QuoteJohn Yust Quoterkj I caution everybody on "torquing spark plugs", depending on thread condition this might be not a good thing; get to know what a crushed gasket feels like and use neversieze. Rick Amen, brother. The only time I ever tried using a torque wrench to tighten a spark plug I stripped the threads right out of the hole. The afternoon tune-up turned into a much biggerby Dave_G - Technical Forum
QuoteEarendilMight there be any negative result from using 3 older shocks with a brand new one? I know, your question is probably going to be "how much older?" which isn't an answer I have yet. OK, I'll ask a different question: What kind of driving do you do? If you're just driving it at 30 MPH to church on Sunday morning, then you'll never notice anything. If youby Dave_G - Technical Forum
QuoteBob in EverettIf the plug was not torqued correctly it can work its way out. This is what I sincerely hope happened! The alternative is that the plug was over-torqued and stripped the threads in the head, in which case it will happen again and I'd be looking at a helicoil repair. I'd rather just make sure that the plugs are torqued correctly. It's funny that although I amby Dave_G - Technical Forum
Yesterday son Neil and I ran the Frost Heaves Rally (TSD rally) around central New Hampshire. It was a great day and a fun event, and on one leg we scored our first-ever perfect score of zero. But that's not what I'm here to talk about right now. No, like the title says I'm here to discuss unfortunate adventures in spark plug ballistics. About 3/4 of the way through the rally we weby Dave_G - Technical Forum
QuotejaffarNow, what strong chemical can I spray EVERYWHERE to make sure this never happens again ? The most effective repellent is probably moth balls. Nothing likes the smell of moth balls, including people. Lots of people who store their cars over the winter use them to repel mice and squirrels (the usual problem varmints), but I'm sure it would work on martens or anything else too. Asby Dave_G - Technical Forum
QuoteKellyAccording to Michelin's web site I will need size 195/65HR15. This is wrong. Those tires would be too big. The stock 14" tire size is 195/65-14. The equivalent 15" tire size (and stock on the iX) is 205/55-15. If you wanted a skinnier tire, you could go to 195/60-15, which would still be a little too big, but would be closer. 205/55-15 is not a common tire size, butby Dave_G - Technical Forum
QuoteDave_G QuoteBob P 325is 88Thanks for not 'rubbing in' the fact that you beat us at our game on Sunday.:crying: We're nothing if not gracious in victory. Either that, or we know we'll probably meet up again later in the tournament. So, that was not such a difficult prediction. Here we go again. My Canadian friends are jumping up and down with anticipation. For that maby Dave_G - Community Forum
The OBC display in my '91 died a couple weeks ago, so I went and ordered the LEDs and resistors to do the conversion. The day after the parts arrived, the OBC display started working again. Is my car trying to tell me something? Oh well, at least I have the parts now for when it dies again.by Dave_G - Technical Forum
QuotealanrwWere those cars constant 4wd or could you go to 2wd? Were the transfer cases and all that hardy components? They're full-time AWD. Unlike most other AWD cars, however, they were designed by BMW with a rear torque bias: 63% rear, 37% front. This is supposed to be equal to the weight distribution of the car under acceleration. It definitely works. When I compete with mine on ice orby Dave_G - Community Forum
QuoteEarendilAlas, no one in the north around here sells their iX, and no one in the south owns one Yeah, it's getting harder and harder to find a good one, but with patience and diligence it's quite possible. They only ever imported 2800 to North America, some portion of those have succumbed to the years, and probably about half of them are automatics (which is a non-starter for me).by Dave_G - Community Forum
Sometimes I wonder if BMW ever really knew what a remarkable car they built in the E30 325iX. Regardless, whenever I get to drive mine I certainly love what it does. For skiers like myself in this area, yesterday was a day to remember. Over a foot of snow fell by morning, and another foot fell during the day (that's about 60 cm). (Ironically, while the flat and warmer regions to our southby Dave_G - Community Forum
QuoterkjKnow it well, my daughter is trying to go to Middlebury for her further education Good luck to her. If she gets in, be sure to stop by and say hi when you go visit.by Dave_G - Community Forum
QuoteBob P 325is 88Thanks for not 'rubbing in' the fact that you beat us at our game on Sunday.:crying: We're nothing if not gracious in victory. Either that, or we know we'll probably meet up again the tournament. I'm a hockey fan go to college games regularly. At the start of every game they play both national anthems. I'm probably one of the few Americans whoby Dave_G - Community Forum
Quoterkj Hmm, makes sense to me. Where are you located in Vermont Dave? I'm near Middlebury in the Champlain Valley, about half-way up on the west side of the state, sandwiched between the Green Mountains and the Adirondacks.by Dave_G - Community Forum
QuoterkjNine sets.... Nine sets. you're as bad as this Norwegian I used to know these can't be used on anything but an IX, right Dave? I've always thought the offset was too much for normal Thirtys. You are correct. The stock offset for iXs is 41mm. For inferionormal E30s it's something like 23 or 25mm IIRC. You could use iX wheels with spacers, but given their scarcity compaby Dave_G - Community Forum
I'm trying to figure out the best way to purchase these iX wheels without having to drive 4 hours to Connecticut. Since they're being sold on Craig's List and not eBay, there aren't any sort of protections built in to online transactions. I'm afraid that I'll send the money and not get the wheels, and he's afraid that he'll send the wheels and not get my moby Dave_G - Community Forum
QuoteJUMPNYC Someone said they were looking for some straight ones. These just came up on Craigslist. Thanks!! That was me. I've just emailed the seller to see if he's willing to ship them. If I keep buying wheels I'm gonna have to start selling some. Between what's on the cars and what's in the garage, I already have 9 sets of wheels. If I get these, this would maby Dave_G - Community Forum
That looks like a nasty off-camber corner (at least on the outside of the curve)! Reports from the Sno*Drift rally in Michigan last weekend said it was the most slippery conditions that anyone had ever seen in a rally, anywhere. The roads were entirely sheer ice -- lots of cars were going off. Looks like the roads in Québec were similar.by Dave_G - Community Forum
This may be the funniest car ad I've ever seen. We'll never see it on television (at least in the U.S.), but that's why YouTube was invented. BMW... Get Excited! I'd give it a PG-13 rating, so don't anybody complain or I might have to ban myself.by Dave_G - Community Forum
Ferdinand, you are reading my mind. Add my "me too" to everything you just said. I'm getting set to take the iX ice racing this weekend. I will be sliding sideways, left foot braking and heel-toe downshifting all weekend, and thanking my stars that I have an old car that lets me do the driving. And when you figure out how to add that ABS cutoff switch, let us know so thaby Dave_G - Community Forum
QuoteEarendilYou may have missed where I said that the car is sitting on 4 flat tires. Its ground clearance is currently well below stock However, if the tires are seemingly inflated at the top (i.e. holding their shape), I may be able to compare the distance from tire to fender. Measure from the lip of the fender to the center of the hub. That distance is unaffected by anything the tires are dby Dave_G - Technical Forum
QuoteFerdinand QuoteEarendilWould it be easier to remove the diff, axles, shocks, springs, and wheel assembly as one unit and throw it on the back of my car? Absolutely! My knee-jerk reaction is the same as Ferdinand's.by Dave_G - Technical Forum
Here's more reading on it: http://www.hotrod.com/featuredvehicles/113_0703_2000_volkswagen_beetle/index.html It's real.by Dave_G - Community Forum
The answers to your questions are in the guy's web page QuoteBob P 325is 88 I wonder where the fuel tank is? And what fuel? One doesn't feed a jet with gasoline. " Kerosene is stored in a custom 14 gallon, baffled, foam-filled kevlar fuel cell in the spare tire well." QuoteAlso, if this is not a ram jet "The engine is a General Electric Model T58-8F. This is a helicopby Dave_G - Community Forum
Quotejaffarforgot to ask and apparently i cannot edit, so here it is - what kind of mount does your aiptek friend use ? He uses a Sitcky Pod Dash model. Looks to me like a good product.by Dave_G - Community Forum
This car has been around for a few years. I've never seen it, but by all accounts I've read it is very real. Here's the guy's web site: http://www.ronpatrickstuff.com/ I love the spirit that can create something as ridiculous as this.by Dave_G - Community Forum
FWIW, my friend Will has a cheap Aiptek Action-HD camera that he uses at our track events. It's roughly 2/3 the cost of the GoPro (or less -- Amazon has them for US$170), but it takes beautiful onboard videos. It also has a jack for an external mic, which makes all the difference between great sound and lousy sound. I don't have one yet, but when I get one, this is what I'll be getby Dave_G - Community Forum
Fun stuff! Thanks for that report. We're still waiting for the lakes to freeze thick enough around here to have our first ice racing event of the winter. We were oh-so-close until yesterday's brutal meltdown and heavy rain. I wish we had a location like yours to do something like that on dry land.by Dave_G - Community Forum
I can't think of a way to fix that short of pulling it off and welding it. If it were me, for a quick solution I think I'd park the car where it could stay for a while, and then drain all the oil so that it didn't leave a big mess all over the ground. There will probably be residual oil still seeping through the crack, so I'd also leave a pan under there to catch the drips whiby Dave_G - Technical Forum
QuoteEarendilDave, how sure are you it's 37F in your car? Because I am positive it's 36F in mine Not at all sure. If you say it's 36, I believe it. Like I said, I haven't actually heard mine in a long time.by Dave_G - Technical Forum