Dynamic Stability Control, as BMW brethren know it, is a complex electro-mechanical system that steps in to control the direction of a car if the system detects loss of control. There are many examples of this technology across automakers, each with their own unique and often overstated acronym. Like any other technology, the quality of the system varies across automakers, but generally speaking, they all do a good job of correcting for loss of control. In fact, these systems have been found so reliable and consistent in reducing automotive collisions that they are now required by law in some countries.

In brief, here is how it works: A central control unit continuously takes in information from various sensors around the car. Factors such as wheel speed, throttle or brake position and steering wheel position are used to determine the directional stability of the car. If the system detects excessive yaw rates (oversteer) or insufficient yaw rates (understeer), the control unit will fire out electronic orders to adjust ignition or fueling and grab individual brake discs at any of the four corners to bring the car back onto its intended course. DSC really is an amazing piece of engineering, and in practice it is quite impressive. You can literally throw a car into a corner on a slippery surface, and watch as the system sorts things out.

This begs the question: how on earth did we survive a single car ride before the invent of Dynamic Stability Control? The answer is as simple as the question is stupid – drivers used to apply the tenets of car control to either prevent, or correct for a loss of traction at the front or rear wheels (understeer or oversteer). Whereas cars are beginning to drive themselves, there was a time not so long ago when drivers drove their cars.

All play, no work makes Jack a lazy boy, so I signed up for eight hours of volunteer flag marshaling and standby medic duties at a track event on Sunday. Normally behind the wheel, I found it a unique and interesting experience to watch things from the sidelines. It was exeedingly easy to see when a car was about to lose control, whether the driver was reacting appropriately and whether or not he would survive another lap before being passed – or spinning off the track altogether. This experience was, in fact, my inspiration for writing this edition of Opposite Lock, because the topic of DSC and whether or not to turn it off – particularly on track days – is worth discussing.

Let me be frank: driving a sports car on the racetrack while keeping DSC on is a lot like having sex wearing a condom. It’s still great, a lot of fun, but you’re missing a certain intimacy with the car. There is a safety layer that is isolating you slightly from the experience. Driving at the limit with DSC off will land you with the munchies and in need of a smoke. Of course, such untamed indulgence comes with more risk – I’m talking of crashes not children. And thus, whilst driving with DSC off you must be ever mindful and respectful of the weighty responsibility you have behind the wheel – the very welfare of your car and your personal safety depends on it.

Ironically, I tend to feel safer driving at the limit with DSC off. This is not proof of my insanity (there’s plenty of that elsewhere); there is actually a logical thought process behind this. When pushing to the limit with DSC on, the computer system is constantly reacting, reining in the action and adjusting for the attitude of the car, while you give more basic, large inputs; the finer corrections are made by DSC. What can result is a false sense of security. As you drive faster and deeper into corners, you continue to build speed, while aloof to the limits of grip and subtle dynamics of the car (because you haven’t felt them). When you finally get in too hot, you will not be aware of it until it’s too late. The car’s dashboard will light up like a Christmas tree, and you may even hear audible alerts (in some cars), but the fact remains you are in over your head and neither you nor the DSC can defy the laws of physics. You may well find yourself swinging from a tree, or sideways in a ditch, with roadside assistance on the line.

Long ago, I made a conscientious decision to always get a feel for the raw, mechanical soul of each car I test. As I approach the limits of grip, there are no surprises. Most cars predictably understeer, but can be coaxed into oversteer through various means. While prodding the limits, you get a feel for exactly what the chassis and suspension are doing. The contact patches travel straight through the seat and steering wheel, into your hands. The weight and handling balance of the car shows itself in full view. There are no tricks or surprises, no flashing lights or ringing bells: just man and machine.

If you’re pushing a car to its limits with DSC on, you will inevitably become a passenger once you’ve reached or exceeded those limits (or in most cars, even approached them), and that is precisely why I prefer driving at the limit with DSC off. You, the driver, are in control, and there will never be overlapping corrections while both you and the computer work to correct for over or understeer, trimming your line through a corner.

Consider another analogy: think of DSC as a form of training wheels. Initially, training wheels are helpful to get a feeling for your bicycle. You’ve graduated from the tricycle, but you’re not quite ready to tear up the back yard with handlebar streamers flowing in the wind. As a safety net, the training wheels allow you to gain the basic concepts and principles of riding a bicycle so that once they’re removed, you build on what you’ve learned – and I look at DSC much the same way. It’s allowed you to learn the racing line. It’s given you a basic feel for the car’s handling and where you’ll approach the limits – but until you’ve turned it off, you have not truly driven your car, in fact you’ve likely been driven by it. No one in the Tour de France is running training wheels and here’s a hint: it’s not for reasons of aerodynamics.

So, when do you turn it off? Only when you’re ready. Don’t be peer pressured into it – your friends will not pay your bill at the body shop. Grow as a driver until your comfort zone eclipses the button. When you’re feeling confident, seek out a safe, isolated place to push and prod your car to its limits. A closed off parking lot, skid pad, landing strip or racetrack would be ideal. Do not attempt to learn car control on public roads. Once the training wheels are off, you will be amazed at how steep your learning curve becomes.

Interestingly, when driving at the limit with DSC on, the rear brakes can be so heavily used by the system that they may even begin to smoke! Since the rear brakes are frequently squeezed to manipulate the vehicle, you will also see significantly increased brake wear if you drive with DSC on during at-the-limit driving. Yet another reason to turn it off, and learn the nuances of car control.

As an accomplished driver, you will find your fastest lap times with DSC off. When traversing deep snow, you will also find it important to turn DSC off, so that your drive wheels can clear snow and build momentum – something not possible with DSC on. Finally, when the punk kid with hat-on-sideways revs up beside you at the light – turn DSC off. You will have a great opportunity to teach him about the laws of physics and the limits of grip.

Tell us YOUR thoughts on DSC in the comment section below!

Sometimes it can be as simple as having the required (larger the better) down payment to leave yourself with the most affordable payment possible. If you don’t have the down payment, then leasing may be an alternative.

The Leasing vs Buying argument can and probably will go on for centuries. First off there is the mileage requirements on leases. Then again, maybe I don’t want to own a depreciating liability. What if I want a new car every 3 or 4 years before my warranty expires? I’m the easily bored type and can’t wait to get a new car. So why should I own? Leaving myself exposed to a future “what if” trade in value, or worse, having to slap a “For Sale” sign on my prized possession and having to subject myself to would be buyers poking and prodding at my BMW.

For the sake of this story I’m going to take a normally equipped 2011 BMW 535i, a model that sells very well and has been credited in the BMW’s best first quarter earnings in the history of the company. It is a BMW affordable to many customers in this segment, and almost 80% of them choose to lease. So what do they know that the rest of us don’t?

The MSRP of the example I’m using is $59,125  (see below the build sheet from BMWUSA for explanation of options included). This 535i is representative of what most customers are buying. I’ll be using a sale price of $56,500 for calculating the finance and lease figures. To simplify things and not introduce even more variables, I did not include your state taxes, local taxes or motor vehicle documentation in these figures. Just the options and destination.

In either of these examples your credit score plays a huge part in whether or not a bank will finance you and at what terms and rate. The better the credit, the lower the rate and length of term. For this example, we’re assuming a FICO score of 700 which is the average for most BMW purchasers.

Leasing, in it’s simplistic description, is a “back end” loaded finance. You are borrowing the full purchase price of the vehicle with a BMW Financial Services set “buy- out”. There is a mileage restriction on all leases. These restrictions will play into whether you should lease or not. The monthly payment is comprised of principal depreciation plus a use charge (Interest). The buyout at the end of the term can be paid in full or it can be refinanced by BMW Financial Services at the end. You will be subject to whatever the interest rates are 3 years down the road, in case you choose to finance the buyout.

Financing is simply borrowing against the collateral of the car. The payment is comprised of principal and interest. You choose how much or how little down payment, and finance the rest. Without mileage restrictions.

In our example with the 535i, the lease payment is $771 for a 36 month term with a $34,292 buy out. That brings the total to $62,048 (not including taxes and title). The important part in that figure is that you paid BMW FS $2,923 in finance charges for borrowing their money for 3 years. If you have no intention in buying the car, then your only exposure was $27,756 in payments for borrowing this new BMW 535 for 3 years. You never owned it, you built no equity. If you do buy out the lease, you will have paid $62,048.

To finance the same BMW 535 with a $10,000 down payment would leave you with a payment of $881 for 60 months at 4.9% interest. Total of payments with interest and down payment; $62,860. Pretty close to leasing the car at a total of $62,048.

The “What Ifs” of Car Purchasing

Here’s where it gets interesting.

For most people, the “what if” future value of the car is enough to scare them into leasing. After all, no one knows what the future holds and how the used car market will look like. Or worse, what if I wreck my car? What will my insurance company give me for it versus what I still owe on it? In these cases, leasing allows you to pay for the set depreciation and the rest is BMW Financial Services’ problem. If the car’s trade value isn’t worth the buyout, give it back. Or try and negotiate the buyout.

In a finance situation, you are locked in for 5 years; your payment never changes. For those of us that see security in consistency, and have the down payment, financing is your blanket. But what if after 3 years, you want to trade in your BMW? According to today’s wholesale and auction reports, a 3 year old BMW 535i with 36,000 miles is worth around $26,000. By now, you will have paid $31,716 in payments. But you still owe $21,144. So my $10,000 down payment just became $4,856 in equity. Yikes! Guess I have to keep going.

Well, after 4 years of payments totaling $42,288 and a trade value of $20,500 I’m still only left with $9,928 of equity. Getting better, but now my new car warranty is expiring. What do I do now? Go for a $3,000+ extended warranty? Trade it and hope I kept the car clean enough that it’s worth the $20,500? These are the “What ifs” that uncertainty bring.

It’s been my 20+ years of experience in the auto business that tells me unless you plan to keep this car for 5 years or longer, leasing is the way to go. With the ever changing models, technology, and resale killing redesigns, the future value of cars is always a “what if”.

As you see, both options have pros and cons and the final decision comes based on your own situation:  income, down payment, and specific set of circumstances. However, based on my experience, I will tell you this: if you like to keep up with the newest and latest tech, design, or want to stay in warranty, leasing is your answer.

Here is the answer.

The time is around 19:00 hours on a cold, blustery winter night. The temperature is hovering around -1 and it has been raining, a dangerous stage for icy conditions. Having left the shop with 4 new winter tires installed only that morning, what I encountered next had me kissing all four corners of my contact patch.

Traveling South bound on Windsor’s Huron Church Ave, one of North America’s busiest roads with high truck traffic, I came upon an intersection where the two right lanes of the 3 Southbound lanes were at a stand still, tens of semi trucks lumbering through first gear. With a fresh green displayed, I approach the intersection just below the speed limit, a clear lane lies ahead. With no warning or signal, a flat-bed semi-truck makes a sudden move pulling into my lane from stand-still (trucks are altogether banned from this “fast” lane on Huron Church, I guess he’s a new, careless, or drunk driver).

Hard on the brakes with a tall concrete barrier to the left and a nose-to-tail barrier of trucks to the right, I have nowhere to go. Visions of my seemingly imminent decapitation loom close, the flat bed trailer lying like opened scissors across the road ahead, at approximately the height of my dash. Feathering the brakes I play with the limit of tire adhesion to the road, attempting to burn off velocity as if my life depended on it, because, my life depended on it. As I closed in on the last few feet of remaining asphalt, I was amazed to bring the car to a complete stop. The truck driver who cut off my lane had his truck at a full stop, realizing his trailer did not have enough space to complete the lane change without side swiping the truck in front. Both of us at a stand still, my hood about 2 feet from the sharp metal edge of his trailer, a moment of clarity dawned. I literally owed my life to the tires I had just purchased – because any less traction on that slippery, freezing night would have resulted in my obituary and a very small inheritance debt passed on to my beneficiaries.

It’s not just about snow and ice.

Most people believe in the misnomer that winter tires are needed for snow and ice, but since they live in a part of the Country where there is little precipitation and only cold temperatures, they would not benefit from winter tires. This is a fallacy. The chemistry of winter tires has been perfected to suit the unique driving environment of winter roads. When all-season or summer performance tires start to lose grip, hardening under cold temperatures – winter tires are just coming into their peak operating temperature range, soft and pliable, ready to grip the asphalt. The transition temperature where summer performance tires or all-season tires lose traction and winter tires enter their peak operating window is around 7′ Celsius (44.6 degrees Fahrenheit).

We could break the science of winter tires into two categories: mechanical grip and molecular adhesion.

Mechanical grip refers to the physical mating of the tread to the road surface. The malleability of the rubber compound allows it to “interlock” with the undulations of the road surface (the rough rock/sand/tar or concrete surface). Once again, temperature affects the malleability of the rubber compound, so pliable rubber compounds allow better traction. The tread pattern’s ability to evacuate slush or water is also essential to mating the tread to the road surface. Adding another facet to the tread pattern, winter tires contain thousands of tire “sipes” that act as separate biting edges in the snow. These sipes also add flexibility to the tread surface, which in turn, adds more grip on ice and snow. One interesting technology in particular has negated any need for studded tires (winter tires with small metal spikes screwed into the surface); this technology gains traction at a microscopic level using millions of “bite particles” to spike into the ice or snow.

Toyo, for instance, utilize walnut shells to add traction on ice. Walnut shells are first pulverized into a fine powder and then mixed into the tread compound. At a microscopic scale each individual particle represents a sharp shard of broken shell, ready to act as an ice pick sticking out of the tire. As the tire wears, fresh shards of walnut shell surface, providing additional grip. When you consider that studded tires may have around 10 spikes in contact with the road surface at any given time, while modern winter tires have thousands of individual bite particles in contact at with the road surface at any moment – the advantage of microscopic “bite particle” technology becomes clear. Other manufacturers use different bite particle materials while operating on the same design premise. Lastly, modern winter tires contain “micro cells” or “tubules” that literally suck water off the surface of the ice or snow they’re rolling over to allow better contact between the tread and the surface beneath (consider that as ice or snow is compressed at temperatures near the melting point they release water to the surface, which effectively produces ‘micro-aquaplaning’ and reduces traction).

Secondly, we have molecular adhesion between the rubber and the road surface. At an atomic level, bonding takes place between the road surface and the tire compound as they meet. Depending on the condition of the road surface (dry vs wet), the chemistry of the rubber compound will dictate how much adhesion is available via molecular bonding. For instance, Silica is added to winter tires as it has an affinity to water molecules, and thus offers greater wet traction by bonding to the wet surface.

While these technologies may seem impressive on paper, they are staggering in practice. The traction available from the best winter tires can sometimes mimic the traction available from all-seasons on wet pavement while your driving on snow. I will even admit to driving snow covered logging trails with a 2 wheel drive car wearing Toyo winter tires… and making it out without a tow or a winch.

They say that “a chain is only as strong as its weakest link.” On snow covered roads, your tires are invariably the weakest link – unless they are quality winter tires. Earlier in the article, we briefly mentioned the relevance of all wheel drive in winter driving. Without question, AWD does offer additional traction for acceleration on slippery surfaces. However, AWD does not increase the tire’s traction with the road surface, it simply makes better use of available traction by distributing power more effectively to the road. Since maximal tire grip is finite, you cannot expect a tire to effectively turn a vehicle and accelerate concurrently without compromise (understeer). Therefore, AWD does not offer a large advantage with additional cornering speed on slippery surfaces, nor can it stop a vehicle faster. The benefit of AWD is limited on slippery surfaces, and ultimately, winter tires will go much further to assist you in winter driving than AWD ever could.

A matter of money.

While most motorists sliding out of control will tell you that winter tires are too expensive for them to justify, I believe in a simple truth that completely contradicts this claim. Winter tires are cheaper than insurance hikes and bodywork. And you can’t put a price on your safety. Most quality winter tires will offer a tread-life of three to four years before replacement is necessary, so divide the purchase cost over three to four years when you budget for them. Since you never drive your winter tires through the summer you can effectively cut down on their wear and this allows you to enjoy both winter traction, and an entertaining, fun-filled summer with a set a performance summer tires.

A common absurdity is the notion that somehow a really talented driver can drive through snow without winter tires. Well yes, it’s true – I have even driven a shopping cart through snow. This does not reflect on driver talent, but rather shows a lack of understanding. It is even possible to drive through snow with summer performance tires, but this simply displays a wonton lack of respect for the physics at play, your personal safety and a gross disregard for others on the road.

The truth is out.

All seasons are like a pair of walking shoes. You can take a nice easy walk in them, and they’ll perform okay. You could run in them, you could hike in them, you could play basket ball or tennis in them, you could golf in them, you could mountain climb in them, but they do not accomplish any of the preceding tasks very well. They are truly a “Jack of all trades, master of none.” By definition, all-season tires are a compromise: why compromise your safety and driving pleasure?

Winter tires offer so much available traction and driving enjoyment that I regularly make it a point to go out and drive after a heavy snowfall, or better yet, in the middle of a snowstorm. The proper equipment can render an inhospitable environment as a playground for your exploration and enjoyment.

Slipin and Slide’in or Drifting and Gliding? The choice is up to you.

Editors Picks:

While there are a multitude of excellent winter tires from various brands including Hakkapeliitta and Pirelli, I will focus in on the tires I have personally found to offer the best performance.

Toyo Observe G-02 Plus

-How do you compliment the tire that saved your life? Superlative deep snow and ice traction at the sacrifice of dry road handling. This tire has marked “tire squirm” but compensates with phenomenal traction when the winter gets rough. Tread wear is average, lasting 3 seasons of spirited driving (conservative driving on dry roads for the most part, so as to preserve them).

Yokohama IG 20 IceGaurds

-Your ‘Best Value’ high quality winter tire. While it may ring in the least expensive of this group, do not dismiss its performance abilities. Worn as the tire choice in Ontario’s winter rally racing, this tire needs no introduction. Excellent snow and good ice traction round out this race-winning tire. Dry handling is compromised, but not as much as many others including the Toyo Observe G-02 Plus. Tire life is slightly better than average in its class.

Bridgestone Blizzak WS60

Bridgestone Blizzak WS60 Tire Bridgestone Blizzak WS60 Tire priced from $68.

-Often acclaimed as the world’s best winter tire, the Blizzak sets the bar high. Now in its third generation, it has been recently redesigned for ever-better drive characteristics and traction; the Blizzak doesn’t disappoint. Probably one of the best all-round winter tires with excellent snow and ice traction, a relatively quiet ride, and better than average dry road handling in its class. You will not regret this purchase. Tire life is better than average, easily lasting 3 years of spirited winter driving (with more conservative driving on dry roads so as to preserve the tread).

For uncompromising dry road traction with high speed capability and performance as well as good grip on snow and ice, I would recommend the following:

Michelin Alpin PA3

Michelin Pilot Alpin PA3 Tire Michelin Pilot Alpin PA3 Tire priced from $119.

-Enjoyed best on the M3, this tire makes you forget you switched to your winters. Excellent dry road handling and traction with no noticeable tire squirm. When things get slippery, the Michelin keeps up, though snow and ice traction is compromised in exchange for its dry road performance. Tire life is excellent, one of the best in class.

Bridgestone Blizzak LM-25

Bridgestone Blizzak LM-25 Tire Bridgestone Blizzak LM-25 Tire priced from $105.

-This performance winter tire will have you questioning the relevance of many other winter tires. Currently on my BMW, these tires have displayed superior dry road handling while not trading off too much compact or deep snow traction. Traction on ice is noticeably less than its purist snow tire-brother, the WS60. However the LM-25 rewards you with dry road handling approaching the levels of a summer performance tire. Best of all, its unique rubber compound with “Long Link Carbon” renders it one of the longest lasting winter tires available in its class. Traction through slush is phenomenal, one of the best slush tires I’ve ever driven. With spirited dry-road driving, the LM-25 will last at least two seasons if not three. While it is slow to wear, the tire is designed to offer optimal snow traction for only the first part of its life, dropping off noticeably once you’ve worn past its tire sipes. No “multi-cell” tubule technology or “bite particle” technology will have some questioning the purchase of this tire. But for those unwilling to compromise on dry-road handling, this may be the tire for you.

Toyo Observe Garit KX

-A great performance winter tire that trades the Observe G-02’s tire squirm for sporty handling on dry roads. Of course, some traction on snow and ice is sacrificed, but considering the high level of tire squirm on the G-02s, this may be the better compromise for a mix of dry and snow covered road conditions. Tire wear is good, but falls behind others in-class such as the Michelin or Bridgestone mentioned above. The Garit KX contains Toyo’s walnut shell “bite particle” technology like its sibling, the Observe G-02 Plus.

For the best selection of wheels and tires, please visit TireRack (Disclaimer: Affiliate Link)

The BMW Performance Aerodynamics Kit was released two years ago and includes a BMW kidney grille in black high-gloss look.

The black grille was installed on the new BMW 5 Series.

Guide

All you need is a Torx-20 screwdriver and about 20 minutes.

First off remove rubber strip in the center on the hood right in front of inside bumber.

Once done you should see two hex bolts underneath.

Now you can start removing the 6 hex bolts using the Torx-20 screwdriver. The 2 in the center is straight forward but the two right on top of each headlight has a cover the needs to be removed first.

There’s two clips/locks holding the cover in place. All you need to do is with you fingers just pull the center pin up ( real easy )

Below. Repeat on other side

Once all screws are removed you’ll need to pull the center of the front bumper forward to remove chrome grilles. There’s nine clips holding it to the bumper. With one hand just pull the grill out on the portion of the grill where you are pushing the clip down with your other hand.

Once both grilles are removed you’ll see this.

Now time to install BMW Performance Grilles.

Side by side comparison.

Time to put everything back. The two hex bolts on top of the headlights need to be put on first before the clips/lock pins.

Then place the clip/lock pin in and press down then put lock pin in to secure.

The center piece removed in the beginning need to snap back in.

Now the extra……. Painting silver trim near the fog lights.

All you have to do to remove the mesh is take two fingers and pull forward on each corner to remove the mesh.

Unclip the three parts holding the trim to the mesh.

Paint trim with matte black or gloss spray paint. Your choice. I used matte black then reverse process and install.

Here’s the completed look.

[Source: 5post ]

The new generation of infotainment is built on an entirely new platform, CIC (Car Infotainment Computer) and it is a hard-disk based system, replacing the slower DVD-based units. It is manufactured by Becker, same company that worked on Audi’s MMI system. The updated system includes a new iDrive Controller with shortcut buttons, together with a more intuitive iDrive menu system.

But with the new system coming to the market, existing owners weren’t left with many options. BMW does not offer a retrofit kit nor helps with the installation, so this market was left to open to third-party companies and enthusiasts to retrofit their BMWs. A member of M5board explains in detail how the new system could fairly easily be fitted into an “old” E60 5 Series.

Before we jump into this visual guide, a few housekeeping things. First, make sure you know what you’re doing, and we certainly cannot assume any responsability for failed conversions which were commissioned after reading this article. Second, you need lots of new parts, from a the new LCD, a new operating unit for automatic climate control, plenty of cables and of course, the actual iDrive unit.

Guide by Stunt from M5board:

Here are all the goodies spread out on the table…

Next up was pulling the trim off

A shot of the back of the CCC with all wires still attached

After complete removal of old CCC components

CCC vs. CIC backs. The orange connector on the CIC is not connected to anything once installed

CIC cables test fitted on bench

My old center trim before seperation

Lower center trim separated from upper. I broke all the tabs, but they are fortunately not used with the new upper center trim

Next up was pulling the pins from the power connector from the old display. Here’s the old connector

After transferring to new connector

Different angle showing the pin-outs

Routing USB cable to glove box. I used the same hole that the OEM iPod adapter uses

Completed

CIC with all wires connected just before being installed. Note that the cable to the old display and the power for the CCC cooling fan are not used with the CIC

CIC installed

Old vs. new Climate Controls

New Climate Controls installed along with center trim

Finally a set of shots showing some M5 specific screens on the fancy new display

[Source: M5board ]

The time has come to announce the details of my transmission build. No one has attempted this before and there unfortunately are no off the shelf parts. Everything will have to be custom made for this application which means the build time will be around 10 weeks from this point. This thread will be updated periodically with pictures and details every step of the way. I will be providing complete documented details through the process.

Why is the transmission being built?

For one, to handle more power and for longevity. It is no secret I have abused my transmission from the moment I got the car. I have done more launches at the drag strip using launch control than… anyone really. These launches are abusive, generate tremendous heat, and shorten the lifespan. Once supercharged, the issue was expounded. At a single event in ’09 I used launch control 19 times with a burnout each time which generates considerable heat. I have attended 5 such events. Additionally, I have done launches on the street. I would estimate a conservative 70-80 uses of launch control up to this point.

So the transmission is weak?

No, not at all. Actually, it took far more than anyone would have thought. At these drag events, I would also run back to back at times. Keep in mind, I bumped the launch control RPM up as high as it would go, 6200 RPM. These are 6200 RPM launches after a burnout again and again. I estimate 70-80 uses and a properly used manual clutch in comparison should be good for about 50 passes before needing to be replaced. Just to give an idea of the abuse I put it through, I needed new motor mounts a year in as the abuse in the launches took its toll. Oops

Heat also contributed to shortening the lifespan. The moment I got the supercharger completed the car was on its way to the strip, literally. No exaggeration here, supercharger was completed and the car was on its way to the Famoso drag strip. It arrived with 15 minutes to spare and no cool-down whatsoever. I’m the kind of person that didn’t want to save it for another day and decided to go for it. A mistake in retrospect as after the burnout I attempted to use launch control and it overheated. There are two levels of overheats, one that shows a yellow cog on the iDrive screen and one that shows a red cog. I got the red cog which means limp mode and no power until the transmission drops back down to temp. Instead of cooling it down, I decided to try again since now only 10 minutes were left. Launch control would not engage so I just mashed the gas and this worked. No overheat, full pass, no problem, however some timer light malfunction prevented a readout. I had a chance for one last pass back to back after this and I went for it. Tried launch control, it engaged, and on the first to second shift it overheated, red cog again, event over, no clean pass and a transmission lifespan shortened.

The best bet for launching the DCT at the strip or on the street for that matter with longevity in mind is to not use launch control. I learned this the hard way. However, the best bet for best times IS to use launch control.

How much power can the DCT take?

The unit BMW uses for the M3 is the Getrag 7DCI600. They rate it up to 440 pound-feet and 9000 RPM which is actually even a bit conservative. My transmission took about this torque level without incident driving around. It is the launches and overheats which made it so the clutch packs started slipping. It never fully gave out just the clutch packs were starting to slip and it was not going to get any better especially as I strove to add more power. If launches and drag strip visits are removed from the equation, on the street with a supercharger, absolutely no issues, just like stock. One can even exceed the recommended 440 pound-foot limit if just using it on the street like a normal person. Here is an up close shot of my transmission:

Ferrari’s unit for the California, the Getrag 7DCL750, is rated for up to 553 pound-feet. It is also a much larger transmission and weighs 264 pounds compared to the M3′s 7DCI600′s 173 pounds. The Nissan GTR’s GR6 by Borg Warner in comparison is rated for up to 650 pound-feet. It also has 6 speeds vs. the Getrag units 7.

So, you abused your transmission, the clutch packs started to slip, what were you going to do?

Well, I decided to build it. I knew I was not about to stop adding power any time soon so this would have to be done sooner or later. I also knew I wanted to use launch control on the strip. I started contacting companies building transmissions for the Nissan GTR seeing if any would be capable of tackling the M3 DCT. If you can name a company, I contacted them. I tried anyone and everyone and only one company said they could do it and were excited about the challenge of doing it. That company is South Side Performance: http://www.sspperformance.com/

SSP is currently the premier Aftermarket Dual Clutch Transmission Specialist in the world. They have been doing work on the GR6 in the GTR as well as the EVO SST’s. They were the only company with the capability to tackle this project. Everyone else said it was not worth it, too small of a market, or that they did not have the capability to do it. Kris @ SSP told me to bring it on and that he would do what twas necessary to get this thing to perform the way I wanted on the drag strip where performance proven. I like that attitude

So what has SSP done? Well, SSP builds dual clutch transmissions that can do this:

Additionally, they are pushing the boundaries of what a DCT can take such as with their 1000 pound-foot GR6 clutch:

They are not limited to the GTR world but also build EVO SST’s that handle over 500 whp:

Seems SSP and I are proving you wrong as replacement is not your only option and not only can the DCT be repaired outside of Germany, it can be strengthened.

Here are the pictures of my transmission upon arrival today at SSP.

This is the flywheel, and the interesting thing is, the transmission counts the teeth on the back of the flywheel. No other DCT SSP has seen does this and it seems the purpose would be to detect wheelspin:

The bellhousing:

This is the beginning of what should a very interesting process. SSP will be going into the internals this weekend and we will see exactly what is going on inside and what I have done to it We will also learn how much room there is for improvement and how much potential torque we can make this thing take!

To be continued…..

Whether it is the BMW M5 series or regular BMW, these luxury cars are a favorite choice for many car enthusiasts. However, if you purchase BMW M5 series vehicle, sports car buffs will tell you that you are getting an extremely powerful fast car with a sleek and sporty design.

Since 1972, BMW has been making the BMW M Series. This series consist of mid-size and executive luxury cars. Currently in its fifth generation, the M5 series is sold as a sedan and as touring body styles. When you purchase a BMW M5, you will be paying for style, performance, and its expensive features. When paying for such a fantastic fast car, expect such high costs as maintenance, fuel, financing, and insurance. When it comes to insuring the BMW M series compared to traditional BMW vehicles, expect to pay more.

In addition to the higher price, insurance companies will factor in the powerful series engine, acceleration rates, and top speeds, which make these cars a high risk. Insurance companies know that drivers will be more likely to drive faster to get the full benefits of these high performance cars. Therefore, drivers of these cars are placed in a higher risk category and the insurance premiums they pay will reflect that risk.

For example, the costs to insure 2010 BMW M5 Series Sedan for five years includes: Year 1 – $2,486, Year 2 – $2,448, Year 3 – $2,411, Year 4 – $2,375, and Year 5 – $2,341.

The traditional luxury and sporty BMW cars have a less powerful engine compare to the M series. The regular BMWs are less expensive, less powerful so the insurance companies classify them in a lower risk category. For instance, the cost to insure 2010 BMW X3 for five years include: Year 1 – $1,162, Year 2 – $1,149, Year 3 – $1,136, Year 4 – $1,124, and Year 5 – $1,111.

When purchasing insurance for the BMW M5 series or a Regular BMW, it is important to comparison shop for the cheapest policy. To find cheap auto insurance online, you can use a free insurance comparison quote service available on insurance information websites. You will be offered the cheapest possible auto insurance quotes from a number of different insurance providers. As well, make sure you take advantage of discount incentives to lower your insurance premiums.

In Europe where diesels are much more prevalent, debadging is commonplace as those engines have less of a perceived negative image as they do in the United States. However, it seems that for Europeans, many debadge cars as a means of playing down the car: the roundel on the front is enough, it does not matter if the car is a 320d or a 335is, a 730 or a 760. Usually, the only difference being revealed by the placement of exhaust tips or perhaps the wheels relative to what is available from the factory for a specific model in the range.

In North America, it seems the badge on the rear of the car denotes more the masculinity of the owner than just the power under the hood. Debates have raged for years on web forums with BMW owners who consider debadging their car. If you own a 328i and debadge the car – the common perception seems to be that the owner is ashamed of their lack of horsepower compared to their 335 brethren. As if buying a lower echelon model means you don’t own a true BMW. That being said, as someone who likes the look of a debadged car and is, of course, upset by my lack of horsepower with my E46 325Ci – I decided to test the waters and debadge my car. I’m not trying to pick on 335 owners but that has been the most sizeable debate in recent history.

Armed with an assortment of Griot’s Garage car detailing products I went out to begin the process and for those interested, we’ve documented the steps below.

Step One: Wash and Dry the Car

I’ve washed and “clayed” a car before and it can take literally the entire afternoon so the best way to reduce the time of detailing a car is to cut down on the washing process. We picked up a multi-pattern car washing gun that lets you mix water and soap to dispense sudsy water onto the car. Then I went behind it with a terry cloth towel to clean the excess dirt off of individual panels and then hose the car down to remove excess soap and dirt. Be sure to either use multiple towels or rotate parts of the towel so that you don’t wipe more grit and grime onto the car. Once done wiping down the car, thoroughly rinse the car off. Also, use soft terry cloth towels to dry the car once done with the washing.

Step Two: Steal Women’s Hair Care Products – and Tooth Care!

The second step proves a little more difficult for me. I had to convince my fiance to let me borrow her hair dryer – which received the expected puzzled look. You will look silly but make sure you have a hair dryer and extension cord ready as you’ll need this to heat up and loosen the badging adhesive that has been in place since the day the car rolled out of the factory. While you’re stealing items from the bathroom – be sure to grab a case of dental floss which will be used to carefully remove the badges once soaked in adhesive remover and heated. You will need a few inches of floss, enough to wrap around two fingers and give you a about 4 to 5 inches to work with on flossing the back of the Bimmer.

Step Three: Remove the Badging

This can be a bit delicate just because you don’t want to damage the paint but don’t be too careful otherwise you’ll never get it done. The first step to removing everything after cleaning the car is the adhesive remover. I used a small bit of Griot’s Adhesive Remover along the top of the badging to help loosen it up. Be sure to keep a cloth handy and dab up any excess fluid that drips off. Once done with that, take the hair dryer and hold it about 6 inches back from the badging on low to medium heat – I also recommend moving the blow dryer back and forth over each individual character from top to bottom. This way each character’s entire adhesive has the chance to heat up and makes it easier for you to remove it.

About 20 seconds of heating should be sufficient at which point you should take the floss and start working it down behind the heated character; sawing away at the adhesive. A little bit of force should loosen the adhesive and the character should start to peel off. Repeat this process for each character and you’re basically halfway done – and you’ll have the grimy and gray adhesive shadow of the original badge left after you’re done.

Step Four: Clean and Clay

Once you’ve removed the characters you’re looking at a dirty piece of car. I recommend, for the easiest way to remove the left over adhesive, dampening a terry cloth and running it over the remaining adhesive to start cleaning it off. Additionally, using the hair dryer might help loosen up the adhesive then allow you to go back over it with a cloth. This could take a few tries as the adhesive is typically not looking to be removed in the first place. Once done getting all of the adhesive off there is still likely a “ghost” of the badging which can be dispatched via clay barring the area.

I recommend wetting then wiping down the area first then putting on a pair of surgical gloves. Griot’s provides a few pairs when you order their clay bar kit and it’s a great little addition to have. If you’ve clayed a car before then you understand how gross your hands are by the time you’re done – they’re coated in a film, smell bad and very chapped. Once the gloves are on, tear off a piece of clay and knead it into a more malleable ball. Run the clay over the lubricated area in a circular motion. Make sure to flip the clay often so that you aren’t running hitting the paint with the grit and grim you’ve already pulled up. It may take a few runs before you’ve successfully gotten everything off. However, once done be sure to wipe off the area and presto! you have a freshly debadged car.

I’ve had my car debadged for a number of weeks and I actually like it. I was apprehensive at first – concerned that it might yield negative connotations or disapproval. However, the contrary has been the case actually. I’ve received a number of compliments on the cleaner look and aesthetic of the car without badging at the rear. I would have to agree, I love the look of it and wish I had done it sooner – making my car just that bit more European!

(Special Thanks to Griot’s Garage for providing the products for this article!)

Here is the answer.

The time is around 19:00 hours on a cold, blustery winter night. The temperature is hovering around -1 and it has been raining, a dangerous stage for icy conditions. Having left the shop with 4 new winter tires installed only that morning, what I encountered next had me kissing all four corners of my contact patch.

Traveling South bound on Windsor’s Huron Church Ave, one of North America’s busiest roads with high truck traffic, I came upon an intersection where the two right lanes of the 3 Southbound lanes were at a stand still, tens of semi trucks lumbering through first gear. With a fresh green displayed, I approach the intersection just below the speed limit, a clear lane lies ahead. With no warning or signal, a flat-bed semi-truck makes a sudden move pulling into my lane from stand-still (trucks are altogether banned from this “fast” lane on Huron Church, I guess he’s a new, careless, or drunk driver).

Hard on the brakes with a tall concrete barrier to the left and a nose-to-tail barrier of trucks to the right, I have nowhere to go. Visions of my seemingly imminent decapitation loom close, the flat bed trailer lying like opened scissors across the road ahead, at approximately the height of my dash. Feathering the brakes I play with the limit of tire adhesion to the road, attempting to burn off velocity as if my life depended on it, because, my life depended on it. As I closed in on the last few feet of remaining asphalt, I was amazed to bring the car to a complete stop. The truck driver who cut off my lane had his truck at a full stop, realizing his trailer did not have enough space to complete the lane change without side swiping the truck in front. Both of us at a stand still, my hood about 2 feet from the sharp metal edge of his trailer, a moment of clarity dawned. I literally owed my life to the tires I had just purchased – because any less traction on that slippery, freezing night would have resulted in my obituary and a very small inheritance debt passed on to my beneficiaries.

It’s not just about snow and ice.

Most people believe in the misnomer that winter tires are needed for snow and ice, but since they live in a part of the Country where there is little precipitation and only cold temperatures, they would not benefit from winter tires. This is a fallacy. The chemistry of winter tires has been perfected to suit the unique driving environment of winter roads. When all-season or summer performance tires start to lose grip, hardening under cold temperatures – winter tires are just coming into their peak operating temperature range, soft and pliable, ready to grip the asphalt. The transition temperature where summer performance tires or all-season tires lose traction and winter tires enter their peak operating window is around 7′ Celsius (44.6 degrees Fahrenheit).

We could break the science of winter tires into two categories: mechanical grip and molecular adhesion.

Mechanical grip refers to the physical mating of the tread to the road surface. The malleability of the rubber compound allows it to “interlock” with the undulations of the road surface (the rough rock/sand/tar or concrete surface). Once again, temperature affects the malleability of the rubber compound, so pliable rubber compounds allow better traction. The tread pattern’s ability to evacuate slush or water is also essential to mating the tread to the road surface. Adding another facet to the tread pattern, winter tires contain thousands of tire “sipes” that act as separate biting edges in the snow. These sipes also add flexibility to the tread surface, which in turn, adds more grip on ice and snow. One interesting technology in particular has negated any need for studded tires (winter tires with small metal spikes screwed into the surface); this technology gains traction at a microscopic level using millions of “bite particles” to spike into the ice or snow.

Toyo, for instance, utilize walnut shells to add traction on ice. Walnut shells are first pulverized into a fine powder and then mixed into the tread compound. At a microscopic scale each individual particle represents a sharp shard of broken shell, ready to act as an ice pick sticking out of the tire. As the tire wears, fresh shards of walnut shell surface, providing additional grip. When you consider that studded tires may have around 10 spikes in contact with the road surface at any given time, while modern winter tires have thousands of individual bite particles in contact at with the road surface at any moment – the advantage of microscopic “bite particle” technology becomes clear. Other manufacturers use different bite particle materials while operating on the same design premise. Lastly, modern winter tires contain “micro cells” or “tubules” that literally suck water off the surface of the ice or snow they’re rolling over to allow better contact between the tread and the surface beneath (consider that as ice or snow is compressed at temperatures near the melting point they release water to the surface, which effectively produces ‘micro-aquaplaning’ and reduces traction).

Secondly, we have molecular adhesion between the rubber and the road surface. At an atomic level, bonding takes place between the road surface and the tire compound as they meet. Depending on the condition of the road surface (dry vs wet), the chemistry of the rubber compound will dictate how much adhesion is available via molecular bonding. For instance, Silica is added to winter tires as it has an affinity to water molecules, and thus offers greater wet traction by bonding to the wet surface.

While these technologies may seem impressive on paper, they are staggering in practice. The traction available from the best winter tires can sometimes mimic the traction available from all-seasons on wet pavement while your driving on snow. I will even admit to driving snow covered logging trails with a 2 wheel drive car wearing Toyo winter tires… and making it out without a tow or a winch.

They say that “a chain is only as strong as its weakest link.” On snow covered roads, your tires are invariably the weakest link – unless they are quality winter tires. Earlier in the article, we briefly mentioned the relevance of all wheel drive in winter driving. Without question, AWD does offer additional traction for acceleration on slippery surfaces. However, AWD does not increase the tire’s traction with the road surface, it simply makes better use of available traction by distributing power more effectively to the road. Since maximal tire grip is finite, you cannot expect a tire to effectively turn a vehicle and accelerate concurrently without compromise (understeer). Therefore, AWD does not offer a large advantage with additional cornering speed on slippery surfaces, nor can it stop a vehicle faster. The benefit of AWD is limited on slippery surfaces, and ultimately, winter tires will go much further to assist you in winter driving than AWD ever could.

A matter of money.

While most motorists sliding out of control will tell you that winter tires are too expensive for them to justify, I believe in a simple truth that completely contradicts this claim. Winter tires are cheaper than insurance hikes and bodywork. And you can’t put a price on your safety. Most quality winter tires will offer a tread-life of three to four years before replacement is necessary, so divide the purchase cost over three to four years when you budget for them. Since you never drive your winter tires through the summer you can effectively cut down on their wear and this allows you to enjoy both winter traction, and an entertaining, fun-filled summer with a set a performance summer tires.

A common absurdity is the notion that somehow a really talented driver can drive through snow without winter tires. Well yes, it’s true – I have even driven a shopping cart through snow. This does not reflect on driver talent, but rather shows a lack of understanding. It is even possible to drive through snow with summer performance tires, but this simply displays a wonton lack of respect for the physics at play, your personal safety and a gross disregard for others on the road.

The truth is out.

All seasons are like a pair of walking shoes. You can take a nice easy walk in them, and they’ll perform okay. You could run in them, you could hike in them, you could play basket ball or tennis in them, you could golf in them, you could mountain climb in them, but they do not accomplish any of the preceding tasks very well. They are truly a “Jack of all trades, master of none.” By definition, all-season tires are a compromise: why compromise your safety and driving pleasure?

Winter tires offer so much available traction and driving enjoyment that I regularly make it a point to go out and drive after a heavy snowfall, or better yet, in the middle of a snowstorm. The proper equipment can render an inhospitable environment as a playground for your exploration and enjoyment.

Slipin and Slide’in or Drifting and Gliding? The choice is up to you.

Editors Picks:

While there are a multitude of excellent winter tires from various brands including Hakkapeliitta and Pirelli, I will focus in on the tires I have personally found to offer the best performance.

Toyo Observe G-02 Plus

-How do you compliment the tire that saved your life? Superlative deep snow and ice traction at the sacrifice of dry road handling. This tire has marked “tire squirm” but compensates with phenomenal traction when the winter gets rough. Tread wear is average, lasting 3 seasons of spirited driving (conservative driving on dry roads for the most part, so as to preserve them).

Yokohama IG 20 IceGaurds

-Your ‘Best Value’ high quality winter tire. While it may ring in the least expensive of this group, do not dismiss its performance abilities. Worn as the tire choice in Ontario’s winter rally racing, this tire needs no introduction. Excellent snow and good ice traction round out this race-winning tire. Dry handling is compromised, but not as much as many others including the Toyo Observe G-02 Plus. Tire life is slightly better than average in its class.

Bridgestone Blizzak WS60

Bridgestone Blizzak WS60 Tire Bridgestone Blizzak WS60 Tire priced from $68.

-Often acclaimed as the world’s best winter tire, the Blizzak sets the bar high. Now in its third generation, it has been recently redesigned for ever-better drive characteristics and traction; the Blizzak doesn’t disappoint. Probably one of the best all-round winter tires with excellent snow and ice traction, a relatively quiet ride, and better than average dry road handling in its class. You will not regret this purchase. Tire life is better than average, easily lasting 3 years of spirited winter driving (with more conservative driving on dry roads so as to preserve the tread).

For uncompromising dry road traction with high speed capability and performance as well as good grip on snow and ice, I would recommend the following:

Michelin Alpin PA3

Michelin Pilot Alpin PA3 Tire Michelin Pilot Alpin PA3 Tire priced from $119.

-Enjoyed best on the M3, this tire makes you forget you switched to your winters. Excellent dry road handling and traction with no noticeable tire squirm. When things get slippery, the Michelin keeps up, though snow and ice traction is compromised in exchange for its dry road performance. Tire life is excellent, one of the best in class.

Bridgestone Blizzak LM-25

Bridgestone Blizzak LM-25 Tire Bridgestone Blizzak LM-25 Tire priced from $105.

-This performance winter tire will have you questioning the relevance of many other winter tires. Currently on my BMW, these tires have displayed superior dry road handling while not trading off too much compact or deep snow traction. Traction on ice is noticeably less than its purist snow tire-brother, the WS60. However the LM-25 rewards you with dry road handling approaching the levels of a summer performance tire. Best of all, its unique rubber compound with “Long Link Carbon” renders it one of the longest lasting winter tires available in its class. Traction through slush is phenomenal, one of the best slush tires I’ve ever driven. With spirited dry-road driving, the LM-25 will last at least two seasons if not three. While it is slow to wear, the tire is designed to offer optimal snow traction for only the first part of its life, dropping off noticeably once you’ve worn past its tire sipes. No “multi-cell” tubule technology or “bite particle” technology will have some questioning the purchase of this tire. But for those unwilling to compromise on dry-road handling, this may be the tire for you.

Toyo Observe Garit KX

-A great performance winter tire that trades the Observe G-02’s tire squirm for sporty handling on dry roads. Of course, some traction on snow and ice is sacrificed, but considering the high level of tire squirm on the G-02s, this may be the better compromise for a mix of dry and snow covered road conditions. Tire wear is good, but falls behind others in-class such as the Michelin or Bridgestone mentioned above. The Garit KX contains Toyo’s walnut shell “bite particle” technology like its sibling, the Observe G-02 Plus.

For the best selection of wheels and tires, please visit TireRack (Disclaimer: Affiliate Link)

BMW uses a ‘throttle-by-wire’, like a lot of other manufacturers, the gas pedal is no longer mechanically connected to a throttle butterfly. It basically is used as an input device to the engine management software that controls fuel and air settings for the engine. But given the recent spate of problems facing one manufacturer and unintended acceleration it might be good to know what to do if a ghost gets in the machine.

On BMWs with the Engine Start/Stop button, you hit the button repeatedly while underway to shut down the engine (about three times – stop pressing it when the engine shuts down). It was one of the first things I learned to do when I got my BMW.

If you experience unintended acceleration, ‘DO NOT PANIC’, apply the brakes smoothly – but forcefully enough to help scrub speed. Move over to the lane nearest the shoulder as soon as possible. Take the transmission out of gear (into neutral, or ‘N’) when off onto the shoulder. Shut the engine down. Shutting the engine down while on the road can result in difficult steering and less power assist for the brakes. Once the engine is off, turn on the emergency flashers and take a deep breath.

Now call for assistance.

Or you can try to determine if there is something interfering with the accelerator pedal. If so resolve it and continue. One piece of advice, practice shutting your car down while underway in a deserted parking lot. That will help if unintended acceleration happens at an inopportune moment in the real world.

Today, we’re going to show you how to reset your BMW inspection light that shows up on your cluster when you’re bimmer is due for Service Maintenance. One of our friends owns a 325i and he tends to change his oil at different shops who don’t own a BMW reset tool.

Without a doubt, many of you already know this, but for the others that are still new to the BMW world or simply never had to manually reset their light, this might come handy.

BMW Service Indicator Lights Reset

1. Ignition OFF (POS 0)
2. Press and Hold the trip odometer button while turning key to position 1 (ACCESSORY)
3. Keep the button depressed (about 5 secs.) until you see “Oil Service” or “Inspection” with “Reset” or “Re” in the display then let go

*Note: On vehicles with “High” cluster, you will also see the amount of fuel (in liters) remaining until next service

4.   Press the button again and hold for approx. 5 secs. until “Reset” or “Re” flashes

5.   While the display is flashing, briefly press the button again to reset the Service Interval. After the display has shown the new interval you should see “END SIA” for about 2 secs.

*Note that if the “Reset” or “Re” does not flash, then you have not met the minimum consumption level and cannot reset.

This procedure has been tested on the E46 3 Series, but if you have tried this on other models as well, please let us know and we’ll update this article.

Thanks for the tip Zsolt!

The process can be quite obsessive, but truth is that I had tremendous fun seeing the car going through all these stages. Just to give you an example how obsessive this can be, I will just mention the fact that I have been tracking even the vessel that my car was loaded on and every day I would follow its course and ….even looked up weather reports on the sea to determine if there will be any delays. YES, I am that big of a BMW enthusiast.

Now what I haven’t done was to setup a complete obsessive exciting guide that will provide all the resources needed to track your newly ordered BMW. But, another BMW fan and owner comes to my rescue and provides, by far, THE MOST COMPLETE guide I have ever seen and believe me, I have seen quite a few on several BMW forums.

Jeff G. truly is an enthusiast and you will see from his BMW Ordering Guide below; I can only imagine how much time it took to dig out all these resources and then even more, to put them all together for the BMW community.

So, sit back, take notes, bookmark the page, share it with others, print it out, Tweet it, Digg it, whatever you need to do because this article will remain as one of the most important and useful articles ever posted by us. I have no doubt that you will learn a lot from his experience; I know I did, even though I thought I knew it all.

What it takes to start a guide like this

The car was scheduled to be delivered, and awaiting my pick up at the dealer by June 15th, 2009.
I figured out, I wouldn’t be driving my 335i home from the dealer on that date.
The car had been sitting at the “port of exit” in Germany, awaiting shipping for close to 2 weeks.
I decided, after I discovered the delay, to find out where my car was, and when I would eventually get it.
Here’s what I’ve learned about how to do that.

How to track your new BMW through the production and shipping cycles in the modern age of information:
(NOTE: This only works for BMW and Mini Vehicles, This write-up is primarily focused on East Coast delivery options.)

(Below)
Here’s the car I ordered:

(Below)
As outfitted on the “Build Your Own” section of the BMW website, and as stipulated with the features
to my dealer for my order:

Tracking my BMW 335i:
1. First: you’ll need the vehicle “VIN” number from your dealer, or a vehicle production number.
As soon as the dealer officially orders the car through the BMW allocation system, they’ll get the VIN number, and then you
can get the VIN number from the dealer -just ask them.

Here’s my Vin: WBAWC73569E06XXXX

1.2 – What my Vin number means:

WBA WC73 5 6 9 E06XXXX
WBA= BMW AG
WC73= Model code of my 335i
5=Safety restraint identifier, indication of seat belts, duel advanced airbags, rear/side airbags, curtain airbags, ect.
6= check digit determined by vin
9= model year, “9″ code indicates a 2009 manufacture date (see the code in the chart below)
E= Plant code, “Regensburg” Germany (A=Munich)
06XXXX= Sequential production number of my car.

(Below)
1.3 – BMW Vin Example:

2. You can then get “rough” update on your cars progress from BMW NA. The production status is listed in the secure member’s area of the BMW website. You’ll need the VIN number to sign up for the members area. This information can be 48 hours (or more) behind the actual status of the car.

(Below)
This is the status of my 335i as shown in the BMW NA Member’s Area Website : “Awaiting Transport…”

(Below)
And, another view of the status: “Awaiting Transport.. in the timeline view…”

Tracking the car status via phone, BMW North America:
(This information can, as well, be more than 48 hours behind the actual status)
• Call: (1-800) 831-1117
• Say “Vehicle Production Status” when prompted… or at any time after the recording starts
• then,you will be asked for your production number, or last seven digits of your vin number…
• then say – the last seven digits of your VIN. In my case: E06XXXX, (Read as, for example: E, Zero,6,ex,ex,ex,ex.)
Carefully annunciate the Es, Ts and Bs – the system is voice recognition based, and sometimes gets confused with Es
and Ts and Bs.
• then say “yes” when the voice reads it back – if correct… if not correct say “no,” and repeat… (you can get it wrong 3 times,
and then the system kicks you to a live human, if you’re calling during business hours… if not, BMW will give you their
operating hours for the office. Hang up, and try again if they’re closed.)
• then say “partial VIN number,” if not a production number… when asked…
• then, the system will give you the status of you vehicle production within the last 24 hours.

These are the BMW Status Code Description:
0 Order deleted by NA
17 Order not Specified
37 Order is at BMW NA
87 Production Week Assigned
97 Order sent to AG
100 Order deleted by AG
101 Error in data transmitted
102 Special Order (no Prod Week)
105 Order out of Prod. Period
111 Order Accepted at AG
112 Order scheduled for Production
150 Production Started
151 Body Shop Started
152 Paint Shop Started
153 Assembly Started
155 Production Completed
160 Released to Distribution
168 AG Stock
170 Waiting Workshop
172 Planned for Workshop
174 Workshop Entry
176 Workshop Complete
180 Waiting for Export Dispatch
181 Waiting for Domestic Dispatch
182 AG Load No. — Released to Carrier
190 Dispatched ex(port?) BMW AG
191 Returned to BMW AG
193 Arrived at Port of Exit (where my car was stalled)
194 Selected for Shipment
195 Shipped from Port of Exit
196 Shipment Arrival — ATA

3. Once the vehicle is listed as “En Route,” you can begin following the progress in detail by other means. Once on a ship, BMW status on their website will no longer provide a detailed update, but you can still continue to track the vehicle.

3.1 – BMW ships with several cargo lines and carriers, depending on the destination.

• Wallenius&Wilhelmsen (parent company for several ship lines listed below)
• EUKOR - a division of Wallenius Lines
• UECC - another division of Wallenius Lines
• A.P. Möller - yet another division and ship line owned or operated by Wallenius Lines
• Mark 1 Shipping – owned or operated by Wallenius Lines
• K-LINE (Usually BMW West Coast deliveries only, but sometimes ships to NY/NJ as NYK-Line) K-Line is not a W&W company
• ARC - Often operated by, or under the direction of Wallenius Lines

4. Most BMWs are shipped out of the port of Bremerhaven Germany (Known by the faithful as: “Bimmer Heaven”)
Port Location:
Latitude: 53.5715° (decimal)
Longitude: 8.546° (decimal)

(Below)
Port: Bremerhaven Germany

(Below)
5. Typical BMW Shipping Ports of Call:
Here’s the typical EU to NA ports of call for the weekly car transport vessels run by Wallenius & Wilhelmsen. The destination listed on your ships itinerary will likely be the next port, and not your cars final destination.

East Coast Delivery:
Bremerhaven (port of exit)
Zeebrugge
Southampton
Halifax
New York (actually New Jersey)
Baltimore
Charleston
Brunswick
Galveston

7. Figuring out which ship your car may be on:
• The easiest way is to ask your dealer. He’ll have a detailed day by day track of his allocation shipments. Just call, and they’ll give you the ships name.
• In advance of that, you can get a good idea of your ship’s name by backing up the schedule you were given when you ordered the car, and finding the ships who’s schedule aligns with the approximate final port of entry arrival date.

7.1 – The typical BMW transport schedule:
• Car to be picked up by you at the dealer on “X” date, for example: June 25th
• Subtract 1- 2 days at the dealer to detail the car, and install any remaining dealer options : June 24
• Subtract 2-3 days in transit from the port to the dealer, so: June 22, 23, in transit via truck to the dealer from the VPC (Vehicle Preparation Center.)
Your transport time will vary based on your distance from ports of arrival.
Ground shipping on the East Coast is commonly carried out by: “Bavarian Motor Transport,” in Enclosed Freight Liners
• Subtract another 3 days, the car will typically spend June 19, 20, 21 at the VPC, at the port of entry
• Now look for ships who’s itineraries list your port of arrival on, or close to that date, in this example, the Port of NY/NJ arriving sometime around June 18th.

7.2 – Ship Schedules:
The Shipping schedules are posted as a PDF at the Wallenius Wilhelmsen website, and changes, but look for the Westbound schedule chart.
(Wallenius Wilhelmsen: http://schedule.2wglobal.com/AppSche…countryList.do)
K line also posts their schedules on their website as a PDF, and those are usually West Coast bound ships – but not always

8. Track your car, if shipped by Wallenius Wilhelmsen, using the VIN #:
WBAWC73569E06XXXX
http://www.2wglobal.com/www/wep/index.jsp
• Go to “track and trace” cargo section on the homepage, at the bottom right.
(as displayed June 2009, this function has changed location over the months)
• Enter the VIN in the “Cargo ID” field of the form
• Hit “Track”
• Status will be displayed once Wallenius has taken taken possession of the car and selected it for shipment.
• You will then know the ships name.
• If “no records are available” is displayed, Wallenius Wilhelmsen does not yet have your car in their possession, your car is not being
transported by their fleet, or the tracking system is lagging behind actual status – which is quite common.

NOTE: My car never was displayed on this tracking site although Wallenius Wilhelmsen is listed as the logistics carrier, and agent for my ship, operated by ARC.

9. This is the Ship my 335i was actually on:

SHIP NAME: INTEGRITY
PORT OF DEPARTURE: BREMERHAVEN
DEPARTURE DATE: 06/06/2009
PORT OF DESTINATION: NEW JERSEY/NEW YORK, NY
ARRIVAL DATE AT NEW JERSEY/NEW YORK, NY: 13/06/2009
(RESCHEDULED: 18/06/2009 while in the port of Bremerhaven, RESCHEDULED: at 11:25 am EST June 14th by Port of New Jersey to 6/19/2009, arriving at 12:00)
PREVIOUS SHIP NAME: AKA – M/V OTELLO (Re-named Integrity in 2005 as part of the U.S. Maritime Security Program.)
AVERAGE SPEED: 13.8 Knots
DAYS IN TRANSIT: 12
VOYAGE NUMBER: EB914
IMO NUMBER: 8919934 (International Maritime Organization ship identification number)
MMSI NUMBER: 367063310 (Maritime Mobile Service Identities – This number reflects a U.S Flagged ship.)
CALLSIGN: WDC6925
CAPACITY: 5,870 cars
LENGTH: 190 m
BEAM: 32 m
FLAG: USA. The ship is in service for ARC, (American Roll-on Roll-off Carrier) flagged as American in 2005
YEAR BUILT: 1992
SCHEDULED PORTS OF CALL:
BREMERHAVEN – 06-Jun (Germany)
ANTWERP – 08-Jun (Belgium)
ZEEBRUGGE – 09-Jun (Belgium)
SOUTHAMPTON – 10-Jun (UK)
NEW YORK, NY – 19-Jun (USA, Although shown as NY, the BMW VPC is actually in the port of New Jersey)
CONTINUING ON TO: BALTIMORE, MD, CHARLESTON,SC, BRUNSWICK, GA
CA0001
ITINERARIES HISTORY: Baltimore, and Southampton
WALLENIUSLINES FLEET

PORT OF NEW YORK – NEW JERSEY ARRIVAL DATA:
Terminal: Public Berth – NJ
Berth #: 1419 – INTEGRITY
Cargo : Autos
Estimated Arrival: 6/19/2009 12:00
Estimated Departure : 6/19/2009 20:00
Agent Name: Wallenius Wilhelmsen
Agent Telephone: 973-985-8456
Information Updated As Of: 6/9/2009, 11:25

10. Ship tracking live – status of ship locations and speeds, with ship pictures. Refreshed every 90 seconds:

10.1 – Once you know what ship your car is on, you can follow the ships progress.
http://www.marinetraffic.com/ais/
Search by Vessel Name, Port, or Ocean Area.

• Click on the port from the list: BREMERHAVEN
http://www.marinetraffic.com/ais/dat…ENT&level0=300

• Another site for Information on your ship:
(tracking requires sign in)
http://www.digital-seas.com/vessel_s…l_archive.html

• Another way of tracking the ship: by name and call sign
http://www.sailwx.info/shiptrack/

For sailwx, enter the port latitude, and longitude of Bremerhaven, the port BMW usually ships their cars out of.
Latitude: 53.5715° (decimal)
Longitude: 8.546° (decimal)
Port: Bremerhaven
Location: Bremerhaven, Germany

! NOTE: sailwx data usually appears out of date by several days, if not months. As opposed to marinetraffic, which is updated about every two minutes. I have attempted to track ships on sailwx, whose last known location was marked as “August, 2008, when tracking in June of 2009.” The sailwx site however, is the only service that will follow your ship through the open ocean of the Atlantic.

• Ship tracking around the UK seas only, and lots of picture of the ships:
The “Marine Traffic” website often loses the ship when off the coast of England. The ship is shown as “out of range.” There is a blind spot for their tracking in this specific area, but you can follow it in this area of transit via this site when the Marine Traffic site goes blind:
http://www.shipais.com/
(this site can at times fall behind timely tracking – “Integrity” showed a “last signal” that was 48 hours old)

• An excellent and accurate site for ship tracking around the UK:
http://www.ais-live.co.uk/AIS%20Live/aissolent.html

• Port: Bremerhaven Ships Currently in Harbor, live feed of information refreshed every 90 seconds:
http://www.marinetraffic.com/ais/def…0&type_color=7

• Ships in port BREMERHAVEN now, and the expected departures and arrivals within the next and last 24 hours:
Select from the list:
BREMERHAVEN, DE for port map, or in port, or departures, or arrivals or ships expected in the next 24 hours:
http://www.marinetraffic.com/ais/dat…ENT&level0=300

11. Live webcam of “Automobilexport”in Brevenhaven, “Osthafen/Whendebecken” harbor loading area,
South of “AmNordhafen” Access road:
http://www.blg.de/en/blg-logistics/s…am-automobile/
and
http://www.bremerhaven.de/sixcms/detail.php?id=13609

11.1 – Live from Breverhaven Germany, April 6th, 2009
If you look to the North of the The “Osthafen/Whendebecken” harbor loading area on the aerial map, you’ll see a bridge that runs over the railroad automotive arrival tracks. When you look at the webcam view (below 2 photos), you’ll see the bridge, looking back
towards the loading area to the South. This is updated about every 2 minutes. If you have two windows open on your browser, both the webcam, and the Marine Traffic site will align – telling you what ship you’re seeing in the webcam by virtue of the aerial view of the port on the MarineTraffic.com site.

(Below)
Examples from 11, and 11.1 above – Faust and Maersk Wave
(From: http://www.marinetraffic.com/ais/)

(Below)
This was a live webcam shot of the two car transporters in port at Bremerhavern that aligned with the above
tracking, the Maersk Wave at left below, and the Faust, marked on the side of the ship as Wallenius Wilhelmsen, below right.
(From: http://www.blg.de/en/blg-logistics/s…am-automobile/)

Tracking my ship, the Integrity:
Many BMWs are loaded onto car carrier ships in the “Automobilexport” port sections in Breverhaven. Look for the
“Osthafen/Whendebecken” harbor loading area, it is a common staging area for BMW’s awaiting export, South of
“AmNordhafen” perimeter road.

Integrity’s movements, June 1st through June 6th:
• MarineTraffic, shows Integrity as in port at Bremerhaven Germany, West of auto export “Whendebecken” harbor loading area as of June 1, 2009.
• In port, moored in the “Osthafen/Whendebecken” harbor loading area of Bremerhaven, June 4th, 10:00am EST
• Shown as moved in port at 7:20 pm EST June 4th to a new loading area to the South, now in “Kaiserhafen ll” harbor, Bremerhaven. • Moved out of port as of June 5th.
• Shown docked again back in “Kaiserhafen ll” area at Bremerhaven Germany, June 6th, 7:32am

(Below)
June 4th, The Integrity docked to the South of the MV Faust at Bremerhaven

(Below)
June 6th, 7:32am EST Below is the “Kaiserhafen ll” port area at Breverhaven, South of the more common “Osthafen/Whendebecken car loading area shown above. This picture shows the movement (shown as a green line) of car transporter “Integrity” from the Whendebecken location in port to Kaiserhafen ll .
(From: http://www.marinetraffic.com/ais/)

• Other live webcams, 6 views of the port at Bremerhaven:
http://www.bean-bremerhaven.de/bean0…ams/start.html

• More webcams:
http://www.seestadt.net/texte_webcam.html

• Collection of webcam port views at Bremerhaven:
http://www.bremerhaven.de/sixcms/detail.php?id=13609

• Webcam views of Southampton Port GB:
http://www.cowesharbourweather.com/webcam.aspx
http://www.bbc.co.uk/hampshire/conte…s_webcam.shtml

• Panning views of Southampton: http://www.cowesharbourweather.com/webcam.aspx

VIDEO: Here’s a video tour of the inside of a typical W&W car transporter, shot with an in car camera:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zuq8C…eature=related

11.2 – The day by day shipping journey of the Integrity, and my 2009, BMW 335i M Coupe:

(Below)
The Integrity, (AKA: M/V OTELLO) in service for ARC (American Roll-on Roll-off Carrier) Bremerhaven Germany
June 6th, 2009, departs Bremerhaven Germany for Antwerp Belgium, the first port of stop of four on it’s way to
the port of New York/New Jersey.

(Below)
June 9th, 2009, 10:09pm UTC, the Integrity is photographed by “RW68″ who lists his location as the port of Bremerhaven, 6/9/09

(Below)
June 9th, approximately 2:45 pm UTC, a photographer named Stan Muller takes three pictures of the Integrity while underway leaving
the port of Antwerp on June 9th, 2009.
My 335i is on this very ship, in the port of Antwerp on June 9th.
(From: http://www.shipspotting.com/modules/…php?lid=921750)

(Below)
June 9th, 5:33am EST, shortly after Stans picture above, the Integrity is tracked leaving the port of Antwerpen and the “Vrasenedok”
transport dock near Brussels – destination; Zeebrugge Belgium.
The ship photos in the pop-up window on MarineTraffic show the Integrity as green, not blue – the ship was repainted blue in 2008.
(From: http://www.marinetraffic.com/ais/)

(Below)
June 9th, 1:05pm EST, ( about 5 hours after leaving the port of Antwerp,) the Integrity is now moored in the port of Zeebrugge Belgium,
“Verbindingsdok” port loading area. Zeebrugge port records indicate that the Integrity arrived in port 4:00pm UTC
(From: http://www.marinetraffic.com/ais/)

(Below)
June 10th, 2009, Integrity underway at 12.3 kn, now entering the port of Southampton, “GB SAU,” arriving from the port of Zeebrugge Belgium.
(from: http://www.ais-live.co.uk/AIS%20Live/aissolent.html)

Watching the Integrity enter the port of Southampton – live.
(while on a wireless laptop in the lobby of a Westin Hotel in Atlanta Georgia… isn’t technology great)

(Below)
Live Webcam Sequence Capture: June10th – 11:47 UTC (45 minutes after the above mapped position)
Integrity, as it passes in transit between Fawley and Cowes in the UK, entering the port mouth of Southampton:
(from: http://www.cowesharbourweather.com/webcam.aspx)

(Below)
June 10th – Integrity Moored in the port of Southampton

(Below)
June 11th, 6:56am EST, Having left the port of Southampton, the Integrity is underway off the coast of England, South of
Porthleven/Penzance, near the “isles of Scilly” traveling at 17.3kn, – ETA New York is listed as; 9:00 UTC, June 19th.
(From: http://www.marinetraffic.com/ais/)

(Below)
June 12th, 9:00am EST, Integrity is tracked via its call-sign, WDC6925, in the Atlantic. Last known position mapped below is 13 hours
and 4 minutes out of date as of this track, located at position N 47°54′, W 010°48′.
(From: http://www.sailwx.info/shiptrack/)

(Below)
June 13th, 7:53am EST, Last known position reported June 12th 6:00 pm UTC, at N 45°30′, W 016°54′.
Bearing towards the Azores.
(From: http://www.sailwx.info/shiptrack/)

(Below)
June 15, 5:30am EST, Position N 41°42′, W 037°54′. The integrity has been averaging about 350 miles per day. Estimated speed
at between 14 and 17.5 kn, – or about 15 to 19 miles per hour.
(From: http://www.sailwx.info/shiptrack/)

(Below)
June 16, 6:30am EST, Last position tracked at 1:30am EST June 16, N 41°18′, W 046°30′.
There were two position updates in the last 23 hours

(Below)
June 18th, 6:50am EST

(Below)
June 19th, 7:00am EST, Integrity enters the Port of New York New Jersey, shown moored at NEAT, (North East Auto Terminal)
port records list arrival time as 6:11am. The Integrity is moored in Berth #: 1419.

NY/NJ AIS Port Traffic:
http://www.marinetraffic.com/ais/def…entery=40.6759

(Below)
Final Destination, VPC New Jersey Port, shown below is the Northern NEAT (North East Auto Terminal) dock.

(Below)
BMW VPC, SouthWest Docks,
(From: http://www.panynj.gov/DoingBusinessW…to_marine.html)

VPC New York/New Jersey:
http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=e…02612&t=h&z=19

(Below)
BMW VPC/VDC (Vehicle Distribution Center):
The car will spend up to three days being prepped for the American market, and being repaired to factory specifications
should damage have occurred in transit, in my case, none did.

(Below)
Ground shipping:
East Coast Deliveries are made by Bavarian Motor Transport, in Enclosed Freightliners. This is a BMT truck.

(Below)
Home at last:
The BMW 335i (back left hand bay) moments after arriving home from the dealer.

That’s the entire journey.

Special thanks to GarageJournal for being the first to host this ordering guide and of course, many thanks to Jeff for allowing us to post his “state-of-art” BMW ordering guide.

Before we go ahead and compare some of the maintenance programs offered by other luxury brands, allow me to express my opinion on this. As I have always told my friends, one of the many reasons why I chose a BMW was the Free Maintenance Program which made me more comfortable that all the scheduled maintenance and not only, would be taken care of, without extra charges on my end. With maintenance part of the initial car warranty (Get a FREE, No Obligation, Extended Auto Warranty Quote in Less than a Minute!), all I have to worry about is making the monthly payments.

BMW calls its maintenance plan “BMW Ultimate Service” which goes for the first 4 years of ownership, or the first 50,000 miles.

Now, let’s see who are the contestants this time around: the long-time competitor, Mercedes-Benz, the runner up Audi and the  king of car luxury sales in the U.S, Lexus.

Even thought Mercedes was one of the first to offer a free maintenance plan, back in 2005, they decided to eliminate their free maintenance and offer their customers the option to choose from a variety of prepaid plans.

The decision to remove the free maintenance plan was solely based on cost issues and Mercedes-Benz does not feel that the customers have jumped ship based on this. Their Prepaid Maintenance Plan offers solutions for all the pockets without having the customer think they’re giving up an “arm and a leg” for scheduled maintenance.

Audi gets a little better and while they still don’t offer a full 4 year plan, they do offer the first scheduled maintenance service at 5,000 miles or 12 months, whichever comes first, free of charge. Until 2007, Audi of America offered a  4-year/50,000-mile program, called Audi Advantage, which was established in the late 1980s as a way to restore consumer confidence and jump-start the brand in the United States.

To stay within the Audi/VW Group, Volkswagen provides owners of new, 2009 models with free scheduled maintenance for three years or 36,000 miles, along with regular checkups every 6,000 miles or 90 days.

Lexus is the U.S. leader in luxury car sales but unfortunately for their owners, they do not offer a full free maintenance program. Lexus only provides your first scheduled maintenance service at no charge. The service is performed at 30 days or 1,000 miles, whichever occurs first. Lexus also provides your second scheduled maintenance service at no charge. The service is performed at six months or 5,000 miles, whichever occurs first.  The scheduled maintenance plan is called Lexus Luxury Care and matches several personal budgets or fits your lifestyle.  Terms are available for 2, 3, 4 or 5 years.

We hope this article answers some of the questions you had and in the end, without taking sides or being biased, we would like to show you BMW’s research in determining the average cost of maintaining other vehicles during the first four years of ownership.

The average lease period is two years, but seeking a lower monthly payment, many car buyers are going for three or even four years auto leases. Now, if you’re just like me and would like to have a new car every two years, you might have a problem. Car dealerships, banks or any financial institution will not take back your car, so you’re left with very few options, swap your car lease or traded it for another one.

How does it work really?

The process itself is less complicated than many people assume, with the other party taking over the car and assuming responsibility for the remaining monthly payments. And the most important thing, there are no penalties from your lender and most of the swap car lease companies charge a small fee, $500 being the standard.

Now, what’s the hardest part?

As you might have guessed, the hard part is to find a person that is looking to take over a car lease for a short term. Sure, word of mouth always worked and still works, but it can be lengthy process.

Thankfully, in the past few years, many swap car lease companies have been founded, two of them becoming the leaders in their field: Swapalease.com
and LeaseTrader.com

Continued….

Swaplease offers a large marketplace with many people browsing their online listings hoping to find the best deal on a car, in our case, a BMW. There is one other catch though, the party interested in taking over your lease are required to go through the credit check process, just like you would start a new lease, where your FICO score needs to be above 700.

The credit application approval process can take up to 24 hours, add then the required time for lease transfer documents, usually 2-4 business days, and within a working week, you will be taking over a car.

My tips and advice

There is no doubt that some great deals can be found on Swapalease

Many “lease sellers” are willing to offer an incentive for anyone that is interested, hoping for the deal to go down faster and smoother. So, if you’re on the buyer’s side, you have an advantage when looking at taking over a car lease.

Some of you might remember that last year I leased my BMW 335i through BMW Financial Services and I took advantage of the European Delivery program offered by BMW. Beside the great savings on the final purchase price and the thrill of driving your own car in Europe, by leasing your BMW through the ED program, the monthly lease payments will be lower when compared to an identical car that was purchased out of the dealers’ lot.

Based on my calculation, if I would have purchased my 335i out of the dealer showroom, it would have cost me $30-$40 per month more than the one I purchased through ED. Anyone that purchases their car this way, due to the lower price for same configuration vehicles, has an advantage over anyone else and can finalize the swap car lease faster.

To swap a car lease it takes just a few steps and it can be quite profitable for you, the “lease seller” that would like a new car every year or so, or to the “lease buyer” who gets the deal of his life without being stuck with a car for three years or more.

To demonstrate this theory, I found a great deal on a 2008 BMW 335xi, 10,000 miles on it, 12, 000 miles per month year allowed and the Cold Weather Package: $485 per month until December 2010. Not bad, right?

So, what’s your next step?

Since we’re all BMW fans here, some of us potential buyers, you might be interested in assuming a car lease rather than purchasing a new BMW. If that is the case, then I would start with filling out a credit application with BMW Financial Services or any other lender and find out if you qualify.

Recently BMW North America have launched a new division, up2drive, that handles new and used car loans, private party car loans and refinancing.

Good luck to everyone looking to swap their car lease or takeover one.

Last week, our article on why should you have run-flat tires on your BMW stirred controversy among the bimmer fans and owners. As promised, I am back with the second part of the article in which we will expose the advantages of having REGULAR tires on your BMW. Together with Randy and Lance, two of our readers, we put together an interesting list of why one shouldn’t get the run-flat tires and the reasoning behind it.

One of the advantages of run-flat tires is the ability to drive 150 miles on them at 50 miles an hour. One might argue how convenient this solution really is especially if you’re out of town on a trip and desperately looking for a repair show. Having a run-flat go bad could cause further problems, especially finding a shop that can handle mounting these tires within 150 miles and having a suitable replacement tire in stock.

With the full-size spares BMW used to offer, getting a flat was a 25-minute pause, after which you could go on with your trip. On top of this, you could drive at full speed, with unlimited mileage and worry about the flat when  you reach the final destination.

Here are some disadvantages of using run-flat tires, cons that turn into pros of using a regular tire:

1. The run-flat tires (RFT) can usually not be repaired in the case of a puncture, so instead of a simple puncture costing $20, you’ve got to replace the whole tire.
2. RFTs can malfunction, defeating their intended purpose to begin with, or be damaged in such a way that getting the typical 150mi@50mph is no longer possible.
3. Run-flats are more expensive to buy, more expensive to install and offer poorer performance.
4. Lifespan is half of that of normal (even with regular monitor of pressures).
5. Costs 50% more than normal tires on average.
6. The ride is more uncomfortable, especially if you have 17″ upwards.
7. Increase the running costs of ownership. Normally a tire lasts you a good average of 50,000 miles (80,000 km).
8. Not all tire shops have RFT
9. Unpleasant ownership as you always have to worry about getting a puncture and always hoping that the warning does not appear.

As an ending statement, Lance and Randy are telling us what customers really want:

1. To be given the option between a run-flat tire or regular
2. Have a more attractive and durable run-flat tire product (longer life span, be able to repair punctures)
3. Replacing your standard run-flats with regular tires should be allowed by the computer system without setting off the barrage of warnings that are currently associated with running non-RFTs on RFT-equipped cars.
4. Including a full-size spare in ALL new cars (RFTs and non-RFTs), so people with RFTs have the option to make the swap in case they are not near home.

In the end, I believe it’s a matter of personal choice, where some people have different expectations than others from their own cars.

If you would like to read more about run-flat vs. regular tires, head over to our previous article, many readers have chimed in and the comments are very detailed.

Thanks for the great article Lance and Randy!

And since we’re on this subject, here are some great offers from Tire Rack:
Dunlop, Rev It Up!
When you purchase a set of four (4) Dunlop Direzza DZ101 tires or Direzza Sport Z1 Star Spec tires you may be eligible to receive a $50 mail-in rebate. Offer valid on tires purchased from in-stock inventory between February 18, 2009 and March 31, 2009.

Continental, Free $75 Gift Card!
When you purchase a set of four (4) Continental brand passenger or light truck tires you may be eligible to receive a $75 Visa Gift Card. Offer valid on tires purchased from in-stock inventory between February 2, 2009 and March 23, 2009.

Goodyear, Get Up to a $50 Rebate!
When you purchase a set of four (4) select Goodyear tires you may be eligible to receive up to a $50 mail-in rebate. Offer valid on tires purchased from in-stock inventory between March 1, 2009 and April 4, 2009

The purpose of this article is to show you BMW’s point of view or the reasons behind using run-flat tires on most of their models. So, I will let them tell us the advantages of using them, but I will have an article ready with the cons as well.

The following text was published on babybmw.net, an UK fans forum, in response to a customer’s concern.

Quote:

BMW aims to provide our customers with a premium product that provides ultimate safety with optimum performance and it is always a concern to receive feedback of this nature.

We chose to include Run-flat technology on our vehicles for the following reasons:

• It is dangerous to stop on any road to change a tyre, especially on a motorway or at night.
• There is no need to have to wait for a breakdown service to arrive.
• Safety and security of the driver and passenger(s) is maintained.
• Alloy wheels are difficult to detach from steel hubs.
• On most cars the spare is under the contents of the boot, and uses boot space.
• It can be tricky to line up the wheel bolt holes with the hub screw holes and match the thread.
• The dirty punctured tyre needs to be removed and stored in the boot.
• Another puncture before the punctured tyre is mended means one is stranded.
• A driver can continue for 150 miles at 50mph with a punctured Run-flat tyre.

All of our vehicles that use Run-flat technology have their suspension and braking components set up to accommodate Run-flat tyres. Should you decide to change to non Run-flats, it may alter the driving and handling characteristics of your vehicle. It is for this reason that this modification is not recommended by BMW as a manufacturer.

However, it is possible to have standard tyres fitted. You will additionally need to purchase either a spare wheel with jack and brace set or a mobility kit which can be ordered from the Parts Department of your nearest BMW Approved Dealership.

End quote.

Stay tuned for our reply.

DSC, short for Dynamic Stability Control is a suspension control system which goes beyond the single components of ABS, Cornering Brake Control (CBC) and Automatic Stability Control. It works by monitoring each wheel speed individually along with yaw rate and longitudinal and lateral acceleration through various sensor.

The DSC module also receives information from vehicle speed and engine speed, throttle position, brake pedal position/force and the steering angle sensor. All of this information collected is fed to the DSC control module and process.

Photo Source: eBay

The DSC computer constantly calculates an ideal driving condition that is compared with the current status. If the vehicle oversteers or understeers, the calculated ideal deviates from the measured status, and DSC will intervene within a few milliseconds via the engine management system by either applying brakes at different wheels, cutting fuel, and a few other methods that are too detailed for this short presentation

The DSC system can be deactivated via the center console button.

As I mentioned at the beginning of this article, DSC stands for Dynamic Stability Control and DTC is Dynamic Traction Control. If the DSC button in your dashboard is pressed once, the DSC system will be deactivated. To deactivate DTC, the button needs to be held for a few seconds longer.

DSC is a great safety feature in any car and it has and will save many cars and their passengers.

Here is the DSC in action:

[swf]http://videos.streetfire.net/vidiac.swf?video=b8f2e701-faa8-40dd-9db9-49213393f24e[/swf]

Need used parts? Try Prussian Motors

But before we go into the pros and cons of the two interior options, I want to let you know that we will not turn this conversation into an ethical one and an animal welfare topic. I completely understand everyone’s point of view, but this article is not about that.

Leather

Advantages

• a higher resale value for your car
• it “breathes” better
• it becomes softer as time goes by
• it’s a clear indication of luxury in a car
• a unique smell, pleasant for many
• more color options and types of leather

Disadvantages

• more expensive
• wears out faster
• the maintenance on it is costly and time consuming
• not the best choice if you own a pet
• it scratches easier
• it cracks faster
• it feels colder in the winter

Leatherette

Advantages:

• cheaper
• almost same look as leather
• wears better and can be kept in perfect shape for many years
• easier to clean and maintain, wiping it down with water it’s enough sometimes
• no need to worry about resale value, only if you’re leasing the car
• pets friendly, not easy to scratch or crack
• BMW’s leatherette is one of the best out there

Disadvantages

• it doesn’t feel as good as leather
• in the heat of summer, it feels somewhat rubbery and sticky
• no resale value
• considered a downgrade by many luxury cars consumers

Anything else that I have missed? What did you order and why?

Today, I would like to give you some quick tips on how to negotiate the right lease and a lower monthly payment. Our final article in this car leasing series, will teach you how to negotiate the best price at your dealers, techniques and resources used.

Never put money down (known as “Capitalized Cost Reduction”) is not gospel, just generally good advice. In a lease, BMW Financial Services is actually buying the car for you, you’re just renting your BMW from them.

If you do a Capitalized Cost Reduction(CCR) and let’s say, several days later you will total your car in an accident, all that money from your insurance company goes to BMW Financial Services, so all the down payment you placed on your lease, it’s GONE, you won’t be able to get it back.

You have a few options to reduce your monthly payments. CCR is one of them, but there are others as well:

• The obvious and oldest technique – negotiate a lower purchase price
• Don’t load your cars with all the options available, prioritize and think about the fact that you will give back the car in 2-3 years (well, most of us will)
• Negotiate down the Money Factor, which is your interest.  Even though you’re not actually buying the car you’re negotiating the price BMWFS will pay for it and the interest they will charge. The difference between this purchase price and the (residual x interest) + tax is what determines your monthly payment so you want to do everything you can to get the purchase price and money factor down. Think of a car lease as a regular purchase: negotiate the final price before you talk about payment options.
• Another option with BMW is called Multiple Security Deposits (MSD). If you’re a new buyer you’ll have to pay one security deposits, but under MSD you can make up to seven more. .

The security deposit is your monthly payment rounded up to the next $50 increment so $720 payment requires a $750 security deposit. The point of an MSD is that each additional security deposit cuts the money factor by .00007, so if you do all seven you’ll cut your money factor by .00049, lowering your monthly payment and the total price of the lease. Absolutely worth it.

And NO, the MSD are not lost, you will get your security deposits back at the end of your lease, unless you total your car. The only downside to MSD is that it will not lower your payments as much as CCR, but it is a great way to shave off some dollars from your monthly payment.

Let me add one more thing. Many people say that if you’re planning on keeping the car go ahead and finance it because that’s cheaper. That is not necessarily true. If you get a relatively low money factor and interest rates on a purchase is high it’s usually cheaper to lease the car for three years and buy it at the end of the lease. Your mileage might vary, but it’s worth taking a look at both options.

If the situation is reversed and interest rates are low and money factor high this situation could be reversed. The only way to know for sure is to work the numbers and see how it comes out. You could be saving a few hundred dollars per month in a lease and you can use that money in a savings or CD account, gain interest and use it after three years towards the purchase, if needed.

I hope this guide gave you some more insight and it will help you score a lower payment.

Some BMW use synthetic oils while others organic, but many BMW technicians recommend the synthetic oil due to several benefits: friction reduction – a reduction in engine wear, and it also helps improve fuel economy. Every 15,000 miles, BMW takes care of the service maintenance, but based on your driving habits, the display on your dashboard will announce you if the oil needs to be changed earlier. From my experience, 10,000 miles is the average for many BMWs.

Instructions

1. Park your BMW in a garage or in a place where you have space to maneuver around, outside is fine as well. As safety precautions, if you have a BMW equipped with manual transmission, place the car in gear and engage the parking brake. If you drive an automatic car, make sure the shift lever is placed in the parking position and once again, engage the parking brake. Many mechanics recommend to use wheel chokes to block the tires.
2. You need some tools before you start the oil change process. Make sure you have handy an oil pan, socket and socket wrenches, and a flat head screwdriver.

Oil Change For Six Cylinder Engines

If you have a six cylinder engine, the oil filter housing is located in the front of the engine bay, near the intake manifold. I’m using the N52, N54 and M54 engines as examples. The older engines use a more traditional screw on the cartridge on the right side of the engine block.

With the M54 engine ( E36, E46, E60, E83, E85 series), a 32mm socket will unscrew the filter housing car, but if you have the N52/N54 engine ( E9x, E60, E61, E87, F01 series), then a special adapter is needed.

It is best to unscrew these housing caps first, so that the oil in the housing can drain out. Obviously, you need to open the filler cap and pull up the dipstick (if equipped). This will aid in the speed of the oil draining. After that, the oil pan plug just needs to be removed and the oil drained, this is a 17mm bolt somewhere on the oil pan. It’s pretty hard to miss it and it will be easier to find after some practice.

Oil Change For V8 Engines

The V8 engines are a little different. The M62 (E31, E38, E38, E53 series),  is similar to the six cylinder engine with a filter housing in the engine bay. The N62 (E60, E61,E63, E64, E65, E66 E53 X5 4.8iSA, E70 series), has everything located under the car. The filter housing is right next to the oil pan positioned vertically.

There is a 6mm hex screw at the bottom of the housing cap, so first thing you need to do is to unscrew it to let the oil drain out of the housing. The pan has an 8mm hex plug on it,  release this to drain the oil. The oil filter housing can be released with a 24mm socket and then you can proceed to change the oil filter and o-ring on your oil filler element cap.

The V10 and V112 are built the same way, so everything I have explained should apply.

As a final note, you should always change the o-rings and crush washer that came with your oil filter kit: the crush washer on the pan plug and the o-rings on the filter hosing. There is a large one and a small one.

I hope you enjoyed this mini guide and stay tuned for more.

M54 Drain

M54 Filter

M54 filter housing

N52 Drain

N52 Oil Filter

N54 Drain

N54 Filter

N52/N54 o-rings

N62 Plug and Filter Housing

N62 Filter

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