hard I've used in any vehicle I've had (3) goes tango uniform ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 18 Dec 2003 20:08:48 -0500 From: "Langsten" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Subject: Re: E36 M3 Battery Q Message-ID: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Either Interstate or Deka Die Hards are trash. Mario L. ----- Original Message ----- From: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Sent: Thursday, December 18, 2003 4:15 PM Subject: Re: [UUC] E36 M3 Battery Q > Search the ARCHIVES:http://www.mail-archive.com/[EMAIL PROTECTED] > > > > Time has come to replace my '98 M3 original battery (original? I don't see > > any dates just serial numbers). > > > The local autoparts store sells a replacement for ~$90 while the dealer > > charges ~$140. Does anyone think that the OEM battery is worth the difference? > > Sounds like a reasonable life span for a battery. > > I believe that the stock battery is a Douglass (?), which is a fine battery, but an Interstate or > Die Hard would be reasonably similar in quality for less money. > > Also, remember there is no such thing as a maintenance free battery. peel off the stickers and chak > the water on a semi-annual basis to keep them healthy as long as possible. > > Marc Plante > E36 325i, 216k > Vienna, VA > __________________________________________________________________________ > 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: Thu, 18 Dec 2003 20:04:39 -0600 From: "Ben White" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Subject: Re: E36 M3 Battery Q Message-ID: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> ----- Original Message ----- From: "Langsten" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]><<...said in part:.. > Either Interstate or Deka Die Hards are trash. > Mario L. ____________________ I don't agree with Mario regarding either brand and would like to know more about the data on which he relies. Help us out, Mario. Please... Ben White/Ocean Springs, MS ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 18 Dec 2003 18:15:48 -0800 From: "Marco Romani" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Subject: Re: E36 M3 Battery Q Message-ID: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> I don't have any experience with Deka but I agree with both the Interstate and Die Hard characterization. At least in my experience BMW stock batteries are pretty good. Every die hard I've used in any vehicle I've had (3) goes tango uniform within 18 months, sure they replace it but is it worth the PITA? The Interstate I use as replacements for the BMW batteries have been fairly trouble free, in the 325is, m3 racecar and Toyo truck. Marco -----Original Message----- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Behalf Of Ben White Sent: Thursday, December 18, 2003 6:05 PM To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: Re: [UUC] E36 M3 Battery Q Search the ARCHIVES:http://www.mail-archive.com/[EMAIL PROTECTED] ----- Original Message ----- From: "Langsten" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]><<...said in part:.. > Either Interstate or Deka Die Hards are trash. > Mario L. ____________________ I don't agree with Mario regarding either brand and would like to know more about the data on which he relies. Help us out, Mario. Please... Ben White/Ocean Springs, MS __________________________________________________________________________ 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: Thu, 18 Dec 2003 22:24:35 -0500 From: "Langsten" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Subject: Re: E36 M3 Battery Q Message-ID: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Marco's example is perfect! Most of us who own our BMW's keep them longer than the average American owns a car. That is ~ 3 - 4 years. Original Equipment batteries last ~ 3 years with normal maintenance (that's none for most!! ). Replace this and your car ownership period ends before the Die Hard dies! Perfect for Sears, they sell them at a premium with a warranty good only for the original purchaser. Disassemble a Die Hard and you can see the lower quality of the internals, They just don't last. Grid plates, separators , and the positive and negative plates are not precise. Materials are not pure. Would you buy a battery from Auto Zone? Likely not, but their Duralast is the same battery as the Die Hard. Deka is a product of http://www.eastpenn-deka.com/, the worlds largest battery manufacturer. There are very few lead acid automotive battery manufacturers in the USA. Of those there are really only 4 that are large companies. http://dmoz.org/Business/Electronics_and_Electrical/Batteries/Lead-Acid/ Interstate produces a very good battery! They have a fantastic distribution system, but they only pro rate their warranty. A bit of advice with Interstate, buy one from a busy shop that sells alot of batteries, their inventory rotation system could leave you with a battery that is 7 months old when you buy it new! I sell Deka, now that I have a local stocking distributor. Why, because it is IMO a superior battery, I have NEVER had one fail, neither in the heat of summer on my boat where it may run a bilge pump intermittently for a month w/o even a trickle charge, the boat still starts, or in a plow rig that sits as last used for 6+ months, all summer till the first snow, when you pray the old beast will crank over and start! Or try to start a car in the cold of winter in New England when it's been -20 degrees F. Some have been in service 5+ years, plus I can sell them for less than Interstate. FWIW, the absolute best battery I ever had was in my 73 Datsun 240Z, lasted until 1982! 160 K miles , 4 seasons of use. I think the cold of VT killed it, -32 below for 1 1/2 weeks! Hope this helps, there's lots of information out there, YMMV, I can only share with you my experience gained during my professional career around cars since 2002s and unrusty CS coupes ;-) Mario L. www.VSR1.com ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 19 Dec 2003 10:16:12 -0500 From: Ed MacVaugh <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: Re: E36 M3 Battery Q Message-ID: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Mario, Is there some bias showing here? Just who do you think manufactures Die Hards and why do you think they make a poorer quality one for Sears than they sell under any other name? I believe you will find out the International series of Die Hards are produced by East Penn (with the regualr series from another supplier) and I'll bet you that you tear one open and the plates are exactly the same as in that company's other product lines. I use Varta from BMW, but I am next door to an independent importer of BMW products. Ed Langsten wrote: >Disassemble a Die Hard and you can see the lower quality of the internals, >They just don't last. Grid plates, separators , and the positive and >negative plates are not precise. Materials are not pure. > >Would you buy a battery from Auto Zone? Likely not, but their Duralast is >the same battery as the Die Hard. > >Deka is a product of http://www.eastpenn-deka.com/, the worlds largest >battery manufacturer. > > ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 18 Dec 2003 13:06:35 -0800 From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Cc: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: Re: Saw the new 5 in person Message-ID: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> >From pictures, if you block out the new 645's headligts and trunklid, it is a pretty good looking car. I haven't seen enough of the interior yet to have an opinion. Scott Miller GGC BMW CCA >Date: Wed, 17 Dec 2003 15:10:56 -0500 >From: "Robinson, Lee" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> >To: "'UUCDigest'" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> >Subject: Saw the new 5 in person >Message-ID: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> <snip> >So far the only one of Bangle's designs that is remotely stomachable is the >upcoming 6 in this month's Roundel. It actually doesn't look that bad. > >Lee >88 M3 ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 18 Dec 2003 16:34:42 -0600 From: "Ben White" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Cc: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Subject: Re: Saw the new 5 in person Message-ID: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> ----- Original Message ----- From: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Scott said in part:> > From pictures, if you block out the new 645's headligts and trunklid, it is > a pretty good looking car. I haven't seen enough of the interior yet to > have an opinion. ________________ I agree. However if you block those items out the new 6 looks like every other big buck coupe. I saw it at O'fest and was impressed with the fit/finish and content. However, the styling left me cold. Best, Ben White/Ocean Springs, MS ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 18 Dec 2003 21:11:16 -0500 (EST) From: "John Stoj" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: Re: Saw the new 5 in person Message-ID: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> I've seen the new 5 in person too. I like it quite a bit. I don't like it more than the E34, but I like it a whole lot more than the ultra-bland E39. The design departure isn't really that radical either. There are a lot of lines carried over from both the E39 and E34 fives. The new 7 has also grown a heck of a lot on me as well. I still don't like the front end treatment of the Z4, but the new 6 is just plain gorgeous. I like some of the Audi's fine - the A6 has become a bit long in the tooth, and I liked the previous A8 better than the current - but other than the SL's, I don't care much for the Merc offerings. I guess that's why it's called personal taste. - John S. - still driving my outdated E36 M3 _______________________________________________ Join Excite! - http://www.excite.com The most personalized portal on the Web! ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 18 Dec 2003 23:23:36 -0500 From: "lieb923" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: "bmwe39" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>, "UUC GARAGE" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>, "UUC DIGEST" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Subject: $99 aluminum jacks Message-ID: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> FYI !!!!!!! Go to www.harborfreight.com. They have their famous jack on special. No affiliation just passing the word. YMMV. Norman Lieberman '97 528/5 ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 19 Dec 2003 07:53:46 -0000 From: "Andrew Thomas" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Subject: [uuc] Glasshouses Message-ID: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Pavel <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> writes: "I just saw all the new Beemers at the Dubai International Motorshow and all I can say is WOW! Frankly, I think you're all conservative to the extreme. The new 5 is the closest to old-style Beemers from the new models, and you don't like it??? Beats me. I think the car's stunning." One of the problems with the 5 is the shape of the headlamp housing. You may not be familiar with the character Dame Edna Everage; that may be a good thing, as she's an Australian drag queen character. Several Brits have observed the likeness between the 5's lamps and the horn-rimmed spectacles she wears on stage. BMW glasshouses seem to be getting smaller these days. Along with kidneys and the Hofmeister kick, a large glasshouse with plenty of visilibity has been a BMW design feature since the '60s. It seems to be getting smaller. At the rear, we have seen that upswept rear lamp cluster form in the Impreza, the Peugeot 406 and (contentiously) the E9 coupe. What jars is the fact that the body is so heavy at the back that the rear wheel looks too small (as if they fitted a 16" by mistake). New is often better (E28, E34, E39), but not always. A couple of people have pointed out that the 6 looks good. It looks good, but I don't think it looks much like a BMW; it looks like it could have been made by anyone. Andy T ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 19 Dec 2003 08:33:34 -0500 (EST) From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Cc: [EMAIL PROTECTED], [EMAIL PROTECTED], [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: Re: Harbor freight jack problem Message-ID: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > FYI !!!!!!! Go to www.harborfreight.com. They have their famous jack on > special. No affiliation just passing the word. YMMV. > Norman Lieberman '97 528/5 While we're on the topic of HF jacks, I am having a problem with mine and the HF tech people are less than helpful. There appears to be a problem somewhere in the spring unit that expands the hydraulic piston that lifts the jack as I raise the jack handle. If I simply re-lower the handle, it feels as if the piston has not expanded, so the jack does not lift. If I kick at the piston area a couple times after I lift the jack handle, the piston expands, and I actually get lift with the handle. Yes, I bled the jack, the problem appears to be in the lifting piston's ability to reset, not to compress. Needless to say, this doesn't give me any confidence that it will actually hold the car up. Has anyone had a similar problem and actually fixed it? I've seen a lot of people that have had problems and just dumped the unit at HF's door. Unfortunately, it's been more than a year for me. Marc Plante Marc Plante [EMAIL PROTECTED] ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 19 Dec 2003 08:50:55 -0500 From: "Tom Melton" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Cc: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>, <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>, <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Subject: Re: Harbor freight jack problem Message-ID: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Marc, Yes, mine acted similar when I first bought it. When mine arrived, the fill plug was loose, and some of the jack oil had drained out. I had some at home, refilled the jack, and replaced the fill plug. The jack would not lift. I had exercised the handle with the fill plug off, and the jack had lifted. So I removed the plug again, and tried lifting again, and it worked. I then saw in the small bag, the vented plug. I put the vented plug in place of the solid fill plug, and it works great. No more problems. I do know of one other person that had the exact same problem as me... -Tom >>> [EMAIL PROTECTED] 12/19/03 08:33AM >>> While we're on the topic of HF jacks, I am having a problem with mine and the HF tech people are less than helpful. There appears to be a problem somewhere in the spring unit that expands the hydraulic piston that lifts the jack as I raise the jack handle. If I simply re-lower the handle, it feels as if the piston has not expanded, so the jack does not lift. If I kick at the piston area a couple times after I lift the jack handle, the piston expands, and I actually get lift with the handle. Yes, I bled the jack, the problem appears to be in the lifting piston's ability to reset, not to compress. Needless to say, this doesn't give me any confidence that it will actually hold the car up. Has anyone had a similar problem and actually fixed it? I've seen a lot of people that have had problems and just dumped the unit at HF's door. Unfortunately, it's been more than a year for me. Marc Plante ------------------------------ End of [bmwuucdigest] digest(15 messages) **********
