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Finally got a real tire pressure gauge and checked the pressures on my new (to me) 330Ci. Every corner was at 40psi! I dropped it down to the recommended 32 front 38 rear, and holy crap what a difference. The steering, especially over rough roads, is now much more compliant, bumps and dips aren't nearly as jarring, and it isn't as "twitchy" on the freeway. Even at 40psi the handling was excellent, but this just perfects it and smooths everything out. I love free fixes.
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Jun 29, 2011 21:55
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Beach Bum posted:Your gas mileage will suffer. Be sure to keep a close eye on your wear on the front tires, 32 sounds terribly low, but if that's what the manual says, that's what it says. 32 sounds pretty normal to me. My Miata recommended ~32psi all around. I'm surprised by how high BMW recommends the rear to be. 38 sounds really high to me. From my experience, I'd be more worried about uneven tire wear at 40psi than at 32psi.
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Jun 30, 2011 00:06
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Yeah, floaty, not twitchy, was the word I was looking for, especially on the freeway. Dropping the fronts down to 32 from 40 immediately got rid of that feeling. I might have to experiment a bit with tire pressures. I was sure I was reading the door jamb incorrectly when I saw the 38psi recommendation for the rears because it was so surprisingly high, but I quadruple checked and it feels pretty dialed in so eh it must be correct. I don't think I've ever owned a car that recommended more than 35psi, and more frequently it's been 30-32. But I don't drive econoboxes with rock hard low-friction tires.
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Jun 30, 2011 00:32
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Shaocaholica posted:If they left a note with an apology, I would have probably let it go since its a small dent but now that I have no idea who this person is, they're going to get the full might of State Farm insurance company. Yes yes yes. If someone is polite enough to leave a note for a small ding, I likely wouldn't bother dealing with getting it fixed, especially not as an insurance claim, and thank them for being honest. But if someone dings my door, doesn't leave a note, AND I could find out who they were via security tape? Then hell yes I'm going to track them down and make them pay for it just out of spite for them being a total dick.
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Jul 6, 2011 21:33
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Washed and waxed yesterday, and took a couple "real" photos.  
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Jul 29, 2011 23:12
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Rolled over a new milestone on the E46.
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Aug 29, 2011 06:08
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Zuiko-Digital posted:
I actually kind of like the effect of the MPH numbers being green.
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Feb 26, 2012 19:24
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Rorac posted:I can't tell if you did it or not, but for an oil filter that just will not come off, the working solution I've found was to get a screwdriver and a hammer and impale the screwdriver through the filter and use that for more leverage. I've seen this just turn into the even worse situation of having a piece of mangled, oily shrapnel stuck to the side of your engine.
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Mar 12, 2012 06:13
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opengl128 posted:Also, speed bleeders make it comically easy. Never doing it the old way again. These things look great, I might have to order some. I'm planning on doing a thorough fluid change on the Ninja real soon, these would make life real easy.
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Jun 29, 2012 21:31
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Stanyer89 posted:Plastidiped my front emblem. Cuz I'm to poor to get it bondo'd out. This looks better than removing/bondoing it IMO.
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Aug 26, 2012 02:16
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TrueChaos posted:I'm a ski patroller, the miata is my only car. Skis do in fact fit in the passenger seat. Haven't been stuck yet I can also confirm that skis fit in the passenger seat of a NA Miata. 
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Nov 1, 2012 23:19
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I would also take it back. I've hit a bajillion potholes and never knocked anything drastically out of alignment on my cars - and BMWs aren't known for their rugged suspension components.
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Feb 7, 2013 22:31
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KozmoNaut posted:Then I'm stumped, what is the problem? If you can overtake on the right legally, I don't see why people get so upset about slower drivers in the left lane. It's illegal to obstruct traffic, but if you can just pass on the right, is there really a problem? Because when people are camped out in the left lane they are usually matching the speed of traffic in the right lane, making it so you can't pass in either lane. I will and do pass people on the right (since it is legal here, but left-lane obstructing is illegal) otherwise I'd be stuck behind people all the time, but it is inherently less safe than passing on the left. Outside the major metro area, all the interstates and freeways are marked with many signs saying "Slower traffic keep right" and "Keep right except to pass" and it'd just be better for everyone and better for traffic flow if people would follow that rule. It's absolutely retarded when 2 or 3 mouthbreathers are bottlenecking an otherwise totally open freeway because they are all going the same speed +/- 1mph in all the lanes right next to each other. The phenomenon of traffic clustering is mind boggling. Miles of open freeway ahead and behind a pack of 20+ cars all stuck together because no one can/will pass. Incidentally, there is also a WA state law that says it is illegal to be causing a delay of 5 or more vehicles behind you (either move right, or on a one-lane you must pull over when safe), but that is just another one of those unfortunately rarely-enforced laws, along with no vehicles with trailers in the left lane on the interstate. Guinness fucked around with this message at 18:51 on Mar 18, 2013 |
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Mar 18, 2013 18:40
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Replaced the chirping/squeaking HVAC blower in my E46 today. What a pain in the rear end. Used a nearly identical E83 X3 blower that only cost $120 rather than $500+ and works perfectly.
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Apr 7, 2013 04:40
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My E46 has wheel bolts and they are really not that big of a pain, and I'm dealing with fairly substantial 245/40-17 wheels/tires. Yeah, studs are even easier, but bolts are really not as difficult as ya'll are making it sound.
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May 9, 2013 17:22
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Incredible how much blacking out the bowtie helps. The gold bowtie is tacky as gently caress, and the black really classes it up.
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Oct 19, 2013 01:23
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Falken posted:I splashed the equivalent of $504 on a set of tires last month. I dropped $833 on a set of 4 Michelin Pilot Super Sports in staggered 225/40/18 & 255/35/18 not long ago, but it was worth every penny. Phenomenal tires. Over a grand once you factor in mounting and a good 4-wheel alignment, though. Hurt the wallet, but drat does the car drive nice. Of course, now it's almost time to switch to the winter wheels & tires. 
Guinness fucked around with this message at 23:58 on Nov 6, 2013 |
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Nov 6, 2013 23:56
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That is a good looking Corvette.
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Mar 27, 2014 23:39
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My BMW (2004) tells me when the oil level is low - usually right about the 'min' level on the dipstick or slightly higher. Hell, the newer BMWs don't even have dipsticks and depend entirely on oil level sensors. Which is good since I don't know that BMW has ever made an engine that doesn't burn some oil from the factory. 
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Apr 10, 2014 18:04
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Yesterday I had to replace the battery in my e46 330ci. The car had sat for 5-6 days, went to turn it on yesterday morning and it barely wheezed to life and then lit up the dash like a christmas tree - with the giveaway being the red battery light. Of course, the owner's manual and online forums talk about charging system failures and worst case scenarios so it's a bit like diagnosing yourself on WebMD making you think you have AIDS from a minor cough. Anyway since it was running I drove it the few miles to work since I needed to, but then it was dead as a door knob in the parking lot once I shut it off. As far as I can tell it was the original factory battery from ~ 10 years ago so it was totally dead and would not charge. Amazing that it lasted that long. I picked up a new battery from NAPA over my lunch break, brought it back and dropped it in and everything was back to normal. Plus the new battery seems to have explained/eliminated some minor issues I was having. Like what I think was power/voltage droop at low rpms and during shifting that caused weird throttle response (throttle by wire) and the TC/DSC system occasionally throwing warning lights that would subsequently go out. I know people have said E46s are sensitive to voltage and charging system irregularities and now I believe it. In retrospect that battery has been dying for a while. Guinness fucked around with this message at 18:05 on Apr 15, 2014 |
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Apr 15, 2014 18:03
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Replaced the factory spark plugs on the E46 tonight. BMW says they're a 100k mile interval, but my gas mileage has been slightly below average lately so I've been doing the easy maintenance items that are coming up due. Could very well be placebo but the motor feels much happier and crisp now. And got to love how easy it is to do plugs on inline engines. After 80k miles they were mighty toasty:  West SAAB Story posted:I got door-dinged. Fuckers. I guess I am going to need to take pictures of everyones' car and plates that dares to park near me. You know I often think the same thing, especially after picking up a few door dings and bumper gouges (loving plate screws, I assume), but I doubt you could prove anything with a photo like that. Or am I wrong? Guinness fucked around with this message at 08:15 on Apr 29, 2014 |
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Apr 29, 2014 08:12
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trouser chili posted:Mercedes CL600 has a v12 with dual spark (of course!), because Mercedes. Christ that would be a tedious job.
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Apr 29, 2014 17:55
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KozmoNaut posted:Today I added some ~luxury~, in the form of an auto-dimming rear view mirror As far as ~luxury~ goes, seriously one of the best automotive inventions in the past couple decades, along with rain-sensing wipers and automatic headlights.
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May 14, 2014 17:36
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Geirskogul posted:But the other two you listed are poo poo inventions...? Look how wrong you are.
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May 14, 2014 18:01
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My automatic headlights come on at night and in the rain...?
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May 14, 2014 18:37
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Knobjockey posted:A few weeks ago the passenger rear door central locking thingy decided to stop working. I ignored it. Get in the other side, don't argue. It's a warning shot. All your coilpacks are about to go out, as well as a window regulator or two for good measure.
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Dec 3, 2014 22:53
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Got it dirty as gently caress at the RallyX season opener. It had been pouring rain the past 2 days so it was muddy as gently caress, and it was deep, nasty mud and the course in general was just in brutal shape. LOTS of de-beaded tires (we lost one), lots of torn off air dams, mud guards, exhaust hangers, bumper covers, etc., and several tows from the sweeper truck. Ground clearance and AWD were the champions of the day, of which we had neither. At least we had M+S tires.  Okay, technically not my ride but I did my fair share of flogging it. Me in the first, my buddy and owner in the second. Last season we ran an N/A 240 Wagon, this season we've got a 740 Turbo Sedan. And our friend who brought out his Forester XT and put down some solid times. He had ground clearance and AWD, and M+S tires. This is what a Subaru should look like, with its satisfied owner:  Fun. As. Hell. Go RallyX, just do it.
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Apr 13, 2015 18:13
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eyebeem posted:Changed the oil in the Abarth and swapped the grey mirror caps for the red ones from our beater 500. I'll plastidip the old Abarth caps white to match the stripes and wheels I'm throwing on the red one. Dude, don't put motor oil in your bong!
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Aug 8, 2015 17:39
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