100. Low and slow baby! Suspension and celebration!

About 6 months ago, my steering wheel started shaking when I was doing approximately 100-120 km/h in a left hand turn. I took it to a mechanic, one I really trust, and he told me to park it up, or I'll lose a wheel... huh.
One of the tie rods was completely bust. At that point, I decided to do a complete overhaul of my front end.
I went on eBay, and I bought this:

It costed me 116€ - that's about 150-155 USD. That's what I call a good buy. Of course, everyone was (still is, probably) skeptical about the quality, but I've covered about 20k km already with these parts, and everything still seems like new. If anyone wants to know where I found this kit - here's the link:

ATP-Autoteile eBay store

Here's my car floating in mid air:

Right, at that point, I also decided to 'drop' my car. So, we installed Vogtland springs that I already had.

(You can read about them here: 73. Suspension and brakes on my E36 318is)

Here's a couple of shots taken on the way home:

Sorry about the bad quality... I soaked my camera while washing the car :)

And, a little celebration note...

This is my 100th post on this blog! Yeey! And, I still have quite a lot to share :)
Thank you all for reading and especially commenting! :)

83. My E36 316 service and brakes upgrade

Since I like to drive my 316i without worries, I did the regular oil service.
It's 13000 kilometers from the last one, so I thought it was time for some new oil, oil filter, spark plugs... I drove to my friends to do the job. The service was done in matter of minutes... I didn't even get a chance to finish my Red Bull. :o)



Right... A few days after that, my front brakes started producing some horrible tunes... :( I thought I would just replace the pads... but no. The pads were 110% worn, and the discs - well, they were even worse.

One thing always bothered me with the 316. The front discs were single-piece, not vented. Meaning, the brakes would quickly fade after just minutes of spirited driving.

Luckily, I had some 325 discs, calipers and pads lying around the garage, so I decided to go for a upgrade. The job is pretty straight-forward, since everything is plug and play. :)

Here's a picture of the 325 disc mounted on my 316:


If you like, I can make a picture of the old pads and discs... :o)
Just leave a comment. :)

Some stuff that you'll probably need for a oil/brake service:

P.S.
This is the filter that I use - Great stuff:
(make sure that you get the correct one for your engine)

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77. My new E36... Again!

You've probably know this by now - I'm a total E36 nut.
Yea. I've bought another E36. If you follow my blog, you'll recognize this one. It was from my friend.
It's the one that we had to break into...

And, now, some pictures:

Yeeees! We have snow! It's great fun to drive around when it's snowing. The rear end of my BMW is all over the road. All the time. :)

The yellow car is from my other friend. (The one who owned that red 325 limo.) He's planning on restoring the original M-look on this car.

P.S.
My 'new' E36 is 316. The yellow one is 323.

73. Suspension and brakes on my E36 318is

Brake pads are something I have to change two-three times a year. (Front ones, I don't have rear disc brakes... yet.) Here's a couple of photos from the last change.

My car in the air:

New stuff:

Brake changing DIY for dummies:

 Old VS. New:

Old ones:

 

 Did you notice how uneven did my old pads wear out? I'm guessing, my right disc is bent...
Not much, but enough to destroy the pads...
I started getting some slight vibrations, and noise from my front right wheel... And that's why I decided to change my front suspension and brakes. Completely.

First of all, I have an extra suspension from one of my EX cars - 325 limo. And, since my car was originally a 316, I have smaller, non-vented discs on my car. I guess, that I'll solve a problem or two with the swap. Not to mention the benefits of a brake system upgrade. :) I'll do it this weekend. And you'll be the first to read about it. ;) Huh :)

Oh, and, almost forgot - I'll spice things up a little with some new springs:
Vogtland! :)

 

Pretty in pink! ;) 

Amazon: 

Sport Spring Kits (BMW | E36 | M3 | 93-95) 

And a few items... for the next change:

BMW OEM Textar Front Brake Pads for Z3, Z4, E36 & E46 3 Series Sedan & Coupe & Convertible & Touring & Compact

Only $59,99 

36. BMW Specification - E36 316i

BMW E36 316i (1991 - 1993)
Engine : I 4
Engine Code : M40B16
Fuel : Petrol
Fuel System : Bosch DME M1.7 
Engine Alignment : Longitudinal
Drive : RWD
Displacement : 1596 cm3
Bore x Stroke : 72 x 84 mm
Type : 8 Valves
Aspiration : N/A
Compression Ratio : 9
Output : 100 cv (73 kW) @ 5500 rpm
Torque : 141 Nm (103 lb.ft) @ 4250 rpm
Gearbox : 5 speed Manual
Wheelbase : 270 cm
Length : 443.3 cm
Width : 169.8 cm
Height : 139.3 cm
Cx : 
Front Brakes : Discs (286 mm)
Rear Brakes : Drums (228 mm)
Front Tyres : 185/65 R15
Rear Tyres : 185/65 R15
Kerb Weight : 1190 kg
Weight/Output Ratio : 11.9 kg/cv
Front Suspension : McPherson struts
Rear Suspension : Multi-Link Z-Axle
Top Speed : 191 km/h (118 Mph)
0 to 100 km/h : 13.1 s
0 to 1000m : 34.1 s
Fuel Consumption* : 6.1L / 7.5L / 10.2L / -L
Range : km
Fuel Tank : 65 L
Trunk : 435 L