Car and Driver

http://hotfile.com/dl/84188089/89de6ad/Car.and.Driver.Buyers.Guide.2011.pdf.html

This is why BMWs were made

http://player.vimeo.com/video/16579840?title=0&byline=0&portrait=0

Get your car ready for winter.

Check your battery. Cold weather is tough on your car’s battery. The chemical reactions required to generate power in a car battery slow down in extremely cold temperatures. At 5 degrees F, a fully charged lead-acid battery has only half its rated amp-hour capacity. On top of that, during cold weather, your engine requires more current from the battery in order to get the engine started. Combine less power output with more power requirements and you get a car that won’t start on a cold winter morning. So have a mechanic run a battery load test to see if you need to replace the battery. Even if you don’t, he’ll check for and clean up any corrosion he finds on your posts and connections. The mechanic might also fill your battery with distilled water if needed 

Reinforcement plates.

I ordered two reinforcement plates for my car to prevent “mushrooming” of the strut towers. This link provides the DIY: http://www.bmw330ci.net/projects/struttower.php

Oil filter housing gasket DIY

My car hates me

I feel like my car hates me because no matter what I replace, it provides yet another annoying problem which is rather expensive to repair. Latest problems? Oil leak and idler pulley squeak.

As always, the leak is not straight forward to find, so it could be the banjo oil feeder to the VANOS, or the oil filter housing gasket. Also there is an annoying squeak coming from the idler pulley. The grand total: $85.
In the last month I have spent this much on my car:

CCV repair – $150
Oil Change – $50
Oil leak and pulley – $85
____________________________
Total: $285

Thanks BMW

Automobile Magazine

http://rapidshare.com/files/317962321/Automobile_2009-01.pdf

CCV done

After hours and hours of hard work finally I took out my CCV and put in the new one. It did not want to come out nicely so I broke it off.

DIY link: http://www.bimmerfest.com/forums/showthread.php?t=417819

I can haz an M3?

Cool video, but I didn’t like the part when the dude shifted with paddles. A proper tranny would have been more appealing. Cool vid nonetheless.

CCV set = $150.00

I have been suspecting that my CCV is leaking oil, so I ordered a new CCV with the surrounding hoses. With the parts weighing less than 1 lb, and only being made of plastic, you wonder if the parts are really worth $150.00.

I purchased the parts from www.autohausaz.com because the shipping was “free.”