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As some of you may or may not know dad and I race BMW production saloons here in Christchurch and running at woodfordglen as our home track We have had a lot of success this season and ended it with a huge high this weekend What a epic weekend!!! New 3nz!!!!!! Nz production saloon chapms in ashburton Practise Friday afternoon went really well, better than expected for my first time on the track Saturday morning after a good first race I managed to tag the wall at the end of the race, luckily it did not do to much damage and we were able to fix it for race 2 The rest of the day went well with both dad and myself qualifying for finals day today Today went really really well,I was 3rd on points going into the last race and dad was sitting 4th,i had a awesome last race and managed to pick up 3nz!!!!! Dad was going very well in the last race but unfortunately blew a CV in his car do was left with 1 wheel drive which left him out of contention the track had a lot of drive in it and is a very very fun track to drive on. We are both looking forward to going back again

Very frustrating ringing up about car dealers ads on TradeMe. They keep listings up months after the cars has sold trying to get calls out of the old listing rather than doing the decent thing and take the listing down!! All manor of excuses and BS when you waste your time calling... oh its all trademes fault, car just sold then two weeks later call again, car just sold... etc etc. Any one else noticed this? Top of the list: Buy Right Cars Auto Z Cars

Interesting possible candidates. Does seem kinda problematic though... and the other side of it is how well would they all get a long on camera. Guy Martin is a complete cowboy, very hard to understand too. I like him a lot but I can't see how the BBC would run with him. I sense too pushing him into a show like that would possibly ruin his quirky charm. Jode Kidd, well hardly surprising they want a woman in the mix. She would be ok, but it would change the dynamic of the show completely. Philip Glenister is pretty cool, but from what I've seen he doesn't really know a great deal about cars. He doesn't seem funny either. It all sounds like a lot of hot air really. Next minute they will probably announce the show is on a undetermined hiatus

Hmm i might start asking if they can please please please find me one ASAP as I have the money to buy a car this week!! So after they have rung round all their dealer buddies and find one get it to the yard and ring me back ill have to give them the bad news that ive just bough one from <insert car yard opposite them>....

Common as - trying to get their moneys worth!

My Dad bought a car in March last year off a trademe importer and it is still listed

Every man and his dog is suddenly a boxing expert. I am a Manny fan from day one but Mayweather schooled him. Call it what you want, it wasn't exciting to watch but he learnt how manny fought and picked him off with every chance he had. To someone who doesn't follow boxing and just watched this match (90% of the people crying that the fight was rigged) it did look like manny was in control, but you don't get points for punching the other guys arms. The amount of drunk rednecks at the pub last night yelling at the TV was insane. Educate yourselfs.

Okay so i know some of you guys are into switching stuff on and off and changing things around on your BMW's electrical system etc. resetting gauge clusters. syncronising modules. Software updates. etc etc. Have been doing some reading, but it all seems to be a bit too far above my head, there is a missing link somewhere! Like for example i want to know how does one actually communicate with thier BMW? Both in a hardware and software sence. ADS. MAN. ZCS. etc etc what the? anyone got a link to my first baby picture book? This is a realm of the BMW world i have absolutely no knowledge of! Cheers Andy

Seeing all the various BMWs today at the monthly Sunday meet got me thinking about what project options there are to work from. Rather hypothetical, but I always like to spin ideas around in my head until I get bored and move onto another idea. I'm still most pleased with my Soarers but I feel a void missing without a BMW to tinker with since selling my E36 V8. I suppose these are my options and my brief thoughts: 1 Series E87 - Never been a fan of the styling... quality is typical of an entry level BMW. 3 Series E30 - Do like them a lot, but easy to become massive resto projects depending on condition and spec... 3 Series E36 - Been there and done that, not a fan of their styling anymore or the way they feel on the road. 3 Series E46 - Coupe and Touring are smart looking machines even in non M spec... plenty of potential. I've always thought they have aged very well, I regret not doing my 1UZ V8 conversion in an E46. I've always like the touring E46 shape too, a well balancing looking car, better looking than the sedan and most people go for the coupes from what I've seen. 3 Series E9X - I'n not so much a fan of the bland styling, even on the facelifts, just a bit too uninspired. The interior quality seems less than of the E46s too. 5 Series E34 - As much as I like them, they are pretty dated and do need good overhauls, I've had a 540i and 535i so kinda been there and done that with both so I don't think much is to be gained playing with those again. 5 Series E39 - I did like them at one point, while I like the interior, the exterior doesn't excite me enough... nor does the prospect of various odd issues they like to get depending on their engine and year options. That said if I had a good one I wouldn't be unhappy. 5 Series E60 - I like some of them, the LCI facelifts seem like decent cars, not sold on the interior styling over the E39 interior though, possibly too new 'era' for me with all the I-drive stuff etc, I think they will become quite problematic in the coming years too, but who knows. 7 Series E32/E38 - Great looking cars but too big, fairly complex and not really a fun weekend project car you can take for a good drive - I'm not a chauffeur! 8 Series E31 - As cool as they look, they are complicated aging cars that need a lot of TLC. Not sure I want a big 2 door cruiser either. Having thought about each series, I think that just brings me back to the E46s again. Probably the easiest choice out of the lot, pretty simple cars too, similar to the E36 in many ways which is a car I understand well. Of course they have a few more electrics to get around but other than that seem like a sound choice. Between a coupe or Touring, I think a 6 cylinder touring would be a good base having the thicker axles and 188mm diff from factory. Of course I would be inclined to change the engine to make it fun, but what to run is always the question. While I like the S52/S54 and S62 - sweet engines a with a reliable track record and as good as NA motors can get, they are expensive options. That said it's ideal to have an OEM engine in an OEM car and would add to the value when it comes time to selling. Otherwise I feel there aren't many other BMW engines that interest me, not so keen on the M6X V8s or the M5X engines having seen where they can go wrong. So it leaves a few Toyota engine options out there: 2GR-FE 3.5 V6, same spec as a S50B32 output, but could be mounted further back being a V6. On the flip side I find V6s a bit boring but they are a compact modern 230kw powerhouses so end up being a bit more exciting than your average one. V6s don't sound as good as V8s either which means they are probably a no go for me. 1JZ/2JZ Turbos - Well proven engines with reliability and easy to get more power out of. Obviously the best choice for outright performance but I'm not such a fan on turbocharged engines and don't really want more than 350hp. 1UZ-FE, 4.0 V8, Good engine but a little old now, no vvti or modern features so don't really make enough power without being supercharged or turbocharged. 3UZ-FE 4.3 VVTi V8, The last and best variation of the 1UZ, 4.3L with 320hp/440nm out of the box, reliable as anything and can be had from 2001-201X so still modern engines in the used market. Easy to run a manual gearbox behind one too. 1GZ-FE 5.0 V12 - A motor I've always been interested in but they do need a front sump setup due to the way the oil pump and timing chain hangs down. Not sure this would work in an E46 chassis due to the subframe positions. Most expensive Toyota engine choice too, reaching stock outputs of ~ 330hp/481nm, pretty high scoring for the unique factor, not many quad cam V12s about! Having thought about the above I reckon an E46 touring, 3UZ V8, manual w58 5 speed, some nice M3 suspension bits and an similar style RS4 V8 exhaust with dual mufflers out the back would make for a fun practical machine. From my past experience the trick would be to making it all integrate easily, and making sure it was a good daily driver with all the comforts like A/C retained etc - Factory themed (with a Toyota motor) Another key is to keep an eye on the budget, so easy to over spend if ones not careful!

Breaking Top Gear news: "The BBC has reportedly chosen a “dream team” of presenters for its new version of Top Gear, including former model Jodie Kidd. Life on Mars star Philip Glenister and Channel 4 presenter Guy Martin have also been approached for the new series, according to reports." <ahem> I'm sure I suggested Guy Martin...

Picked up beasty today. A different kind of machine it is. Love it! Parked up next to its Daddio to compare. Needs some audio and sat nav sorted tho

Boxing is sh*t. How someone can claim they are the greatest boxer in the world yet they only pick and choose who they fight and stick to weight classes so they can't be outdone by a more manly man. Put Wladimir Klitschko in front of Mayweather. See who is great after that fight.

hahaha awesome. I love the ones that sit at the green lights even though the traffic has well and truley left. Or honking at them juuuuuuuuuuust before the light youre on turns green by the time they look up (and sh*t themselves) its green, and they think theyve been there for ages.

fishing yesterday

Haha yeah...... That's the 5th one we have bent this season, they are the weakest point in the front end and bend relatively easy

^ I used to buy that stuff, 1 drop was enough to spice a meal very hot, 2 drops and your f*cked.

E21 running a stroker with motorbike carbs, or a nu klass just to be different

Would love a bit of a 'Dummy's Guide to...', even if just to have a theoretical understanding. Watching with interest.

I'm not trying to pick a fight but this shows just exactly why the driving is so dreadful in NZ!....

The part i've been waiting for for 6 weeks finally arrived today. It is a special part made by revshift that replaced the standard rubber guibo in the driveline. It adapts the 96mm/12mm transmission flange (which came on the new getrag260 I bought) to the 78mm/10mm E30 driveshaft. All bolted up in the car: Put in gearbox fluid and coolant. Bolted up the old exhaust (will get a new one made soon). And started her up. Had to fix an exhaust leak and a coolant leak, but once that was sorted it went for it's first drive. Success! No major issues at all. Much rougher with the poly engine and gearbox mounts, but feels great. Also now has drop hats to bring the front down a bit. Few more things to do (including putting the bonnet back on), but we're pretty much there! Stoked

Haha. I think that pics been on the internet for about 30 years.

Ah but will it do skids on 2nd-3rd gear change?

I was the BMWCC of NZ President late 90's early 2000's, no grill badge that I can remember but we did have a metal coloured lapel badge - I still have one! Alan Walker

Those presenters in 'Top Gear' USA, are so cringe worthy.... they're just impossible to watch. It's just even worse that they run a show called Top Gear. Really shows where the BBC executives heads are. America has a lot of good presenters, but it seems certain they didn't go above and beyond to find them for that show.