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I think everyone should carry a can of bright yellow roadmarking spraypaint in their car. Every time you see a chassis cracking pothole, stop, and leave a polite message for the NZ Transport Authority sprayed all over the road. I'll leave it to everyone's imagination as to what those messages might say.

ermagerd potholes

Here in Christchurch we just stick road cones in the holes, sometimes more than one.

You travel approx 28meters per second travelling at 100km. In the dark, on rural roads, esp on blind corners where you either can't shift over to avoid that pothole or you could present yourself in a head on, or you don't know that there is a hole behind that corner, well it ain't all easy. Or there could be a car in front preventing that awesome 12 second vision were meant to use out on open roads... I shall post pictures of my road - there is a good reason I don't tend to have visitors, I have to go see them...

It's called expressing an opinion and inviting comments. In saying "if you look where you are going you should see the undulations and holes in the road and avoid them" you are more or less adopting the very attitude that has been alluded to above, i.e. that we should just accept sh*tty roads and get on with it. No one here is expecting every km of our road network to be billiard table smooth - but the consensus does seem to be that our roads are not much better than farm tracks with a bit of bitumen splattered on top. People on this site are driving enthusiasts, so suggesting that they aren't focused on the task at hand when behind the wheel is utter nonsense. How on earth would people notice the state of the roads and thus comment on them if they weren't watching the road surface closely!!?? If you don't like the thread then why not go and add a valueless comment elsewhere.

You would think when there's 10 guys there it wouldn't be too hard. 1 guy in the roller, 1 guy out with his shovel, 1 guy spraying water, 2 guys standing there watching them then another 5 guys chilling in a truck across the road having a smoke.

1st world problems. Now, my 3rd world goat track, that's another story. Even coarse chip would be a god send. f**k you Auckland cuntcil, you buch of useless motherf**king arseholes. feels a little better...

On Trademe http://www.trademe.co.nz/Browse/Listing.aspx?id=754176092 2005 BMW M5 Silverstone II 57,000km NZ New Mint condition Full comprehensive service history 42k THIS WEEK PM me if interested! http://www.trademe.co.nz/Browse/Listing.aspx?id=754176092

The new drive for this season, just got to get it running and tuned now.

SOLD

After a year of eyeing this up it's finally mine. She's a 1996 328i Motorsport coupe, manual, and much more power than my auto E36 325i

Read his showroom post. Upgraded again to an E63 AMG.

Yeah I would much rather an E90 than an E92. While in Mission bay on the weekend a number of E92's went past. Followed by an E90 in Blue. Instantly wanted it. Looked so much more aggressive than the 92's. And what a awesome color. Strange really as I would say the opposite for all previous 3 series models. I also like the new M3 over the M4. Suites well as it has the correct badge.

not a fan of the white

If it's good enough for Ryan Gosling, Tony....

All it would have taken was a sincere apology to say yes they've screwed up once again on the invite or to say no you were never on the intended invite list anyway (and perhaps an explanation as to why or why they lied) but please come and take a look at the car when it's in the showroom and take it for a drive and I'd have been a happy camper.

Would just like to chime in and say I got mine with no tears in the leather about a year ago for less than half the price (lower 'kms' too, until I discovered the odometer was actually in miles..). I'm still thinking I may have got quite the epic deal though. Another thing to list might be the aftermarket clear indicators front and back which get rid of that horrible orange. And you can't go wrong with ACS Type IIs. Good luck with your sale!

Foreign drivers are 10,000x more dangerous than the roads you mean. I drive through central otago atleast 12 times a year and Rented vehicles / Motorhomes are deadly at best. Down here you have to expect a giant pothole, rut, sudden change of camber, cow, sheep, tractor, stock truck, horse or manhole cover. The problems start when all 9 of these factors come into play at once AND its just started to snow. North Island roads are a cake walk.

Not sure, I think I enjoy the standard suspension. I mean yeah it would look great on a nice set of coilovers, but I have had low cars in the past and I just ruined the ride comfort of the car, the improvements in cornering ability sort of made up for it in a way.

Spotted my personal winner of d-bag of the year. The owner of this Nissan lucino coupe cxz*** first got my attention with the flurry of wheel spin at the lights in otahuhu. The spectacularly stuffed suspension as he pogoed toward the motorway was enough warning to give him space. Just as well because the following spin at the princes street on ramp because he went to fast into the corner was ridiculous. But hey at least he got to eat his breakfast while doing 50 along highbrook drive (70 zone). All in the fog this morning. The mind boggles...

Most our back roads don't have a white line on the sides, that costs too much ya see, so they use those savings to spend on aucklands roads I'm sure

C'mon! I promise I won't send the worst ones.

Dreadful. built for drainage, and sometimes not even that. The big difference in country roads between here and the UK is when you have an accident. In the UK you go through a hedge and wreck the car, here you will probably not survive. If you want to see proper roads in a country with low population density, go to France - the Autoroutes are superb. And - I watched the M25 being built in the UK - there's about 3m of coarse tarmac before the top seal is put on in some areas. On our SH system we're lucky if we get 1m. Road repairs are like Jason said - cheap. Sometimes there are more bumps after the repair than before. Visitors are amazed at the white painted wooden fences that we use to separate the road from a sheer drop. I've tried to convince them that the white paint makes the fence stronger, but it's a hard ask... (and this is not on rural roads - try SH2 over the Rimutakas) We desperately need a 4 lane divided highway between Wellington and Auckland, with a sensible speed limit, 120/130km/h in rural areas? I guess before that happens, we'll have to teach the driving population to keep left... Rant over. Jo

Define better:P

Hell BM are the best. 'Nuff said.

HRE 505's. You'll find them on ebay. Had a 5X120 set on my watchlist 1400+ Euro.. Quite like the 5 bladed/pointed star shape on most of these older cars. Thought these BBS's are pretty tidy looking too. You would want 17's eh?

After much deliberation, I decided that the E60 M5 just isn't the right car for me. Yes, it is awe-inspiring at times - mind boggling even. Yes, it's the fastest overall car I've ever driven. Yes, it has all the features I would ever want and more. Yes, I've had some incredibly fun times in the car on the open roads. Yes, nothing quite makes the sound of a V10 - reminiscent of the old Formula One. The car is a technological masterpiece. The car is a proper true race car, and yet you can have all your mates there with you too. It's not these things which made the decision for me. Imagine you have a friend who likes to party every night of the week, and is in fact quite a boring, uninspired and awkward character unless he is out there partying, but after a few drinks he changes into the most fun friend you have ever known. Some of the best nights you've ever had were out partying with this friend, and even though is it exhausting and at times very stressful, the good times mostly outweigh the stresses and late nights. However, there are many nights where you are just simply too tired, grumpy, or just not in the right state of mind for seeing this particular friend, and so you simply stay home and have a quiet one. This is the E60 M5 for me. It is not the right car for my personality. Yes, if you are in the right mood - the car is un-beatable. But it requires you to pay attention to what you are doing 24/7. It is not the kind of car you can hop in, turn on, drive 200meters up the road to the dairy to get a Pie and a can of Coke. It is the kind of car that, unless you are "partying", is really uncomfortable and too involved for my liking on the day-to-day stuff. I've always been a big fan of going for a drive to relax. Driving from A to B while thinking about other things going on in my life. Thinking about my week, planning my weekend, thinking about what I might want to eat for dinner, thinking about who my football team is playing this weekend etc. As I get older and older, I'm finding I enjoy the more simplistic things in life - like allowing me to get back to what I really enjoy, which is a more relaxed driving environment. After owning a few BMWs in a row, it was time to try something different. My grandfather was always an avid Mercedes-Benz fan. He loved the true relaxing approach they have always had, even since his cars back in the 70s. I thought I would give one a go. Obviously coming from an M5, I was not looking for a "performance car" or "the ultimate driving experience", but more something I can live with day-to-day for the next few years without the stresses and frustrations that the E60 brings. This was when I spotted a 2007 Mercedes-Benz E63 AMG. I have always thought this shape looked a little bit aged, as it looked similar for a fairly long period of time (2002-2008). But the subtle changes AMG have made to the front kit, guards, bonnet etc. combined with the colour of this particular one, was the first time I was quite impressed visually by this shape of Mercedes. Most impressive was the instant comfort. The leather is much softer and plush, instead of the hard leather of BMW, the softer air-supported seats of Mercedes was a good first impression. Then you turn the key and listen to the 6.2L V8 fire to life. Wow. So different from the V10 (which sounds terrible at low rpm - but amazing at high rpm). The merc gives itself a little blip of the throttle and burbles into life with mini-backfires and awesome sounding V8 power. After about 15 seconds of driving, you feel at one with the car. Thinking back to the E60, I remember it took me a few weeks to finally get acclimatized to the way it drives, the gearbox / suspension in particular. It was really all I had hoped for. Put the car into D (sports mode), and away you go. Yes - right now you are thinking - WTF - has this guy never driven an automatic before? And admittedly it has been quite some time. My E39 M5 was manual, then the E60 was the whole SMG thing. It was one of the first times I had driven a Merc, and yet it felt like I had owned them all my life. The comfort, the at-peace feeling. Everything felt right, and I hadn't even really touched the accelerator yet. I could tell even before experiencing the performance side of the car, that this was the right car for me. The air suspension seems to absorb all of the road imperfections, making a softer more comfortable ride. As part of the test drive, I reach a nice long straight all of a sudden, so figure this is a good time to see what happens when I push my right foot all the way down to the ground. Wow. I knew these AMG cars were fast in a straight line, but I did not expect this fast. The instant torques from 2000rpm - 7000rpm!! The noise! This all of a sudden is now the fastest car I've ever driven (in a straight line). 518 horsepowers, 630nm torques. Impressive. I throw the car around a bit, yes it is a tiny bit more 'boaty' than the E60 M5. But the AMG isn't renowned for its cornering is it. And with comfort in mind, this was almost ideal. The brakes are just as impressive as the E60 M5, those massive AMG brakes stopping the big heavy car very promptly. I finish the test drive in a state of confusion. How can two "top end" german super-sedans be so different. I spent that evening pondering the pro's and con's. The M5 has better features, like heads up display, active lumbar, garage door opener, plus many adjustable driving styles. The M5 cornered better, flatter, faster. The chassis is tighter, stiffer, more like a race car, and can sounds like a F1 Car at 6000rpm+. The E63 is far more comfortable, easy as anything to drive A to B (infact my mum drove it, but would never EVER try to drive the E60), has incredible power and low rpm torque making it responsive and you don't have to be driving like a dickhead to overtake someone. Gearchanges are smooth and un-noticeable instead of all your passengers flying back and forward each shift. My conclusion is that the M5 is unparalleled on the open country roads, and I do not regret owning the car. I always wanted to own a V10 in my life at one point, and what better car to have it in than the M5. As a sedan race car I love this thing. And although, for me, a very stressful car to own/drive, the experience this car has given me has been extraordinary and educational. Those who know me, know I have a fairly relaxed quiet personality. The E63 seems to match this far better. Ideally one would own both of these awesome machines. The M5 for the road trips, the open roads, the country side. And the E63 for Monday-Friday, traffic, short trips, easy-going-driving. It's hard to say which one is the better car overall. Time will tell.

I reckon I saw them 'touring" south along the road near the Huntly Power station mid week, while I was headin' north. First impression was how big they were, and much like the M5 they looked...

that intake is... unique

Cage is getting there, a few bars yet to come. Incurred a delay with the need to import some specialist T45 MIG welding wire, which then turned out to be out of stock even in the UK.