I thought I was done with M3 news after the last DIY event. But the car had other ideas. My alternator died last week while I was driving through Old Town Alexandria, taking the battery with it. After I got that settled I decided to buy a Bluebus Bluetooth device for the car, like I […]
Another National Capital Chapter (NCC) BMY DIY event, more maintenance for my 2006 E46 M3. We were graciously hosted again by BMW of Annapolis. On my agenda was fuel filter replacement, refreshing the passenger side muffler hanger, and a cosmetic repair to my steering wheel. The fuel filter I replaced was not original to the […]
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 […]
It’s been relatively quiet on the M car front lately. I purchased new summer tires for my M3, and I had to redo a front sway bar link that blew out shortly after install. I added a far superior, aftermarket drink holder solution to the M5. And unfortunately, I ran into my first DIY fail […]
Last week I did an old school oil change in my driveway. I use that term because I’ve become very used to handling DIY work at the events organized by the local National Capitol chapter of the BMW Car Club of America. But of course COVID-19 changed all that and there hasn’t been an event […]
Recently I completed a relatively minor but satisfying DIY on my 2006 BMW E46 M3. This one was a cosmetic repair rather than mechanical. I replaced the C-Pillar trim pieces on both sides, the interior trim between the side rear glass and the rear windshield. It’s a known issue on the E46 model 3-Series BMWs, […]
Earlier this month I wrote about selling my 1999 M3, after almost 11 years of ownership. Here’s the car that made that happen — my “new” 2006 Interlagos Competition Package E46 M3. The purchase happened quickly, and involved a lot of serendipity. I wasn’t in the market for an E46 M3, which is the BMW […]
Last weekend I did an easy but important piece of DIY maintenance. I removed, cleaned and reoiled the Conforti cold air intake (CAI) on my 1999 BMW M3. Two years ago I had to replace the foam filter as part of a full DIY tuneup. I needed to replace it because I never cleaned it, […]
Nothing is official yet for the North American market, but a lot of information has been released about the new BMW M3/M4. In case you haven’t been keeping up with BMW nomenclature, the venerable BMW 3-Series now refers only to sedans, while the two-door coupes are now considered 4-Series. So for the first time there […]
Right after the new year I upgraded my E36 M3 headlights with a new set of European elliptical headlights from BMW supplier Hella. Here’s the full story. After I installed them I had the beams adjusted at a local service station. Recently I noticed that the headlight assemblies were no longer flush to the corner […]
This morning I fixed a small issue that could have caused me a large problem. My E36 M3 spoiler brake light wasn’t working consistently. Sometimes the light came on when I applied the brake pedal, sometimes it did not. In addition to being a potential problem while driving at night, my car needed to pass […]
My 1999 BMW M3 turns 14 this month. I’ve owned the car for almost 10 years, having bought it with less than 16,000 miles. The first birthday story back in 2008 still says it all on how I feel about the car. It’s been a busy year keeping the car in top shape. That’s because […]