BMW 3-Series 2005 and earlier

bavarian

Danhug-yes-please fill me in on the Moustachio'd Marvel who used to play drums for Gipsy Kings!!
I would particularly be interested to learn why he is no longer propelling the band he helped make famous.
NOTE-it is GIPSY KINGS with an i, not a y.It is a miss-spelling and not surprising as the band members didn't spend a lot of time in school.
ROAD RAGE: part of the reason why there is always some fool puttering along in the middle or centre lane oblivious to the BMW gracefully cantering down the left lane is the fact that to many Americans, traffic, the road and other drivers are the last things on their minds. I see so many people pulled over for speeding on I94 by cars with huge banks of lights on top and a driver wearing a hat like the ranger on Yogi Bear and the cop has been following them...hello! rear view mirror? Well that's something for hanging dice and air fresheners on I guess. Maybe they are too busy yakking on their cell phone or wrestling with a 128 oz Big Gulp to notice other cars wishing to get somehwere because their drivers have a life in progress.
I recently hit my favorite stretch of road- a two mile straight of glassy smooth tarmac west of the Michigan city exit on I94. I was in the left lane,moonroof open, Gipsy Kings wailing "Montana" doing 80 or so. I pressed on the gas bound for 100mph, flexing my facial muscles for a big Bimmer grin. Onward!...and then a woman in a minivan pulled out into my lane 50 ft ahead and proceeded at 81mph to overtake another van doing 80 and a half mph. We were almost in Canada before she passed and moved out of my way, oblivious to my presence. I think she looked in her rear view mirror once but only to check her eye-shadow.
BMW UK...thanks Gurumike for the link....went there and built my 325i "SE"...at current rate of exhange of 1 Pound=$1.67 my car came out to $46,876!! That's over $15,000 more than I paid!
They do however have 14 or so INTERIOR colors (many of them cloth) and some leather colors costing over $2800. They don't list PP or SP but seem to have an a la carte approach to options.
Worth a look see-they also have some cars there we won't get a chance to buy. Check it out.

brave1heart

<<<clears: Why does everyone like to knock someone else's tastes on this board?>>> That would be mostly me so I'll answer. It's called personal preferences and it's OK to feel strongly about them. It's all perfectly fine if you can defend your choice like a mature person. No-one cares - if you like clears, go knock yourself. Replace you front grill with clears, whatever. But tell us why you like them. And don't ask that we all hold hands and sing "We are the world". It's OK to have opinions even if they are biased like mine.

bavarian

In my ramble above I waffle on about drivers in the "middle and centre lane"-it has just been pointed out to me, by myself, that middle and centre are often one and the same thing on a raod with only 3 lanes. I meant to say-"who, in the name of God are these losers puffing along in the left lane, in their rusting K cars, head barely visible above the dashboard with the nodding head of a plastic Jesus, left blinker flashing for 20 miles until it runs down the battery. "Honk if you love Jesus" reads one of the many stickers on the rust/chrome bumper...I'm honking pops!! Move over! One of us is gonna break 50 mph if it kills us!

brave1heart

How do you explain the 15-grand difference between the U.K. and U.S. models? The Salon De Paris catalog that I bought in France last year has all BMW's sold in France and the prices there are very consistent with prices here in the U.S. Why is the U.K. so different? Is it related to government taxes/company car stuff?

gurumike

... include VAT (value added tax) at 17.5%. There's no such thing as prem pkg or spt pkg (there's a sport model), those a US "marketing" preferences.

brave1heart

But we are talking about a 15-grand difference on a 30-grand car?? I remember a British friend of mine once mentioned that the A4 Q is sth like 50-grand in the U.K. and those are equipped pretty standard. So some of the difference is VAT (do you recoup that when you sell??) but there must be more...And why is it that company cars are so popular - they must be all pre-tax, right?

alpine325i

I can't remember which comedian said: The Florida State flag should be a picture of the top of a hat and knuckles on a steering wheel. Around my way, I see stuff like 18 wheelers in the left lane doing 60 with someone in a hyundai crusing right next to it at the same speed, eating donuts, veering back and forth just barely touching the side of the trailer oblivious to life in general, great stuff.

alpine325i

brave1heart

By the time I got to "head barely visible above the dashboard with the nodding head of a plastic Jesus" I had almost slid off the chair laughing...

alpine325i

Even if I wanted to put the clear lenses on, I think that $85 for the blinkers and $280 for the rear tail lights are a ripoff. I think my car is perfect just the way It is, being all original. I just don't want to look like [non-permissible content removed] in the lowered civic with a stereo capable of 160db SPL and a rear wing that's taller than his roofline. There's so much [non-permissible content removed] in my area. It definitely has reached saturation level because they look like they're getting bored, ready to jump to the next fad. The only aftermarket stuff I'm adding is some amps and upgraded speakers for the factory stereo, but nothing major so I can put it back the way it was if I decide to sell the car and keep the stereo. )

gurumike

if it really matters -
Audi 2.8 Quattro (high spec)
US - $35,000
UK - $25,400 (before VAT @ 17.5%)

At current rate of $1.38 to the pound, that makes the British price $35,044. I picked 35k for the US car before I did that calculation!!! I got the UK price from Autocar magazine which lists list prices by specific model.

BMW 330i sport (the highest spec 330) 24,500 pounds, $33,800 !! Most US cars list around 40k. And yes, the Audi Quattro is more expensive! (That price is for the new model).

langley2

Thanks. Appreciate anything you can find out. I asked my dealership about the KleenWheels product, and he was only familiar with the older, non-vented style that caused overheating.

langley2

In case anyone is interested ... I was talking to my dealer's sales manager in his office yesterday afternoon when he got a message from BMWNA concerning 2001 325xi production. Said that because of the unusually high demand for the AWD option, BMW would not be building any more 325xi's for the remainder of the 2001 model year. (Don't know how this will affect cars that are on order but not yet built.) Production will resume with the 2002's. Sounds like production of the 330xi's will continue through the end of the year though.

allano

Took me about 45 minutes to an hour but I did a lot of trial fitting to work out the details of installation.
After a quick read of the E46fanatics site, the Universal Transmitter described on that site seems to be an earlier model since you can now choose between a model for the E46 or E39. Only the E39 model requires the purchase of a separate panel. The black panel supplied with the E46 model looks fine and matches the lighting panel of the 325i wagon.
BTW, The instructions described connector and wire colors in detail but you really don't have to worry about which connector to use because only one fits -- they are keyed.

allano

Dalan makes a class 1 hitch for BMWs that I believe fit both 325i and 330i. It is a 1 1/4inch receiver type so that with the ball-mount removed, nothing extends beyond the rear bumper. Check out http://www.hitch-web.com/ and enter the details of your car.

Hitch-web is great to work with and will FAX-back installation instructions so you can see what is involved. They also sell an electrical isolation device (can't remember the name now) that goes between your car lights and trailer lights so that they don't trigger "broken bulb" indicator on your BMW's dash.

Unfortunately, the hitch attaches to the bottom of the spare tire well because, to the best of my knowledge, there are no frame members back there. It mounts with backing plates inside the recessed ribs of the well and sandwitch the well between the backing plates and external hitch. I purchased one for the 325xi wagon but need to find time to install it.

veekay1

That is very interesting!!
About 3000 posts ago (I think it was in mid April) I had mentioned that my dealer told me that mine was among the last 325xi MY 2001 to be built and that I had just made the deadline in terms of ordering!! I guess he was on the ball and should get brownie points for being well informed!!

P.S. NO MORE 325XI FOR YOU!!

brave1heart

I guess it makes sense - if BMWNA's xi orders are exceeding their AWD production capacity, they'd rather be making the 330xi's because those are more profitable. Veekay1, I guess you got lucky.

I saw a Mustang with clears this morning - I guess the clears are becoming popular across a broader range of cars. It looked like bubble wrap. Oh, he also had Mustang written over the front windshield just in case someone was still confused about the type of car he was driving. He also had a fake 5.0 sign to back up the HP gain from the clears )

veekay1

veekay1

any idea why the battery is in the trunk?

brave1heart

No idea, other than weight distribution maybe?!? The M-B E320 that I looked at yesterday also had the battery behind the rear seat, although there was plenty of room to put it in the engine compartment. It may be some quirky German engineering technique (kind of like the floor ignition on the Saabs with Swedes). Where's Shipo when you need him?

langley2

My guy said he'd been expecting the message sooner or later. BMW apparently didn't anticipate the extent of the demand for the AWD option.

By the way, how's the car ? My dealer expected mine to arrive last Saturday but, when the truck arrived late in the afternoon, it wasn't among the vehicles delivered. His updated paperwork then forecasted delivery for yesterday, but it wasn't there when I stopped by early yesterday afternoon, and I don't think it made it there later in the day. Nevertheless, he said he was confident I would be able to take delivery by tomorrow at the absolute latest. Seems like a loooooooong time for a truck to travel from NJ to Northeastern PA. Actual travel time (without stops, of course) is only about two hours or so.

langley2

My guy said he'd been expecting the message sooner or later. BMW apparently didn't anticipate the extent of the demand for the AWD option.

By the way, how's the car ? My dealer expected mine to arrive last Saturday but, when the truck arrived late in the afternoon, it wasn't among the vehicles delivered. His updated paperwork then forecasted delivery for yesterday, but it wasn't there when I stopped by early yesterday afternoon, and I don't think it made it there at later in the day. Nevertheless, he said he was confident I would be able to take delivery by tomorrow at the absolute latest. Seems like a loooooooong time for a truck to travel from NJ to Northeastern PA. Actual travel time (without stops, of course) is only about two hours or so.

drcr

I saw a brand new Porsche 911 w/ clears this am. The cost is a bit steep. No "Porsche" across the windshield but the car was yellow.

As far as production after 4/31/01 should have new fan- My door jam says 5/01 and I had the Siemans which was just replaced by the dealer. I'll have to look at the door jam again and make sure I read it correctly

brave1heart

Audi must be hurting in the U.S. - I'd be curious to see their sales numbers but they typically report combined sales with VW.

macdude44

I see the range in tire pressure for sport package tires on the 330 coupe is fairly broad. I was wondering what pressure you guys have your front and rears set at. Mine is 37 front and 42 rear.....my guess is I should lower both a couple pounds.

dl7265

1. for perfect 50/50 balance .
2. safety, no batt acid flying up in passengers face .

Regards,
DL

veekay1

325xi......continental all season 205/55R16 H rated

front 33psi
rear 38 psi

drcr

I have also read that the chances of battery damage is lower in the trunk thus continued power operations (auto flashers after crash)

Interesting note is that the jump start connecting point is in the front of the vehicle

jthai

Someone asked for an explanation of WHY clears were preferred by some.. I think clears look very classy on a BMW. There is a different (IMHO) between BMW clears and the complete whiteouts you see on Civics, Accords (you know, the ones that replace all the amber and red lenses with WHITE, not clear covers).

When it comes to design (my apartment, websites, etc) I believe a minimal colour scheme can be much more attractive than plastering contrasting colours everywhere. For a a BMW, for example, a dark coloured car (Orient Blue, or black) with just red and clear tail-lights looks wonderful to me. For something like silver or grey though, you need a little bit more colour to spice things up.. which is why I prefer amber signal lenses on those colours.

brave1heart

Both the manual and the driver's door have the recommended tire pressure. It is 30/35 F/R for the 325i and I think it was higher by 3 psi for the 330 and X models, probably because they are heavier cars. It also goes up a few psi when the car is fully loaded. I've been using 31/34 F/R for my 325i and I guess the 330 equivalent would be 34/37. I think 37/42 F/R sounds too high but probably not out of the acceptable range. It would be more appropriate for the track and less so for everyday driving, though.

brave1heart

Thank you - I see your point. I have to admit the clears on BMW's are by far the best I've seen yet. I also agree that they tend to look better with darker colors. Shouldn't the blinkers be amber by law, though? I vaguely remember reading somewhere that not all clears are legal. Or was it just those Silvertone light bulbs?

dhanley

There's another reason the battery is in the trunk. Heat is the enemy of batteries and dries them out. The trunk will, generally, be cooler than the engine compartment.

That's in addition to the weight balance and chances for explosion. The battery blew up in our saab, and the acid eventually ate through a $300 battery cable. Uck.

dave

brave1heart

gurumike

.. You've already debated two plus topics. May be I should start working on EDT.

Battery is in the trunk for reasons already pointed out - Safety (it's out of harms way) and weight distribution.

On the AWD option, I was at work until 5.30 PDT (8.30 eastern) and I heard or saw no newsletter from BMW on this no more AWD situation.
I just checked the bulletins on Centernet and there's nothing on AWD supply "problems". I will check with Jon at work today to see if there's any info I'm not aware of but my thoughts, people, are that there's no hot-off-the-press fax from BMW cancelling AWD.

brave1heart

We mean it that way. We try to get all the topics out of the way before you wake up. See, now that you're awake and on-line no-one's posting any more )

Hey, thanks for the U.K. numbers. We have it very easy in this country indeed - cheaper European cars on top of much cheaper gas. Higher salaries average and lower costs - overall, higher standards of living and better purchasing power.

langley2

Don't have any more details on the AWD situation than what I already posted. All I can tell you is that I was sitting in the sales manager's office trying to find out why it's apparently taking several days for my own 325xi to get from NJ to Northeastern PA, when he opened up an e-mail and said, "You're lucky. Listen to this." He then read me an excerpt from the e-mail which said something along the lines of, "Due to the overwhelming demand, we regret to announce that Option 230(?), i.e., the AWD option, will not be offered on 325 sedans scheduled for July/August production." I'm paraphrasing, of course, and there was apparently much more to the e-mail than what he read to me, but that was the jist of it.

tcn2k

Do you need to drill to put on the mude guards, anyone here done have mud guards? Saw a 3 series with them on, kinda big for the car, don't you all think?

veekay1

The car is great!! Its solid, powerful (yes even the 325 ahs more than adequate power) and its smooooooth!! The interior is very classy with attention to detail and what I found most pleasantly surprising is that the stock audio system is very , very good indeed...and i dont even have the CD, just the cassette....i am glad i did not invest in the HK, cos although I am sure that HK is even better, the stock audio more than serves my purpose.
I try to keep it below 4000 rpm, but on a couple of occasions have crossed it...that is unavoidable...the steptronic is very smooth, and the AWD is great in the rain (tested to the fullest in the rain over the weekend).
The Xenons.....oh.the Xenons!! u will see for urself!
I hope u get ur car today.!!!
good luck!

veekay1

laurasdada

Ray, I grew up in Westport (I still miss DeRosa's and Art's Deli!). I worked for a while in Stamford and, like you, 95 was closer to both home and work than the Merritt. I got so tired of the 15 mile, 45+ minute commute that I started taking MetroNorth from Westport to Stamford. I think that decision has added years to my life!!! It was nice to look out the train window at 95 and see the construction and stalled traffic while reading the Times....
Kinda hated to leave CT, but the taxes were much too low so I moved to MA!
Say hello to Stew Leonard ( I imagine he's out of "prison") for me.

stevenf7

Thanks for steering me to the on-line BOW accessory sites. They provided very helpful pricing information. I'm going to buy the removable hardtop to go along with my new 325Ci. I came across a "Hardtop Installation Kit" on the Pacific BOW site. The listing indicates, "(required)". Sounds like fun. What does the installation kit do? Is it required?

Steven

burrsr

Battery is in trunk for all the reasons mentioned (all great ones). Say a battery weighs 50lbs and is in a 3,500lb car's (with 50/50 WD) trunk. The battery represents about 1.5% (rounding) of the car's weight. Moving it to the front of the car will take 50lbs from the rear AND add 50lbs to the front, resulting in a 3% turnaround, or 53/47 overall WD. Not to mention effects on moments of inertia, etc. It's interesting to see how something as simple as battery placement can be optimized to produce so many (transparent to the driver) benefits...

brave1heart

Wow, it's been a while I've lifted one but that's heavy. On a 3,250 lb car like the 325i manual, the % difference would be even greater than in your 3,500 lb example. One more thing: I'm putting myself on a diet and I'm never taking passengers again in my car. Unless they want to ride in the trunk when I'm driving in snow )

burrsr

is probably a conservative estimate. Some may be closer to 70 or 80lbs. Have you ever picked one up? Their weight is extraordinarily deceiving for their size. That's why they are sold with handles on them. Without the handles, picking one up would be akin to one of the feats-of-strength on the World's Strongest Man Competition. I think they fill the battery case with the same substance that black holes are made of -- not even light can escape the gravitational field created.

genie1

"I'm putting myself on a diet and I'm never taking passengers again in my car. Unless they want to ride in the trunk when I'm driving in snow )"

You wouldn't be implying that the car handles poorly in winter, now would you? Because I just signed 3 years of my life away on one of these babies. And short of moving back to the US, I don't see a way to avoid winter driving.

burrsr

I think that Brave meant to imply (sarcastically, of course) that he didn't want to do anything to upset the 50/50 WD balance. It's interesting. I wonder if the 50/50 is obtained with or without a tankful of gas. 16 gallons of gas can weigh 150lbs or more, and the tank is in the rear of the car very near the rear wheels, I believe. Also, the passenger compartment is fairly equidistant between front and rear wheels, so adding and subtracting passengers wouldn't affect the WD as dramatically. Now adding passengers to the TRUNK is another story...

drcr

I would imagine a clip of some sort vs drilling. I'll check out circle and get back. I also considered the flaps but don't know if they are too Kmart looking

genie1

Actually I quite appreciated the 50/50 balance.

This is the first RWD I drove and I liked the fact that it didn't seem to lurch forward like most of the FWD/AWD cars I've driven (I don't know if that makes me a natural RWD driver or a really bad FWD one!!)

I'd mentioned earlier that I would consider adding bags of salt to the trunk in winter but I don't know if that would be necessary for such a well balanced car.

aculex

BMW batteries are intentionally heavy to create a 51/49 weight distribution.

I bought a "Chevy - Like a Rock" mud flap and installed it onto my new M3. All you have to do is 'black out" the name Chevy and paint in "BMW". Auto journalists always regard BMWs for their solid structures so I wanted to get that point across. I drilled the flap in with a standard bit used for concrete.

I also replaced the standard M-spec alloys and installed American Racing chromes. Very nice - really transforms the car.

Now I'm looking for a "Fear This" sticker for the top of the windshield - can anyone tell me where they bought theirs?

burrsr

Nothing like a little satire to liven up an otherwise mundane series of posts, eh?