Olaf

They haven't yet recovered from our previous govts complete f**kery of maintenance budgets into ideological changes sans good science. Give them time, it'll get unwound.

I'm not a suspension guru... looks like e46 is good for ~300hp, e60 M5 good for ~550hp. I'd guess there's measurements involved... and (before you're cutting any steel) engaging with your certifier to run your design outline by them, determine what threy'll want to see as you progress. Got pics, or a project page? I'll subscribe, sounds like a really interesting build. Yeeehah!

Let's try that again... Date: 20-31 Apr 2024 Distance: 211,112 to 211,118 kms 1. PCV Refresh, Starter Motor replacement. Starter motor precautionary replacement - it was developing a rattle, showing it's age. Refresh the PCV system as it was last done in June 2014, no sense in re-installing old parts after the Starter Motor replacement. Full PCV service kit installed. Fig 1: Journey into the beast - intake manifold removed 2. Front of motor accessory drive refresh Some rattles around the front of the engine. It's at least ten years since we did the whole lot (belts have been replaced) tensioners, pulleys etc. OEM INA and Conti belts. Fig 2: new bits ready to install Fig 3: Nice new fresh front accessory drive kit installed 3. Rear Muffler Replacement Mid mounts and rear mounts replaced as 22 years old - that rubber was looking cracked and crispy. We'd had the muffler off a couple of times and Jon had noticed the rust on the top of the box was advancing... it was getting a little raspy, though interestingly hadn't raised concern through the last couple of WoFs. BMW OE was a bit pricey for me - notwithstanding it's a quality stainless steel product... over USD1000 and back-ordered. I sourced an OE pattern ANSA unit (yes, they of the OE to Ferrari and Lamborghini fame, amongst others) from Rockauto... it's not apples-with-apples being aluminised steel, yet even included chrome extension tips that my original unit didn't have (BMW tips are USD80 each!). Fitment is good Jon managed the dissimilar metal weld between the stainless pipe and the new muffler with aplomb. Fig 4: I'm very happy with that. A weld, yesterday. Fig 5: Didn't Wesley Snipes have a strapline: "always bet on (Bogan) black."? The sound is nice - it's quiet enough, similar to the old one and my impression is it breathes better - perhaps the baffles had choked things up in the old one? The rasp of the split box is gone, replaced by a bit more of a muted rasp when the loud pedal is opened. Happy days. Figure 6: New box in-place. 4. Rear ARB Endlinks, ARB Bushes, Shells replaced I'd noticed the shells were rusty when it was last on the hoist. We were replacing fronts and as these are the same age, time to replace them too, Genuine BMW bushes. 5. Front ARB Endlinks, ARB Bushes replaced Clunk in front suspension on compression over bumps. Now eliminated, and steering is significantly smoother. Bonus! 6. Coolant top-up, Pressure test TOK Jon found the coolant down by nearly a litre - I don't think I'd checked it cold since water pump replacement. A top-up and precautionary pressure test revealed sytem is pressure-tight, no leaks, Test OK. 7. Replaced insulation - cable bunch passing the oil filter housing We'd seen that a couple of services back, something I should have done. The flexible conduit/shielding breaks down with heat exposure and leaves the cluster of wires exposed. I conceded and asked Jon to do it. Fig 7: lovely new flexible conduit. 8. Observsations I've a few things to monitor or source. moist Power Steer reservoir. It's 12 years since that was replaced - rather than do the O-ring, will replace the whole thing moist HP PS Hose (pump to rack). I have a very good used one on my purple tag sourced for the e30, so we'll use that as replacement. The e30 can have the UK purple tag-in-e30 hoses. Bung on PCV valve Source replacement front ARB (it's getting mottly beneath the bushes). YYmm P/N________ Squeak from front strut persists... sh*t if I need to do strut mount bushes and spring seats again (it's 8 or 10 years already) I guess that's Konis or Sachs M/Sport and Msport springs... a decision for another day. Alternator bearings starting to rattle. Monitor. Steering - monitor. Play upper steering UJ/lower column? Fig 8: A 22 year old 212k km alternator, in-situ Summary The car is purring, and feels really nice to drive - my better half grabbed it as soon as it was back, and later commented it drove really well. So we're back to a solid place, though more to monitor. All work carried out by Begley Motor Works, Marton. Top quality, top service. Worth the drive from wellington, always a pleasure to catch up with Jon and Keren. You should go there too! Images courtesy of Jon at Begley Motor Works. Next items list: Replacement diff (e46 medium case) 3.46 (including the two small bushes, input and output seals, fill and drain bungs, oil, rear cover sealant) Clean and rust paint the surface rust on rear subframe Source 24mm front ARB p/n 31351094542 New sunroof seal (Part ready to fit) New speakers in front - consider a new head unit with screen, fit rear camera? Maybe install that Msport steering wheel with the stereo integration - need post-Takata airbag.

Consider then the plight of a business doing repair work on a customer car. They need to pay for the overhead of a secure storage area or more lifts than they need, if a customer's car has to wait for discount parts from abroad. It's more efficient for the repair shop to be able to source locally, and they'll pay the overhead to a local supplier that does something (next-day supply, warranty coverage etc) because it gets the customer's car off of his hoist/out of their workshop quickly. We're a tiny market; until we have scale nothing will compete with being able to source from a large market on $ terms.

I dunno about shafted, try and run a business without adding the cost of your money tied up in stock on the shelf, pay GST and taxes, wages, KiwiSaver,. advertising, insurances, lease costs etc.

I bought a VEMO remanufactured Bosch from Rockauto. No pesky core charge (FCP). I'm sure it'll be good enough, factory rebuilt. Edit: oh wow thanks for the link to your thread. Mine's a 12412354709 - those effite M54B25 donks just don't need the extra muscle the B30 requires 😉 I can only suggest you keep it simple mate, we all here are guilty at times of over-analysis slowing us down whilst we enjoy the research rather than the fruits of our labours. You're lucky. I had to replace starter motor in a Mitsubishi Sigma with 220k kms on it (things had changed - five years earlier I'd have bought a new solenoid and brushes, and put it back in - in 1997 chinese units were on the shelf and cheap. I replaced one on a Maxima with about 170k kms... a common failure according to many taxi drivers I spoke with (the A32 and A33 was the alternative cab de jour from the questionable reliability of the falcodore of the time). It's the first time I've done it in a BMW - it's the car my wife drives, given it was making noises it gets replaced before it leaves her stranded. Can't see the point in wasting time with a used unit that might fail soon after install - for the effort (cost) of the work. YMMV.

Date: 20-?? Apr 2024 Distance: 211,112 kms 1. A whole lot of servicing getting done... We've owned this car 12 years now, so she's getting a bit of a birthday - second time round on stuff we did years back, and more. Starter Motor (the original one was starting to click so a precautionary replacement before it leaves my better half stranded), PCV Service (again), New accessory drive belts, pulleys, tensioners (again), A new rear muffler (ANSA Exhsaust pattern part) and mounts, and more. It should be feeling great when I get it back. Nothing like starting with a palindrome mileage eh?

bump!

buy a silk scarf for your wife or girlfriend, buy this, get away for a long weekend with the top down. go for it!

I think the Singaporean thing is luck of the draw. My friend ran an ex-Singapore Volvo 855 for ~16 years with zero issues, other than the car-audio install. Other friends have had Audi, BMW, Mercedes and said "never again!". I've heard a theory that they're left engine-running, aircon-on while in shopping mall parks to keep interior cool. Loads of time idling. So although the car may have a low mileage, number of hours corresponds with nearer 100-160k kms. Ex-Japan? not much different to NZ - plenty suffer 'deferred maintenance' at end of ownership, irrespective of Japan or NZ. It seems that when cars come to end of warranty cover, some items may 'escape notice' and cost the owner $$. It's all down to the individual car. NZers are notorious for only getting their car maintained when a WoF fails; why this would make an NZ-New BMW more attractive than a used import from Japan, I don't know. OP @Kaz_, your seller is talking up a notional point of difference on his M2 for sale, in an attempt to dissuade you from other examples in the market and net himself a sale. It's a load of horse manure. If you're buying a recent M-Car, get a pre-purchase inspection done at a BMW Dealer or BMW Specialist. You need to determine if it's been driven spiritedly, or simply thrashed. HTH

I'm a comparatively recent convert to RFT. My tyre guy looked at me and said "why wouldn't you?" (in context of a vehicle built to run on RFT, no spare, no jack, no space) - and gave me the "are you really that stupid?" look. It's all great with tyre goo and a compressor until you have a triangular hole in your sidewall, and you're two days away from a replacement tyre! My X3 came on the wrong tyres - non-RFT in the wrong size, though they were the right rating. Got factory Dunlop RFTs. They were a bit odd, though okay - better than the originals. When I replaced them with Bridgestone S-001 RFTs the difference was substantial. Quieter, better riding, better grip - particularly in the wet - and more progressive. HTH.

keep the faith Cam! We've had ours twelve years this month... I saw it across the road yesterday arvo where my wife had parked it as I headed over to my F25, still a double-take. They're the near-ideal car! The great all-rounder. Ours is about to get a big maintenance birthday.

Welcome! Stick with RFTs, unless you like the idea of no boot space from carrying a spare, a jack and wheel brace etc. RFTs are consistently improving; the suspension is tuned for them...

In my humble opinion - and the experience of having run an N62 for 7 years and 36k kms with uncompromising maintenance, it's a non-issue. My personal view re the coolant pipe 'issue' is that it's caused by neglect. If you do a coolant flush annually (instead of the recommended bi-annually), with BMW Blue coolant, the likelihood of failure is greatly reduced. Perhaps the higher temp contributes to cooking/hardening the valve stem seals? Mine were replaced, I did oil and filter more frequently than BMW and the condition-based servicing in the iDrive calls for. There's enough to do on an N62 to keep it running reliably and well, without looking for modifications. All those seals and gaskets to keep oil on the insides (and the outsides dry and clean), including the upper and lower oil pan gaskets. PCV bellows. Valve cover gaskets. Cooling System services. Replacing the intake actuator as they fail causing low RPM minor roughness and bad fuel economy. The list goes on, coils and plugs, then there's the Auto to service, all the suspension and brakes. I was never concerned about the engine 'running hot'', the design is for efficiency. My e30 - by contrast - takes way longer to warm up. HTH.

Date: 23 Feb 2024 Distance: 210,335 kms 1. Flat tyre Hmmmm. Drove the car Weds night, it was pulling to the left and seemed a bit dead. Checked pressures… 3psi down on both fronts, right rear down 3psi, left rear down to 13psi (!). Gark in the rim and a corresponding gark in sidewall - thankfully not deep. Dropped into my trusty tyre guy this morning. Nail found, Tyre demounted, repair effected, remounted and tested, wheel reinstalled. Job’s a good ‘un 2. Rego Ordered another 12 months rego. $106.

the joy of living in Wellington perched on a hillside is that offstreet secure parking is scarce and ++$.

@treone nah I've given notice on my rented garage, and getting rid of storage next will free up ~$550-600/month. With a prevailing wind I should have the e30 project back on track this year...

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12 Feb 2024. 188659kms I pulled it from the garage and drove it yesterday to get to the Brit & Euro Car Day 2024 at Trentham. It ran beautifully. 1. Final items before sale WoF. Flew through it's WoF. Aircon Re-gas. Completed, comments were 'added dye, it was half full. Working well'. I'm sure that a couple of years with little use didn't help the seals keep the refrigerant in. Added Rego. Easy at VTNZ, expires 31 Aug 2024. 2. Sold. With luck the new keeper may continue this thread... and even join the BMW Car Club of NZ. Parting is such sweet sorrow. I'll miss this car. On the upside, may have a new friend 🙂.

Listed in the For Sale room, and on TradeMe.

I had a peek for Highway Radar in the Apple App Store - couldn't find it. Anyone got a link or more details? @E63 thanks for the info R3 on sale, beats waiting for the exch rate to improve. Think I'll buy one.

IMHO you're on the right track. I recall reading about this on a UK site... although it lacks the specific coding detail you seek, \ take a read down to the section "OTHER USEFUL BMW AUDIO INFORMATION AND UPGRADE OPTIONS." - outlines the disadvantages of Base Audio and it's attendant equalisation, and possible approaches. Hope that helps. https://www.audiofile-incar.co.uk/audio-upgrades/bmw-1-2-3-4-5-6-7-and-x-series Also, anything that @Neal doesnt know about high quality integration with BMW audio systems probably isn't worth knowing! He may be able to suggest something.

You doubt I can hear the difference, you're welcome to your opinion. To recap: You've doubted I can reliably hear the difference. And that in a moving car it couldn't happen. I've responded to the points you made, noted that I'm older and my hearing is degrading, and furnished my experience. You've raised choice of DAC - I've said that's irrelevant - to this discussion. You've suggested my opinion would change if I read audiophile discussions, inferring I don't understand. I read the audio comics for years, and indulged in internet discussion. You present a straw man about hearing degradation and perception differences between the sexes. You disagree, though you misquote me - I have not said WAV is necessary - I've said it's better, and questioned why throw data away when disc space is cheap. At every point I've expressed - all based on my experiences - you've simply attempted to cast shadow. You claim my argument is silly and condescending; what has yours been? I've only presented my experience, that clearly does not align with your opinion. You've gotten personal.

My ears super-good for a 50 year old? No! The point is, I'm listening and responding to music. My hearing has been measured and is worsening. I can still tell sh*t from clay! Hint: It's not about frequency response. It's not about soundstage or other artifacts of the US High End Hifi Press. Just listen to the music. Or don't. As for SACD, I could never understand why - for the forty-odd albums available at launch, why you'd bother. Well-implemented Red Book CD Players sounded better; most "SACD Fanboys" had never experienced good Red Book CD, or a decent turntable. WAV is uncompressed audio. FLAC is lossless audio via the algorithm - but the file size is compressed. The general consensus you refer to is formed by folks that can't tell the difference between two violas and a cello, and sit on the edge of their seats straining to hear the difference in "the soundstage", and probably never attend live concerts, have no frame of reference. Don't listen to the consensus, listen to your ears!

Even the rear privacy screen works, it's really swish... touch of a button in the driver's door 😊. It's got the Logic 7 sound system, pretty good. Heated (Sports multifunction) Steering Wheel even!