Search found 111 matches

by JohnM
Sat 29 Jul, 2006 17:25
Forum: Z4 roadster and Z4 Coupe
Topic: How long have I been gone? Z3, Boxster now Z4!
Replies: 10
Views: 2061

Good to see you back

As for us: 1. Moved to the USA for work 2. Mate trashed the Z3 (as you said) 3. Insurance money from the Z3 was put into a Cessna 182 plane 4. More recently, found a good deal on a Z4 3.0si http://www1.matthews-net.org.uk:8081/Cars/Z4/20060623/20060623_img_4496_std.jpg Love the Z4. Prefer the looks ...
by JohnM
Wed 21 Jun, 2006 18:50
Forum: Z3 roadster
Topic: Sport Pack
Replies: 22
Views: 2348

Not in the 2002 model year that I had.

Only the sport models had the wider tyres at the rear.

John.
by JohnM
Wed 21 Jun, 2006 17:16
Forum: Z3 roadster
Topic: Sport Pack
Replies: 22
Views: 2348

I think the sport models are easier to spot than that in the 6 cylinder versions.

The sports have larger tyres that the non-sport versions (245s and 225s on the front).

John.
by JohnM
Sat 11 Feb, 2006 21:02
Forum: Site Announcements and Feedback
Topic: Home page clock
Replies: 18
Views: 5071

I suspect the clock resides on the hosting machine - and somehow isn't getting regularly adjusted (which should happen automatically in most cases). Most servers (and PCs nowadays) sync clock settings off a known time reference source. Once set the clock runs of it's own timing until a set period ha...
by JohnM
Thu 05 Jan, 2006 12:53
Forum: Let's talk
Topic: Extended Warranty Holders.....VERY important
Replies: 25
Views: 2576

I have a hunch about the warranty and the increase in price and/or the lower level of coverage going forward. I think it was somewhere around 2002 that three year factory/dealer warranties started to get introduced on cars (my 52 plate Z3 was 3 year). Slightly before this time, most owners would be ...
by JohnM
Thu 08 Dec, 2005 12:55
Forum: Z3 roadster
Topic: insurance - sub 25 yrs on a 2.8
Replies: 22
Views: 1670

The age seems to be going down as the second hand price of the cars drop which puts the car within range of the younger generation.

John.
by JohnM
Wed 07 Dec, 2005 03:13
Forum: Z3 roadster
Topic: hmm 2.8 or 3.0?
Replies: 29
Views: 2765

The DSC debate rumbles on :-) For me, I would never buy another car without it. Others who frequent this board have said the same thing too. It must be DSC and not ASC though. Another consideration was my better half who drove the car often, wasn't as confident in rear wheel drive and wasn't used to...
by JohnM
Mon 05 Dec, 2005 13:42
Forum: Z3 roadster
Topic: hmm 2.8 or 3.0?
Replies: 29
Views: 2765

The Z is more prone to misting due to the smaller cabin interior space. This coupled with the fact that although the roof is waterproof, I think the humidity when raining on the interior of the Z is higher than on a tin-top. Air-con is a very useful tool for de-misting. Heated seats will allow you t...
by JohnM
Fri 30 Sep, 2005 22:23
Forum: Z3 roadster
Topic: 2.2 or 3.0?
Replies: 12
Views: 1430

I think the 2.2 and 3.0 both have double vanos - means the power is smooth all the way through the rev range.

In fact, going further, the 2.2 and 3.0 (M54?) are the same engine code and basic design but with the 3.0 having a larger cc through bore and stroke differences.

John.
by JohnM
Thu 29 Sep, 2005 23:19
Forum: Z3 roadster
Topic: 2.2 or 3.0?
Replies: 12
Views: 1430

A 2.2 or 3.0 will ensure one of the later models - most of which came with more toys as the model run came to a close. Another thing to consider is that the service intervals changed on the later models - the 2.2 and 3.0 both take advantage of this. Both are great engines and sound fantastic. Person...
by JohnM
Tue 20 Sep, 2005 02:54
Forum: M Roadster and M coupé
Topic: Handling and delivery charge for Hoen bulbs
Replies: 3
Views: 772

Rachel (my wife) is planning a trip back sometime within the next couple of months.

If it's just a few of you that want bulbs, we could get them shipped to us in the US as ground shipping and then personally import them and distribute when back in the UK.

PM if this helps anybody out.

John.
by JohnM
Fri 05 Aug, 2005 04:12
Forum: Z3 roadster
Topic: Help with 2.2i testdrive
Replies: 10
Views: 1230

A/C - definately a "must have" in my book. The interior on the Z is small and the hood although waterproof is (IMO) more damp than a tin-top. This can lead to fogging in winter - the A/C clears this really quickly... remember, the A/C is actually a de-humidifier. I found my 2.2 to be a gre...
by JohnM
Thu 23 Jun, 2005 22:57
Forum: Let's talk
Topic: World of F1 make believe.
Replies: 52
Views: 5278

Here is a link to the photos from the pit walkabout day (Thursday). This was the time to get close to the garages and see the cars being set up. With a long lens, it gave a pretty good viewing opportunity.

http://www1.matthews-net.org.uk:8081/F1 ... /20050616/

John.
by JohnM
Thu 23 Jun, 2005 22:13
Forum: Let's talk
Topic: World of F1 make believe.
Replies: 52
Views: 5278

And now for the lighter side of Thursday: http://www1.matthews-net.org.uk:8081/F1/2005-USA/20050616_IMG_3023.jpg http://www1.matthews-net.org.uk:8081/F1/2005-USA/20050616_IMG_3026.jpg http://www1.matthews-net.org.uk:8081/F1/2005-USA/20050616_IMG_3035.jpg http://www1.matthews-net.org.uk:8081/F1/2005-...
by JohnM
Thu 23 Jun, 2005 19:39
Forum: Let's talk
Topic: World of F1 make believe.
Replies: 52
Views: 5278

Pics

A few pics from the weekend..... The BMW Williams..... http://www1.matthews-net.org.uk:8081/F1/2005-USA/20050617_IMG_3503.jpg JB http://www1.matthews-net.org.uk:8081/F1/2005-USA/20050617_IMG_3526.jpg JV with glowing brake discs http://www1.matthews-net.org.uk:8081/F1/2005-USA/20050617_IMG_3670.jpg U...
by JohnM
Wed 22 Jun, 2005 16:27
Forum: Let's talk
Topic: World of F1 make believe.
Replies: 52
Views: 5278

Full text from the Minardi site: http://www.minardi.it/press/dettaglio.asp?IDComunicato=1875&LN=UK&IDGara=&IDComunicatiTipo= I like Paul Stoddart. He's not afraid to say what he thinks. He also talks quite a bit of sense (and did so when interviewed for the fans at the track on Thursday)...
by JohnM
Wed 22 Jun, 2005 15:38
Forum: Let's talk
Topic: World of F1 make believe.
Replies: 52
Views: 5278

This was well documented during the US TV coverage. I did mention it briefly above. As a summary of the track history: Track was resurfaced during the winter Poor track laying meant that there were loads of bumps Track was ground to remove bumps IRL Test commenced on new surface and was stopped afte...
by JohnM
Wed 22 Jun, 2005 14:09
Forum: Let's talk
Topic: World of F1 make believe.
Replies: 52
Views: 5278

It's my understanding that only Indy is affected due to the banked turn (the only on on the F1 calendar).

John.
by JohnM
Wed 22 Jun, 2005 13:25
Forum: Let's talk
Topic: BMW is taking over Sauber in F1 from 2006
Replies: 1
Views: 573

I reckon that this now starts a chain of events.....

Heidfeld goes to Sauber (with the BMW engine)
Jense goes to Williams (possibly then with Honda engines)
DC takes the BAR drive vacated by Jense

The silly season is about to get in full swing.....

John.
by JohnM
Tue 21 Jun, 2005 21:43
Forum: Let's talk
Topic: World of F1 make believe.
Replies: 52
Views: 5278

This is possibly the best summary of the situation that I have read so far: http://www.itv-f1.com/Feature.aspx?Type=James_Allen&PO_ID=33214 Very informative. People are also asking why Michelin had this problem now - it's not their first time to Indy. The US TV coverage was also quick to point o...
by JohnM
Tue 21 Jun, 2005 15:29
Forum: Let's talk
Topic: World of F1 make believe.
Replies: 52
Views: 5278

ferrari didnt disagree with a chicane they just said that they would abide by the FIA ruling whatever that ended up being. Chicken and egg I'm afraid. Without all ten teams in agreement, the FIA cannot agree to the changes. The FIA were always going to quote the rulebook. If all ten teams had asked...
by JohnM
Tue 21 Jun, 2005 15:20
Forum: Let's talk
Topic: World of F1 make believe.
Replies: 52
Views: 5278

The solution was there all along: Michelin should have brought the correct tyres. That's not a 'solution' to the problem that existed on Sunday morning. That's the cause of the problems - and I fully agree that Michelin screwed up in a very large way. On the plus side, they did admit their mistake ...
by JohnM
Tue 21 Jun, 2005 13:26
Forum: Let's talk
Topic: World of F1 make believe.
Replies: 52
Views: 5278

Of the Bridgestone runners, which one has an actual chance at the world championship? The one that didn't work at it. Fitting a chicane on the race track would have benefitted all the Michelin runners, the other Bridgestone runners would have been at the back of the queue anyway. The Bridgestone ru...
by JohnM
Tue 21 Jun, 2005 13:03
Forum: Let's talk
Topic: World of F1 make believe.
Replies: 52
Views: 5278

Because the FIA had no choice but refusing everything unless all the team agreed to change the rule. :wink: That's exactly right. It's also a little known subject area and most of the teams are trying not to finger point at Ferrari. I find the whole FIA approach interesting (source http://www.fia.c...
by JohnM
Tue 21 Jun, 2005 04:35
Forum: Let's talk
Topic: World of F1 make believe.
Replies: 52
Views: 5278

Not all of us were in our living rooms. Rachel and I traveled down to Indy from New Jersey (not quite as far as the UK). Luckily, we made it down for the four days (Thursday was the pit walkabout - which was good). The majority of the crowd were US natives. Unfortunately, they didn't know much about...
by JohnM
Wed 08 Jun, 2005 17:02
Forum: Let's talk
Topic: Dsc Off
Replies: 21
Views: 2139

If you know the roads and the car then DSC or ASC off in the right hands is fine. My personal view is when I'm on a cruise, DSC remains on. It's simple really, it gives me an additional safety device that may prevent an incident with a hedge/fence/wall that may be in close proximity. The car electro...
by JohnM
Wed 08 Jun, 2005 16:52
Forum: Performance
Topic: Z3 2.2i Sport (mods?)
Replies: 5
Views: 1650

The 2.2i slpis through relatively untouched. Most people producing mods are producing them for the 2.8 (around a lot longer) and the 3.0 (higher end model).

John.
by JohnM
Sun 05 Jun, 2005 01:15
Forum: Let's talk
Topic: Heater blower fan not working
Replies: 1
Views: 511

by JohnM
Wed 18 May, 2005 03:43
Forum: Event/cruise aftermaths
Topic: Lakes VI: 20 - 22nd May 2005
Replies: 120
Views: 49893

Re: From F'bridge

A1 to Ripon, from there it's up hill and down dale, route was mostly used last year if anyone remembers.... might look different in the low cloud with a 40 knot crosswind tho :roll: I think a few of us worked hard on perfecting our crosswind landings last year during the drive across :lol: (watch t...
by JohnM
Fri 13 May, 2005 13:36
Forum: Let's talk
Topic: Cruise Control and mpg
Replies: 16
Views: 1401

An observation from one of my USA cars:

Usually, the auto box cruises at very low revs. When on a slight incline the box is a little quick to change up. Using tiptronic and forcing it to stay in top gear improves the fuel consumption.

John.
by JohnM
Fri 13 May, 2005 01:32
Forum: Z3 roadster
Topic: help my z is low on oil
Replies: 4
Views: 894

It's a fact that the later six cyliner engines seem to burn a little oil (2.2, 2.5 and 3.0). Somebody else may like to comment on the 2.8 and the M.

On my 2.2 it used to burn about half a litre every 3k miles.

John.
by JohnM
Thu 12 May, 2005 20:40
Forum: Z3 roadster
Topic: Over run
Replies: 11
Views: 1389

Was normal on the 2.2i - more prounounced if using the engine braking (or if coasting - very bad I know - dabbing the throttle....).

Luuurrrvvvlllyyy sound.

John.
by JohnM
Thu 12 May, 2005 16:22
Forum: Z3 roadster
Topic: Cost of new front fog light lens?
Replies: 9
Views: 1228

I stand corrected then :-) Never had to replace the fog lights (as I used the protectors). I thought the expense was for the whole unit. To be honest, if somebody wanted to make the protectors in the UK it would be pretty easy. The material used is a 3M adhesive clear plastic cut to shape.... What i...
by JohnM
Thu 12 May, 2005 14:48
Forum: Z3 roadster
Topic: Cost of new front fog light lens?
Replies: 9
Views: 1228

I think the lights are whole units.

John.
by JohnM
Thu 12 May, 2005 12:57
Forum: Z3 roadster
Topic: problem with blower heating button
Replies: 11
Views: 3078

I've had this problem on several other cars (and household objects too). It's a simple switched resistor that controls the fan speed.

On the cars that I've had with this problem it's one unit with the switch. Replace the whole thing. Should be a relatively cheap fix - and probably DIY.

John.
by JohnM
Thu 12 May, 2005 12:46
Forum: Z3 roadster
Topic: Cost of new front fog light lens?
Replies: 9
Views: 1228

BMW Dealers in the USA sell fog light protectors for the Z3. I got some (about ten quid). All they were were a shaped piece of plastic with some adhesive that you fixed to the fog light.

http://www1.matthews-net.org.uk:8081/Z3 ... rotection/

John.
by JohnM
Thu 12 May, 2005 03:19
Forum: Z3 roadster
Topic: Service indicators on Z3
Replies: 9
Views: 1285

As I understand it, the original BMW algorithm was complex and covered a nuber of factors in calculating the rate at which the green lights evaporated. After a while they realised that this correllated to the fuel consumption and so now fuel consumption is used as the driver for the rate at which th...
by JohnM
Mon 09 May, 2005 18:15
Forum: Z3 roadster
Topic: How Long Is A Piece Of String Type Question.....
Replies: 6
Views: 955

Also depends on the year. Later cars have a longer service interval. I would get about 2900 between lights with average driving.

Later cars were 15,000 between services.

John.
by JohnM
Sun 08 May, 2005 16:51
Forum: Z3 roadster
Topic: Heavy thudding noise from behind driver
Replies: 7
Views: 1071

Have the fuel tank straps checked.

John.
by JohnM
Thu 05 May, 2005 20:47
Forum: Site Announcements and Feedback
Topic: Date/time seems wrong
Replies: 2
Views: 1674

OK, something is wrong. Post above has a timestamp of 15:45 and it's 17:13 (all in GMT -5). New York timezone....

John.
by JohnM
Thu 05 May, 2005 20:45
Forum: Site Announcements and Feedback
Topic: Date/time seems wrong
Replies: 2
Views: 1674

Date/time seems wrong

Is it just me or is the date/time out?

The portal main page reckons it's 3:41pm (GMT -5). It's actually 17:11.

I supose we'll see what time tis post get's timestamped.

John.
by JohnM
Mon 02 May, 2005 16:48
Forum: M Roadster and M coupé
Topic: Uk cars
Replies: 11
Views: 1202

One rule that I have learnt from the USA is that new cars with Xenons must be fitted with self-levelling to prevent the oncoming driver from being blinded. Another rule introduced is that cars from 2007 (may be 2008) must be fitted with tyre pressure monitors as standard (as it's been discovered tha...
by JohnM
Wed 27 Apr, 2005 14:39
Forum: Z3 roadster
Topic: The Z may be dead :-(
Replies: 29
Views: 3406

Confirmed - the Z is dead. Almost £20,000 in repairs.

For those that are interested, BMW Insurance have valued the car at £16,000 - which I think is pretty fair for a 1st Sep 2002 2.2i Sport. Still waiting for the official paperwork to come through with those numbers.

John.
by JohnM
Sun 17 Apr, 2005 21:19
Forum: Z3 roadster
Topic: Comfort closing
Replies: 2
Views: 710

I think this is a key in door function rather than a keyfob thing.

John.
by JohnM
Fri 15 Apr, 2005 21:32
Forum: Z3 roadster
Topic: The Z may be dead :-(
Replies: 29
Views: 3406

Well, the Sewell's BMW guy pricing up the repair gave up counting at 19.5k. We think there is some fudge factor in there and it's a little high but it's still going to be well over the write off limit. Quote and digital photos have gone off to BMW insurance and it's now just a question of whether th...
by JohnM
Thu 14 Apr, 2005 23:53
Forum: Z3 roadster
Topic: The Z may be dead :-(
Replies: 29
Views: 3406

Absolutely right - only a lump of metal.... but it's a lump of metal that I personally had a great deal of fun in (chasing Stu, Giles et al at various points on cruises). Those who know me know that when I drove the car, it had a good exercising. It had a particularly fruity exhaust note for a bog s...
by JohnM
Thu 14 Apr, 2005 21:23
Forum: Z3 roadster
Topic: The Z may be dead :-(
Replies: 29
Views: 3406

I think the impact with the lamp post was quite slow. This is backed up by the airbag not going off. I wouldn't think that you would have to be going that quickly to make the kind of dent on the front end that we can see. Cars are designed to be collapsable at this specific point - and there's littl...
by JohnM
Thu 14 Apr, 2005 17:42
Forum: Z3 roadster
Topic: The Z may be dead :-(
Replies: 29
Views: 3406

I think so. The roads were greasy after a spot of rain. The car is next door at Sewells in Bish now. My friend called me this morning. I'm really glad he is OK as cars are replaceable - people aren't. It's never nice to see something that you enjoyed so much in this state but the car wasn't a collec...
by JohnM
Thu 14 Apr, 2005 17:34
Forum: Z3 roadster
Topic: The Z may be dead :-(
Replies: 29
Views: 3406

The Z may be dead :-(

http://www1.matthews-net.org.uk:8081/Z3/Z3_Crash/Image054.jpg http://www1.matthews-net.org.uk:8081/Z3/Z3_Crash/Image053.jpg http://www1.matthews-net.org.uk:8081/Z3/Z3_Crash/Image024.jpg http://www1.matthews-net.org.uk:8081/Z3/Z3_Crash/Image012.jpg Not me driving - I have a loan arrangement with a f...
by JohnM
Wed 30 Mar, 2005 03:19
Forum: Z3 roadster
Topic: OMG...so that's why they are called dealers
Replies: 22
Views: 2458

Absolutely... if you care, check your discs with a micrometer beforehand. When they tell you the discs need replacement ask why - wait for the answer - and then ask for the measurements (including the minimum thicknesses of the discs). Pads and discs are an easy hit on consumers. It's the brakes (th...