318ti.org forum - Noob from NC (with questions!)

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Noob from NC (with questions!)

1) No. If you want it to look good you will have to pay somebody to do it for you. You can search on here for what it looks like if you try to do with some 3M spray glue. Expect it to cost 200-300$ to have the headliner and a-pillars recovered with OEM fabric. They should also service the sunroof at that price.

2) bavauto.com or umnitza.com

3) bavauto.com sells a side moulding ********* kit.

4) depends on what the problem is. If the pad in the seat has to be replaced that is more expensive. If it is just the connect or the sensor it is cheap. Neither one should cost 1000$. Go find another good independent mechanic.

5) again, bavauto.com or leatherz.com

6) Suspension upgrades will make the biggest difference. CAI is pointless for more power, and on the OBDII cars a chip does very little.

why did ********* get censored? Pretty sure that is what I typed. Hmm.. you can't type the word r e f r e s h without spaces. Seems the censor is going crazy.

refresh

refresh refresh?

hmm.. that is really weird.. I typed side moulding refresh kit and it was censored.. I typed refresh again in the comment when I edited it and it did it again...

Hey dude, this is a quick stop for lots of the typical things you may want to do on your car. If you can't find a solution here, then I'd suggest searching the knowledge base or specific forums.

http://www.pelicanparts.com/bmw/tech.../tech_main.htm

Quote:

Originally Posted by kevman284 (Post 106974)

Hey all!
Just joined the forum earlier this week and actually just picked up my 318ti this morning. It's a black 97 sport with about 107,000 miles on it. I loved every minute of the drive from ATL back to NC, although it started to get noticeably shakier and noisier at 80 mph (probably just tire alignment issues). This car is a ginormous improvement over the Acura Integra I was originally looking for.

I do have a few questions that I''m hoping you guys can help me with, though. As an FYI, my do-it-yourself abilities are limited, but I can handle a screw-driver or wrench. I'd just like to stay away from anything that involves wiring/electronics knowledge beyond just plugging in a connector. Also, remaining street-legal is important.

1) Any quick but good-looking fix for a saggy headliner? It's not too bad, but I'd like to fix it.

You got me there.......try Leatherz, although Andy (owner) mainly performs Z3 interior applicatons.

2) Can anyone shoot me a link to a good OEM site to pick up clear turn signal and side indicator lights, red/clear tail lights, front headlight covers (current ones look fogged over/old) and hid/xenon lamps? The Angel Eyes stuff is a little over the top for me, though. Or, should I just try to order this through a local dealer? Is this a fairly easy DIY project?

Bimmerbum on ebay sells OEM clear corners for a fair price.
get Euro Headlights instead, glass lenses (vs plastic), no fading, brighter than US issues and cheaper than HID/Xenon

3) The side molding on my car is pretty faded...any products out there that would bring that back to life, or am I doomed to try and find some new M molding?

Forever black from either Bavauto/Pelican Parts/Griots Garage should revive those plastic moldings, temporarily. Cheaper than getting new ones.

4) The airbag light is on because of seatbelt latch issues. I was quoted $1,000 to fix this, which sounds f-in ridiculous. Advice?

Borrow a SRS airbag reset tool from Steven......the Site Administrator and our Fearless leader.........:biggrin:
If he will let you..............:wink:
If that fails like mine, i would black it out.

5) Also, the lack of an armrest was driving me crazy. Does BMW make one, or only third-party (saw a link to one of these in another post)?

I think Andy at LeatherZ might have a solution here, or go to ebay and search.

6) This car is serving as my daily driver, and I don't anticipate that I'll be doing racing/autocross/showing it, etc. However, I would like to up the performance a bit just to make the car even more fun around town/on the hwy, without breaking the bank (no engine swaps, probably not looking at a supercharger either) or hurting reliability. Should I start with improved suspension and then look at a performance chip? Other suggestions?

Superchips from GMP (ask for Danny and tell him Fariz from Racing Dynamics referred you) gives you up to 12/12 - hp/torque, Dinan gives you almost nothing in HP, but great throttle response, rev limiter 7k and speed governor removed ($249). NickG's Technique Tuning chip.....2-3hp $249.00 Cold Air Intake....no HP, maybe throttle response, Stromung Exhaust (search group buy here.....:wink: ) is a great replacement with better quality exhaust for a lot less than OEM from dealer. I would buy Bilstein Sport shocks all around....hold off on the springs, get X-Brace, get CCA membership and join Driving Schools offered thru the club.

7) Just kidding. Six was more than enough.

Sorry to bombard with questions as soon as I get here. Feel free to toss in your .02 to any of the questions, as I'm sure answering all of that would take one person forever (but hey, if you've got nothing else to do...). Looking forward to getting to know everyone, and thanks in advance!

-Kevin

OH.....BTW.......WELCOME

Didn't look like Bimmerbum has anything for sale on ebay right now. Was checking out the headlight/hid kits sold on understeer: http://understeer.com/onlinestore-lighting.shtml. This seems like what I'm looking for, and the preassembled part is a nice bonus. Anywhere else that sells a similar set-up for less?

Quote:

Originally Posted by kevman284 (Post 107018)

BIMMERBUMS' clear corners: http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/BMW-E...1017QQtcZphoto

1. If your headliner is sagging only in the front, you can pull the visors off and (using one of those red tubes) spray some 3M adhesive in there. Let it dry, and smooth as much as possible until you can get it done right.

2. If you're a CCA member, try getting the clear corners from a dealer. They list at $40 per side, with 20% off you're looking about the same price as bimmerbum. You could also try any of the mail-order parts places (pacific, pelican, etc).
http://www.unofficialbmw.com/all/ext...lear_lens.html

3. I 2nd or 3rd the use of Forever black to restore. To maintain, Pflege.

4. Buy a used seatbelt latch. Be sure to read instructions on replacement as they're explosive (not as scary as you'd think).

4) It's probably just the little sensor in the seatbelt, a fairly common issue as I understand it. Mine had the same problem and I got a new seatbelt thing for about $100 when I bought the car.

5) I'm in the same boat, considering the leatherz one.. but I wanna see how much an OEM one is first.

Btw, I'm in Greensboro as well. Avus Blue '98 Sport. If you're looking for a good mechanic for your ti let me know and I can give you the number of a great shop. Great people too and I can't see myself ever going anywhere else.

Ken,
I'd love to get that contact info for the mechanic. There are several small things that I need to have done, and it'd be great to have a trustworthy shop to get it done.

I think I saw you driving down Battleground today (or yesterday, I'm sick so the last few days have kinda blended together), I can't imagine there's another black ti in Greensboro.

I'll PM ya the contact information