OK, now I realize why my front end wears out so fast. And a rant.

[jeffro]

Wow , one of those things that makes you go hmmm. I rebuilt my front end two years ago and was somewhat perplexd by its loose behavior as of late. I knew with my aggressive driving style :p and the roads around here ( mid west Germany) that it was possible to trash the bushings and the sway bar links, but I didn't expect one of the ball joints too. The right one. The left was solid as a rock. Then, as I was driving along today ( absolutely perfect, 75 degrees, and puffy clouds, sunroof open, sound system bumping) I realized how it happend. The roads here are pretty narrow and a lot of times the person coming on the other side is pushing his car as hard as he dares and crowds the centerline. My natural reaction is to dive right and (borrowed from my old racing days ) and let the inside of the tire/rim grab the edge of the pavement and follow it around the curve until I'm clear of the menace-in-an Opel. Otherwise known as "hooking"
That has to put ungodly stress on the thrust arm and its bushing. Not to mention all the rock chips on the right side. Anyway, I have the arms and 750 bushings in hand, just need to get to it. Probalby tomorrow.

Being TDY back in the states so much lately, I've had to rent numerous cars. Some decent ( Nissan Maxima ) some horrible, (Jeep Grand Cherokee..loved the warning sticker ' use the brakes too much and they'll fail! Very reassuring). I'm always glad to see the black 535i waiting for me at the airport when I get back and even after a 10 hour flight, I'm always psyched to do an Autobahn blast home from Frankfurt. To make it even better, there was a box from Care Care Specialties with Blitwax and some other goodies waiting for me when I got here. Suspension tomorow, Make it look good Saturday.
Life is good.

Laters,
--Jeffro
"It's Fabulous, Darling"

[Paul in NZ]

man i would love to be able to let my 535 loose in its natural home...my seat of the pants o meter tells me that that from about 140 ks to 200ks would be fairly decent performance even in 5th......am i right???Our crappy little roads ,slow drivers trucks and 100 km hr speed limits discourage me from trying.....

[jeffro]

She loves being in her natural habitat, but it' not all roses.. Freaking Frenchies in Renaults, Boblehead Belgians in Opels who have no idea of the order of left lane here. The brakes get exercised as much as the engine.
However, I did manage a max speed run yesterday to check her out ( what we in the jet buisness call a functional check flight)..255 kmh on a slight uphill.
You're correct about the performance estimates. But I'd downshift and let the upper rev band do it's thing. It's nice at 160kmh, dropping the throttle and the gearbox to fourth, and feeling the seat push you. :D
--Jeff





man i would love to be able to let my 535 loose in its natural home...my seat of the pants o meter tells me that that from about 140 ks to 200ks would be fairly decent performance even in 5th......am i right???Our crappy little roads ,slow drivers trucks and 100 km hr speed limits discourage me from trying.....

[Paul in NZ]

you forgot to mention the krazy krauts flashng to pass at 255.... :p