The BMW UUC Digest Volume 2 : Issue 190 : "text" Format Messages in this Issue: Re: And it returns to CAIs (was Re: Banned - perhaps) Re: Torchin' That Sucker! re: Torchin' That Sucker! Re: Airbag Surprise! Oxygen Sensor Fault - What it Really Means Re: Oxygen Sensor Fault - What it Really Means Re: Oxygen Sensor Fault - What it Really Means Re: E36 rear shock mounts cruise control gremlins
---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Sat, 15 May 2004 21:21:42 -0700 From: Kurt Zimmerman <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: Re: And it returns to CAIs (was Re: Banned - perhaps) Message-ID: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> For a long time Jim Conforti and Josh MacMurray (Eurosport ) did not print hp numbers. One big reason, was that each car is slightly different and the hp gains for one M3 (for example) were not the same as the next. Factory, hp, varies from car to car a lot more than you would expect also. But, I have seen them work, and I've seen how they develop products. They are all extremely well thought out and thoroughly tested. They also don't sell products, just to sell them. I've not seen nearly the complaints about Eurosport/Conforti products not performing that I have with other tuners, (actually, I haven't seen any, but I'm sure there are some) That said, 14 hp on a 300hp motor, is not nearly as noticible as it is on a 200hp motor. I would spend my money on track time too. See you Friday. Kurt John Kjos wrote: >Kurt, > >That's about the same HP gain that Dinan claims for E39 540i's. Very few on >the lists I read agree that there is ANY GAIN, including Steve. Over time, I >tend to go along with them because of the number of "expert opinions" with >similar comments. THEN one comes up like this. I'm just going to leave >everything as is and learn to drive better. Off to PIR next week I go. > >John Kjos >'99 540i/6: Dinan S1 >'01 525iTa: Stock >Portland, OR > >----- Original Message ----- >From: "Kurt Zimmerman" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> >To: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> >Sent: Friday, May 14, 2004 10:11 AM >Subject: And it returns to CAIs (was Re: [UUC] Banned - perhaps) > > > > >>Steve Albrecht wrote: >> >> >> >>>I also recall one time when someone asked why he didn't have a CAI >>>like Conforti had? And, why he didn't sell strut braces. He responded >>>that a CAI offered such a small improvement as compared to the stock >>>BMW intake that it wasn't worth the effort, but he was getting such >>>demand for a CAI that he was going to go ahead and offer one. As for >>>strut braces on a BMW, he called them engine room jewelry. Steve is a >>>good business man and uses the income from these types of products to >>>help finance the research on the more worthwhile projects. >>> >>> >>What does Steve consider a reasonable improvement? I was living in Salt >>Lake City when Josh and Jim were developing the Conforti CAI and I >>stopped by their shop frequently. They spent a lot of time on the dyno >>doing most of their testing on an E36 M3. I remember Josh being shocked >>when he built his first system for the 328 and he saw a 14hp increase >>without any software changes. He ran the test several times because HE >>didn't believe it was possible. Needless to say, he was very pleased. >> >>Maybe Steve thinks that 14 hp is too small an improvement for the effort? >> >>Kurt >> >>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 >> >> >> > > >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: Sat, 15 May 2004 23:22:57 -0400 From: "Gary Derian" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>, "E30 Yahoo Group" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Subject: Re: Torchin' That Sucker! Message-ID: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> A heated bolt gets longer as well as fatter. Both directions grow in proportion so it gets more longer than fatter. A propane torch is pretty weak and the heat will transfer to the surrounding areas before the bolt really gets hot enough. You need an oxy-acetylene torch to do it right. Put an extension pipe on a long breaker bar. Gary Derian > Groups, the caliper bracket - to - strut bolts on our '91 325iA are > stuck - they appear to have been severely overtightened by someone > prior to our ownership. On the passenger side, I used my patented > put-the-floor-jack-under-the-breaker-bar-handle trick. But on the > driver's side, the strut is in the way and that method won't work. I > don't own impact tools. > > I have it on good authority (hi Mr. 1st) that the bolt will come right > out if I simply heat it up real good with a torch. Well, I do just > happen to have a propane torch, whadaya know? But here is what I was > thinking (which, of course, is always dangerous): Should I heat up > the bolts? Or should I heat up the casting into which they are stuck? > Since heat causes metal to expand (did I get that right Gary?), won't > heating the bolt make it more stuck? Whereas, if I heat up the > steering knuckle-strut AROUND the bolts, the bolt holes will get > larger? Or does the heat do something else besides expanding some > metal? > > Of course, I'm about to go out in a few hours to fire up the torch, > and most of you won't read this until I have already stumbled on the > correct answer. But if you happen to see this before, oh, say noon on > Sunday, please do shoot me an e-mail direct at: > [EMAIL PROTECTED] . I get the UUC and E30 messages in Digest > form, so a reply to the list will not get to me until the required > number of messages stacks up. > > TIA for any advice here, > > Scott Miller > GGC BMW CCA > > > > 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: Sat, 15 May 2004 23:51:40 -0700 (PDT) From: Mike Hsu <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: re: Torchin' That Sucker! Message-ID: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> The 1 time that I needed to heat a set of really tight bolts, propane worked. Longest heating time was about 3 minutes at full blast. Mike --- Gary Derian <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > A heated bolt gets longer as well as fatter. Both > directions grow in > proportion so it gets more longer than fatter. A > propane torch is pretty > weak and the heat will transfer to the surrounding > areas before the bolt > really gets hot enough. You need an oxy-acetylene > torch to do it right. > > Put an extension pipe on a long breaker bar. > > Gary Derian __________________________________ Do you Yahoo!? SBC Yahoo! - Internet access at a great low price. http://promo.yahoo.com/sbc/ ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 16 May 2004 00:09:14 -0700 (PDT) From: Mike Hsu <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: Re: Airbag Surprise! Message-ID: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> If you gauge cluster is anything like my M Coupe's, you could take a bulb from the another indicator (ie parking brake, abs, CE, etc) and stick it into the airbag slot. Then put on the E34 airbag, and see if the light goes off. Although you might need to get it reset, since I guess you already turned on the car w/o the airbag. Without taking out the cluster, wouldn't there be a hint that the bulb's not there or not working when you turn the key to the on position, and all the bulbs light up. I would say your theory sounds right. Someone once tried to sell my friend a salvaged car with an airbag light that is always on. Not as smart as your car's past mechanic. Mike --- Scott & Charlotte Miller <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > And I've gotta tell y'all, the words "airbag" and > "surprise" are not > two words you want to see together. I believe I > have already > documented the fact that, after replacing my turn > signal flasher > relay, I managed to cross-thread the fasteners that > hold the > airbag/horn button assembly in my '90 325i. The > Torx head screws are > too close to get a conventional drill in there to > drill a hole for a > screw extractor. > > So I decided to sacrifice the steering wheel cover. > My pocket knife > made quick work of that! Then I hacksawed the one > stuck screw that > was half-holding the airbag unit in place. Now I'm > airbag free. And, > of course, horn button free as well. No problem > there, if I need the > horn, I'll just roll down the window and yell. > "Hey, jerk! Yeah you! > I'm honkin' at ya!" > > Now a bit of history is in order. I bought this car > in 1996 from at > least the 3rd owner. One fender hads been > previously replaced, and > the hood and bumper cover both had either been > replaced or at least > repainted. Since the frame was straight, I didn't > worry about it. > > So now here I am holding my number 3211599271 air > bag, or maybe it is > a BC-66 60 9792 airbag, or perhaps a 3606419603 > airbag. I really > don't know what it is, since it has all these > numbers on it and none > of them looks like a conventional BMW part number to > me. But here's > the good part. It is marked "E34". THAT I > understand, this thing did > not start its life in my E30. Are the two > compatible? How would I > know? > > At this point I decided to look into that SRS light > that doesn't > light, and the reason is immediately obvious. There > is NO light! > Bulb and bulb holder are just gone. > > So here is my conclusion. After the P.O.'s > accident, someone stuck an > E34 airbag in to fill the hole in the steering > wheel. It was not > compatible with the E30 airbag circuits, triggered > the SRS light, and > the light would not re-set. So rather than fix it > right, the > unscrupulous repair monkey yanked out the SRS bulb > and tossed it. > Then they gave the car back to the owner, telling > them it was as good > as new! > > I'm glad I never had to find out if the airbag > really works or not! > Any competing theories? > > Scott Miller > GGC BMW CCA > > > > 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 __________________________________ Do you Yahoo!? SBC Yahoo! - Internet access at a great low price. http://promo.yahoo.com/sbc/ ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 16 May 2004 15:18:02 -0700 From: "Scott & Charlotte Miller" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: "UUC Digest" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>, "E30 Yahoo Group" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Subject: Oxygen Sensor Fault - What it Really Means Message-ID: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> The other day I mentioned my intermittant check engine light, with an oxygen sensor code (1990 325i). Since I had replaced the sensor maybe 35K miles ago, I thought this must have been an indication that there was some other problem which the ECU could not fix by adjusting the mixture. But Saturday I did not have time to do any diagnosis before the parts store closed at 2 PM. So I bought the sensor, went home, took out the old one and put in the new one. Then I went for a test drive. And there was no more check engine light. So I've concluded that, sometimes when you get an oxygen sensor code, what it really means is, the oxygen sensor needs to be replaced. Who woulda thought? Scott Miller GGC BMW CCA ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 16 May 2004 19:33:52 -0400 From: "Gary Derian" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Subject: Re: Oxygen Sensor Fault - What it Really Means Message-ID: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> The computer only knows what the sensors are telling it. A fault signal could be a bad sensor or an actual fault condition properly sensed. Reading codes is only one step in diagnosing a problem. One always has to ask what possible faults are causing this code. Your fuel mileage will improve because an old O2 sensor send a false lean condition to the DME. Gary Derian > The other day I mentioned my intermittant check engine light, with an > oxygen sensor code (1990 325i). Since I had replaced the sensor maybe > 35K miles ago, I thought this must have been an indication that there > was some other problem which the ECU could not fix by adjusting the > mixture. But Saturday I did not have time to do any diagnosis before > the parts store closed at 2 PM. So I bought the sensor, went home, > took out the old one and put in the new one. > > Then I went for a test drive. And there was no more check engine > light. So I've concluded that, sometimes when you get an oxygen > sensor code, what it really means is, the oxygen sensor needs to be > replaced. Who woulda thought? > > Scott Miller > GGC BMW CCA ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 16 May 2004 20:24:11 -0400 From: "Michael Gambini" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Subject: Re: Oxygen Sensor Fault - What it Really Means Message-ID: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> On my previous 93 E36, I probably went thru an oxygen sensor every 30-35K. I'll see how the E36 M3 makes out. MikeG ----- Original Message ----- From: "Gary Derian" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Sent: Sunday, May 16, 2004 7:33 PM Subject: Re: [UUC] Oxygen Sensor Fault - What it Really Means > The computer only knows what the sensors are telling it. A fault signal > could be a bad sensor or an actual fault condition properly sensed. Reading > codes is only one step in diagnosing a problem. One always has to ask what > possible faults are causing this code. > > Your fuel mileage will improve because an old O2 sensor send a false lean > condition to the DME. > > Gary Derian ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 16 May 2004 21:02:50 -0400 (GMT-04:00) From: Maverick <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: Re: E36 rear shock mounts Message-ID: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Anybody had experience with the Meyle brand that Bavarian sells? They look like a good idea, with the flared center bushing making the rubber into compression instead of shear on the compression stroke. David in Richmond, VA -----Original Message----- From: Richard Dorffer <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Sent: May 13, 2004 10:52 AM To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Cc: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: [UUC] E36 rear shock mounts At 08:09 PM 5/12/04, Rich Dorffer talked about: >I have heard first hand many complaints about the >JTD units as basically being crap and people gave them away or threw them in >the trash (they may have changed the design since AFAIK). From: Jim Bassett > Not to start a whole product debate thread, but I'd be curious as to what > the "crap" problems where. I will concede that I should have used a different term... :-) I also don't want to start a debate (see my paragraph below on my primary point). The "issues" I recalled when I wrote this post late last night was about the rubber insert wearing out quickly, even more quickly than a stock mount. It didn't seem to matter whether it was the 'his' or the 'her' bushings that originally came with them. Also, I remembered someone having an issue with the studs ripping out which caused the shock tower to be damaged. So, I did some searches on the E36 M3 digest and found a few supporting posts. If anyone is interested, I found six different people that had the issues I mentioned above with the JTD mounts and replaced them with something else (usually GC or OE units). The E36 M3 digests I found were #2987, #2809, #2808, #2636 and #1585. You can search the archives via Google or here: http://www.bmw-m.net/Digest/ Like I said, there *may* have been design changes since then, I don't know for certain. I just know there were a number of issues with them at one time. I also know of some people on this list that had issues with them but they can speak for themselves if they so choose. > As mentioned, I've been using 2 sets on both my E36s for years. Only one > problem (which I think has since been solved): One of the bolts in one RSM > for the 13mm nut would come unlocked from the mount and needed to be > re-Locktited. No big deal. But then, I didn't spend time swapping in and > out bushings either - set and forget was/is my philosophy. > I hadn't noticed any appreciable added harshness in ride quality, either. > With 6+ years of track time, I'm sure I'd notice, but on the other hand > probably wouldn't care if I did :-) And that really is my point too. There are a lot of choices these days in RSMs. I would simply say that one should choose one that will work for their application and criteria. Therefore, the E46 RSM may be a perfectly acceptable choice to some. On the other end of the spectrum, a TC Kline mono-ball unit may be perfectly acceptable. And, there appears to be a number of choices in between. Regards, Rich 95 M3 - TC Kline RSMs with Z3 reinforcement plates with welded in, upside-down, studs (I made myself) for easy removal and access to the top of the DA Konis 90 325is - E46 RSMs and Z3 reinforcement plates 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: Sun, 16 May 2004 19:00:27 -0700 From: "Ben Dixon" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Subject: cruise control gremlins Message-ID: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> This is a 1985 323i that I have owned for about 3 years and has never had a working cc. I knew the cable was missing so I replaced the box that attaches to the left fender well. When I removed my old one I noticed that 2-3 wires were pulled out of the plug under the dash. I put it all back together and said a small prayer. Nope nada nothing! I read in my bentley that the brain for the cc is under the dash on the drivers side above the glove box and oh yeah the cc stalk is real loose too. I hoped the bentley would show me how to disconnect the stalk but it doesn't. Can somebody show me how to remove the wires on the stalk and attach another one? I guess I could just cut and splice but I would rather do it right. Since the stalk and the part are the two things that are the obvious things that need help I will start with them. Anybody out there want to help tackle this one with me or tell me where to go look? Ben Dixon 1985 323i:( ------------------------------ End of [bmwuucdigest] digest(9 messages) **********
