When I was test driving Evo's, the salesman gave me the all clear to thrash a base IX. Off course, right then a cop turned the corner into my lane so I couldn't do anything.

As far as being a driver goes, the Evo is raspy, creeky, rickity, and squeeky. Driving around town feels like you're in the back seat of a Murat 131 with lead weights in the front. When you get on the throttle, however, everything changes: The squeeks go away, the raspiness of the motor dissappears to an almost Honda-like metallic roar and off course the light jet noise seasoning the rather harmonic cacophony.

Its pretty fucking sweet.

9/12/2006 9:13:09 PM

wut iz all those big werds

9/12/2006 11:04:01 PM

I mean, I don't know. I like to push a car, and a lot of things bother me. Loose personal items forexample. The Evo I looked at, the guy didn't even empty his center console... Not a good impression.
Ahmet

9/15/2006 11:30:29 AM

Nobody should buy an evo from a guy that doesn't take care of it.

9/15/2006 1:15:00 PM

yeah dude...from the way you descriped its ride and feel...i wouldn't buy that. Sounds to me this guy beat his car to death and never did proper maintenance.

9/15/2006 3:22:38 PM

"loose personal shit"


LOL I hate that too. Nothing worse than shit everywhere when I get in a car. Well yeah, a wet dog smell in a car is worse.

9/15/2006 3:51:01 PM

OK, I'm both extremely frustrated and very happy. I love the car on the street (if not for a bit of extra harshness over bigger bumps). Anyway, if you push it hard enough, it's got a lot of understeer in initial turn in, just as it did on track. I'm going to have to try some different things, I also apparently need to replace two minor things with stock as I don't want to be in TTC (with the likes of e46 M3/e39 M5, Elise and NSX, etc). I'm happy and will consider other upgrades like big brakes/supercharger, etc. IF, I can get it to stop understeering. If not, this car's history. Very frustrating, very.

So, take a stock M3 (which IMO is fairly neutral @the limit, understeers if over driven like any other car). Now you'd think adding 1.5-2 degrees of negative camber up front (bringing the total to about 3.5 degrees negative), and then throwing a huge set of sway bars, front set to full soft, rear set to full stiff would make the car more neutral, if not oversteer. You'd be very wrong. My M3 understeers like there's no tomorrow. Way worse than stock. What gives? I will be trying to figure it out. It's also got a strut tower brace...
Ahmet

9/19/2006 12:18:33 AM

how much (in mm) is your front sway bigger than stock? also what brand? basically some manufacturers offer more front stiffness, lesser rear stiffness and vice versa, depending on the brand. differences aren't small either.

it may be that your aftermarket front sway is considerably larger/stiffer than than your rear one, thus causing even more understeer? i hope the strut brace is for rear?

check this out, if you havent already

http://www.uucmotorwerks.com/html%5Fproduct/sway%5Fbarbarian/



as usual '95 M3 > '96-99 M3

[Edited on September 19, 2006 at 1:14 AM. Reason : h]

9/19/2006 1:05:18 AM

The bars are Turner. I have read that page. Why would you say "I hope the strut brace is for the rear" btw?
With the front bar set at full soft and rear at full stiff, I don't think ultimately the sizing (front to rear) will matter much at this point. The feedback I've gotten actually suggests making the rear end SOFTER w/the front STIFFER. This goes directly against conventional wisdom, and every bit of information concerning the set up of any car. I would think that I maybe running too much negative camber up front, but tire wear is oh so even that I don't really want to mess with it. As a note, the R comps are the same width front to rear.

PS: The 96+ cars got wider rear wheels, without giving up width up front. If you were to get the 235 tires in the front, you would end up with more overall grip.
Ahmet

9/19/2006 2:44:45 AM

HOW MANY TIMES DO I HAVE TO EXPLAIN TO YOU, AHMET, HOW BODY ROLL EFFECTS CAMBER ON A MCSHITSON STRUT FRONT END?

stiffen the front bar. /problem.

9/19/2006 9:16:03 AM

Dan, I've had that bar on full stiff, medium, and soft.
Ahmet

9/19/2006 9:30:09 AM

well then you need non staggarded tires and better tires. youre just out of grip.

i found full stiff front bar, full soft rear bar to be saweet w/ 255s all around. bit and turned in hard and i could stomp on the loud pedal out of turns w/o loosing it.

Maybe youre just expecting too much out of street tires since your in super Advanced group w/ cars who are all likely on rcomps?

9/19/2006 9:33:40 AM

Having never been on track w/ you in the car, and having heard what you've said, I think Dan might be right. You might just be running out of grip.

[Edited on September 19, 2006 at 10:01 AM. Reason : .]

9/19/2006 9:45:00 AM

Indeed I am "running out of grip", but that happens in the front first, and I want to get rid of that. How can this car understeer more than stock??? It's bad, really bad at corner entry, mid corner and corner exit. It's bad on transitions, it's bad at lower speeds, or higher speed sweepers, anything.
Ahmet

9/19/2006 10:25:20 AM

Let Nick drive it at Roebling, for a second opinion?

9/19/2006 10:44:30 AM

smaller tires heat up faster.. maybe youre really overdriving the car trying to hang and the smaller fronts will overheat sooner and then the car will push a lot and then you overdrive more and then the fronts get even hotter and then the car pushes even more and on and on and on.

9/19/2006 10:48:13 AM

We've ridden w/each other @Summit. His car's the same as mine, if not worse. We were both fairly frustrated w/the cars. I was "over driving" the car, but it understeers on the first lap out as well. If it is the tires, it's because I don't have enough of it up front. Then again howcome a stock M3 doesn't understeer this bad? Possible answer may be due to the far increased grip levels of the car magnifying what little problem it's got.

However, maybe I just suck as a driver, as evidenced by my continual last place finish in the rushour karts.
Ahmet

9/19/2006 11:06:18 AM

I vote for teh suck! haha

9/19/2006 12:46:47 PM

yeah i think you have to weigh 80lbs and get the ringer cart to win

9/19/2006 12:48:38 PM

Quote :

"Why would you say "I hope the strut brace is for the rear" btw? "

just saying because front will just give more understeer.

9/19/2006 4:33:23 PM

strut brace won't do shiznizzle.

9/19/2006 4:43:43 PM

If a strut brace worked, it would reduce understeer. But it doesn't do anything, so that's a moot point.
Ahmet

9/19/2006 5:02:10 PM

weld your an extra mount point or 2 onto the strut brace

9/19/2006 5:36:10 PM

OR save yourself the headache and buy something else to play with :-P

9/19/2006 5:52:13 PM

dont make my bust out my strut brace lecture...

9/19/2006 7:01:00 PM

just got back from VIR. my car on the other hand, was fabulous. yes, i said fabulous.

And as an added bonus, my instructor was running none other than H&R Sports on Bilsteins (what Ahmet has) and his car seemed to do very very well and he said he was quite happy w/ the setup.

Somethings goofy w/ your car, Ahmet.

9/25/2006 6:33:58 PM

maybe somethings goofy with ahmet.

haha jk man

9/25/2006 6:37:23 PM

H&R Sports on Bilsteins are the problems!!! Had those and race springs with Bilsteins, sucked ass. Eibach and Konis now, and the car drives 100x better.

9/26/2006 1:28:34 AM

Dan, if this suspension was so fantastic, and your instructors set up was so fantastic, why'd you change it?

Something maybe goofy w/my car, or my driving. At the end, it hasn't worked for me. I've been tweaking the alignment, and it seems to be helping, a lot.
Ahmet

9/26/2006 8:27:41 AM

When I drove your car, it felt quite neutral to me too. But we have different cars. I think the difference was mostly in the tires (you had non staggered, as did your instructor). Personal preferences, I didn't like the ground control set up you now have (it's ride that is), but you and Callahan like it better. I'm OK w/that.
Ahmet

9/26/2006 11:02:52 AM

im betting on tires, too. when will be your first outting on the nonstaggared rcomps?

9/26/2006 11:30:12 AM

This weekend. Here's to hoping...
Ahmet

9/26/2006 11:54:17 AM

i might have some GC coilovers for sale for sale.

9/26/2006 4:17:11 PM

I got few things for sale as well, now that you reminded me

-540i maf if anyone wants to go with 3.5” conversion $110
-regular e36 m3 maf $60
-front strut brace for ’95 m3. will not work for 96-99 $50
-used thermostat housing in great condition. Does not leak (replaced it with aluminum one) $10
-radiator clamps brand new in the box $10
-upper and lower radiator hoses in great condition. No cracks, no leaks anywhere $10 for both
-radiator with a small leak that’s easily fixable. $15

all prices firm.

9/26/2006 5:20:13 PM

up we go with some propaganda

http://www.automobilemag.com/features/news/20_greatest_cars/0604_bmw_m3/index.html

[Edited on October 2, 2006 at 12:44 AM. Reason : f]

10/2/2006 12:41:44 AM

ill take those rad hoses from you.

10/2/2006 2:43:59 PM

what time you want to pick them up?

i just realized i have not specified, but they are used hoses. on car for 30k, but in excellent condition. i just went ahead and replaced them since i was updating the entire cooling system.

[Edited on October 2, 2006 at 3:16 PM. Reason : f]

10/2/2006 3:10:38 PM

when im in raleigh, prob the weekend.

10/2/2006 3:54:54 PM

ok, pm when you're in town

10/2/2006 4:19:24 PM

trying to install coilovers on m3. got stuck. the top nut on the strut mount is not coming off and i dont have the right tools to do it. nut requires 22 mm socket and x mm allen wrench in order to come off (coilovers use stock hats and mounts). problem is getting a grip on the 22 mm socket, while simultaneously holding the allen key stationary. i need a socket that has one end round and one end square so i can get a wrench on it OR like a see-thru type of wrench that allows allen key to be inserted at the same time. vise grips keep rotating no matter how tight you set them.

picture:



socket type i need:



sears, northern and lowes have something similar but it uses different type of adapter for attachment and go up to only 19mm for metric.

cmon gurus

[Edited on October 9, 2006 at 2:05 AM. Reason : adf]

10/9/2006 1:59:39 AM

autozone has that socket you need for cheap i beleive

i have a couple, but only 24 and 27mm

10/9/2006 2:13:11 AM

[impact wrench]

10/9/2006 8:01:24 AM

^how are you going to use an impact wrench when you have to hold allen key through the socket at the same time? i have one and it was useless. strut shaft will just rotate with the strut mount if you are not holding the hexagonal screw inside.

^^i havent checked autozone. ill do that tonight.

[Edited on October 9, 2006 at 8:50 AM. Reason : f]

10/9/2006 8:48:47 AM

the point of an impact wrench is that itll snap the nut off w/o having to hold the shaft at all. if the wrench can't snap it off then, try channel locks over a rag on the shaft.

i have an old impact wrench from the '70s thats a little weak, but works great w/ the channel locks on the shaft. I've spun off a crapton of strut nuts w/ it. if you bring your struts over i can spin em off for you. if you have one, then just put some channel lock pliers on the shaft (over a rag of course) to help get it started.

10/9/2006 8:54:17 AM

alright, ill try that.

10/9/2006 9:09:47 AM

impact wrench works for me!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

10/9/2006 9:49:21 AM

oh yeah i forgot to mention that black sockets (22 mm) which are used for impact wrench, cannot fit inside the hat. they are thicker than normal sockets you get with any tool set.

10/9/2006 10:14:20 AM

just use a regular deep 22mm. itll be ok.

10/9/2006 11:23:31 AM

Here's what VANOS does:

10/9/2006 11:45:09 AM

if that is what vanos does, why is the graph different when the vanos is not engaged?

10/9/2006 12:10:08 PM