Tuesday, October 21, 2008

Eliminating Insurance of Non-Timed Track Events

Not many of us with 3-series convertibles get involved in track days with our cars, but I have certainly been tempted and would like to eventually see how my car does with its installed Stage II Dinan and possibly some future modifications. Unfortunately, a new article on insurance companies and coverage may end many track events across the nation and is certainly making me reconsider the possibility of tracking my E93 (probably a better idea is buying an old E30 and use it as a dedicated track car with minimal investment.)

Just curious, has anyone participated in any track events or driver schools with their E93? Would you not participate if you knew this insurance "loophole" was closed?

From the New York Times: "IT’S no secret that insurance companies don’t like the people they cover to drive fast. So it shouldn’t be a surprise that the industry has been removing a policy loophole that insured drivers on racetracks.

"What’s happened is that many insurers have redefined the term “racing.” Policies have long had exclusions for racing, but it was defined as a “timed event.”

"High-performance driver education neatly avoided that definition. Although cars may take laps at top speed, they aren’t timed.

"At many schools, including those held by the Porsche Club of America and the BMW Car Club of America, students are required to attend classroom sessions. On the track, drivers get one-on-one tutoring from an instructor under controlled conditions. The cars are generally sent around the track in small groups with passing limited to straightaways — and only when the driver being passed signals that doing so is all right. So because these runs were not timed, many drivers were covered by their normal automobile policies." more.

Saturday, October 4, 2008

Plenty of Competition... This Time Lexus

There are two additional luxury hardtop convertible competitors coming to take on the venerable BMW 3-series: the Infiniti G37 and Lexus IS250C. Lexus is the first to hit the auto show circuit having debuted their hardtop this past week at the Paris Auto Show. Funny side note, check out the wheels on the show car. They look quite a bit like the BMW 335i with sport package wheels, Style 189.

The folding top action is reminiscent of the hardtop action on the Chrysler Sebring. Fortunately for Lexus, the top up and top down looks give the car a similar sporty look like the BMW. You can see the top action in the video below.

Having driven the Lexus IS series a couple times (my wife drives a Lexus RX and I request the IS as a loaner car), I haven't been impressed by the car's driving dynamics nor the leather of the seats. The IS just feels boring. Corning stinks as does the constant over-steer of the car. None of this will really matter for the convertible version as I'm sure it will attract a fairly large percentage of female drivers who want it more for it's look than it's handling. But don't get me wrong, the Lexus is a nice car and would make a great cruiser for a lot of us who enjoy convertibles as a third recreational car. more.


Wednesday, October 1, 2008

Integrated Digital Vent Gauge System

This is a pretty nice, stealth boost gauge option by a small third-party vendor. The Boost PSI gauge uses orange lights integrated fully into the driver's left side air vent.

There is a new Do-It-Yourself thread on Bimmerfest that shows how to install the product. Seems pretty straight forward and looks great in the accompanying videos in the DIY Thread. more.

UPDATE: The product has recently been updated with a slightly tweaked front face to better match the interior's matte black finish. More info here: http://www.rixeffects.com/p3/ventgauge.

Wednesday, September 24, 2008

PMS-Lifting Experience

It's bad enough trying to defend a convertible purchase over a coupe on the enthusiast boards. I can't count how many threads I have read where E92 coupe owners laugh at us E93 convertible owners because we bought a "gay" or "chick" car because the top goes down. Not that I really care about being laughed at by a bunch of boy racers, but this review from the Mother Proof blog website isn't exactly helping the masculinity factor of my car.

From Mother Proof: "A BMW convertible is always fun, but did you know that the 2008 BMW 335i convertible is also a wonderful PMS buster? As the 335i rolled into my driveway, I was already suffering from the dreaded PMS headache and stomachache, but driving it proved to be a PMS-lifting experience.

It provided the comfort I needed (awesome lumbar support and heated seats) as well as the sassy style that was so befitting of my personality at the time. If I felt a little punchy, the car said, “Girl, I can relate. Beat this guy when the light turns green. I won’t let you down.” Backed by 300 ponies and a zippy six-speed manual transmission, the 335i put a smile back on my face." more.

Saturday, September 20, 2008

What I Built

The new BMW 3 series sedan recently debuted online with the new 3 Sedan Explore website. As part of the site's navigation, there is a compilation gallery of owner cars from E30 BMWs to the present. As mentioned in another blog posting here, BMW NA was requesting use of owner photos they found on Flickr. With the site's launch they did use a couple photos I had signed a release form for.

As a 3 series fan, it is personally exciting seeing one of my cars on the site. I wish I had some great photos from my prior '97 3 series ownership. I loved that car and it would've been great seeing pictures in a couple of the years. Anyway, it is a great site and as an enthusiast it is great having BMW showcase my pride and joy and others who obviously care for their own personal expression of the ultimate driving machine. So if you get a chance, explore the new 3 sedan and don't forget to checkout the "What You Built" section of the site.more.




Friday, September 12, 2008

Douche Rocks out to his Logic 7 Sound System



Oh great, here we go again... Some idiot BMW driver giving all of us a bad reputation. This time it's some kid who decides it's time to suspend his collapsable roof and crank up the sound system in the new M3 convertible. One can only believe he is drunk and decided it was better to dance like an idiot than drive his car. I mean what's up with the towel waving and white man over-bite two step.

Anyway, I was only hoping that at the end of the video someone like Terry Tate from the Reebok ads was going to bolt across the lawn and sack this fool. more.

Thursday, September 4, 2008

BMW Considers Bringing the 320i to the States

BMW may bring a 4-cylinder 3-series back to the states. This hasn't happened since the late 1990s when the 318i and 318ti were around on the E36 body styles. Personally I love this news. I think it's a great way to bring down the cost of the 3-series, which is something 1-series barely did, and would allow for a nice commuter version of the 3-series for gas conscience buyers. I loved my old 1.9 liter Z3 4 cylinder engine. It was easy to work on and provided a decent amount of power for that car. Granted the 3-series is much more heavier than a '96 Z3, but the new 320i's engine has been well received over seas and apparently is a spirited driver though no speed demon as it takes ~9.5 seconds from 0-60 from its 156 hp engine.

From Edmunds Inside Line: "In Europe, the 167-horsepower 320i is a healthy volume seller, as is the 120i, and BMW project director Oliver Friedmann tells Inside Line that such an addition to the company's North American offerings "would have a desirable effect on many fronts."

The direct-injection four-cylinder gas BMWs are, by many accounts, the best models sold by the company. And the fuel consumption numbers speak volumes." more.

Wednesday, August 27, 2008

"Winter" Car Dilemma

I love driving my E93 and find it a great way to get to and from work everyday, but there are days I'd rather just leave it parked in the garage away from the rain and snow. A couple months back, I started searching Craigslist and AutoTrader for an used E36 or even an E30 BMW 3-series model to use as my 'winter' car.

I finally found a perfect example last weekend in a 1993 318is 5 speed manual coupe that I bought for $3,000. It is in great shape, though it has 182k miles on it. Everything runs well, it had a recent tune up about 3k miles back and was being used as a commuter car for a family in a neighboring upscale town that took good care of it. One of the things I really liked hearing from the prior owner was how they replaced the leather on the driver's seat a couple years ago because it was heavily worn. Now that's someone who takes care of their cars.

Unfortunately, this nice little find may be short lived for me. I had a hell of a time convincing my wife I needed another car to keep my E93 baby even more flawless and preserved. So, the agreement was that I was looking for a car for her brother and that if he didn't want to take the car I bought then I get to keep it. My brother in-law is coming down this weekend to check the 318is out and I'm certain he will drive off with it.

So my question to you is what would you do? Should I do a little side deal with the brother in-law and possibly risk the side deal coming out and biting me in the ass if my wife finds out? Should I just let him look at it and hope he doesn't go with it? Should I just park it under a tree and feed the birds a lot?

Any other thoughts?

Monday, August 18, 2008

The competition heats up

Rumors of an Infiniti G37 hardtop convertible have been around for at least a good year now and finally Infiniti has released the first official photo of the car, shown top down. The interesting part will be seeing the car top up. We all know the 335i convertible looks amazing top down but there is a lot of criticism of it top up, especially from E92 coupe owners...lol.

From Edmunds Inside Line: "The world got its first official look at the 2009 Infiniti G37 convertible on Saturday, as the automaker unveiled a photo of the car at the 2008 Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance. The G37 convertible, with a three-piece automatic retractable hardtop, will go on sale in the spring of 2009."

I'll be sure to take a bunch of photos of the G37 convertible next year when it makes its pass at the 2009 Detroit International Auto Show.

So, what are some of your thoughts on the design of the G37 convertible? Do you like it? Think the E93 has a formidable challenger? more.

Monday, August 11, 2008

BMW Performance: Why do you torment me?

I was at the dealership last friday getting a radiator fluid top off as my fluid level apparently evaporated just enough to send me a nasty warning light last week. Wondering around the dealership, I looked into the parts cabinet display and noticed a very nice looking steering wheel with cutouts for the paddle shifters on my 335i steptronic. The new part was the BMW Performance Steering Wheel which I held in my hands and felt a dramatic difference than the stock wheel with it's beefier feel and of course the whole light up display showing 1/4 mile timer, lap timer, section timer, lat/long g force, oil/water temp, and stopwatch.

Of course there is a member on E90Post.com who has some great shots of the steering wheel, photos galore. I'm thinking with the alcantara trim on the wheel, adding a few alcantara pieces would tie the wheel together beautifully in the interior. After a quick look, I found alcantara shift boot and e-brake pieces that would like quite nice with the performance wheel and pricing is fairly affordable which is nice since the Performance Steering Wheel is in the ~$1,000 price point (I found it for $995 from Tischer BMW online.)

While I have no set timing on when I'll add this modification, I do expect to get it installed with the additional alcantara pieces some time time around September or October. The new steering wheel looks and feels very nice; though, like anything else BMW I wish it was a little easier on the wallet.

Tuesday, August 5, 2008

Convertible Top Maintenance Demo Video



I have been wondering how best to maintain the functionality of my hardtop convertible. Fortunately, Pat Goss of Motorweek covered a couple tips on proper lubrication of the movable parts using White Lithium Grease. He also shows how to apply the grease using a Q-Tip. The video also shows how to treat the rubber trim around the windows and sections of a collapsable roof.

Basically, this video is a great resource for those of us wondering how best to do proper care of this complex roof system.

Let me know if you have any other tips or suggestions.

Monday, August 4, 2008

Solzhenitsyn Passes On

While not E93 related, I just had to share how this world lost one of its greatest authors - Alexander Solzhenitsyn. His contribution to literature is amazing. The Gulag Archipelago trilogy is one of my favorite reads of all time; it covered his experiences in the Russian prison camps in Siberia -- simply amazing, horrific, and inspiring! Anyway, I thought I'd share my respect for him and highly recommend his words. more.