BMW 320D M Sport - Review

Ok, so this is my first attempt at a car review, I haven't even tried to review the Abarth or Mitsubishi, so if this attempt is a bit of a fail, or a bit.... well.... crap, let me know in the comments and I'll stay clear of doing this in future!

BMW 320D M Sport

So the other day I got the chance to test drive a BMW 320D M Sport. I was contemplating getting it as a new daily to replace the Abarth. I suppose with it being a BMW, the obvious place to start is with cliches. Yes it had indicators and no it did not make me want to buy a bluetooth headset to scream down. Can I get started properly now? Good. 

So my first serious point does actually take me back to the indicators. I really didn't like them.... 

BMW Indicators, they do exist!

The indicators didn't function like a traditional stalk, rather felt like they were a button which hinged where the stalk gets fat half way along. It didn't feel nice to use, and gave no feeling that the indicator had flicked on, which I'm guessing is why BMW installed the loudest indicating click noise  to go with it, just to let you know that light was flashing, I didn't mind this too much in the first 5 minutes of driving, then it started to get old.... real old, real quick. I began to wonder if that's why BMW drivers just don't use their signals?

Indicators aside it was probably one of the best driving cars I've ever been behind the wheel of (and I've been behind a few). The cars I have owned in the past have all been shouty and angry (yes, even the Abarth when it's in sport mode). This car wasn't. Even in M mode it didn't shout as loud as I expected, but it felt good. It made me feel almost grown-up. Is this a sign I'm getting old?

BMW Drivers POV

 I think part of that, as you can see from the above picture, is the automatic transmission. I have always hated them in the past with a passion. Automatic transmissions were in my eyes, the work of the devil, or worse still, vegans. I'm not actually shamed to say it could potentially convert me (to autos, not vegan-ism). 

This is only actually the second automatic I've driven, the first was a DSG box, and I actually preferred the BMW's full auto box. The first couple of times I pulled away going from first to second was a little jerky until I got used to not having a clutch, then after that the drive was unbelievably smooth. It made me wonder why, when my journey into work was all traffic jams and motorways, didn't I already have an automatic? It just seems to make sense in a daily, especially as the project car is manual to still give me a fix on a weekend for driving a car with a man pedal.

320D M Engine bay

I did a bit of research into the car before the test drive and was surprised to find that it's 0-60 figure was only 7.9 sec. I was actually a little disappointed on the drive to the dealer, questioning whether trading in for a slower car was the right thing to do? Thing is, when driving the car, that figure didn't matter in the slightest. The car felt like it pulled really well and didn't feel that slow. In fact accelerating from 30 to around 60 or 70 I was impressed at how effortless it was. Comparing it to my hawkeye, the Impreza would have made a bigger show of it, louder and more attention grabbing, but if I'm honest, probably not much faster! Which is strange to say given how much faster it would manage 0-60. The BMW just felt like it pulled that well when rolling, and that specific range used for overtaking was where it did it best.

Taking it down some back roads

The car felt very much like it was designed for life in traffic and on the motorways, so I was pleasantly surprised that I seemed to rather enjoy a blast down the country lanes too. Being used to FWD at the moment, stepping into a RWD for the first time in a good couple of years, the car gave me confidence, it had grip for days! It was bone dry, but I got the impression that in the wet it would drop its business-like persona completely and be a totally different animal, a bit like that one mate, who has one pint too many and then gets lairy thinking he can fight the world.

Start stop button and radio.

In terms of finishing touches it didn't have quite as many as I expected from a German saloon. The start stop button was fun (yes, still a child at heart) but the radio was just, well.... normal!? The car was a couple of years old, but only a couple, so I kind of assumed there would be a screen or something, but alas not.  I suppose they are more an item for the luxury models rather than sports. Instead there were little M badges hidden all over the car, I kind of prefer them anyway. 

M badge

One of the most surprising things about the car for me, was how much Mrs 3ofdiamonds liked it. She was with me on the test drive and I genuinely think if I don't buy it she'll be trying to herself...

I was going to talk about potential mods I would do if I got the car at this point, but think I've wittered on for long enough, so maybe that's another entry?...

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5 obvious observations from the Aussie F1

Normal service based around procrastinating from working in the Mitsubishi will resume shortly, but with the F1 starting back up I thought I would put down my thoughts from the first race in Melbourne.

1. Qualifying sucked

worst qualifying format ever

A lot of changes in F1 appear to the fans (well, to me) to be developed by committee, often with the best interests in mind and often they get it wrong. But it will invariably favour one team over others so some will push to keep a change and others push to change it again. I think this is the first change I can remember which has every team principal unanimously wanting it gone, and gone ASAP. 

The new format involved each session running for a while (different lengths depending upon session) and then once a certain time was reached, every 90 seconds the slowest driver would be knocked out. This was intended to promote more racing on a Saturday, instead it meant there were more cars in the garage for longer without the end of session surge for people trying to set hot laps. This also meant pole was set a good two minutes before the final session was over.... fail. Here's hoping they see sense and revert the format. 

2. Alonso had a crash

As you can tell from the footage the crash was rather serious, and enough to stop the race temporarily with a red flag. Both Alonso and Gutierrez were lucky enough to walk away from this. But it goes to show how dangerous a sport motor racing can be.

I like this version, its well cute! But for those who would rather see the proper footage, that's below.

3. Mercedes still seem to have the pace

So, Mercedes 1-2.... who would have ever guessed? Well.... everyone really. The surprise to some people will have been the seemingly united front from the two drivers, even a congratulatory hug between the two drivers post race!

Rosberg-Hamilton hug Post Australia 16

My bet is by race 4 (maybe 5) this honeymoon period will be over again as one driver starts to demonstrate a better start to the season than the other. (Go Lewis!)

4.  Ferrari were fast off the line

AThug life Vettel

Ferrari were quick off the line. This year there is only one clutch and the Ferrari boys really showed the rest of the pack how the new style launch should be done. Had it not been for the red flag I imagine Vettel would have won the race. Maybe we will see more of a Ferrari threat this year, especially if they can keep up those electrifying starts.

5. Rosberg won
For Hamilton fanboys... myself included... this may actually be a worse thing than it sounds.

Australia Podium 2016

For those who watched the Sky Sports F1 coverage, rather than that of Channel 4, you may have picked up on an interesting statistic highlighted by Ted Kravitz. He pointed out that every time a team had a 1-2 finish in the first race of the season, the winner of that race has gone on to secure the Drivers Championship that year. (I wanted to actually check this fact but my computer is playing silly beggars so have a feeling I may be editing this later, but for now its a quote so it stays). If anyone can go against the statistics based on the form of recent years its Lewis #TeamLH and either way it will be interesting to watch how the team dynamics unfold over the next couple races.

Also notable:

Mclaren seemed to have improved their pace from last season, still not where they should be given their heritage, but no longer look like they'll be fighting just not to come last. Roll on the next rule change for their return to the top? Also a respectable finish for Haas, one to keep an eye on this season.

In other news: 
The Abarth may be going. I will be test driving another car within the next couple of days. I hope to publish either a review or an unveil at some point over the Easter weekend, wish me luck!

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Clutching at Straws... or rather an invoice for a new clutch (finally)

If you follow my posts regularly you may have realised I missed a week last week. It was one of those weeks where life got in the way of cars sadly... Much to the dismay of Mrs 3ofdiamonds I was having to work down south living out of hotels #firstworldproblems

Sadly this has meant that I have not had much chance to do anything with the GTO, I have however used this time to finally shop for a new clutch which is now ordered and should be here by the end of the month!

I did a bit of research into performance clutches and still probably couldn't explain it very well, so instead here's a handy tutorial I watched on youtube:

From local suppliers I could only find an OEM replacement which meant that from the get-go that option was out of the question. It would have allowed me to get the car on the road faster, however I didn't see the point of buying a clutch now only to buy another in just a couple of months. 

This meant I was going to be shopping online. I found a wealth of OEM replacements available on various sites. When I got the GTO I read on many a forum that parts would be hard to find and really expensive, so was pleasantly surprised at the choice. The more I looked at performance clutches however, the more I was getting messages back saying that I couldn't order them, or that they weren't in stock with no indication they would be restocked.

Just as I was about to resort to importing from the other side of the Atlantic or trying to learn Japanese to order a JDM replacement clutch, I did find a couple of sites which stocked them and ended up torn between a kit on each, the first was h-tune.co.uk and was an Action Clutch kit. Beyond stage 1 however there was no organic option and I had decided against a metallic kit moving forward for trying to preserve the feel of driving under normal driving conditions.

Stage 2 Action Clutch - Kevlar with 70% increased capacity over OEM and looks like a piece of art!

So from my available choices I came to realise that the best option would likely be a stage 2 clutch to give the best balance between drive-ability and potential for increase in performance. Which is why I ultimately opted for a stage 3..... Typical bloke, what I need and then some! This is why I am not allowed to do the weekly shop...

The clutch is a Competition Clutch kit from demon-tweeks.co.uk and will be good for a torque increase of 150%. This will be more than I could ever possibly need and gives plenty of room to grow the power figures over the next couple of years. Luckily its not going in a daily driver otherwise everyday would be leg day! The clutch is ceramic, so although it will lose some drive-ability going for a stage 3, it hopefully wont lose too much. It was described by Competition Clutch on Demon Tweeks as "Ultimate 'Street and Strip' Kit" and as "Ideal for enthusiastic fast road driving". The latter of the two statements shall put that to test on the mountain roads in the summer.

Stage 3 Competition Clutch - Ceramic

Following installation there will be a 500 mile break in period and then it will be back to business as usual. I still have a couple of parts to install from January I have been waiting to get the car rolling again before installing (such as the 57i induction kit) so will hopefully be busy with her again soon!

I have also been trying the new Amino Garage app. First thoughts are that it is a bit like google+ or facebook but just for cars. No random pictures of food. No shots of legs in the bath or on a beach. Just cars! (Well, and the odd bike). Check out the app. You can follow my profile here.

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E85

So this post is called E85. So we'll start at the beginning.

What is E85?
At a very basic level (and I'll still probably explain this wrong), E85 is a fuel which is made up of 85% Ethanol and 15% petrol. E85 has a cooling effect on the engine, and combined with a higher octane than petrol alone, cars will often be converted to use E85 as a way to gain power. Running on this fuel is what people will be referring to when they say their cars are 'Corn fed' as corn is what is often used to produce the alcohol to make E85, although other sources are available. Don't go trying to shove this weekends left over Smirnoff into your fuel tank though, or worse still an ear of corn into your intake... That wont work quite the same, best research flex fuel sensors instead.

Sadly, here in the UK, it is not as readily available at the fuel pumps as it is large parts of the US and Australia. For this reason I haven't yet converted the GTO to run on corn (more considering meth as that's readily available in the form or certain anti-freezes/screen washes) but I did hit up a meet with the E85 Society this weekend.

Based in the North East these guys have a wide variety of car cultures attending their events, from low and slow stanced Golfs, to JDM beasts so there really was something for everyone. Check them out at  facebook.com/groups/e85society/ 

So as the GTO is off the road I was there in  the daily. We got there around an hour late because the check engine light went on in my mates Golf (just kidding). Even arriving late there was still probably around 100 or so cars there, spread out in all directions.

Stood in the middle looking forward

Stood in the middle looking back

I'm also going to own up to a car guy faux-pas before I get called out on it. When we got to the meet there were a couple of spaces next to each other near the front, so I followed my buddy round the car park in his Golf, where he threw his car into a space. I went to follow into the space next to him, and felt the burning, glaring eyes of many car guys watching to make sure I got nowhere near their rides. I choked. I bailed mid reverse park and went elsewhere (I hang my head in shame!). I parked next to the Vauxhalls instead because, lets face it, no-one cares about them anyway! Joking aside, they were at the back....

How low can you go?

So wide! this pic doesn't do it the justice it deserves!

Nicely low

I'm looking forward to lighter nights so more of my pictures will come out. My phone wasn't liking the photos by streetlight, and I didn't want to look like a complete tool carrying my bridge camera about (I'll probably save that for the shows rather than meets).

Unassuming VW pickup from the front....

VW pickup bed

 I did get a few more pics of other cool cars and stuff but was left with mainly blurs as I wasn't checking they were coming out. I think I am getting lazy with phone pics since getting used to using the proper camera... (rookie mistake I know! I wont be quitting the day job to become a car photographer just yet).

Just as the meet was starting to disperse, the car park was starting to empty and we were about to leave, having mainly seen hot hatches, there were a load of JDM muscle cars that hit the meet. Scoobies, Evos (a civic or two if they count?) and this beauty... this made the night!

Godzilla

And not forgetting one of the best things about this meet, I made it home without the assistance of a flatbed.

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Mini Entry (and a bit of a rant)

So, I couldn't get my wheel on last weekend because of issues trying to sort the rats nest of wiring left behind the wheel by the previous moron...I mean owner, who decided to insulate the wires with sellotape... but by the by... Having gone to install it on a Sunday afternoon and not being able to get the right lugs etc before the store closed, I ordered them online. When I ordered them, it was done with a large (what I thought was) reputable company who advertise by priding themselves on the fact they mainly supply trades. This left me rather disappointed when my parts arrived in the box pictured below (I cant be the only one that thinks this is disgraceful? surely?):

Worst packing ever?

The box was WAY too big for its contents with nothing to pad the contents out so they were just  able to fly about inside! I swear a rogue band of pygmy marmosets could be trained within an hour to pack tools into a box better.... now picturing that, sounds cute... I'm now calm so rant over...

These are the Pygmy Marmosets I am starting to train to pack boxes...

So as this arrived mid-week I went to fit the wheel on Sunday (yes Valentines day, yes Mrs 3ofdiamonds is awesome!). I cut the old connections from the robot sperm on the back of the steering wheel and crimped on the new ones.

Wheel ready to go on, sort of...

So one wire is ready to feed onto the live wire behind the wheel, and the other is to ground. The previous horn on the car self-ground so I worked out how I would feed the ground wire through the boss kit and use an Allen key bolt to secure it via the crimping copper-lug on the black wire to the back of the boss kit on one of the unused threads from the alternate bolt pattern to the one I needed.

Reverse of the boss kit

 The lug was the perfect size when squared up against the boss kit in a test fitting before putting the boss kit back together, it was the smallest size I could get so that was a bit of a relief. And then I put the plastic casing back on... With the casing on the boss kit it no longer fit. The smallest flipping size and it didn't clear it. It would fit into the inner bolt pattern (albeit snuggly), but this is the pattern that fits the Sparco wheel. The outer pattern just will not take the crimping copper lug....

I'm left with a couple of options:

• Buy a new boss kit
• Get smaller crimping copper lugs and 
• Dremel the ones I have to a shape that will fit

So, as I'm typing this Mrs 3ofdiamonds is at the local shopping centre, so I'm hoping she will be able to pop into the hardware shop and bring me back some lugs.... or a Dremel (as I don't actually have one yet) as I don't really want to have to buy a new boss kit.

So I feel back at square one and probably showing off my lack of knowledge with these things. But it is my first project I expected to learn as I went along. In this instance I have learnt three things.

1. Don't start a new job late on Sunday afternoon, as once the shops shut I'm screwed.
2. Always start with more tools and parts than I can imagine I can possibly need even if the job is supposed to be simple.
3. I am probably going to break the record for longest time taken to replace a steering wheel.

Hopefully by the end of the week I will have posted an update either of a picture of the racing wheel victoriously in situ in the Mitsubishi project car, or alternatively a picture of the new boss kit I'll have ordered by then if yet again things don't quite go to plan... wish me luck, I bloody well need it!

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Sparco Steering Wheel Install (well... sort of...)

In my first blog entry I said that once I started wrenching on my Mitsubishi project car it would likely be an example of 'how not to' rather than 'how to'. This weeks entry may be a prime example of that. Not because I balleds anything up... but rather, the reason behind me changing some of the parts that I know are already aftermarket.

The interior of the car wasn't exactly high on the reasons for buying the car. The drivers seat has a slight tear, the gaiters are worn, the gear knob and the steering wheel probably both looked good cruising along to 'Deep Blue Something or other' as they topped the chart way back when, as that is clearly when they were originally installed... now however, they look more old and tired than a 30 something after a night of clubbing.

The Ripspeed steering wheel on the GTO when I got it.

Since Christmas I have had a new Sparco wheel waiting to be installed (courtesy of Mrs 3ofDiamonds) but have been distracted slightly by meets and what not, I hadn't yet found the time to do the install.

Sparco - Racing Attitude!

 I think Mrs 3ofDiamonds will be pleased to see this box gone, I'm just pleased to see it opened!

The Sparco wheel for the Mitsubishi GTO

Inside the box is this rather neat looking racing wheel. I ultimately want a black and red colour scheme (cliche I know, but it's what I want) and this will look so much cleaner than the existing, and oh so tired Ripspeed one, currently on the car.

One of the wheels buttons

 No, this is not some kind of robot sperm. This is one of 4 red buttons for the wheel. The bottom bit unscrews (as below) and then is slid into the gaps on the wheel. Once in place it is screwed back together to attach to the wheel.

Taking apart the robot sperm

 When you are taking apart the button it's best just to unscrew the plastic nut as above, as inside it is spring loaded... TWICE and unscrewing the part the wires attach to will cause the insides to explode out! (the smaller spring is hard to find if this happens, not that I'm speaking from experience or anything...)

The innards of the robot sperm

 If the wrong bit is unscrewed the insides go back together as  shown above to ensure it still functions properly. Best not to get it to this point though as it's a tad fiddly.

The wheel from the back with the 4 buttons attached

 Once the wheel had its buttons installed I headed to the Mitsubishi GTO to start taking off the old wheel.

Old rusted Allen key bolts wouldn't budge in the car

When trying to unbolt the old wheel from the car the old Allen bolts were in tight. They were in that tight that they were almost as tight as that mate who magically disappears to the bog every time you wander into a pub to get out of buying his round. On the car they were just stripping. The short edge of the key meant I was stripping them out, with the long edge they weren't stripping but I couldn't get purchase to turn to them. At this point I decided to take the boss kit off to get the bolts out of the car. My socket wrench wouldn't reach and I don't yet have an extension, luckily I had a tyre iron to hand which fit nicely on the 17mm bolt instead. At this point I forgot to take any pictures as I turned the air blue with obscenities trying to fight the bolt holding the boss kit on. After several minutes of riving eventually it gave and I could take the wheel off. Once the wheel was off the Allen bolts came straight out... typically.

The old Ripspeed off the car

In this pic the old wheel doesn't actually look half as bad as it does in real life. I have a feeling it may yet find a home some day as part of a homemade go-kart or something, but for now it is cast aside and rejected like a Matrix sequel.

Wheel removed

This is where things took a slight turn. Picture shows the wiring which was underneath the old wheel. I don't know if you can make out in that photo, but the guy who installed the wheel had started doing it properly with tubing to contain the wires and had ran out. Where he ran out, he changed to using sellotape.... SELLOTAPE! I need to now make sure this is done properly. The wheel is ready to bolt on but I need to tidy up this mess behind the wheel before I do. To do this I have ordered a couple of parts online which will be delivered later this week. Had I anticipated working with electrics this early I would have made sure I had what I needed, but I thought it would be a nice unbolt old and bolt on new job. 

I am a bit disappointed that I have not been able to finish this install in one day, which I would have done had I been able to unbolt the wheel without taking off the boss kit. On the other hand had I not had to take the boss kit off, I wouldn't have seen it had been bodged underneath so I am pleased I can now correct that. Roll on next week!

The wheel with buttons from the front

Wheel from the back as I left it

I finished by tidying everything away until next week. I made use of some zip lock bags to hold the new Allen bolts and spare wires. I hope to start with good practice like this and maintain it onto larger installs! I ended up opting to remove the wires from the buttons which weren't going to be used for the horn to make it easier to clear the boss kit and keep it the install looking cleaner.

So with that, it is probably my longest post with no real outcome. No outcome, that is, other than to say, if you end up with a car someone has worked on themselves in the past rather than going to a garage, start with a thorough inspection of their work. I intended to get rid of the dated interior parts anyway, but may end up looking a little closer at everything that has been worked on in the service history as well....

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MNECM Part 2

So I posted Part 1 of this blog entry a couple of days back, mentioning that this time last week I was taking my Mitsubishi project car to its first car meet. Before going to the meet I had toyed with the idea of taking the daily again, I even got her detailed so she was all shiny. 

Abarth Supersport Daily - All happy and shiny

But I kept telling myself, 'Whats the point of having a rolling project if I don't drive it?'. So I got her out of the garage and dusted her off. (probably not enough as she was probably the dirtiest thing at the meet)

Mitsubishi GTO Mk1 - Side Shot

I met up with a mate who was taking his project Golf to the meet and we talked over the changes to our cars we'd made over the past couple of weeks. (It obviously goes without saying that as I am not yet in full swing he had more changes than me, a cool GT made mean with lots of black additions, really put my GTO to shame!) When we left our meeting point to head over the to meet I struggled to turn the car to make it out of the car park we were in. I put this down to the car park being steep and tight and stupidly ignored it.... Once moving again the car felt fine so we headed to the meet. All was well for the next few hours as we walked around having a look around the hundred or so cars that had turned out.

Front end with the Abarth hiding behind from before the meet

Upon leaving the meet I started to head home. The golf parted ways at the exit, and just as the meet was out of sight (barely at that). *POP!* my gear-stick kicked into neutral. I dipped my clutch and tried to select a gear. It wouldn't engage. I tried to select another gear. Nothing. I coasted to the side of the road and pulled over. No matter what gear I selected or how hard I tried I simply couldn't engage a gear. I phoned Mrs 3ofdiamonds in a panic and was talking through with her for some time what had happened.

As we were on the phone I got first, and second, and third! I could engage gears again! Whoop! I pulled away and the clutch was biting. The car seemed to be limping a touch but I was going to get home (or so I thought...). I got around 250 yards down the road and had to stop to give way at a roundabout. I went into first to pull away.... nothing... I was able to get the gear stick to the right position this time, but no bite. The pedal gave resistance going down but had no bite to it at all coming back up.

Then the smell hit me... The smell of clutch is rather unique and quite distinctive. Once you've had a clutch give out on you, it's a smell you will always recognise if you smell it again. It hadn't been there when kicked me out of gear, but it was an unmistakable assault on my nostrils now.

There had been a slight incline leading up to roundabout so I was able to start rolling backwards to get the car out of the way. Unfortunately there  were railings on the footpath, so I had quite a distance to roll back before I could get the car off the road. Hazards on, stopping for any cars going past.

The area I had broken down in wasn't exactly the kind of area it's good to break down in, especially at night. Truth be told, it was the kind of area you try not too stop too long at traffic lights for, as your car may end up propped up on bricks.  In this case that helped a touch though. Within a minute, maybe 2, of starting to try to roll backwards to safety there were blue flashing lights behind me. The policeman accosted a couple of passers by and my car was pushed back past the railings and up onto the curb.

Funnily enough at this point my thoughts switched from 'My clutch...' to 'My alloys!' but luckily I think they survived the ordeal (as far I could tell in the darkness). I thanked those that had helped and started making the phone calls to get towed home.

The resting place of the GTO following MNECM

Whilst I was waiting to be picked up, I did have a couple of guys from the meet stop and check I was alright which nicely broke the time up. But I was waiting longer than I would have hoped. To break the time up I also started counting the amount of times I saw blue flashing lights, then I realised I couldn't count that high...

After a couple of hours finally the tow truck pulled up. Sadly to my dismay the operator looked at my car and said 'Is that car AWD' to which I nodded... and stared in dismay with puppy dog eyes as he drove off again into night saying he could only tow 2 wheel drive cars. A voice inside my head was screaming cartoon-ishly 'Noooooooooooo'. I started the wait again, waiting this time for a truck that could put my car onto the back of it, with a tipping bed. Eventually it came, and as we drove home the driver recounted his experiences with project cars, and turns out he had had some awesome projects in the past, made the journey go a lot quicker as my experience of breakdowns in the past was generally one of silence and only speaking for directions.

So I broke down at around 7:45pm and I eventually got home at around 1am, with the car safely tucked up in the garage by 130am. And there she sits. I am not sure how to go about my next steps. Do I get her towed to a garage to get a new clutch, or do I try myself? Is fitting a new clutch too much of a job for someone who is just starting out on their first project? Do I declare her off the road and start on other jobs such as the interior trim replacement pieces I have, and the intake kit etc?

The Mitsubishi project as she sits now...

At least whilst I decide the Mitsubishi project car is reversed into the garage for the first time, giving me more options for working on her until I decide what I'm doing with her clutch-wise....

I had been told 90's Mitsubishi's had glass gearboxes, I'm hoping it's just the clutch!

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