silvermace

So i was in repco looking for some leather care products and came across "CRC Mass Air Flow Sensor Cleaner" thought I would give it a go because my idle can sometimes be tad rough and I doubt theres such a thing as an overly clean MAF Was really easy to do, got the Haynes E46 guide out, whipped off the air box and MAF housing+sensor, gave it a good 10-15 sprays (as the instructions say) and let it dry off over a few minutes, the reinstalled. Took about 15 minutes, and did notice a bit of oil/grime build up on the 2 ultrathin MAF sensing wires dissapeared. Car's idle is now at 750rpm or 1100 rpm, rock solid. and a very noticable difference with throttle response especially in 2nd. Attached a pic of the can for those keen to give it a go.

I super glued mine back on, worked like a charm - I got the superglue from Bunnings in Manukau City, really good stuff, came in a little bottle with an orange label and its really runny (like water) while not in contact with air, I can't remember the name of the actual product though.. I did this about 7 or so months ago, and its still right on there, and looks nice and factory

I've had my ex Singapore E46 for about 8 months, love it. I've had some mechanical/maintenance-catchup-from-the-previous-owner issues with it, costing just over $2k to fixup, and there's still some stuff to do. So get Glenn @ Botanymotorworx to get a prepurchase before you buy: man knows his stuff! I got the car for pretty cheap considering how it looks and its go fast bits so not to bummed about the work. I've just gotta say that compared with any of the other cars i've driven regularly (Volvos, Subies, Holdens, Toyos, Nissans, Mazdas... ) the Bimmer is just so well balanced. It's got acceptable economy, great power and torque that's USABLE, and its just a practical car. Oh and it looks sex. I use it as my daily, and you really appreciate the little things, like the effectivness of the heater on cold mornings, the comfyness and silence of the cabin. Lastly, the handling. Well, its a BMW. nuff said?

haha glenn, fair point interesting that you would say that as thats where some of my concern comes from.. im just worried the tyre's not going to be repairable... don't want someone taking me for a ride for just because of the car i drive... like telling me the tyre's not repairable in the hopes I buy a replacement tyre... I would be totaly relying on the word of the technician as I dont know much at all about tyres.. ... ... and before you say it. Yes. I have trust issues. ... ...

thanks for the tips guys, yea i'll jack up the car chuck the tyre in the ol' 'rolla and head to a few places see what they say... course if firestone (closest to my house) do it for cheap then c'est la vie

I was thinking of Firestone, near my place (Manukau City) easy access, well known etc. I have FK452's (275/30R19) got a nail embedded cleanly in the left-rear (haven't been driving on it, but hasn't noticeably lost any tyre pressure for a week or so now - been garaged) anyone want to take a rough guess @ costing?

nice, have sent him a PM..

Oh that is nice, will PM him. Might buy them and keep them till im "ready" for the upgrade - theres stuff you need to do to make it worthwhile/work well, like sports cats, and some mods for the oxygen/emission sensors

awesome. mmmmmm....throttleresponse...ughghghghhhhh..*drool*

Yep, that is quite funny. I dont plan to race this 328, I imagine myself running an E36 M3 or E30 i.e. somthing a bit more agressive!! (who knows, if im actually half decent at my job I might get to run an E92 M3...dreams are free right )Yea I'm leaning heavily towards the Simota from Broomfish, $440 actual carbon fibre, and like the cone, I suspect it would make a mint sound over the open POD of the K&N

hehe fair enough, guess im just lazy then ! not trying to convert you, you're more than welcome to drive a manual , yea the mods would add up to a 330 but I scored my 328 for pretty cheap with alot of work already done (UUC pulley kit, SS exhaust etc.), plus like I said, having fun modding/researching/learning

this is the intake, look like the one you've got?http://www.trademe.co.nz/Trade-Me-Motors/C...n-166167893.htm I've got the Tiptronic, I live in south auckland and work in parnell so rush hour traffic means I had to compromise (not really that bad tho )

How much would I be looking at, in terms of $$, kW increase and more importantly for me, Torque increase? also, is the stock drive shaft good enough to handle increased power/torque output?

Thanks for the tips guys. Will follow up on all those leads. Yea I would consider a 330, but not really my price point right now, besides I like modding. I'm trying to learn as much as possible as I have aspirations for amateur racing

So after I get a few things fixed up by Botanymotorworx (worn control arms, some cooling stuff) I want to look at adding a few mods to my car to improve its throttle response, im not really interested in outright speed, just "quickness". My ride is a E46 mid-'99 328 CiA. I've been quoted by autopassion.co.nz in CHCH for a K&N (I think) cold air intake kit @ $700 and an unnamed "chipping" @ $995 for 16hp, I'm tempted for the chipping but I think the CAI is a bit pricey, there is a guy on TM selling Simota CA intakes with a moulded box for $400 but I dont know if these are any good (mixed reports on the net) is there anywhere we can get Dinan CAI kits, I would trust these to be good, but again, if its $900 thats a pretty expensive upgrade for just a few ponies. Has anyone tried setting up some front end bumper scoops to assit air flow (and the existing funnel) into the CAI/OE filter box, I would have thought that would be a pretty easy thing to do.. I already have a full exhaust system (excluding headers) and suspension kit as well as slotted brakes. I think an LSD with a bit of a quicker ratio would be on the cards and I'm definately getting strut braces front and rear. Also, an M3 CSL header upgrade, is it true that the 328ci (M52TUB28) is compatible with these headers, and where would one get them, makes sense that BMW OEM parts would work in this case? I think a good target for my car is 215-220 hp with all those basic bolt ons done. Any advice?

Mine fell off in a carwash, I popped down to Bunnings and got me some "HEVCO 502 Super Glue" and it worked a charm - this stuff is really really low viscosity, so took 2 or 3 goes to actually use it right (I initially thought i got ripped off, but 3rd time was a charm) badge is well stuck-on now.

hey, that's cool, I didn't know all that about my DSC unit, I thought that it cut throttle and applied brakes to bring the tyres back down into static friction, but a bit silly of me to assume that's all that was going on, because application of force in 1 wheel, can be more useful for regaining traction for the other 3 wheels, and If I know that I'm sure those clever nutters at Bosch thought about it The torque variance by cylinder blank-out and ignition retard is clever, I guess its more reliable than a "clever" mechanical diff would be. also, the 3rd scheme, limit mass air draw.. would the VANOS system be exploited for this??

Yea, some people prefer "raw" driving, but im a techno geek, and understand that electrics in certain situations do better than humans, and vicea versa. I like DSC, but wish the traction control was a bit more advanced because it just cuts throttle.I think a new traction control scheme with a dynamic variable rate diff which could control the drive ratio for each powered wheel could do some wonderful things....

on my 328 ci, there these several main chassis control systems collectively named "DSC" which is as far as i know, is what Sick Puppy is referring to as AIDS:- ABS brakes - traction control - corner brake control - active stability control see: it's a reasonably old technology, but works really well - it takes a bit of getting used to, but significantly improves day-to-day usability of the car, especially in the wet when taking off @ a T-junction or Stop sign.

yea...good advice, thanks

plausible deniability.

Hi guys, first post I was curious, my '99 E49 328 Ci doesnt use 1st gear unless I select it with the tiptronic (as far as I can tell) I've gotten into a slight habit of shifting right down to 1st if I need to brake aggressively or am trying to control downhill/following speed, obviously the engine ends up revving between 3-5k rpm (which is mid-hi range for this car) so my question is, is it ok to engine brake in these carse? should I not be engine braking?? If I can engine brake, are there any guidelines? Cheers, -Danu