What did you do to your car today?

[bimmerfun]

Originally Posted by vsonix

I dunno about 'tons', I think Compacts accounted for less than 20% of e36s sold in Europe...

Well, you know what I mean by tons...
I'm American, but I've been going to Europe (mostly Italy, but pretty much all around) since I was 3 to visit relatives, later as a student and as a teacher)...
It's true, you don't don't see many 318ti's with the Sport (M) package, but you do see quite a few 318ti's...Certainly MANY more than you see in the US.
I owned a "normal AMERICAN BMW"...a 530i...Loved it...
BUT, I've gotten a kick out of 318ti's since they were new...Grant it, I was much younger then, but I still think it's a cool and very tossable little car. Yes...especially the Sport...

The only thing is...until I do some mods. in the spring...
It could use more power!!!

[bimmerfun]

BUT it doesn't "need" more suspension...even if I improve it in the future...

[vsonix]

mine was in the shop this week for various issues relating to emissions & lumpy idling (changing the spark plug wiring loom thingy seems to have fixed it) and they gave me an e36 323 touring as a loaner, had a lot of fun driving a wagon around all week... was actually a lot of fun but I missed the slick shifting and light weight. A real shame the 323ti never came out in RHD! However, the extra gas consumption was a bit of a shock. According to the trip computer I was still getting 38 or so MPG @ 90mph but the other night I took it for a run round the twisty back roads and I burned through about 10 litres of petrol in 30 minutes. However I am now considering looking at an e91 next time I buy a car, although I am still thinking a tuned 318i with all the M-trim and so on rather than anything too thirsty.

oh and going back on-topic I decided to replace the cloth floormats with rubber for the winter (and possibly for ever; I like the more rough and ready vibe they give off)

[airborneSGT]

Had the entire car cut, buffed and polished. Monday I will have them paint the bumper and get out a dent. Same people that do the dealership work. Car looks 100% better.

[RAiMA]

Washed the 328ti turbo on the weekend and put the street trim back in. Found out I lost my front left fog light cover. Doh!!! Right is deliberately missing for air intake.

Also got my rear clear tail lights for the E39 touring. Installed them. The front and side markers were already clear when I bought the car. Weird!

All match now. Noticed the front orange globes are different on the E39. Will probably replace both at some stage to match them up.

[ofset]

fixed all 20 door panel clips! had to order 15 new white inserts from rmeuropean.com.

Thanks for the JB weld tip! that stuff works great!

[BMW_Hatchback]

sunday yanked the plugs cranked the motor to get some moisture out. Then redid the cowl and tray with the help of Wayne, then put on my carbon fiber strut brace that sat in my backyard shed for 2 years

[wolferj-RIP]

Got to drive it today for the first time with the new Z3 steering rack and new Vanos...

Serious WOW... Great feel in the steering, very tight and precise. I didn't have bad steering before (tie rods are fine), but it is great now.

The new Vanos made a big difference in the low end (1500 to 3000 rpms). More responsive, no lag, and no bolts in a tin can sound from under the hood...

Going to need a new PS pump soon, however, as it whines under hard load.

[tiFreak]

put my winter tires on the E46 this weekend and replaced the alternator that decided to go bad shortly after

check out my hubcaps

[1996 328ti]

Getting ready for St Patrick's Day?

[tiFreak]

well I am half-Irish, but no, I just like to make my cars stand out any way I can

[airborneSGT]

Put the winter tires on today. NITTO NT SN2

[vsonix]

Originally Posted by tiFreak

check out my hubcaps

errrmmmm....

they remind me of the plastic sprinkler head on the end of a watering can.

they're certainly distinctive,I'll give you that...

[stefan323ti]

Originally Posted by wolferj

Got to drive it today for the first time with the new Z3 steering rack and new Vanos...

Serious WOW... Great feel in the steering, very tight and precise. I didn't have bad steering before (tie rods are fine), but it is great now.

Could you explain what the difference is to the steering rack from the ti?

How many steering wheel rotations do you need from idle position to maximum angle?
I´m looking for a good solution for a more precise handling.

What I did today:
took the hatrack out of the ti. I´ll try to get it a bit stiffer.
(it´s on hibernation in my garage till next spring )



On my E39 touring I fixed some things:
- changed power steering reservoir (the old has a leak somewhere)
- fixed a sensor mounting at the front axle
- put a new exhaust mounting on
- mounted black facelift kidneys

[wolferj-RIP]

Originally Posted by stefan323ti

Could you explain what the difference is to the steering rack from the ti?

How many steering wheel rotations do you need from idle position to maximum angle?
I´m looking for a good solution for a more precise handling.

Stefan;

The factory non-M e36 steering rack requires 3.5 turns from lock to lock and are progressive.
The factory Mcoupe & Mroadster rack requires 3.25 turns from lock to lock, and are usually linear.
The factory M3 rack requires 3.o turns but early ones are progressive as opposed to linear for the later ones (96 and later).

The factory Z3 rack (4 cyl models) require 2.75 turns and are linear. This is the quickest rack.

Progressive racks require more turning closer to center point and less at the ends of the radius. Linear racks have the same ratio throughout.

The different racks do not change the cars turning radius, only the # of turns it takes to reach end to end.

Hope this helps!


Today I picked up some S50 cams for the Ti. Now I just need the 3.5 MAF, a decent Cold Air Intake, larger injectors and a chip to make good use of all this stuff...

I am going to tackle the front suspension for my e34 Touring this afternoon if the rains hold off (All new control arms, tie rods, end links, H&R springs)