ethanwhatsgood

For the past 10+ years, I've driven in confidence with my E46 BMW. I've always had a full-size spare tire in my trunk. Whether commuting around town or traveling on an over 9-hour leg of a road trip, a flat tire was the least of my roadside repair concerns. However, I have a new car that presents a new challenge for me. My new-to-me E85 Z4 3.0si has no such full-size spare tire. I have a compact spare tire but it takes up most of my precious cargo space. From the factory, my Z4 came with run-flat tires. These tires are designed to work with no air pressure for a limited time at a limited speed. They are also awful. Awful for performance and handling and awful for comfort. The previous owner was nice enough to ditch them and install probably the best tires money can buy at the time - Michelin Pilot Super Sports. The Pilot Super Sports are a traditional radial tire. When they're flat, they're flat. Meaning unlike the run-flats, the tire has to be changed when punctu...

My E46 in the Angeles Forest. At the rate that I've been driving, I'm guaranteed to hit 200,000 miles in my E46 this year. I'm very proud of the miles that I've racked up as it is not easy maintaining a high-mileage, out-of-warranty German vehicle. This car hasn't seen the inside of a shop since 2013, aside from receiving alignments. At the time of writing this, I am currently at 191,891 miles. In order to make it to 200K and eat up the remaining 8,109 miles in the coming months, I plan to tackle some work that ranges from basic maintenance to a complete overhaul of some systems. Basic maintenance. The easy stuff. 1) Oil and filter replacement. I use Mobil-1 0W-40 European Car Formula engine oil. For the filter, I use either OEM BMW or Mann Filter . 2) Tire rotation 3) Differential fluid flush Cosmetics. 1) Every change of season, I like to clay and wax the paint. I'm overdue for another round. Currently, my preferred wax is Collinite No. 845 ....