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Hey Team Just a small update. Did a little road trip up to Auckland over the weekend and picked up a 2nd hand set of XYZ 6pot 330mm brakes. Thanks to Raymond for giving me a great deal. But the high light of my trip was when i went to buy some fruit for the trip home around Greenlane. Saw this beast that caught my eye. I'd have to say the mintest 750i possibly in NZ. I was lucky enough to catch the owner while putting his grocery's in the boot. Donny is his name, brought this back in 96 brand NEW! at $270,000 haggled down from $300,000 WTF. has all the bells and whistles as he got to pick what add ons he wanted. Having AC Schnitzer body kit and 18inch mags made it look stunning. Custom two tone leather, T.V , Phone Sunroof etc. And heres the kicker for a 21 year old car Donny's only done 90,000kms in it. Had a good old yarn with him and took some pictures. I said this will probably be the only time i would see this. Bloody awesome

I see you have met our resident Forum Troll and made friends. How nice. Don't feed him, it only encourages... otherwise, "Ron gunna Ron". Be warned it may take a while for him to realise you are serious now he is on a roll. He is capable of sharing genuinely useful information and ideas (no really) if you are prepared to stop being butthurt and engage intelligently with him. He may even draw you a spreadsheet! Good luck.

Just what long weekends are for . . . 2013 F20 M135i 315bhp of fun

Drove it - New Plymouth to Hamilton .. washed it... as you do...

I recently purchased @Aphexic's E39 540i. Overall it's in pretty good condition, with a tonne of service history dating back to 2009. This thing has had some money spent on it over the years. The car has just ticked over 200,000 km's. Here's some photos of it in it's new home. Things I'm intending to do as time and money allows: OEM Msport style 66 wheels (hurry up and post them @oldskool ? ) New tires: Potenza RE003 235/45/R17 Front and RE050A 255/40/R17 on the rear. Bulbs: Angel eye bulbs and H7 low beam bulbs Thermostat and coolant. Has had cooling system overhaul at 180,000 but thermostat seems to be all over the shop. Chain guides and timing chain + waterpump. Thrust arm bushings - has a strong vibration around 90+ km/h MAF - randomly when stopping at an intersection or lights it stalls and today it was hunting like it had a vacuume leak but then later on it idles perfectly. Tow bar Drivers door seal new water jet hoses

I originally missed out on buying this Touring when it came up for sale in October (and settled for this instead). It sold within a couple of hours of it being listed on Trademe to a friend of the seller, despite the seller promising me the car was mine after I had negotiated to buy it sight unseen... To my surprise it came back up for sale on Trademe just before Christmas. Once again I pounced, and this time I was successful in acquiring it. So, the car: NZ New E46 330i Motorsport Touring (1 of 4 NZ New examples so I am told). Sapphire Black. 207km. Facelift. Leather electric seats. No mods other than the TSW Valencia wheels (great fitment but not my taste...will be changed in due course). The seller had mentioned that the shocks were due for replacement, and this was confirmed on the first Auckland to Coromandel drive over the new year break. Compared to my lower km E46 325i MSport, the car lacked dampening and felt considerably harsher (partially due to the 18" wheel/tyre combination). A set of adjustable Koni Sport shocks have been ordered to tighten things up and provide rebound adjustability if and when so desired. After that, a set of Style 68's or other OEM BMW wheels will replace the TSW's. Cosmetically the car is in great condition given the mileage. I have started a deep leather clean and condition on the interior (Pears soap method) which is lifting an unbelievable amount of grime from the leather. A time consuming process, but ultimately worth it!

Did a trial fitment of a set of Ergen Headers which are fabricated for M60/62 or S62 E30. The intention is to fit them to 8M3 in place of the restrictive factory headers. Our spare S62 had the privilege of posing next to 8M3 with the Ergen headers on.

Hi, James is my name, originally from Wellington but now in Palmy. currently have an E60 525i, but this week my E46 318ci will be arriving.

In excellent condition, with zero kerbing on them. They were recently powder coated and look great. First photos are of actual wheels on my car, others are just of what they look like on different vehicles. Feel free to message me offers. Looking at around the $1000ish.

N46, like most engines, have some issues. High oil consumption is often due to use of lower quality motor oil - BMW recommended oil must be used or valve stem seals and piston rings suffer. Vibration can be reduced or solved through Vanos overhaul and clean. Engine noise relating to timing chain tensioner or stretched timing chain - this can be disastrous. Requires attention at least every 100,000 km. Leaking valve cover gasket can need changing as often as every 50,000 km. The vacuum pump can also need changing. Check any service history you get with the car, and sort these things first.

I’ve got money set aside for the rocker cover.. I know they need replacing generally around the kms the car I’ve bought is at.

Which engine does your car have? If the M43TU, there's not much that can be done. Even forced induction is limited in scope because of the engine design - it's intended to be economical. (To be honest, for a commuting car this is probably close to perfect.) The N42 may respond a little better; I know very little about them. However, neither has 150hp. Perhaps yours is a later model with the N46 engine? An ECU remap, cold air intake and cat-back performance exhaust could add 10Hp, but is a lot of work for not much gain. Supercharging is expensive, but could lift power output to 200-230hp.

Hi James & welcome on board, check the Wellington section of meetings, as we are organising a run up to the Shannon car show, we could meet you there

Don't forget engine management systems. If you're going to get up to 600hp then a lot of that is going to be as a result of compressed air so you'll need a sophisticated engine management system that has boost management with infinitely variable ramp settings and fine wastegate control. Think about how you're going to manage traction and launch control as well. Water injection should be considered to help eliminate detonation. Intercooler efficiency and auxiliary cooling for that are also worth thinking about, it's going to get real hot under there at these levels and you need to maintain density. I have no idea about the engine itself but I agree with recent comments; make sure all the loaded elements are forged and all the friction elements are coated, use the highest grade fixtures, gaskets and rings available. Can you bore or stroke these? That might actually be a good way to start if you can. However you proceed I'd like to see it.

It’s a great drive, would be the right car for it

Life time warranty also.

I plan to do this properly and focus on the whole package not just the power output. The 520NM is the conservative figure set my Getrag. However that figure is off what a company website says that doesnt want to be liable for miss leading or miss representing its product. So instead they under rate it. Im sure no one at bmw would say the n54 is rated for 700whp but it can certainly do it. i will upgrade the TCU software which I have already done and I’ll be getting SSP gaskets, filter and clutch pack. The gearbox is identical to the new M3 and M4 and can handle there power output.... anyway this build won’t be rushed will be done properly with no short cuts!!

In all honesty they weren’t stupid mind dumbing questions, I was merely after advice and pointers in the right direction due to tuning not being my strong point, and your we’re just being a patronising unhelpful arse hole. You do that and all the best. Some ppl here have helped but other forums have been so much more. It’s a shame, I thought forums are meant to bring people together who share the same passion, obviously not this one.

Hi, what brand and size are the tyres ? Will these fit over E36 M3 brakes ?

If you’re not going to be helpful, f**k off. Tbh you come across as a middle aged prick, fed up of asking this forum for advice if some of you are going to be no help or give me pointless and unecessary advice.

This project is finally back on track. Found some time over the Xmas break to move things along. Need to introduce the JBE and all E92 M3 wiring to give seamless integration. Using existing plugs and wiring wherever possible this is well under way thanks to the effort/time put in by James. The pics can do the talking.

at which point wouldn't you be better off buying an M3 of a later generation? unless you have a love affair with you particular car.

600hp daily? Have you ever driven a 600hp car? Maybe daily means it needs to last for a day? Before pistons come out of the sump plug, or the car comes out of a ditch?

buy a spare engine , would be cheaper ,

I'm implying that you won't get a guarantee of continuing service from the vehicle with no issues. I would however recommend BM Workshop Botany or Grey Lynn for any repair work you may need to have done. Even BMW only guaranteed the vehicle for 2 years from new and the dealers or local distributors gave it a further year in most countries. Something could sh*t it self at any time without warning. You could try buying a mechanical warranty so long as it hasn't been and isn't going to be modified to minimize future expense on component failures. You must also consider the age of the vehicle now and look at preventative maintenance , especially the cooling system and service the DCT and diff.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brian_Tamaki

There is no such person or business that could give you that guarantee. If you find one , let me know and I'll divert all my worldly goods and prayers to them

A bit slow due to lack of funds. I need to buy adjustable camber plates and one more front control arm and the front end can be installed. Rear end is all installed. Engine bay has been modified and painted. While I wait for money to buy parts I gave my wifes car a full respray.