Leaderboard

Hello...My 2007 130i 6 speed finally arrived from Japan to New Zealand. Currently at the groomers getting ceramic coated. Its a white M Sport so I got the painters to paint that grey rear valance black, and removed the 130i and the m badge! Fitted gunmetal Avanti 11 spoke wheels, flat bottom leather and alcantara steering wheel from Lativa, Genuine BMW short throw gear lever that I scored new sealed bag off Ebay via the USA as well as a Storm Motorwerks weighted gunmetal gear knob from the UK, Pedal Haus aluminum pedal covers from Europe (to be fitted), LUX H8V3 bulbs, new floor mat set, new alcantara hood lining fitted, Gloss black grills etc. Looks like a new car. This will be my daily for work as I had a desire to row gears, gave my E70 35i M Sport to my wife so that will remain our family car and will sell her NZ new X3.

Sale was easy, he rang me and I made him the offer and he accepted. It would appear he had been mucked around a bit and had been constantly low balled and just got grumpy over it. He dropped the car to the airport for me and I drove back to Welly. Will do a thread soon on it but suffice to say it drives very nicely, better than I expected it would.

Bought a staggered set of style 66 wheels, they look a little bit rough which will match the rest of the car perfectly!!

Took some photos of it

Quick picture before parking her up in storage until Christmas

I've never seen the redline in mine. Apparently it's electronically limited to ~250km/h, can not confirm. Promise. 😉

if anyone wants an M3, they will need to compromise in certain areas at the very least. in some cases its going for a higher mileage example, or going for a different colour other than first choice, or one that has been re-registered for whatever reason. This one has probably been tracked and it is what it is. Its the owner's choice to do with it how they want and to sell it to the next interested person is their prerogative. If it has been maintained whilst being tracked then I dont personally see any reason its any worse off than other examples. Like I said earlier, being a 2005, sunroof, black with red interior, lower kms etc make it a nice candidate for my boxes being ticked and if I had to compromise on possible tracking history then so be it. Anyone who doesnt want to touch a tracked car can and will find something else and that is their choice, just like it is yours to make a comment about your old beloved car - so no judgement there. Only issue I see is if people take it to a personal level and create drama, thus causing a bad reputation for the forum that we all use so lets just keep it civil and move on. Keep the comments civilized guys. And on topic lol.

So, acquired this 316i compact this time last year to use for autocrosses, and to slowly build into a clubsport car instead of using the m3. Havent really done much with it over the last year, apart from sorting a few wee issues for a wof and picked up some e46 15” alloys with new tyres for $150. But last week that changed to have it ready for an autocross in the weekend,. So was a mad rush to get everything done, but managed to pull it off after a few late nights. First thing to address was the rear end as it was horrible to drive at 100kms and all over the show. So got a replacement rear end from a z3 to refresh while keeping the car movable, and to replace the rear drum brakes with discs. So ordered poly bushes all round, raised subframe bushes to dial out some camber, weld in brackets and ecentric bolts for adjustable camber and toe, and some reinforcing plates for diff mounts and trailing arms mounts, and braided brake lines from garagistic. So after getting a mate to weld them in, I removed the old bushes, new ones fitted and subframe painted it was ready to swap over, which had a few issues. Turns out the z3 use a different handbrake cable and hard line on the arms. So had to find some replacements since the original ones wouldn’t work, which slowed things down. So while held up with that I swapped the suspension over to bilstein shocks and springs with reinforcement plates, 328i front calipers and rotors and what brake lines that I could. Luckily the local wreaked had the bits so was able to get the rear end finished, brakes bled and ready for its booked wof on Friday by 12.30 Thursday night. Saturdays job was to strip out everything on the rear and remove the tow bar ready for the autocross. Was a good day out and the car was great to drive finally! Nice and tight. So next one is on the first of November...so figured that was plenty of time to do an engine swap, and on Tuesday night started to strip a few bits ready to come. Finished work early Yesterday afternoon and it was out, taken away, replacement picked up, new poly engine mounts fitted, box bolted on and all in place by 10.30pm. So is now sporting a m52b25 with a sc14 blower bolted on the side running a speedino computer, which you may have seen arron selling not too long ago. So today spent and hour or sorting the loom out, and getting some new fuel lines and heater hoses ready to connect. Hoping to get some time on it tomorrow but will see how i get on for time.

K & N filter arrived so that has gone in, tried to de- grease the engine bay but ran out of de- greaser before it ran out of grease!! Just need to adjust the handbrake and sort the front bumper and it should be ready for a WOF... I should probably do the tailgate struts as well so it doesn't decapitate the WOF inspector.

Hello everyone, new here. I have recently purchased a well used 535i Manual in Silver. Seems to have been fully loaded when it was new. Electric seats, a/c, possibly sport steering wheel and gear knob. But i don't really know haha. If anyone can run the numbers im keen to know.

I bought mine just over 6 years ago as the second owner with just on 40k. Previous owner had bought it new to replace his e46 M3 so ticked most options. I used it mainly as a daily to replace an e36 325i which I owned for roughly 10 years. As I’d had the e39 M5 for a while at that point, I wasn’t exactly looking for heaps of power, just something that was quiet, subtle and a little more grown up than the e36. I didn’t even consider the 335i at that point as I thought (at that time) that turbos were cheating and if you need turbos, just get the M3 right? I was to be proven so wrong. So instead I tried a couple of n52 cars (330i, 130i, z4) and was bored. Then, a very tidy silver 335i popped up at the local dealer one weekend. I dropped by and took it for a drive. I think I drove 400 meters up the road and immediately realized this was different. It was not boring at all... It also has a distinctively different sound (which imo sounds exotic) compared to the N52’s, great ride, excellent intuitive gearbox, great steering. If you’re used to the torque the S62 puts down in almost any gear, you will love the 335i. To me it feels V8 athletic without spending so much time at the pump. I liked it so much, and used it so much, I sold my first e39 M5 from it simply never being used... But that’s another story... Anyway. There are probably many better cars that have now replaced it, but anyone who ever got a turn to drive it always came back asking what the hell is under the bonnet.

Need to dust off the camera one of these days..here's one of the 135i a while ago. Edit: Taken on my old trusty Canon 550d and a Samyang 50mm

Fixed

exactly, I thought auto coolers were for those people that tow large weights etc not idling in traffic. a large percentage of the manual cars for sale in Auckland have a clutch shudder from excessive overuse and people slipping them to creep forward. to be sitting stopped on the north shore entry to the harbour bridge moving one car length if your lucky in a manual, how unnecessary if your sitting through two green light changes on a hill, say at the top of queen to get into K road, you can muck around with handbrakes probably behind a bus so nill vision, many possible oh sh*t were not moving, oh hang on were off, no wait, hill starts or you could just sit there in an auto completely relaxed, its a no brainer, traffic is stressful enough without torturing yourself unnecessarily. not that any manual lover would change or admit any of that I'd also like to see these owners manuals that don't recommend leaving an auto in drive, altho you underlined it so maybe its true, can't see the fuel difference between your manual in neutral and said auto either, engine is still running in both cases, oh wait autos have start/stop now, do manuals have that too? and if you flicked your manual into neutral as you suggest and coast, thats an immediate fail of your drivers license test. you don't have control of the vehicle, your argument is questionable

"There's no cars that we cannot fix here" and "our technicians here are very experienced and has done cars like yours since they were brand new' - Chch BMW service manager "Let's try replacing this and see if it will fix the issue but we're not sure" Chch BMW service department foreman In the end it was just a fuse 🤦🏻‍♂️🤦🏻‍♂️ I'm going in tomorrow and gonna have a 'coffee' with them 🙂

Bimmersport nails it. 😎

Ive always just listed all i can about the car im selling and most calls i usually get are viewing related. Maybe some sellers don't mind taking calls and answering questions due to their lack of detail, but its not something i'd ever consider doing.

Picked up my newest old toy today, 1998 e39 530d touring, ex Ireland import, 197k Miles, no wof, no reg, started a list of what needs doing to turn it into a road legal, reliable tow mule, 1) EVERYTHING!! will start with a thorough cleaning inside and out and go from there....

This was once mine and very original

My E28 has original Black Plates, I received them today after saving it from dereg.

Hey Team long time no post. Its been a while but things still have been trucking along in the background, mainly trying to get these side project cars finished and flicked off which some of you may have seen on trade me. But good news is ive finally got some subframe plates lazer cut out and got them semi folded into shape on the chassis and then welded. Once done i can get onto refitting the m3 rear end and piecing the car back together. So slight change of plans again. I will now be fitting the M62tub46 motor into the Blue sedan instead of the e34 wagon. Ill be taking all the dry sump setup from the m60b44 and all associating bits ie exhaust headers and engine mounts and using it with this motor which should be a straight swap, i'll will also try retro fitting the x5 4.6is dash into the e46 too. The M60b44 will be reused in my e34 wagon project instead with a superchager ontop Lastly also managed to score this puppy from a mate ( thanks Quinn) A 6 speed for the swap as well as it really needs the 6th gear due to it using so much petrol on highway driving. Will hope to get this car together hopfully by the end of the year.

Success, managed to get the trans to swallow another 0.5 litre! Also finished welding and tidying the stereo surround, and made a hole in it for the boost gauge, it will get powder coated with black wrinkle powder, if I get bored I may try and fit a cup holder in the bottom section, but not today...

You’re a youthful gent for sure, Stu... but that young? 😁

The E34 is being looked after

It’ll fight for attention with my E30 The conundrum will be keep it factory or make it fun 🧐

Picked up my OE Aero spoiler today from my folks place, they had collected it for me from Continental BMW. It's quite a bit lighter than I expected and can see why it's common for them to come up at the left and right edges, it doesn't sit flush so there's constant tension on the double sided tape when it's installed. I wonder if it can be clamped down in situ and heated up to deform into a more compliant shape? I suspect it will take me a long time to get this painted and installed. But hey, at $150 I couldn't say no.

if you're going to do the serpentine belt, does it drive the AC, or separate belt (as on N62). If so, do that too. N62 is sans-tensioner, so if your N5x is similar, you'll want the belt tool as well. Should be considering Auto service. Auto trans pan/filter, and mechatronic sleeve. As yours is LCI, should have the good pan bolts so no need to replace. Possibly your fuel filler cap? Check the big O-ring for cracks. Download the latest So you bought an e60? Valeo e60 Wiper Blades cabin filters query hood support struts HTH

I want it..

What even is an atm? Something from the dark ages?

@promo might be the man for this

that video was so bad I cant think of bad enough words to describe how bad it is.. I could make a better commercial with my phone camera

A few more from today

More new goodies, $470 worth of gas struts for the tailgate!! Investigated the handbrake issue, the shoes have plenty of meat on them, but have big grooves all the way around and cracks across the surface so it will be getting new ones, also found a boost gauge in storage, so it will get that as well More cleaning inside, starting to reassemble the interior, still needs a new drivers seat belt, but have started the wood grain delete...

Hey on the hunt for a air intake hose as mine has a crack that messes with air flow sensor, any leads would be greatly appreciated . thanks ! (pictured below)

Great car. One of the best of its era. Very very understated/stealth in standard spec. Pretty amazing value these days too. Feels modern even by today’s standards. Great fuel economy too. The longer wheel base means they ride well. IMO the e92 shape is one of the all time great looking BMW coupes. I owned one up until recently (still in the family) and miss it a lot. Get to drive it from time to time and instantly smile. There are heaps of great DIY’s out there to remediate the common problems. Mine hasn’t skipped one beat in 50kms of ownership.

Out of curiosity, what year?

Engine oil and filter changed, 6.5 litres of Penrite. Stereo holder frame welded up and painted Matt black, ready to go back in. Finally used my 3D printed BMW engine oil funnel, it doesn't fit the M5, turns out it doesn't properly fit this either, needs some slight trimming...

Just put these on and I quite like them. I think they suit the car better than the 189's that were on from the factory. Got a new set of Potenza RE003's in the OEM 225/40-18 and 255/35-18 sizes and was out for a drive this afternoon to scrub them in a bit New tyres are always better than old tyres but these surprised me by being almost totally silent on hotmix. Other than that they seem to do pretty much what it says on the box. I'll update this post when they have a couple of 1000kms on them. Cheers...

This is how I interpreted it... Not sold as a write off from what I could see. The car had been written off 12 years ago but was sold certified/repaired and road legal. Said about leak from dipstick tube (o-ring?) and fuel guage not working, etc. Relatively minor fixes? Maintenance was not mentioned in the listing - maybe you spoke with the owner? Classified price was $23K and listing said open to offers. 2003 Black, SMG Coupe with personalised plate

With the recent purchase of a 130i I got a spare set of wheels. Was bought about 6 months ago for 2700 from hyperdrive. They are rotary forged, black and no scratches. Apparently 19lbs per wheel - see specs https://www.tsw.com/alloy_wheels_nurburgring.php#wheel-specs Only took them off as I preferred the ACS type 3s. They are mint They still retail for around 700 each new, you probably won't pay that if you negotiate but still... 1600, Pick up in the Mount, or I could drive them up to Auckland. funds will be appropriately used to upgrade the 130...

Had to do this quite often when I was driving the 1km to the train station last year. Tap Tap = Lifter Tick Tick = Injector Knock Knock = Who's there? Mr Big End Bearing.

Brernt's compact conversion might still be available too is you would consider a compact

@Autoglym. well it's the right colour.

I've gone from 241hp at the wheels to 343hp at the wheels with catless downpipes and a dyno tune, everything else still stock. With a new intake and upgraded intercooler would be looking at 380hp-400hp at the wheels. So easy to get big gains out of the N54, just make sure the engine is healthy by doing all the maintenance on time and correctly.

My faith in Bmw techs is Indeed very quickly vanishing 😂

Great thread, such a beautiful, simple car with all the little details seen to. Do you find yourself wanting a little more punch sometimes, or just enjoy it as a sweet handling 'momentum' car?

isnt it funny that the condition of suspension components are basically not a requirement for roadworthiness?

Pics are up. I'll add dry photos to better represent paint. Front is a tad stone chipped, paints overall decent but mildy faded on the roof.