Or this would be a great time to change your brake and clutch fluid! You will have the car up on stands anyway. Might as well
I have noticed an increase in activity in just the past couple of months. I think it is great. Seems to be lots of E30 enthusiasts here too! Although if I don't check for a couple of days, there is a huge list of new posts. I don't always get through them all.
@MastaMind: Your wife looked at you like a freak! That made me laugh out loud! @AtrHugo: There you are! I wondered where your delightfully sardonic wit had gone! Back on topic I actually joined BMWCCA back in '04. I let my membership lapse once I left Germany and came out here to the Middle East to work. Now that I have sold my old E39 and bought the E82 I have renewed my membership. Now I just need to call and get my old member # back (thanks Cody for letting us know we could do that!). On a side note I think I am one of the guys that evens the balance in favor of the whippersnappers! At least I think I do....when does middle-age start again?
Slow posting non-geezers It occurs to me that these forums are a departure from the "normal" status of BMW CCA-that is, perhaps there is more of a Youth Factor at play here in this new-fangled Internet bidness. I do think it may be a bit more sedate than the wide-open world of other forums, as the CCA connection may have some sort of a stifling effect: You do watch your language in front of your maiden aunt, do you not? Not that I watch anything in front of anybody, but you get the idea. Anyway, I didn't mean I was in favor of our status as curmudgeonly geezers, I merely referred to the CCA median age, which is somewhere near 50. I will be pleased if the 1 Series-that's a car available to "dese yout's," is it not?-brings a few more kinder to our cause.
It is also interesting to note that a reason for this median age is due to the fact that BMW's in the good old U.S. of A are at a price range that most of 'der jungs' cannot afford.....yet. On the other hand in Europe, and more specifically Germany, BMW's are much more affordable and where it is even possible to get an 120 month loan for a car. They also offer many more affordable models such as the 1.6L and the 1.8L 4 Zylinder motors. Other small things also contribute to the affordability factor: cloth seats, majority are manuals, most do not have the electronic luxuries that we Americans crave (comfort access, navigation, HID lighting). Then we can even throw the diesels in this discussion. Diesel fuel in Germany is waaaay cheaper than regular fuel.
You, my friend, are greatly mistaken. Sure, you can get a 120 month loan, but would you really want to be paying for a car that long? And... BMWs on the other side of the pond are actually a lot more expensive than here. You get less BMW for your money. Take the UK, for example. The cheapest 3 series you could get there is a 318i "es", weighing in at £21,520. That's the equivalent of about $30k USD, and that is without options. The cheapest 3er you could get here based on the website is about $33,600. If you wanted a 328i in the UK, you'd have to shell out the equivalent of $38,777, and that's for the 325i model, because they don't get the 328i, so you get less power and kit for your money. Why do you think you get these basic options such as cloth seats over there? Because if they forced the same options on them as us over here, then they'd be paying about $50-60k for a basic 3 series BMW.
No sir I am not mistaken. On the contrary, and I probably should have clarified this in my prior statement, you can get an affordable BMW. Most specifically used BMW's are generally more affordable than new (rightly so). You are right though that Brand New Bimmers over there ARE expensive. The thing with the 120 month loan is that the many Germans WILL pay for that long. Trust me I lived there for 11 of the last 15 years and have seen it first hand. BTW I would love to get the Alcantara/Cloth option in the U.S. (had it on my E39 in Germany)...it looks and feels great. All of this being said we in the U.S. pay the absolute lowest prices on BMW's...even lower if you are military or on Military Orders (4-5k below MSRP on avg.) So in closing Used Bimmers are more affordable and many Germans are more than willing to get a 120 month loan.
Hey adrean8j, good to see you on here. I would have been all over an alcantara/cloth option if BMW would have given us the opportunity. I don't know what the median age on this forum is, but I'll be 30 in June. Old enough to not be jackass on forums, and young enough to give the fogies...err...more experienced members a good-natured ribbing
Satch, Choosing entertainment, I'll infer from your words geezerishness can be a life-choice, even though we know it ain't. Lord, prepare me for reincarnation; this 55 year-old mind, an 18 year-old's frame, dominion over all I encounter... Like Hugo, at this point, I'll defer to the the wizened defense of age and treachery. Cody
^^^Now see this is exactly why I love you guys! Make me laugh everytime I read your posts. Don't get me wrong toilet humor has its place, but intelligent dry wit is priceless IMHO. Have any of you read the book "The Dumbest Generation" by Mark Bauerlein?
Alright, my exhaust finally came in. My parts guy really pulled some strings and ended up getting it shipped from a dealer in Canada instead of Dinan. You'd think I would be ecstatic, right? Well, Dinan just posted on their website that they have the exhaust available with black tips, which would be my preference. So, my parts guy is going to call Dinan to get an ETA on an exhaust with the black anodized tips. If it's nothing insane, he will swap out the unit he has for the black tips version. It's a tough call because on one hand I would like to put it on this weekend, but on the other hand, if I'm patient, I can get what I truly want. I guess we'll see what the time frame is.
The Dinan touch Heh! I told Stevie D that ALL Dinan exhausts should be that evil black-anodized look! I think his marketing guys disagree. . . . Anyway, I was talking with a Sierra Chapter guy this afternoon who has the Dinan software in his 335i. . . along with a genuine limited-slip diff. Oooooh! And the 135i enjoys much the same electrons, I think. In fact, now Mark Calabrese is beginning to salivate because he believes the same software---or something close---will work in his 535i, too!
Dear Satch, Did he say anything about disabling the E-diff? If not do you have any contact info you could forward to me privately? Or could you ask Mr.Dinan since you are higher up in the feeding chain? I know he sort of answered the question at a CCA meeting a month ago,but the answer was to the effect that the diff removes the "slip" so the E-diff doesn't engage. But I'm not buying that, especially in an autocross environment. Thank you in advance.
Differentials and Mister D Well, my Sierra Chapter pal was talking about a limited slip he got from Jim Blanton, rather well regarded as the Transmission Guru of the BMW CCA. . . I don't know if Dinan is building LS diffs for the newest cars yet. Still, as the story on the Dinan 135i in the February issue points out, the electronic "imitation limited slip" is not entirely useless. Then there's xDrive, in which they seemed to have turned it sideways to make an infinitely variable torque split. . . .
Thanks. Just that at an autocross (for me at least), I want/like a real diff, not an electro one. I know I lost time at this past year's Nats due to a "fake diff." My driving wasn't 100% either, but up against the oh-so-light Integra Type-Rs a real diff would have been nice (yes, I know adding a diff puts the 135i in a whole 'nother class). Yup, Blanton and Metric Mechanics sell some very nice products. It just would be a shame to have the electronics kick in when they read something funky from the wheels, etc. as you do a ballet through the pylons.
I'm exchanging the stainless version out for the ceramic coated black tips. Tell him it's what the market wants! Well, at least part of the market. Only downside is the additional 3-6 weeks wait time.
I swapped the CDV out this morning. Wow, what a difference! Anyone with the MT should do this. I can't believe BMW crippled the car like that from the factory. Honestly, I just couldn't get the clutch feel down with the stocker in place. It's like I finally connected with the car.
