BMW 3-Series 2005 and earlier

ccotenj

well, true, unfortunately, while eliminating themselves from the gene pool, they also occasionally take out someone who shouldn't be eliminated...

-Chris

brave1heart

I ordered an ECIS CAI and a Racing Dynamics strut tower brace this weekend. I heard a 325ci with the ECIS CAI at the autoX last weekend and the sound is AWESOME!!! I mean, I just went to the driver after his run and I told him I wanted what he had put in there. If I get some acceleration gains, that would be a bonus - to me, it's worth getting it just for the sound. And from the research that I've been doing, I've determined that a strut tower brace is the cheapest and easiest way of improving your car's handling noticeably. I rode in a 325i with a strut tower brace and it felt flatter even at very lower speed. I am very conservative and patient when it comes to changing my car but I am confident that these two mods are worth the money. I hope I'd be able to put them in myself.

nyccarguy

It all starts with a CAI and a Strut Tower Brace, next you'll be telling us about your 3' Aluminum Wing, Altezza Style Tail Lights, Type R Stickers, and Powered By BMW seat-belt covers:) Just kidding.

How's the Auto-X season progressing for you? Is it over yet?

Thanks to all for your good wishes!

genie1

div2:
Thanks...the guy is an experienced mechanic and has worked on European cars for a long time. I haven't been able to find an independent BMW mechanic in the Toronto area, so my current choices are this guy or the dealership. It's still a small leak so I can wait a couple more weeks to fix the problem.

If anyone knows of a reputable independent BMW shop...please let me know.

brave1heart

Don't forget the undercarriage neon lights - those will shave off at least a few seconds every autoX run )

It's going great - I am making a lot of progress. I really enjoy it and look forward to every event. Final event from the regular season is this weekend.

nyccarguy

How could I forget about the undercarriage neon lights? With those along with the previos modifications I mentioned, your 325i Type R should be pusing at least an additional 300 horsepower!

Shave a few seconds:) Ha-Ha! That's a good one!

Good luck this weekend! You need me and some of my associates to take some steps to somehow make the Auto-X more favorable to you? I've been watching way too much Sopranos:)

kominsky

Did he have an aftermarket exhaust as well or does just the CAI change the sound that much?

seivwrig

When you make get ECIS CAI mod, let me know the noticable gains. I'm leaning to making exterior mods first before messing with the engine. I want to get a Rieger or Kerscher ground effects. Then probably go with the smoked lenses. I like the aggressive look. I still can't get over the Porsche sequence in Condorman. The Porsches were so fluid, it was like ballet.

dave330i

Lucky you brave. I've been so busy (in a good way), I haven't autox this season at all. Let us know how you like the mods. BTW, make sure your mods don't bump you up a class.

Also, how are your tires wearing? I've decided to get S-03s.

brave1heart

Just the CAI. He still has the stock exhaust. You have to hear it to believe it - it's all growl.

brave1heart

My class is 60-80 points. My stock 325i SP is good for 62 points, which puts me right at the bottom of the class. CAI is only 1-2 points and a strut brace is another point. I can probably still add a supercharger and be in the same class - that's how disadvantaged the 325's are because we are in the same class with the 330's. That said, I could not be happier that I got the 325. This left me money to buy a V1, alarm, snow tires with alloy rims, a good racing helmet and Pilotis, CAI, strut brace, and 3-4 grand to spare ) I'd much rather put the money in suspension mods than power gains.

I like the Sumitomos. The rears have a lot of tread left after 8K miles on them with 3-4 autoX events and one driving school. My only complaint is that the sidewalls are relatively soft and they could be better in the rain but other than that, they offer more than what I bargained for. You can't go wrong with the SO3's if you can afford them. They were $50 more than the Sumi's last time I looked at them and you will probably get fewer miles out of them but they seem like the best street performance tires right now.

dave330i

According to Tirerack, S-03 have better treadwear compaired to Sumitomos. You are right about them costing almost twice as much though.

yank23ees

Can anyone recommend a dealer with a customer friendly service dept ??

I have my 15k visit coming up soon

tgravo2

I was not knocking the M3 at all, I own a BMW, I was just saying that I read an article about an IS 430 which would compete with the M3, personally I would buy an M3 any day over any IS

locke2c

quote: was just saying that I read an article about an IS 430 which would compete with the M3, personally I would buy an M3 any day over any IS

*no* manufacturer can hold such sway over me. there are certainly brands I prefer and I have my reasons for those biases, but I will not reject something that I haven't tried or that isn't even available yet.

as an E36 M3 owner I honestly think that I would rather have a C32 AMG than a new M3. I think the M3 is a fine car, but when you make the same horsepower but with TONS more torque thanks to a supercharger that's not a tough choice. neither car is a lightweight, svelte tossable thing. both cars are superb Grand Tourers... and a naturally aspirated 3.2L just isn't a lot of motor to get a 3400lb car moving.

therefore I can easily see a forced induction six cylinder or an eight cylinder becoming the norm for the rabid-performance GT niche.

-Colin

mschukar

I don't want to start another debate on the benefits of winter tires, I already know the answer to that :-) What I do want to know is which winter tires do you have for your BMW and would you buy them again?

We have Blizzaks for our Volvo and they work great in the snow, but I think other brands might be better on dry pavement. What do you think?

Thanks
-murray

golfnut7

Sorry i am a few days late responding. This thing called work gets in the way of life. The Arkansas dealer I refered to is BMW of NW Arkansas in Rogers, AR. They do not have a website up yet but their number is 800-454-4278. I spoke with a salesman named Mike Rowden. I bought my 325 a year ago from Reliable BMW in Springfield, Missouri from a salesman named Jerry Dutcher. It was a great experience and they were very competitive. It would be worth giving them a call too. Their website is www.reliableautos.com

jeopardized

My previous post was at 19605.

I guess I should have been more specific with my question. The car I test drove had sport and luxury packages, leather and the H/K stereo. Don't know for sure what other options.

My concerns were: What could cause an apparently intermittent failure of the door lock to open when worked by the handle? This makes no sense to me, barring an accident or some basic problem with the door latch; Is there any inherent problem with cars that were used as company cars or were otherwise not sold on the open market?; Why wouldn't the car be certified, especially in light of how hard BMW pushes its CPO program? Is this a sign of trouble?; If the car has been owned by BMW, or the dealer, since it was built, why doesn't it come with a new car warranty?

I am probably not going to buy this or any other BMW for a while, but knowledge is power when I do look more seriously.

dl7265

Thanks for the tip, i actually lived in Springfield, back in the 80's, might be a nice fall roadtrip to take....

take care,
DL

kdshapiro

BMW door handles, at least on the 3 series, have to be pulled twice to open. When the door is locked via the key fob or key in the door, the inside door locks are disable. My guess is that the dead battery might have caused a mis-synchronization. I wouldn't worry about it.

As far as why the car isn't certified. I wouldn't by a used vehicle from a dealer, (even a Toyota) without some certification. After all that's what you are paying for. The CPO program is a very specific program in BMW. They take the creme of the crop of the automobiles and offer 'em for sale. Their website has more information on it.

twoof1

I probably should have posted this earlier but here goes. I installed the ECIS intake and Active Autowerkes exhaust about 2 months ago. while the power gains were noticable, they were slight. The sound of the intake under full throttle was indeed impressive. The exhaust also makes a smooth and soft rumble at idle and a little throaty roar under acceleration. This is NOT a loud boomy exhaust. The problem is the super annoying whistle the intake makes under partial throttle. I have owned a Dinan carbon fiber intake on my previous Z3 so I know some whistle is to be expected. The ECIS intake produced a much louder and more annoying whistle than the Dinan (remember the Z3 was a soft top too). I reported this problem to Kenny @ ECIS who is a really nice guy. He said he had a resonator kit to reduce the whistle which he cannibalized from the 5 series and he would send me one to try out. While waiting for the new part, I put on the original air box. I did not notice any kind of power loss and quite frankly it was nice to be able to listen to the exhaust without the annoying whistle. After re-installing the intake along with the new resonator kit I found that it cut the whistle by about 25%. Unfortunately 2 days after the install my "Check Engine" light came on. It did not shut off for several days so I took it in to my dealer. After investigating, they found that the resonator had a lid that ECIS had simply used silicone to attach. It did not hold up to all the heat in the engine compartment and came off. $60.00 later and my original intake re-installed, I decided I had had enough and returned the entire kit to ECIS. They were very nice about giving me a full refund. Now I am back to stock intake and kept the exhaust which in my opinion is the only component that made much of a difference. The only problem with the exhaust was the original fit as per the instructions was terrible. The tips stuck out about 3-4". Active Autowerekes basically said tough and "That's the way they are supposed to look" even though their website clearly showed the tips just tucked under the end of the rear diffuser. I just had my exhaust shop adjust and re-fit the system and it looks great now.
Sorry for the long post, but I thought you guys might want to know about some real world applications of these upgrades.

brave1heart

Thanks for the heads-up. I've known about the whistling issue with the ECIS CAI (any CAI really) but I figured I'd get used to it after a while. I talked to a 325i owner at the autoX who installed one in his car and he mentioned that his wife complained about it at first. It did not bother me when I rode with him but we were talking a lot and I may not have noticed it because of that. Could you describe better the partial throttle issue? Does it occur at the first 10-20% of gas pedal travel only or anytime the gas pedal is not floored?

BTW, I too looked at the AA exhaust but I did not like the way the exhaust tips are pointed up. I am sure that it sounds great, though.

abcnyc

Thanks for the feedback on the 17mm sockets. It looks like I can get a 17mm socket from Tirerack for about $3.

gnc

I'm looking at a 325i (nonmetallic and with xenon headlights) in Charlotte, NC. I've been quoted $30,470 for the vehicle. Is this a reasonable price or have people been able to get a substantially lower price?

nyccarguy

what's the MSRP and Dealer Invoice for this vehicle? The only option is Xenon Headlights?

gnc

nyccarguy:

The only other option is automatic transmission.

I believe that is the MSRP. The salesman tells me that they clear about $1,000 on this vehicle after handling charges and "MAACO" charges are added. Thanks for your help.

nyccarguy

If they are selling the car to you for $1000 over invoice including MAACO fees, then it seems like a very good deal. Many on the board here purchased their cars for Invoice + $1500.

pap5

Yank23ees -- BMW of Sterling (N. VA), a relatively new dealership, has a very customer friendly service dept. On two separate occasions, when I've had a mechanical problem, they've sent the shop foreman out with me to drive the car and replicate the problem. E-mail traffic among local BMWCCA members has been very positive about service there.

seivwrig

How were their exhausts priced? I'm heading to my adopted home of Miami in a week and a half. Since I am moving the stuff that I should have moved seven yrs ago. My storage is across the street from Active Autowerkes. I might have to check out the merchandise. Too bad I will not my Bimmer with me. Maybe they can splice an exhaust on my Ford pickup.

kdshapiro

I was driving home on the backroads the speed limit is 40, it’s one lane in each direction. I was doing about 42. My son was in the car with me. He was saying that this is deer mating season and that I should be careful.

Just as he said that I took my foot off the gas. There was a car approaching me, not seemingly going very fast. As we were maybe 20 feet apart (2 car lengths+), from the other side a deer jumps onto the road.

With a sickening thud, the car that was approaching me hits the deer. I swerve and successfully avoid hitting the deer and the car. In my rear view mirror I see no one else seemingly getting into an accident, but I do see the deer lay down in the middle of the road. We continued on very shaken indeed.

That other car took the hit for me, if it hadn’t been there I would have hit the deer.

Thee is no moral to this story, it just reminded me that your life could change in the blink of an eye.

twoof1

I can relate. Last weekend I was up in the Sierra's for a late season camping and fishing trip with the guys. Friday night after the sun went down we were driving back to camp and a deer jumped straight into our headlights. My buddy was driving a brand new Expedition (his wife's) and he did everything possible to avoid the deer short of taking us off of the road. End result was one dead deer and my buddies new Expedition with a trashed right front quarter panel broken headlight, fog light and trim pieces. fortunately everybody was OK but it certainly put a damper on the weekend.
PS: The fly fishing was great. Weather was cold

twoof1

The whistle really sounds kinda like a metallic whine. It was most notable from 2,500 to 3,500 RPM in any gear. If I used my car to auto X exclusively, I could definately tolerate it. However with the amount of driving I do (30,000 miles a year) it was driving me nuts.
IMO the annoying sound far outweighed the performance benefit.
Good luck, let us know how you like it.
PS: You may want to talk to Kenny @ ECIS and ask him about the retrofit resonator kit. You can tell him I mentioned it (my email name is my screen name here) he will probably remember the situation we went through. Again I think he is a stand up guy. He basically runs the company by himself.
PS: The AA exhaust has straight tips not turned up tips.

twoof1

The exhaust was $649.00 I purchased it through ECIS when I bought my CAI. I would NOT recommend Active Autowerkes products to ANYONE especially not a valued member of this forum like yourself. They totally dropped the ball on me in regards to customer service. It's a long story but suffice it to say, their service sucked.
I like the product, HATE the attitude and service.

abcnyc

Does BMW of Sterling provide loaner cars for service ?

abcnyc

I am planning on getting winter tires and wheels, and I am considering the Bridgestone Blizzak LM-22 or Michelin Pilot Alpins. From what I can gather the Blizzaks are better in snow and ice while the Piolt Alpins may be better for dry road handling. Anyone with experience on these tires and any recommendations ?

mschukar

I found these tire comparisons at tirerack.com.

test1

test2

I'm leaning towards the Blizzak LM-22 since the reason I'm getting winter tires is safety in the muck, not dry road handling.

-murray

locke2c

kdshapiro,

you didn't stop to be sure everyone in that car was alright and had a way home?

-Colin

megrdh

Hi,
My 325I has 17K mile on it, recently I have noticed a constant noise in the rear of the car. The sound likes rusty metal door hinge. One morning, when I backed the car out of the garage, it felt like I ran over something, I came out and looked: there is nothing, I backed the car again then I hear a loud click from back. I left the car home and go to work. When I was back from work, I checked and there is nothing, drove around the block, still hear the "abnormal noise", but no bumping or clicking. Planning to bring to service tomorrow, but I would like to ask for experts' opinion from this forum. Is there something wrong or I am paranoid? It is 2001 model, 16 month olds. Thanks in advance.
Meg

gurumike

I had just the ECIS CAI and I never noticed any "whistling" sound, just a mellow boomy roar under full throttle acceleration (even with the windows down!).

PS - I was never dead, so I'm not back from there!

anthonyny99

I own a 2000 acura 3.2 tl that I love but them crack heads keep stealing my lights . so I am changing from japan to germany auto . But how much more expensive is the parts and labor compare to acura , like my break pads with labor at acura dealer is $175 how much more for a bmw 325i ?

pap5

Yes, Sterling BMW provides service loaners. They have a modest (but growing, they promise) fleet of BMWs available first-come-first-served, supplemented by the onsite Enterprise operation. They'll cover the first day's cost of an Enterprise rental.

abcnyc, yank23ees -- Is D.C. becoming a haven for expat BMW owners from The City?

twoof1

As I recall, you have a 330 right? Mine is a 325. Maybe it's a 325 VS 330 thing. You used the word "Had" the ECIS. Do you still have your Bimmer?
PS: Where you been hiding? Still selling cars in SB?

vkwheels

Meg's story reminded me of a silly little thing that happened when I bought my 325i. I had it for maybe 2 days, and driving to work in the morning I heard a little grindy noise coming from my driver's side door. It would come & go, but it seemed to be worse when I turned right. I was so paranoid, thinking oh my new car my expensive car what is.... later that day I remembered I put a CD jewel box in that pocket down there, it was sliding around.
Meg, I hope your funny noise turns out to be something innocuous too.

kominsky

Consumer Reports compares H rated winter tires in this months issue. The Michelins came in last place and the Bridgestones came in 4th.

brave1heart

Thanks for your feedback on the CAI. fwiw, you guys are doing a great job at the bimmerfest site!

brave1heart

The M2 Sports, Blizzak LM22, and Michelins are rated very close on the Tirerack website. The LM22's seem to be a little better in snow and ice and the M2's seem to be slightly better on dry roads. To me, it was worth getting the M2's because most of my driving is well-maintained highways and also because they were $40/tire cheaper than the LM22's. As far as Michelin, I've never been a huge fan of their tires which tend to be overpriced.

megrdh

Hi:
I am back from the service this morning. After I described the Sx, they don't know what is wrong. I waited for an hour of diagnosis and was told my e-brake is worn. I drove home OK and parked in the garage. 2 hr later, I backed out of the garage, it happened again I had my father look at the passenger back wheel when I was backing out and feeling like I ran over somthing. He told me that he saw it elevated. I bet something must be wrong. Well, they told me it is OK , nothing is wrong. If something happens, I think they have to be responsible for failing of dx. I am not paranoid because it is a new car, but I am worried if some thing bad happens, I may cause and involve in an accident.
Is there anybody have any idea to help guiding the technicians to look at my problem? I know nothing about car
Frustrated Meg

widriver2

Hi,

I plan on ordering my winter tires by the end of the month and am wondering what people do with their summer tires. I thought I heard someone say they should be wrapped up in a bag during storgage, but can't recall for sure. Also, does it make a difference if the stored outside or in a basement?

rogerab

Which were the highest rated snow tires in Consumer Reports?

riez

Everyone should buy and read this issue. The November 2002. Consumer Reports broke their ratings into two parts: one for H-rated tires and one for Q-rated tires. They tested 6 H- (price ranged from $116-$157) and 11 Q-rated (price ranged from $50-$85) tires. H-rated were P225/55R16, to fit their 2001 BMW 530i. Q-rated were 195/70R14 to fit their 2000 Chevy Cavalier.

For H-rated, they liked the Goodyear Eagle Ultra Grip GW-2 ($132)--with Dunlop SP Winter Sport M2 ($126) and Pirelli Winter 210 Snow Sport ($155) very close behind.

For Q-rated, they liked the Kumho I'zen Stud KW-11 ($50)--with Michelin Arctic Alpin ($85) very close behind.

Great article. In a separate article CR also tested 9 Touring-performance all-season tires.

Was interesting to see they used a 530i as part of their testing. (Will be interesting to see who ends up buying that from CR when they get thru. Wonder if one of their staffers will buy it?)