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Tare weight on the coupe is 1,890kg - so meets the criteria, just. When @jeffbebe is around to bring his E31 850i to the Sunday meet I will try and borrow the coupe M850i so we can do some back-to-back comparison tests photos.

Agree, not at this stage. I just don't have time or desire to deal with the part out and have a rare opportunity to buy a Lancia Integrale H I've been chasing for ages

Update: Thanks for the replies, much appreciated! Took the intake scoop off and moved the air filter out of the way to get better access to the belt and pulleys, and used the screwdriver scope (Thanks @Eagle) and it's definitely the tensioner pulley! The idler pulley seems to be alright. I've ordered one and will fit it when it arrives. I really should've checked them when I did the waterpump/thermostat job.. Cheers guys!

I gave my damaged msport bumper away and it will be used to fix someone elses one. Got a whole bunch of ACS suspension and bodywork parts which included a PFL bumper with ACS addon lip as shown below. I quite like the look but it needs to painted to match my car. Msport bumpers look nice but they just too fragile for the roads here with all the extra under carriage, too low and too weak for me to bother with esp when im going to lower it in the near future.

Original plan always an E34 manual but i never saw any good candidates. I found this E39 528i factory manual and thought id turn my existing wannabe 530i motorsport into eventually an improved version of the actual one. Benefits of this are fairly obvious - M54B30 power. I can retain much of the work and $ spent ive done on my existing car and don't have to do it all again on another unknown car. I like my car colour and don't want to own another silver BMW especially one which has a grey interior (528i has both). Buying the extra motorsport bits shouldn't be hard or expensive given these cars are plentiful and worth jack so it should help keep costs down. The swap seems fairly straight forward. The coding side of it appears relatively easy with my MS43 DME. May be some small pedal issues as they appear to have changed things around in Sept '97. Possibly a little wiring and\or a few plug changes to get the drive by wire working etc with pedals for cruise control etc. Will deal with the issues when i come to them as using early M52 manual setup is a little different to the M54 auto and not properly documented as far as ive looked. Plan is sort of a 3 stage deal given i don't want the car off the road for long periods at a time. 1. Remove 528i gearbox etc and my 530i engine and transmission to fix up some small oil leaks. Fit M-suspension bigger swaybars whilst its out. Fit manual box with all new shifter bushings with E60 shorter shifter and ZHP knob. Replace all driveline and clutch components (apparently the PO has a new clutch with single mass flywheel installed not long ago so i shouldn't have to worry about that part). 2. Sort some upgraded springs and dampeners. Will look into rebuilding my KW coilovers i have here with Koni adjustable inserts but will look at other options if too expensive with the added cert. 3. Black motorsport interior to replace my beige one as most sports seats seem to be black on these. Then lastly put back in what BMW accountants took out - the LSD experience. I will start dismantling the 528i tomorrow to find out what parts i need and will commence work once they arrive. In the mean time im happy enough driving an old 5 series manual again.

Hi Guys, I'm new to this forum and this is my 1st post. We had this BMW for around 5 years and enjoyed it. Now it belongs to my son. It started developing a leak at the back of the engine and dripping on the exhaust causing a lot of smoke. It looks like the leak is coming from the black plastic cover next to the vacuum pump at the back of the engine. I don't know what this plastic cover's function is and how to remove this to check for seals. I have search the internet for any info on this, but came up empty handed. I only see the leak from the right side including the bolt on this cover. It looks like water, to thick for oil, but I'm not sure. It does not leak at the start, only around 10min plus on idle or driving. See pic of my sons car and an online pic as reference for the black plastic cover with the 4 bolts holding it below: Any help would be appreciated. Maybe this post should be under maintenance. Please move this if this is in wrong forum group. Regards, Jacques

130i in urban is about 11.5L/100km. My M5 is about 18-19L on the same route. Overall it's about 9-12L/100km, which is worse than my 535i touring which gets 7-11L/100km. I'd go old 130i or newer 116i, maybe even a Nissan Leaf. Still tempted to sell my 130i. $30 grand on a povo BMW isn't an attractive idea to me. https://www.trademe.co.nz/motors/used-cars/bmw/auction-1865293537.htm?rsqid=8ef907f50ac34f89bf04796781f19a4d

There's a decent bit of eco-guilt mixed in with the fuel cost side of things. Also - it would be nice to get the wife into a F20 which I think would be a good replacement for the Atenza. 130i would make more sense if Ethan got his license sorted and was heading off soon... he could have it (along with the running costs )

S54 /endthread

just sell it and start again , no point putting turbos on a 2.5L when you can already buy a 3L with turbos

I will eventually do upgrades for HP such as turbos etc... just wanted to get an exhaust first

Pete, as a previous owner of a 130i and a current owner of an F20 M135i, i would say its a very tough choice between the two cars. fuel consumption wise, the 130i is more thirsty generally, the turbos on the F20 makes the fuel economy much better especially for urban use. On open roads, both are excellent. my M135i is currently averaging 10.9km/l, the 130i I was getting maybe 8-9km/l for same daily commute type of driving. (gf's 116i gets 13+km/l) The 130i suspension rides very hard/harsh and you really need to go for non RFT and preferably 17 over 18 for best comfort. the F20 is much better and you have the option of comfort/sports settings etc. the 130i is a bargain performance NA straight 6 engine BMW that has an old BMW feel in terms of drive but still relatively newish like the E90/E60 series especially given how cheap they are now, as low as 5k for high mileage and only 10k+ for a nice tidy one. the F20 on the other hand is way way newer, comfort access, much better idrive, bluetooth, navigation, music playback, etc etc. its a really effortless car to drive. (btw, my M135i will be for sale soon if you're interested, i'll even drive it down to you haha!)

What's the urban fuel use like? Been wondering about one of these or even a F20 as a better daily driver than my V8 X5 (15l/100KM!)

$1000USD on an exhaust for a 323i? man, save your money and get a better car

Go M52, purely as M50s are long in the tooth now, and I doubt there are that many nice ones lying around wreckers yards. In regards to wiring, there is a UK guy who made me a table of wiring to go between my old oddball E30 323 sport to an M50 for a paypal'd box of beers. Hit me up if you want his email addy, was very helpful with wiring Car X to engine Y.

M52B28 Motor with ZF Auto Gear box. Comes with full wiring harness, ecus, radiator, engine mounts, alternator plus radiator fan etc Out of a 1997 528i wagon with 160,000km No known issues, but car has been sitting for about a year unstarted. $800 ono - Open to offers Pickup St Johns Auckland. I'll have an engine crane for the next week to assist with loading.

Thought i had a small issue with the older clutch pedals but turns out i could of easily re-used my earlier one instead of buying a new one. The new style clutch master cylinders have a clutch switch mounted on the side of them making the stop obsolete. RealOEM isnt very helpful when it comes to this sort of thing. Brake pedal is a different story as it completely different for the facelift DBW setups. Couldn't find a manual RHD brake pedal but the auto pedal is identical to the manual in regards to shaft shape and position, so just needs the pedal reduced. Do it right and its basically factory in regards to fit and distances, it's just has the foot wielded on the opposite side to the manual version. Completed Tidied up transmission and replaced all shifter bushings, clutch components and rear seals. New hanger bearing and centering sleeve. Looks like CV has been done at some point which i was hoping it would have. Correct ratio 2.93 diff. 2500rpm @ 100kph Turned out my SMF flywheel conversion done by the previous owner was an M20 228mm flywheel conversion (****ing cheap ****) but i managed to score an old (but still plenty of life) DMF from an awesome guy named Kayne Barrie. Waiting on my new 240mm Luk clutch kit then should be good to proceed.