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In reply to the original question of E61 or E91? ... The bottom line: Neither model are that different in either size or performance (that is with any engine over 3L) except in one area - The far superior ride quality of the 5 series Touring on Sport suspension. To elaborate: I own both the E61 and E91, both 3L diesel and ask myself this question a lot (!) Which should I sell? Btw, I also own an E46 Touring (NZ new 328i SE with MSport trim and seats and the perfect standard suspension) and have had it for 12 years and neither car is a great improvement over it. Size: I've been over each of them with tape measures and there are very surprising results. Despite what several people have said above about the 5er being huge cars, weirdly they are in fact almost identical in every external dimension except length. Yes, it's true. Even the interior space. Exterior: E61 is only 17mm wider and 317mm longer. Yep only 17mm mirror to mirror. The length appears as 100mm extra wheelbase and 100mm front and rear overhang. Interior: The front elbow room (door armrest to door armrest) is 5mm more in the E61, B pillar to B pillar is 20mm more. Back seat width is only 30mm more in the 5 series but the backseat to front-seat distance is exactly the same with my driving position in each. Yes exactly same. THE big difference is in the boot space. The E61 has 200mm more length and because of the rear air-springs sitting under-floor rather than creating wide strut towers, the width is 100mm greater at max and min widths but also the widest part is squarer. Engines and gearboxes: I have essentially same engine in each (160KW vs 170KW, both with 500Nm) and same gearboxes. The E61 was UK market so came with dpf in exhaust. This was deleted, so while the 3 series was marginally better performance when new (lighter), now the 2 are pretty much identical in performance. My E91 is NZ New and like all the NZ new diesels it was built to Euro3 spec so has no dpf (bonus!). The 5 series really was built as a higher grade car. Trim, solidity, interior details, door heft etc. but the main area that all this shows itself is the suspension and chassis. In my experience, which is mirrored in other reports, the 3 series is far better on standard suspension (both the E46 and E9x). On Sport suspension the ride becomes way too harsh and fidgety on NZ roads. Motorways are fab, but anything else? No way. However the 5 series Touring is the opposite. The standard suspension is great but the Sport suspension has all the tightness, response and control while at the same time being the best overall ride of any car I've owned (there's been a few!). I have 19" wheels with 255/275 tyres and even catseyes on the m'way hardly cause a murmur. I can't personally speak for the E60 sedan because it has a standard rear spring, but I do know the E61's Sport-spec air-springs are superb. The E61 can lack feel through the wheel but the steering is well weighted and precise. As a commuter, the E61 wins all the way. It's just far more relaxing when you want it to be. Stuck or cruising in traffic it just feels nicer. As a nip and duck city car though the E91 is super nice. It feels way more 'darty' and zippy. Of the engine options I'd def recommend searching out a diesel - the most reliable of the engines. The grunt and ease is astonishing in itself but the fuel economy is crazy. I get 6L/100k easily on the open road, and overall combined with urban and city hills etc it averages 7-8L/100. Crazy for a car whose midrange punch-in-the-back feels like a sports bike when overtaking. I also ride a TL1000R bike and while it def can't really be compared in outright power terms both the 530D & 330D are the closest I've felt on the open road to the LOW REV ease of overtaking that big bikes have.

29 September 2018. 171204kms WoF. Passed with flying colours. Kurt at VTNZ Adelaide Road is a Bimmer-head as well, we talked about his e39 540i ///M. Next stop: new MBI, as the current one expires on Monday. That'll be my BMW Car Club NZ annual membership paying for itself ?

I think the next thing you need to buy is a phone/camera with auto stabilizer

Hi guys, I have been a Bimmersporter for a long time but not a regular contributor. I have a long history of BMW ownership - but despite a stint with a E34 535is and a joint ownership of a X3 with my wife, all of my BMW's have been coupes. 10 years ago two of my close friends concurrently owned E39 M5's in Lemans Blue. Their ownership piqued my interest. Currently living in the USA, I decided I'd finally pull the trigger on a E39 M5 purchase. I have been looking for 6 months - seeking ideally a face-lifted Lemans Blue example. Despite 10,000 E39 M5's being sold here (versus 30-35 in NZ), and a 1,000 sold in that hue, I couldn't find one that fulfilled my criteria. The market has gone a little crazy for these cars, and believe me there are ample, baggy examples with inter-galactic mileage that are struggling to find new homes. Decent ones are getting expensive. I finally did a deal on a very rare car - a July 2002 example in Bluewater Metallic - the 2nd rarest colour for the E39 M5 (83 made for the USA and 160 global) (they sold nearly 7,000 global in carbon black). It was delivered with black Ostrich sports leather (05SW) and Titanium trim. it was sold new with Dinan S1 modifications. It is a very quick car - and has a sensational Dinan exhaust note. Probably one of a handful in this colour with Dinan S1 specifications.

Interesting what passes for a car these days.

Wow that is an ugly car for 14k

29 Sept 2018. 258,046kms I've been reading/researching, driving it a little. Accumulating parts. Today: replaced hood (bonnet) gas spring (OEM Febi Stabilus) replaced hood (bonnet) badge and grommets (genuine BMW) Easy, straightforward jobs for the afternoon.

Thanks for the feedback, will definitely consider for my stable. The random pads my cars came with are filthy bastards.

There is only one in NZ in that colour, so yup it's the one and the same. I wonder what they did to justify the $50 price hike? That's one expensive spit and polish to put it on the yard.

Hi there name's Jason. Have owned BMW's for about 6 months now, started off with a cheap and tidy 94 e34 525i auto am now on my 2nd one which is a 96 e36 328i NZ new Msport coupe. Needs a bit of a tidy up but I'm slowly working on bringing it back up to scratch. Do have some mods planned but nothing set in stone yet. Here's one of the most recent photos, about 15 minutes after I changed out my style 138's for a set of staggered 68's. Cheers.

Oh, and impressions of the Hawk Performance HPS, now I've done a few kms (1,038), and some touring.... @GorGasm you were asking previously. I'm happy with them. I think the car stops shorter (when I need to), has more modulation, doesn't take much heat to get working. Not the initial HARD BITE of OEM BMW pads. Much lower dusting, which is a bonus. But if you're needing serious retardation and are late braking before a bend, these are good in my estimation. So, in balance, I like them and am happy with them. They have much better feel than Akebono Euros on my e46; the Akebonos on my e46 take a lot longer to stop when they're cold, lack bite, have plenty of modulation, though don't shorten stopping distance. I'd probably put HPS on my e46 if the Akebonos ever wear out! UPDATE: Jan 2024 I did put Hawk HPS on the e46 in Jan 2023. I'm really impressed with HPS on both cars, when stopping's the requirement they pull you up short. Low dust - less than half that of OE. HPS also on my e30. I'm sold.

I would think a collector would look straight past this car. Especially at that price. That's a numbers matching unrestored price.

If it was truly a Man's world; Tank ownership would be so much more accessible than it is!

Having a blast down south. I did het something that took a wee bit of paint off the lower bumper around the air intake, and picked up a bit of curb rash on the one rim...will just do one big claim and recon when we get back to Auckland. We have both the 6-er and the Tiguan on the road trip, and the 6-er is by far the more comfortable of the two ? Fuel economy aint too bad either at 10l/100km.

I'd do more than 455km in one day with a car like that if I felt like wasting that type of money for a bit of fun

Some more photos

? I know!!! Like I said - M5 USA style!!! Moon roofs as standard too.. The rear diffuser is factory - unless different to Euro spec cars... but mine is the same as others here... a mate of mine has a Silverstone example here (Bluewater was the replacement colour) and the diffusers are identical... apart from the Dinan parts and the chromies - the rest is factory

So now that I have owned my 335i for 2 weeks I am already in search of more power but before I do that I felt it was pertinent to address some of the N54's short comings. First and foremost in my mind anyway is the PCV system. The internet says that the PCV valve on the N54 is average at best and in some cases downright useless especially when boost levels are raised. This is also apparently a big contributor to the carbon build on the inlet valves which rob power reduce throttle response and effect fuel economy. With all that said I decide that for the price of an upgraded PCV valve and an Oil Catch Can it was cheapish insurance. The PCV Valve is made by RB turbo in the USA http://www.rbturbo.com/products/accessories/rbpcv Shipping was $10 USD and it arrived 6 days after ordering it. The Oil Catch Can is made by Mishimoto and I bought this along with some M3 control arms from FCP Euro https://www.fcpeuro.com/products/bmw-black-baffled-oil-catch-can-mishimoto-mmbcc-n54-06cbe not sure on shipping as it was part of a bigger order. The yanks say that with an upgraded PCV the need for a catch can is less. That said I chose to do both because I am OCD and think that DI engines need super clean inlet systems. Your make think otherwise and opinions are like arseholes; everyone has one. Fitting was pretty straight forward and it took my just over 2 hours with a few breaks for beer, sore back and a chat with the Hot chick who rides a horse on my property. The images below will show the main points you have to be aware of. I would say that if can do basic mechanical work this is well within your capabilities. There are a few videos on YouTube showing how to remove the cabin filter assembly but you start off with the cable wire harness. Pull up on the front tabs then remove, then use a small screwdriver and remove the tray from the main panel. I left my cable in the tray but the internet says to remove the tray. There is one cable left and it slots out the same way tray does, I found it easier to just remove the cable and leave the clip unit attached to the panel. The main panel is held on by 8mm bolts, 2 fine thread on the sides and 6 course thread on the centre section. You also need to remove the covers for the Brake unit and whatever it covers n the left side, these are held on with clips and toggles there are also a couple of toggles for the main panel in this area as well. There are also a couple of sensors on each side of the main tray remove them by unclipping and twisting out and lay then in the side gutters of the engine. Once bolts and sensors are removed just wiggle the panel out toward you and slightly upwmards. When its out it will look like this. Note the cabin panel filter comes out first then the main panel. Next is the engine cover there are 4 5mm allen bolts, once these are out the engine cover slide forward under the cables. Next I replaced the PCV Valve, that's it circled in red. Use a 13mm spanner to get it off. The internet says that removing the rear fuel pipe makes this much easier, I would have to agree. It also makes it easier to get the flapper valve (next to it on the left off as well. The fuel is under pressure so you will get around 15-20 ml leak out so wait until the engine has cooled down before doing this. I then removed the flapper valve This has somewhat fiddly clip but be gentle as you need to reuse this part. The clip is best attacked with a couple of small flat head screw drivers. note the rear fuel rail is removed do not use excessive torque when reinstalling; it nips up tight with very little torque. Here is a top down of the PCV valve. This can be pulled out with a pair of long nosed pliers. Here are the two PCV valves the RB on the left and the stock unit on the right. Note the sock unit has threads but but it is just a push fit. To fit the new PCV valve insert it into the housing and then screw it back in. Note there is a big O ring that in this case had stayed in the engine cover housing. Pull it out fit it to the screw in housing. if you leave it in the engine cover it will be a pain in the butt to screw it back in. Once this back in and tight the PCV valve upgrade is done. The flapper valve assembly needs to separated from the attached tube. Be careful; I recommend using a hairdryer or heat gun to make the plastic pliable so it pulls off easily. Once you have done this replace the flapper valve back on the fitting on the engine cover. The catch can hoses can now be fitted. The 180 degree hose is the outlet and it gets attached to the other side of the flapper valve hose port that was removed. Route the hoses to the front of the engine bay as per the photos further down. This is how the two hoses will look when when fitted to the ports that were bridged by the flapper valve hose. Next screw the Oil Catch Can to the bracket with the supplied 2mm allen bolts and attach the bracket to the power steering reservoir. Now you can push the hoses on; the 90 degree hose goes to port marked out and the straight hose that is attached to the flapper valve goes to port marked in. There is no need to retaining clips as this whole unit is under vacuum not pressure. Put the engine cover back and dont drop a 5mm bolt into the engine compartment never to be found again. Fit the cabin filter panels back in place. fit the wiring harness tray and the side covers for the brake unit etc and your done. It should look a bit like this. Next up is the intake port/valve media blast and by then the downpipes, intercooler and charge pipe should have arrived. It will also have the M3 front control arms installed along with some Koni Yellows.

that Sony unit was also used for nz new e36s . Very good deck with one of the best FM tuners regardless of year. I had no issues with mine and used it as the basis for a phoenix gold / Boston acoustics system.. They will run most Sony bus cd stackers without issue and sound is very clean via the four RCA's out. I'd ditch the factory amp and go small footprint class d amp such as PPI / Soundstream and replace the Nokia speakers with some nice 5.25 speakers behind the factory grills. Ski pass sub also works well on e30s if you have the fixed or armrest back seat. .