Hey everyone! I feel bad I have to post in the intro section... I guess that's what I deserve for disappearing for long periods of time. I graduated in 2005, some of you may still remember me!

The last year has been quite eventful for me, as I bought a townhouse, got a new job, sold the 4runner, and recently bought 2 BMW 328's. Oh, and I got engaged to my wonderful fiancee Beth! I think I did 2 track weekends last year, it's just been very difficult to get out.

I thought I would post a couple pictures of my newest 328is, which was a pretty rare find. I'm selling the other black 328i, so look for a for sale post.

I found this 96 328is in PA with only 60k miles! I jumped on it quickly and picked it up last week. It's in amazing shape, and is exactly what I was looking for when I bought the first car late last year.

I hope everyone is doing well, I'm planning on attending the car show and 10 year celebration... hope to see you there!

Let me start by saying it's not an E36 M3.



It's still a BMW, because I wanted one as a daily driver. Shane, one of our new MMers (who may own a white E36 M3) found it for me on the DC Craigslist on Saturday morning. I happened to be up in Northern VA this weekend, and picked it up from Rockville, MD last night.



Basics:
1991 BMW 535i
3.5L Inline-6 (M30) making 208 hp / 225 ft-lb
5-speed manual transmission
185k on the odometer
Schwartz Black over tan leather
Winter Package -- heated seats that still work, Torsen LSD, probably other stuff I don't know about yet

Jake, why did you buy another old BMW?
Well, I really like the E34. I needed a DD. This one was priced reasonably right, had all the major mechanical stuff up-to-date, and only needs some cosmetic lovin' to be presentable.



Old BMWs always need something. What's the list so far?
Swap the head unit and subwoofer from the Miata into this guy.
Clean and condition the leather seats/steering wheel.
Replace the glovebox latch.
Replace the stock (ugly) black shift knob with a wood one from a later E34.
Re-do the headliner and sunroof panel.
Fix the "gong" speaker so it makes noise again -- not necessity, just a little thing.
Tighten E-Brake cable... it holds now but at the top of the lever's travel.
Fluids... oil, transmission, diff.



Mechanically it seems pretty solid. Clutch grabs well, motor pulls hard to redline, shifts are relatively smooth. 1st-to-2nd is a bit notchy or less sure, if that makes sense. Cooling system was recently re-done and it has an aluminum radiator. New alternator. New tires. Recent brakes. Paint is good ÔÇô not peeling or spray painted :thumbup: I verified the diff works when I got it sideways, in the rain, during the test drive. It chattered and moved power as it should, hooray.

There are some dings and dents, but I'm willing to overlook those for an otherwise-solid old car.



Naturally, custom tags are on their way from the DMV. As per Unca Rex's suggestion... "MM BIG6Y" is the tag.

Opinions? Rants? "LOLWUTs?"

Lee and I were talking about about the influx of BMWs and it got me thinking about the reasons why. I don't know that our dad's choice in car is a direct correlation, but I do think what people see as "the car" when they're in their formative years plays a big part. For example, my family had domestics when I was really young, but about the time I really started paying attention to cars was when my family was heavy in Europeans. The result? I'm an eurowhore.

Speaking from experience, BMWs were the car that everyone thought was the end all, be all of cars ~10 years ago. It seemed every business man was driving one and every college kid (shit, I wasn't even in college 10 years ago) saw them as the car to buy when you made your fat wads of cash. I don't think there's any denying that BMW makes good cars... I loved my E36 M3.... but there's gotta be something else at play.

Soooo... what cars made an impression on you when you were growing up and has that impacted your buying habits?

So, I'm putting this in the projects section, but it is by no means a "project".

On Friday I got the call that the 2011 WRX that I pre-ordered had finally arrived.











First and foremost, this is meant to be a fun, reliable daily driver for a long period of time that may someday have potential for mods and more fun. I will consider a fuel program/chip/cobb thingamajig, but even that is not in the immediate future b/c I simply don't "drive it like I stole it"; 90% of the miles on this are going to cruising at 70 mph, not WOT jackassery. I highly doubt that I'm in any realm of concern of blowing my engine up right now...

It's only been 100 miles so far, but I freakin love it. Considering the performance, appearance, utility, price point, and overall package, I don't think I've seen anything else on the market that can match it. Personally, I can't see much benefit to the STi over the WRX either, but that's just my opinion. Anyways, here's my impressions so far:
-The exhaust is nice and burbly like a boxer-4 should be, but not loud by any means; exactly what I wanted.
-Visibility is great - it's like driving a greenhouse
-I opted for the STi shifter bushing, which has offered nice crisp shifting compared to the sloppiness that IÔÇÖve heard about for stock WRXs. The Subaru mechanic said there was a noticeable different in the pliability of the material; sounds like I made the right call.
-The seats are comfortable, yet supportive, and seems like seating 5 is no biggie, although anybody sitting behind me will have a slightly harder time getting in/out (though I can comfortably sit there once I'm in)
-Engine bay is not cluttered with stupid plastic pieces and looks easy to work on (although the intercooler looks a little small...)
-Power appears to come on nice and strong, although I havenÔÇÖt really pushed it at all yet. I dare say I haven't even made it to 100% throttle yet.
-Seems to have a lot of grip, but I am admittedly not used to AWD. My old Talon was not very refined and the AWD was kinda invasive in terms of transmitting feedback, but with this car I can barely tell it has AWD - it just GOES.
-Aggressive styling notes all around the car, yet they are still subtle. It is a little bulgy and to be honest if you look at it from a few angles it is a little funny looking. I like it though...
-In terms of external dimensions, it is a good bit smaller than the TL (as noticed when parking in garage), yet feels almost as spacious inside, if not bigger.

The only con: f'n TPMS...

Let me know whatcha got, or if you know someone!

I grew up with this gun, used to take it squirrel hunting and just to shoot crap in the woods. Got it in 1992, was a great little gun, but id like to sell it. I never use it, and I'd rather have the cash to put into a pistol.

Simmons 10x scope, rifle, and ill throw in the case with one broken latch.

Recent auctions show it going for $175-200 w/o scope. Make me an offer, I would like to get close to those auction prices.






Light scratches on the stock...

Figure you crazy college kids might actually play.

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5 Disc Golf Discs/Frisbees & Bag - $50

Various types, including drivers, mid-range and a putter. Everything you need to start playing. Lightly used, some almost brand new.

Wizard
Stingray
Gazelle
Eclipse
Raven
Innova Bag (holds all discs plus room for a few more)

I was wondering if anyone had ever experienced or heard of anything like this before? When I am taking a long, sweeping right hand corner (like a highway exist ramp) the brake pedal on my Talon gets noticeably softer with longer travel, then firms right back up when I straighten the wheels back out. I bled the brakes after I switched the pads out the last time I came back from the track, and the pedal is rock solid in a straight line. Fluid is full, I have not been losing brake fluid and the problem never seems to get any worse :dunno: The only thing that I can think of is that there is air trapped somewhere in the system that I didn't get during the last bleed.. Any other thoughts? Failing master cylinder?

I am not a fan as I think the technology is both immature and not proven to the mass market. It may become the next DVR, it may become the next HD-DVD... I think it's too early to tell.

If you were buying, would you look for it, steer clear of it or be indifferent?

Anyone else having an issue with the forum being exploded in size?