[SweetAdeline]

I would like to talk about my 1995 Ford Contour. It is laser red metallic.

It's a 4 cylinder, it originally came with 125 horsepower. I do not believe it still has that much as it often struggles to get up very small hills.

It has 180,000 miles on it.

One time I had a brake failure at 75 mph. I was lucky not to die.

It doesn't have any cupholders, nor a tilt steering wheel, and the tape player doesn't work, but the AC blows cold, RAWK!

That's all I can think of for now, but I'm happy to answer questions you all may have.

 

[MaZa]

Quote:

Originally Posted by cash68 /img/forum/go_quote.gif I love BMW 850s, but after having to come 'rescue' many of my friends with 3 series and 5 series, I can safely say I will never ever ever spend money on a BMW. What unreliable pieces of crap. Ultimate maintenance machines, IMHO. Just the other day my friend's 3 series overheated because the coolant reservoir cracked, which had recently been changed with new coolant AT THE DEALER. Know where it was? Oh behind the engine. And in order to add coolant, you have to unscrew the radiator cap. There's not a way to pour coolant into the tank at all, just through the cap itself which reads DO NOT OPEN WHEN HOT. Great design. Ugh. I'm glad you're having good luck with yours, but holy crap.... I don't understand paying that much to have something that breaks down all the damn time with uber expensive parts.

BMW diesels are very reliable, as are diesels in general. There is only one flaw, intake valves (not valves in the cylinder, but those that adjust airflow speed by opening and closing. Dunno what they are called in english) which can break and fall in to cylinders, causing major damage. I have removed mine. Only thing it does though is when engine is very cold the low-end torque drops, but thats a small price for reliabilitity and engine warms up fast anyway. I also have removed EGR so engine stays clean.

Sounds like you got a lemon, or was it just a new model full off baby-diseases that engineers are still not ironed out? Consumers are beta-testers nowadays, you know...

 

[Wildsurfer]

Well your engine isn't clean if you removed the EGR. Recirculating exhaust gas helps to decrease the temperature in the cylinders and thus limit the creation of particles and HCs. And besides that, the ecu was programmed for an engine with EGR, it means that it can't use all the optimal strategies...

 

[kg21]

I see too much volkswagon beetle in the design of the really old 911s the ones from the 60s/70s so I just can't appreciate them. At the same time I thought the 996 was kind of dull, really like all the 997s and the gen before the 996, 993 i believe.

 

[MaZa]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Wildsurfer /img/forum/go_quote.gif Well your engine isn't clean if you removed the EGR. Recirculating exhaust gas helps to decrease the temperature in the cylinders and thus limit the creation of particles and HCs. And besides that, the ecu was programmed for an engine with EGR, it means that it can't use all the optimal strategies...

But it also makes intake greasy and dirty as time passes, clogs up the engine, like my dads Kangoo. The engine should be opened up and cleaned through, which is quite complicated operation (in my dads car that is). EGR removal (or actually just taking off the pipe from the intake and plugging it, not actual removal of the system so its still there) is very common mod for E39 diesels around here, with no reported downsides (and it doesnt feel any different either), except increased emissions of course, though EGR only affects things that are not even measured here AFAIK. It still passes the yearly inspection. For some cars it wont do a thing if you disable it, some cars ecu goes crazy.

*edit* It is measured here in these year models, but the increase is so minimal that having it on isnt worth it.

 

[krmathis]

/me quite like the new Aprillia RSV4.

 

[cash68]

Quote:

Originally Posted by SweetAdeline /img/forum/go_quote.gif I would like to talk about my 1995 Ford Contour. It is laser red metallic. It's a 4 cylinder, it originally came with 125 horsepower. I do not believe it still has that much as it often struggles to get up very small hills. It has 180,000 miles on it. One time I had a brake failure at 75 mph. I was lucky not to die. It doesn't have any cupholders, nor a tilt steering wheel, and the tape player doesn't work, but the AC blows cold, RAWK! That's all I can think of for now, but I'm happy to answer questions you all may have.

Why didn't you spring for the Contour SVT? I mean, the regular contour is pretty boring, but the SVT version is a simply fantastic little car. Your car was the first world ford car, sold overseas as the mondeo, and was very successful in road racing and rally racing. The SVT team was aiming at the handling and response of a 3 series when they designed the ContourSVT's suspension, and they did a bunch of trick things to the duratec v6, including extrude honed intake and exhaust manifolds. The car even has factory recaros! I love contour SVTs!

 

[cash68]

Quote:

Originally Posted by MaZa /img/forum/go_quote.gif BMW diesels are very reliable...... which can break and fall in to cylinders, causing major damage.

Yep, very reliable.

Give me a break.

Quote:

Sounds like you got a lemon, or was it just a new model full off baby-diseases that engineers are still not ironed out? Consumers are beta-testers nowadays, you know...

Read my post again. I don't own a BMW, nor would I ever buy one. I was talking about all my friends who own BMWs, and how many times I've had to take them to the dealership to drop off their car, get them coolant, drive them home, and other various issues in rescuing someone who purchased an unreliable german piece of crap. I don't know where you inferred that I owned one?

 

[SinnerG]

Alot of BMW talk ...

Is it just an issue with my country, or do people treat BMW drivers the same all over the world? Down here, there seems to be an attitude of owning the road that comes with owning a BMW. They make some awesome machines... I'm no fan of the styling, but if someone offered me a choice of powerplants for a project, a BMW engine would be on the top of the list (it takes Audi an extra 200cc and some fancy fueling system to achieve what BMW does in some of their engines)... yet, the drivers/owners seem to have some attitude issue. That attitude of owning the road.

Also, is it a local thing or have most BMW drivers never figured out where the off-switch is for the rear foglights?

I went to Bali once, only to spot a BMW e30 with its rear foglights on for no reason.

 

[MaZa]

Quote:

Originally Posted by cash68 /img/forum/go_quote.gif Yep, very reliable. Give me a break.

Thats a known design flaw and easily fixed/prevented. Hell, even just disabling the EGR, which I talked about, reduces the chance of that happening to about zero: they might break because they get stuck from grease and crap pumped by EGR and then snap away.

Funny thing is, not all E39 BMW diesels even have them from new. IIRC those with manual transmission dont have them at all, where automatic ones (like mine) have (had). Its a mystery why BMW even added them where they obviously are not needed and only cause a possible hazard, and for what? Get a minimal low-end torque boost when engine is cold in return... :facepalm:

So yes, they are reliable if one removes that design flaw IF they even are there. Engine lasts a million kilometers without a hitch if you dont abuse it. (there are ones on the road already, still working). Of course, there are many other parts that can fail and make driving a nightmare... And BMWs can have a lot of them, as you probaply have noticed... In any case, mine soon has 470000km in it (old taxi so I got it for cheap, and I drive a lot of long distances too), and it works like new. Biggest thing done is transmission mainteance few 10k's ago. Good contrast for this is that my sister and her husband has one (98 year model, but still same car) with same mods and much less driven, and had it for years without problems.

As I said, I wont change this car for anything, car simply cant get better from this when powerfull but economic daily drivers are concerned. Of course, Toyota and some other japanese ones have much better overall reliability, but then again they are quite soulless...

 

[Al4x]

im not a fan of BMWs styling, [never driven one so cant comment] they do look like drug dealers cars and are generally black, theyre quite common now

glad my celica is back on the road now

 

[MaZa]

Quote:

Originally Posted by SinnerG /img/forum/go_quote.gif Alot of BMW talk ... Is it just an issue with my country, or do people treat BMW drivers the same all over the world? Down here, there seems to be an attitude of owning the road that comes with owning a BMW. They make some awesome machines... I'm no fan of the styling, but if someone offered me a choice of powerplants for a project, a BMW engine would be on the top of the list (it takes Audi an extra 200cc and some fancy fueling system to achieve what BMW does in some of their engines)... yet, the drivers/owners seem to have some attitude issue. That attitude of owning the road.

True. They (we?

) do tend to have attidute problem for some reason. Probaply because BMW fans tend to be rather young, unlike Mercedes fans for example.

Dunno about rear foglights, but front foglights look quite cool, or so they think, so thats why some keep them on. I dont, I preserve them for rainy or foggy weathers or backup lights if headlights both fail for some reason.

 

[SinnerG]

Quote:

Originally Posted by MaZa /img/forum/go_quote.gif Funny thing is, not all E39 BMW diesels even have them from new. IIRC those with manual transmission dont have them at all, where automatic ones (like mine) have (had). Its a mystery why BMW even added them where they obviously are not needed and only cause a possible hazard, and for what? Get a minimal low-end torque boost when engine is cold in return... :facepalm:

Automatic drivetrained engines behave quite differently from manual drivetrained engines. You will probably find that certain devices operate best at a constant setting, something that is often seen in automatic vehicles "thanks" to the transmission. Since manual transmission shifting sees engines bounce up and down the operating rev ranges (vacuums and rev fluctuating alot more than on automatics), certain devices would operate much better on automatics.

For example, on turbo vehicles, you don't even need a bypass valve (blow-off or recirc valve) as those were designed to releave intake pressure during sharp, hard shifts. On an automatic, there usually aren't such shift patterns therefore no need for such devices. Perhaps with the EGR on a manual engine of the time the unit would be shutting and opening much too often on a manual transmissioned engine, but show more constant open/close behaviour on an engine with an automatic (slushbox) transmission.

Then again, I'm sure there are vehicle designers/engineers out there who experience the "ooooooh....shiny" effect when building them. "That's a pretty device, lets' fit it."

 

[cash68]

Quote:

Originally Posted by SinnerG /img/forum/go_quote.gif Alot of BMW talk ... Is it just an issue with my country, or do people treat BMW drivers the same all over the world? Down here, there seems to be an attitude of owning the road that comes with owning a BMW. They make some awesome machines... I'm no fan of the styling, but if someone offered me a choice of powerplants for a project, a BMW engine would be on the top of the list (it takes Audi an extra 200cc and some fancy fueling system to achieve what BMW does in some of their engines)... yet, the drivers/owners seem to have some attitude issue. That attitude of owning the road. Also, is it a local thing or have most BMW drivers never figured out where the off-switch is for the rear foglights? I went to Bali once, only to spot a BMW e30 with its rear foglights on for no reason.

Seems to be true everywhere. Top Gear always mentions that cocks drive BMWs (and now Audis), and it's definitely true here in the states as well. I would say however, the most people here in the states are just blithering idiots, driving in the passing lane, wondering why people are tailgating them, flashing their lights. People just REFUSE to stay to the right here, why, I have no idea.

As for rear fogs, they aren't allowed here, so it's rare to see them.

 

[SinnerG]

Quote:

Originally Posted by MaZa /img/forum/go_quote.gif True. They (we? ) do tend to have attidute problem for some reason. Probaply because BMW fans tend to be rather young, unlike Mercedes fans for example.

I'm a Mercedes "fan".

Oh wait... I'm old-ish.

Speaking of Mercedes... there's something massive coming up down the line. This week in Cape Town I spotted some disguised machinery.... all vinyl covered, antennaes everywhere. It's probably the new C- or E-class doing temperature stress tests in Africa. The other thing was huge. The lines along the side reminded me more of the Audi Q7, but the sheer size of the thing is a totally different story. Bigger, dare I say it, than the latest GL-class.

Whatever the sedan was, I'm no fan of the funny rear arches. Starting off at the lower edge of the rear doors and sweeping up over the rear wheels and then straight towards the back. Longer tail lights last seen on the E-class some 3-4 generations ago.

Last time I spotted Mercedes testing vehicles down here was with the SLK. There were 3 of them at a filling station many years back and the obvious thing was the dual exhausts not seen on the normal Kompressor-fed units of the time. A couple of months later the V6 machines were released. Funny to see the German guys in their long-socked garb out... very Lederhosen.

Quote:

Originally Posted by MaZa /img/forum/go_quote.gif Dunno about rear foglights, but front foglights look quite cool, or so they think, so thats why some keep them on. I dont, I preserve them for rainy or foggy weathers or backup lights if headlights both fail for some reason.

Is running foglamps in rainy or clear weather also illegal over there? It's supposed to be illegal here in anything but foggy weather as they are blinding.

A friend of mine could not take it anymore. So one day, leaving some underground parking garage and winding up behind some woman in a 5-series with fogs burning into his retinas, he finally got out of his smokey old Merc and kindly asked her to switch off the blinders. Her reply was "I don't know how". I think it is all in the the switch work on the cars. It's probably a naturally tendency applied to the turning of the switch that winds up powering on the fogs.

On my old Audi 200, I had 2 switches for fogs. Front only, or both front and rear. They were nowhere near the light stalk, so you knew when you had them on or not. Fun thing was reaching over and switching on the rear units with a tailgater behind you. Back then, the Audi used to have dual rear fogs positioned where you'd normally expect brake lights.