Cold Air Intake and soft top

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Bill G

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I am new to chat boards, but 4 weeks the owner of a 1995 318ic. Owner, not driver; that treat belongs to my daughter. My task will be to do all I can to maintain this beauty. So far, so good. I did rear brakes without too much trouble and have done some minor repairs to the framework on the top. I found a three disc set with manual and parts list so it comes in handy. I am amazed at the amount of care and interest for these cars. Not so much for my '93 Ford PU.

My bigest question now is a leaking top. The lady we bought it from put a top on it this past summer and all is good except during rain, it leaks between the windshield and top. Just sitting so it is not being forced in by wind. Before I start hunting front weatherstrips, etc., is there anyother trick?

The second issue is BOYFRIEND. He is a Honda freak and has her convinced a "Cold Air Intake" would be gas mileage beneficial and engine performance valuable. What the heck is he talking about and what are the pluses and minuses?
 
VANCE

VANCE

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a cold air intake replaces your stock air box with one the draws "cold air" into the engine. it also replaces the stock air filter with a less constrictive one.
stand alone the cold air intake is pretty much only good for sound. there will not be a very noticible bump in the gas mileage.
 
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mybabyM3

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Bill, cold air intakes in combination with chip and exhaust can really pep up these cars and make for a more enjoyable drive. You will need to add an exhaust to gain the rewards. A set of underdrive pulleys like the v8 guys use will help also.
What you have to think of here is a teenager will be driving the car. They don't need any incentive to drive faster. When you start these mods they make you just want to drive faster and faster. Being a 318 she only has the 4 cylinder so she doesn't have a lot of power to play with. You know your daughter better than any of us if you think she is mature enough to drive a BMW she would probably be ok with the mods. Your going to want to share seat time with her after you start putting the mods on the car.
I see your from Ok. what city are you in? I am from Miami, Ok. I have found that there are several people from Ok. on this board. You mentioned doing some of the maintenance on the car. Do you have a source for cheap parts? If not I can give you some companies I have found that will save you alot of money. My favorite so far is www.bimmerpartswholesale.com that site has great pricing good service and they ship fast to your door.
 
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dewshan

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cold air intake DO IT!

I also have a 95 318. I switched to a cold air intake a couple of weeks ago and it could be the best thing I have done to the car so far. These smaller 4 engines don't have extra horspower to spare like an m3 or even a 325. i don't know if fuel mileage has improved or not, The filter lets more air in and the computer compensates by increasing the fuel to keep the mixture correct. I can feel more power when I accelerate to get on a freeway. I would guess I have gained 3 to 6 hp. I think I did this filter conversion for about $70. The filter you need will be cone shaped an attaches directly to the HFM. (318 does not need the style with the long pipe) The HFM is silver colored with a square black top and should say Bosch . The black box that holds the old filter comes out. to support the new filter and HFM I fabricated a bracket that attaches to one of the strut nuts. There are two or three unused metric tapped holes in the side of the HFM that are perfect to hold a bracket. The supplied strap was to wimpy! You also need a heat shield around the new filter to make sure the engine gets cold/dense air insted of heated air from the engine. If there is no heat shield there will probably be no difference. I wouldn't spend $250+ on one but if you can keep it under $100 I think it is worth it. But keep the filter oiled!

I believe this guy but it is a 6cyl car.
http://bimmer.roadfly.org/bmw/forums/e36/5947392-1.html

Let me know if you want to see pictures of the way I did it.
 
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epj3

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frolf said:
i agree
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Kids who are completely into FWD cars with cold air intakes need some direction in their life. I'm being serious.. the typical ricer does the car thing allllll for show and to get girls. They don't want girls for the right reasons either (well, most of them... hopefully this guy is one of the few [:p]). I'm not saying it's true... but having just finished highschool last spring, its something I observed!!!
 
Chesty Bonds

Chesty Bonds

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epj3 said:
Kids who are completely into FWD cars with cold air intakes need some direction in their life. I'm being serious.. the typical ricer does the car thing allllll for show and to get girls. They don't want girls for the right reasons either (well, most of them... hopefully this guy is one of the few [:p]). I'm not saying it's true... but having just finished highschool last spring, its something I observed!!!
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I'm not sure that that's very fair. There are a lot of real enthusiasts out there that just happen to like their Japanese screamers. It's not up to us to cast our negative judgement onto them just because we might not agree with their passion for front-drivers. We like out Beemers and they like their Honda's. Perhaps they're adding CAI's because they want more performance, not because they're trying to impress chicks. That's a totally baseless statement.

I know a bloke with an Intergra that has all the 'ricer shit' on it and while i may not agree with his method, i can't ignore the fact that he loves his car - and that's something we can all relate to here.
 
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epj3

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#10
Chesty Bonds said:
I'm not sure that that's very fair. There are a lot of real enthusiasts out there that just happen to like their Japanese screamers. It's not up to us to cast our negative judgement onto them just because we might not agree with their passion for front-drivers. We like out Beemers and they like their Honda's. Perhaps they're adding CAI's because they want more performance, not because they're trying to impress chicks. That's a totally baseless statement.

I know a bloke with an Intergra that has all the 'ricer shit' on it and while i may not agree with his method, i can't ignore the fact that he loves his car - and that's something we can all relate to here.
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It's different in the 'States. I'm talking under-body glow kits and shit. that's not for performance!!!!! Unless someone designed a kit that glows and makes the car weigh less, which I would be doubtful that the wouldn't have used it first.
 
Chesty Bonds

Chesty Bonds

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epj3 said:
It's different in the 'States. I'm talking under-body glow kits and shit. that's not for performance!!!!! Unless someone designed a kit that glows and makes the car weigh less, which I would be doubtful that the wouldn't have used it first.
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Ah ok. Yeah those under-body lights are pretty bloody tasteless.
 
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