Vince's Stuff: The M3 is out of the barn

Fresh out of the barn

Spring is really here now... Tuesday night lapping at ICAR starts next week (it's supposed to rain though) and the Civic should be good to go as is, in that it's in the same state it was at the end of the Mosport event last fall. I got lucky yesterday when someone posted a pair of 949Racing 6UL 15x9 wheels for sale in the same colour as my 15x8 wheels. I have always wanted an extra pair in case I broke one, so I am pretty excited.

I had wanted to install summer tires on the STi, but there is a 3-week wait for an appointment at the local garages (I can't swap wheels myself, since I don't have a second set of mounted wheels). I gave up looking for a good deal on some used STi wheels and decided to just park the car on winter tires and start daily driving the M3. We went to Deschaillons last weekend and I swapped cars there, leaving the STi in the barn. The M3 started right up when I installed the battery. All it needed was for me to change the right caliper, which I suspected was not fully disengaging. When we got back home, I replaced the caliper myself. What should have been a 1-hour job took me almost 3 hours. Why? 1) One of the wheels was very hard to remove because someone overtightened two of the wheel bolts (not sure if it was Canadian Tire). 2) One of my two jacks didn't work anymore, so I had to find spots to place a jack stand then jack the other side 3) I could't remember how to place the retaining clip on the caliper so it fell off during my test drive, and I had to look for photos on line to confirm what I was doing wrong 4) The new caliper required an 8mm wrench on the bleeder screw and I didn't have one, and it took a lot of looking around to confirm this. I used an adjustable wrench instead 5) I struggled to get the slider pin on one side to engage so I could tighten it... Anyway, I learned a couple of things doing a job I had never done before on the BMW! A test drive (where nothing fell off) confirmed my guess that the caliper was not fully releasing and one of the pads had worn much more than the other as a result. I installed a rebuilt caliper and some inexpensive Pagid pads, and the problem seems to be fixed. There is no more vibration in the steering wheel at highway speeds, which I am pretty sure was being caused by the pad contacting the disc even when I wasn't braking.

The M3 is so engaging to drive. I drove it for over an hour last night, with no traffic, when I went to get the used Civic wheels. I have to admit that it feels a bit slow in a straight line now that I have gotten used to the Subaru, but the M3 has the advantage of being so much quieter on the highway. It's quieter in the city now too since the old pads that often squealed at low speeds (some performance model that Carl had sold me). The next thing to tackle is an annoying rattle in the passenger-side door, but I just did some research and I think I know how to address it. I know I complain a lot about small items on the car (and the two other cars), but it's just so close to being the perfect driving experience that I think I can get it there! Anyway, a night-time blast to the North Shore was a really pleasant experience, and quite different to what it would have been with the STi or the Civic. All three cars are engaging, and I realize that that is what really counts as far as driving enjoyment goes. As I get older, I care less about acceleration and outright performance (for a street car, not for a track car!) and I just want to enjoy my time behind the wheel whenever I have to drive somewhere.