The BMW UUC Digest Volume 2 : Issue 106 : "text" Format Messages in this Issue: 1-series driving impression <E36> climate control backlight E36 shimmy at 40mph Re: MazdaSpeed Miata, R32, 1-series Re: MazdaSpeed Miata, R32, 1-series E36 front brakes locking up Re: [personal] E36 front brakes locking up Re: 1 series, hatches, Mini <E34> Fuel Pump Pickup Location Re: <E34> Fuel Pump Pickup Location Re: <E34> Fuel Pump Pickup Location Has anyone put an M5 motor into an e38 7 series? Coderator for OBD2 <E36> climate control cuts out
---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Fri, 26 Mar 2004 10:52:23 -0500 From: ben keyes <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: bmwuucdigest <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Subject: 1-series driving impression Message-ID: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> AutoExpress seems to think well of it, albeit without much rear seat room : http://www.autoexpress.co.uk/?http://www.autoexpress.co.uk/news/ae_news_story.php?da=1&id=45234 if it's got similar interior space to the Mini (likely more rear storage it appears) and the excepted well-executed RWD it seems like a nice overall package. of course we'll be stuck with the space-compromised coupe/convertible and maybe a sedan, not the hatches... Ben ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 26 Mar 2004 11:40:22 -0600 (CST) From: "Kevin Jay (Mr.Fabulous)" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: <E36> climate control backlight Message-ID: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> The backlight on my climate control (the fancy one with the graph) comes and goes. Anybody got any experience with fixing this? - Kevin Jay '96 328is, usual H&R/Bilstein setup, flashing dash ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 26 Mar 2004 09:48:41 -0800 (PST) From: Paul T <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: uuc digest <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Subject: E36 shimmy at 40mph Message-ID: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Hi, I've got a 95 E36 ~115k miles. I'm getting a shimmy every time I go around 40mph (not braking). Feels like the front end because only my steering column vibrates. And as soon as I get out of the 40mph range the shimmy is gone. I got all my wheels balanced and all wheels are running true? (not dented) I'm running 18" bbs wheels. Checked the control arms and no excessive play in both fronts. any suggestion what else it could be? possibly related my brakes locking up?? (see previous post) thanks for your help. Paul __________________________________ Do you Yahoo!? Yahoo! Finance Tax Center - File online. File on time. http://taxes.yahoo.com/filing.html ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 26 Mar 2004 12:53:17 -0500 From: "Robinson, Lee" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: "'[EMAIL PROTECTED]'" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Subject: Re: MazdaSpeed Miata, R32, 1-series Message-ID: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > > not really. look for a few reviews of the car. it's only > got 178hp and isn't > any > lighter, so it's not really that fast. it is extremely cheap > tho, as the turbo > and some other chassis & appearance changes to the car only add around > $1,500 to the price of the NA version. if gobs of power is > what you want, You're right. I guess only maniacs like us would think of 400hp in a Miata. Kinda strange though, seems like a half-way effort. If they'd retained the 7000rpm redline & used more than 7.25lbs of boost (7.25! what's the point), that thing may have been better. Hell, my Saab (family car) runs 14-16lbs. Still a neat car, but I already have something that fast. > then get a '94-'97 Miata & add a turbo to it. for ~$10k you can have > something like 200hp (forget if it's crank or at the wheels, > either way it's > enough) > and a significantly lighter package then the current car. Ben, Ben, Ben. No. Everybody knows if you want to go fast you need American iron. I saw a Miata at an autocross with a small-block Chevy in it. Heheheh, you don't go fast any cheaper than that. I also saw one with a 3rd gen RX7 rotary in it. Here's a good example of how to go fast with $10k. I'm helping my buddy build his 95 Z28 for track use (you can get these for $5k all day). After he spent $5900 repairing Z06 body work, we decided this car was screaming "track rat." New cam $200. C5 brakes $500. Do the heads, custom exhaust new intake & coil-overs. Pay one buddy (me) in beer to help do all the work & for under $10k you have a car that will be faster than everything at the track, save the true race cars. Best of all, it's even still streetable. > > and 99.9% of the buyers could care less. people who work on their > cars are not considered one iota in the design process. cars > are designed > for ease (and lowest cost) of manufacturing, then > serviceability by the dealer. > since they'll all have non-user serviceable modules & codes > we can't read > with out dealer equipment there's no reason to give a hoot > about whether > we like the way things are put together under the hood. True, but what is remarkable is that this thing still ended up like that. Agree? Furthermore, being a Toyota, you'll prolly never really need to worry about it. > > I still suspect that we'll get a high performance 2 series at > some point > in 2006, maybe even at a reasonable price, but it would take a lot > of performance to get me out of the STi, esp considering the utility > that it's size provides. Eh, I'd keep the STi if I were you. > > Ben Lee ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 26 Mar 2004 13:25:15 -0500 From: "Robinson, Lee" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: "'[EMAIL PROTECTED]'" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Subject: Re: MazdaSpeed Miata, R32, 1-series Message-ID: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > > That is not SLOW, but I would stick a few more bucks with it and get > an S2000 $33,260 ($29,965) - xenons and leather,power convertible top. > 5.4 0-60, 14.1 (1/4 mi). These can be had real close to > INVOICE now or get > a used one. Yes. I really love the S2000. It's a great, fun car to drive. However, for around town driving the turbo in the Miata is going to be much more flexible & torquey. I do like the sound of an S2000 bouncing of the rev limiter shrieking the tires as one drifts sideways out of a fast corner though. Not that I'd ever do anything like that or anything.... > > Another option would be the 350z roadster (enthusiast) > $34,410 ($31,865) w/ > xenons and stability control as well, power top (?) 5.4 > (0-60), 14.1 (1/4 mi) Porky, porky. I didn't care for the hardtop 350Z. Feels fat & like it has a lot less than the advertised 287hp. Plus, I don't know why they just can't match the door handle color. > > There are more non-drop-top choices like the RX-8, WRX, EVO, etc. Yes & my preferred choices as well. Of course, the Z06 is still available..... > > Dennis > 01 M5 silver/black > 01 S2000 red Lucky devil!!!!!! Lee ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 26 Mar 2004 09:48:37 -0800 (PST) From: Paul T <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: uuc digest <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Subject: E36 front brakes locking up Message-ID: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Hi, I've got a 95 E36 ~115k miles. Took my car in to have him look at my car shimmying (see next post) and told me that my driver side front wheel was locking up (which is a bigger problem than the shimmy), and sure enough I hear the grinding noise as the pads and the rotors rub. He suggested new brake lines as the current ones might be plugged up not allowing fluid to be sent back from the caliper. After I installed new stainless steel brake lines and bled all the way around, I was disappointed to find out that my front driver side brakes were STILL locking up! any suggestions?!?! anyone experienced this before? mechanic now suggesting a new ABS unit, and that sounds expensive. thanks for your help. Paul __________________________________ Do you Yahoo!? Yahoo! Finance Tax Center - File online. File on time. http://taxes.yahoo.com/filing.html ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 26 Mar 2004 10:28:05 -0800 From: "Marco Romani" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Subject: Re: [personal] E36 front brakes locking up Message-ID: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> how about starting with a caliper rebuild? And maybe finding a new mechanic. Marco -----Original Message----- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Behalf Of Paul T Sent: Friday, March 26, 2004 9:49 AM To: uuc digest Subject: [personal] [UUC] E36 front brakes locking up Hi, I've got a 95 E36 ~115k miles. Took my car in to have him look at my car shimmying (see next post) and told me that my driver side front wheel was locking up (which is a bigger problem than the shimmy), and sure enough I hear the grinding noise as the pads and the rotors rub. He suggested new brake lines as the current ones might be plugged up not allowing fluid to be sent back from the caliper. After I installed new stainless steel brake lines and bled all the way around, I was disappointed to find out that my front driver side brakes were STILL locking up! any suggestions?!?! anyone experienced this before? mechanic now suggesting a new ABS unit, and that sounds expensive. thanks for your help. Paul __________________________________ Do you Yahoo!? Yahoo! Finance Tax Center - File online. File on time. http://taxes.yahoo.com/filing.html Search the ARCHIVES:http://www.mail-archive.com/[EMAIL PROTECTED] __________________________________________________________________________ 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: Fri, 26 Mar 2004 13:19:33 -0500 From: "Robinson, Lee" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: "'[EMAIL PROTECTED]'" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Subject: Re: 1 series, hatches, Mini Message-ID: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > > > Mercedes C230 Sport Coupe > > see - it has "coupe" right in the name :-) also starts 20% > higher than the Mini in price. But, it is a hatch & quite a big one too. 4 folks can actually sit in the car. The Cooper S is, what $23-25k? The MB is $25-29K. I'd say that's not too much of a difference considering most people lease or finance. Plus, since BMW won't bring their compact over, this is really the only RWD, premium car in this segment available. I really like the 318ti. Low on power, but easy to fix that. Heck, you could bolt an S50/52 & M3 brakes just about right in (I know there's more to it than that). > > maybe only because they're small, fun-ish cars, not because > they're really > the same thing as the Mini. I'd be curious to see what other > cars Mini > buyers cross-shopped. I bet a huge number of them saw a Mini & said > "I want one of those. Let me get my checkbook out start > paying for it." Probably. > > you think an E30 built to today's safety standards wouldn't > weigh 3k or more ? True, the evolution of the E30 is basically the E46--or so one could argue and they're in the 3200-3600lbs range. That being said, I wouldn't consider an E30 to be an unsafe car by any means. Even the light, earlier 318's are were very well engineered & are a substantial car. I feel safer in my E30 M3 than most (maybe all) of the tin-can GM rentals I have to drive. Also, do the safety standards really add that much weight? What's different now than a late 80's E30 would have to add. Airbags, which shouldn't add much, they are made out of air after all :) Maybe the bumpers & side impact beam laws are more stringent, but like I said, I would think an E30 wouldn have to go too far here. If a Miata can get through at 2400-2500lbs...... I do think most of it comes from the fact that cars are just, in general, getting bigger. People seem to want bigger fancier stuff & that makes the cars grow (I wonder what the relationship between cars & American waistlines is). Certainly, I wouldn't argue that an E46 is safer than the BMWs of yore, but fact of the matter is that they could've stayed around the same size & weight. Furthermore a MINI is heavier than my M3 :-P > I do. the interior isn't the most expensive thing on the > car, but it is what > it is. it drives well for what it is & is a lot of fun, it's > just not terribly > fast > & it isn't RWD, which for most of us makes it a non-starter. > underhood > appearance & serviceability matter to 0.1% of the buying population & > if you think otherwise you're being silly. Oh, I know. My Saab definitely isn't really easy to get to a lot of stuff, but it's also not too difficult. Like I said before, the oil filter arrangement is the best I've seen....if the only put the drainplug on the side of the pan. I generally have to remove stuff to get at things in cars because I have huge hands & just can't squeeze them into places others can. I also get a lot of cuts & bruises. So now, I look at this & you can tell some cars are better designed than others, & I think in some cases this must be intentional. But you're right, only Neil didn't buy the MINI because it's a mess under the hood. :) > > nope. the Mini brand is here to stay & they'll expand it > with the next > generation. they've built a very strong following in very little time > and have a very good product. they're not going anywhere & > it's likely > that the lack of the 1-series in our market is to protect the > Mini brand > more than because of lack of confidence it the 1 as a > product. I don't > see the Mini brand being anything about "retro" at all in the > US market, > since the younger demographic they're marketing to have no clue about > the car's heritage & couldn't care less. It's been marketed really well too. FWIW, I'd rather have the RWD 1-series, but I'm not going to buy either, so my opinion is worth what you paid for it. I think prolly 2/3-3/4 of people don't know their driveline orientation anyway. The chief instructor always asks students at the Xtreme Measures school whether they have F, R or AWD. Most of their parents don't know either. > Ben Lee ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 26 Mar 2004 14:51:55 -0600 From: "Robert Blakeney" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: <E34> Fuel Pump Pickup Location Message-ID: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> I recently spun my '90 535i into a neighbor's ditch/front yard with the rear end coming to rest into some soft grass and mud up to the lower body panels. I suspect the gas tank may have been squished a bit, because my computer seems to be off now on the remaining miles to empty. I've twice had the car almost starve for fuel with the computer showing 34 miles or so to empty. At my average MPG, that's two gallons to go. It's always been accurate. Where is the fuel pickup on the E34 tank? Could the tank be squished just enough to interfere with the pickup? Could something else be wrong and this is a red herring? Robert Houston _________________________________________________________________ Get rid of annoying pop-up ads with the new MSN Toolbar � FREE! http://toolbar.msn.com/go/onm00200414ave/direct/01/ ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 26 Mar 2004 14:37:38 -0800 (PST) From: Brian Daley <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: Re: <E34> Fuel Pump Pickup Location Message-ID: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Makes sense to me. If the fuel tank is dented there will be less fuel (equal to the volume of the dent) in the tank when it's at the same fluid level. The float on the fuel gauge sender doesn't know how much fuel is in the tank, only where the fluid level is. It's also possible that a dent might prevent all of the fuel from flowing to the pump pickup. It's not hard to imagine an off-road excursion could create a crease running front to back across the bottom of the tank as you rolled over a rock, stump or similar object. Have you stuck your head under the car and looked at the tank? Brian '94 325ic -----Original Message----- From: Robert Blakeney <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Sent: Mar 26, 2004 12:51 PM To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: [UUC] <E34> Fuel Pump Pickup Location I recently spun my '90 535i into a neighbor's ditch/front yard with the rear end coming to rest into some soft grass and mud up to the lower body panels. I suspect the gas tank may have been squished a bit, because my computer seems to be off now on the remaining miles to empty. I've twice had the car almost starve for fuel with the computer showing 34 miles or so to empty. At my average MPG, that's two gallons to go. It's always been accurate. Where is the fuel pickup on the E34 tank? Could the tank be squished just enough to interfere with the pickup? Could something else be wrong and this is a red herring? Robert Houston ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 26 Mar 2004 19:01:34 -0500 From: "Steve Stoner" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Subject: Re: <E34> Fuel Pump Pickup Location Message-ID: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Tell us more about spinning the car into the ditch......:) ________________________________ I recently spun my '90 535i into a neighbor's ditch/front yard with the rear end coming to rest into some soft grass and mud up to the lower body panels. [Attachment of type application/ms-tnef removed.] ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 26 Mar 2004 17:45:12 -0800 From: "Chris Marino" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Subject: Has anyone put an M5 motor into an e38 7 series? Message-ID: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Group, Has anyone put an e39 M5 motor into an e38 7 series If so, is there website with pictures? Chris 89 M3 http://www.inlacal.com 01 X5 91 M5 98 M Roadster 00 M5 ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 26 Mar 2004 18:56:49 -0800 From: "BMWBits" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: "Uucdigest" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Subject: Coderator for OBD2 Message-ID: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Anyone on digest used one of these ....any comments , good , bad or indifferent ? I note that it doesn�t seem to DO anything other than read the codes and define wherein to look for a problem systemwise (I suspect it doesn�t tell you "The lower left dooflesnatcher sensor is grounding out intermittently ") . http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=2468528801 &category=43989 Bill & Shirley Proud Seattle Summers , Tennessee Winters . Long Commute between , ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 27 Mar 2004 01:03:37 -0600 (CST) From: "Kevin Jay (Mr.Fabulous)" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: <E36> climate control cuts out Message-ID: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Earlier pleas for help with E36 digital climate control backlighting were in error... turns out the whole thing intermittently cuts in and out. When it's working, everything operates normally. When it's not, the display goes completely blank and the fan goes dead. Sometimes the LEDs on the selector buttons remain lit, sometimes they go dark too. All other electrical functions of the car are normal; this is isolated to the climate control. It'll stay on for a few minutes, go dead for a few more, and bounce like that over and over again. Doesn't stay on for more than maybe five minutes at a time. If anybody has any BTDTs, I'd be terribly grateful. Is this a wiring problem? Some issue with the control unit? Or is it just the head? I'm thinking this could be a real b*tch to debug, so if anybody has any experience with this, please do share. I'm going to re-seat everything tomorrow, but somehow I have to believe something is on the way out. - Kevin Jay '96 328is, intermittent climate control ------------------------------ End of [bmwuucdigest] digest(14 messages) **********
