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Hey guys, first real post here so bear with me if its in the wrong place. I'm currently doing my masters at Massey in Industrial design and so have access to some really cool machinery at the moment. I recently did a z3 Short shifter install on my e28 and so decided to design and manufacture my own weighted shift knob to go with it. It turned out really well and will probably be better the second time around now, so i thought i'd gauge interest if i were to extend it out to people on here. What it is: Currently I have 3 designs which are all the stock height of the e28/e30 shifter. They have 4 removable brass inserts that weigh about 150 grams total (same weight as total zhp knob) so with the weight of the plastic should come to about at least the same weight as the condor speed shop knob at 180 grams. The prototype was printed on a high detail uv cured resin 3D printer and so ends up with an excellent surface finish as well as a very strong dense print but ends up being more costly than regular filament 3d printing. Can also be printed in a high strength resin at additional cost (Prints dark grey/black). I can also do standard filament prints but wouldn't recommend it other than for prototypes. Finishing: The standard resin prints white and the high strength ends up being a dark grey. My intent is to paint mine as i have some experience with automotive paint and airbrushing. So I can offer this too if people don't want to do it themselves or want something different colour/ pattern wise. Custom designs: I would be willing to work on CAD files at request so if you have something particular you want, we can talk about it. Can offer just the files, 3d printed components or finished and painted pieces. Would also consider working on other parts. Pricing: I'm just doing this as a fun side project so it will be cost of materials + time. Im not a company so ill try my best with quality, but you get what you get I guess. The prototype cost me $60 in materials (expensive print based on volume, I leant on the thick side so it didn't break but might be able to cut that down a little) Pm me for any more info or questions. I'll post more pictures once i get to paint. Just trying it out to dial in feel at the moment. I'll probably only be able to get away with a few of these before someone catches on so limited numbers, preferably towards something cool.

@zero I went through them, 1 by 1 on the diagram. apart from the 20amp in the garage door opener slot, and the 15amp in the driver seat adjuster (i put in just to get in the seat when i picked it up) the only things out of place were missing fuses for ABS, ASC and Airbag and (fuse 10 to remove the instrument cluster light) Big shout out to Als mechanical repairs in Te Atutu! Fixed a few other minor things that were bugging me today, drivers seat wouldnt slide forward, and one of the rail bolts wasn't in and when you pulled the lever it wouldnt lift up because some one had put a non OEM long nut / bolt through where the seatbelt attaches to the rail ... the nut was jamming in the seat rails, which was also jamming the seats and warped the rail angles on installation. Pickapart had an OEM torx one, even found a replacement ambient temperature sensor for $5! All interior lights working now too A window squirter wasn't working, and that's because it was leaking, and the "bro's" once again had tried their magic work with some insulation tape on the T-junction where it was leaking. I'm starting to wonder if theres any place I won't find some careless rangi mods. And if the worn brake pads are an indicator of the rest of the cars suspension components. Luckily after removing the bumper I found what was dislodged making it mis aligned, not too much work there. Picked up my high build primer, onto some dissasembling so I can get onto Body work on that rear right panel. ^^ and check out the direction of the tread pattern on those directionals? haha that can't be safe in the wet.

Landsail tyres, and chewed out rotors.. awesome.

@NZ_InFerno Come on mate, pics or it simply didn't happen!!

Oh well. I will wait another month. My parts from ECS still haven't shown up. Two days from the US to NZ. Five days in NZ so far. Out for delivery apparently. At least the $800usd package didn't get picked up by customs.. Their new system is sh*t isn't it. Well not for us.

FInally, after sitting on stands for many months, I can put the wheels back on, and drop the car on the ground. Not the best weather in the middle of winter, but I got 'er done. I'm pretty happy how she sits. Although, I might be tempted to drop the front a bit more once I get a sump guard sorted. I even managed to get out for a cheeky test drive. It feels soo good to finally drive it. 11s with ease . But...there is one issue - the differential makes a bad noise on decel. Otherwise, its perfectly quite. I knew this was an issue the last time I drove it, but haven't had a chance to sort it. I believe this means the pinion nut isn't tight enough. I'll have to drop the diff out again. Hopefully this weekend. That's all for now, folks!

What can Beemers tell me about the VW TSI and TFSI engines. Having shelved the N46 engine E90/87 option wife is looking at Golfs. I have heard some of the VW engines are no so good and that some of the DSG boxes can be problematic. Please enlighten me.

This is trademe, lower your expectations, then dig a grave and bury them.

Yea someone has made a mess of this one. Check they have used the correct coolant and didn't fill it with stopleak gunk. There is probably tape over vacuum leaks too. But you are the right man for the job.

Only have three now. Much more manageable amount. The Tech1 is the only one worthy of Megameet.

https://www.trademe.co.nz/2685788274

Glad its still running well, its about time!

they been watching this thread

Afternoon everyone! I'm finally happy enough with my 130i that I want to start showing it off. I had a bit of a saga with the exhaust system that was covered here: http://bimmersport.co.nz/topic/63437-130i-exhaust-mods-by-previous-owner/ The jist of that topic was that the previous owner had removed the centre muffler which caused a drone that I absolutely hated. I found an OEM muffler in a wreckers yard and had it welded in this week. Bliss! No more drone or anti-social cruising noise ? Anyway, this is my first BMW and biggest displacement engine I've owned so I'm loving the responsiveness of the engine and the compact size. My previous loves have been turbo japanese wagons so this is a total change! It wasn't until I joined the forum that I realised how lucky I am to have grabbed a car with the BMWP Intake & Muffler. It makes a brilliant noise but I've never sat in a standard 130i so no idea how different it is. I'm determined to never post this car in the 'Project' forum as I'm really happy with it. I have no need for an LSD which seems to be the most common 'serious' upgrade. Once the suspension starts giving up then I imagine I'll be eyeing up the Birds setup but until then I'm delighted with the standard car.

Sure are, I just installed mine tonight, what a royal pain in the arse that was! https://www.realoem.com/bmw/enUS/showparts?id=UD52-EUR-03-2007-E87N-BMW-130i&diagId=03_0125

Poor form from Speed Factor!

@Jacko yeah well when i started digging, and the red flags started adding up to a state of carelessness, i decided to be extra pedantic, especially if it's eventually going to be a daily. And i don't usually do a shout out to the workshop that did the last WOF, but it's safe to say, this car was certainly not road legal 6 months ago, in-fact in hindsight, the state i drove it home in i have concluded to be dangerous. There's no way all of this happened in the last 6 months, plausable, but more likely at the least optimistically a lazy WOF and pessimistically a dangerous bar for WOF standards. Oh and while i'm at it, let's not forget to mention a co-star of this horse fest, Tyre King, who was paid $169 to do a "full service inspection" 1 week prior to me picking it up by the old owner, and look over everything to make sure it was in good running condition, who essentially just changed the oil & filter, but didn't point out things like brake lights, trunk wont open, electric seats not moving, cracked radiator expansion (visible coolant leak), reccommend imminent replacements of fan clutch / blades etc.

I'll give you a shout next coffee meet or cruise. It's Club Pub Night tonight, though I'm not there this time. First Thursday of every month in J'ville, all welcome. Be good to see you.

OOh ya? Awesome we should get together again sometime. Hows the e30? Ya it would be but you have to buy it in larger amounts so wouldn't be worth experimenting with if it's just one. I could just throw it in a mill and add the weights ya. Might consider doing one large weight for that and then centering it on the lathe instead.

Very happy! I got the gear knob from schmiedmann.com after reading through this (https://www.zpost.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1492392) thread. It replaced a BMW Performance knob which looked great but I didn't like the feel. My new one is described as the 'weighted broomstick'. It's actually a little lighter than the performance one but the added height makes the feel far nicer. The car came with the alcantara boot which looks pretty sleek!

Had a surprise package arrive, featuring a super short aerial I ordered a while back. Fitted it up and looks much better than the stock aerial I'd recently acquired. I'd gotten used to the no aerial look, so having the massive stock one was suddenly not desirable lol. 3rd aerial I've fitted and finally something that looks good and works! Car is still running ?

Interesting some of you like the Mk5. I had one for two weeks in the US and we didn't like it. I wont go into too much detail. But I found it noisy, the steering, clutch and gearbox had no feeling. It wasn't all that comfortable or as powerful as people made out. It was a meh car for me. Maybe that's what makes it a good commuter? But then I would just get a Mazda. Its Meh and will cost you far far less when (if) it goes wrong.

Also looking into machining out of aluminium or delrin soon.

E90 330i are cheap as these days. Fuel consumption may be pushing it though. MK5 GTI could be had for that money and will be fun, economical and pretty reliable if the DSG has had its oil changes. Yeah, I'd be looking at a MK5 GTI or an E91 6cyl.

outstanding! and on-track for e30 Mega Meet this year!

If they're anything like the mk6 gti's, brilliant car. Got one for the wife about 5 years ago and it's been smooth sailing. Loads of fun, reliable and excellent on fuel. All I've done is regular services, dsg fluid and filter and plugs and coils.

I beg to differ, my M5 tows regularly and has practicality up the wazoo! ?

Velocity for rotational inertia is given in radians per second, it's only the rotational inertia term which changes the result for kinetic energy so it's a simple scaler with rotational inertia isn't it? What equations are you using? In other news, the VH44 turned up today, might see about positioning it and getting the right fittings/lines this weekend...

I'll keep an eye out for you around Welly ? I'm in a black 130i (mostly standard) so will give you a wave if we cross paths.

Having had 3 VW GTIs (2x Mk5 and 1x Mk6) over the past few years- I can shed some light on these cars. Both engines are great, very tunable and pretty reliable for the most part (though there are some things to watch out for). With that being said, I’ve never had an issue with either the FSI or TSI engines. The most common things to watch out for include: FSI -potentially high oil consumption (the culprit is usually the PCV system). Easy fix -Dodgy diverter valve. Many upgrade to the revised revision D diverter valve or aftermarket. Easy fix -Carbon build up. Consider walnut blasting the valves around 120,000km -Coil packs and spark plugs fail (tuned cars only). Upgrade to Audi R8 CoP and NGK plugs -Cam follower wear. Check cam follower every 2-3 years and replace when required. Easy fix -Still uses a cambelt. Replace as required (including ancillaries) -Stage 3 (i.e. turbo upgrade – k04 etc) needs an upgraded fuel pump TSI -Dodgy cam chain tensioner (early models up to 09/2012 build dates). Catastrophic engine failure if this goes bad. Not a cheap fix due to labour. -Coil packs and spark plugs fail (tuned cars only). Upgrade to Audi R8 CoP and NGK plugs -Carbon build up. Consider walnut blasting the valves around 120,000km There are other issues that I failed to list such as intake manifolds going bad, cracked intake pipes etc but these aren’t too common… The DSGs are another matter altogether. The Mk6 DSG is better programmed than the Mk5 (blip downshifts, a bit smoother etc) but both can be very temperamental if not serviced correctly. VW requires servicing every 60,000km. If there’s no record of this being done I’d walk away. Make sure you drive a few vehicles to get a feel for the transmission as some might have clutch wear (particularly the imports sitting in Tokyo traffic). If you get a good one- you’ll be sorted as long as you take care of it. They’re great gearboxes overall just a bit hit or miss; shopping around and test drives are key… Finally, 04-08 Mk5 GTIs have hydraulic steering which I prefer over the slightly numb electric racks of the later models. With all that being said, they’re pretty solid cars and I enjoyed my ownership with them. If you have any other questions just ask- happy to help

Because Touring. Or, to put it another way: Because. Touring. Love. ❤️ ?

Just heard back from the wreckers regarding the cover. They want $50! I'll put up with the hole until I find a more reasonablely priced one

So i was wondering why, when my fogs were no there were no instrument lights, and i couldnt use my stalk button either. I checked the fuse box, and sure enough number 10 was missing, so i put it in, then some more lights came on and i could use my stalk. But the airbag light stayed on hmm. So then i realized who ever was in there last had removed several of the essential Air Bag, ASC, and ABS fuses, obviously to hide the faults from the dash, for their chur bro wof? There was also a 20amp fuse in the "Garage door opener" slot haha What a time to be alive