Earlier this month Gabriele and I spent a fun week in Atlantic Beach, North Carolina. This area of North Carolina is a stretch of barrier islands and coastal towns also known as the Southern Outer Banks. While there we of course sampled some of the nicer restaurants in the area. Our first dinner out was […]
The Labor Day weekend is a great time to do some simple tweaks to your car. This past weekend I did some M5 Labor Day jobs that didn’t warrant waiting for a club DIY event. I replaced a leaking intensive windshield wash reservoir, added a euro trunk cubby and replaced a chipped plenum badge. When […]
Last weekend Gabriele and I got away to the Blue Ridge Mountain wine area of Virginia. We stayed in a nice VRBO, had a couple of great meals and hit four wineries on Saturday. Our first stop after driving down Friday was the Ivy Inn in Charlottesville. It was a bit of a drive from […]
Earlier this month I completed the washer fluid repair I talked about in a previous post. The windshield wiper system in my E39 M5 was leaking in multiple places. While planning for the DIY I also had the shameful (for an enthusiast) realization that it had been four years since I had changed the car’s […]
Last weekend I replaced the rear brake rotors and brake pads on my 2006 M3. For an amateur DIY enthusiast like myself that’s a pretty big job, and I’m happy to say it went smoothly. Craftsman Auto Care hosted our local chapter at their Chantilly location. Craftsman is a regular sponsor and a great partner […]
My 2002 M5 needed some relatively minor work recently. The car is old enough to be graduating from college this year, so it’s no surprise things are breaking. I tackled these at home rather than a club DIY event and I was partially successful. The first issue was the HVAC blower died. No air was […]
Usually on Work, Wine and Wheels I’m writing about red wine. But as summer arrives sometimes a white wine is the right choice. Recently Gabriele and I have enjoyed three quality summer Chardonnays that will enhance any event or meal. The first one is the Hartford Court 2021 Russian River Chardonnay. This wine is flat-out […]
It’s been a busy few weeks filled with E39 M5 projects. Last month I installed a new thermostat, and in the process discovered the lower oil pan gasket needed replacement. Then I purchased a truly impressive invention that advanced my car’s communications into the modern era. For the past few months my car had been […]
About this time last year I reported on a webinar that tracked the appreciation of BMW M Cars. The webinar was organized by Paul Seto, hard-working president of both the National Capitor Chapter (NCC) of the BMW CCA, as well as the director of the M Chapter. The data shared came from Hagerty senior analyst […]
Recently I dove into a DIY project that initially seemed too complicated. If you’re a fan of the Wheels posts you might remember I purchased clear projector lenses to install on my BMW E46 M3. When I realized the ZKW-R lens installation required me to take my HID Xenon headlights completely apart I wondered if […]
Gabriele and I got back recently from a week in western North Carolina. We rented a cabin about halfway between Boone and Blowing Rock. It was a refreshing break that included a little snow, sightseeing and a lot of good food and wine. An old favorite of ours, Joy Bistro, had closed but we found […]
Things have been slow on the DIY front this winter. The club DIY events don’t kick back in until March. I’m lucky that I don’t have to daily drive either of my cars in bad weather. In the meantime I’ve been researching BMW M Lighting options for both of my cars. Like many BMW topics […]