Re: Secondary Air Pump...New Tire Question...Shocks?...Sway Bars?

["Mark Cecil" <mjcecil@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

I have the Kumho Ecsta Supra's on the ///M3 now on the advice of the folks
at TireRack
and have been fairly pleased.  I was unwilling to pay for Pilot Sports or
the 8080E's again, given that I put 150 miles a day on the car, and tire
sets, for me, have a disturbingly short lifespan. I think I remember paying
somewhere around $420 for the entire set.

The Kumho's are not as sticky as either of the OEM tires that came with
///M3's, but are not as hard as the Michelins or Conti's that came on yours.
They are Z-rated, and I have spent lots of hours over the 110 MPH mark on
this set with no trouble at all (yes, folks, if you know what's good for
you, you'll stay off of I-10 between New Orleans and aton Rouge during
commute hours).  They also have the same nifty rim-protector rib that my
8080E's had.

If you're looking for absolute max performance, you need a different tire,
but if you're looking for a high-performance-good-treadwear-and-value
balance, these seem to be a good choice, and I plan on replacing this set
with one just like it.

mjc
'99 ///M3

    -= Mark Justin Cecil == New Orleans, LA == mjcecil@domain.elided =-
                    -= http://noml.dyndns.org/mark.html =-
    -= UNIX/Storage Architecture, Implementation, and Administration =-

           "The truth is the truth, no matter what you *believe*"


----- Original Message -----
From: "Joseph T. Baptista Jr." <jbaptista@domain.elided>
To: "'Bmw-Digest (E-mail)'" <bmw-digest@domain.elided>; "'Bmwuucdigest
(E-mail)'" <bmwuucdigest@domain.elided>
Sent: Friday, July 25, 2003 6:06 AM
Subject: Secondary Air Pump...New Tire Question...Shocks?...Sway Bars?


> Occasionally at start-up, it sounds like a cat is stuck in my engine
> compartment.  The noise appears to be coming from the secondary air pump.
> Has anyone had this problem?  How involved is the repair?
>
> Second question, I need new tires for my 96 328i (Tire Size: 225 50 R16)
> asap!  I live in New England but will never drive this car in the snow or
> ice.  I am looking for a performance tire with good ride quality and
decent
> tread life.  I have no plans to be at the track, street-use only.
>
> Last question, I am looking to improve the performance handling of the
car.
> I have no plans to install larger wheels so the need to install springs is
> limited, I think.  Should I go with sport shocks or sway bars?  If so,
what
> does everyone recommend?
>
> Thanks in advance.
>
> Respectfully submitted,
>
> Joe Baptista
>
> 1996 328i (E36)
> BMWCCA #309409
> --
> to be removed from bmw, see /bin/digest-subs.cgi
> or email "unsubscribe bmw" to majordomo@domain.elided
--
to be removed from bmw, see /bin/digest-subs.cgi
or email "unsubscribe bmw" to majordomo@domain.elided