What did you do to your car today?

[teen ti]

Originally Posted by cooljess76

Yeah and like zoner mentioned, check the transmission mounts.

alright, thanks for the help

[Mopho]

Originally Posted by jca

J!m, just curious why you took your radio out?

Less weight, goes faster.
Or maybe he sings a lot, radio interferes with hearing own voice?

[J!m]

Originally Posted by Bobtail_Bimmer

It was pouring down rain one day at the grocery store and when I opened my hatch to put groceries in I remembered the leak, checked, and saw the small water trail from the light. It wouldnt do it when I washed my car. Only in a heavy rain.

I will check this. I always blast water around the rear lights t remove any crud that builds up behind them. I've done this since the car was new.

It could be dried out gaskets or any number of things...

[J!m]

Originally Posted by jca

J!m, just curious why you took your radio out?

Originally Posted by Mopho

Less weight, goes faster.
Or maybe he sings a lot, radio interferes with hearing own voice?

The radio is crap, and I have the most glorious music coming from under the hood anyway. Why spoil it with over-compressed FM broadcast? Yes, my cassette player works fine, but it cannot compare to the engine's song!

Plus, how often do you see a BMW with radio delete?? It's just a cool mod in my opinion.

For those who care, I tried to delete the radio when I bought the car new, but was told it couldn't be done. Later I learned the M3 LTW had no radio, so I got the P/N for the delete plate. I also learned that the LTW has the speakers and amp in place, and only the head unit itself was deleted (I did this the first time). It's not that heavy itself, so it is a bit of a gimmick, but I still think it's a cool mod. (and cheap too).

This time I pulled the antenna and antenna amp and plugged the hole in the quarter panel. That is something I wanted to do last time, but never found an appropriate black rubber plug until recently.

[jca]

I agree that there is something cool about, "radio delete". I'm probably thinking about the muscle car days of the 50's and 60's.

[J!m]

My background is with 60's-70's Mopars, and all age "Foreign" cars up through the early eighties at my dad's shop.

Now they are called "Import" cars. Same cars as far as I can tell.

[tiFreak]

I did the radio delete in my old E30 track car, always regretted it, I need music when I'm driving long distances

[1996 328ti]

Replaced the front right ABS sensor on my MINI.
Still have the ABS/DSC/Run Flat indicators on.
Next I'll swap the one I removed for the front left.

Oh, now I have a Service Engine Soon light.
Grrrr!!

[Mini M3]

This week so far:
-Replaced front control arms (changed handling drastically!).
-New water pump and thermostat (cheap insurance). Ordered new tensioner (pulley bearing was making noise)
-Cleaned up the S52 block, pistons and ordered new bearing and rod bolts. Doing a heart transplant...
-Washed, clayed, cleaner wax and waxed her. Conditioned interior
-Alignment on Friday
-Now when i open my wallet...it coughs...

[jca]

I finally got around to mounting a squared set of DS1's I bought not long ago from a nice Texas Aggie who turned his 95 M3 into a track rat. My ti is a base model that came with 15" steelies. The DS1's make the ride smoother, but seem to take away a little steering responsiveness. That's OK; I rarely push the car, and I am setting it up to be a highway cruiser that my wife and I can take long road trips in.

[bullmand]

New control arms and and tie rods on the swapped car. I think I'm going to end up putting an M3 swaybar on it as well. There's an uncomfortably small amount of clearance between the S52 and the ti swaybar.

[zoner]

Originally Posted by jca

The DS1's make the ride smoother, but seem to take away a little steering responsiveness.

A larger diameter wheel is going to do that, but you'll also find that the DS1 provides a lot better high speed stability due to increased rotational inertia.

[cooljess76]

Originally Posted by jca

The DS1's make the ride smoother, but seem to take away a little steering responsiveness.

Really? I've noticed the exact opposite. Generally speaking, when you upgrade to a larger diameter wheel, you go with a lower profile tire in order to keep a relatively close overall diameter. For example, a 225/55/16 tire will be close to the same overall diameter as say a 235/40/17. Not only does the larger sidewall tire tend to flex more when cornering, it also absorbs more of the road imperfections. If you hit a pothole with a 40 series tire, you're gonna feel it a lot more than you would with a 55 or 60 series tire. IDK, maybe it's just me.

[1996 328ti]

Whoohoo!
Fixed my ABS on the MINI.
Replaced the right front ABS sensor. Still bad.
Swapped that old right one with the left.
Eureka!
$60 for a job I know the dealer would have charged +$1200.

[zoner]

Originally Posted by cooljess76

If you hit a pothole with a 40 series tire, you're gonna feel it a lot more than you would with a 55 or 60 series tire. IDK, maybe it's just me.

It's definitely NOT just you, Jess- the 40 series tires on my DS1's are kinda brutal on some of these LA streets... the upside, however, is muuch better handling (no sidewall flex).

Originally Posted by 1996 328ti

$60 for a job I know the dealer would have charged +$1200.

That is one of the best feelings in the world.