“Much indeed to be regretted, party disputes are now carried to such a length, and truth is so enveloped in mist and false representation, that it is extremely difficult to know through what channel to seek it. This difficulty to one, who is of no party, and whose sole wish is to pursue with undeviating steps a path which would lead this country to respectability, wealth, and happiness, is exceedingly to be lamented. But such, for wise purposes, it is presumed, is the turbulence of human passions in party disputes, when victory more than truth is the palm contended for,” – George Washington, in a letter to Timothy Pickering, July 27, 1795.
FS: 1996 BMW 328is (E36) 5MT Alpine white coupe
August 24th, 2009 No comments »
The Basics:
1996 BMW 328is, Alpine White
2-door coupe, 5-speed manual transmission, 2.8L I6, 2.93 open diff
164,xxx miles
SOLD!
» Read more: FS: 1996 BMW 328is (E36) 5MT Alpine white coupe
Fresh back from Texas
February 16th, 2008 No comments »
2/08 17″ ’95 M3 wheels from black car
5/08 Koni SA Yellows, H&R Sport springs, wheel stud conversion, fresh bushings, control arms, tie rods, UUC Swaybarbarian SpecE36 bars
6/08 Rear Brembo OE rotors, Axxis/PBR street pads
7/08 15% window tint
8/08 Front OE rotors, Axxis/PBR street pads
RIP
February 12th, 2008 No comments »
1/31/2008
Murdered by a Dodge Ram while unoccupied in a Papa John’s parking lot. What a disappointing way to go.
Purchased: 12/22/2006, 155k miles
Totaled: 1/31/2008, 182k miles
Absolutely the best of the four BMWs I’ve owned thus far. So what’s next? … Wait and see.
Site update
December 17th, 2007 No comments »I’ve implemented a new site design for the first time since 2002, so enjoy it. Let me know if you find anything broken; I’m sure I didn’t catch all the bugs tonight.
The layout is based on a template from andreasviklund.com, so go check out his stuff. Its good work.
Happy Fourth!
July 4th, 2007 No comments »“It is the responsibility of the patriot to protect his country from its government.” –Thomas Paine (courtesy of TheAgitator.com)
Grenada MS Autocross – Mississippi SCCA – June 16/17
June 20th, 2007 No comments » |
| Grenada MS Autocross – June 16-17 2007 |
BMW CCA HPDE/Track Day at Barber Motorsports Park
June 1st, 2007 No comments »May 26/27, 2007
 |
| Barber Motorsport |
BMW Ultimate Drive – Susan G. Komen for the Cure
May 15th, 2007 No comments »While I was in Birmingham on April 24, I joined some fellow members of the Heart of Dixie chapter of the BMW CCA to drive the fleet of Susan G. Komen cars from Birmingham to Knoxville. For every mile driven, BMW donates $1 for breast cancer research. I drove a 2007 Z4 Coupe on this leg.
The BMW Ultimate Drive was also in Huntsville on April 27 so I took Dad down with me, and we were able to test drive the 335i coupe, the 335i sedan, and the new X5 SAV. The 335i has an impressive, wonderful engine, but the car overall leaves me a bit underwhelmed. I’m hoping that powertrain ends up in a 1-series soon. |
| BMW Ultimate Drive – Susan G. Komen for the Cure 2007 |
Project: Makeshift Racing
May 15th, 2007 No comments »On December 22, 2006 I bought a black on black BMW 325is manual coupe to replace my gold 325i manual sedan that was totaled. On February 1, 2007 I got caught in an ice storm and slid off the road, into a ditch, and turned on the roof in the “new” car. State Farm declared that one also a total loss, but it was still in decent condition. Since February it has been an on-going project for David (my brother) and I to repair and convert to a trackable driver.
I’ll post more details on the car later, but its due for its first track day at Barber Motorsports Park on Memorial Day weekend, immediately followed by an SCCA National autocross on June 1-2 in Huntsville. On July 17-18 we’ll be going to Deal’s Gap. |
| 1992 BMW 325is Blk/blk Coupe |
AMA Superbike Classic – Barber Motorsports Park
May 15th, 2007 No comments »April 20-22 saw the AMA Superbike series at Barber Motorsports Park in Birmingham, AL. I was at the track on Friday and Saturday. Click below for photos:
 |
| Barber 2007 – AMA Superbike |
Caster, camber, toe
January 26th, 2007 No comments »
Camber, Caster and Toe: What Do They Mean?
The three major alignment parameters on a car are toe, camber, and caster. Most enthusiasts have a good understanding of what these settings are and what they involve, but many may not know why a particular setting is called for, or how it affects performance. Let’s take a quick look at this basic aspect of suspension tuning.
…
End of an era
December 28th, 2006 No comments »The gold 1992 BMW 325i sedan is no more. State Farm has declared it a total loss after a front-end altercation in a parking lot (no-fault accident).
I bought this car in March 2005 with 172,000 miles. As of December 2006 it has 233,400 miles, still on the same engine, transmission, clutch, etc. That’s 61,400 miles in 20 months, or almost exactly 100 miles per day average. It made two appearances on track — Talladega Gran Prix (TGPR) and Barber Motorsports Park, and three trips to Deal’s Gap (Tail of the Dragon). I’ve salvaged the suspension (Bilstein Sports/BavAuto springs) to reuse on the next car, along with my personal additions. RIP
Accident damage
BMW E36 Links
November 29th, 2006 No comments »These are mainly for my own reference, as I’m at work and won’t have these bookmarks when I get home to work on the car. I bought another BMW today, same as the one I already have — a 1992 E36 325i sedan, 5 speed manual with 201,000 miles in decent condition. Definitely needs some attention, but that’s what this is for.
Installing a Valentine One Radar DetectorE36 electric window fix
E36 back seat removal
Gauges
Other guides
BMW DIY
Understeer.com
Installing gauge cluster trim rings
WERA Nationals, Barber Motorsports Park, Birmingham, AL
October 1st, 2006 No comments »Saturday, 23 September were the WERA Nationals at Barber Motorsports Park. I was able to watch a couple hours of the Endurace series and grabbed a few pictures. Got a new video camera last week so I can do much better video in the future.
 |
| Barber 2006 – WERA Nationals |
Live from the BMW Performance Center, Spartanburg, SC
September 15th, 2006 No comments »7:50am – Got in around 7:30pm ET yesterday, 6h 15m drive from Pulaski to Greer, SC. Terrible traffic in Atlanta. Got a good night of sleep, woke up early. About to leave hotel and head to the Performance Center. Updates to follow.
—
4:45pm – Back at the hotel. Activities today included slalom course, ABS braking exercise, skidpad, another slalom, oval skidpad/mini-race, powerslides, and timed autocross. I had the best autox single run time, but only by a couple tenths. I’m exhausted.
Morning started out slow, classroom session was overly simplistic and nothing new (define apex, etc.) and the first few exercises were easy, but looking back built up both confidence in the car and set some benchmarks for the rest of the day. I’m the youngest in the group by quite a few years. Many in the class don’t even own BMWs. One of the instructors does WERA road racing. Going to get dinner and get some sleep. More tomorrow.
—
Day 2: Wow! Delayed posting this, I’m back at work, but what an awesome time. Due to special circumstances, we got bumped up to M3s from the 330is we drove on day 1. Amazing cars, and I may be convinced on SMG now. More slalom, skidpad, emergency braking, emergency lane change, just at faster speeds. Also more autox. Then we got to test-drive the Z4M Roadster, M5, M6, 760Li, 650Ci, and X5 4.8L on the autox course. After that we took the X5s out to the off-road course for a bit of fun.
» Read more: Live from the BMW Performance Center, Spartanburg, SC
Quotes
September 5th, 2006 No comments »“Those who would give up essential liberty to purchase a little temporary safety, deserve neither liberty nor safety.” -Benjamin Franklin (attr)
Numquam ponenda est pluritas sine necessitate. People should not fear their government. Governments should fear their people. “I think we risk becoming the best informed society that has ever died of ignorance.” -Reuben Blades “Government is not the solution to our problem. Government is the problem.” -Ronald Reagan “I don’t believe in a government that protects us from ourselves.” -Ronald ReaganMerritt-Pop
September 5th, 2006 No comments »I went with my grandfather today to check out the popcorn crop. We met with Charles Johnson, writer/editor for The Furrow magazine (published by John Deere) and he interviewed us about the popcorn and how its grown, etc.
The crop is going to be lean this year, which isn’t good, but considering how dry this summer has been it could be worse. |
| Merritt-Pop 2006 |
BMW Performance Driving School
August 22nd, 2006 No comments »
Little of this, little of that.
August 19th, 2006 No comments »Some cool stuff I’ve found lately:
· RumbleStripRadio: a motorcycle racing podcast, covers MotoGP, WSBK, AMA…· MotoGPod: another, focus on MotoGP
· Rossi Files: blog of Valentino Rossi news, etc. Some of you know I recently got a used Powerbook G4. So far, I love it. Here are some Apple links. · Applepedia: Like Wikipedia, but for Apple/Mac stuff.
· VersionTracker: software repository The pictures are posted from our trip to The Porsche 250 at Barber Motorsports Park. And if you missed it, my album is still online from the AMA Superbike round at Barber back in April.
|
|
Justice and the Government
August 4th, 2006 No comments »Some people may prefer a strict application of the law, across the board. Some may prefer a lenient application of the law, across the board. A case can be made for both. I also think a case can be made for strict application of the law as applied to the government, but a lenient application as applied to the people. But the least defensible position, it seems to me, is the one that dominates: Strict justice for the people and leniency for the government.
-Tim Lynch, via TheAgitator.com
