From owner-e36m3_at_Mailing-List.net Sat Sep 4 09:35:14 1999
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Date: Sat, 04 Sep 1999 12:34:39 -0400
From: Skip Bogard <skip.bogard_at_alumni.duke.edu>
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To: "Suzy's E36 M3 List" <E36M3_at_Mailing-List.net>,
BMW UUC List <bmwuucdigest_at_list-server.net>
CC: linj03_at_student.ucr.edu
Subject: [E36M3] ISO a broken E36 radiator core

Our E36 radiators suck. When I made this claim last month, a few new owners asked how do I know they suck? Well, I recall many stories like this one (this is from just last month):

> Subject: [uuc] <e36> dead radiator...
>
> ......... I just came home from the dealer, it seems that the
> radiator's neck was broken off while driving in the parking lot today.
> Now I'm really bummed.
> Anyhow, now i'm curious. Why is BMW radiator so crappy? I talked
> with the guy who towed my car. He told me that he tows a lot of MB, BMW,
> and Jeeps. Most BMW he towed are because of the same problem I have.
> except I caught my in time (about 10 seconds right after it broke off).
> That's another $500 or so dollars down the drain...

And it's not just the necks that have been breaking...it's varies (but almost always some plastic part of the top or bottom). And I see JP is ahead of me in asking for the core:

> From: "Jim S. Powell" <jsp98m3_at_home.com>
> Subject: Re: [uuc] <e36> dead radiator...
>
> Can I have your broken radiator?
>
> Jim

Think about this: Remember the story about 2 years ago about the M'stang at a high speed event (Car Guys event I think?) that dumped coolant on track, and the BMW behind it slid in the slop & was totaled?? Well, what happens when we get a few E36 M3's starting to dump coolant at schools? It's just about time for this to happen in mass...you heard the prophetic words here first!

People, we really need to get on the stick and

1. answer these questions I first posed below on Suzy's board and
2. have somebody design us a radiator that isn't a pos

So, if anybody out there is bored and wants to work on a REAL engineering project...it would be very nice to know if our M3 radiators have a common pedigree: part number, dimensions, etc. Then we could pass this info to some radiator manufacturers, as well as an estimate of market size opportunity, and get us something decent built in the aftermarket. It would make for a great start of a Roundel article and embarrass the crap out of Fritz, Schultz and Klink...

If you think this project is boring, sorry, this is what engineering is really like (see Lee Iococca's autobiography Chap 1, "Designing a spring")... ...it's mostly about finding out what's been done before and making small, hardly-ever radical, piece-wise improvements.

Any takers for this project or a little pieces of it? We'll all praise you here for finding/posting radiator pedigree information.

Done wrong, we could have people trying to unload both uninstalled radiator and Euro oil cooler cores on E-Bay! There IS an element of accountability to do this right! But there will be people here checking behind you, and we promise not to beat up on you if you really make the effort i.e. no one ever got beat up on wiper timer modules.

• Skip reply I got from Fluidyne attached

  ---

Subject: [E36M3] Fluidyne Radiator for M3 - status

Date:     Mon, 02 Aug 1999 20:06:53 -0400


From:     Skip Bogard <skip.bogard_at_alumni.duke.edu>


To:       "Suzy's E36 M3 List" <E36M3_at_Mailing-List.net>

I got the attached response from Fluidyne for M3 radiators.

1. anyone know of any P/N or EC changes on our radiator from

   '94 1/2 - '99?

2. any other pedigree information about our radiators? material

   replacements, slight moving of nozzles, any changes to be aware of? I'll try to research this, but thought I'd ask...

3. anyone have a radiator core they could part with?

Thanks, - Skip

Greetings from FLUIDYNE HIgh Performance and thank you for your interest in our High Performance Products. Jeff Tutino, the Sales Manager of our FLUIDYNE Racing Products office in Mooresville, NC has referred your recent e-mail to me.

The good news is... We specialize in developing 'Direct-Fit' High Performance radiators and Intercoolers and currently we are tooled to produce a wide variety of radiators for imports. Prior to our entering the market, the consumer had to choose between a 'stock' (a simple bolt-in) replacement radiator or a 'custom' (always some modification required) radiator. Our new line of 40mm High Performance cores give us the opportunity to offer added performance AND the convenience of a 'bolt-in replacement'.

The 'not-so-good' news is... Currently, FLUIDYNE does not have a BMW M3 Radiator tooled for production. However, with some assistance from you in the form of a sample radiator for our Engineers to use in the development of the production tooling, I think we can start a new development and have a fully validated M3 Radiator within 4 to 6 weeks .
The opportunity to develop a 'Direct-Fit' replacement radiator for the M3 BMW comes at the perfect time as we have just finished our most recent R & D Project and our technicians are ready to launch the next 'Direct-Fit' development. If you are ready to partner in the development... contact Kelly Johnson at 1-800-FLUIDYNE and she will get the design and development process started ASAP.

Thanks again for your interest in FLUIDYNE High Performance products. Our company motto is "Experience the Possibilities" and with your help, looks like we and the whole BMW M3 community could be doing just that!