Pit lane Mess

[Steve Albrecht <albrecht@xxxxxxxxx>]

Fellow PropHeads --
This article in Bimmer reminded me of my first few hours of ownership of
my 540. I figured a good test drive would be up to the Lick Observatory,
about a 25 mile ride from the downtown area of San Jose. It's a great
mountain road and it takes about an hour to cover the distance. My
German Shepard loves to go for rides, so I stopped by the house to pick
her up on the way from the dealer, and we headed together for the test
drive.  Many of the corners are blind so one must be pretty careful,
however, there are quite a few sections that have great visibility, so
cutting apexes and powering through to track out is safe enough. I used
all the available power whenever it was appropriate so it was a mixed
ride, some slow, some fast.  I had a great time! However, when we
arrived at the top and parked, I noticed an odor that wasn't
'automotive' in nature.  My poor dog's stomach didn't withstand the ride
as well as I expected.  I can sympathize with the driving instructors.  

The last two weekends have been busy with upgrades.  I replaced pads and
rotors, Performance Friction pads and very nice slotted rotors.  The job
was very easy and I spent a lot of time cleaning the pad dust off the
calipers and suspension. The aluminum castings really look nice when
clean. Stock BMW pads are the messiest pads I have ever seen in the
dozen or so cars I have owned.  I also upgraded the stock 15" wheels to
17" with Pirelli P7000 tires, 235/45ZR.  The rain season is close and
due to a couple of safety schools and autocrosses, my old tires had the
cross section of motorcycle tires. Lincoln's head was also completely
visible in what was left of the tread. The lower profile tires made the
ride just a bit harsher, but certainly not objectionable.  I am more
pleased with the outcome than I thought I would be.  It's pretty
gratifying when a plan comes together!

Steve Albrecht
E34/M60 540i
Cupertino,CA
Golden Gate Chapter

>Latest issue of Bimmer Mag has article by driver school instructor
>relating how late model M3's shod with sticky rubber have made his job
>unbearable, causing a mess of instructors at one school with a corkscrew
>to ... well, make a mess on pit row.  NOW THAT'S TAKING IT TO THE NEXT
>LEVEL!!

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