Most modern cars come equipped with four wheel disc brakes which provide a greater stopping power over drum brakes. The design of modern brake rotors has evolved over time and offer unique advantages and disadvantages to each style available. In high-end race applications, drivers want rotors with the least amount of weight and that remain cool without warping
The BMW 2002 first entered production in 1968 and ended in 1976. The car is largely based off of the 1600-2 (-2 meaning 2 door) platform with a 2.0L engine in place of the 1.6L outpouring 105hp. This car is largely responsible for getting BMW out of their sales slump as the car went on to have over
The BMW E90 / E92 / E93 M3 is the fourth generation M3 and the first time a V8 engine was offered. The M3 was unveiled during the Geneva Motor Show in March 2007. Production ran from 2007 to 2013 with the sedan ending production in 2011. The E90 M3 was the four door sedan
The BMW E60 M5 made its debut at the 2004 Geneva International Motor Show still as a concept vehicle. The E61 M5 touring was debuted at the Geneva International Motor show three years later in 2007. Unfortunately the E61 touring was never for available for sale in the US market. Every E61 / E60 M5 was
The BMW E24 M6, as it was known in North America and Japan, was first introduced in 1983 at the Frankfurt Motor Show. In the rest of the world, the car was labeled as the M635CSi. Both the M6 and M635CSi were nearly identical but only labeled differently for marketing reasons. The M6 was the
The BMW E86 Z4 M Coupe was first unveiled at the 2006 Geneva International Motor Show. Every E86 M coupe was powered by the 3.0L S54 engine, which was first used in the iconic E46 M3. Although the engines were the same, horse power in the Z4 M coupe was down 5 hp (338hp from
The BMW E28 M5 first debuted at the 1985 Amsterdam Motor Show. Every E28 M5 was hand built in Germany except for the M5’s sold in South Africa, which were assembled in the BMW South Africa factory. Two engines were sold in the E28 M5, the M88 and S38. The difference is the M88 does
BMW M Coupe paint options totaled 14 colors, 6 solid and 8 metallic. The BMW E36/8 M Coupe was first unveiled at the Frankfurt Motor Show in 1997, initial production began one year later in 1998 and ran until 2002. Three different engines were offered in the BMW M Coupe, the S50, S52 and S54;
In the good old days when your BMW battery died one could go to the local auto shop, pick up a new one, replace it at home and get back on the road. Unfortunately, with the late model BMW’s battery replacement is not as simple yesteryears. The new batteries need to be replaced by a dealer or
The BMW E34 M5 is the second generation M5 and the successor of the E28 M5. It was first introduced in September of 1988. Production began in 1989 and ended in 1995, producing 12, 254 units world wide. Every E34 M5 was hand built in Germany over a two week period. The BMW E34 M5
It is common to see European cars from the 1930’s through the 1990’s with yellow headlights. It is even more common to see cars of all generations, even present day, with yellow fog lamps. Is this purely a cosmetic feature or is there a practical application for this? The answer is that yellow tinted headlights
What is the BMW VANOS system? VANOS: From the German “VAriable NOckenwellenSteuerung” (Translation: Variable Camshaft Timing). The BMW VANOS system allows variable camshaft timing of the engine. The intake and / or exhaust cams vary in relation to the crank shaft to optimize engine performance at different engine speeds. Early models only varied the intake
The BMW E46 has important data stored within the car at two primary locations. The instrument cluster and light switch module. This ensures that data cannot be lost if one device goes bad. It is similar to why aircraft have redundant flight controls if one set goes out there is another system in place as a
What is wheel offset? Wheel offset is the distance from the centerline of the wheel to the mounting face of the hub (the face touching your rotor). Traditionally this measurement quantified in millimeters. What are the three types of offset found on wheels? Offset comes in three types: zero, positive, and negative. Zero offset means
The BMW E9 3.0 CSL is similar to the E30 M3 in that it was manufactured as a homologation special to allow the car to be eligible to race in the European Touring Car Championship. The 3.0 CSL was unveiled in 1971 at the Geneva Motor show, production ran from May 1971 thru October 1975 for
