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BMW 3-Series 2005 and earlier

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#21843 of 30156 OT: Long Week by mschukar Feb 09, 2003 (7:45 am)
A week and a day has gone by since the Columbia disaster. Mission specialist Laurel Clark was one of the seven lives lost that day, she was also a good friend of my wife's.   We viewed the final launch of Columbia and followed the mission daily through NASA websites. I was very excited about one day meeting Laurel and hearing tales of her grand adventure, but that day will never come. For the last week, I've been desperately trying to "meet" this wonderful woman through news reports and emails from friends of hers.   Last night, several med school friends of Laurel and my wife met. We viewed a tape of a private memorial held in Houston, we told stories, we laughed and we cried.   I truly feel that I don't know of anyone that has affected so many people in such a positive manner. One friend called Laurel nine days before the launch of STS-107. Her concern was not about the mission, but finishing a science project for her son Iain before they left for Florida!   In the end, I got my wish of "meeting" Laurel Clark through the people that knew her best. She, as are everyone in the NASA astronaut program, is a truly remarkable person. I am very fortunate to have shared in the last few weeks of her life.   Thanks for listening -murray   p.s. Laurel's husband begged at the memorial service that we continue to promote science and technology in our society. These seven incredible people dedicated the last few years of their lives to help improve life for all of us. Please, please do what you can to keep their work and dreams alive.
#21844 of 30156 The Snow Issue (Some help please)! by djocks Feb 09, 2003 (9:25 am)
This is for brave1heart, riez, and shapiro.   I live in Conneticut and was fortunate to have Friday off. I just received my 330i on Wednesday of last week with Dunlap Graspic ds-1 snow tires mounted. My performance tires are now stacked in the garage. I am not going to be as fortunate tomorrow when depending on who you listen to we are going to get about 4 inches of snow. I have been driving in the snow my whole life but not since high school in an '84 Monte Carlo have I faced it in rwd. It looks like the morning will be O.K. but the ride home an adventure.   My question is would you recommend putting weight in the trunk? Or in your opinion, is it not needed?   This is for nkeen.   I owned a 2001 GTI VR6 before getting my bimmer. My pocket rocket was well crafted, and fun. However, the driving dynamics are not close! The VW was not balanced well, rattled, was unreliable and suffered from so much torque steer it absolutely jittered when pushed. The engine was literally too big for the size of the car and fwd! My wife did not feel comfortable driving it not to mention was not high on the rocket hatch looks. The 330i is civil enough for her to drive and enjoy and the purity of the behing the wheel experience is sublime! I agree ironically that for the difference in price, the VW Jetta GLI 6-speed, was my 2nd choice and if I were buying probably the way I would have gone. But for lease value the BMW is more affordable than people think and overall in a completely different galaxy than the VW. Features are not the BMW strong suit, the driving experience is!
#21845 of 30156 djocks you will be fine by gpwatfrd Feb 09, 2003 (10:26 am)
with the snow tires on. Tires make so much of a difference when speaking about a cars performance in the snow.   To give an ex. I had a Mercedes clk430 which I just handed in. The vehicle was equipped with 17' michelon pilots 225/45 front 245/40 rear (like the bmw sport) My wife was caught in a snow storm (about 6 inches of snow nothing too bad) coming home from work. She got stuck on 3 different occasions in what is normally a 45 minute drive home. The 3rd time she was stuck was close to home. One of our neighbors who has a BMW X5 saw her fish tailing all over the place and offered to switch vehicles. Later that night I heard for about 2 hrs how the BMW glided through the snow like it wasn't there and how much of a lemon my clk430 was. It is not a lemon but if you were stuck on 3 different occasions coming home you might say the same thing. Needless to say that she now drives an AUDI A6 w/4 wheel drive and all season tires. The clk w/those tires in the snow is not bad, it is horrible, you can't drive it with as little as 1 inch of snow on the ground. Why..... tires,tires,tires
#21846 of 30156 DJocks by shipo Feb 09, 2003 (10:36 am)
Don't sweat it; with the winter tires that you have mounted, you will be amazed at how stable you car is, sans a weighted trunk. After all, why would you want to mess up the perfect balance your car already has? Now, your 1984 Monte Carlo was another matter; less than optimal weight distribution, no traction control and tires that have NO WHERE NEAR the grip of your current winter tires. The fact of the matter is, with only a 4” snow fall, you will only have to deal with a couple of inches of slush and stuff, at worst, and at best, some well plowed roads with just a little new accumulation on them. Trust me, after you get home tomorrow, you will be singing the praises of you 330i and its tires.   Last Friday, we got nailed here in the Boston area, and on the route that my wife drove home from work, she encountered several local surface streets that had yet to be plowed. Her comment was, “Your BMW was so easy to drive that I couldn’t even tell that there was snow on the roads”, this from a girl who grew up in California, and never even drove on snow until she was 36.   Best Regards, Shipo
#21848 of 30156 kd by leenelsonmd Feb 09, 2003 (12:01 pm)
That video was great.   Truthful too. They were taking it pretty easy on the car IMO. The M3 loves to be driven sideways.
#21849 of 30156 Tort Reform & Weight Distribution by riez Feb 09, 2003 (1:08 pm)
nkeen... A huge reason BMW keeps speed limiter down (mph-wise) in many USA-models is LEGAL LIABILITY. American legal system is too pro-plaintiff. European systems discourage class action suits, often limit junk science & pro-plaintiff "expert" (i.e., paid for by the plaintiff) testimony, usually force loser to pay (so that alone is a huge disincentive to frivolous suits), often limit non-economic damages, sometimes don't have juries at all or don't let trial lawyers cherry-pick venue (which court to sue in) and individual jury members (by removing those jurors they think won't see the case their way, which tends to remove above average free thinking intelligent people from most product liability jury pools). US system not only adds billions in costs to consumers but often has adverse impact on the products we can buy.   Check out a decent legal reference looking for BMW cases. You should be able to find the infamous mid-1990s case involving the paint job. US Supreme court did modify the damages but BMW still ended up with huge legal bills and costs all because one guy didn't like the paint job. He found a less-than fully bright jury (nothin' new in USA) and milked the system. We ended up paying for it.   djocks... shipo is absolutely correct. You have to keep in mind that most BMWs have near 50/50 weight distribution. Throwing weight in the trunk will add a rear bias. I don't think adding a small amount of weight will upset the balance (and will slightly improve traction), but I would not recommend adding much. I haven't added any for my wife's 323ia. Keys to winter driving are good winter tires and good driver skills. One without the other won't cut it. So drive carefully, even if you have winter tires.
#21850 of 30156 mschukar by hgeyer Feb 09, 2003 (1:23 pm)
'Ah, but a man's reach should exceed his grasp, Or what's a heaven for?'   - Robert Browing
#21851 of 30156 Some answers by brave1heart Feb 09, 2003 (2:21 pm)
Yes, an A4 Quattro with snow tires will be much better in every respect except for braking.   An A4 Quattro with good all-season tires like the Dunlop SP5000 would have done much better too. On the other hand, there are much better snow tires than the light-duty Dunlop M2s that I've been using. Unfortunately, they would be limited to 99 mph.   No weight in the trunk!! While it may improve traction a bit, it will make the car tail-happy and a lot more likely to spin 180 degrees while cornering.
#21852 of 30156 shipo, brave1heart and riez by djocks Feb 09, 2003 (2:34 pm)
Thanks for the tips. I am going to go at w/o bothering with weight in the trunk. I got the sport package but the funds were dry when considering different wheels. So I have the stock gorgeous sport wheels with the snows on them. You have to remember I am more concerned with keeping the car in great shape right now than my own health so to say I am going to take it easy would be an understatement.   by the way, shipo why you gotta pounce on the old monte? J/K... I had some great days in old girl. Those were the days!

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