What did you do for your ZHP/ BMW / MINI today? #2

[Fenrir]

Hid some curb rash with creative dipping on the car today. Splitters are matte black now and the wheels are gunmetal with metallic flake.

[Johnmadd]

Looks good.

[Johnmadd]

Is that a ws6?

[stephenkirsh]

Lamin-x'ed the lenses. I think I'll do a review after a week (they claim it takes 3-5 days to fully set).

[Fenrir]

Looks good.

Is that a ws6?

Thanks . And nah, it is a Trans Am but with the Formula pakage.

[JupiterBMW]

Thanks for the explanation T. I'm a regular air guy, I guess mostly out of convenience and the fact I'm a cheapskate. It does mean I have to fire up the compressor in the garage on a regular basis. Colin needed about 15 lbs in one tire yesterday (the rest were all ok) and my wife said there TPMS had been alerting her 2-3 tires were low due to the cold temps we've been having.

So if you do go nitrogen, can you top it off with a regular compressor or is that defeating the purpose by mixing the two? (I may have asked this before).

You can top off with regular air, I had to do that once on a Sunday when the dealer was closed. But, with the 1 year nitrogen package ($69), they will completely evacuate and refill the tires for you if you tell them you had to top up with regular air.

[LivesNearCostco]

Finally installed the new (passenger side) door lock actuator and new cabin air filter on the E36. Read some DIYs for both and watched one YouTube video for the cabin filter. After that, both were easy, just took some time.

The E36 front door is quite similar to the E46 front door, minus the side airbag and the fact that the E36 window regular seems to be a different design without all those cables.

[derbo]

Nitrogen is a larger molecule despite having a smaller atomic mass than oxygen. That's why it's easier for an oxygen molecule to wiggle through the rubber and escape which leads to an under inflated tire more so than nitrogen. As a tire is bearing the weight and slowly deflating without moving, the tire structure will flatten out and remember that.

With nitrogen, a tire that doesn't move for a long period of time will not deflate quickly thus significantly decreasing the chance of a flat spot.

Next, I wondered why a molecule with a smaller atomic mass is bigger than one that has one more proton. More protons (+) create a higher attraction for the electrons (-) surrounding them. Oxygen has 8 protons and Nitrogen has 7 so 8 protons pull the electrons in tighter creating a smaller molecule. That's science in as simple as I can make it!!

Another good thing with nitrogen filling is a significantly decreased injection of water vapor into the tire which creates much smaller pressure differences between a cold and hot tire versus filling up with an air compressor.

If you're good with checking and maintaining pressures while using your car and not storing it, I don't see any reason why regular air is seen as a death sentence from the marketing of nitrogen. Anyone storing their car or drivers who rely on consistent air pressures for balancing vehicle performance especially in racing would benefit from nitrogen.

Honestly I think the only benefit is better air. I check my tires once a month and I don't think it's worth the cost. To fully evacuate a tire, you would need a rim with two valvestems for in and out. Without that, the amount in the tire may not 100% nitrogen. With that in mind, the benefits of lower psi loss seems irrelevant.

http://blog.tirerack.com/blog/make-d...s-and-myths-v1


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[Imola.ZHP]

My rear seat doesn't fold. Un-Velcro the leather flap behind the arm rest on the upper portion of the back seat, and peel back some of the insulation, which is perforated, bet you have the spot to knock out as well. I'll have to cut the rear portion of the liner once I get the ski bag/trim, but I'd bet your car has the metal portion to knock out as well.

Thanks, I had no idea!

Honestly I think the only benefit is better air. I check my tires once a month and I don't think it's worth the cost. To fully evacuate a tire, you would need a rim with two valvestems for in and out. Without that, the amount in the tire may not 100% nitrogen. With that in mind, the benefits of lower psi loss seems irrelevant.

http://blog.tirerack.com/blog/make-d...s-and-myths-v1

If I didn't have access to a nitrogen generator, I wouldn't pay to run nitrogen in my tires. I'm just too cheap. But I do agree, unless the tire shop has some special room full of only nitrogen or a way to suck out the air while putting in nitrogen, there will always be a little bit of regular air in your tires. As time goes on and that air seeps out, you fill with nitrogen, the % will go up, but most likely you'll never have 100% nitrogen in your tires and thus they still need to be checked regularly. Speaking of, I am probably past-due to check mine. I've gotten spoiled by the better half's Honda that has TPMS.

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Drove mine to work, got to use the new wiper blades yesterday morning on the drive to work. I know Icon's are expensive, but I think they are worth it. Looks like I've been getting about 2 years out of them, so that helps justify the price.

[Sockethead]

What you do after you and your buddies remove the back shocks on the wife's 135?