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I officially dislike the entire current BMW line up. If I win lotto this weekend I'm not even going to a BMW dealership.

"Better?" It's a religious thing. Any reputable brand of the correct type and viscosity will be "suitable". This is underwritten by the fact that vehicle manufacturers change their oil brand allegiance as it suits them. In the early 2000's after the bearing failures in e46 M3's, BMW said "you must use Castrol Edge 10w-60" and so people did. But (some) people also went to stupid lengths to get the stuff that BMW dispensed rather than what you could buy off the shelf. These people declared "there is no alternative, your children will die if you use something else" and the belief in unicorn piss oil persisted. Then BMW simply changed their oil partner and now fill those same cars up with Shell 10w-60 without blinking an eye... totally undermining the "only one brand/type" argument. My engine oil cap says "use Castrol" yet BMW will fill it up with Shell... But for those that prefer to use Castrol then 50% off normal retail is a good deal regardless of why they want to use it (as would be 50% of Penrite). I use Castrol Edge in the M3 because that's what it has always had and I'm happy with it. I intend to use Penrite in the 130 as I did in the 128 because I have no problem with the quality of HPR5.

Adrian van Hooydonk is the man responsible for the grills. Side note: If anyone goes over to Germany to slap him, please do me a solid and detour to the AMG factory and also slap the guy that put 20 bolts on a 3 piece engine underbody tray with no oil service flap.

Im actually gonna go have a look at this over the weekend, has anyone else seen it in person? kinda miss a manual bmw since i sold the M3....

They're asking $200,000

Bump. 5w-40 half price at Repco.

Worn suspension bushes, regardless of which ones, can affect all measurements, it really depends on how they're deflecting. Having said that, worn RTAB's shouldn't affect a static measurement, rear toe is set with three pretty significant bolts. Most of that alignment looks fine for a not-brand-new car... you can't really adjust front camber or caster using OEM hardware (without swapping top mounts L/R)... caster and toe are fine on your 'after' print and the camber difference is only ~0.5* out and probably explained by worn(ish) top mounts. Nothing to worry about. Rear camber is fine really, that's an imperceptible difference (ignore the green/red, it's the delta L/R that you need to consider) but I'm surprised they couldn't get that toe closer, that's quite a long way out. Have a quick look at the bolts on the front of the left hand rear control arm (the 3 surrounding the RTAB pocket) to see if they've been recently released and tightened (i.e. years of crud or clean surfaces from a spanner). If they've not been loosened then the job hasn't been done properly... they've basically added 5mm of toe to one side and 0.2mm to the other... the 0.2mm could be explained by the consequences of changing the camber (although that's not conclusive). The 5mm on the other side indicates they've certainly adjusted that one... would be odd to do one side and forget the other.

Aftermarket camber arms require a cert... as silly as that is. Rear toe should be sorted by shifting the rear arm at the RTAB pocket, did they do that? Rear camber is adjusted via an eccentric bolt but both these and the arms themselves wear and become terribly imprecise over time. There should be a L/R label and an arrow on the front top mounts that tells you how they should be oriented. You can swap them side-to-side for an additional ~1.5* camber (-ve). The picture of your alignment sheet is too small for my poor eyes to read.

Yes dealer, we have chat about cost as I got the feeling it wont be issue by the language they were using. I

Got some Powerflex rear camber arms for sale if you're interested- hardly used.

Conveniently I had to visit a few sites around the Mighty Waikato approx 250ks of driving and best of all most of it was on secondary roads the highlight being Highway 22 from Onewhero coming out at Ngaruawahia. If you ever get the chance this is an entertaining drive although watch the odd off-camber corner and broken seal. I kept it between 2000 and 4000 rpm and it ran sweetly with no strange or ominous noises which I was keenly listening for (although air con progressively stopped cooling and hopefully just needs a recharge). The progressive H&R Springs with the Bilstein and Yoko Advance Neova set up was really controlled yet compliant and handled anything I (mid corner corrections ?) or the road through at it (although I wasn’t pushing too hard to be fair). Compared to the E30 with a ‘similar’ suspension setup the M3 with its torquey engine is a confident and refined drive whereas the E30 is a go kart that needs more revs and attention to keep it in the zone (imho). Before heading out I did get a wheel alignment. A guy at Top Town here did it who is into his E36’s so we had good chat after. The readings showed up some interesting numbers particularly camber up front and, camber and toe in the rear. Checking some of the other forums https://www.bimmerforums.com/forum/showthread.php?995556-The-Definitive-Alignment-Guide-for-your-E36-M3 for a fast street setup I should have Front Camber: -2.0 to 2.5 deg (per side) Toe: 0.10 total toe (or 0.10 to 0.20 deg total toe in for mostly highway driving)Rear Camber: -1.5 to -2 deg (per side) Toe: 0.20 total toe in (IIRC this is 1/8" total toe in)I should have So up front I’m way off. I didn’t take a before photo of the strut mount position and maybe I should have them set inboard rather than set back? With the rear obviously the left rear camber is not too far out and he had set it to max camber. Will new rear control arms sort this out? Obviously right toe is way too much and left needs a tweak. Any thoughts/ideas?

the easy answer is if you are handy with tools and a keen DIYer then you can risk not getting the warranty and have that money spent on maintenance instead. As Cam said, often overlooked is the minimum requirements in order to be eligible for the warranty which means a big service bill every year when all they do is just a oil and filter using who knows what. Some mechanical insurance companies also require a transmission service within 3 months of the warranty in order to protect themselves. this is easily a $500-1000 bill. then you take into account each excess for any potential claim and you are well into the $3-4000 mark over the course of 3 years in minimum outlay. In saying that, because the potential issues with the N43 is quite big and expensive, it may still be a good idea to get it for peace of mind, especially if you are planning to rely on a shop to maintain the car, that way you have no responsibility for the cars health and just pay a fixed cost that you are aware in order to maintain it. Slightly different for CAM because the N52B25 is a much more reliable engine and those parts he mentioned are considered (to me anyway) normal wear and tear items, that are not significant enough to claim warrant in most cases. especially if you are able to source secondhand parts or overseas and fit yourself saving a big portion of the cost of the labour. sorry, didnt end up being an easy answer at all haha

I agree with Kelvin... that rocker cover is unlikely to be sealed and will a) spit out a lot of oil and b) sound like a vacuum cleaner. Take it back. If they've used sealant around the entire perimeter, or anywhere other than the joins in the alu then you'll probably need a new gasket. All of those rubber seals on the bolts are also meant to be replaced at the same time.

? https://www.trademe.co.nz/2514872103

Doesnt look like it.

Back Story Car went in for leaking Vanos in Nov, car all done early Dec parts ordered ex Germany, car went back two weeks later, hadn't ordered enough seals according to second mechanic, wait another 10 days seals arrived car put back together, not done well, car doesn't even leave shop new parts ordered got car back, sealant all over valve cover and streaks running down windscreen and wing mirror (suspect detergent left to dry on glass) cant get this off Taken back yesterday re noise So far wksp have been excellent and have said everything will be repaired, including windscreen/mirror When showing the head mechanic the broken seal, it completely broke off and wasn't too impressed by workmanship and said it will all need to be redone. Funny you mention oil - I swear I can smell hot oil every now and again I will keep you all posted