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Ok, last couple of weeks have been centred around the head unit upgrade and I put a E46 steering wheel on. Might alter this in the future but for now I like the feel of this wheel. Purchased a Avin Avant 3 unit from the US, arrived super quick. Spec’d it out with reversing camera, Apple CarPlay, Maps on SD card. Comes also with Ibus connection, Steering Wheels Canbus connection, SIM card port and its on web phone connection, USB ports X 2, SD card slot running on Android 6. GPS and it’s on wifi hotspot. I went with this as I wanted the factory look connected to the Ibus for OBC inputs and utilising the DSP and factory setup, (with all its problems and age, but hey it’s ‘unique’) Have been running it the last week and finished the install today. OBC and coding is very cool ?. Being able to cycle speed into the IKE display is great, it’s also the GPS adjusted speed identical to the speed on my radar detector. Having all OBC controls and monitoring I also like, it’s easy to use as well. Coded the indicators to flash 3 times like a real modern car as well. Big step forward, lots of other built in coding as well you can use, welcome home lights, setup DRLs etc. Android 6 platform seems very stable and has been working great, mainly running music through Apple Carplay and display on OBC then Google maps, using the live web connection for traffic updates and advisement, been excellant so far. Response and speed of operation has been very good. Had a couple of times where the unit seemingly has booted up twice after initial start up but no other operational issues. Takes a while to install running harness to the boot and the camera into the boot lid, overall it’s very durable and the quality looks good at an install point. Having the unit even seems to have brought the DSP amp back to life, we’ll see how long it lasts, might need replacing or at least a good inspection by a techie, above my pay grade. So suitably happy to bring the old girl up to the latest standards and the results so far. Next on the list is the bumper and bonnet replacements. Replacing the ribbon that gives the PIXEL issue in the main display as well, see what the weather comes up with tomorrow.

I don't name the cars, the wife does. But here it is, the baby wagon we picked up a couple of weeks ago. Freshly back from OCD for a stage 3 package. Amazing family car package, super comfortable, nice to drive, reasonable power and actually good on gas! Imperial Blue brilliant effect metallic (lol, and the photos don't do the colour justice, it's actually very blue in the sun), and Everest Gray leather, and M-sport. The really great features I think are the double sunroof, active steering with ridiculous turning radius and the 8 speed auto.

As always, there are a few changes upcoming for MTOY, especially now that Gumboot is out of the way. I've scored a replacement standard bumper thanks to @JohnM575 cheers bro. I'll be converting the bodywork, seats and trim back to my OEM parts over the next couple of weeks for LVVT cert. Also got a new set of road tyres for the Style 260M 18's, so could be a good chance to try these out. Pretty happy with how this is turning out; my goal to build an M3 'RS' of sorts in the vein of my dream Porsche road racer is getting closer. Still need to get the roll bar welded in and a few interior trims replaced (door pull straps, embroidery on seats etc) but we're getting closer. I made the added challenge of having everything easily replaceable with stock parts in my garage. For a weld-in cage this is rather difficult but for the most part we're doing well. Pic from a late night drive we did recently: 29983735_1751187028321476_8753053471622856322_o by Christian Taylor, on Flickr

Yes im still alive, apologizes to a few Kinda well over trying to help and inform due to the crap you get in return but thought this was worth a mention. As many would know and ive learnt the hard way when you cook a M54 that equals dead engine and stripped head stud holes. So ive done this a few times and works well and yes you could buy a lower temp one from VAC but hey wheres the fun in that, so for the DIY heres mine. Remove the old setup and use a carbide burr to remove all high spots to give a uniform finish and dia hole, can be done if your savvy with a die grinder. Once done purchase a thermostat as pictures, i remove the larger bottom plate from the old setup and open the center hole then a few spots of MIG its good to go and the correct install height ( yes i blew a small hole in it ) Now i understand not everyone has the gear i have but i turned up a ally ring to suit the housing and a step to match the new thermostat, i then peen the ally over to retain the new thermostat. Next is use some silicone to retain it in place with a slight press fit, it can't go anywhere as once bolted up its retained, i also drill a small bleed hole to help bleed the system. This is now set to 82 deg rather the 97 stock, some say its too cold but rather that than a new motor also your gauge wont show too much different but a scan tool shows another story. PS: yes the V10 is done and in the hole and no i wont show progress or pics as well over the crap from the key board experts. And those being OCD most welcome to correct my grammar

wow the blue/grey colour combo is beautiful and very classy

Definitely part of the attraction and no disk drive so only 60mm deep which is handy with E38s and the HVAC issues

That unit looks a lot more OEM looking than the Dynavins etc

Wow, they are some brutal suggestions. Use a pick or thin leaver tool to lift up the tail, that will unclip it and removal becomes trivial. And, unlike some of the suggestions above, won't damage what it's clamped to. Edit: they're called oetiker clamps and are used in assembly because they close/clamp with a predetermined force. And it's for this reason you can't replace with the same kind of clamp unless it's exactly the same as the one you removed. You're better of using a worm drive clamp to replace it.

Ferrari 488 on SH1 heading south out of Auckland. With the indicators flashing all over the place as the driver tried to find the wiper controls

Doing anything with the exhaust? It's pretty loud

Recent Brit and Euro car show in Auckland

maybe the packer had a big line of coke before packing, and it set the dogs into a frenzy.

HI All, So while we wait for the theme to be fixed, there is a way around this for firefox & chrome users. Here is a very simple Greasemonkey Script to adjust the background color of the website. // ==UserScript== // @name Correct Bimmersport Background // @version 1 // @description Change the background colour of the bimmersport forum // @include http://bimmersport.co.nz/ document.body.style.background = "#e1e1e1"; // ==/UserScript== In Firefox you will need to install the greasemonkey extension ( https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/greasemonkey/ ), and then create a new script, and copy and paste the script above into it, then save the script, reload the bimmersport page and presto your bimmersport user experiance has been improved. In Chrome install the tampermonkey extension ( https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/tampermonkey/dhdgffkkebhmkfjojejmpbldmpobfkfo?hl=en ) , and follow the process above. I have tested both of these and they work as advertised. There are extensions for greasemonkey script support for IE, and potentially other browsers, but i haven't tried them at all. *Greasemonkey scripts allow you to adjust the contents of web pages being displayed in your browser. They do not affect the page views for any other users, and only affect the browser that they are installed in. I am no sure if there is support for browsers on cellphones. When the theme is corrected you will need to remove the script to get the new color. NOTE if your a novice do not modify the script above as you may affect other websites.

Looks like this recall was a little late for my 2011 X3 3.0D. Anyone get held up heading south of Manukau on SH1/Waikato Expressway yesterday around 9am? That was my smouldering wreck parked up on the left. Heading away on a golf weekend Friday morning, just me and golf clubs on board, had crested Bombay Hills when the engine stuttered a couple of times, then lost power. Msg on display said "transmission in neutral" which struck me as odd so pulled off inside lane to a flush painted median where there is an on ramp. Bit of smoke drifting out from passenger side of bonnet. 08:30 Rang 111 as I didn't like where I had to stop immediately beside highway. 10 mins on the phone trying to explain where I was. More smoke, so evacuated cabin and began unloading the golf gear from rear cargo space. Flames and dripping burning melt from front LHS of engine bay by 08:45. A couple of guys with small aerosol extinguishers had a go but not effective. 08:55 fire service finally arrive after attending the wrong vehicle further north. My X3 fully alight and took FS another 15 mins to get control. So how does a well-maintained, fully-serviced, mechanical warrantied, lightly-loaded, sedately-driven BMW do this? Felt lucky it was diesel so no major explosions, just tyres and air bag adding some pop to the pyrotechnics. No-one damaged, just a burnt hole in the road, delayed motorists,and cancelled golf trip.