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Where batteries come from ... it’s the new blood diamond.

Or BJ328

I'd rather this at $10k than an e30 at $10k (Though really I'd rather have the e39 540i six speed and $2k worth of maintenance and gas money )

I still have trouble associating $145, 000 with a 1.5 litre 3 cylinder car!

Yellow! They look awesome in yellow.

My E46 was imported from Japan and came with the infamous 2-button Infrared (IR) remote control system. The range of the IR signal is extremely limited and also requires a direct line of sight to the car. After reading through some forum threads combined with some of my own findings it seemed fairly easy to convert from IR to RF. This is a guide to inform you of the basic steps. I’d like to thank Colin from http://bmwgm5.info for giving me some suggestions and helping me along the way to make this work. On cars with infrared control the antenna for the central-locking system (FZV) is incorporated with the receiver into the interior rear view mirror, whereas the radio frequency receiver is part of the antenna amplifier which is installed in the left C-pillar. In both instances the receiver produces a digital signal based on the transmitter command (IR vs. 315/433MHz) and sends it to the GM5 for processing. The GM5 then carries out all remote locking and opening features, along with the DWA arming/disarming functions. The one thing both locking systems have in common is the incoming signal at Pin#49 of the General Module unit (X253, 54-pin, black plug connector). 1) Antenna Amp w/ RF receiver You must replace the antenna amplifier. There are 2 different frequencies used (315 MHz and 433 MHz) which vary from country to country. You must first determine which frequency you want. You could go either way but you probably want to make sure you are in compliance with federal requirements. # 65 25 6 906 074 433 MHz EU # 65 25 6 906 075 315 MHz US/JAP/CAN I found a used 433 MHz Antenna Amp on ebay for about $30. As a side note, you often find the older-style diversity Amp (99-01) featuring an extra co-axial connector for signal quality determination. I do not recommend getting one of these. People who upgrade their business radio later but have the old amp installed often discover degradation in radio reception quality until they also finally decide to replace the amp for a newer one. There are various threads on this issue across the boards if you're interested. 2) Matching Keys (diamond style 3-button key) For this I didn’t go to the dealer but decided to take the DIY route which proved to be a lot cheaper: I ordered two uncut EWS Remote Key 3 Button 433MHZ BMW HU92 key blade including virgin transponder chip and AK90 Key programmer, all for about $140 on ebay. The locksmith finally charged me $40 to cut both keys. You might be able to find an automotive locksmith that can also program the transponder for you. 3) Wiring You need to run your own wiring harness from the Amp (connector X1143) to the GM5 and fuse box behind the glove compartment. In a nutshell: On a sedan, you pop off the left rear seat side bolster and remove the front and back inner door sills to expose the carpet entry points. Then route your new harness alongside the existing one to the front of the car using some zip ties. Parts needed: # 61 13 8 377 072 Universal socket housing, 3 POL. # 61 13 1 393 702 Terminal socket (0.2–0.5 mm2), come in 10-pack 10ft of 2-conductor stranded wire, 20AWG (0.5mm2) 2 scotchlok or quick-splice connectors Cut both strands of your wire to same length and crimp a terminal to each end of the wire, only Pin#1 and #3 are needed. If you are lucky the amp will come with an old snipped off connector plug like mine did which you can reuse and save a bit of money. Important: Disconnect the negative battery lead (ground cable) before tapping into the fuse box and GM5 unit! I am not going into detail on how to locate and gain access to the GM5 or the back of the fuse box as there are plenty instructions available on the web. Using the scotch connectors, tab the wire coming from Pin#1 to the back of Fuse49 (Red/Violet wire). Pin#3 wire gets spliced to the wire at Pin#49 (Blue/Red wire) of plug connector X253 (middle one) at the GM5 module. Be aware, there is another Blue/Red wire running inside the X253 harness, although slightly bigger in diameter. Best is to unplug the X253 from the GM5 and push the actual 54-pin connector out of its black housing to reveal the pin-outs which are all numbered. There is a small white tab securing the connector in its housing which you will need to slide out before. After you identified the correct Pin#49 you can wiggle on the wire and splice into the harness further up. Note: It’s probably a good idea to double-check your wiring to rule out any connectivity issues before putting everything back together. When you connect a meter to Pin#1 and one of the grounded T20 Torx screws of the Amp you should read +12V. Pin#3 should give you a reading of +5V. Check if the +5V drop slightly when pressing any button on the RF key fob, same goes for the IR key. 4) Key Programming I noticed that upon completion of the retrofit you have to switch the ignition on and off briefly for the vehicle's electrical system to recognize the new components. After that you should be able to proceed with the standard BMW syncing procedure for the diamond-shaped key. The IR key will work as well as it should be still connected to the GM5. 5) Retro-fit Coding This retrofit is not coding-relevant! You could add it to the VO of your car if it really matters to you but it will not make a difference in functionality. For the sake of completeness I used NCSExpert and added Option S874A RADIO FREQUENCY 434 MHZ and also removed S875A INFRARED REMOTE CONTROL – it didn’t make a difference at all. All the other components that complete the RF system, such as the rear window antenna, trap circuit and EWS ring around the top of ignition cylinder for inductive charging are already installed by BMW. The electric trunk lock will also work with the new key. Please let me know if you have any suggestions. Thanks

Well this is coming up to 200k on the clock and instead of selling it I decided to give it a facelift and a refresh Decided to replace all bushes, arms and joints in the front and rear suspension. Then into a full groom, just some of the cleaning produces required for the job Start under the bonnet

Ummm not if you like the sound of an ICE and the character of its power delivery. Electric power is just one step further away from what an engaging drivers car is all about imo. They cater for the masses who see cars as a means of transport. The tree huggers are also kept happy. What a sad future.

Would be interested to compare the two vehicle types in the materials that are used. How these materials them self are made and what process used to see what the carbon foot print is of both.It is all good to say the electric car is less pollutant than the petrol but the materials / processes used could far out weigh any gains The i8 has some interesting materials used I believe this was highlighted when reading an article about what special care needs to be taken to these vehicles when they come up for disposal .

I am aware of the operation of electric vehicles. I am not denying they will emit less greenhouse than a diesel My reading of that - there is talk of the resources to produce the battery as being not so attractive. My point. Imagine the resource required if half the worlds fleet switched to battery powered electric. It still seems somewhat backward to me (for the future) to run a petrol (assisted) electric vehicle or a fully electric (battery powered), which in context, has a very limited range. A fuel cell powered electric makes much more sense. yes there is an infrustructure to set up but once its done its done.

I have just had a visit from a Mate of mine, with I think would be the most original & Immaculate M325 in NZ, he has owned it 17 years, it’s NZ new & I think he is the third owner, it has only done 50000klm

Urgh, pre 2012 A4/A6 are shithouse.

The old man is thinking about changing this for a late model A4/A6 wagon... disaster!!

The longest mass-market hybrid around, the 1st gen Prius, had batteries that last 10ish years. Even if you factor in a new battery as costing, say, $10k (they don't cost that much) and your Leaf lasts you 10 years (note the batteries will last longer than that, just with lower range and we're nearly 20 years on in battery technology from the 1st gen Prius... these numbers are guesstimates) factor in $1000/year on maintenance over the cost of the car. You will have saved a lot more than that number in petrol alone over that time period. My point was not that you'd have to replace an engine over a car's lifetime. I was simply suggesting that it isn't too different in scope, with the major difference that replacing an engine doesn't really jack up the value or your car, whereas replacing an old battery with a brand new one does jack up the value of an EV. I think folks are really missing the economics here. Electricity is vastly cheaper than petrol, in every sense. Even dirty electricity is cleaner than petrol when it comes to EVs. It costs maybe 30% of the petrol cost. Figure out how much you spend on fuel+maintenance. EVs cost 30% your fuel bills and your only maintenance items are tyers and breaks. It doesn't compare.

Almost everything you'd want to know from a NZ context is contained here: https://samholford.github.io/leafguide/ If you have any questions it doesn't address, I can try to address for you, just ask.

Bah,the research is flawed- it doesn't need to be either/or... I'll take a 3.0d X5 and an i8, thanks

I dunno, if I had it, I'd pay that kind of money for a Tesla.

Like most things they improve as time goes on the battery tech still has a long way to go before a reasonable range can be obtained from these vehicles Having the necessary infrastructure in place would go a long way to help also most places in NZ are not to far from one another. As for the renewable energy part not so sure would some one like to define what it means?.

Would mainstream media print anything to the contray? Would 'researchers' who are likely in the govt pocket come up with different results that don't tow the official line on climate change? It would be more environmentally friendly to run my current 15 year old car for another 5-7 years which returns 8.5l/100km highway than to increase/encourage consumerism and drop $40-50k on an EV for a five year cycle. Just more wealthy, white western liberals telling us what we need to do as a way of virtue signalling to feed their false moral conscience when it comes to enviro/social issues. They will happily guilt trip the majority of the population on green issues while they have no dramas shitting into clean drinking water, using excessive amounts of water (three showers/day, two laundry cycles/day, watering their garden on their high six figure - seven figure quarter acre section), daily consumption of meat and dairy (demand for intensive farming), two or more late/new vehicles per household, jet setting on holiday every 6 mth - 1 year etc. These clowns are the epitome of hypocrisy and fail to put their money where their mouth is, but expects everyone else to tow their line.

Wow very nice e34. Although that car in the stanceworks pic would handle like a wheel barrow. Looks like it's setup for a nascar race?

Probably a mix of the work done and the comparison with daily driving a Kia 4wd slug for a few months.

I never knew, thanks for that.

Aero kit option adds to std bumpers , came out before msport bumpers

the V12 will give you better fuel economy!

All these guys were great; @BM WORLD I've bought a few things from Brent - great as always. @needsprings - doors @gjm - towbar @EUROHO - body panels @Olaf - springs and MD headdeck @francoisv - e36 shell All I can remember for now.

@EURO V12 sorry to hear that, man. come on crew, who's gonna scoop this legendary 5er up, and give it some TLC?