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On another note: I wish that we all worked together and could stand around talking about bimmer philosophy and such. No one else at work can appreciate the car the way we do. Being a man, one always is thinking about women in one way or another, but it is refreshing to find that one's mind is even more preoccupied with the BMW. There is just something wholesome about it...maybe they should be subsidized by the church...more acceleration and less fornication.
Forgive my grammer--I think stream of consciousness is better for me.
Now, the more I drive it the more I like it. After I got the keys and left it took all of about a half hour to get out of Munich and on the autobahn, and in the course of that time I understood. To paraphrase a nearly forgotten politician..."it's the driving stupid!" If you want a monster hauler get an Expedition as a second car. After all, the golf clubs won't complain if their cramped. They fit that's all that should matter. (IMHO)
Uniqueness depends upon your neighborhood. We have an awful lot in my neck of the woods, but downtown, where I work, it's a very unique car. Lot's of Miatas and Sebring's too around here. Don't get me wrong here either, I like the Sebring's looks (my brother has one) but it wont hold the same line, will rattle in 3 years and will be in the shop for every little Chrysler thing.
Not an audiophile, don't care, stereo is fine for me.
The only second thoughts I have now are whether I should have done ED. Don't get me wrong, I absolutely loved the experience, but now, every time I'm on the highway I want it to be the autobahn. I forsee a really big fine in the future if I'm not careful! It's like sex in a way, when you hadn't done it all you could do was imagine what it's like, but once you have nothing is the same. Maybe in time I'll forget.
But like I said, the more I drive it the more I like it. I'm joining the ranks of the terminally smiling.
One last thing...I'd love to hear a rock solid explanation of heel-to-toe downshifting.
Here's my two cents for prospective buyers of a 3'er:
Pro's: Handling is amazing; lots of power and the 5 speed is smooth as silk; controls are logically placed and easy to use; great braking and cornering. An extremely responsive ride that makes it a blast to drive. Added bonus: When you let your friends drive it they instantly understand the grin on your face.
Con's: Trunk space is small (but the Ping Driver just squeaks in); seats do not come with lumbar support, even optionally.
For me, the stereo system is fine. I ordered the cassette player and installed a CD changer in the trunk. I lost the hearing in one ear last year so while my audiophile days are over to some extent the system is flexible enough to allow me to adjust it so that I can enjoy it. It sounds substantially better than the systems in my Suburu and Honda.
Hope everyone is well out there in Bimmerland!
ButMyWife
To those of you with the golf club issue: if I were you (and I'm not, I'm me) I'd give up golf;)
2001 Prelude Type SH, 2022 Highlander XLE AWD, 2022 Wrangler Sahara 4Xe, 2023 Toyota Tacoma SR 4WD
might as well ask me to give up eating and breathing...
-Chris
The solid, tight responsiveness of the car is its most impressive feature. It pretty goes where you ask it to go and stays there, without wiggles and jiggles and shimmies and such. It paints corners and accelerates smoothly. When I drive another car, that car's brakes seem spongy and defective--I feel oout of control.
The trunk has not been a problem yet, but we'll see if it gets our 11-year-old off to camp.
Regrets?
I think I might have liked the extra zip of a 330, if only to insure that I got where I was going as quickly as I would like. And I have agonized over the SP, some days wishing I had spent the extra, other days feeling (rather self-righteously) that I bought myself a pretty nice car and it is only proper to have denied myself something. I will donate some of the money saved to a local food bank, if only to remain balanced.
I got leather seats and sometimes wish I had opted for cloth, which would be cooler out here in the AZ desert and $1400 or so cheaper.
A final regret: my daughter and I are doing the eastern college tour in early August--Williams to Vassar to Bard to Colgate to Cornell, with an intermediate stop at the Glimmerglass Opera. I wish I could drive my car on those wonderfully windy roads! One of them would be the legendary Taconic Parkway, romanticized only last week in the NYTimes by a writer who drove a (sniff, sniff) G35 along that beautiful roadway. Sacrilege! It really should have been a bimmer!!.
All in all, the 325 may be the best car we've ever owned, reminiscent of our beloved '78 Mazda 626. But these are early days: the Mazda made about 125K miles before rusting out in the rugged winters of Ithaca, Boston and the Capital District of NYS.
Best wishes,
Ed.
Lots of BMW 3 series purring around the Cornell campus.
2001 Prelude Type SH, 2022 Highlander XLE AWD, 2022 Wrangler Sahara 4Xe, 2023 Toyota Tacoma SR 4WD
High Quality Sound in your BMW, the Harlequin way:
Head Unit: I highly recommend you check out http://www.nakamichi.com/ and take a look at their head units. All Nak products are high quality, audiophile-level, and are minimalist in design. No flashy displays, just the cleanest design for music reproduction.
Amplifiers: Here, the choices become rather endless. Depending on the number of speakers and the complexity of the system you end up with, anything from a 1-ohm stable, 2-channel amp to a 6-channel amp with built in subwoofer crossovers might be the way to go. I went with a fairly standard 6-channel amplifier (ADS 50wX6). In my set up, the first four channels run the front and rear speakers, one channel for each corner, and the last two channels are bridged and run off the subwoofer crossover - giving 100 watts to the sub. Note that low frequencies are much more power hungry than high frequencies, so a more powerfull bottom end is essential. Make sure whatever amplifier you go with is well-constructed and stable.
Speakers: Placement of speakers in the BMWs are among the worst in the car biz. A little money spent here can give big gains in sound. For the 3-series, the wide separation between the mid-range and the tweeter makes it difficult for the speakers to sound right. One thing that will help is to do custom build-outs for the mid-range speakers if they are located in the footwell. Pointing the speakers more directly into the listening area will help time correction and fidelity. The rear speakers are decently placed and, for the driver, only serve as fill for the car interior. Rear speakers are once place you can scrimp a bit and not get a big drop off in sound.
Best advice for speakers is to stay consistent, use speakers from the same manufacturer front and back - and buy them from the SAME series. Boston Acoustics makes some great speakers in a variety of quality levels. But, it would not be recommended to use their Pro series separates up front, and then use Rally Series separates in back, different materials and construction will cause the two sets to each have a specific coloration of the music, and using different speakers and/or series will add colorations and reduce fidelity in the listening area.
Subwoofer: ALL CAR SYSTEMS BENEFIT BY ADDING A SUBWOOFER. Can't stress this enough, regardless of the style of music you listen to, subwoofers round out the music and add lower end authority to any music. Subs also add the benefit of routing difficult and power hungry frequencies away from smaller speakers, allowing the smaller mid-range speakers to work within their optimal range of sound reproduction. The type of sub(s) you use will have a big effect on the bass presence. If you listen to demanding music like jazz and classical that rarely goes into the ultra low bass frequencies, a single 8" or 10" might be plenty. If you like electronica or R&B, you should probably invest in a pair of 10s or maybe a 12" (15"?) to gain a little extra low end punch. Another key component for the subwoofer is the box, plan on spending as much, if not more, on the subwoofer enclosure as you do on the sub itself. A great sub will sound weak and flabby in the wrong enclosure. Different enclosures will also have different sound signatures. If you like tight bass and don't need the boom, use a sealed enclosure. If you like loud bass, used a ported enclosure of some sort or another.
I am happy to give a case by case, and maybe we could start a car audio thread (for BMW owners? lol) and do it there. Best advice is to chat with a few different car installation places in town, look at their selection, ask to see some pictures of past installations, and see if they ask you important questions, or if they just try to walk you over to their favorites. If they qualify you, they may just be worth giving business to...
My system uses a Sony ES Cassette Deck (circa 1998, before the new crazy displays, before XPloD) running a 10-disc CD Changer. Power is supplied by an A/D/S 6-channel amp, as noted, running A/D/S separates front and back (5 1/4" up front, 4" in back) and a 10" A/D/S sub in a sealed enclosure in the trunk. I scrimped by not doing customer speaker buildouts and used a pre-built subwoofer box. The quality of all the equipment is very good, yet the system rates about a 6 out of 10 on my scales. That's right, 6 out of 10. Speaker build outs and a custom sub box should improve the sound significantly, but I just don't have the cash to spend on it at this time. As it is, the system is a HUGE upgrade from the standard stereo in my 95 318ti.
Hope this is useful to someone. Any questions?
Driving is superb - ditto on above: tight feel, responsive, plenty of power, feels completely solid
Fit and finish - ditto, not one defect
Brakes are outstanding - ditto
Size - Perfect
Stereo - Noticeably worse reception than my upgraded Alpine system in last car. Will upgrade at some point in future, maybe to that XM radio, it's not a priority.
Auto tranny - I was missing manual a little EXCEPT in freeway traffic but I love having the sport option. I think this choice is working out for me.
Interior - vinyl seats (like leather) are definitely sweatier than cloth. I like the spare, clean look, typically Teutonic.
Sedan - am still getting used to it, but passengers appreciate it.
Miscellaneous notes:
Drove to Palm Springs - only 2 hrs but very comfortable. Am looking forward to Vegas or whereever else, except Baja!
The car brooched a icy detante between me & a neighbor. When I was washing it yesterday afternoon, his wife came out to compliment me on it, she wants one just like it yada yada, and now the husband & I exchange hello's while before it was the silent existence-ignoring treatment on both parts.
I enjoy the "is that MINE" feeling when I see it, noticed it last weekend when a valet pulled up in it.
What do you use to clean the black parts outside?
Eva because it's German & it's a pretty name. Sort of like someone's choice of Lena.
Off topic:
Why is golf so great?
Chrysler's commercial says Drive = Love so Dr. Nelson, your acceleration equation might be wrong!
because it is the only game where you can suck 17 holes, and great at 1 hole and you think your tiger woods!
Although there are numerous people who are happy with their 325, this is all a personal taste matter and perhaps, that extra excitement that you (particularly) are expecting from the car is present in the higher HP/Torque/accelerating 3.0 engine.
This is my one-year ownership assessment (took delivery on 6/30/01):
PROS:
- 18,500 miles--each one with a smile on my face.
- Engine sound is sweeter, throttle response noticeably better, and the car pulls progressively harder as I rack up the miles.
- 6 autocrosses later and with nearly worn out Contis, the car still handles very well. Steering feedback is great, but not excellent. Very precise, though.
- Doors, windows and trunk close with authority. All switches, gauges work perfectly.
- Seats are matchless. Lumbar would be nice, but these seats crush just about anyone else's. Everyone who rides in my 3 raves about them. SP seats, btw.
- Paint and body thickness must be mentioned. Not a single door ding on the car, and it's parked in a crowded lot every day. My '99 Accord looked like it got attacked by a mad woodpecker after only on year due to the thin sheet metal. The BMW is solid!
- The car is a slick beast on road trips. Moves fast and smooth at high speeds with wicked-good gas mileage (29+ mpg).
- Despite the abundance of 3s in the Northern VA area, it still turns heads. I always see guys in other cars just drooling over the car as they pull up next to it.
CONS:
- Slight rattle in the right door when the music is turned up on any music with heavy bass.
- Gloss black trim looks fantastic with black leather but is a pain in the a** to keep clean/dust-free.
- HK not as crisp as I'd like, but still a pleasure to listen to.
- Sadly small glove compartment.
- Coin holder designed by morons.
- Brake dust, brake dust, brake dust.
Bottom line---LOVE the car more each day, and even after one year, I still turn my head to look back at the car whenever I park. I still roll the windows down and turn off the radio to hear the sweet sound of the inline 6. If I ever have to downgrade, I will be wistful for this piece of work. But for now, YEEEEEEEHHHHHHHHHAAAAAAAA!!!!
By the time you are downshifting, the RPMs will have dropped and thus, the car will jerk and bog down until it regains the appropriate RPM for the new speed and gear combination.
In order to avoid this, you need to blip the throttle while the clutch is engaged (or is it disengaged? lets just said while stepping on the clutch
Now, in order to make the process more efficient and loss less time while negotiating a corner, you (and race car drivers) will want to brake, downshift and match revs (RPMs) in order to have the engine in its sweet spot at the exit of the curve ALL AT THE SAME TIME.
So, how do you do it. Well, something like this:
1. Left foot depressing the clutch.
2. Ball of right foot pressing on the brake pedal.
3. Heel of the right foot (or the outside of the right foot in the BMW) blipping the throttle at the right moment while downshifting. (WHITHOUT RELEASING THE BRAKES YET!!)
4. Release clutch.
5. Accelerate.
6. SMILE.
61/2. Impress your friends
7. Don't crash.
8. Don't try this first time on public roads with traffic.
9. You need to practice this in mind first, it is not easy.
Enjoy
Heck, if you want more space, get the rack for the top. Good place for skis and other stuff.
butmywife, I've been impressed with the power of the 325xi too. LOVE it. Makes me REALLY wonder about the 330 hehe.
vkwheels, you'll love the drive to Vegas on the 15. You'll have no problems keep up with the other Indy car, err tourists, going to Vegas, even up the long grade out of Baker. Get the XM, you won't regret it. I have pics of my XM install using the factory stereo. I posted the url a while back, but if you can't find it lemme know and I'll post it again.
My wife has the xi this weekend in San Diego (I have to work). But I get to go down there in a few weeks by myself and I've already called the keys for it. Look forward to that drive!
Pros for the car:
Handling, performance
XM - crystal clear radio everywhere I go (soCal)
Styling (Green/nat brown leather)
Xenon
Wheels VERY easy to clean on the xi Sport package
Cons
Replaced controller module at 6000 miles - flawless since (bad board)
Rattle in B-pillar (will have addressed at my first service, which is less than 3,000 from now
I don't get to drive it as much
Don't have the power seats
Does anybody know how much the standard sport seats (with leather) weigh vs the power sport seats with leather)? Just curious.
-Paul
Why is golf so great? I can't explain - it's totally addictive. It can be very boring to watch on TV if it's not one of the 4 majors but playing it is always great. Plus, when I go to bed at the end of the day, all I see in front of me is green. It's peaceful and beautiful...
I did test-drive the 330 before I bought the 325. I thought it had a stupendous amount of power - a lot more than I needed but very nice nonetheless.
soupie1955 - if I had the auto in my 325i, I'd be very underwhelmed by it too...the step is adaptive, though, so that may explain why the shift points keep changing.
leenelsonmd - lol, you're a riot. I read your post out loud to one of my colleagues and she thought it was hilarious.
"pushing the car to 90?!?" - that's a lot closer to cruising speed than pushing a Bimmer that was designed to run at top speed on the autobahn all day...
harlequin1971 - "If you listen to demanding music like jazz and classical that rarely goes into the ultra low bass frequencies, a single 8" or 10" might be plenty. " ==> I violently disagree!!! I think you need at least a double 12" or 14"!!! Just kidding, dude - I went over that technobabble in about 5 sec. I'd need a few hours to understand all of it, so I couldn't possibly have questions. Keep in mind that I still use a $200 stereo at home
Happy Festivus, gang. C'mon, it's another Summer Friday, gotta celebrate something. Ahhh, I love being goofy. I'm off driving for the next 2 1/4 hours. See ya!!
I used to sell audio equipment, and next to cars, it has traditionally been a very expensive habit for me. I would classify my attitude as audiophile, my musical tastes as lo-fi (usually poorly recorded indi-rock albums) and a far cry from the full-on tweeker (a guy who can spout harmonic distortion ratios and the impact of using 18 guage versus 12 guage wiring in a stereo speaker install.
That said, I find the stereo in the BMWs, and most cars for that matter, to be a weak link, and since having music on alot is a priority to me, I am always learning a bit more as I go along. I would be happy to add in my 2 cents on any stereo questions.
ddblue: that rattle you are getting could be the speaker flapping against its own housing at low frequencies (caused by extreme excursion of the speaker) or could be that you have found a resonance in the door panel. Hopefully, it is just a resonant frequency. If so, you can fix it by adding some dynamat sound deadening materials inside the door panel around the affect area. Plus, I think the HK system, in and of itself is a decent stereo, but the unequal distances and the poor path that the midrange speaker has to bounce around the interior before reaching your ears (in my 318, I figure the midrange must push from the floorboard across to the drivetrain hump, bounce off the hump up into the cabin area before it reaches the listen area, while the tweeters are a mere 1 and 4 feet away from my ears). This causes some minute time correction issues that are often not found in home systems. Yes, things like uneven length of speaker cords and unequal distance from speakers will affect the sound quality, muddying it up, and creating canceling waves of sound within the cabin, reducing fidelity. This is a problem in ALL cars, but the placement of speakers in the floor panels makes the BMW design stick out as a difficult and poor one for sound.
Guess they figure with an engine that sweet, most of y'all would rather listen to the car anyway. Most manufacturers fit the stereo speakers into a car as an afterthought...and they take the same care when spec'ing the components themselves. That is why aftermarket systems can make such dramatic improvements, if you do the right things.
sorry...I am starting to audio-babble...
powering down for the ride home.
crisp and solid feeling door handle (both interior and exterior), easy to swing open (feels well-oiled), but closes with a solid and deep thud.
I can't believe I had that much to say about door sounds-- i really am an out of control car freak! When I read articles about departments at car companies that look for noises and "tune" the sounds of things in cars, I always somehow think that sounds like a great job-- don't know why.
Check this one out--
http://www.audiworld.com/news/02/listen/
almost makes me want to buy an Audi-- looking at that serious looking German guy w/ the funky glasses sitting next to the mannequin. That's exactly the kind of guy I want desging my cars!
On door "thuncks" - I too notice the front doors to have the slight rattle after you hear the thud of the close. Not on the back doors though.
Finally, I think you were the one to say that you corrected the B pillar seat belt noises yourself. What did you do? I don't want to have to take the whole pillar trim piece off. I just need to stop that annoying creaking. It is somehwere in the sliding mechanism, I think. It's a kind of plastic to plastic rubbing noise and it's drivng me bonkers.
It is also useful for establishing a new cruising speed and making the transition as smooth as it could be (like an automatic).
Finally, it decreases wear in your synchros.
Before the synchros era, the only way to shift was double-declutch and matching revs!
Try matching revs at the beginning, say doing 40 on 4, press the clutch, coast to about 30mph, blip the throttle to raise rpm to 3000 or so and release the clutch on 3rd (you might need to experiment and use your ears more than your eyes in the tach in order to estimate the appropriate rpms.
Also, beware that the engine rev limiter, although design to protect you while accelerating, (I Believe) will not protect you in a downshift. If you are doing 70 and downshift to 2nd without decreasing your speed, you will exceed the red line and the rev limiter will not protect you.
Harlequin1971: I recently had a Pioneer CD changer installaed in the trunk and am having problems with it. It works intermittently. When I turn the car off and return to it, the CD player sometimes works and sometimes doesn't. If I go back to the trunk and unplug the unit from the adapter and then plug it in again, it works. The cassette and radio always work. It is as if the radio unit doesn't remember that the CD player exists. We tried two CD units and two adaptors but no luck.
Do you have any ideas what might be the cause of this problem? I'd appreciate your input.
Thanks, ButMyWife
It is also useful for establishing a new cruising speed and making the transition as smooth as it could be (like an automatic).
Finally, it decreases wear in your synchros.
Before the synchros era, the only way to shift was double-declutch and matching revs!
Try matching revs at the beginning, say doing 40 on 4, press the clutch, coast to about 30mph, blip the throttle to raise rpm to 3000 or so and release the clutch on 3rd (you might need to experiment and use your ears more than your eyes in the tach in order to estimate the appropriate rpms.
Also, beware that the engine rev limiter, although design to protect you while accelerating, (I Believe) will not protect you in a downshift. If you are doing 70 and downshift to 2nd without decreasing your speed, you will exceed the red line and the rev limiter will not protect you.
Yes, there is a TSB and it didn't work for me.--cars built after the tsb still exhbit this problem. Some dealers are capable of doing what I did--- the dealers i visited were too lazy or stupid to do it-- and 1 dealer replaced the lower b pillar trim thinking it would make a difference (I have no idea what he thought the logic of that was). Maybe you'll have better luck if you don't want to do this yourself. Like I said, if you do this yourself, the most you'll be out is $10--but you'll be able to pinpoint all of the noises precisely (and there are several noises that are made by these parts).
One more thing-- not to get your hopes down, but as you start to fix noises, you'll begin to hear other noises that you weren't focused on before. A little patience and some felt can work wonders. Another squeak area that I fixed was where the bottom of the rear seat cushion (in the case of leather and probably the vinyl too), rubs agains the plastic piece the goes underneat the seat cushion. slide some felt under there and the noises will stop. Rear deck noises can be solved by putting felt between the plasic vent and the rear parcel shelf- but this involves quite a bit of disassmbly. There are some door noises that I'm sure could be solved in this way too- but i'm not up to taking apart the doors yet. I don't know why BMW can't just send some sound engineers out in one of their 3 series w/ a couple of stethoscopes and spend a few days to fix all of these noises. It would probably cost them an extra 50 cents in materials per car to do so tops. Very sad that they can't figure this out after almost 4 years of production.
Pioneer CD changer, are you still using the BMW factory head unit with an adaptor to run a cable back to the CD changer?
Since you have changed both the CD changer and the adaptors, they shouldn't be the problem.
I would assume that the remote power signal path has a flaw or short somewhere. You said you have used a new adaptor without having any success. Have you tried replacing the cable itself? The cable could have a short in one of the wires. This would explain the intermitent problem rather well, sometimes it makes contact, sometimes not.
Otherwise, it could be a bad pin in the plugs themselves, either at the changer, or at the head unit. If you are using an adaptor to run the pioneer changer to an OEM deck, it could be a problem with the adaptor design itself.
Last but not least, the head deck itself could be the problem, it may have a bad circuit that fails when checking for the external changer.
You may want to see if there is another company that manufactures the adaptor plug accessory and try that. Or run a new cable from the head unit back to the changer. Last but not least, you may need to replace the head unit.
These all fall under the cost/advantage formula. You have already trouble shooted the two most likely causes, and short of installing a factory changer and seeing if it works better, it would be hard to identify where the failure is coming from.
Hope that helps some. If not too dear, try running a new cable from the head deck back to the changer and see if that solves it, or find a different adaptor.
That alone makes the brand-new, top-of-the-line Accord feel cheap compared to my 9-year-old BMW.
The store which sold me the Pioneer changer (CDX-P1270) and adaptor assures me that both have worked in many other 3 series cars just like mine and they concur with you that there might be problems with the head unit or the cable.
I have an appointment next Wednesday with the BMW dealer to try the ideas you have suggested. If the problem lies with the head unit or the prewire cable I'm assuming it will be a warranty issue. I'm prepared to put a factory changer in if necessary but would like this one to work as I believe it is a better unit and costs about $250 less.
I'll let you know what happens. Again, thanks for sharing your expertise.
ButMyWife
One option is to buy an FM modulator than connects directly to the antennae input of the head unit. Obviously, this will cause some loss in frequency response.
Second option would be to connect through the CD changer wiring. I haven't investigated too much, but I believe the CD changer connects through an IP bus. I've found an adapter, Pioneer CDRB10, that may be just the ticket. The question is would the head unit recognize the connection and allow selection of the CD changer as an input?
I should just go to the local car audio shop and plug the adapter in to see what happens.
Another off topic question, any suggestions on a home theater pre amp, amp combination or receiver? I've got a pair of Vandersteen speakers and a Velodyne powered sub. I'll probably end up with 4 in ceiling speakers for a 7.1 system. The stereo shop recommended Integra units, but I haven't taken the time yet to look into it.
Thanks for your help
-murray
Are there things I wish the car had? Absolutely. Climate control system moronic? Uh huh. Stereo marginal? Yup. Expensive? Well, my screen name addresses that.
Does any of that matter? Um...no. I've never been so hung up on a car. Yesterday I had to move my car over in the garage a foot or two to make room for my wife to park. Since I was getting in and turning the key and all, it was physically impossible to simply back up a few feet, turn the wheel and pull forward again. I felt compelled to take it out and drive for awhile. Nowhere to go. Just tooled around for awhile by myself, sunroof open, stereo blasting. Ended up justifying it by stopping by McDonald's (fumbling with the lame coin holder to come up with the money) and picking up shakes for my son and I on the way home.
Leenelsonmd is right on. I find myself thinking about the car in ways one usually reserves for Pheobe Cates in Fast Times at Ridgement High fantasies.
Five weeks into it, I regret nothing and I wouldn't change a thing.
Pros: handles and brakes well. Excellent gas mileage at high speed. Very stable. Very solid build. Enough room for my wife and I (who needs passengers). Beautiful interior.
Cons: that I can't get my car optioned like the rest of the world. If it is a sport sedan then the sport suspension should be standard on the 325i like the 330i. I want standard clears like Europe. non-DVD based Nav.No dual climate control
Not necessarily pros or cons: I'm not an audiophile but why compete with M-B to determine who can keep a CD player an option the longest. Yes, Lexus and Infiniti do not make better cars than the Germans but they seem to be more in touch with the average American car buyer. I am glad to see that the Germans put technology where it counts: clean interior vs. a million cupholders, DSC vs. massaging seats, Bi-Xenon lights vs. armrest icebox. If you want a video game, buy a Lexus, Infiniti or Acura. I hope that BMW continues to make great handling cars that are fun to drive. Also, we will always see a manual on a BMW, or else we will see the disappearance of M Motorsport(car has to be a manual to carry the M badge). To be honest, anything that I want on my BMW can be added. I intend to keep my car for a long time and do some cosmetic mods (i.e. M retrofit aero kit, clears, wood brake handle, leather/wood steering wheel and dump the cup holders) and maybe take some driving lessons.
My thanks to Nobee for sending me a copy of the Esso map booklet -- my copy is now a well used veteran. I did supplement it with 1 foldout map of all Germany, which is useful when planning a cross-country route.
Our trip was uneventful until I was within 200 meters of the Harms dropoff point in Amsterdam. I was then pulled over by what I thought were cops, but what were actually customs officers checking for stolen cars. After they were satisfied that I was okay I asked them for directions and they couldn't help me but were friendly. After I had started up again and gone another 100 meters they came tearing back and told me to follow them as they had found the place, so I had a police escort up to the Harms building!
I'll try to post some pictures later this week.
Trouble is, any aftermarket unit loses some of the nice styling of the factory deck. Most of the new units are full of multi-color flashy displays that just don't belong in a BMW (IMO). I have found that Nakamichi makes some nice looking head units that will at least allow you to match colors, they have an amber display that will blend with the red displays in BMW.
Long story short - OEM is the easiest way to go, Pioneer may have an alternative solution for you, or you may want to consider scrapping the head unit for an aftermarket. FM modulator CD changers usually lose too much information IMO and only give you convenience, not quality sound.
Guess it all depends on your need for sound, and the level at which you want it to perform. Is this car a lease? If so, you can still put in an after market stereo and pull it at the end of the lease, just keep the BMW stored away. Nakamichi also makes a nice 6-disc in dash system that fits a standard DIN opening.
It's to connect my iPod (MP3 player with 50 CD's of music).
If it came to replacing the head unit, I would skip the change since that would probably render the steering wheel controls useless.
If the CD changer adapter won't work, I think an FM modulator wired directly to the antennae input would be the way to go. I will loose a little frequency response, but I think the signal should be strong and clean.
-murray
postoak: welcome back. I too have found the nasty glare of my wife when I've pressed the pedal just a bit too hard.
I have a question about the Euro front bumper thingie. My front license plate fell off this weekend because the holes on the license plate holder don't line up with CA license plates. Anybody else notice this? The dealer actually drilled different holes in the black license plate frame to hold the plate. I HATE that. I know this was posted a while back, but I can't remember how far back to go.
What were the issues with installation of the non-license-plate-framed Euro front end and how did it look (as far as gaps)? Somebody posted installation info and how to make the gaps smaller or get rid of them. I'd be interested in hearing from you about it, either here or via email.
Oh yeah, how much was it?
Thanks,
Paul
What is an RF? Is this another term for an FM modulator? How does it connect to the head unit and how do you select the aux input on the head unit?
Thanks
-murray
One caution: These are a LONG way from performance tires like your Conti Sport Contacts. I like them for my Maxima, and because I accept the compromises of an allseason tire, but they don't handle as well as the Goodyears, and the RSA's can't touch the Conti's for performance (although I found them acceptable for the occasional hard driving that I do, and for the limits of the Maxima and my courage).
I find my RE950's to be barely acceptable for my driving style, and I can easily outdrive them on the Maxima. They squeal easier, and while the breakaway is progressive, the car pushes much more noticeably than with the RSA's. Actually, I liked the RSA's, but they road like Flintstone's tires when they got 15,000 mi on them, were a little too noisy, and cost a fortune to replace. Next set of allseasons I buy will be a more aggressive handling tire (maybe the next most aggressive Bridgestone), but short of pure summer rubber. I like the quieter, smoother ride of allseasons, and changing to snows is not for me.
Just wanted to give you a heads up before you buy. If you really like the current handling of your SP and you drive your SP hard, you will be very disappointed with the 950's.
I picked up my 325ci(Silver/Black, 5-speed, SP, PP, HK) via Euro Delivery in Munich May 25, 2001. I HIGHLY recommend Euro Delivery. It is truly an experience you will cherish; although, waiting for the car to float home across the Atlantic is some cruel form of "water dripping" type of slow medievel torture. Anyway, I knew I wouldn't be able to leave the car in it's natural state so I have performed a few modifications:
Clear indicators - rice? No. I think it makes the car "cleaner" looking and they deliver the cars with clear lenses in Europe anyway.
Leather shift knob - didn't like the wood shift knob. Wanted the feel of the leather shift knob I had on my departed 318ti.
Titanium window tint - A nice tint on a Silver BMW looks bitchin.
Conforti Cold Air Intake - Just installed it on Saturday. I'm very happy with it. It provides a nice "growl" at moderate to full throttle. It throws off a lite intermittent "hissing" sound at light throttle but it's not bad at all. It supposedly provides a bit extra Hp and torque but my "seat of the pants" can't really tell for sure. I am waiting for the Shark Injector for the E46. The Shark and the CAI should provide some meaningful power increase. The CAI install was fairly easy.
Autobahn Driving Mirror - I like this thing even more than I thought I would. This is a smallish 3 inch mirror that sticks to the lower left corner of your windshield. It provides line-of-site to your blind spot. It took some getting use to but now I don't have to crane my neck to perform a safe lane change. Do a google search on Autobahn mirror and you'll find it. Several on-line suppliers have it.
A mod for me:
BMW One-Day Car Control Clinic - In Spartanburg, SC. I highly recommend this class. This is undoubtedly the best "mod" you can spend your money on - your own abilities as a driver and knowing your machine. And if you want to know how these cars really handle in extreme situations and how well engineered they are then here you go.
That's all the mods. I still find excuses to drive this car and I don't expect that to change any time soon. I don't think there is anything I would change about the car. I have had NO problems with this car. Sometimes I do lust after the power of a 330 and I would want an excuse to go back over to Germany for another Euro Delivery but this car has really grown on me and it's plenty powerful. I can't believe it is rated at 184 Hp - it feels stronger. Anyway, knock on wood. When I get my first door ding my wife will have to commit me for a short time. Anyway, felt like expressing myself. Thanks for "listening".
Tell that to my brother who's 96' 328 was nothing but problems mainly electrical. Alternator crapped out at 40K, rear tail lights burned out every 18 months loose trim on door panels at 50K leaking valve gasket at 65K. My 95' Acura Legend 6-spd GS problems to date. One problem a squeeking door hinge tight as a drum inside and out running suberb with 77K miles on Mobil 1 juice. What a solid made car. Acura bring this car back! Look who's number 1 rated in long term durablilty and realibility it aint any German brand.
Speaking of video games the new 7 i-drive certainly qualifies. Total overly complex system doesn't belong in any Bimmer but looks like it's coming to the 5 series too. This will be obselete in no time. Poor design execution. The new 7's on recall already for electrical.
I'm in no way trying to troll or flame BMW but there's hard data and statistics that the German brands don't have the realibility and quality of Japanese top luxury brands and surely Lexus. MB quality lately is bad news.
Maybe in the future I'll own a German brand and certainly can afford it but I don't trust them once the warranty runs out. I recall a MB executive laughing when Lexus was launched in 89' I'll bet he's not laughing any more.
For MP3 players, FM modulation should be good enough. The inherent compression of the MP3 format is reducing fidelity anyway, so you should be just fine with this work-around.
Note to self: Find out if the after-market players have found a work around for steering wheel controls. So many autos are coming equipped with this feature now that I would assume something is available to use the SW controls to power after-market units. I will check into this.
On surround sound:
Couple of issues with your questions, Murray.
Amp/Pre-Amp or Receiver? If you want to run a true 7.1 system, most pre-amp/amp systems are not prepared to give you this output right now. Most amps are at most 5 channel, requiring an additional 2-channel amp to fill the 7 channel requirements. Meanwhile, top of the line receivers should have full 7 channel capabilities. You are looking to do a THX Ultra2 theater, right?
My recommendation is the Denon AVR5803. 170 watts into 7 full channels (beautiful architecture and workmanship as well) and ready to handle all the current Surround Formats. Check into it at http://www.del.denon.com/catalog/pdfs/avr58033.pdf
Note: the Denon remote on this receiver is a RF remote, which can be operated from another room, or out of direct sight (you can place the equipment behind a wall and still use the remote.) It is fully-programmable and customizable. The Denon is also a good multi-room receiver, allowing multi-source capability. You can run the HT in one room and pipe the radio, CD or any other source to other rooms if you have a multi-room installation.
Pioneer also makes a great receiver at this level, which I know has some neat video features for a High Definition System. The receiver will take in any source video (VCR, DVD, Satellite) and upconvert the signal if needed to a component output, requiring just one cable run to your Video Monitor. Not sure if the Denon does this, it hadn't arrived at the stores before I left my position. May also want to investigate the top offering from Marantz.
Speakers: Use caution here. The most important aspect of the HT system is the speakers. Proper voicing is key to making your speakers disappear and gain you the illusion of surround. If you start mixing and matching other brands to your Vandies, you will undoubtably gain some voice matching issues (and very likely some efficiency problems as well, causing volume/power problems). Think of it this way, you wouldn't want 3 Pirelli P-Zeros and a single Michelin Pilot tire on your car for performance driving.
I suggest looking for video application Vandersteen speakers that can match with your mains (if they exist), or putting the Vandersteens somewhere else within the home (a dedicated stereo listening room - study/den?) and purchasing a new set of speakers for the HomeTheater. The critical issue for the HT set-up is voice matching for the entire field, so buy speakers from the same manufacturer within the same series throughout. Best advice I can give is to audition in-wall speakers (the "weak spot") and when you find the ones you like, fill in the rest with speakers from that manufacturer that uses the same series, or same speaker materials.
Klipsch makes a nice full series of reference speakers, both in-wall and standard. Klipsch tend to be too bright for some people, however. Definitive Technology makes a full series as well. Too many good manufacturers out there to name them all.
Sorry for way off-topic post. Murray - any more questions? Clarifications?
-Chris
Your average Japanese television is pretty reliable, too,...does it put a smile on your face just to look at it or use it? Read this month's Car & Driver review of the new Lexus ES300. I can't say it much better.
BTW, BMWs are pretty reliable.