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How long are my rear tires supposed to last? I have a 1997 328i with Bridgestone Potenza RE960AS, and Im looking at sub 15k mile treadlife. I replaced the rears in the fall, and promptly replaced the rear shocks. Now my tires are looking to be almost bald again, after only 13,000 miles. Why?
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Apr 10, 2009 04:50
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why do you have w rated tires? do you go ~168mph? it was suggested to me not to get z rated tires (149+) for the reason of them having less life ... plus, the limiter kicks in at 130mph
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Apr 10, 2009 05:29
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CornHolio posted:How long are my rear tires supposed to last? I have a 1997 328i with Bridgestone Potenza RE960AS, and Im looking at sub 15k mile treadlife. I replaced the rears in the fall, and promptly replaced the rear shocks. Now my tires are looking to be almost bald again, after only 13,000 miles. Why? Had an alignment recently? Is the car lowered?
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Apr 10, 2009 05:33
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Well I just parted with my 1981 733i. 99,800 miles, flawless paint and interior...and a cracked head. By far the nicest, most comfortable car I've ever owned. If I wasn't moving for school it was getting a M30B34 motronic swap, but instead it faces an ignoble fate as a charity donation   RIP buddy, we had some good times. That said I've impulsively bought an Alpine white 1991 318is as a rebound car, it was super cheap since the front bumper was mashed but seems to run strong. Compared to the 733i and the E21 I've since parted with it seems much more nimble... and fast. Pictures to come once it's light out. But pretend it looks like this  Only dirty and without a bumper
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Apr 10, 2009 07:09
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two_beer_bishes posted:It turns out a guy from my work bought an '86 325e for the pristine interior so he can swap it into his '89 325i. He found out that I own an '85 325e and asked if I need any parts. I told him I wouldn't mind taking the engine (with wire harness), trans, and driveshaft from him since the car only has 60,000 miles on it (and runs perfectly). We started talking about pricing and he said he thinks he could get $1500 for the parts I'm asking for and I told him I'm in a position where I can reasonably afford $400-500 for it, plus I would need to drive to Memphis from Minneapolis to pick it up. I talked to him today and he didn't seem too happy about $400. I don't want to screw him (but I know he only paid $800 for the parts car anyway) but he knows that I'm a lowly peon and I don't get paid much. What do you guys think it fair to offer him? I found someone a little closer than Memphis that is selling the same parts to me for $200! 
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Apr 10, 2009 12:42
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EvilMoFo posted:why do you have w rated tires? do you go ~168mph? They're H-rated. Also, I got them from the Tire Rack for cheap. I'm probably going to be replacing them with something a lot cheaper. (Anybody have any experience with those?) Doctor Grape Ape posted:Had an alignment recently? Is the car lowered? I had the front end aligned last week after I replaced my tie rods, and he said the rear was a little off. I have the specs if they'd make any sense to anybody. The car is not lowered but I have Bilstein shocks all around, HDs on the front (on there when I bought the car) and sports on the back. I was told to check my subframe mounts, RTABs and wheel bearings. What's a good way to check these other than visually? CornHolio fucked around with this message at 13:08 on Apr 10, 2009 |
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Apr 10, 2009 13:04
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Okay. There's my old tire next to my full-size spare. The old tire had about 12k miles on it, remember. Here are the best pictures I could get of the RTAB withough actually unbolting things:   Here are some pictures of the other bushings I saw in there. Nothing looked obviously damaged:   I did notice as I was jacking it up, that something was cracking and popping as the wheel was raising. What was this?
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Apr 11, 2009 00:01
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How dumb would it be to buy a used E46 M3? For about the same price as slightly used 335 coupes (low-mid 30s) there seems to be quite a few 2005-2006 M3 in Bay Area. How reliable is the car? Would a 2007-2008 335 coupe with 6-speed be a better car? I've test driven 335 and loved it, coming from G35, transmission was a lot smoother and there seemed to be a lot more power in the higher range. I have yet to test drive the M3. Manual transmission would be my first choice, but thinking of test driving SMG also. How reliable are they?
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Apr 11, 2009 04:17
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  scored this for $100 today. '76 with a running engine/tranny, no exhaust, floorpans are completely decimated and the interior is mostly stripped. I was hoping to just swap my '72 engine into this since the body doesn't have any holes in it and I like Schwarz a lot better than the remnants of primer white & Atlantikblau my '72 is, but after seeing the floorpans I'm probably going to wind up transplanting the nose and fenders and wheels over to my '72 instead
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Apr 11, 2009 22:18
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Kind of in the market for an e36. Any warning bells with this, or anything I should be on the lookout for when/if I go look at it? (It's about 300 miles away) http://www.autotrader.com/fyc/vdp.jsp?ct=p&car_id=257805721
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Apr 12, 2009 18:50
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Comradephate posted:Kind of in the market for an e36. It doesn't set off any alarm bells to me, and for the price it's a good deal. I'd keep some money around in case you need to fix anything on it after you buy it. If you can get a pre-purchase inspection done at an indy shop then that would be a great bargaining tool.
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Apr 12, 2009 18:59
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Chiasmus posted:I'm looking for a car to take back and forth between college and to gig on weekends and during the summer (Percussionist and I would like maybe a hatchback to lug drums and poo poo back and forth). If you can find one with a good history it should treat you well. I've had mine for about 2 years and 14k miles so far and it hasn't been in the shop for any mechanical work yet (fixed some minor issues myself, though). They're not fast, but they handle well, get great mileage and you can squeeze a decent amount of stuff into the hatch. I would think it would be a pretty good college car, but they are getting old now and you may need to put a bit of work into one.
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Apr 12, 2009 19:45
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So I took the new (to me: 1995 E36 with suspension by Bob Tunnell of Bimmerhaus) M3 out on Firebird West on Saturday. It's a dream car on the track. Why in the hell have I been driving Mustangs and Camaro-birds for the last 20 friggen years? Things like this serve to remind me that I can tend towards being a stubborn idiot.
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Apr 14, 2009 02:41
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I'm willing to bet this topic has been covered many times before, but god help me I can't run through 60 pages of replies How are 03/04/05 M3's for reliability? I know it depends on the driver who owned the car previously, but in general how are the maintenance costs when buying a used M3? I've had my eye on that model year M3 since they came out, and I'm now in a position that I can afford one. The reason I ask about maintenance costs is because my mom bought a similar car (Benz C32 AMG) and it's been nothing but trouble from the get-go, it always seems as if there's issues with the transmission and electronics. Also, what are the common issues to watch for on the 03/04 M3's, and what are the opinions about the manual vs. smg version?
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Apr 14, 2009 17:57
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Wicaeed posted:I'm willing to bet this topic has been covered many times before, but god help me I can't run through 60 pages of replies E46 M3s are fairly reliable, but there are areas that require some special attention over and above a regular 3-Series. Although not as bad as the E36s, the rear subframe mounts are a weak spot, so make sure you get a good look at them before buying. The S54 engine is reasonably solid - early M3s had a multitude of issues with bottom end bearings, but this was confined to early cars (pre-'03) and should be long since rectified by the dealer. The engine is extremely picky in terms of engine oil - it takes 10w-60 synthetic, which is fairly expensive (especially if you can't find it anywhere other than the dealership), but then again, spending a bit on your oil will save you an expensive top-end rebuild. Speaking of the top end, this engine uses solid valve lifters, so they require periodic adjustment. As for the rest of the car, the other issues are similar to other 3ers, only with parts costing about two or three times as much, especially brake and suspension parts. My advice is for you to shop around very carefully, as it seems as though a large number of these cars have been abused by total morons. Even if it cost you a few thousand more, it's worth getting a well-maintained M3, as dealing with the long-term effects of abuse can be very expensive. Oh, and if you can drive it, get a manual - the SMG is pretty terrible, IMO. EDIT: Having put some thought into it, I wouldn't actually recommend for you to get an E46 M3. For largely the same kind of money as a good example, you can get a brand new 135i, a car that has 95% of the E46 M3's performance, but with the added advantage of being under warranty. Overall, a 135 would likely be a far better ownership experience. MrChips fucked around with this message at 21:03 on Apr 14, 2009 |
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Apr 14, 2009 20:02
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MrChips posted:
'04s and even some '05s can be had for low 30s, according to m3forum. There's no way to get a 135 for that cheap unfortunately. (I'm currently thinking about getting a used M3 when the lease on my z4 coupe is up in October)
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Apr 14, 2009 21:56
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For low 30's you're talking BMW Certified Pre-Owned right? Because the M3's I've been seeing on Craigslist range anywhere from lo 20's (for ones that I wouldn't touch with a 10ft pole) to low 30's (not bad shape ones). I assume you can pay out of your own pocket to take these used cars to a dealer and get them inspected for abnormal wear and tear just to be safe...right?
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Apr 14, 2009 22:08
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'95 M3 chiming in here. I've barely had it for a month, replacing the MR2 Turbo that I wrecked several months back, and I'm absolutely in love with it. It's got 160k miles on it and I paid $7400 after taxes, so I think I did fairly well. Coolant system and everything is upgraded, it has a great sound system installed by the previous owner, aftermarket intake/exhaust (sounds beautiful and isn't obnoxiously loud like my last car), and some other minor little things. There are a couple little issues I still need to work out (Rear Break Light Fail error for the tail lights, luckily the spoiler break light still works, the rear passenger seatbelt is seized and won't come out, and a piece of trim is falling off in the rear) but mechanically she's flawless. The car just feels so goddamn good to drive. It's got a little bit less power than my MR2 did but due to the way it's delivered it feels every bit as fast and a hell of a lot smoother. And the steering... the steering! It just feels so good, so precise. My only issue with it is that I feel they could have tightened the steering radius some. It's fine 95% of the time but when I went autocrossing with it I was definitely moving the wheel more than I felt was necessary. Nevertheless, pictures:  Here it is in the dealership lot before I bought it. That missing trim piece on the front was ordered and arrived at the dealership the day I signed the title, so it's all complete from the outside.   Some lovely washed out pictures from an autocross event I took it too barely a week after I bought it (still running dealership plates!). It was a total blast and I can't wait 'til this Sunday when I take it out to San Marcos for another autocross event on my new Azenis. I'm sure I'll still suck tremendously but goddamn is it fun. 
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Apr 14, 2009 23:11
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Question for E30 owners: What is the correct part number for the sealing washer on the oil pan drain plug? According to my bentley it's 01-11-9-963-130, but according to realoem it's 07-11-9-963-151 (see 325iX oil pan or 325i oil pan). Pelican parts seems to agree with realoem, so what the hell is my bentley on about? The number they give points to an aluminum gasket used in the engine block, so I'm assuming realoem shows the correct one.
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Apr 14, 2009 23:46
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Can any E46 guys recognize this part?   My friend has a 2001 330i, and claims that instead of a rear dome light, this was in it's place when he bought the car. It fell out a long time ago, and we can't figure out how to put it back in, and I don't even think this is the correct part for the spot. What the hell is going on? The part number is 51448239224, which is not recognized anywhere. However, it has the BMW seal and the OE company is Magna, who I know for a fact makes other stuff for BMW (sunroof motor plastic). Can anyone tell me what the hell this thing is?
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Apr 15, 2009 00:01
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Pissingintowind posted:Can any E46 guys recognize this part? No clue what it is, but I have one instead of a dome light on my e38.
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Apr 15, 2009 00:12
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OrangeFurious posted:No clue what it is, but I have one instead of a dome light on my e38. Interesting. Maybe my friend isn't crazy. What's weird is where the dome light or this thing should be, there's a plug for a light. But yet, only this thing was there.  Do you mind checking how you attach the thing for me? Pissingintowind fucked around with this message at 00:28 on Apr 15, 2009 |
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Apr 15, 2009 00:20
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Pissingintowind posted:Can any E46 guys recognize this part? That's the cover for the optional interior motion sensor (only included with a factory alarm system). It clips onto the headliner. There's most likely a big hole in your headliner just behind the sunroof opening. There should also be a white plastic part bordering that hole. The cover you have pictured snaps into that white plastic border, assuming the tabs on the border and the cover aren't broken. If the tabs are broken then the parts should be replaced. There is no central dome light in the rear of the E46- just the little reading lights on the c-pillars.
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Apr 15, 2009 00:23
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Crustashio posted:Question for E30 owners: If realoem and pelican agree go with that.
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Apr 15, 2009 00:37
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Jesus Christ posted:'95 M3 chiming in here. I've barely had it for a month, I see that you are running in BSP. Don't do that on street tires, run in STU, the index is much softer, and you'll be more competitive, and won't be running head to head with people on R tires. Grats on the car, looks nice.
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Apr 15, 2009 00:44
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havelock posted:'04s and even some '05s can be had for low 30s, according to m3forum. There's no way to get a 135 for that cheap unfortunately. If you shop around, you can get into a new 135 for about 36-38k US (here in Canada, probably about 42k or so). The question you need to ask yourself is this; is a warranty and "free" maintenance worth the extra money? Sure, 6k is quite a bit of money, but over the four year duration of the warranty, the total cost advantage will likely tilt toward the 135. The only X-factor is the level of depreciation of the 135 over that time; initial indications suggest it will be better than average, both for BMWs and for the market segment in general.
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Apr 15, 2009 01:53
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The Locator posted:I see that you are running in BSP. Don't do that on street tires, run in STU, the index is much softer, and you'll be more competitive, and won't be running head to head with people on R tires. It was my first time ever autocrossing so I really had no idea what I was doing. The guy just told me that I was novice BSP so I put that up on my car. What is STU?
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Apr 15, 2009 02:10
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Jesus Christ posted:Stuff about steering. You can look into a Z3 steering rack, they're 2.7 turns lock to lock instead of the 3.0 you have.
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Apr 15, 2009 02:39
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Jesus Christ posted:It was my first time ever autocrossing so I really had no idea what I was doing. The guy just told me that I was novice BSP so I put that up on my car. Assuming that you are running with an SCCA group (based on the BSP class). STU is a street tire class (requires treadwear rating of 140 or higher) that a national SCCA class. Your local region may offer some local only street tire classes also. Since your club obviously has a local class, you should probably be running novice STU, instead of novice BSP. That's how it would work in my region for sure. There are four national street tire classes, which are mostly defined by the tire sizes allowed. ST, STS, STX, and STU. In STU you are allowed to run up to 285 width tires, and unlimited rim size. Unfortunately, you won't be able to fit 285 tires without modifying your fenders, and that's not allowed in the ST classes. I have 255/40x17's on mine, and they are very close. If I have a 'heavy' passenger I get occasional rubbing, and my fenders are rolled (which is legal). One of these day's I'm going to jack the car up and do some measuring and see if some custom offset wheels will let me get more rubber under the car, but I can't afford that right now, so I'm too lazy to check. Based purely on tire size, the E36 M3 would be at home in STX, but the rules specifically exclude us from that class, and say that STU is our home, regardless of how much tire we can stuff under the car. The reason for this is that the E36 M3 would dominate STX. So, instead of dominating STX, we get to be dominated in STU by Evo's and STI's. The reason you want to run in STU instead of BSP in novice, is that most regions use a PAX index to determine placement within their novice classes, and the PAX index for STU is softer than BSP. STU is 0.836, and BSP is 0.859. You probably don't know what PAX index is either, and I suck at explaining such strange things, so if you are curious, follow this link - http://www.azsolo.com/car-classes-and-rules/pax-scoring-system/107 The important thing to understand at the local level, is that the lower that number is, the higher you will score, since it's used as a multiplier to compare your times to the other competitors.
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Apr 15, 2009 04:24
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peterjmatt posted:That's the cover for the optional interior motion sensor (only included with a factory alarm system). It clips onto the headliner. There's most likely a big hole in your headliner just behind the sunroof opening. There should also be a white plastic part bordering that hole. The cover you have pictured snaps into that white plastic border, assuming the tabs on the border and the cover aren't broken. If the tabs are broken then the parts should be replaced. Confirming this. No dome light on the E46, just the central "all interior lights" button and the four individual map lights.
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Apr 15, 2009 04:25
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wolrah posted:Confirming this. No dome light on the E46, just the central "all interior lights" button and the four individual map lights. I think the E36 has the same kind of thing, is this correct?
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Apr 15, 2009 13:02
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CornHolio posted:Words and pictures. Wow i just went to the dealership a few weeks ago for about the same exact thing (e36 m3). I just bought 4 new eagle gts in february and the rear tires were almost bald after not even 5,000 miles. I ended up looking down the tires from behind the car and saw that they seemed to be toed in. (closer together in the front and farther away in the back) So i got it aligned at the dealer, they also let me know my trailing arm bushings were wasted so they replaced those too. They had it for about half the day, gave me a 328i coupe (even tho im only 20) and charged me 550$ total. Why would the wheels have been toed in like that? Also, that 328 they gave me was extremely underwhelming. I had to almost floor it to get out of a dead stop with any speed. The seats were extremely uncomfortable, and all the buttons/controls were stupid. But other than that when i was up to speed it handled amazingly, the chassis was awesome and the brakes were epic.
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Apr 15, 2009 14:28
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Arwox posted:They had it for about half the day, gave me a 328i coupe (even tho im only 20) and charged me 550$ total. I'm assuming they replaced the tires as well for that cost, correct?
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Apr 15, 2009 14:39
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No but i went back to conrads and acted like i had no idea why my tires were all hosed up and they gave me new ones at 30 bucks a peice including installation.
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Apr 15, 2009 14:49
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I found a small crack in one of my wheels on my 323Ci. I have been scouring the web trying to find a replacement wheel. Does anybody know where a good place to buy OEM or OEM replicas at? Most of the places that come up in the search look pretty shady, and I have no clue where to look for a reputable seller. It's a style 44 17X8 wheel, if that matters. Anybody have any ideas besides the dealer, they want about $400.
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Apr 16, 2009 18:27
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constant gulping posted:I found a small crack in one of my wheels on my 323Ci. I have been scouring the web trying to find a replacement wheel. Does anybody know where a good place to buy OEM or OEM replicas at? Most of the places that come up in the search look pretty shady, and I have no clue where to look for a reputable seller. It's a style 44 17X8 wheel, if that matters. Anybody have any ideas besides the dealer, they want about $400. http://www.wheelcollision.com/ is recommended on the BMW boards. Factory wheels that have been repaired/refinished and are of high quality while being cheaper than the dealer.
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Apr 16, 2009 18:47
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Well it is done, for a nominal fee I purchased a 1991 Alpine White 318is with a slightly crunched front end, a surprisingly clean interior and a sound system in the trunk that confuses and angers me. For a slightly less nominal fee I got it to pass smog and registered it. But enough of my talking. You can sort of see where the bumper got messed up on the driver's side. I got myself a replacement one I'm just waiting for the drat wind to die down so I can stop looking quite so ghetto fabulous.  Here you can see the rockin' aftermarket tint that needs to come off.  A glamor shot that hides most of the cosmetic problems.  That's no M10...that's a space station! Well an M42 anyways. It's got 4 times the vacuum line madness of my old 320i So far I've changed out all the fluids and had an alignment done. As bad as I feel about abandoning my 333i project, I love this drat car. And its all kinds of faster than my 325es, having all these revs to play with is awesome.
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Apr 16, 2009 19:14
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Brock Landers posted:http://www.wheelcollision.com/ is recommended on the BMW boards. Factory wheels that have been repaired/refinished and are of high quality while being cheaper than the dealer. Thanks, I called and ordered one, well see how it turns out.
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Apr 16, 2009 19:20
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vivacthulhu posted:318iS Hooray! Another 318iS owner! What's that make? 5 now in AI? These are great cars. Modern enough, but still easy to work on. Throw some Bilsteins on there, replace the worn out suspension parts and you'll have a smooth-riding go-kart on your hands. The interior does tend to hold up well because the seats are vinyl rather than the leather of the 325i/e/iX. How many miles does yours have on it?
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Apr 16, 2009 19:36
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It's got 238,xxx miles on it, but compression was even across all the cylinders and the price was right, so I figured why the hell not. The guy I bought it from had bought it as his first car when he was 16 and actually had all the service documentation for last 7 years. The suspension is in pretty good shape all things considered but it is getting Bilsteins come tax refund time. I very badly want to do a DASC install, but if I have to borrow my girlfriend's car to go to work because mine is torn apart again she will have words for me. Looks like the Conforti chip is all I get to play with for now. I still miss my drat luxo-barge and feeling like a crooked S&L officer every time I drove to work.
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Apr 16, 2009 20:25
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