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Bimmerfest 2008 Santa Barbara -- Thank you for coming!

First off, a BIG thank you needs to go out to everyone that made this event happen today including but not limited to www.HorsepowerFreaks.com, Nitto Tire, Bonneville Motor Werks, Race Technologies / Brembo, Falken Tire, evosport, BR racing and of course each and every one of the incredible attendees! The 2008 event has once again blown past our expectations and proven again that BMW enthusiasts are the greatest group of people in the automotive world...showing up in record numbers to celebrate the ultimate driving machine.

The Battle of the Bimmers, sponsored by Bonneville Motor Werks, was a great display once again this year and provided us with some new winners in the categories. The winners this year were:

Best of Show - 2006 E90 325i owned by Dennis Wang

Classic 1st Place - Jet Black E28 M5 owned by Ron Perry
Classic 2nd Place - Golf 1976 2002 owned by Jerry Boydston
Classic 3rd Place - Inka 1974 1802 Touring owned by Steve Padrick

Modified 1st Place - Gray E46 M3 owned by Jeff Hsieh
Modified 2nd Place - Blue 1995 840Ci widebody owned by Fern Mora
Modified 3rd Place - Blue 1996 Z3 widebody owned by Raymond Lieu

Stock 1st Place - 1974 White 2002 Turbo owned by Chris Provo
Stock 2nd Place - Jet Black 740iL owned by Carlos Cardenas
Stock 3rd Place - E34 M5 Touring owned by Greg Schultz

Highest Mileage BMW - 1987 325es with 326,251 miles on the clock owned by Kirin Thurman

We are also happy to report that thanks to everyone out there, the Unity Shoppe of Santa Barbara had an incredible day in regards to the Opportunity Drawing. Some great prizes were donated from companies such as Falken Tire, Eurobahn, Dinan, Active Autowerke, B&M Racing, VM Werks and many more. Thank you SO much to everyone that bought tickets and to all the vendors who donated the great products to help the Unity Shoppe of Santa Barbara.

It is always a sad thought when the end of the day rolls around and everyone realizes it is the end of another year. There... [Read More]

Bimmerfest 2008 Preview

Whether this year will be your first year or your ninth year attending Bimmerfest in Santa Barbara, CA, you can be assured that it is going to be a great time. In 2007, Bimmerfest set new highs with approximately 2,000 BMW vehicles showing up and an astounding 5,000 total attendees making rounds through the showgrounds. On May 3, 2008 Bimmerfest will once host the largest independant BMW exclusive auto show in North America and feature vendors such as www.HorsepowerFreaks.com, Nitto Tire, Bonneville Motor Werks, Race Technologies / Brembo, Dinan and many more.

www.HorsepowerFreaks.com, the Bimmerfest 2008 headline sponsor, is poised to have a great showing and will feature their world famous HPF750 E46 M3 turbo system. Attendees will also be treated to the unveiling of many other great tuner cars that will be first made available to the public that day!

Bimmerfest is also proud to once again be working with The Unity Shoppe of Santa Barbara, CA in 2008 for the annual Opportunity Drawing. The Unity Shoppe is a 501 (c)(3) Public Benefit Corporation that encourages self-sufficiency and independence by providing education and the necessities of life to families, children, seniors and persons with disabilities during periodic times of crisis.

If you have not already done so, take a moment to visit the official Bimmerfest 2008 Santa Barbara web site and register for this year's show.

View the Official Bimmerfest 2008 Santa Barbara Event Site

Register Online for Bimmerfest 2008 Santa Barbara

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BMW MUSEUM OPENS ON JUNE 19, 2008

After a construction period of around two and a half years, BMW will once again be opening the doors to the BMW Museum on 19th June 2008. A major architectural and design redevelopment has extended the exhibition space fivefold to more than 5,000 sq. m. Following this new-concept rebuild, its trademark remains the so-called "museum bowl" - the unique, world-famous construction by Viennese architect Karl Schwanzer that dates back to 1973. Along with the BMW Welt Experience and Delivery Centre and the BMW plant tour, the BMW Museum adjacent to the Group's headquarters provides a unique brand experience at the Munich location. Two days after its ceremonial inauguration, the Museum will be open to the public again from 21st June.

Brand museum
The New BMW Museum is a brand museum that showcases the historical evolution of the brand's competence and innovative strength, along with its achievements and sporting successes. The development of the BMW brand is traced from the past to the present and on into the future. At the core of the exhibition material are such icons of BMW's product history as the BMW R 32, the BMW 507 and the legendary BMW 2002. Some 120 exhibits, encompassing production and racing models as well as concept vehicles, bear eloquent testimony to the thrilling history of the BMW brand. Featured themes range from design and engine construction to advertising, aerodynamics and motorsport. Exceptional exhibition technology underlines the aspiration of the Museum's new concept: "Once again BMW is setting new trends and embarking on untrodden paths to link up the history of its vehicles with that of the company in an exciting and surprising way. Quite simply, fascination and passion is what it's all about," says Karl Baumer, Director of BMW Group Mobile Tradition.

Architecture
The extension of the BMW Museum into the neighbouring low-rise building has allowed the exhibition area to swell to five times its former size. Karl Schwanzer's architectural philosophy is further pursued in the newly claimed spaces: in addition to streets and squares, bridges and houses appear within a... [Read More]

The Future of the Internal Combustion Engine by Steve Dinan

The future:
Whether or not you believe in global warming or the world wide shortage of oil, one thing is certain: the price of fuel is going up, and governments all over the world are putting laws into effect to improve fuel economy and curb CO2 output.

This will have profound effects on the cars we love to drive. The only way to make a high performance car engine that produces good power output on demand, low fuel consumption and CO2 output is to decrease the size of the engine and add turbocharging. The 335, 535, and 135 models are just the first few in a long line of cars BMW will likely produce. As we move forward it is likely that displacement will reduce, redlines will lower, and boost will increase. I am sure you all have heard of the new 4.4L Twin Turbo V8 coming out in the new X6. This engine will likely proliferate its way through the entire V8 product line over the next few years. Additional new engines will come out with a constant reduction of displacement and increased boost.

To get the engines to make ever-increasing power output for their size, material strength will become more important. Once BMW has had a chance to evaluate the long term wear of the new 3.0l inline six, Dinan believes BMW will upgrade the block and crankshaft rods and pistons inside the engine. They will likely increase boost as these upgrades are made, and as their confidence grows. Water jackets will be altered, and heat exchangers will get improvements to handle the extra load.

Great days ahead:
With the introduction of turbos, we can now make big power gains at low cost. The software has become incredibly complex, but even expensive software costs a lot less than making a whole turbo or supercharger kit. We are going to be making a lot of really fast cars for relatively low cost.

Be carefull:
Turbos are like drugs. Every time you add boost the engine makes more power, and so you just want to keep adding more! The problem is that long-term durability can be compromised. Things that will not show up in... [Read More]

Check Engine Lights - Unraveling the diagnostic mystery with Peake Tools from BimmerTools.com

Don't Panic!
If you've ever seen the "Check Engine" or "Service Engine Soon" light displayed on your instrument cluster, you've experienced a portion of your car's diagnostic system at work. Your first reaction may be to panic or to get frustrated. Is it a big problem, or something insignificant that can be attended to later? Guessing about - or asking other people to guess about it - isn't worth the time it took you to read this sentence. There are literally hundreds of possible causes for the warning to occur, and the only way to determine them is with the use of a diagnostic tool.

Stop Guessing!
When a problem or fault triggers a Check Engine/Service Engine Soon warning light, the computer also generates a fault code. This functionality is not unique to BMWs. In fact, all cars sold in the US produced after 1996 were required to have a diagnostic system to let inspectors and service professionals track emissions related problems. This system is called OBDII (On Board Diagnostics, second generation). Contained within this system is a set of parameters to be monitored and the corresponding fault codes. These government-mandated codes are generic, and any OBDII reader (like those used by auto parts stores) will read them.

OBDII codes definitely serve a purpose, but their generic and emissions related focus could leave a lot to be desired. This is especially true for BMWs, whose complex systems require high tolerance conditions for peak performance. If one of the hundreds of monitored sensors detects an out-of-range value, the car's computer wants to alert you that things are not perfect. This information is not necessarily what the OBDII system is designed to communicate.

BMW Specific Codes vs. OBDII - What's The Difference?
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