aja540i

I disagree, I try to support my local BMW dealer as much as possible, but not because I believe they "deserve" my support. Like any local business they have to earn my support and they won't do it just by investing money in their business. I have had mostly excellent service from my local (Continental cars BMW) but others on here may have had different experiences and they are quite justified in sharing those experiences.

I would add at least one hole from a welder/ grinder / knife / chisel incident.

They are all completely useless UNTIL SOMETHING GOES WRONG. safety shouldn't be about meeting minimum requirements it should be about doing as much as possible to prevent yourself dying.

I have cut up a few with a reciprocating saw and taken them to the scrappy myself, it's a bit of work but quite satisfying! I can fit half of an E21 on my trailer.... 😉

Probably the same a55hats who drive around on clear nights with their rear fog lights on!

Thank goodness nothing like that ever happens with petrol...

keen, pm sent.

Had another crack at splitting the turbo and managed it, everything looks ok but very dirty and a bit rusty, so gave it all a good clean and will give the hot side a coat of paint and it can go back in once gaskets and seals arrive. One of the little rollers that holds the ring for the vanes did a runner on me but I managed to track it down!!

Long time no progress, did a 1400k round trip after the rear suspension refresh, towing a tandem trailer the whole way so a bit hard to tell but it certainly seems nicer riding, did highlight that the weird surging boost issue is now the biggest problem and needs sorting, so I ordered a vacuum tester and then set about trying to track down leaks in the vacuum system, by pulling out the turbo! I wanted to check that the variable vane gubbins on the turbo wasn't jammed, and it seems to move freely MOST of the time, it catches occasionally so I wanted to get the turbo apart and clean and lubricate it to make sure. I set about isolating and testing sections of the vacuum system and found 2 quite significant leaks in the brake booster plumbing where one use hose clamps were very loose, so I removed those and fitted new clamps which improved things significantly. I can now build the system up to 10 vacuums and it takes quite a while to leak back down to zero, so I'm happy with that. After a couple of frustrating evenings in the garage trying to get the turbo apart without destroying it i have decided to just lubricate the variable geometry mechanism as best I can and put it all back in.....as soon as gaskets arrive from overseas!

Point is you still need a huge amount of electricity, which is the limiting factor in the system whatever the alternative to petrol is.

Totally agree that our current supply grid is not up to the task, but just pouring billions of dollars into upgrading that grid might not be the best solution. When I got my EV I also invested in rooftop solar at home, it provides enough power to keep my car charged and export some to the grid, obviously no good at night but if it were on the very large roof of the factory where I work and I could plug my EV in while I was at work it would provide all my transport energy needs and take load of the supply grid. A large enough system would cover the transport energy needs of 20 odd staff, repeat as necessary, consider solar systems at carport buildings, park and rides etc. These are the options the government needs to be seriously considering if they want mass adoption of EVs.

Except you are not going to get every car owner charging their ev all night every night, much the same way that every car owner doesn't put a tank full of gas in their car every day. There are plenty of options to spread out the demand, it will just take some incentives to get people to adjust their behavior. I wonder how much less demand there is on the grid now that we are not refining petrol at Marsden point?....

It will involve a shift in thinking on the part of employers, allowing workers to charge at workplaces, installing solar etc, and it will involve the government incentivising things like that to slowly change our energy use habits. A few fast chargers here and there are not going to cut it. I choose to believe that the govt realizes this but they have yet to figure out a good way to con us into paying more tax to cover the cost, so far congestion tax and dirty car tax seem to be front runners....

Bugger that, you can sleep in a car but you can't race a house!

Who special orders something like that, does 1200km in it and then sells / trades it?

So, it STILL has a manual gearbox, but they have taken out the paddle shifters and put in a clutch pedal. I don't understand the point myself. Don't get me wrong I love a good manual, but thats exactly what the SMG3 box is, and sure it is not perfect for every situation but I wouldnt be either if I had to push a pedal and move a stick fast enough to keep up with that V10!

Cardwells in Albany, they are pretty cheap in the grand scheme of things.

I feel more sorry for the car than the owner, it didn't deserve that!

I wonder what condition the Eventuri intakes are in?

Jetski, I'd put money on it being a Jetski!! 😉

I wonder where they are getting their inspiration... F'ing terrible.

It was on ramps at the time but if I had my arm in a different place it might have involved a trip to A & E!! All back together now, test drive was ok but I have a warning light for the SLS, code comes up as left side height sensor so I might have to swap it out for a spare and see if that fixes it! Also sounds like it has an exhaust leak now so I might have to chuck a new gasket in it.

Had a bit of a moment when one of the air spring couplers popped off and dropped the car about 60mm while I was under it! I like to think I shat myself with dignity!! 😀 Replacement clip found in a box of bits, fitted and coupler replaced, seems all good now so back under I go.....

Once by the previous owner, Monroe OEM spec. Not great, but certainly not the worst.