MLM

Happy Birthday man!

Yep its here in front of me on my desk along with a range of bits for it. Out of interest, discussion at the track yesterday about short shifters, a few had the opinion they are not really worth it as the additional mechanical stress they put on synchro's etc isnt worth the increase in shift speed especially if the synchro is a bit tired already. Its better to let the synchro do its job and preserve parts. Maybe going for a longer throw could be the best option for now, even once i get the other linkage built up.

Was good to meet you guys at the track on Sunday, As heath mentioned our day ended with a possible spun bearing. Our first run toasted our brakes which required a pad change in the pits then on the second run (after a bit of on road bedding in) we put in a respectable time only to have the engine start making noises in the pits while at idle.. After that I turned cameraman so once I down load the footage I will post it up. Managed to get some footage of the GTR and most of the other cars on track and both starts on your 3rd and 4th run.

On your shifter linkage issue, To those that dont know.. The shifter link in question is a 90 degree bracket which pivots on the elbow like a bellcrank. The factory setup is for the linkage to rotate using a shoulder bolt as the pivot point and plastic bushes as friction surfaces. Its the axial slop on this assembly which causes issues. I have two ways of potentially fixing this: 1) machiene bushes out of bronze which are a close fit. Conciderations: realitivly easy and simple but may bind with dirt and be stiffer in operation. 2) Create a roller bearing assembly (SKF have suitable bearings). Conciderations: far more positive operation and smoothness but more complex in design and machiening. What would be your preferance and are there other bright ideas out there? Is there any drawbacks from having a very positive gearshift mechanisim (kick/vibrations back etc)

What would be the cost of resolving the issues?

Did the shock snap at that point? It almost looks like it unscrewed itself from the lower housing, if so instalation may be blamed. I hope you can find some recourse through the manufacturer.

Im with NAC who charge the earth for a bit of insurance though are not overly concerned with mods more the replacement value of the car. I have been with them for a few years as i was refused cover on my 1500cc pulsar. Oddly at the time lowered suspension, big bore exhaust and 17inch rims and stereo system did not worry the mainstream insurance companies, they refused insurance because it had tinted windows.

It seems you can pay alot for an air intake system which is little more than a pod filter and a bent shield. I mean $2000 come on! Brand (as with most things) is what you are spending your money on. I made my own shield with pod filter for a 10th of the price top brand systems demand, and achieved essentially the same thing. The sound of a good system is addictive tho....

Love the fact his next statment was " Its got a new fuel pump too" to which we replied "its definatly got pressure"

I have a E36 318is also. 20 min to warm up sounds very long mine will start to register on the dial within 5 minutes of driving with full temp in~10 min. The thermostat sounds like the best starting point.

Yip I am,

Next time im over i will make up an aluminim dash panel around the demister for you, then use it to pull carbon parts from it.

I would Not recomend retimming over your air bag at all. The existing material is designed to rip upon deployment of the air bag. If you covered it you might have an air bag which didnt deploy or worse blew all the trim off the A pillars etc turning them into projectiles....aimed at your head.... Not good. There might be ways arround it ie pre splitting the fabric but i wouldnt want to be the one to test its effectivness.

I just learnt it on the fly by looking how the original one was done. The process is easy enough just tedious. I have not done any sewing before either. As a version one its ok but i now know a few things to improve for the next one. Maybe use M colours for the stitching like the CSL and M3. I saw a convertable M3 at Jerry Clayton taka on one of my many visits which had tri colour stitching. Cost to retrim if someone else did it $500+ Cost of me doing it $20.

Slightly OT, but i stuck my head uner my car and it does not have an o2 sensor?? (92 318is manual) i can find the plug under the body which is blanked as is the relay under the bonnet next to the fuse box. I have heard e30's have o2 sensor so why wouldnt mine asuming newer technologies and ecu control?

Here it is. Black suede with red stitching. Im 99% happy with it, but you can never get home jobs to look completly factory, it only took 6 hours of hand stitching.. swheeloa1.bmp

Haha I have the same steering wheel problem too! Im retrimming it in genuine suede but its been a bit of a slow tricky process. Im using red stitching to match the car and should look sweet once its done.

Turner motorsport in the US might have some interior bits. I have used them before and found the helpful and gererally good to deal with.

I had a go this weekend at making a cold air box for an e36 318is. It is a full enclosed heatshield with rubber sealing to the bonnet and bodywork to stop vibrations and hot air. It was made to take advantage of the original air inlet from the kidney grill, though i doubt that it intorduces that much cold air into the box at all Performance: nothing noticable (expected) Sound: awesome Next step is a cold air feed

You calculate your following distance using forum info to the BM in front based on its braking performance relative to your car..

I have a copy of solidworks with flow works and a few other addins. I have not yet learnt how to drive it though. I have access to ANSYS at work which is linked to Pro E which (on the surface) seems better than the solid works stuff. But then with all this analysis software its only as good as the person driving it

Did the gearbox drive better after the change? Still thinking the short linkages might be more of hinderance than help.

This is an BMW document relating to the tightening torques requires for BMW's It is a deisgn guide line for various bolt sizes and pitchs for general fixtures as well as specific information relation to engine bolts, suspension, etc for particular configurations. IE M42 main bearing cap torque and degreeing. Basically if there is a bolt on your beemer this tells you how tight it should be. bmw_torque_setting.pdf

Still tempted. I was going to make one up for my car to see how feasable/useful it would be with either 1.8mm bright stainless or 2mm aluminium. If I get my a into g i will put up how i go.

Small world lol Im at appliances, I know the odd HC person.