Archive for the ‘General’ Category

This is one of the best BMW adverts I have seen.

To see the full article with photos, click here.

Mystic Dave the technology director oversaw the full service of Shane’s car. It was sounding ‘in need’ so in addition the oil filter and oil, the plugs were replaced with uprated NGK Platinum items. The air filter and micro filter were replaced. Finally the fuel filter was replaced. The latter due to potential bits that may have entered the fuel system from the bodyshop work completed earlier in the year.

It’s like a new car now. Exhaust and engine sound smooth as anything compared to before. In future, oil change every 6 months is on the cards!!

We have added an article about installing the DICE Electronics iPod integration kit. This took us about a day to complete because of where we wanted the iPod. The result is quite effective and I am very pleased that I finally got round to buying it! We have photos and a short video! Check out the main article here, or the photos here.

If you are interested in this kit, you can find and buy the kits from the following online store. They had quick delivery with no problems at all!

Depending on how good your German is, this old video might not make any sense to you (I certainly don’t understand a word!). The video shows how BMW create an E46 from start to finish. The manufacturing process is amazing to watch! You can always click through it a bit!

Before the next track day arrives I thought it would be wise to provide a very quick and dirty analysis of the data I collected on the Performance box. For those of you that may have seen some content here, things have changed, you will find the overview as it stands now in the ‘Track & Travel’ articles… here!

We have not managed to get all the data in yet. Grant has found his files and so we will aim to put more info in soon!

Le Mans Bugatti Circuit 2008

Short video with some nifty timelapse sequences when Mystic Dave, the engineering director, and Shane installed the new anti-roll bars.

Here is a shot from 2004 with Aidy on his GSX-R and Dave on his Ducati! Remember the photos at the reservoir boys?

After 11 months I finally took my test and am pleased to report that I passed! A week earlier, Leigh also passed his test meaning that 3 out of 4 ridearound.netians are ready to ride! Dave will soon be joining us on the roads but he will be wearing the red L jackets for a while!

More details on all this to follow!

With winter looming, the Ridearound team are starting to do some armchair planning. Early next year, we will take to the roads for the first team adventure. This is going to cover the planning!

It has been a couple of weeks since the track day at Le Mans and it is time for a quick update. As usual we had a great day and a great party afterwards. The weather was interesting as it started out with lots of rain and then ended up bright and grippy! Interestingly, whilst it was grippy, I managed to spin off the track and ding my car. The only other problem we encountered was some minor slippage from Grant’s clutch. There are some photos to check out right now- here on M3HQ we have all the M3 pictures – and if you are interested in all the other cars that went, head over to the Le Mans 2008 gallery at Encaptured.com. I can tell you that there is a lot of information coming your way such as:-

• A couple of videos that are being worked on. (Just waiting for some new software!).
• Details of the repairs being done on Shane’s M3.
• Statistics from the ‘Performance Box’ logging device.

After what feels like a couple of months – but is in fact 8 months – I have just passed my theory test.  This was initially booked a few weeks ago and I had nearly forgotten about it untill I had a reminder SMS from Google. Now I can honestly say that with absolutely no revision or practice since Dave and I installed the software back in January… it is possible to pass the test on car experience alone!

The front discs on my car were badly worn. They were rusted badly and had large ridges around the outside.  To ensure that the car was as safe as possible – and that I had the latest braking point as possible on the track – I ordered new set.

Grant’s car has racing pads, Goodridge braided hoses and Dot 5.1 fluid. The performance I noticed in his car last year at Le Mans was superb; the lack of brake fade gave a lot of confidence when heading for the bends. Though I have ordered standard pads, I felt a set of Goodridge hoses and Dot 5.1 brake fluid might give me a boost. They have been fitted and the system flushed and bled with the new fluid.

So far driving on the roads, I have noticed very little difference, though it is perhaps a little smoother. I very much hope that next week at Le Mans there are no surprises. Here is a ‘fingers crossed’ for consistent braking!

My big fruity plans to dive into fitness training again have been slightly diluted - back to water in fact - by my inability to actually do something. This is not to say that I go home and watch TV all evening after work. In fact, quite the opposite, I have been really busy with travel, home improvements and other commitments that fight for my attention. To be honest though, I cannot figure out why I find it so difficult to take 30 minutes and go for a run or a bike ride.

With some time off work next week, I am planning to try and get out running or cycling. This is in addition to continuing the “100 Push up challenge“. I found some great ideas and buckets of inspiration on this post at Zen Habits. It provides a lot of detail and is well worth reading. With any luck, just a few outings will help me build the activity time into my schedule. Of course, I may be busy and forget!

These crisps are supposed to be hot! I couldn’t tell! This is a test post from my iPhone!