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Hello...My 2007 130i 6 speed finally arrived from Japan to New Zealand. Currently at the groomers getting ceramic coated. Its a white M Sport so I got the painters to paint that grey rear valance black, and removed the 130i and the m badge! Fitted gunmetal Avanti 11 spoke wheels, flat bottom leather and alcantara steering wheel from Lativa, Genuine BMW short throw gear lever that I scored new sealed bag off Ebay via the USA as well as a Storm Motorwerks weighted gunmetal gear knob from the UK, Pedal Haus aluminum pedal covers from Europe (to be fitted), LUX H8V3 bulbs, new floor mat set, new alcantara hood lining fitted, Gloss black grills etc. Looks like a new car. This will be my daily for work as I had a desire to row gears, gave my E70 35i M Sport to my wife so that will remain our family car and will sell her NZ new X3.

SOLD

So, acquired this 316i compact this time last year to use for autocrosses, and to slowly build into a clubsport car instead of using the m3. Havent really done much with it over the last year, apart from sorting a few wee issues for a wof and picked up some e46 15” alloys with new tyres for $150. But last week that changed to have it ready for an autocross in the weekend,. So was a mad rush to get everything done, but managed to pull it off after a few late nights. First thing to address was the rear end as it was horrible to drive at 100kms and all over the show. So got a replacement rear end from a z3 to refresh while keeping the car movable, and to replace the rear drum brakes with discs. So ordered poly bushes all round, raised subframe bushes to dial out some camber, weld in brackets and ecentric bolts for adjustable camber and toe, and some reinforcing plates for diff mounts and trailing arms mounts, and braided brake lines from garagistic. So after getting a mate to weld them in, I removed the old bushes, new ones fitted and subframe painted it was ready to swap over, which had a few issues. Turns out the z3 use a different handbrake cable and hard line on the arms. So had to find some replacements since the original ones wouldn’t work, which slowed things down. So while held up with that I swapped the suspension over to bilstein shocks and springs with reinforcement plates, 328i front calipers and rotors and what brake lines that I could. Luckily the local wreaked had the bits so was able to get the rear end finished, brakes bled and ready for its booked wof on Friday by 12.30 Thursday night. Saturdays job was to strip out everything on the rear and remove the tow bar ready for the autocross. Was a good day out and the car was great to drive finally! Nice and tight. So next one is on the first of November...so figured that was plenty of time to do an engine swap, and on Tuesday night started to strip a few bits ready to come. Finished work early Yesterday afternoon and it was out, taken away, replacement picked up, new poly engine mounts fitted, box bolted on and all in place by 10.30pm. So is now sporting a m52b25 with a sc14 blower bolted on the side running a speedino computer, which you may have seen arron selling not too long ago. So today spent and hour or sorting the loom out, and getting some new fuel lines and heater hoses ready to connect. Hoping to get some time on it tomorrow but will see how i get on for time.

Thanks for the dissection of article. Would not read again/10.

Oh man if i could, i would!

I'm a trade qualified panelbeater and painter but not sure how that's relevant to the thread considering no one has inspected the work or even viewed the car??

We're worse than Tesla fanboys

Third time lucky.... After adventures with my E81( 2 door) 130i and my parts car E87 130i, I've now bought a Manual E87 M-Sport 130i! So far I've given it a thorough clean and a good drive around the Wellington hills, very happy with my purchase. Both photos from the sale listing. Its a Jap import that's been in the country since 2015, and I've got a folder full of extensive service history since then including major bits replaced like DISA valves, valvetronic, and waterpump. Car has been converted to NZ Navigation and is a high spec example from factory with black leather seats/silver trim/Idrive/Heated seats etc. Exterior is in exceptional condition bumper aside, interior is also quite nice. It has several mods: Ohlins Adjustable Suspension Works Emotion D9R 18" wheels BMW Performance rear spoiler Tints all round BMW roof racks Rear Wiper Delete Exhaust flap removed "eyebrows" As part of the purchase it had the PCV and relevant pipes replaced and MAF sensor changed after being picked up as a fault in a pre-purchase check. Outstanding issues with it include headliner sagging in the rear and front bumper damage from being backed into near the license plate. Will be fixing headlining shortly. I have had a go at cleaning paint marks off the front bumper somewhat successfully and the actual damage isn't obvious or structural. Will likely get it fixed but not a rush job. Otherwise car is in fantastic nick and drives beautifully. I'm planning to remove the eyebrows and BMW Roof racks asap, will need to find some roof rack covers for the roof. I also have a SuperSprint exhaust backbox to fit on. Think I'll replace the kidneys if/when I get the front bumper fixed as they're painted black. Big decision for me will be about the wheels, didn't originally like them but they're growing on me. They're quite special being 5x120 and relatively rare. I do like the 18" M-sport factory wheels which I have on my 4 door. Have been really enjoying the drive compared to my suspension modded E81, and stock E87 130i. Both which will be for sale now or shortly. Manual makes a big difference in the drive and feels like a bit more power is available. Adjustable suspension is a tremendous ride. So a very happy camper who finally got his manual 130i

Picked this beauty up in Rotorua from a forum member on here. What a rare colour being Malachite Green Metallic. Nz new. I plan to do a manual conversion and mtech kit on it and some nice wheels although the basket weaves look amazing. It will eventually get a full repaint. Too. Who else has an e28 or a lead on a manual conversion. The 535i has nice power I must admit.

I've been meaning to post here for ages, but finally getting around to it now! After owning a few Audis and VWs I was itching to get back into a BMW, and really wanted to be driving a manual again. I had several E30s when I was younger and wanted something with that kind of small car feel, but more modern, safer, and with 4 doors for getting the kids in and out of their car seats. Pretty quickly I realised the 130i fitted the bill perfectly. Great daily driver on the commute, even better for a weekend back road blast, and with enough room to fit the kids in too (just). After looking for a short while, I managed to pickup this 2007 LCI, with the all important hydraulic power steering, with 125000km on the clock for $8500. Bargain!! That was back in April 2019, and I pretty much immediately set about with the "improvements." To be honest, I've gone a bit overboard and spent significantly more than the purchase price again, but man what a fun car! Puts a smile on my face every day in a way my old Golf R never really could. The mods done are as follows: Engine: Simota intake Supersprint backbox with resonator delete MILVs purchased but not yet fitted. To be done soon when I do valve cover gasket, then a tune to follow... Drivetrain: BMW performance short shifter CDV delete plus braided clutch hose Quaife LSD Redline gearbox and diff fluid Suspension/Chassis Birds B1 dynamic kit - Biltstein dampers, Eibach springs and H&R sway bars E9X M3 front control arms and radius arms Camber pin mod, and max front camber Whiteline rear subframe inserts E81 rear chassis brace Brakes 135i brake upgrade - 6 piston front and 2 piston rear calipers with dimpled/slotted discs and EBC redstuff pads. Calipers painted brembo red with brembo decals (just 'cause :-p) Braided hoses all round Wheels and Tyres BBS RE 847 18 x 8 ET35 Front, and RE 848 18 x 9 ET45 Rear. Lightweight forged BBS Japan goodness! Goodyear Eagle F1 Supersport tyres - 225/40/18 Front, 245/35/18 Rear. These tyres are AWESOME, can't recommend highly enough! Styling Carbon front splitters and carbon mirror caps outside BMW Performance shift knob and alcantara shift boot, plus BMW performance alcantara handbrake Other than that there have been a few maintenance items to do but nothing interesting. It's pretty much perfect now, from my perspective. Just got to get those MILVs fitted plus the tune! Maybe down the track I'll think about headers too, but that's well into the too hard/expensive basket for now. Here's a couple of pics I took post-wash last weekend. Let me know what you think ? Only letting me upload 3 pics for now, so more soon...

Sold Well, it's time. Some of you have seen my posts on this car over the years. It's time to find her a new home. Hopefully someone who appreciates the thousands spent on modifications and high degree of maintenance. Bear with me here this will be a novel... am I a bit crazy? Probably yes. 178000 KM. First, the history, which may scare some of those less brave buyers away It suffered an engine failure on track late last year and has undergone a no-expense spared engine replacement. I've seen working 335is sell for less than what I spent on this! Engine has just been replaced with a partially rebuilt unit. All bearings (rod bearings, upper and lower bearings), timing chain, front/rear main seals replaced, so you can enjoy it with no fear of any impending bearing failures! For good measure, a chunk of the cooling system was replaced at the same time - water pump, thermostat, various pipes. All genuine BMW parts! DCT transmission fluid was even replaced when this was done. This work was done by DCH Motorsport in Christchurch. Modifications: MHD Tune - Stage 2+ 98RON, done lots of data logging to ensure the engine runs perfectly with this map. VRSF catless downpipe 6 inch intercooler - Chinese no-name but I have done back-to-back testing to ensure it outperforms the stock one and keeps intake temps low when running a tune. CPE Aluminium charge pipe Turbo rebuilt with upgraded compressor wheel by a reputable NZ turbo builder (like what they on the Stage 1 upgrades, but not the turbine). Go Fast Bits diverter valve was fitted too Pics here from the man himself: With more background and pics here, plus details and pics on other modifications: Solid rear subframe bushings Rear differential brace (both pictured in thread above too) Foam rear upper shock mounts upgraded to solid rubber. KV V2 coilovers. Certified. These have adjustable rebound damping so you can adjust it to your taste. M3 front control arms (installed at 160 000km). You might think this makes for an uncomfortable, noisy, stuff ride? Not at all! As long as you don't put runflats on it. I've roadtripped across NZ in this car, comfort was fine and it was incredibly fun to drive! Customised exhaust. Muffler internals modified to change the tone, resonators added to cancel out the loud metallic rasp that you get with an aftermarket downpipe. It sounds beautiful I assure you. But not boy-racer obnoxious loud. Other notable big ticket items: Tie rods replaced at 160 000km DCT had a full service at 151000km which included all seals - side pan, Top o-ring, lower sump cover, new sump pan and filter (fluid replaced again at 178000km while the engine was being replaced, probably pointless but it's one less thing for the next owner to worry about). New high pressure fuel pump at 147000km. Brake disks at 144300km - aftermarket slotted rotors, probably no performance gain but they look cool... Has Motul RBF 660 brake fluid and Ferodo DS2500 brake pads. Dusty pads but they perform, these do pretty well on a track but feel great on the street as well with minimal noise. If you prefer less dust and pure silence, the EBC Redstuff pads are boxed up and can be swapped over. Still have most of their pad material left on them. Less performance, no good on a track and you can overheat them if you push really hard on a twisty mountain road, but great for street driving in general. PIAA silicone windscreen wipers. these apparently last forever, they also leave a nice 'rain-x' type coating that makes the water bead off. Works even better if you clean the glass with Rain-X or similar. Asking price: I'm gonna throw out a number of $20k but if you're seriously interested, make an offer, just not a silly one, and we can see Last pic shows it wearing a set of Apex Arc-8 wheels - these are for sale separately.

Just put these on and I quite like them. I think they suit the car better than the 189's that were on from the factory. Got a new set of Potenza RE003's in the OEM 225/40-18 and 255/35-18 sizes and was out for a drive this afternoon to scrub them in a bit New tyres are always better than old tyres but these surprised me by being almost totally silent on hotmix. Other than that they seem to do pretty much what it says on the box. I'll update this post when they have a couple of 1000kms on them. Cheers...

Hey guys im in the market for an e92 m3. Ive seen all the options on trademe currently. My ideal would be a well optioned manual but happy with dct options as well. Not really interested in 4 doors. If you are selling or know of some that are please give me a shout. 02102731873. Im located in auckland but will travel almost anywhere for the right car. Cheers

Back to school for you. I'm not interested in post count and referred only to the three posts questioning parentage of the car such as "guessing no service history", "sounds like a substantial shunt then", " it must have been bad for the insurer to not fix it"; if these imaginative guesses meet your personal standard for "excellently raised points", you're probably more at home on Facebook. No points for Gryffindor.

Yeah... I could have gone for a higher rating tyre but I'm not a good enough driver to justify $500 a corner. And getting a good deal on the RE003's made it an easy decision I'll be giving them a run at Port Road next weekend and that should give me a better idea of how they perform. Cheers...

I think they look good, certainly better on the car than in pictures. The RE003s are a solid choice, not the highest performers but bang for your buck nearly impossible to beat.

I have not done it but saw a video a few years back of it being done. It was a difficult job, personally I would take it to a reputable exhaust shop or try Jon at Auto 38.

Thanks! Looking forward to joining discussions and perusing the threads...

Thanks Qube. I appreciate you taking the time to have a look and giving me that feedback. The joys of buying a second hand car I guess - difficult to know if any problems will arise.

looks like a nice example, cheapest Msport on the market atm it seems. Ive bought a car from them before. The battery died within a couple months and they organised a new one to be installed and coded when I called and told them about it. The car I got was a very low mileage 325i wagon, like 4x,xxx kms but the suspension was really bad so ended up spending about 2000 to replace it all. Makes me wonder if they know what they are importing.. (I assume most dealers dont really care, its a pure numbers game anyway) Regarding your one, since its at almost 100,000kms I suspect it will need some work but pretty much it will be the same story whichever one you buy thats for sale currently unless its privately owned with service history (unlikely, as most of the ones I see for sale are fresh imports). You are taking a risk which ever one you buy so either have deep pockets with enough spare change to cover the bills or prepare to get it sorted after you buy it for peace of mind. I would budget $2-3000 for "everything". Otherwise you could get mechanical warranty and wait for things to die and claim it. Either way, its suddenly going from a 20k car to a 23k car pretty much.

I must say, this Audi is cursed! Been at Panel Beaters all week and was supposed to be taking it up North this afternoon but now it won't be ready Monday as some extra part hasn't arrived... Also has a CEL for O2 sensor, leaking VCG and needs a door control module which the dealer is 'sorting' albeit in an extremely slow and frustrating fashion... At least the E46 is looking nice today ?

I have seen many positive reviews about royal steering wheel uk. I think its definitely the go-to place to get this job done properly.

Plate being blurred out tells me the vehicle is probably stolen and they don't want everyone going after the actual owner of the vehicle. My bet is on gang members.

Pulled the motor from the M3 this week preparing for a full rebuild. Was a driveway job, never pulled a motor before either so was definitely a learning experience. Tried to take as many photos as I went, but in hindsight still not enough. Generally the process was look at what's hanging on, take a photo, rip it out, bag and tag. Struggled with fitting the headers past the transmission bellhousing when lifting the motor for about 20 minutes before I realized I could just take the headers off lol. Came out no problem after that. Overall, easier than I thought. Looking forward to having a freshened up engine. Tempted to go all in and get some bigger Schrick cams while its all being done, would go well with the CSL airbox... but then again maybe my eyes are too big for my wallet.

With the recent purchase of a 130i I got a spare set of wheels. Was bought about 6 months ago for 2700 from hyperdrive. They are rotary forged, black and no scratches. Apparently 19lbs per wheel - see specs https://www.tsw.com/alloy_wheels_nurburgring.php#wheel-specs Only took them off as I preferred the ACS type 3s. They are mint They still retail for around 700 each new, you probably won't pay that if you negotiate but still... 1600, Pick up in the Mount, or I could drive them up to Auckland. funds will be appropriately used to upgrade the 130...

Thanks for a great purchase bud

It's all the same part sharing really, see https://www.bimmerworld.com/About-Us/F30-M-Sport-Brakes/ Genuinely surprised to see that the retrofit kits run a differently sized disc and pad for the same caliper though, but you can run the same larger discs and pads in the S2NH option blue calipers, as the caliper and mount is the same. I'd be shocked if there wasn't multitudes of off the shelf pads on offer if you ran the brembo caliper part number past a competent brake specialist, some proper two piece rotors and not bmw pads would be a great option instead of getting tucked for stock garbage at the stealership, but that's a thread for another day.

the 2.8L in a 7 series isnt as bad as it sounds. its certainly no rocket but it can still cruise very well and still get up to speed reasonably quick. I think you cant be picky with E38's given how few there must be now

A belated 21st present has been ordered for the M5. - Clutch kit and at the same time a shifter rebuild using some new bits I have had stored away. -full suspension kit including shocks, all arms, ball joints, steering parts etc. Everything except subframe bushes and wheel bearings. diff bushes, diff seals, drive shaft cv, centre bearing and flex coupling were replaced in late 2018. -valve cover seals, air filters, cabin filters and fuel filter. Oil change to be done at same time. Be a good opp to also fit 4 new CPS's i've had in storage too. Planning to take it down to the end of the south island next year and will be looking forward to driving it on all the fresh parts.

if you're going to do the serpentine belt, does it drive the AC, or separate belt (as on N62). If so, do that too. N62 is sans-tensioner, so if your N5x is similar, you'll want the belt tool as well. Should be considering Auto service. Auto trans pan/filter, and mechatronic sleeve. As yours is LCI, should have the good pan bolts so no need to replace. Possibly your fuel filler cap? Check the big O-ring for cracks. Download the latest So you bought an e60? Valeo e60 Wiper Blades cabin filters query hood support struts HTH

Hi there, thanks for stopping by. After pining for years, I finally managed to muster the courage to get myself an E30 project car. Guess it was a few years at uni (7 to be exact ha) and moving around for work, that prevented me from getting hold of one earlier. Anyway, here is my little E30 coupe, I picked it up at a selvedge auction so there's a fair bit of work required, just to get it roadworthy following a rear collision and subsequent insurer-required de-registration. This will be a slow build, with the end-goal being a tastefully resto-modded-s50-swapped beast Here are a couple of photos from the day I bought it. Guess it was a little bit of a rushed purchase, as I saw it listed, won it and drove up to Auckland to collect all in the same day - imagine my surprise when I saw it being dropped-off for collection on the front of a forklift! Other than the usual rust spots, there is a bit of work required at the rear to correct the collision damage and, to some, that would render this a parts-only car, but I struggle with that idea (unless the car is an absolute mess). So, with that, my focus to date as been cleaning it up, inspecting parts and collecting required parts/nice-to-haves for the project and gearing up for some bill shock, come repair/revin/LVV certification time. On that, if anyone has an S50b30 or b32 and a ZF gearbox they would be willing to part with, please let me know! ha ha. Looking forward to sharing my progress and learning a few things along the way

Hello folks. Ive been thinking of joining the forum for some time now, and have finally got around to doing it. I have three E30's, all different build specs, all non standard. The plan is to race them, and have some fun when they are finished. It would be great to get to know other like minded people, and compare notes and ideas.

Have put on some genuine AC schnitzer type 2s temporarily until I find some style 5s or even OZ futuras. I missed out on a set of style 5s this morning because I thought too long about it. Haha