The Random E46/ZHP Question Thread

[blalor]

I hope not. If I knew for sure, or even thought it was likely, I wouldn't do it. But there's a jack point in the under tray, the subframe looks solid, and this is one of the recommended jacking points I saw mentioned here and e46fanatics.

[Just_George]

I hate this process... Anyone wanna donate a lift to me?


Sent from my iPhone

I asked that same question on my birthday back in January - surprisingly, no takers! Have a lift purchased that was supposed to ship on April 23rd, but got delayed. Hopefully soon, although I still have work to do to make the garage ready...

[BMWCurves]

I've been through some of the threads here about brake fluid for our cars and there was a general consensus that our cars call for DOT4 low viscosity brake fluid. Have most of you switched over to it for those of you that ran normal DOT4 fluid before (ATE, Pentosin, etc)? And does it hurt our brake/clutch system to be using a higher viscosity fluid?

[Vas]

I have been using ate 200 brake fluid. Just bought some actually

[BMWCurves]

I have been using ate 200 brake fluid. Just bought some actually

I was thinking of using that with ECS' brake flush kit, but while I was looking through the brake forums I saw the thread on low viscosity (LV) brake fluid that should be used in our cars so I'm still not sure. You've never had any problems with ATE 200?

[Vas]

I was thinking of using that with ECS' brake flush kit, but while I was looking through the brake forums I saw the thread on low viscosity (LV) brake fluid that should be used in our cars so I'm still not sure. You've never had any problems with ATE 200?

Nope. No issues

[wsmeyer]

I've been through some of the threads here about brake fluid for our cars and there was a general consensus that our cars call for DOT4 low viscosity brake fluid. Have most of you switched over to it for those of you that ran normal DOT4 fluid before (ATE, Pentosin, etc)? And does it hurt our brake/clutch system to be using a higher viscosity fluid?

We discussed this in another thread and no one has ever come up with an official explanation from BMW on why our cars call for DOT4LV. Most people just use DOT4 and report that it works just fine. I have no doubt that it feels the same however, we do know 2 facts:

DOT4LV is roughly 30% thinner

BMW calls for it in all models that use our DSC unit.

The DSC unit controls the Dynamic Stability Control system and Antilock Braking System. This leads ME to believe that the internal valving requires the thinner fluid to operate properly. This would also mean that the effect on the systems of using DOT4 would not be readily apparent.

I don't have any direct evidence to back that up but it was enough for me to flush out my system and go back to DOT4LV. I drive in the snow periodically and I don't want to wonder if my ABS is working optimally.

[BMWCurves]

We discussed this in another thread and no one has ever come up with an official explanation from BMW on why our cars call for DOT4LV. Most people just use DOT4 and report that it works just fine. I have no doubt that it feels the same however, we do know 2 facts:

DOT4LV is roughly 30% thinner

BMW calls for it in all models that use our DSC unit.

The DSC unit controls the Dynamic Stability Control system and Antilock Braking System. This leads ME to believe that the internal valving requires the thinner fluid to operate properly. This would also mean that the effect on the systems of using DOT4 would not be readily apparent.

I don't have any direct evidence to back that up but it was enough for me to flush out my system and go back to DOT4LV. I drive in the snow periodically and I don't want to wonder if my ABS is working optimally.

Perfect, thank you. That's a similar conclusion I came to from reading the old thread in the brake section. I just wanted to see if anyone had any actual known failures from higher viscosity brake fluid or other issues.

[terraphantm]

We discussed this in another thread and no one has ever come up with an official explanation from BMW on why our cars call for DOT4LV. Most people just use DOT4 and report that it works just fine. I have no doubt that it feels the same however, we do know 2 facts:

DOT4LV is roughly 30% thinner

BMW calls for it in all models that use our DSC unit.

The DSC unit controls the Dynamic Stability Control system and Antilock Braking System. This leads ME to believe that the internal valving requires the thinner fluid to operate properly. This would also mean that the effect on the systems of using DOT4 would not be readily apparent.

I don't have any direct evidence to back that up but it was enough for me to flush out my system and go back to DOT4LV. I drive in the snow periodically and I don't want to wonder if my ABS is working optimally.

I think this is most important in cold weather. I found my ABS to not work well in sub zero temperatures with normal DOT4 fluid. I switched to DOT5.1 (which is about as thin as DOT4LV w/ higher boiling points), and found everything to work much better. I think it's especially important for functions that control the brakes even when the brake pedal isn't depressed (namely DSC). The MK20 cars had a precharge pump to help push the thicker fluid through.

For cars that are driven exclusively in warm weather, it probably doesn't matter much. A normal DOT4 fluid at 60ºF is going to be thinner than a DOT4LV at 0ºF

[az3579]

I've probably flushed my system more times throughout the nearly 5 years of ownership than a lot of the cars here put together (with the exception of those who do track). I've always used either ATE Super Blue (when it was still "legal") or ATE Type 200. Zero problems on the street. Zero problems on the track. Zero problems in the winter and extreme cold. 221k miles. Zero DSC and ABS malfunctions. Never heard of problems from others using the same fluids. Personally I feel this is just nitpicking at this point. There are zero repercussions to be had from using regular DOT4 based on the lack of evidence to suggest otherwise.