The BMW UUC Digest Volume 3 : Issue 197 : "text" Format Messages in this Issue: Re: E36 suspension Koni settings Re: E36 suspension Koni settings Re: <M42> Water in Spark Plug Well Re: <M42> Water in Spark Plug Well Re: <M42> Water in Spark Plug Well Re: bushing wear/ was Re: E36 suspension Koni settings Re: bushing wear/ was Re: E36 suspension Koni settings Re: bushing wear/ was Re: E36 suspension Koni settings Re: bushing wear/ was Re: E36 suspension Koni settings Re: bushing wear/ was Re: E36 suspension Koni settings <E46> ABS traction control light issue Re: <E46> ABS traction control light issue Re: E36 suspension Koni settings Need Carfax
---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Fri, 14 Jul 2006 09:36:44 -0700 From: Bob Sutterfield <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: <[email protected]> Subject: Re: E36 suspension Koni settings Message-ID: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Carlos Lopez wrote: > Ben Keyes wrote: >> let's hear it for being able to buy an over-qualified product >> for less than a non-adjustable potentially less than optimally >> functional one then :-) > > Hmm... but these Konis Ed got require you to remove the rear shocks and > compress them to adjust, unless you have some other clever way of doing > it. There are externally adjustable ones that would've made this a > non-issue. Open the trunk if you want to adjust, make a little cut-out > on the carpeted trunk liner so you can reach the top adjuster easier. I installed red SA Konis on our kid-hauler (93 Volkswagen Eurovan MV Weekender) when the original Boges got tired. Still on the original torsion bars and springs. Both front and rear shocks require removal for adjustment. I set them at mid-range when I installed them and haven't changed them since. They met the price and warranty points. I installed yellow SA Konis on my (ex) 87 325iS when I installed Eibach springs. I would tweak the fronts (knob on top) for street, track, or autocross, sometimes several times in a day. I would change the rears (unbolt from the trailing arms) when I changed wheels/tires/pads for street, track, or autocross. Choose the correct tool for each purpose. All the world isn't a nail, so sometimes you don't need a hammer. ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 14 Jul 2006 10:01:15 -0700 From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] To: "[uucdigest]" <[email protected]> Subject: Re: E36 suspension Koni settings Message-ID: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> and there's a lot of take off struts and shocks sitting alongside those takeoff exhausts. I'll sell my rear E36 //M3 shocks, used one year/ 15k miles, for $50. for the pair. Pls reply privately. Barry Rob Levinson * UUC Motorwerks wrote: >...or purchasing any number of complete damper and _spring_ kits (1996 >springs are certainly "tired" by now) for a similar price, +/- $100, that >would retain (or even improve) ride comfort. >Eibach, Sachs, H&R, etc. offer such kits priced from $599-$750. >- Rob > >----- Original Message ----- >From: "Ben Keyes" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> >To: "Ed MacVaugh" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> >Cc: <[email protected]> >Sent: Friday, July 14, 2006 11:44 AM > ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 14 Jul 2006 10:05:25 -0700 From: "Curtis Ingraham" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: [email protected] Subject: Re: <M42> Water in Spark Plug Well Message-ID: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Those are indeed BMW Style 10 wheels, an option (from the accessory catalog?) on E30 cars. 7x15, offset 24 mm, 4x100 bolt pattern. One of the few 15-inch wheels that fits a 2002. I saw some on an E34 or E36 a few days ago, so I guess there is a 5-bolt version as well. Curt Ingraham Oakland, CA 72 2002tii stylin' with Style 10 wheels Scott wrote: > Hell, there are a lot of ways I might be confused! When I didn't know > the wheel style, someone sent me a photo of what looked like the same > wheel on a Z1, along with an explanation that they were possibly > standard on Z1s. Thus my confusion, this time. Of course, I then > forgot the style name/number again. > > So now I have your former wheels and also your former sun visors. At > this rate I'll have an entire former Ben Keys E30 by, oh, the year > 2074. > > Scott Miller > GGC BMW CCA > > ----- Original Message ----- > From: "Ben Keyes" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > To: "UUC Digest" <[email protected]> > Cc: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > Sent: Thursday, July 13, 2006 4:04 PM > Subject: Re: [UUC] <M42> Water in Spark Plug Well > > > Scott wrote: > > >15" wheels that were more common on the Z1, > > > > bzzzt. > > > > Z1 was stock with 7-spoke 16" wheels. tho if Bob sold you the > > car with the 15" 6-spoke Star-spoke styling 10 wheels I sold > > him then I could see how you might be confused. > > > > Ben ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 14 Jul 2006 13:14:23 -0400 From: "Ben Keyes" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: [email protected] Subject: Re: <M42> Water in Spark Plug Well Message-ID: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> they're available in a simliar but not identical 15" for E36 and also 17's in 8" & 9" for an E34/E32. I think there's a less similar looking but likely also referred to as Style 10 in 16", but I'm not 100% positive. the 17's are sorta interesting looking, but they're probably pretty heavy. probably easy to clean if they're treated with a good wax or other coating, but if not they'd tend to get lots of brake dust & then corrosion on the wide/deep lip. Ben Curtis wrote: > Those are indeed BMW Style 10 wheels, an option (from the accessory > catalog?) on E30 cars. 7x15, offset 24 mm, 4x100 bolt pattern. One > of the few 15-inch wheels that fits a 2002. I saw some on an E34 or > E36 a few days ago, so I guess there is a 5-bolt version as well. ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 14 Jul 2006 10:34:54 -0700 From: Bob Sutterfield <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: <[email protected]> Subject: Re: <M42> Water in Spark Plug Well Message-ID: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Ben Keyes wrote: > probably easy to clean if they're treated with a good wax or other > coating, but if not they'd tend to get lots of brake dust & then > corrosion on the wide/deep lip. That's a big reason I liked the 15" 4-bolt Star-Spokes: They're incredibly easy to clean, especially compared to basketweaves. ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 14 Jul 2006 14:12:14 -0400 (GMT-04:00) From: Maverick <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: [email protected] Subject: Re: bushing wear/ was Re: E36 suspension Koni settings Message-ID: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> On the e36 one thing that can cause the feeling of tired spring as they age is the bumpstops. Mine are shot and makes the car feel like it has very weak springs. On these cars the bumpstops actually act like a progressive spring and combine with the springs for the total spring rate. So if they are bad she will bottom out easy and feel limp. david ellsworth -----Original Message----- >From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] >Sent: Jul 14, 2006 12:19 PM >To: >Cc: [email protected] >Subject: bushing wear/ was Re: [UUC] E36 suspension Koni settings > > Life expectancy can be linked to how the car is driven. 75-100k >miles is reasonable for stock street usage. >I think a lot or owners don't realize the degradation in handling and >ride quality due to suspension bushings wear, and replace shocks, >struts, and sometimes springs instead. >Barry > >Marc Plante wrote: > >>>In all seriousness, why did you buy a set of adjustable >>>dampers with track leanings, if all you were after was a >>>comfort-minded street cruiser? >>> >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, 14 Jul 2006 15:05:27 -0400 From: "Rob Levinson * UUC Motorwerks" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: <[email protected]> Subject: Re: bushing wear/ was Re: E36 suspension Koni settings Message-ID: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> You might be confusing bump stops with strut mounts. You don't "feel" bump stops unless you hit them (which you really, really feel). Tire strut mounts will make the car feel willowy. -Rob ----- Original Message ----- From: "Maverick" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Subject: Re: bushing wear/ was Re: [UUC] E36 suspension Koni settings > On the e36 one thing that can cause the feeling of tired spring as they age is the bumpstops. Mine are shot and makes the car feel like it has very weak springs. On these cars the bumpstops actually act like a progressive spring and combine with the springs for the total spring rate. So if they are bad she will bottom out easy and feel limp. > > david ellsworth ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 14 Jul 2006 15:09:12 -0400 From: "Rob Levinson * UUC Motorwerks" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: <[email protected]> Subject: Re: bushing wear/ was Re: E36 suspension Koni settings Message-ID: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> "Tire" should have been "Tired" ----- Original Message ----- From: "Rob Levinson * UUC Motorwerks" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > You might be confusing bump stops with strut mounts. You don't "feel" bump > stops unless you hit them (which you really, really feel). Tire strut > mounts will make the car feel willowy. > > -Rob ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 15 Jul 2006 07:05:51 -0400 (GMT-04:00) From: Maverick <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: [email protected] Subject: Re: bushing wear/ was Re: E36 suspension Koni settings Message-ID: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> I agree, tired strut mounts make it feel almost wobbly. But I actually did mean bump stops. I don't know as much about other versions of the BMW family, I have the lowll 318ti. Perhaps it is different on M3's etc, but I thought they were all very similar. On the ti's the front prings are actully pretty soft, like 180lbs inch, while I believe on M3's they are closer to 375lbs inch. Well on the ti, they use a fairly tall, softish foam bump stop on the shaft. When the suspension compresses it compresses just the spring for the first bit of travel and is pretty compliant. When you go a little deeper the foam stop starts to compress and the efective spring rate climbs quickly. At first it is pretty soft and it acts like a progressive spring, but as you say you get into it deep and it is hard...ask me how I know. Mine are pretty much shot and waiting for a break in the heat to put my new stuff on. Once they break down, and they do as the foam starts to crumble and such, and the struts get mature you start diving deeper into th! e compression and you find the hard part of the stop much more often. My teeth have been taking a pounding lately as they are doing some grinding/paving work on the interstate her and I have hit bottom too many times. Thanks, David Ellsworth -----Original Message----- >From: Rob Levinson * UUC Motorwerks <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> >Sent: Jul 14, 2006 3:05 PM >To: [email protected] >Subject: Re: bushing wear/ was Re: [UUC] E36 suspension Koni settings > >You might be confusing bump stops with strut mounts. You don't "feel" bump >stops unless you hit them (which you really, really feel). Tire strut >mounts will make the car feel willowy. > >-Rob > >----- Original Message ----- >From: "Maverick" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> >Subject: Re: bushing wear/ was Re: [UUC] E36 suspension Koni settings > > >> On the e36 one thing that can cause the feeling of tired spring as they >age is the bumpstops. Mine are shot and makes the car feel like it has very >weak springs. On these cars the bumpstops actually act like a progressive >spring and combine with the springs for the total spring rate. So if they >are bad she will bottom out easy and feel limp. >> >> david ellsworth > >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 Jul 2006 10:12:49 -0400 From: "Chet Dawes" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: "Maverick" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>, <[email protected]> Subject: Re: bushing wear/ was Re: E36 suspension Koni settings Message-ID: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> David, OE sport front 318ti springs are in the range of ~115lb/in, rears ~300lb/in. Even softer than you thought. OE '95 M3 springs are in the range of ~110lb/in front and ~325lb/in rear. Softer fronts than the 318ti! I forget the exact numbers off the top of my head, but I measured both with multiple measurements through a large portion of the spring travel range. Very linear in performance despite the beehive design in the rears. I have the results in a spreadsheet (which I think I sent you?) somewhere. Yes, they are pretty soft. A credit to the stiff chassis of the e36 that they handle that well on fairly soft springs. Cheers, Chet Dawes -----Original Message----- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Behalf Of Maverick Sent: Saturday, July 15, 2006 7:06 AM To: [email protected] Subject: Re: bushing wear/ was Re: [UUC] E36 suspension Koni settings I agree, tired strut mounts make it feel almost wobbly. But I actually did mean bump stops. I don't know as much about other versions of the BMW family, I have the lowll 318ti. Perhaps it is different on M3's etc, but I thought they were all very similar. On the ti's the front prings are actully pretty soft, like 180lbs inch, while I believe on M3's they are closer to 375lbs inch. Well on the ti, they use a fairly tall, softish foam bump stop on the shaft. When the suspension compresses it compresses just the spring for the first bit of travel and is pretty compliant. When you go a little deeper the foam stop starts to compress and the efective spring rate climbs quickly. At first it is pretty soft and it acts like a progressive spring, but as you say you get into it deep and it is hard...ask me how I know. Mine are pretty much shot and waiting for a break in the heat to put my new stuff on. Once they break down, and they do as the foam starts to crumble and such, and the struts get mature you start diving deeper into th! e compression and you find the hard part of the stop much more often. My teeth have been taking a pounding lately as they are doing some grinding/paving work on the interstate her and I have hit bottom too many times. Thanks, David Ellsworth ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 14 Jul 2006 14:00:49 -0700 (PDT) From: Matt Weimer <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: [email protected] Subject: <E46> ABS traction control light issue Message-ID: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> My sisters 2000 323i sedan has lately developed an intermittent issue that illuminates the ABS/traction control lamp. The light will turn on randomly during normal driving and reset once the car is keyed off and re-started. Other than checking for a bad or dirty ABS wheel sensor is there any other common issue with these cars? Is there a brake pedal travel sensor on the E46 like the later E36? Any help appreciated. Matt __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Tired of spam? Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around http://mail.yahoo.com ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 14 Jul 2006 14:59:16 -0700 From: Kazuto Okayasu <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: [email protected] Subject: Re: <E46> ABS traction control light issue Message-ID: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> At 02:00 PM 7/14/2006, Matt Weimer wrote: I hate to say it, but with these later cars, symptoms like this (blinky lights) are probably best diagnosed with BMW computer equipment (like a GT-1). They actually seem to work fairly well in pointing you in the right direction. The ASC/DSC light on E46s can be triggered by lots of different things (I can think of a half-dozen non-engine sensors alone), so the stored codes need to be read off. If you're lucky, you'll have access to an independent shop equipped with good diagnostic equipment. My mechanic happens to have an actual GT-1. I can't think of any common problems on E46s that would cause this, though. >My sisters 2000 323i sedan has lately developed an >intermittent issue that illuminates the ABS/traction >control lamp. The light will turn on randomly during >normal driving and reset once the car is keyed off and >re-started. > >Other than checking for a bad or dirty ABS wheel >sensor is there any other common issue with these >cars? Is there a brake pedal travel sensor on the E46 >like the later E36? > >Any help appreciated. > >Matt > >__________________________________________________ >Do You Yahoo!? >Tired of spam? Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around >http://mail.yahoo.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 Kazuto Okayasu Manager, Desktop Support Services Administrative Computing Services, University of California, Irvine [EMAIL PROTECTED] ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 14 Jul 2006 17:42:54 -0700 From: Herman Chan <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: [email protected] Subject: Re: E36 suspension Koni settings Message-ID: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Ed wrote: > That suspension is noticably lower than the non-sport suspension and > just barely clears my driveway incline. The spec is -15mm front, -10mm rear, so it's not really that much, but +/- 10mm is the tolerance. If you have clearance difficultly now, I don't know how well you'd fare with aftermarket lowering springs. > I have researched the suspension and it consisted of valved Sachs Boge > shocks, specially for that package, lower front and rear springs that > were also used with the AVUS edition Motorport package (albeit with > Bilstein Shocks), and a larger rear anti-sway bar. They also use 8 mm > shorter front bumpstops. > > My cost with discount from the dealer for those Sachs Boge shocks new > would be $690. My cost for the Bilsteins from the AVUS edition > would be > $799, both plus tax. > > All the interchange information for Boge Gas, KYB, Tokico, Bilstein > Touring (really Sachs Boge) say not to be used with the M-technik > suspension. > Bilstein Sport and Koni Yellow both say including M-technik. Sachs/Boge does offer OEM versions of the factory shocks, both sport (M-technik) and non-sport. The sport package shocks are part of the Turbo Gas line, and the regular shocks are from the Automatic line. However, most vendors don't carry the sport shocks, even the BMW- centric parts houses. I got a set a few years ago at considerably less cost than the Genuine OE shocks (or Bilsteins/Konis), drop shipped from the warehouse in Atlanta. As with Bilstein and Koni, lifetime warranty to the original purchaser, something BMW doesn't match with the OE parts. > I didn't buy the Koni shocks because they had "track leanings" but > rather because their manufacturer acknowledged knowing about my > particular suspension, and offered a product that would work with my > particular suspension. I've driven an E36 with yellow Konis and factory sport springs. It's definitely firmer than the spec shocks would be, but it was quite acceptable even with the settings not at full-soft. I have no experience with the Bilstein Touring shocks, but my HDs (no TC line at the time) were less than satisfactory. The Konis might be a bit of overkill, but even if they are, you picked the right team, if not the right position player, IMO. Herman ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 15 Jul 2006 07:23:20 -0400 From: "Steve & Barb Conner" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: <[email protected]> Subject: Need Carfax Message-ID: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Anyone have an active Carfax account that would be willing to run a VIN for me? Thanks. Steve Conner ------------------------------ End of [bmwuucdigest] digest(14 messages) **********
