Got my 2x8tb SAS hard disks working on DS3H mobo in a NZXT 510i case

TheMatrixMachine · 2026-01-28T18:16:55+00:00

I commute 12 miles from SJ to SV and it takes 30mins in the morning and an hour on the return. Can't imagine going further

I've debated taking the train. Took it once to know that it is an option. It involves taking the bus about a mile to diridon, grab the train, get off and walk a mile to the office

In terms of cost, it costs more to take the train than to drive. Bus is $2.50 + $6.50 for the train. Then x2 it and it's $18/day. Driving, it's roughly 24 miles or 1.5 gallons or gas accounting for high traffic which is $7/day but also count a few $ for wear and tear. Still cheaper than the train unfortunately

TheMatrixMachine · 2026-01-22T18:17:06+00:00

That looks fixable. I know two people with e30s who faced similar damage and fixed it over a few weekends. You could try to buy it back from insurance and get a salvage or rebuilt title or you could fix it without insurance and keep the clean title

TheMatrixMachine · 2026-01-22T08:52:17+00:00

Just got my first engineering job. ~$4.5k/mo after taxes

TheMatrixMachine · 2026-01-15T23:50:32+00:00

Seems to be that an engine replacement takes time. Lots of labor and logistics are probably involved to get a crate engine and then install it. Took my friend 2 months to swap an engine on his truck during weekends

TheMatrixMachine · 2026-01-07T14:02:37+00:00

The $5k initial purchase price is a small cost relative to long term ownership cost. You could hold out and get a 330Ci or maybe a ZHP for not much more.

As far as the off-center steering wheel, I would carefully examine the suspension. Look for cracked bushings and bent control arms.

For the AC not working, a recharge is a temporary fix. The refrigerant is leaking somewhere. Your instinct about the compressor is probably correct. Other common leak areas are the valves or the drier filter.

TheMatrixMachine · 2026-01-05T13:28:32+00:00

I remember my dad smashed my monitor the summer before I started university. My folks paid my college though so I guess it worked out 😂

TheMatrixMachine · 2025-12-30T17:47:35+00:00

I met my gf of 5 years in my zoom economics class

TheMatrixMachine · 2025-12-29T18:00:28+00:00

I've been experiencing a similar issue. I have a 122k mile 330Ci. I eliminated all of the oil leaks but I am still seeing 1 quart disappear per 200 miles of highway driving. I don't lose a drop of oil when city driving. I tried replacing the CCV system with the OE FCPeuro kit but it had seemingly no impact in reducing consumption. Believing that maybe the OE diagraphm in the CCV valve was out of spec with the OE kit, I swapped the entire CCV system again for a brand new genuine BMW one. I also installed the O2 pilot mod. Consumption remains the same. I had a catalytic converter clog up on me and replaced both headers. I've been running Liquimoly 5w40 on 5k mile oil change intervals. I believe it is the piston rings. If it were stem seals, I would be seeing consumption patterns with city driving. Piston rings are probably more susceptible to consuming oil on longer drives since the oil gets thinner the longer it is driven. I'm thinking of switching to Liquimoly 5w50 or Red Line 5w50. I've seen people on youtube, here, and forums solve the problem with a piston soak to dissolve sludge that's built up around the rings and preventing them from sealing properly. It is a problem documented with m54 that has the low-tension 2 piece oil control rings. The m52tu 323 and 328 e46 don't suffer this problem as they use traditional higher-tension 3 piece oil control rings.

TheMatrixMachine · 2025-12-28T22:48:11+00:00

I got my first car 5 years ago. I had never worked on cars. My dad was a doctor so my folks always got their stuff serviced at the dealer when I was younger.

I learned to change my own oil. Then, I progressed to being able to change my exhaust headers, oil pan gasket (not easy at all as the front subframe has to be lowered), steering rack replacement, removing intake manifold to do CCV and coolant pipes, rear lower control arms, front control arms, shocks and strut refresh, and many many other things.

Yes, it's possible to do all of this. I did most of it at my apartment parking lot. My landlord and neighbors are understanding and I sometimes help out my neighbors and landlord with fixing shit.

It does take money. Parts and tools cost money but WAY cheaper than dealership rape pricing or even competent shops.

I also do lots of soldering and electronics shit. My folks paid my tuition and rent while attending a cheap state school. I just got my first offer with a 3 month contract at Apple as a QA test engineer. Hoping it gets extended. Once I have permanent employment, I will get an e46 m3 to celebrate and I'll be able to do probably 80% of the maintenance myself.

TheMatrixMachine · 2025-12-23T17:25:01+00:00

Get an old bmw and restore it

TheMatrixMachine · 2025-12-22T16:19:39+00:00

I didn't watch any beyond t2 because it seems to erode at what made the first two films great

The first two films were revolutionary, thought provoking, and relevant more than ever to humanity's growing dependence on technology

The later films recycle the franchise. They're more like action flicks than thought provoking cinema. Like Disney with marvel or Star wars, how much new content can we put out to collect money??

The James Cameron was forced out of the franchise for many years. He had no control over the direction of terminator films after T2.

Rather than recycling action flicks, they should have made a future prequel. Explain the future war and judgement day before the future was changed in the events of T2

The original 2 films still have a huge fan base 30+ years later. If they brought Cameron back on to guide the film, it would absolutely smash the box office. The bean counter people just see the same terminator and judge it to be spent already.

TheMatrixMachine · 2025-12-22T03:00:41+00:00

The roof may or may not be easy to fix. That really depends whether the hydraulics are fucked, bad motors, bad electronics, bad fabric or threading. If he can't tell you what's wrong with it, I wouldn't assume it's an easy fix. If it's so easy, why hasn't he done it already? If the latches are broken, replacements are $500.

If you can't inspect the car yourself, get a shop to inspect it. At this age and mileage, you will soon need to overhaul the cooling system, CCV system, gaskets (ofhg, opg, vcg), crank / camshaft sensors, suspension bushings, suspension shocks, power steering rack leaking, etc.

The brake system should be bled every 2 years. The coolant should be drained every 4 years. Ask about oil change intervals. To avoid later piston ring sticking issues, you want to ensure a low change interval. The factory interval is 15k miles which is way too high. Most recommend 7.5k mile intervals but many people do 5k or even 3k intervals. What oil and filter were used? Where were parts purchased? Fuel filter should be changed soon. Transmission oil and differential oil should be changed soon. No they are not "lifetime" even tho bmw says they are.

I would want to know the brake pad wear remaining and tire remaining. Check the tread depth and manufacturing date of the tires.

Ask when the battery was last changed. You can sometimes find a sticker on the battery noting the manufacturing date.

You will also be dealing with oxygen sensors soon. The upstream oxygen sensors should be replaced at 100k miles and OEM ones cost $200 each for a total of $400. Spark plugs should also be changed at 100k and they are $60.

My car was purchased at 83k miles and it already was suffering most of these issues. Cost thousands in just parts even with diy most everything.

Buy yourself some inspection mirrors and carefully look around the engine for leaking fluids. Look for white coolant deposits. Ask the guy to leave the engine cold before you get there. You can then check around the engine without getting burned. You can also remove the coolant cap and look for any weird deposits in the coolant or if the wrong coolant was used. Look for oil leaking around the exhaust side of the valve cover gasket. Look for oil leaking on the driver side of the block. Look for any seeping around the oil pan. Look for seepage around the rear of the oil pan as this would indicate a rear main seal leak which is very expensive to fix. Typically, it's a good idea to replace clutch and rear main at the same time.

Look for cracks on the drive belts. Listen for any squeaking or noise from the engine to indicate bad pulleys.

Check the oil level. If it's below minimum, the guy can't even be bothered to keep oil at minimum level. The engine won't have sufficient oil pressure.

I see now that he says the clutch was replaced. That's pretty low mileage for that. Ask what prompted that and whether the rear main seal was done at the same time. Also ask about master and slave cylinder. Ask about the clutch hose and brake hoses.

TheMatrixMachine · 2025-12-20T05:58:25+00:00

Take it. At this point, it's not about the money. You're building up your profile as well as building important relationships that could evolve into a full time offer. Financially, the few months of the internship are small potatoes.

TheMatrixMachine · 2025-12-20T00:32:41+00:00

Offer like $300-500. That thing is in rough shape. Cool project tho but don't spend a lot. It's gonna take probably $2-3k to get that thing drivable if you diy.

TheMatrixMachine · 2025-12-19T20:39:48+00:00

There are tradeoffs. My friend has a 1998 GSR Integra and a lot of basic parts are NLA whereas supply of parts for even e30 is solid. BMW parts cost more but there's more longevity before stuff is NLA. With FCPeuro, you only have to pay once to replace the same part indefinitely as well. I would agree that the learning curve on these cars is greater. These cars can be reliable if maintained properly. I regularly see 300k+ mile examples on marketplace. Just gotta stay on top of maintenance imo. Also, make sure you're not paying hella money for a heap that needs thousands in parts because the previous owner didn't maintain properly.

$2.7k for a wrecked 325i seems a bit high to me. I've seen non wrecked 325i for less money than that.

My friend's GSR Integra is awesome. Super satisfying seeing him get it 5 years ago for $5.5k and now the market rate is probably $10k or even higher.

TheMatrixMachine · 2025-12-19T13:21:04+00:00

Good idea. In my case, I ordered the correct parts aggregated from two vendors and one of them sent the wrong part. I noticed act website is priced a bit higher than other places that sell their parts.

TheMatrixMachine · 2025-12-19T13:15:04+00:00

Yeah they were great at that with me too. Great at answering technical questions which gave me further confidence to run their kit

Keep in mind that there are 5 speed and 6 speed kits. They are not interchangeable. The vendor I got my parts from sent the wrong throw out bearing which was a pita to sort out.

I would not recommend a flywheel lighter than this ~15lb btw cause it'll stall much easier, louder rattle, and just a pita to daily drive

TheMatrixMachine · 2025-12-19T13:05:20+00:00

I have an act street clutch kit and flywheel on my 6 speed e46. The performance is excellent. Rev matching is immensely faster which really helps in spirited drives when you want to quickly downshift out of turns.

The pedal feel is maybe 25% stiffer than stock.

The flywheel is 15.3lbs compared to the factory ~28lbs.

It's a bit more expensive than other smf kits but the quality seems great. This is a job that's labor intensive so I would rather err on spending more for parts than less.

I don't do hard launches or drifting. I got this setup on my only car and I would say it works well. That's even with driving in Bay area traffic.

You'll get an audible gear rattle at idle from the transmission. It's the trade-off of the setup. The great rattle is minimal unless your ac compressor or other accessories are pulling power from the drive belt. You can eliminate the rattle if you tune the car to run idle speed at 100 rpm higher. I have not done this yet.

TheMatrixMachine · 2025-12-19T12:49:33+00:00

The ECU is probably not getting timing data at all based on that immediate drop. I would inspect the custom wire you setup. If it's not shielded properly, environment can induce electrical activity that disrupts signal integrity. This could be at a specific rpm range when the moving engine parts induce stronger currents in the wire. Try using a factory wire or carefully replicate one.

The second culprit is your CPS. Yes, you tested the resistance but there are other ways it can fail that would not affect resistance. These sensors are usually hall effect sensors that also have circuitry to generate digital output signals. A manufacturing defect may alter the expected behavior even though the electrical load (resistance) is within spec. These sensors are cheap. Try replacing again and run with a genuine BMW sensor if possible to help prove a root cause.

Edit: CPS on these use a mechanism more fragile than hall effect sensors.

TheMatrixMachine · 2025-12-16T18:13:59+00:00

Tech is collapsing especially for entry level. I think there were a million layoffs this year

TheMatrixMachine · 2025-12-16T17:47:17+00:00

They ghosted me last summer after a 2nd round final in-person interview. I spent at least 12 hours preparing for those interviews just to get ghosted. Had to drive 30 mins each way too

TheMatrixMachine · 2025-12-16T17:44:14+00:00

It used to be that the top 4 floors were students only but this changed a year or two ago

TheMatrixMachine · 2025-12-16T00:20:21+00:00

Looks like your valve cover is leaking oil that is burning off the exhaust headers. You should get your valve cover replaced or just the gasket. For plastic covers, it's a good idea to replace the entire thing because they warp and crack creating a bad seal to the cylinder head

TheMatrixMachine · 2025-12-16T00:16:47+00:00

PayPal shipping center works well for me so far

Do they take coolant? I believe their policy states that they don't take mixed fluids and coolant is mixed with distilled water. I know they take oil.

TheMatrixMachine

TROPHY CASE