hinky cruise control
This is great! I have a similar problem and have never heard of it being related to the brake lights, but it makes sense in a way. I get a check liscense plate bulb warning every time I turn on the headlights at night. I'll have to look into this. I've never been able to determine which bulb is out. I'll have to get some help this evening and try to sort it out.
Paul in SA
Theo,
Thanks. I'll check out Gault for the part. I've heard of the K-Bars, but have also read all of the complaints on delivery or lack there of. The car handles pretty well as it is now with the staggered wheel set up. That seemed to make some difference when i did the upgrades. I'll have to look into the company in Australia, though. Might be my next project.
Paul in SA
Hey Theo,
I have absolutely no idea. I'm pretty much a numb nut when it comes to my cars suspension. I do know that when the new springs went on, the ride smoothed out. It's been so long since it was stock that I don't know how it compares to when I first got it. I think with the 18" wheels, performance tires, stiff shocks etc... the ride is harsh. But, my other car is an '01 740iL. I wish I had the ride quailty of that car with the handling of my 850. That would be a great combination (IMHO). I thought I was doing the right thing when I started upgrading, but now wish I had gone with 17" wheels and OEM shocks, etc... It does hug the road in corners, though.
Completely off the subject, but do you happen to have a right side light bar for the front end of a '92 US spec car lying about? I just went to the stealer and priced it again. $265 US. My right side light below the pop up is corroded inside because of a long ago stone chip in the lens. I would like to get it matching the bright and shiny left side.
Cheers,
Paul in SA (San Antonio)
I've been off the board for a while, so sorry for the late response, but here is my latest experience. I had a very annoying shimmy at 70 mph, which is where I tend to hang out, until I had new performance spings fitted front and rear. I had done everything else, including all new front end components, new bilstiens front and rear, new wheels and tires, allignment, and still the shimmy. After fitting the H&R springs, no more shimmy. Just my experience.
I think your best bet would be to contact Dave or Al at Gault BMW. Do a google search for the web adress and give them a call. they are great at finding anything for our cars, and you will get a discount if you mention the club. I know that several have done carbon fiber, but I'm pretty sure those are custom made pieces. There have been some posts of companies that will take your existing console pieces and apply the carbon fiber treatment directly to them, then you refit these pieces back on. Search the archives on roadfly and you are bound to come up with lots of information. If you don't know about that site, go to roadfly.com, go to the BMW forums, choose the e31 forum, go to search up near the top and then type in whatever you are searching for. Lots of great info there.
Good luck on your quest.
Paul
Check out the post titled "Now I Can Die Happy" on roadfly
http://bimmer.roadfly.com/bmw/forums/e31/
That is the post I was referring to. It has pictures of the conversion to Csi wood trim and some good info on the process.
Paul
Forgot to mention that you could go the thin wood veneer glue ons that are sold that go right over your existing console pieces. I've heard mixed reviews on that stuff. Not sure I'd like the look. I think you would be able to tell that you've just stuck some wood bits on top of what you already have.
Paul
From what I've seen, you can retrofit wood console pieces into your car, but at a huge cost. The wood pieces themselves are over $1000 each and you have to get different door/lower dash panels to accept the wood trim. Center console is just a simple swap, I think. Don't know about where to find the parts, but I read recently that Gault BMW helped out someone else do this exact thing. Good luck. It looks great, but I'm not sure whether it would be worth the outflow of cash.
Paul
Very nice. Looks a lot like my 740iL. I'm finding that I am much more relaxed and sedate in the 7 than I am in the 8. The 8 is still the hands down winner in the looks department. Getting ready to take out the front seats in the 8 this afternoon to start the leather dying process. Wish me luck all.
Paul
Very nice. Looks a lot like my 740iL. I'm finding that I am much more relaxed and sedate in the 7 than I am in the 8. The 8 is still the hands down winner in the looks department. Getting ready to take out the front seats in the 8 this afternoon to start the leather dying process. Wish me luck all.
Paul
Hmm, where to start. I have a '92 auto trans that I've had for a year now. I've spent close to $10,000 on repairs and upgrades in that lengtth of time, so ownership doesn't come cheap. I have never taken the car out that I didn't have at least one person stop and stare at it, sometimes even pulling out cameras and phones to snap a pic. You won't get that with a Camaro or Mustang. The best piece of advice I could give you is have whatever car you look at checked out by a mechanic before you purchase. If the owner doesn't agree to that, that is your first clue that there is something ready to go on the car. Make sure that you get complete service records on the car so that you can document what has been done to it. There is a check list on this site that does a great job of outlining things to look for when purchasing an 8. Also check out the other post thats here by another person looking to buy an 8. Lot's of good comments about the car on that string. The 8 is a beautiful automobile and a lot of fun to drive even though it weighs a ton (actually 2 and a half tons) and isn't the fastest thing on four wheels. It is expensive to maintain, and parts are a little difficult to come by until you make friends with the right people. You will never get tired of looking at it, and no one except another 8 owner will understand the lengths you will go to to pamper it. Good luck with your search and let us know if you have any questions. This is a great group of people here.
Paul
For what it's worth, here is my 2 cents. I just purchased an '01 740iL, and compared to my 92 850i it is much quieter, much smoother on the road and feels like it has a lot more low end torque, even though I have the performance chips installed on my 8. I haven't had the 7 out for a long road trip yet, but I'm guessing it is going to be more comfortable. The 8 is definitely more fun to drive on the twisties, but as was mentioned in a previous post, it's not particularly fast and very heavy, so if you are looking for something to really throw around you might want to look elsewhere. I haven't been in an 840 but I get the impression that they might have a little more umph on the low end. Bottom line is, the 8 is really a cruiser dressed up like a sports car, but it's the best looking cruiser I've ever seen. If you like it for the looks, you won't be sorry you purchsed one no matter how much you end up spending on it.
Paul
Rob,
Thanks. I'm thinking the same thing. I'll see if I can lay my hands on a switch and see if that solves the problem.
Paul
The passenger seat on my '92 850i has stopped moving forward. I have done the up/down cable repair and the seat is not twisted. Also, there is no sound (grinding noise) from the motor when the switch is pushed forward. The seat will move back and is almost all the way back now. It will also move up and down and the seat back reclines just fine. I looked under the seat and know where the motor is that controls this movement and there doesn't seem to be anything out of place or disconected. What would make the seat move in one direction but not the other? I read that there is a screw that can be turned manually to move the seat forward and back, but don't know where this is. Help please.
Paul
Unhappy thoughts! I had to get a four door car for work and the 8 might have to go. No room in the four car garage and not enough funds to keep two BMWs going right now. The bright side is that i have a great '01 740iL to drive my clients around in. With just 40,000 miles on the clock it looks almost showroom new.
So, how's the best way to find my baby a good home? I've done about everything there is to do to her, and more. She's getting a new headliner right now and the seats are going to get the Leatherique treatment next week. All this was already planned before I bought the 740, and I figured I'd get a better price for the car if it was spiffed up inside and out.
Let me know what your thoughts are on how to best find a home for her.
Paul
Having recently put on a set of Beyern Mesh 18's and living in a city with pretty poor roads, I am starting to wish I had gone with 17's. I'm a bit of a perfectionist when it comes to my car, and I already have several little pits in the rims of the wheels, just from normal driving. Not much rubber with 18's to protect the wheel. Can't imagine what it would be like with 19's. I love the look, but don't know what they are going to look like in a year or two. Just my 2 cents.
Paul
Wuffer,
Thanks. I had seen one of these, but not the other. I'm sure the info will come in handy.
Paul
OK, I'm about to get myself into some trouble here. I am going to take out the seats and redye them with Leatherique, remove the headliner and the sunroof panel and strip off the old sagging fabric and then let a pro recover them, deep clean the carpets while the seats are out, and put in some sound deadening material while I'm at it. If any of you have any sage words of wisdom, useful hints, condolences, etc.. please post. I'm planning on getting started this weekend. Now that i have the exterior in pretty good shape, it's time to do some maintenance on the inside.
ALSO, I am changing careers and need a SEDAN to drive clients around in, and was wondering if any of you have any experience with late model 7 series (before the last body style change, can't bear the hump). I need something reliable, roomy, posh, but not too expensive, as I'm leaving a salaried position and going into commission work. (from teaching high school to selling real estate) Also thought about an XJ8. Give me some ideas here. I'm also thinking that I'll just have my clients follow me in my 8 and let them be envious!
Paul
Hmmm, over 25 and so old... OUCH. From those of us a little older, don't worry so much. You just have to take a little more care getting in and out of the car later on in life. Your insurance also gets cheaper, provided you can keep your lead foot in check...
Paul
I have a Laguna Green '92 850 with a light grey interior, which I understand is fairly rare. Most have parchment. The driver's seat is especially worn, but everything inside is in worse shape than the exterior. I've thought about buying new leather, but that would run into the thousands for both front and back. Also need to get the headliner redone as it is sagging onto my head. It seems that the screws holding everthing in the footwells have disappeared. Is this common? I really need to spend some time with the car and just fine tooth comb everything on the inside.
Paul
