OestPost , Bavarian Technic , Flogging, Friends & Family , Motorwerks BMW , Orr Autoservice , Quarterly Review , How To Tune a Z3 , Slow Down!

From The Driver's Seat

by John Biesecker

One driving season ends and another begins. By now many of you have stored your BMW's, race cars and other toys. We prepare ourselves and our cars for the long Minnesota and Wisconsin winter. Elsewhere in this issue you will see the registration information for our Winter Driving School I encourage you to sign up for this our first ever such event. Just as seat time at driving schools can make you a better driver of your high performance automobile, this low speed non competitive Winter Driving School will give you both classroom and driving sessions aimed at making you a better winter driver.

There are several things that I would like to discuss with you. First, I will be ending my second year as President of the North Star Chapter and will be handing the job over to Mylo Gustafson. Mylo has served as our Vice-president and Advertising rep during which time he has single handedly brought in the type and number of advertisers that will make the "Bavarian" more self supporting. Not to bore you with administrative matters, but the above accomplishment - making the newsletter self supporting, is a major goal for a chapter our size as the newsletter is one of our largest expenses. Our 1995 cost for the 4 quarterly newsletters was $6406 less $1600 advertising or $4806. At 345 members, that is an average cost of $13.93 per member. Mylo has brought our 1996 average ad income per issue to $600 for projected total 1996 ad income of $2400 against an estimated $6500 cost for a net of $4100, a reduction of $706. That $706 is equal to 35% of a day's track rental, 2 days of insurance coverage, or any number of things we as members might want to buy for the chapter. Thanks for the great job Mylo, good luck as our new President.

Several chapter members made the trek to Mecca this past August. BMW was the featured marque at the Monterey Historic Races. By now you will have seen the article in the "Roundel" regarding this gathering of BMW Motorsport automobiles as well as over 500 BMWs of every size and description brought and driven by our fellow members of BMW CCA! We were the guests of our one of our chapter's past presidents, Doug Gamble. We had to force ourselves to endure staying in a home on the beach at Monterey with the bark of sea lions in the distance and a spectacular view of Monterey Bay and the city. In addition Doug made available from his personal fleet the following automobiles: a 1988 red M6, a red 1990 M3, and a Dakar Yellow E36 M3 Club Racer. Does this guy know how to throw a party or what?!!!

 We entered the red cars in the concours at the Quail Lodge on the day of The Concours Italiano, also snuck (how one sneaks a Dakar Yellow M3 with roll cage, racing slicks etc, is a story in itself) the race car in behind the E30 M3 and the M6. Since we had spent most of the morning thrashing the back roads of Pebble Beach, Del Mar and Fort Ord the cars didn't win any prizes other than this comment from one of the judges, "Here's another one that's been enjoyed!"

The "Roundel" article will be a good one I'm sure, but there is just no way to describe the sights, sounds and smells of the three days at Monterey. This was my fourth visit to Steve Earle's "little party" and while very biased toward BMW have to say that other than the tribute to Juan Manual Fangio at the 1991 Historics, this was the best ever. Even the Italian, British and other German marque clubs were in awe of the BMW turn out and the amount of effort expended by BMW NA and AG. Space and an inadequate vocabulary prevent me from trying to describe what a great time we had. Let me try this though....as Nelson Piquet, the three time Formula One champion slowly brought the BMW V12 powered McLaren up to speed, the air was suddenly ripped by the scream of Bavarian horsepower and torque. As he later admitted, he was only at about 7/10s when the tail darted left and he found himself piloting the V12 at 175 mph toward the Cork Screw and its severe left/right 60 foot elevation change!!! One moment of many in a weekend that will live in my mind forever. Thanks Doug.

OestPost    Top

 (dispatches from the Eastern Front) by Keith Avise

Snow! The opportunity to refine our winter driving skills and hone our defensive skills once again. I’m not going to say anything about other people’s driving skills; I realize I’m "other people" to everyone else! (It’s just that they’re so lousy at it.)

Dealership horror stories are a part of being an auto lover, but every once in a while you have a positive experience. A year ago I wrote in my first column about the horrible service experience I had with an Eagle Talon tsi that led me to owning my first Bimmer. That was at a dealership that was actually a GM house which also had a Jeep/Eagle franchise. They were letting that part of their business die from benign neglect.

I’ve just had a very good buying experience (along with a "normal" or terrible shopping experience). The purchase also happened at a large GM store, Randy Iten’s Chev/Geo in Hudson, WI. An acquaintance of ours offered to buy our old Toyota 4WD wagon (rust included) and we jumped at it. Then we had to replace it; I went looking for the cheapest 4WD vehicle I could find that could hold two English Mastiffs in back.

I found a low-mileage, 3 year lease on end-of-year Geo wagons that fit the bill. It was the low-ball, manual transmission, no air, no nothing deal that’s supposed to just get you in the door; and that was exactly what I was looking for. Before I got to Iten’s I had the "normal" showroom experience at Merit Chev. I stopped there to pick up literature and see if they had one I could drive. I parked at the corner of their showroom and all the salesmen sat at (and on) the corner desk and looked at the 318ti and watched me walk in. No one got up, so I found the rack on my own and walked out with a brochure. They all sat and watched me get in my car with literature and drive off. What were they thinking? That I collected advertising as a hobby? They reminded me of the great scene in Glengerry Glen Ross where Alec Baldwin gives the "do or die" pitch to the salesmen. They were too busy complaining about how bad business was to catch it before it got out the door.

The lease I was after was advertised at a large dealership in the Cities, but Iten’s matched it. They did a two trade deal involving 3 dealerships to get the vehicle that most closely matched what I wanted. They prep’ed it, put a hitch on and delivered it in the most professional manner I have experienced. They were thorough but didn’t waste my time. They made certain I had all the phone numbers, service hours, warranty details (that you need but don’t want to mess with) in a neat package. I took a tour of the service area, met the service and parts managers and received a walk through of the vehicle. I think the thing that most impressed me was that it was a BMW or Benz or (maybe) Cadillac style delivery - but they weren’t making those kinds of margins on this car. I might have to stop saying bad things about the General!

We’re taking Barb’s 325 to Vail this winter; she has the magic traction control. We drive out non-stop and back the same way. It’s a true road trip: trade drivers every 100 miles, gas every 3rd time, cooler in the back, nothing behind the right front seat so it lays back, when you’re not driving you should try to sleep. We’ve done it this way over 20 years now, so there are tar strips on I-80 in the middle of Nebraska that are familiar. We have learned some things; if you do the can-can in the rest stop, people will stare. There was one trip home (a long time ago - when we were young!) where the accumulated refrigerator detritus included some eggs and a few small cans of Coors. We hard boiled the eggs and when you were done driving you could have an egg and a beer and then sleep for an hour. It gets damned cold driving with the windows open in December.

We have stopped a few years due to storms and we have some poignant memories of Christmas Eve in the middle of the country in the middle of the night. One year at about 2:00 am on Christmas day we picked up carols from a small station in Nebraska. The selection finished and there was dead air for a long time; then "Wow! That was..." (another long pause) "... and this is..." (more dead air) "...I don’t know what this is." And, finally, more music. The gentleman was stoned out of his mind. He was all alone on Christmas Eve and it was all he could do to get a selection cued up by the time the current one was done.

Then there was the empty truck stop cafe in eastern Colorado with the artificial tree sparsely decorated and listing to one side. There was country and western Christmas music in the background and some garland that I think a dog had chewed draped over things. Behind the counter was the piece d’ resistance: a long painting on velvet of a truck coming around a bend in the highway. It was done with the front much larger than the rear (my artistic instincts told me that was to make it seem longer; it hadn’t worked very well so the painter had also made it longer - much longer than proportion allowed). Then small lights were put through holes in the velvet so that all the lights on the front and along the side of the truck were lit up in that high prairie velvet night. And there were a lot of lights; truckers on the plains take pride in the size of their alternators. It was funny later; at the time it was sad.

That’s what makes a road trip! We start out with carrots and sparkling water and end up with Oreos, Tostados and Dr. Pepper (with sugar, not NutraSweet). We leave early because we’re excited and then hit the mountains in the morning when we can’t check in till 4:00 pm. So we detour up through Trail Ridge Road, go over Loveland Pass and arrive totally wiped out. That must be why we love it?

I hope you had a terrific Holiday Season. Now go lose some weight!

http://www.concentric.net/~cpetego/BMWCCA1.shtml

 That's the address of our web site! If you have access to the internet, you should be able to access the events, pictures, articles from the Northstar Bavarian as well as a survey, e-mail access to the club officers, and several links to other sites.

Actually, you should only have to enter that long mess of an address once. And enter it just as it's printed above, capitals, slashes, dots and the tilde (~). And don't try to pronounce the last word.

Most browsers have a GO TO or OPEN function that opens a window so you can enter the address. Once you have entered that address and you see the first page (our first page) you can save the directions to it. On AOL you go up to the heart labeled Favorite Places and press Add. On Netscape you go up to Bookmarks and select Add. Then you can select our page from the list of bookmarks (or your "favorite places") and you'll be connected.

If you have trouble accessing it, call Keith Avise days at (612) 730-6600 and leave a message; he'll call you right back. If you're on the Net and can e-mail, you can contact cpetego@concentric.net or kavise@worldnet.att.net and either Pete Heinz (our Webmeister) or Keith Avise will help you connect.

Bavarian Technic    Top

by Paul Dzimian

 In this new column I hope to provide information to club members that will help them keep their favorite car working as well as it was when new. If you have any questions that I might be able to help you with, contact me at Orr Autoservice, 6221 Cambridge Street, St. Louis Park, MN. 55416. Or e-mail to <orr.auto@juno.com>.

1. Floor Pan Plugs (E36, 318, 325's & M3): I have found in a number of these cars that the plugs that seal the floor have unbonded and popped out. This exposes both the interior and wiring harness to possible water damage. These plugs are ahead of and under the front seats and under the rear seat foot well. Although these plugs are common on all BMW series, I have only found the problem on the cars listed.

2. Washer solvent: The Prestone windshield de-icer (the ugly yellow stuff) really works!

3. Batteries: Have you checked your battery lately? On several models the battery is either in the trunk or under the rear seat and the "out of sight out of mind" rule seems to take over. Do you know that on cars with remote mounted batteries there is a positive (B+) junction post under the hood in case you have to jump start your car? Look in your owners manual for location. This is what BMW has to say on jump starts: "Jump starting" should be avoided because of possible damage to certain electric components. The electrical components found throughout our cars can handle voltages up to 15V for brief periods only. Jump starting equipment found on some tow trucks operate at 18 and up to 24 volts! Damage to certain components is assured if this equipment is used.

Disconnect the battery to charge it is recommended. However, in certain circumstances, jump starting may not be avoidable. To protect the electric components in the car, follow this procedure:

A. Ensure that both vehicles have batteries of the same voltage and approximately the same amp-hour rating (amp-hour rating must be similar to ensure sufficient power for jump starting).

B. Carefully observing polarity, connect the positive jumper cable to the B+ Junction Post (or battery positive terminal, if car is not equipped with B+ Junction Post) of the vehicle to be jump started, and then to the battery positive terminal of the vehicle being used to jump start. Next connect the negative jumper cable to a Chassis Ground (e.g., bolt at the front shock absorber upper mount) on both vehicles. Sensitive electronic components are offered more protection from voltage surges by the damping action of the chassis ground.

C. Jump start the vehicle. Before disconnecting the jumper cables, switch ON:

• Heater fan to highest speed

• Rear window defroster

• Low beam headlights

By switching on these consumers, voltage surge at the moment of jumper cable disconnection is minimized.

D. Disconnect the negative jumper cable, then the positive cable. Disconnecting the cables in this order ensures that any momentary arcing that might occur is away from the battery, and any gases produced by the battery.

Failure to follow this procedure exactly may result in damage to sensitive electronic components. SOURCE: BMW Service Bulletin 61 05 93 3895.

Flogging, Friends & Family    Top

by Bob Carlson

Monterey - By now you've probably read all about the Monterey Historics (that featured BMW this year) in all the periodicals including (of course) The Roundel. Well, let me just throw one more little tidbit of an article at you (with attitude).

I've been fortunate to have worked my way up to the Mother of all car events, having attended the local German Car-Fest, The Chicago Historics, Wheels & Wings and even the BMW Museum in Munich and the Motorsport Museum at Z-ring. Having also spent a couple of days at the San Fran O-fest, my background in car shows has even surprised me a little.

So naturally, when BMW became the featured marque at Monterey, not going wasn't an option. Plans were made, BMW buddies were recruited and 737s were airborne.

I've had the pleasure of becoming friends with many local enthusiasts the past few years. This, of course, has fueled my automotive desires and added to my repertoire of traveling companions.

Doug Gamble, former president of our local chapter, who now resides in Southern California made arrangements with a friend in Monterey for accommodations. (Doug, as you may have seen in the Roundel, has been campaigning an E36 M3 in T1 SCCA Showroom Stock and placed 2nd the day after the Historics at the Club race). So with current president John Biesecker and another past president Brian Gruis, I made plans for the trip.

We arrived right on time to pick up the car rental in San Francisco (without Brian Gruis due to the big deal). We picked up the Mazda 626 and headed for the hills. Unfortunately, we didn't allow for proper warm up and break in and the poor little roller skate developed a nice little garbage disposal sound about 20 miles out. [The way John B. tells it, Bob warmed up, and then broke it: it was flat out in every gear, sideways on every ramp, and you couldn't hear the disposal sound for the screeching of the tires. Ed.]

Returning to Hertz for another variation on the theme, we drove more carefully in a new Camry. It got us there but, man, we are spoiled with the German stuff. (Rack up another rental!)

So we arrived in Monterey and met Doug at the beach pad. He just picked up his M6 from the transporter (fresh from Minnesota storage). He also has his new race car (E36 M3) and had a friend drive up his E30 M3 for me to drive. Needless to say, the Camry sat in the Park position for 4 days. We were going to the Historics in BMWs. I mean "M" BMWs!

So without going into detail about all four days, (you've probably read all about it), we had a great time. Flogging to each and every event and dining at the finest restaurants we were all in automobile heaven. From the concours the first day to the races at Leguna Seca, we all felt sensory overload. It was all there. You name it, it was there. And many were driven pretty hard on the track as well. M1 Pro cars, 320i turbos, the new McLaren F1, M3 Touring cars, and all the old stuff as well.

We also got to tour the pits and talk with the greats. Nelson, Brian, Sam and, of course, Dieter.

We also all got a chance at the noon hour to take a few laps in the M cars. I even got the M3 sideways through the corkscrew but don't tell Doug. With 700 BMWs at the event, I'm guessing at least 200 made it onto the track. But as they climbed the back straight slowly, we all got to jump off the cliff and pour down the infamous corkscrew. (Did you see Zanardi pass Brian Herda on the final lap of the final CART race this year? That's the corkscrew.)

I guess I walked away with from this event with two things: First the cars are impressive beyond all expectations. They are beautiful, loud, fast, nasty and some very historic. But, they are, pardon me, just metal and rubber. They give us a great hobby or passion if you will, but they are still just cars. What's important is the people (that's the second thing). The designers, the engineers, the mechanics, the drivers. The fellow CCA'ers and all my new friends. Without the people this whole event would leave you cold.

And one final thought beyond that is the notion that this hobby of ours should never become such a passion that it over shadows our families. It can happen. Don't let it.

Monterey was all that I was expecting. It raised my auto-barometer another notch. I got to know my traveling companions better and met a few new friends. But as always, I was glad to be home.

The day after returning, my two little sons (2 and 5) had climbed into bed with me during the night. I studied their little faces and precious little hands. Instinctively I saw future floggers. But more importantly, I regained perspective. And I think that's what this is all about, perspective. Fun in perspective.

The Flog Hog: Bob Carlson

Motorwerks BMW    Top

by John Drewitz, General Manager

As a result of a delightful conversation with Mylo Gustafson, I've been given the opportunity to say hello from all 40 of us at Motorwerks BMW.

Motorwerks is one of a small number of BMW dealers throughout the country that sells BMW exclusively. As a true BMW "Exclusive" all of our resources are focused on the BMW owner and his/her needs.

Like all of you, we are dedicated to the proposition that all cars are not created equal; and wonder why anyone bothers to build anything that is not a BMW.

We're very excited by the aggressive product development process that BMW is so actively involved in: Most recently, we have just introduced the M3 4 door. (Many thanks to Bruce Carlson for his help on this one). This is the perfect car for someone who isn't satisfied with compromise and wants to share the experience with friends. (Apologies to Porsche owners everywhere).

By the time you read this the Z3 2.8 will be available for your consideration. This car really works well with the 1.9 liter engine, but for those who are torque and horsepower afflicted, this car will just scream with the 2.8 liter 6.

We're really looking forward to the First Annual Winter Driving School in February. We've been working with your illustrious leader, John Biesecker, on an event that will help all of us be better drivers when the snow flies. We all know that good tires, proper weight distribution and perhaps AST thrown in for good measure, make for a formidable winter car, but none of this is a substitute for good technique when the going gets tough.

It's a privilege to know and serve many of you who belong to the BMW Car Club. Please think of Motorwerks as a resource for anything you might need to know about your car or BMW in general.

Have a great year!

Orr Autoservice    Top

"independent BMW garage"

by Scott Hutchison

Orr Autoservice has been servicing BMWs at our present location, near Hwy. 100 & Excelsior Blvd., for over 12 years. During this time we have grown from one technician to three technicians and a manager almost completely by the referrals of satisfied customers.

All of our technicians are ASE Certified Master Technicians and lead technician Paul Dzimian also serves as the North Star Chapter BMW CCA technical advisor. Paul is an active BMW club member who has been servicing BMWs for 19 years and has also worked as a factory VW race technician in the IMSA endurance series. For the past three years we have sent Paul to the North Star Chapter's BIR events to provide track side technical support and provided our shop to the club for technical inspections prior to those events.

BMWs have always been known as highly technical automobiles and over the years, as they have become more complex, we have made the commitment to keep up with this technology by adding new equipment and technical training. We currently have the BMW computer diagnostic tool, Insight lab scope, Vacutec, Alldata diagnostic and repair database and Autoline tele-diagnosis system. During December we will be installing our latest and most significant commitment to state of the art technology, the complete CAS GUIDE system which fully integrates all shop systems, including diagnostic and repair, through one central computer database system.

Like BMW, Orr Autoservice is committed to the future and looks forward to continuing to providing the finest service to the world's finest automobiles.

Quarterly Review    Top

Mylo Gustafson

No club activities took place during October or November. The club social with John Biesecker has yet to take place as I write this article. As I reflect over the past summer and activities we've done as a club, I find we are progressing. We have added events and are seeing new faces at our regular events. The club has participated with other German marque clubs which increases the number of participants for the events and adds more variety to the event. Automobile interest seems to be the same whether the person has interests in Ford Model A's or BMW M3's. We will continue to expand on this concept in 1997.

We continue to urge members who have not attended events to try a drivers school, dinner tour or tech session. The February winter driving school applies to all of us that brave the Minnesota winters. No matter how many years we've been driving, winter roads can always be a challenge.

How To Tune a Z3    Top

by David Tolchiner

Early this year prior to the actual arrival of Scott Peterson's long awaited Z3, he made his ritualistic trip to Auto Technology (The Twin Cities' leading car audio dealer). Scott's enthusiasm dictated the next move. Auto Technology set out to design the perfect stereo system for this spunky speedster.

The car's ergonomic interior put an interesting dilemma in front of Auto Technology's skilled installers. How to get great bass, symphony type highs and mid-tones into the well designed cabriolet?

Auto Technology's high tech staff disassembled one of the few Z's that had been delivered. Stereo surgery began and a fiberglass enclosure was formed in the floor on the passenger side. Auto Technology installed component speakers in the factory locations. An amplifier was used to power the system and an Alpine CD player replaced the stock head unit. A Rockford Fosgate 8" woofer was installed in the fiberglass enclosure and was covered with floors' stock carpeting. The sub-woofer is virtually undetectable to even the most discriminating aficionado.

With all the custom work being done, we added an Alpine perimeter sensing security system that not only deters thieves with an ever present blinking L.E.D. but also confirms their presence with an audible chirp when a would be thief does not leave the immediate perimeter of the vehicle.

With a flawless system in place, our staff sat back with Scott for a careful evaluation. The new system was superb, smooth responsive tones with an overall appealing sound that has the ability to drive the sub-woofer with a force that could rattle the mirrors while driving the Autobahn.

Was Scott happy? Let's just say Auto Technology pulled it off with a hidden installation that can still accommodate a set of golf clubs in a very small trunk.

Slow Down!    Top

If you're still driving your Bimmer, you're on winter tires. Maybe the magic sticky Winter P210's or the even stickier (but shorter lived) Blizzacks. Whatever, they're not your summer rubber. And as such, they are typically not the same rating. (If you're running Z rated snows, just skip to the next article...)

If you drop to a lower rating in the winter, you should observe a lower top speed and watch your cornering speeds. The lower rating is not just a lower top end speed, it also gives you a softer sidewall, with more flex in the corners. I can feel additional flex in my T rated winter tires than in the Z rated Dunlops just from a good side wind.

 The ratings are:

Summer tires:

S = up to 112 mph

T = up to 118 mph

H = up to 130 mph

V = up to 149 mph

W = up to 168 mph

ZR = over 149 mph

Winter tires:

Q M+S = 100 mph

T M+S = 118 mph

H M+S = 130 mph