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Hi Guys, Thought I would say hi and introduce myself. I’ve been a lurker on here for a few years, and after a long hunt I finally managed to find a nice M3 to buy around 15 months ago, and been enjoying it as a weekend car ever since!

I’ll flip this one around on you: People driving with rear fog lights on when there is no fog so it’s difficult to see when they hit the brakes.

Needs a manual conversion

Got a VDO cluster. Want a rev counter. And I need to eliminate the dry joint that brings up brake pad warning light. And I guess it's the right time to sort out the SI board. So now to research cluster refurbishment, and how to change it all over. And get an analogue clock/heater control surround. PS: I suppose I should replace the odometer gears and cluster lights while I'm in there.

Still available from dealers for around $140

Yeah. For those familiar with Cambridge, I saw a highway patrol at the start of the 50kmh zone on Cambridge Rd one foggy morning (coming into Cambridge from Te Awamutu, common/easy spot for them to sit and catch people going over 50kmh). I pulled over and asked him why he wasn't worried about people driving at open road speeds with no headlights on in heavy fog, and pointed out a couple of cars going past with no lights on. He spun some bullshit about people speeding in urban areas. And people wonder why the standard of driving is f**ked in this country.

Idiots driving in fog, with NO lights on. I'm not even asking for you to be lit up light a Christmas tree with every single bulb possible lit up, all I would like is just some small inkling of brightness so I can see your silver econobox coming for a little bit further than 20metres away from the intersection. Even a side light would be a start - or an interior light, I don't care, just something, please. Luckily it's the school holidays at the moment, so there is much reduced traffic around in the mornings and as a result there was not the usual chaos caused by these dumbasses having an accident on a crowded road network. Did make it seem even weirder in the fog though, was like some post-apocalyptic dystopian future.

Each to their own, taste is always a matter of personal opinion. Whilst neither car is to my cup of tea, I can understand the desire to modify. The fact that the X5 is painted not wrapped is outstanding!!

Famous around the world for the car that appeared and used in our music video for Antiform - Crash. Big thanks to HellBM for that!

Date: 12 June 2019 Distance: 259342kms 1. Engine New engine mounts, oil filter housing gasket, sump cleaned inside and out (found bolts reinstalled), and new gasket. Oil filter and fresh oil. [edit:] 5W30 synthetic. The lifters in M40 respond well to the modern blend. Also replaced the two drive belts. 2. Suspension Front: Installed freshly painted 20mm front ARB, with new bushes. Assembled and installed 51mm strut housings with all new hardware (upper spring perches, and strut collars excepted), H&R Sport Springs, Koni Sport 8641-1210 strut inserts, new bellows kit and iS bump stops. [Edit: also new wheel bearings and associated hardware]. Rear: Installed freshly painted 14.5mm rear ARB with new bushes. Installed H&R sport springs, Koni Sport 80-8522 shocks with new top mounts. 3. Front Brakes Installed Vented rotors (Zimmermann Sport X-drilled Z coat rotors, rebuilt Girling calipers, Hawk Performance HPS pads, ATE hoses. Bled brake system rear to front. 4. Steering Wheel. Sport (also called SE) steering wheel installed. I just hadn't got there. 5. Aligned. It was aligned again, iS/m-technic specs. Jon & Auto38 did the hard work, with customary efficiency and precision, and updates. Report: Initial impressions: I collected it on Thursday at the end of the work day. All the slop in the steering is gone. It feels a bit lower (30mm for the H&R's). Jon cautioned me the the M40's sump is now closer to the road surface. I think a sump guard may be a wise precaution for touring. The setup is firm, yet comfortable. It's like a go-kart, compared with how it was previously. Big grins. Noted I may need to reduce tyre pressures; I was previously running higher to counteract the baggy suspension. I was initially worried that the tyres weren't up for it. This was proved to be wrong. Saturday morning I was out on the road at 0600, bedding in the rotors and pads. Zimmermann call for braking from 100 to 50 km/h over 3 seconds, cool for 3 mins; repeat 15 times. Then do heavier stops of 100-25 kmh over 3 seconds, cool three minutes, repeat 15 times. A saturday morning is a reasonable time with less traffic, slow lane on motorway, check mirrors, hazards on, brake. Rinse and repeat. After 90 mins of driving (to Te Marua, then Ngauranga, then Paremata, Johnsonville, back to town), a Nada Bakery pie was needed to settle my now-queasy stomach. The Brakes were feeling better. The Z-coat takes a while to wear in. I figured I hadn't finished the pad bed-in, but that would happen later on the Rimutaka Hill road. I sorted myself out, packed the car, and headed out to Melling BP and brimmed the tank with 98. A bloke in a people mover asked me if it was for sale. Told me had 3 other BMWs; I said "search for BMW Club NZ, we're off on a run. Join us!". I met up with the crew for the Wairarapa & Castlepoint run. The run over the Rimutakas was a joy. My first distance drive since buying Grey Thunder and bringing her home from Paraparaumu. Not a lot of power for hill-climbing, the momentum style is required. I did manage a couple of passes, notably a 4th gear pass toward the top of the Akatarawas. On the Rimutakas, I tucked in behind a D-Max whose driver knew the road well, we had a great run down, with a few motorists kindly making use of the stopping bays to let us pass. This is where the new suspension setup started to show the new character & capability. Loads more grip, turn-in is vastly improved, You can precisely place the car in the lane. Weight-shift is now a ballet, and the car is far more planted. I stopped at the bottom on nearer Featherston, and did my customary photos of the group passing at a bridge. When I re-joined the group at Martinborough, I couldn't stop smiling. This thing is a buzz. It's so much fun to drive. Later I headed out to find another vantage point, and drove more roads trying to re-join the group after they passed. I drove, dry, drizzle, rain, and fog. I drove unfamiliar country roads, and some more familiar, on a variety of seals. 200kms from the start point to Castlepoint, and I enjoyed every one of them. I can trust the car's handling, even if my entry line is wrong. It's going to take me a little longer to make the weight shift super-consistent, but I'm loving it. It's less a scalpel, more a sharp chef's knife, and it's forgiving. Oh, and it's comfortable. Firm, not jarring. I hit the bump stops on the fronts once on the way home, just off the brakes at the end of a descending bridge (to turn right) and found a pot hole right in the line. My fillings are intact, it was fairly gracefull. There will be some experimentation to do with the Koni's adjustable rebound damping. Tyres. These Hankook Optimo K415's are pretty good for what they are. Shame we don't get high-performance tyres in 195/65R14 down here. Reviews on the Falken Ziex 912 indicate it's no better; there are a hoarde of low-cost el-cheapo tyres to choose from, but little else (mostly touring tyres). I think it's nearly ready to receive it's iS badge. Should I wait till it has rear disc brakes? An LSD? An M42B18? I'm going to buy a strut brace. ? Workshop Photo Credits Jon Mechaniker. Beneath Grey Thunder in dry dock II: Sump gleaming, new gasket installed. Photo Credit: Jon Mechaniker. Beneath Grey Thunder in dry dock II: H&R Sport Springs, Koni Yellows, 14.5mm Anti-roll bar. Photo Credit: Jon Mechaniker. Beneath Grey Thunder in dry dock II: New front brakes. Photo Credit: Jon Mechaniker Rebuilt caliper with new piston and seals, nipple. Ready to install.. Photo Credit: Jon Mechaniker A more comfortable helm. Moody garage shot showing Sports wheel. Out in the country, photography pack-horse.

Flights cancelled due to "engineering requirements"