Quote :

"When has an e-brake ever been used in that fashion? "

Just so happens that back in 2003 I had a braking malfunction in my Integra that I didn't realize. A stuck caliper caused the brake fluid to boil and when I tried to stop while in 45 mph traffic the brake pedal went to the floor.

I stopped the vehicle safely by downshifting and using the E brake.

[Edited on October 18, 2012 at 10:35 AM. Reason : k]

10/18/2012 10:32:46 AM

Well then see this:

Quote :

"Car's have been using electronic and hydraulic actuated parking brakes for years now. Hell, BMW had an electronic parking brake over 10 years ago that used small plastic gears that were prone to strip."

10/18/2012 11:08:23 AM

I'm not really sure what that remark has to do with our argument against practicality or usefulness.

10/18/2012 1:26:07 PM

fuck that! how are you supposed to break traction and drift around an on ramp with that shit?

10/18/2012 2:04:39 PM

i with your index finger?

click... skurrrrttttt click throttle.

10/18/2012 2:16:34 PM

Quote :

"Also, my SA suggested that my car (09 e93 335i) needs a valve cleaning based on mileage. Apparently they connect a hose to the intake manifold and clean the valves out using some sort of spray. He quoted me $249 for the job as it is not covered under warranty. Has anyone on here got this done? He also suggested - Power steering fluid change at 30k miles, $249 Differential fluid change $249 Thoughts, inputs?"

I got a quote from an independent European car garage, he will change out the Power steering and Diff fluid for $90 each, but does anyone have any thoughts on the first part of the question?

10/18/2012 3:37:11 PM

I think I am going to get it done, $249 seems like a reasonable price

http://www.e90post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=682116

10/19/2012 3:11:10 PM

Finally got my E30 convertible all finished with a completely redone head. Now I just have to replace some vacuum lines and maybe do some cosmetics . . . . wish I'd had all this done when the weather was actually right for a convertible, heh.

10/19/2012 11:18:25 PM

Could someone PM me a cliff notes version of what to look for when buying an E46 M3? Or point me in the right direction online to a good sight that covers that model.

thanks

10/24/2012 9:39:42 AM

Quote :

"I think I am going to get it done, $249 seems like a reasonable price http://www.e90post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=682116"

Who does this for $249? Places I have called asked for $400-500

10/24/2012 12:13:23 PM

^ Sorry bout that, but I mis-understood that what dealership told me. The dealership does some sort of optimizer service, which is some spray that they put through the inlet manifold and they want $250 for that. They cannot even take before after pictures to show that it has actually worked. They recommended it every 15,000 miles or once a year to prevent the carbon formation on the valves total scam! and they charge $800 for the walnut blast. There is a place in Chicago that does the Walnut blast for $400.

Also I am definitely gonna install an Oil Catch Can soon, it should help reduce the deposits


https://www.redline-motorworks.com/kb_results.asp?ID=8

Quote :

"There is a large debate as to whether or not oil catch cans are worth the money or not. This article is dedicated to providing a very detailed explanation showing why a catch can is highly recommended in direct injection engine applications. First, let's go over what is currently happening in your engine without a catch can installed. All internal combustion engines that run off gasoline are 4 stroke engines. This means that the piston has to go up and down a total of 4 times to complete a cycle. The piston first goes down with the intake valves open creating a vacuum. This draws in the cool dense air for combustion. At the same time, fuel is injected into the cylinder. The intake valves close and then the piston rises up towards the top of the cylinder. This compression creates an immense build-up of pressure in the cylinder. The only things containing this high pressure are the cylinder itself, the piston and the piston rings that seat against the walls of the cylinder. The intake and exhaust valves are obviously closed as well. The pressure is so high that a very small amount of the air escapes around the piston and piston rings into the crankcase. This is called blow-by. The amount of blow-by increases as the engine RPMs rise. Also, an engine with more cylinders will have more blow-by. Obviously not all of the air escapes or else combustion wouldn't take place. A diagram of the 4-stroke cycle can be seen below. Only the first 2 steps are relevant in regards to the catch can. Inside the crankcase, you have the crank which is turning in the oil pan which is full of oil. This keeps it properly lubricated. PCV or positive crankcase ventilation is necessary to ensure there isn't a build up of pressure in the crankcase. This would cause the crankcase to possibly crack under the pressure and create a huge mess of oil on the street. So the PCV system removes the pressure from the crankcase and reverts it back through the intake tract via crank case vents. This pressure isn't made up of 100% air. It will also contain a very small amount of oil as well since there is so much in the oil pan at a high temperature. This air and oil mixture is then entered somewhere after the intake system, passes through the intercooler (if you car is turbo or supercharged) and then re-enters the combustion chamber (cylinder) through your intake valves to be re-burned. The oil will actually coat everything on its way back to the combustion chamber. It will develop in the intercooler, boost hoses, intake manifold and intake valves. Just on the other side of these valves is where the combustion is taking place where the temperatures are extremely high. This is what actually causes the oil to solidify on the valves. With the oil passing through the intercooler, it can actually coat the cooling fins which will hinder the intercooler's ability to cool the air therefore lowering the efficiency. The caking on intake valves is only a problem with direct injection engines. For all other engines that use port injection, the gas is introduced before the combustion chamber which means it flows over the intake valves and enter the combustion chamber premixed with the air. This action of the fuel flowing over the intake valves actually cleans the valves from any oil that make already be on there. The oil never has the chance to cake on the valves in port injection engines. Having oil caked onto your intake valves can cause the following symptoms: Knocking Pre-ignition Loss in power Loss in fuel economy Here is an image of carbon build-up on valves. Yes, it's nasty. "

[Edited on October 25, 2012 at 12:22 AM. Reason : .]

10/25/2012 12:18:41 AM

I was about to say, I havent found a single shop that would do walnut blasting for $249 or around that price lol. I am working with Eurowise in Charlotte for a group buy that we have going on in January. We already have enough for the group price of $350 a car. If anyone is interested in joining let me know and I will put you down for one. They are taking a $50 dollar deposit to hold you for the group buy.

10/25/2012 9:37:55 AM

Quote :

"a good sight"

10/25/2012 10:41:56 AM

replaced all four brakes and rotors on the 530xi and a few other maintenance items.

only $1750! yay!


soon it'll be time for tires. can't wait!

10/26/2012 11:24:08 AM

Jesus!

I wonder how much it would've cost with aftermarket parts equal to or better than OEM, and doing the labor yourself. I'll be damned if I would own a car that costs a grand and a half for a brake job...just like I would refuse to own a car that requires you to remove bumpers to replace turn signals/headlights (and now, just like I refuse to own a car that records pre-crash data).

10/26/2012 11:04:43 PM

^^did you go to dealer? what were other maintenance items? anything over $1k for non-exotic car at indy shop is complete rip off.

10/26/2012 11:32:06 PM

You are half way to a bbk at that point!

10/27/2012 7:05:17 AM

Had agreed to buy a 2000 M coupe....plane ticket purchased, scheduled to fly out at 6am today to buy at 9am....at 11pm last night I get a text saying 'cant find the title...sorry...will figure it out'......

:mad: :mad:

10/27/2012 9:57:04 AM

So did you go out there still?

10/28/2012 7:10:10 PM

Nope - couldnt complete the sale - he's calling the DMV this week. Based on their estimate of when he'll have the title, we'll re-figure out the logistics and hopefully still complete the sale.

10/28/2012 11:53:16 PM

You must be joking? You are still going to deal with him?

10/29/2012 12:25:17 PM

He's already refunded the plane ticket, so I guess that's worth something. We're going to come to a different agreement this time with more of the legwork on his end.

I'd tell him to screw off if the car was easier to find.

10/29/2012 8:26:24 PM

If he refunded the ticket I'd keep dealing with him, that seems like a reasonable resolution

10/29/2012 8:31:24 PM

Some more info on carbon buildup

http://www.e90post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=694228

Quote :

"I found these tips from another BMW forum on preventing carbon build-up on the back of the valves. Providing it as information, hoping it can help anyone who shares this concern. I don't think I am allowed to provided the link but I copied and pasted the post for from the member who posted it on that forum. ------------------------------------------------------------ To all of you. Take this from a guy who had an N54 with 70k plus miles on it. I dealt with all of the symptoms you guys described and think I have reasonably figured out how to work around it. First, you MUST drive the car at sustained high RPM's at least once or twice a month. I had all of the symptoms you guys have described in this thread and they started around 30k miles. By 50k miles the engine ran better than at 30k miles and I am about to explain how I accomplished that without the shop ever looking at the motor. 1) At least once a month and preferably twice a month take the car onto an interstate or high speed road. Warm up the motor at low RPM's and then put car in 3rd gear and do 65-70 mph. It will turn about 4500 rpms. Drive like this for a good 20-30 minutes. You will notice that the engine pulls harder and runs better. This method helps to burn off that oil and carbon on the back of the valves, but this only works if you do it often and before the buildup becomes an issue. 2) Use BMW fuel system cleaner plus every 5k miles. It does not wash over the valves, but the injectors on this car do seem to foul easily. In addition, stick to BP/Top Tier gas. I have tried every brand of gas and I have the best luck, in the N54, with Shell, Chevron and BP (in that order). 3) Use different brands of gas every other tankful. If you like to use one brand repeatedly then after 5 tanks of that brand switch to another brand for 2 tanks. This helps to get rid of gas additive buildup on the injectors...it does happen and some of these stumbling and hesitation problems are not carbon buildup but rather injector buildup. 4) The obvious. Change the oil every 7500 miles or less. It does help. Trust me guys. I learned this stuff from a master BMW tech/foreman who has been working on these cars his whole life. While direct injection is newer technology, he knew enough about it to counteract the carbon buildup problem. He drives an N54 and has 145k miles without ever doing a carbon cleaning. He does exactly what I do and I know other people with high mileage N54's that run great following this routine. I sold my N54 with over 70k miles and the used car manager said it was one of the best, if not the best, running N54's he has driven that was out of warranty. I told him what I am telling you and explained how this ritual does work. I plan to do the same to my N55. Lastly, those of you that drive slow city driving...this engine will hate you and punish you. Make sure you do what I suggested even more so than the highway commuters. The engine needs to get hot to burn off that oil blowby. "

[Edited on November 1, 2012 at 2:20 PM. Reason : .]

11/1/2012 2:19:59 PM

hey old people, put the pedal to the metal

11/1/2012 2:40:01 PM

Tried this shit and it worked!!!!

Quote :

"At least once a month and preferably twice a month take the car onto an interstate or high speed road. Warm up the motor at low RPM's and then put car in 3rd gear and do 65-70 mph. It will turn about 4500 rpms. Drive like this for a good 20-30 minutes. You will notice that the engine pulls harder and runs better. This method helps to burn off that oil and carbon on the back of the valves, but this only works if you do it often and before the buildup becomes an issue."

It really freaked me out running high rpms for a sustained time, so i only did 3-4 minutes of it, but for months my 335i has been stuttering/hesitating under heavy acceleration, and that 3-4 minutes completely resolved it. It does also seem to pull harder too as promised. Blew my mind.

11/2/2012 6:47:42 PM

4500 = high rpms?

11/2/2012 7:12:48 PM

I was closer to 5k, but yeah, on a 7k redline 4.5k-5k feels pretty high cruising around/not hooning.

11/2/2012 7:59:58 PM

wow, my v8 redlines at 6500-7k. i figured the i6 would turn 8+ like the e9x v8

11/2/2012 8:58:22 PM

it makes its power with boost

11/2/2012 8:59:48 PM

Why would you make that assumption it takes a lot of work to push an engine very far past 7000 rpm really not. Worth the trouble if you can just add a couple psi.

11/2/2012 10:18:44 PM

^^^^ Glad it worked for you. You would definitely benefit from a walnut blast. Would run you about $400, at least that's how much it is in Chicago..

11/3/2012 3:27:19 AM

I'm at 94k now. Funny, but car runs better than ever. Either that or I finally fixed everything that can possibly go wrong. Or maybe the fucker just got broken in

11/3/2012 3:44:11 AM

Quote :

"wow, my v8 redlines at 6500-7k. i figured the i6 would turn 8+ like the e9x v8"

Even my E36 M3 I6 redlines at 6800 factory. Most people flash the ECU to raise that to 7200 though, which someone did to mine at some point in its life. Feels like redline comes awfully fast after the 9200 AP1 S2000 I'm used to

11/3/2012 8:11:35 AM

^ Ha, I noticed that too. I had an s2000 for a brief minute and finally got the M Coupe (E36 M3 US engine, Ill post pics later) and I'd be looking to merge and accidentally realize that I was nearing the redline whereas the Honda's noise/feel would have you wanting to shift before you needed to, so it never really snuck up on you.

[Edited on November 4, 2012 at 4:06 PM. Reason : ]

11/4/2012 4:05:45 PM

Got an app for my Android phone to locate my car (09 e93 335i), and unlock it using my phone. It also has the send address to car feature but I use a Google maps plugin for that anyways..

Its called My BMW remote. You won't find it in the market place, but you can find an APK online and install it. You need to have an active BMW assist account for it to work though.

11/5/2012 3:53:11 PM

^ is there a writeup online on how to get that set up? NEver heard of it before .

11/5/2012 7:45:23 PM

This link should answer all your questions.

http://www.bimmerfest.com/forums/showthread.php?t=636492

Essentially BMW assist is letting you do what they would do for you, yourself. Usually if you got locked out or lost your car you would call BMW assist and they would locate the car for you or unlock the doors. Now with the app you can do it yourself. The only limitation being you can locate your car only if you're within a 1 mile radius.

You need to download the apk separately and install it on your phone, login with your BMW assist email address and 4 digit pin. If you do not have one call BMW assist and have it setup.

Also, the send to car function has been available from PC to car for a while, it was only recently an app in the marketplace called Send to Car was launched, which lets you use Google maps on android to share an address with your car. Again this would require an active BMW assist account.

11/5/2012 9:03:54 PM

Quote :

"Use BMW fuel system cleaner plus every 5k miles. It does not wash over the valves, but the injectors on this car do seem to foul easily. In addition, stick to BP/Top Tier gas. I have tried every brand of gas and I have the best luck, in the N54, with Shell, Chevron and BP (in that order)."

Anyone think is matters what brand of fuel system cleaner I use?


Also:

Quote :

"We love diesels. They're torquey, easy to live with, and have some of the best fuel economy on the road. The best part? They aren't wimpy little hybrids. Now, BMW is planning on bringing a whole mess of diesel models to the US in the next two years, and one of them is a diesel wagon. Color us excited. BMW North America recently had a meeting to lay out some products that are earmarked for the United States through 2014, and thanks to a photo taken by a member of VW Vortex, it looks like a plethora of oil burners will be available for you fine folks. Full size The first two cars are 3-series based, and it includes a 3-series wagon. A 5-series diesel and X5d will follow soon after. In 2014, the car that makes the most sense is coming: A 7-series diesel. Diesel is smooth and quiet, so for an executive car driven by a chauffeur, it makes perfect sense. Now, we're not sure which engines Bimmer has earmarked for America, but we'd expect the diesel four cylinder in smaler models and perhaps the diesel six cylinder in the X5, 7-series, and 5-series. But who knows, maybe a hot rod six cylinder diesel 3-series is in the plans. Anything is possible. BMW famously makes some great diesels, so this is a boon for pretty much every BMW customer in America. Hopefully they follow through and actually bring them here."

http://jalopnik.com/5958191/bmw-is-about-to-unleash-oodles-of-diesel-goodness-on-america

11/6/2012 6:03:29 PM

^ good to hear. FWIW, I love my 335d. Got 43 mpg highway from Va Beach to Raleigh and average 29mpg from Morrisville to RTP. And its a blast to drive.

11/7/2012 7:03:41 PM

BMW steering wheel offers a race timer, g-force meter for every turn



http://autos.yahoo.com/blogs/motoramic/bmw-steering-wheel-191054347.html

11/8/2012 6:58:28 AM

if the 335d was offered with a manual or DCT, I would own one

11/8/2012 9:04:09 AM

yeah but the turbo falling out of boost between gears is too...

hmmm what's the opposite of seemless for a BMW?

i would like one too if i knew i could power shift the hell out of it without breaking something.

11/8/2012 9:55:31 AM

^^its not offered b/c they can't handle the torque.

11/8/2012 12:42:16 PM

Skeweeeee

11/9/2012 8:21:00 PM

I just traded for a 2005 330i with the ZHP package. It's my first time driving a manual.

11/10/2012 7:27:37 PM

BMW M GmbH Secret Garage: M3 Touring, M6 CSL + all M models
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=WkwAXONpnxU#!

11/11/2012 1:18:06 PM

2014 F32 "4 series"



http://www.f30post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=767418

Looks similar to the E92, but a bit more aggressive. I like it...I told myself I was set on an F30 next go round to save some cash, but now I am tempted again

11/13/2012 1:04:52 PM

http://www.e90post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=270940


Interesting suspension upgrade!

11/27/2012 2:34:05 PM

dude spent all that time and money on performance handling and braking for an automatic...

11/27/2012 4:31:10 PM