Project BMW 135i
Satellite navigation systems have joined the ranks of must-have items. And as the cost is dropping, their usefulness has increased - the latest versions have bluetooth, store MP3s, etc.
Like your first cell phone and iPod, once you get sat nav, you can't live without it. So we needed to satisfy our craving. And while our Project 135i is well spec'd (it has most of BMW's electronics like sat/HD radio, bluetooth phone, keyless entry, iPod connectivity, etc), the only item it lacked was nav.
To be honest, if we were buying this car rather than borrowing it from BMWNA for a year, we'd probably have built it to the same spec. The problem with the OE navigation is it costs $2100 and requires BMW's rather frustrating iDrive controller to navigate through it.
The simpler option is to save $2100 and invest in a portable nav device. After reviewing the market, we went for the second-gen PMD-B200 Blackbird from Alpine Electronics.
The Blackbird runs on the Microsoft Windows CE platform and comes with a built-in flash hard-drive for preloaded NAVTEQ map data of the US and Canada plus 6 million points of interest (POIs). What's more, the maps can be viewed four different ways including 3D, 2D full map, split map and turn-by-turn arrows.
The Blackbird also has a built-in FM RDS traffic tuner that can keep you updated on changes in traffic flow and incident information.
The Blackbird even allows you to load your favorite tunes through an SD card slot capable of playing up to 4GB of stored WMA/MP3 music files, meaning you don't need to haul your iPod everywhere. And when it's used in the supplied cradle, music and directions can be transferred to the car's stereo through the built-in FM modulator.
When connected to a bluetooth phone, you can answer calls, check your phone book, review missed calls and dialed numbers on the display.
The 4" wide LCD touchscreen means directions are displayed in high resolution and with large touchscreen buttons.
The Blackbird comes with a cradle, mounting plate, power adapter, carrying case, USB cable and replaceable polymer battery, among others. It retails for $750, but we found it online for under $500. And although we've only just got it, we'll report next month on its ease of use and whether it has fully satisfied our techno craving (www.alpine-usa.com)Greg
Project Silverstone
We're preparing our Mk4 GTI 1.8T for a big turbo and consulted 034 Motorsport (034motorsport.com) for advice. The tuner responded by shipping its $325 three-piece motor mount kit.
Motor mounts have a simple job, but the factory mounts contain rubber to reduce vibrations, so driving is quieter and more comfortable. The flexible OE mounts allow the engine and trans to move under load, sacrificing stability during acceleration for comfort.
After 125k miles our OE mounts had softened. So what difference could we expect? 034 offers track or street density. The difference is the durometer (hardness) rating in the rubber where the street mounts are 25% stiffer than stock but the track density line is 90% stiffer.
It was an easy choice, and we took the track mounts to Evolution Racewerks (evolutionracewerks.com) in Baldwin Park, CA.
The experts at ER installed the three mounts in the factory locations. Even the stock bolts were used to make life easier. We just needed a jack to hold the motor when replacing each mount. The passenger-side mount requires moving the coolant bottle, while the driver-side trans mount forces you to move the airbox when installing. The lower engine dogbone mount sits under the car and is accessible with the car on jack stands.
In less than an hour, all three mounts were installed. The extra vibration was very noticeable when firing the engine. Loose items in the door compartments rattled and noise from the car was more pronounced because the engine movement is now sent through the chassis instead of being absorbed by the factory rubber mounts.
Driving the GTI with these track mounts was a completely different story. The stability had changed, especially during hard acceleration or braking. The car feels solid. Throttle response is tighter and changing gears is smoother. In our opinion, the improvements outweigh the extra vibration through the car.
After driving for a couple weeks, the vibrations aren't so annoying. It's more intense on cold starts, but tolerable once moving. We're not going to lie, the car is noticeably noisier and the vibrations unsettle the seats. But it's worth it for the performance gain. For comfort-seekers, 034's street mounts are milder but still offer improvements.Sam