# it's true...it IS the Ultimate Driving Machine!!



## sniper6182 (Apr 24, 2004)

cantona7, congrats on your new car as well!!! those 18's look great!!!

how do u like the car so far??? are you experiencing the rough idle that many here are speaking of??? or stalling for that matter.....just curious


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## FenPhen (Jan 13, 2004)

sniper6182 said:


> so the small set of speakers by the door handles actually have tweeters and midrange...wow that's kidna small...anwyay, thanks for clarifying the speakers' locations...your car loooks really clean!!! :thumbup:


Do the coupes not have the tweeters up by the side mirrors with the HK tag on them?

Edit: Never mind, found me some pictures of a coupe door.


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## FenPhen (Jan 13, 2004)

Spectre said:


> Just a real pain in the butt to clean between the spokes on the 68s. I haven't found a strong enough brush that gets into the center gap right where the spokes meet the outer part of wheel. Either it's too weak or it won't get into the spot. Other than that, I love 'em!


Try a Q-tip? I use an old white cotton shirt on my 135s to "floss" between the double spokes, then use a Q-tip on the really hard-to-get part where the double spokes come together at the inner and outer part of the wheel. If you need a little more width, you could try wrapping some cloth around a pen.


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## cantona7 (Apr 8, 2004)

sniper6182 said:


> cantona7, congrats on your new car as well!!! those 18's look great!!!
> 
> how do u like the car so far??? are you experiencing the rough idle that many here are speaking of??? or stalling for that matter.....just curious


Hey Sniper, thanks for the kind words. LOVE the car!!! No rough idle so far--the car is dead silent and the needle just sits there when idling (knock on myrtle wood). No stalling issues either, except when I'm an idiot and don't pay attention (drove an auto the last 4 years).

I was quite lucky that the car was sitting in the dealer's inventory, already optioned with the 18's, plus Premium with aluminum trim instead of wood. Still not crazy about the shark fin, but I think I'll live.

The only minor peeves so far: 1) Auto-tilt mirror when in reverse doesn't always work, and 2) Occasional unlocking issues with the remote key. But these are really super-minor things and I'll have them looked at when I take the car in to the dealer for a post-break-in oil change.


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## PhilH (Jun 7, 2002)

Nice car. :thumbup:

What do you think of the SMG? Specifically, do you think it shifts smoothly enough in everyday driving? I ask because my (76 yr old) dad may be considering SMG in a new E60 5-series.


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## Nbtstatic (Oct 9, 2002)

cantona7 said:


> Hey Sniper, thanks for the kind words. LOVE the car!!! No rough idle so far--the car is dead silent and the needle just sits there when idling (knock on myrtle wood). No stalling issues either, except when I'm an idiot and don't pay attention (drove an auto the last 4 years).
> 
> I was quite lucky that the car was sitting in the dealer's inventory, already optioned with the 18's, plus Premium with aluminum trim instead of wood. Still not crazy about the shark fin, but I think I'll live.
> 
> The only minor peeves so far: 1) Auto-tilt mirror when in reverse doesn't always work, and 2) Occasional unlocking issues with the remote key. But these are really super-minor things and I'll have them looked at when I take the car in to the dealer for a post-break-in oil change.


You guys should try one of the little 1" foam paintbrushes on the 68's. I've been using that for a year and it works awesome, just the right size.

Nice car


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## sniper6182 (Apr 24, 2004)

PhilH said:


> Nice car. :thumbup:
> 
> What do you think of the SMG? Specifically, do you think it shifts smoothly enough in everyday driving? I ask because my (76 yr old) dad may be considering SMG in a new E60 5-series.


well, i can only give tell you about my experience with it so far....considering i've been keeping it under 4000rpm, it shifts really smooth in normal mode...i had a 93 accord (auto)before this car and it basically feels the same as that...

but if you want the sporty jerk where you get sucked into your seat, then turn on sports mode, it feels great!!

hope that helps...


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## NewBmwGuy (Sep 19, 2002)

Very nice, congrats! :thumbup: Just one question, can you ditch the front plate holder? I know some will disagree, but I have never known anyone to get a ticket for not having the front plate. It might be different in Texas, but...

I still haven't experienced the SMG. What led you to that over the manual and what do you think?

Enjoy.


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## mikemac (Apr 7, 2004)

cantona7 said:


> The only minor peeves so far: 1) Auto-tilt mirror when in reverse doesn't always work, and 2) Occasional unlocking issues with the remote key. But these are really super-minor things and I'll have them looked at when I take the car in to the dealer for a post-break-in oil change.


I've had my 330Ci about 2 months now and love it! I have the same problem with the auto-tilt mirror plus 2 other ones. The memory function does not work on the right mirror; its supposed to automatically go to a saved position like the seat and left mirror do, but it doesn't work. Also the auto-lock does not work even though the dealer has programmed it to do so. I took it in to my dealer and they see the problem and they claim that it is a software problem that will be fixed in the next software version due out this month. I'll see, but I'm curious to see if your dealer can fix your mirror.

As for cleaning the tires, I bought a smaller sponge and use it on the rims only. I don't want to get the brake dust on the paint because its abrasive. The sponge squeezes in and gets the rims clean.


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## cantona7 (Apr 8, 2004)

The mirror issues have been around for years. I did a search the first night the mirror thing happened, and found tons of posts about it. I'll be surprised if it's resolved by my dealer. Not sure about the memory function, but I can easily check on that.


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## sniper6182 (Apr 24, 2004)

hey cantona7, to address the tilting mirror problem...im sure u alerady know that it only works when the switch is pushed the the driver's side...

also, if that doesnt work, u should toggle the switch to the passenger side and adjust the passenger mirror a lil bit, then switch it back to the driver's side...that should resolve it...let me know how it goes, b/c i had the same problem


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## sniper6182 (Apr 24, 2004)

NewBmwGuy said:


> Very nice, congrats! :thumbup: Just one question, can you ditch the front plate holder? I know some will disagree, but I have never known anyone to get a ticket for not having the front plate. It might be different in Texas, but...
> 
> I still haven't experienced the SMG. What led you to that over the manual and what do you think?
> 
> Enjoy.


I was thinking about gettin a euro plate for the front, i hear u can get away with that...i know the service guy here in austin said he's had a few customers come in w/ the euro plates and they never got pulled over....

personally i like having a plate in the front...i go to the university of texas, and parking is really tight, most of the time it's parallel parking too...so if someone happens to bump into my car it'll have to hit the plate first, i'd rather have them do that than scratchign up my bumper...i know that was the case on my 93 accord...people bumped into it all the time...one time a friend of mien actually backed out directly into the accord and yup..no scratches on my bumper!! thanks to the plate :thumbup:

as for the SMG...i chosed the SMG because i'm graduating this May, and It'll be the car that i'll be driving daily to and from work...so i'll be stuck in traffic at 8am and 5pm everyday...i don treally wanna deal w/ the hassle of driving a stick in bumper to bumper traffic...austin's traffic blows!!

and besides, 0-60mph time on the SMG is the same as the manual, so im not really losing too much in terms of acceleration...

so far i would have to say I love the SMG, it's great......i drive in manual mode the majority of the time...only on automode when someone calls me while im driving


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## kurichan (May 1, 2004)

cantona7 said:


> The only minor peeves so far: 1) Auto-tilt mirror when in reverse doesn't always work


Make sure you have the correct mirror selected. I forget which is which, but depending on the mirror switch setting, the reverse mirror tilt feature is shut off (at least that's how my 528iT works). Check the manual.


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## Spectre (Aug 1, 2002)

FenPhen said:


> Try a Q-tip? I use an old white cotton shirt on my 135s to "floss" between the double spokes, then use a Q-tip on the really hard-to-get part where the double spokes come together at the inner and outer part of the wheel. If you need a little more width, you could try wrapping some cloth around a pen.


Q-tips tend to fall apart, but yeah, I've used them with limited success. The cloth around a pen idea sounds like it might work -- I'll try that next time. Thanks! :thumbup:


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## cantona7 (Apr 8, 2004)

sniper6182 said:


> hey cantona7, to address the tilting mirror problem...im sure u alerady know that it only works when the switch is pushed the the driver's side...
> 
> also, if that doesnt work, u should toggle the switch to the passenger side and adjust the passenger mirror a lil bit, then switch it back to the driver's side...that should resolve it...let me know how it goes, b/c i had the same problem


Yup, I know about having it pushed to the driver's side. And I've also done the trick of switching to the passenger side, adjusting and back to the driver's side. It's just a tad annoying that we have to use these "tricks". Oh well, it's not that big a deal and it's just another gadget--I could parallel park perfectly well before, and I'm sure I'll do Ok without it.


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## allaboutme (Dec 22, 2003)

Nbtstatic said:


> You guys should try one of the little 1" foam paintbrushes on the 68's. I've been using that for a year and it works awesome, just the right size.
> 
> Nice car


you stole my idea =\


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## Moderato (Nov 24, 2003)

alee said:


> Best rims ever.


I agree! I love the M68's also. If I could change one thing about them I would make them 17x8 in the front instead of 17x7.5 though.


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## Moderato (Nov 24, 2003)

sniper6182 said:


> actually I was hoping for cooler air to come out of the bottom vents...how do i control that other than lowering the temperature control to like 60 something as mentioned by one of the other members here


I don't think you can control the temp of the footwell air that much. Even if I set it to 60 the foot temp air will still roast my feet, and the windshield air will come out warm as well and it seems to contribute to the fogging in some circumstances. I tend to like to keep the inside of my car on the cool side, even in the winter. I only have this problem with the AC off though. With the AC on the system seems to work better, but still exibits some of the same behavior. It would be nice if there was a full manual mode where you could have outside air come in through any of the vents and then just dial in the exact amount of heat you want. I've never had a problem being comfortable in any car with a full manual climate system but lots of these auto climate systems are too hot for me in the winter. If you find a solution let us know.

Aside from that though, I think my car is absolutely perfect and if I fiddle around with the vents and settings enough I will be able to get comfortable so it doesn't bother me a lot, the rest of the car more then makes up for it. Your silver coupe looks  almost makes me wish I got a silver grey coupe instead.....almost


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## JAWJr (May 4, 2004)

Spectre said:


> I haven't found a strong enough brush that gets into the center gap right where the spokes meet the outer part of wheel.


Have you looked at www.griotsgarage.com? They're awesome about care care products- and have many innovative tools for which to work on your car. As I'm considering a 330Ci ZHP, I noticed at a dealer today the wheels on it would be hard to clean and Griots sells just the right tool for it. :thumbup:


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## sniper6182 (Apr 24, 2004)

Moderato said:


> I don't think you can control the temp of the footwell air that much. Even if I set it to 60 the foot temp air will still roast my feet, and the windshield air will come out warm as well and it seems to contribute to the fogging in some circumstances. I tend to like to keep the inside of my car on the cool side, even in the winter. I only have this problem with the AC off though. With the AC on the system seems to work better, but still exibits some of the same behavior. It would be nice if there was a full manual mode where you could have outside air come in through any of the vents and then just dial in the exact amount of heat you want. I've never had a problem being comfortable in any car with a full manual climate system but lots of these auto climate systems are too hot for me in the winter. If you find a solution let us know.
> 
> Aside from that though, I think my car is absolutely perfect and if I fiddle around with the vents and settings enough I will be able to get comfortable so it doesn't bother me a lot, the rest of the car more then makes up for it. Your silver coupe looks  almost makes me wish I got a silver grey coupe instead.....almost


Thanks for the compliment...i think black is a very nice color...my friend has a black 330i with tan interior and wood trim...it looks REALLY classy....i did consider black as wel but it does require a lot of maintenance to keep it looking slick...also i HAD to get the black interior because my previous car had a tan interior and it's absolutely filthy since i rarely have time to clean it....


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