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Best Regards,
Shipo
Karmikan, yes, I saw the picture in the manual. However, I don't have it in my car. Not certain why..
Sorry I can't help
Hope this helps...JL
Are sheepskin wash mitts good to use on the car?
I'm in the Northern Calif area
Most of the manufacturers use Navtech map data and simply compile it differently so that the disc suits their company. For example, only listing BMW dealers on BMW discs, whereas if you had an aftermarket. VDO disc, you can access any one of the number of dealers, among other things.
Regards,
Wabends
srfast: My MY01 SP/PP car has no MID, so I'm not sure if this became part of the premium package in '02 or later. I thought that the premium stereo is also a factor in determining which cars have the MID (mine is the non-DSP model). Can anyone else clarify this point?
BTW, the MID (Multi-Information Display) is part of the radio station display area (page 87). I believe the MID is part of the upgraded OBC.
Hope this helps..JL
Consistent with this notion is this excerpt from the new-cars.com review for the MY02 E39: "Finally, the Premium Package jams in leather upholstery...and an upgraded on-board computer."
Full summary here:
http://www.new-cars.com/2002/bmw/bmw-530i-sedan.html
Best Regards,
Shipo
Best Regards,
Shipo
P.S.
What do you drive?
FWIW, there have been plenty of times in my life where I have gotten into a car drenched to the skin from melting snow, sleet, freezing rain or even sweat from a long winter time run or cross country skiing workout, and had the interior glass fog up, even though the OAT was well below freezing. All that is necessary to clear the glass fast is to engage the A/C system. If I found out that there was a manufacturer that prevented the compressor from engaging below freezing, I would immediately eliminate that line of vehicles from future consideration.
Best Regards,
Shipo
Now if the evaporator reduces the temperature to 20F, and the defroster is at 100F, the relative humidity would be 5%. This is only a 5% increment.
Best Regards,
Shipo
Thanks
There are two critical things to keep the windows from fogging: One is to heat them up and the second is to reduce the inside humidity enough so they won't fog. The defroster does both: - 1) it heats the windshield by blowing warmed air on it - 2)the warmed air from outside will have a lower humidity which will help evaporate the moisture. Now the heater will bring in dry outside air and heat it also reducing the humidity in the car. This does take a bit of time. But if you (and other passengers) are wet, they humidify the car as you know.
No, I turned on the A/C. In fact, given that the "Defroster" on both my 1999 328i and my 2002 530i was/is so aggressive, I have only used that mode a few times in the last four years. I find it much more comfortable to simply direct the airflow toward the glass (a mode that BMW thoughtfully includes that is separate and distinct (read mutually exclusive) from the defrost mode) and turn on the A/C.
Best Regards,
Shipo
If the temperature is below freezing outside and your A/C runs the compressor, your evaporator is going to have ice build up on it. I assume that your engine compartment heat is isolated to a large extent from the outside air inlet to the passenger compartment. This implies that even though the compressor may shut down, the ice will not melt. If the system goes into a recirculate mode, (with the passenger compartment warmed up), the ice could be melted, however, the drain hole will be below freezing and how will the water run out?
The point I am trying to make is that it is both feasible and beneficial to allow the compressor to run when the OAT is below freezing, and fortunately, every A/C equipped car I have had for the last 20 years allows the compressor to engage below freezing.
Best Regards,
Shipo
Mark
Now if the air is cooled enough, (below the dew point) the moisture in the air will condense onto the evaporator and drip off (or freeze on). Actually if the evaporator is colder than the dew point of the air, water will condense on it (or freeze). As long as the outside air temperature is above freezing (and the compressor cycles on and off), water freezing onto the evaporator will melt periodically.
-- "Auto" A/C button lit up and came on
-- Fan was blowing at a high speed.
-- The air recirculate button light goes out meaning the vents where opened.
-- Within 1-2 minutes the windows cleared.
One thought about the rear window fogging over? When you engage the rear window defroster only, and with most cars they have the wires or lines on the window that heat up for defrosting the glass, there can't be a compressor going on just for that. It is just heating the glass although it does take much longer to clear then the front.
The rear window defogger works by warming the rear window (electric heating) enough to evaporate the water on it. This will only work if the cabin air has been dehumidified enough.
You dehumidify air by: 1) removing water from it which can be done by letting it flow over cold coils, or: 2) warming the air to a higher temperature. So if the outside air temperature is below freezing, probably you will heat it up to something like 60-70 F. This will change the relative humidity from 100% at 30F to around 30% or less at higher temperatures. Note that the windows will warm up some if the inside of the car is warmer than outside. But blowing warm air over the windshield will warm it up so water doesn't condense on it.
If the outside temperature is warm - say 60 and raining. Then the relative humidity at 70 is 70%. This is humid. And if the passengers are wet, the humidity will increase to 80% and the windows will fog. So running the A/C will take water out, probably reducing the dew point to 50 or so. That means the relative humidity is around 50% (perhaps less). If people are wet, they will increase it some, but with the fan bringing in dried air, hopefully things will dry out.
I know this can't be due for maintenance, any new 540 owners out there show indicators other than in yellow?
Also, in my area SF bay area, the radio has a lot of static reception on a few stations. I read in the mods board that on '03 5 series the Sirus Satellite radio is a factory option and the vehicle can be pre-wired for it. If true, has anyone tried this and how much better is the reception?
As for radio reception, FM is actually fairly good in the 5-series, but AM is rather weak. Yes, I believe the entire '03 BMW line is pre-wired for auxiliary input, with the intent of accepting Sirius satellite radio. But I'm not sure whether dealers actually have these units or not yet. Be sure to ask, since I haven't heard about anyone saying they have it.
I am envious of twisty west coast roads and Germans autobahns.
..g
If you want a 525i/530i, go out and buy it. When winter comes, invest in a set of good winter tires and you will be fine. I've owned two E36 325i's and currently own a 2003 530i with SP/PP/CWP and think it is one of the finest cars on the road. Buy what your heart wants, drive it intelligently and you'll be fine.
Hope this helps...JL
However, cars and equipment do vary, and their performance in hazardous conditions will vary as well. But, you're mixing things up here, so let's break it down:
Accelerating: Assuming a front-engined car, FWD has a slight advantage over RWD in initial traction, since there's more weight on the driving wheels. But, this only applies to the moment of accelerating from a stop. Very quickly, the balance of the car's mass shifts to the back, which favors RWD. The harder you accelerate, the more the rear wheels are important. If the road is slick, it's best to accelerate slowly, which will keep the weight balance close to static and minimize the importance of the driving wheels. At this point, it comes down to tires. If accelerating out of a turn, a RWD car is more likely to spin (oversteer) on slippery surfaces, but proper traction control (like the BMWs have) will effectively prevent this, and good tires will minimize this as well.
Braking: It's all about the tires, ABS, and dynamic stability control. Drive wheels are insignificant.
Cruising: It's all about the tires, and dynamic stability control. Drive wheels are practically insignificant. The danger here is hydroplaning, which can be avoided with good tires (summer tires are generally best, somewhat ironically) and moderate speed.
You may have picked up on the lowest common denominator here: tires. It's hard to overstate their importance, since they're all that sits between you and your passengers, a two-ton machine, and everything else. If you live in a snowy climate, get winter tires and swap them out seasonally. Otherwise, 3-season (aka summer, performance) tires should be fine. Drive safely.
He ended the review by saying, "In this case, the ugly wins"
Secondly, is the rain sensing feature included in the MY 01 PP?
Thanks in advance for your tips!