Roadside Assistance

First of all, I am not subscribed to BMW Roadside Assistance, therefore the sticker on the toolbox is more or less useless to me. The colour was faded as well. After removing the sticker the blank spot where it was knid of got on my nerves, I knew something was supposed to be there, so I found the German BMW Roadside assistance sticker online and placed that in the blank spot. If it's going to remain useless it might as well look better!

No Smoking - Follow up

Since I almost always have the Scangauge II's compartment open and visible, I find myself noticing the Cigarette icon on the cigarette lighter more and more often. I thought it was tacky and "in my way" so I removed the icon through a combination of "Goop Off" and scratching. Looks better without that icon, in my opinion, and I'm pleased with the results.

MPGs

Filled up the tank this morning after running the Bimmer down to almost fumes. I wanted to see how many miles I could get on one tank of fuel. I managed 432.3 with a 50/50 mix of Highway and City. That basically equates to 26 MPG. Not bad Considering the car is rated at "City MPG: 19 / Highway MPG: 27 / Combined MPG: 22" That's and extra 4 MPG.

I squeezed them out by following some simple, proven "tricks"

* Use A/C very sparingly.
* Keep the windows up at 40+ MPH.
* Use cruise control on the highway, ~70 MPH.
* Coast downhill or whenever possible instead of braking.
* Don't drive less than 10 miles per trip in the car.
* Pray for no red lights.

Inspection I..... Done By Me!

Hit 90k miles this weekend and in anticipation I purchased the necessary items to perform my scheduled maintenance known as Inspection I. A pre-inspection told me that the coolant and washer fluid were low, but my brake fluid was fine. I purchased a Microfilter, and 6 Spark Plugs(not due until 100k, but why not) in addition to coolant and washer fluid. Also purchased a new Tire Pressure Gauge.

The inspection went fine with me starting with the undercarriage, working my way around the exterior, then under the hood, and then the interior, took me about 4 hours, including replacing the spark plugs and cleaning up under the hood. The Inspection being done by me was great as it allowed me to become more familiar with the Bimmer, and see just how great engineering can look deceptively simple . I don't take it for granted anymore.
The Official checklist of what is, and was, performed can be found at:
http://www.linquist.net/system/files/Service_Checklist_2003_US.pdf

Saftey First..

Adding on to my previous "European Standard" additions to the Bimmer (The Centre Console), I've added in the TUV-mandated BMW OE Warning Triangle and BMW OE First-Aid Box. The box can be stuffed with a First-Aid Kit, which it is, although not the German one, or anything else.





Saying good-bye to the orange front bumper reflectors for now and have replaced them with clear reflectors. In the right lighting, they almost seem to blend in completely to the Titanium Silver paint.

More Space

Keeping up with adding more storage space to the Bimmer, I added a BMW OE Parcel Net to the passanger side of the centre console. looks fantastic and works just as it should.

Less than $10 got me...

Did a few "upgrades" and convenience modifications recently.

First up, I replaced the velcro lock-in tabs for the floor mats to keep them in place. The driver's side mat especially, was always creeping up over the pedals, not anymore.



Next up, I made my own clutch stop to replace the factory stop. My version is longer and stops the clutch at exactly the right height to start the car and be able to shift. This 30 second installation mod has made the Bimmer so much more fun to drive. Best bang for buck upgrade yet. Stock stop is on the left, mine is on the right.



Lastly, I purchased a BMW OEM Oil Travel Case. It came with gloves, 2 funnels, hand wipes, and engine bay wipe clothes, it also holds 1 qt of oil. It securely mounts, with velcro, to the inside of the luggage compartment and looks very nice.

Time for my oil change, and since I've relocated to San Diego I spent the better part of a week visiting and researching suitable service shops for the Bimmer. For this oil change I took the Bimmer to Dose, Inc. Brandon at the desk is very knowledgeable and friendly, and the bay, waiting area and facility as a whole was very tidy and impressive. The Oil Change was made by appointment and took about 20 minutes. Great Service. www.dosebmw.com

Turner Motorsport at the 24hours of Daytona: Rolex Grand-Am Racing

Today starts the Rolex 24 hours at Daytona Beach, Fl. Turner Motorsports is running an M3 in the GT class to be driven by Bill Auberlen, Boris Said, Matt Plumb and Paul Dalla Lana. The green flag will drop at 12:30p local time, 3:30p EST. Thursday night the TMS team finished P1 in practice. I'll be following the race and pulling for the Turner Motorsport #94.

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Update: Well it's all over, and for the crew of the TMS #94, there was joy, dispair, strength, and determiation.

After having led the GT class for about 6 hours, the TMS M3's gearbox blew up, there was a hole straight through were 5th gear should have been. After spending 3 hours in the garages, replacing almost the whole transaxle, swapping out the brakes and power steering, and after rumours began to circulate they were out of the race, the #94 roared back onto the track with a vengance, with Boris Said taking the BMW from P27 to P17 in GT class where it finished the race and took home some points.

The Turner Motorsport team never gave up hope and gave us fans some exciting drama. Good luck to TMS for the rest of the Grand-Am road Racing Season.
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Update: ~ 24:00:59:000 - It's all over, the #94 ends in 17th with 564 laps completed. The overall winner is TMS driver Joey Hand.

Update: ~ 20:12:50:000 - With Boris Said taking the M3 through it's 454th lap, the car now sits in P17, where it is roughly 38 laps behind P16.

Update: ~ 10:45:11:185 - The #94 M3 is back in the race being driven by Boris Said! The car has a mountain to climb.

Update: ~ 09:08:11:325 - With over 2 hours of lost time, being 75 laps down, and parts for repairs being hard to find, rumours are circulating that TMS is out of the race. No official comment confirms this yet.

Update: ~ 07:06:21:121 - While being driven by Matt Plumb, the gearbox blew up! The #94 dropped to 16th and went to the garages for repairs.

Update: ~ 01:12:36:085 - The #94 is in P1 with B

CD Woes and Touch-Ups

Chose to spend the day with the Bimmer. Here's what went down:
* Full wash, wax, windex, rain-x, vaccuum, leather conditioning, dusting, and air freshening.
* I scraped off all the previous owner's registration year stickers, sanded it down, and applied my 2011 sticker.
* Fixed my license plate holder and frame so that is does not rattle when closing the luggage compartment.
* Finally got round to putting the chrome caps on the TMS license plate frame.
* Replaced 2 blown brake lights.
* Cleaned my TMS pedals.
* Topped off the oil with a quart of BMW 5W-30.
* Removed the previous owner's ///M steering wheel emblem and put back in the original BMW emblem.
* Topped off the air in the tyres.
* I attempted, and failed miserably, to fix my CD player. It's had a CD stuck in there for the last week and a half. I got the CD out, unfortunatley I also have some pretty important looking left-over parts.... needless to say, the CD mode is non-operational. Just going to have to rough it with AUX for a while.