Post pictures of your most recent purchase

[lambo]

[akorcovelos]

Helps to preheat the parts to out-gas before coating. I chemical clean, media blast, bake, maybe blast again (since oil will come out of the pores), then coat and bake. If it wasn't bakes before you started polishing, then the oil vapors would come out during the process. :(

Yep, exactly what happened.

[kronus]

on its way to me now. I hope.



;D

[MR E30 325is]

Nice!

[HennaE30]

For the iS. Also picked up a halfshaft for it, not pictured.

P.S; car runs now :D


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[george graves]

Do us all a favor, and post up again in 2 years how the battery is doing. Just for some insight into how it performs.

I had to swear off red tops when it didn't last more than a year and a half. Then I got a competitor's brand one a warranty from auto-zone, and lasted about a year too.

[MR E30 325is]

^ I ran a red-top in my S52 E30 for ~6 years.

Bought it out in San Diego. Car and battery moved to Flagstaff. Drove the car through my first winter here. Every winter after I would store it at a buddies house. No tender or disconnection. Would swing by every month or so and fire it up.

Sold the car with that battery in it.

Weird that your experience was so much different.

[ForcedFirebird]

^ I ran a red-top in my S52 E30 for ~6 years.

How long ago was that? Quality has gone down quite a bit over the last several years. I can't stand them. Optima sponsored Champ Car events we did about 4-5 year ago amd we were rquired to run them. It was were worse that last time I gave them up in about 8 years ago. Car parked in the trailer with safety switch off (battery disconnected) and it would still be dead when we pulled it out several weels later to prep for next race.

[george graves]

I haven't confirmed it, but people say that after Optima moved their plant to Mexico, that was the end of the quality (not sure why since batteries are so low tech, compaired to other things)

I've switched back to the cheap and dirty walmart batteries. From what I've gathered they are made by Johnson Controls (as it the aerospace company???) but on the cheap.


Walmart has a 2 year free replacement warranty, the prorated after that I believe. I seem to notice them fading after about two years - getting weak and sluggish. I then just pick up a new one and swap it before time is up. Dear Walmart, if you want to sell me crap, I'll gladly return it when it's time. I have no problems with that.

[ForcedFirebird]

Not many years ago there were only three battery MFGR's in the USA. From what I understand, one went under, so you have Johnson and Exide for the most part....

http://jgdarden.com/batteryfaq/batbrand.htm

[LJ851]

I've had fantastic success with interstate batteries. I just replaced the one in my E30, it was 9 years old when it failed.

[MR E30 325is]

I bought the Redtop I ran in my E30 back in 2009. *shrugs

[DealinDave@Blunttech.com]

I've heard both good and bad things about Optima. My buddy had a yellow top in his Integra that blew up (both the battery and engine several times). They warrantied it and the same thing happened to the replacement. He thought it might be an overcharging issue, but after the second optima popped, he went through and everything tested fine. He used the same cheapo walmart battery without issue after that.

Another friend has used yellow tops in his trucks since high school and won't use anything else.

I have had good luck with Interstate. I have had the same battery in my E28 for 3-4 years and I haven't unhooked the battery when storing it over winter or hooked it up to a tender. It's fired up without issue in the spring. We'll see what happens this year when it finally stops snowing.

[2mAn]

I used to swear by Optima, I literally would swap the battery when i would buy a new car and sell the other car with the battery that came in the new car. Never had a problem with it for nearly 8+ years. This was in the 2000s, so obviously its been a while

That doesnt seem to be the case anymore with them. Shame...

[fight4life28]

Brought me a small mtech 1 wheel. I definitely like the smaller 370mm wheel vs larger 385.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/BMW-E30-M3-E28-E24-M-Tech-Steering-Wheel-Nappa-Leather-Tri-color-Stitching-/222929008338?_trksid=p2047675.l2557&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT&nma=true&si=rTHHjvH4bqgwPZ8nxzrtrK%252FQdSE%253D&orig_cvip=true&rt=nc