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bmwwagonmaster - My wife loved the joke!
I have to admit to staring into my rearview mirror often when I am stopped at a traffic light.
My own statistical analysis, gleaned over 25 years of driving, confirms that the average motorist is a drooling moron who is not paying attention to the road ahead.I saw someone eating soup with a spoon today as they were driving-I spill it all down my front (luckily it drains into the cuffs on my pants) even when I am sitting in a stationary restaurant. People talk on cell phones, read papers, curl their hair, pluck their eyebrows,remove that annoying sock lint from between their toes, talk to someone in the back seat-or if it is late at night and in New Jersey- talk to someone in the trunk.
The author Stephen King was run over by some moron who was fussing over his dog in the back seat.
I do believe in "karma", in that if you do something wrong it will come back to haunt you and so these guys will get their just desserts in time-even if it is just one of their gold teeth falling out or a gold chain getting caught in some chest hair. Unfortunately, none of us will be there to witness it.
Best wishes to you.
I'm headed for the Haas School of Business at Berkeley. Given my family situation (wife and toddler), I didn't want to be trekking across the country to some school for two years, and then have to move again. I'm a Californian at heart and both my wife and I wish to return and settle in the Bay Area. So I limited my applications to three schools: UT-Austin (current home and a top 20), Berkeley (top 10 or 20 depending on who's ranking you look at), and Stanford (arguably #1, although Harvard could say the same).
Was accepted to UT and Cal, but not Stanford. Although it would have been wonderful to gain admission to The Farm, I'm overjoyed to be Haas-bound.
MBA admissions, especially at the top schools, merits a whole separate discussion. (In fact, I'm a regular at the Business Week Message Boards, an invaluable source of information and fun for those going through the trials of applying and waiting for the decision letters.)
Thank you for your generous words and I will certainly look you up if I am ever in Boston. Great city BTW. Was there back in '95 when I visited my sister at Dartmouth. Lots of history for an American city.
I'll report on whether this is true or not after I take delivery (should be within the next few days).
Why is BMW unable to engineer a 3-series coupe with AWD? (Given how long it them to offer an in-dash CD maybe I shouldn't be surprised?)
http://www.huperoptik.com/choice.html
Yesterday's clues:
Two doors & four seats (gotta take the wife and kiddies along you know).
Built in the good old U.S.A. between 1955 and 1956.
300 cubic inch Boxer 6 with a 1 barrel updraft carb.
About 145 HP (still enough for a top end over 120mph).
New clues:
The "Boxer Six" engine is air-cooled.
You have to manually set the air fuel mixture.
This vehicle has only three wheels.
That should make it a little easier, so stay tuned.
Best Regards,
Shipo
I have a big screen tv here but rarely have it turned on except to watch tapes of MST3000 as I like a nighttime chuckle. Also use it to rent movies-100% agreed on American Beauty-must also reccommend "Wonderboys" now on dvd-dark comedy with Sir Michael Douglas. These entertainments can help keep one's mind off such things as your BMW build status..."Your car is in 139-paint shop-Helmut has just lifted the lid from the can...looks like Steel Blue...Wolfgang is picking up the spraygun...you are about to go into 140...wait! Wait! Cancel that-Wolfgang has asked the supervisor if he can take a bathroom break so it looks like you are still in 139!"
ô¿ô (recent photograph)
Best Regards,
Shipo
hey, i'm glad you signed up on our team. we'll take good care of you. and honestly, i've always had respect for good negotiators. we were trying to save a dime on the cream cheese but no - you had to have phily cream cheese too. do you read bukowski? "i don't come cheap, can you afford my services?" "well, not sure, how much do you charge?" "6 bucks an hour" and free cream cheese i might add. well, if that's what it takes to seal the deal, we'll do it. i'm going to get me another beer and i'll swing by the 7-11 for cream cheese.
Hey, I find it really amusing that you have to explain what breaking80 means in your Town Hall profile. My first reaction when I saw your user ID was damn, here's a good golfer who's proud of himself. I don't know if I'll ever break 80 - this is only my third season and I am in high 90's. Lot of room for improvement and it's great to get out early in the morning and hit some balls with my golfing buddy.
As far as performance goes, obviously the mill up front is the most important. There is a company that has approvals to put a modern fuel injected 360cid 210HP engine (Continental IO-360KB) in place of the old O-300. Set up with a properly matched propeller, the old 170 should have a "Cruise" speed (75% power) of around 140mph@10gph (that works out to a nice 14 mpg at 140) and a top end of a little over 150mph.
On the other hand, I suspect that the Perspire that ya'll were talking about a while back will out turn the 170 unless the pilot is pushing some boundaries that are best explored when you have a LOT of altitude. For one thing, a 170 handles best at something over 90mph, given that, I guarantee that it cannot turn on a dime, with the exception that is of the dreaded ground loop.
What is a Ground Loop? Glad you asked. With most modern aircraft the tail wheel has been repositioned under the nose of the aircraft and the main gear is moved aft, this is called a Tricycle gear. Such a configuration has the CG somewhere between the "Front" tail wheel and the main gear, so that when you land, the plane naturally aligns the wheels to the direction of travel. With conventional gear aircraft with the tail wheel in its proper position, the CG is between the main gear and the tail wheel. Needless to say, every landing is like accelerating up hill in a 3XXi on a snow/ice covered road with the DSC turned off, that is to say, the back end wants to pass the front end, or a "Ground Loop".
The benefit of a conventional gear plane such as the 170 is that you can land on rough fields, sand bars, snow covered glaciers or just about anywhere else that is sort of flat and has a few hundred feet of room. Try that with a tricycle gear aircraft, and you will find yourself upside down. Needless to say, a taildragger is sort of the stick shift of the airplane world. ;-)
Best Regards,
Shipo
My invention is a new computer mouse that does not cause Carpal Tunnel Syndrome (CTS). I invented it because while I was working on the Mercedes project back in 1996, I got a case of CTS from my mouse that was so bad that I could not shift my car. As Brave1heart can tell you, the 5-Speed that VW hooks up to the VR6 is VERY easy to shift, so my case of CTS was REAL BAD.
After over 4 years of work (and legal fees), my patent (6,104,383) was published last August. If you want to look up the patent, simply go to http://www.delphion.com/details?pn=US06104383__.
At this point, I have several vendors reviewing my design, to date, two have mentioned the "R" word (royalties), but so far, it has all been talk. Just today, Hammacher Schlemmer called me and asked me if I had a working prototype (not yet). Who knows, I might wind up selling through them before anybody decides to bundle it with their new computer.
I looked up your web site, no feedback, cool stuff, what is your background? If I remember correctly, neither one of us finished college, unless you count the school of hard knocks. ;-)
Best Regards,
Shipo
Best Regards,
Shipo
I'm still trying to find my way around the aircraft terminology but it sounds like you're going for the "manual" of all mothers of planes. Let's see how many mice you need to hunt to get the plane you want
I got my car back this evening after having the steering retro done. If I had to sum it up in two words, they would be "Do it!". I'll try to hit on the important issues here and if anyone has any questions, I'll be glad to try to answer them.
what they did - according to the invoice, the steering box was replaced (no mention of it being remanufactured like in the write-up on BMWnation),
there was also a universal joint and a couple seals and bolts replaced. The swap was followed by a four wheel alignment.
weight - the first thing that I noticed was that the steering was still considerably lighter than 2000 models (instant back to back comparo since I had a 2000 323i as a loaner car), but was heavier than it was two days earlier. I wouldn't think it would be considered too heavy by anyone.
road-feel - this was key. there was a drastic improvement in road feel! I'm not sure what the best way to describe this is so I'll use the time honored phrase of "you feel as though you're connected to the road". I especially noticed this when going into a corner pretty hot and the car started to understeer a little. Previously, I could tell the car was understeering simply because it wasn't heading where I thought is should be (and that evil orange triangle on the dash was blinking), but now I could literally feel the front tires gradually giving up grip and ultimately starting to slide.
highway driving - the car seemed to be less likely to 'tramline' on rutted roads. it also seemed less likey to wander on good sections of road... fewer corrections needed.
backroad driving - one of my biggest complaints with the steering since I got my car was the on-center 'slop'. i would start turning into a corner and the car wouldn't react immediately, so i'd turn the wheel a little more and next thing I knew I was crossing the center line heading into the wrong lane. My inputs were initially ignored, then over reacted to (make sense?). After the change the steering is more linear and gives me a lot more confidence... again, the word "connected" comes to mind.
can it really have made this much difference or is some of it being created in my mind? hopefully i'll be able to sort out fact from fantasy over the next couple of days and I'll be sure to repost if I believe anything i've written was imagined.
alarm activation; .5 hours labor charge of $35. If your dealership wants to charge more than $40, I'd recommend looking elsewhere.
rear-deck "rattle"; what I thought was a vibration in the rear deck during deep bass notes turned out to be a blown sub in the H-K system. Parts are on order...
Sorry...just had to add that.
denk: The Chicago Area dealer that offer that is Patrick BMW. It's called their Red Star Program and it's for Patrick customers only. It's a very nice program. They'll pick up almost anywhere, from home to work garage to the airport. It's very convenient. I believe they only use BMW's for their loaners. It was very tempting and they offered me my second best deal in the Chicago area. Fields gave me the best deal and it's my local dealer with free carwashes and free BMW loaner for any Fields customer who brings a car in for service. I found that most upscale car dealers in the Chicago area provide free loaners, and most with the brand they are selling.
What model are you considering?
Shipo: Congrats on the patent. If you produce it, I'll buy one.
First, is this car going to be your sole means of transportation during the long, lake-effect snow-ridden winter?
Second, you say you prefer the 330i. Have you test driven them both? If so, have you test driven them both in dry AND wet conditions?
I have tested them both in wet and dry. On dry roads, I found the 330xi to be equally fast off the line and equaly adept in corners. I suppose you might have a better feel for this than I, but to my judgment, the difference in dry driving conditions was imperceptible.
Driving them both in wet conditions, I found the 330i to be surprisingly grippy for a RWD car, but I also experienced enough slippage on one wet pavement turn that I got a little scared. Furthermore, the 330xi jumps off the line a little better in wet conditions due to the AWD grip.
I decided that, because DC gets a fair amount of snow and quite a lot of freezing rain, I am going to shell out the $1750 for the AWD. I figured it was a small sacrifice in performance and finances, and in return I get a nice added sense of security in inclement conditions.
If you are interested, I can give you several 330xi and 330i reviews that you might find enlightening. Let me know if you want them.
thanks for the response. this car will be the only one i will be driving. i have driven both versions in dry conditions, thus the concern over wet, ice, etc.
thanks again!
I think it's funny how we've all become accustomed to the FWD mantra of winter driving safety and performance.
That said...I used to live in Minnesota, and if I was still there, I'd be buying a 330xi. I don't think you'll go wrong either way you choose.
Tell us more, I want to know how you feel about it in a day or two.
none of the dated look encouraging enough for me to be able to take delivery this month though. More than likely the first week of July.
Speaking of which, 20 years ago women still smoked and drank when they were pregnant, and no one used child seats or seat belts. The mere fact that people were accustomed to different circumstances 20 years ago doesn't mean that things today aren't better or smarter.
I may contemplate the steering retrofit as well. I find the steering light, but I don't find any of the on-center play or tracking irregularities that some have described. The steering feedback is there, too. The only thing I'd change about it would be the effort level required to turn the wheel. It's not as light as my previous Camry, but it doesn't require much heft, either. I think I may test-drive an "old" and/or "new" steering model this weekend at the dealership to see differences firsthand...based on that and what others' input to the board, I'll decide.
I'm also doing the Ultimate Drive thing this weekend. I have a 530i and 740iA reserved. Does anyone have any experience on how the steering effort of the "lightest" 3 compares with the 5 or 7?
I've read other posts by the folks on bimmer.org that have had wk 19 builds (typically 330's) in Germany and they have already recieved their cars.
Really,for most applications,it is the better solution.But I believe in picking a car,not a drive system-I have one of each.
So why do so many premium German brands use RWD?One good reason is the unpleasant sensation accelerating can give one in a FWD car,espically when steering at the same time.It gives the car an unsettled feeling.The car is not unstable,but it can be a little disconcerting and unmannerly.And in a premium brand,the sacrifices make some sense-the car is just more pleasant to drive with RWD.
But it is also an economy move.All the German companies use a given engine in more than one platform.It is too expensive to re-engineer a powertrain from RWD to FWD.They would rather spend their development money elsewhere.But these somewhat smaller companies don't have bottomless.
Consider the new BMW Compact-a really neat little car.But as an entry-level introduction to BMW,FWD would make it much handier.
I am wondering if good all season tires and traction control would be ok (I'll even add the bags of salt to the trunk). Or do I need to get snow tires fitted for winter? (They clean the roads fairly well here and it will be mostly city/suburbia driving).
I'd appreciate the input.
Armed with that, you can go to http:\\www.wlna.com and track that ships schedule. It is quite accurate. The departure / arrival ports I used were: Bremerhaven (depart) and Charleston (arrive). FYI, once my ship arrived (June 1), it took only SIX days for my car to arrive in Louisiana!!!
Good luck, the end is near!
With a good set of snow tires, you'll have no problem. Use engine braking and you'll be fine. Plus, a little fishtailing can be fun on an open road.
burrsr - the '00 528i SP 5-speed I test drove had wonderful steering - tight and responsive - what you would expect from a BMW. I've heard there have been no changes to the '01 models. BTW, the 528/530 steering (rack-and-pinion) is noticeably better than the 540 (recirculating ball). Even 540 owners will acknowledge this fact.
It's funny that even though the 5er is more of a luxury car than the 3er, BMW stayed true to its heritage and didn't muck with the steering. I could hazard a guess as to why, but then the PC police would be jumping all over me...