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Take weight out of the car, forget to take weight off the driver....

Installed a brand new expansion tank this morning, along with new hoses that connect to it (e.g. tank to auxiliary water pump etc.). Think that concludes my entire cooling system overhaul now.. except for the fan clutch, which is still fine. Peace of mind.. and feels good to be coolant-leak-free. Driving to Coromandel area for the weekend so will get a good feel for the new rear S001's then. Liking them so far!

You got caught speeding. Pay the fine.

I may be in the wrong place... but what a car!

Got the two S001 rear tyres today. Haven't taken it for a 'proper' drive it but definitely feels better than my 9 year old, side-wall-cracked RE050a. Acceleration seems smoother / no unnecessary loss of traction, especially during turns. Also finding them fairly quiet and 'flat' - previous tyres were worn out unevenly causing them to be slightly bumpy at slower speeds.

Back together and the engine is now running beautifully after a stuttery start... Still need to do some painting in the engine bay but it'll require some careful masking so haven't got round to it yet. The engine cover needs repainting as well, I tried to cure it in situ last time and it just didn't work as the sound deadening rubbed on it before the paint had properly cured. Then the strut bar can go back on. All up this job took a lot of man hours and that was with help from Martin. Now that I've done it once I could do it again in half the time... But I really don't want to!

I recall, if they weren't fitted then it doesn't apply. Best to check the current LVV page on cats & emissions though. That said, with engine conversions they can get a little OCD... when I cert'ed my 1UZ V8 in the E36 the guy didn't bother as it had new cats and was running the stock computer tune so he said it would be running pretty cleanly.

They probably just want to check the EGR hasn't been blanked off... not applicable in your case. That, or it's just a exhaust gas test. Best you check with a cert issuer!

Looking good man. Always a good feeling to have a completely fresh cooling system. Be keen so see what the tyres are like, my 540 still has the Nexens that I brought it with, only reason I havnt changed them is they were all new lol. I found the Falkens to be awsome on these cars

Thank you. Nice to know there are other BMW enthusiasts who also have an interest in photography on this forum. My gear is all very beginner spec. My parents bought a Nikon in the mid 2000's for when we went to the South Island the first time. In the last year I kind of re-discovered the camera which was sitting unused and started learning how to take photos with the manual mode, it's amazing what you can do with even such a basic DSLR. I'd really appreciate any tips or even opinions on shooting cars or whatever. Gear: - Nikon D40x (bought around 2005 iirc) - 18-55mm DX lens that came with the camera. - Some cheap old tripod for night photography. By the way do you have a Flickr or anything?

Some nice photos on your Flickr. Plenty of photo nuts (me included) who would be more than happy to share and discuss. What gear are you using? I like the shot of your 520 interior lit by afternoon/morning sunlight. And the shot of the pier out to the ocean

My E38 is longer than my Hiace, and its just the SWB. I struggle fitting the hiace into holes some times LWB is madness if you work and/or play in a city

Good condition. Came out of a 5 speed conversion and was working well at the time. I have robbed the bellhousing from it, but otherwise complete with torque converter and flex plate. Need it gone or it's off the the scrappers - $50, pick up Manurewa. Thanks - Richard

Things people lie about in Motorsport. Vehicles weight. Vehicles power. Build cost. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Delighted to receive my new steering rack today and hope to get it in ASAP because the steering feels sloppy after the suspension upgrade. After oodles of research I decided not to go with the quickest rack available (Z3) because a lot of people (but certainly not all) feel the result is a little too twitchy. That rack is 19% tighter than my stock one, the E46 Compact rack I've just received is 11% tighter than my current one so hopefully a perfect compromise and the reports out of the UK are that it's a fabulous upgrade. I paid £55 and that included lots of high resolution photos and I was allowed to choose a clean low mileage one (27k miles) that had no front end damage... not bad considering they're hundreds and hundreds (and hundreds) of dollars over here. Indeed it is very clean and in great condition overall, the boots hardly seem used (I don't need the arms but they came included). Will probably order a new reservoir (because it has a non-serviceable filter in it) and gets some hoses made up before I shove it all in (or more likely talk to SJ about it!).

Hoist 1 out of 2 up in the shed. E30 been the first one up of course. Always wanted a hoist.

Yeah I read that somewhere too.. though not sure why servicing it can cause it to fail. Not servicing it can also cause it to fail Hey, I don't believe the torque converter was flushed - I didn't ask for it. So yeah, there is still some old oil left, whatever was in the TC and probably the coolers etc. The transmission oil is fairly expensive as well - makes doing a full flush cost a bit more than I'd want! In other news: Going to go in to replace both my rear tyres the coming week (hopefully) - with Bridgestone Potenza S001's. My current rears are 255/40/r17 - was going to ask whether it would be silly to fit 265/35/r17 instead. I like wider tyres.. Also need to get myself a good jack + stands to do some DIY at home. Previously used a friend's hoist. Order a waterpump + BMW coolant (to replace the green sh*t I have in there at the moment) - within the next 2 weeks Order a Vanos oil line, for the oil leak there - within the next 2 weeks Sort out my windscreen washer pumps. The plastic hose going from the pump to the washer became brittle and broke. Need to hook up some new hoses between those points now. Though, saw that the damn fender liners have been riveted back on, so will need to pull those out before I can reach the pump. Contemplating whether to replace my front left tyre as well, which I took from my spare. Has 7mm+ tread but is like 5 years old.

Yeah, that m20 valve tap.... can hear it for miles lol..