E45 m3 vs A5 vs i335 vs LS swap vs ???

[tabasco122]

I thought we already agreed that if you want snow traction get snow tires. AWD wont make as much of a difference as a good set of snow tires will.

[stealthee]

You wouldn't believe how many people I have talked to that said they had an AWD car (3s, DSM, etc) and complained about how it "sucked" in the snow. Then I'd ask them what tires they were running and it was always some summer only tire and they couldn't comprehend that the tires were why the car was all over the place.

[tabasco122]

I remember there being a lot of debate on that here a while back lol. I have no idea because i have not driven in snow once lol.

[DCIV]

[quote=""tabasco122""]I thought we already agreed that if you want snow traction get snow tires. AWD wont make as much of a difference as a good set of snow tires will.[/quote]

Awd is there for a reason. Is bmw's system just worthless?


Coop

[tabasco122]

I wouldnt say its worthless, but they arent exactly known for their AWD

[alienviking]

I would take Audi over Subaru personally, both for the AWD and because Subaru interiors are pure shit. That said, it is all about snow tires.

[DCIV]

[quote=""alienviking""]I would take Audi over Subaru personally, both for the AWD and because Subaru interiors are pure shit. That said, it is all about snow tires.[/quote]

Interesting about interiors, never heard that angle before. Jeff would you agree?

Coop

[tabasco122]

lol even subaru lovers say the interiors suck. ib4chris...

[Jeff V.]

Audi is known for having some of the best interiors in the industry, so yeah...I'd agree. The fit, finish, and ergonomics of my S5 are amazing. There is not one single thing I'd change about it.

[mjannusch]

AWD with snow tires is nearly unstoppable in the winter. AWD with summer tires in the winter - absolute crap, and you'll probably kill yourself sliding through an intersection.

Even snow tires on a FWD or RWD car is a huge improvement in winter.

[stealthee]

Agreed. I drove a Mustang one winter and had snow tires and a little weight in the rear and the car went anywhere I wanted it to.

[Boostaddict]

Not much to update. If the weather is good Sunday I’ll snap some pictures. Ended up buying a rear bumper since I couldn’t salvage the paint on the current bumper. Since I plan to paint the front bumper myself the additional cost for the rear won’t be bad. Wheels and tires arrived just need to get them mounted. I found an awesome way to clean heavily soiled light colored leather seats like the Dakota leather in the BMW. Use your wife’s sonicare toothbrush with a pH neutral soap! Wow this worked 1000x better than elbow grease alone. Will post some pictures. I need to remember to swap a new tooth brush head back on before I put it back in the bathroom…

[DCIV]

naw, dont swap...teeth whitener.


Coop

[TurboSinceBirth]

I didn't think it would take you too long to get back into another sporty car. Haha. It was kind of weird looking at an empty garage spot with four drag radial marks on the floor.

I've definitely considered some of the BMWs but am constrained to just one play car for now. I'm getting tired of NY dealing with all the people and traffic so hopefully come August I'll be back to the Midwest.

[Boostaddict]

A long spring and early summer project to knock out a bunch of landscaping put the brakes on the bmw. I started working on it a couple weeks ago though. I have the valve cover gasket, pcv, coils, OFH/OCH gaskets, walnut blasting, motor mounts, and oil pan gasket done. I need to bolt in the new water pump and t-stat tonight, clean the VANOS solenoids, and then hope I can remember how to put everything back together (intake manifold is completely removed for cleaning along with a lot of other crap). I accidently bought a serpentine belt kit for the n52 so ordered the proper parts and need to wait for them to arrive. After I finish cleaning everything up it should be pretty reliable for a while.

I painted the front and rear aftermarket bumpers, but I’m not happy with how they turned out… it was too hot outside and I did not have a slow catalyst for the clear coat so got too much orange peel. Wet sanding took me into the base coat. Hopefully I can touch it up with leftover paint and then re-clear if we get a day of cooler weather. If not I’ll just take the car in somewhere for a cheap bumper spray match paintjob.

[Boostaddict]

Its alive. Took it for a spin around the block last night. No fluid leaks so far… which is great news.

Basic run-down of everything done (slowly) over the past couple months…
Valve cover gasket
Rob Beck PCV
Oil filter housing and oil cooler gaskets
Walnut blast intake valves and new gaskets
Water pump and t-stat
Oil pan gasket
Motor mounts
Serpentine belt and pulleys/tensioner
Vanos solenoid cleaning
Charge pipe/fmic/intake pipe cleaning

I still need to do front brake pads/rotors and wet sand/polish front bumper cover. It has what sounds like a slight lifter tick at idle. I’ll probably flush this new oil shortly as it might be a little nasty after the poor maintenance of the previous owner. Then I need to fiddle with the aftermarket exhaust which is hitting on the chassis in multiple places and has an annoying vibration at idle. Bending or lengthening a couple hangers a bit will probably fix this. The interior still needs a lot of detail/attention but priority is getting it mechanically sound first.

[Jeff V.]

It has what sounds like a slight lifter tick at idle.

Is this a direct injection engine? If so, that might just be the fuel pump. Most DI engines I've seen make a ticking noise at idle. As far as I know, it's normal.

[tabasco122]

Ticking is the injectors. You can't get rid of it, that's how di engines sound lol.

[Boostaddict]

I’m pretty sure it is actual lifter tick. A quick search on e90 forums shows it’s a common problem. There was revision to the head design for better oil flow/pressure in the ’09 timeframe to address the common problem but I have a very early ’09 so might be the issue. I have 2 other vehicles with DI and they don’t sound anything like this. This sounds like a typical 3S lifter tick that you can hear only at idle from 40’ away from the car. At 1000 rpm the noise goes away as soon as it builds up a little oil pressure. The noise might well go away after I can really drive the car rather than just putting around the block. I haven’t even gotten it fully up to temp or boosted the car yet, as the under plastics are still not fully installed. If it is the injectors that fine too... I just know it didn't sound this loud before I did all the maintenance. Can’t wait to get back from vacation so I can get the car wrapped up. We return the day before Dream Cruise weekend but I don’t think I’ll have a chance to get it ready that fast.

[Boostaddict]

After a year+ of delays over the summer I finally got the e93 bumpers professionally painted and the whole car put back together. The wife has really enjoyed “finally” driving it through these last few unusually warm weeks and the kids love riding in the back.

The rear bumper BSM paint match was nearly flawless and the front is only marred by the poor condition of the front fenders/hood due to the previous owners neglect. The clear coat is in such poor condition even after many hours of paint correction effort I’m not sure it will ever be perfect but it looks good in anything but harsh direct lighting up close.

Quick pictures…