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Aaaaaand another 1 lots of things to fix up but should be good once its done Want to change the shift knob as the leather is quite worn. The silver m performance ones any good?

Well, it goes like this... I don't wear a watch as my life is not measured in minutes. And I don't carry a phone as I am not available for random calls 24/7. I don't need a GPS as I know where I am going and I am not a cripple, so I can get out of my car, pump my own gas and walk into the store to pay for it at the counter. Three hundred years ago humans trained animals to perform tricks for entertainment and make a little money. These days technology corporates train humans to perform tricks for entertainment and make a huge profits. Outside of that nothing much has changed in the world for centuries, so perhaps we really haven't left the stone age yet ? Cheers... PS: And I don't need a remote for my car stereo

Not sure how many people will see this, but back in November I made the wise decision to buy a high mileage V8 E34. At only 18 years old not only were the future fuel costs daunting, but so too was the project I had undertaken. I assumed that buying the car would force me to become more mechanically minded and try to do things to the car myself. My other car which I have had for a few years is a 2009 Peugeot 207 GTI which I have tried to keep fairly tidy and have never had the confidence to do anything major to it, always opting for the easy option of taking it to my mechanic. When I got the 540 however, my confidence to try fix things myself grew. The car was in a bit of a state when I got it. It had heavily oxidised paint, a completely rusted out sunroof, quite a bad looking patch of rust where the little piece of plastic trim behind the rear door goes, and was generally filthy. Of course there were many small broken and cracked pieces of trim on the interior and exterior, but nothing too major. Because the car had some significant flaws, I had confidence to do things to it because I knew that anything I did, successful or not would not greatly impact the state of the car. I started by polishing off the oxidised paint. If the paint came off, who cares, it already looked terrible. What this mentality resulted in was me achieving some stuff that I never expected I could do with such little experience. I am pretty happy with how the car currently is. I still need to get my sunroof resprayed as well as sort out the piece of plastic bumper trim on the back of my car, and source a driver's arm rest or get my current one reupholstered. I have slowly been addressing bits of the interior, replacing things like the dome light housing, shifter roller etc. By far my favourite thing so far has been the new wheels! The car had its factory BBS basket weave wheels, and while they look nice when they are spotlessly clean, being only 15 inches in diameter made them look a bit out of proportion with my car. They were wrapped in Michelin tyres that were quite old and were beginning to dry rot - something that was especially noticeable when going around round-abouts where squeels from the tyres sounded as though you were doing double the speed limit, when in fact you were barely touching 20km/h. I had always wanted to have throwing stars on the car, but never thought I would find a set, and thought I might have to settle for some vaguely similar replica wheels. However, thanks to Facebook MarketPlace and my procrastination of University Lectures, I came across a square set of throwing stars and I just had to have them. They are 17 inch in diameter and I think they propertion the car much better as well as fill the arches and provide the sporty look a 540 deserves. I needed new tyres anyway so I might as well have just gone all out right? Now I have gorgeous throwing stars wrapped in pirellis and it has made quite the difference to the car. The lower side-wall means you definitely feel bumps more, however the wider tyres and fresh rubber mean the car feels significantly more planted on the road than before. Of course with any old BMW, I have fallen in love and now it controls my wallet. Of course I've blown any kind of mental budget by ignorant past self set when I first got the car, but oh well who cares. Anyway, I am writing this instead of doing my philosophy assignment (philosophy is my general education course and I'm not a fan especially with the anti car ideology that swirls around in class) lol so I should leave it there. Here are some before and after photos of the car. Not sure what order they will be in but hopefully you can tell which photos are from before, and which are from after. Cheers, Kees

Good work, hopefully all those donuts were done before you got the new tyres!!!!

Can I do that with a NOKIA C5 3G ? That;s the only Tamagotchi that I have Cheers...

I hope they mean change for that price

If you thought the cars are getting pricey, here's something that'll blow your mind. Ebay. Set of four mint 14x6J5 BBS euro weaves - with caps - no tyres. USD1275.00. You saw it here first, folks. https://www.ebay.ie/itm/BMW-14-BBS-5-E30-Euro-Weaves-4x100-Genuine-Factory-OEM-Wheels-325is-318is-E10-/183530899769 Now tell me 14" baskets are worth nottin' 😄 Seriously, I wonder what they'll go for?

Hi team! We have a mighty E46 318i for sale. Wof until July and rego until August. 203xxx kilometres Fairly tidy body and leather interior. M43 engine (auto) Front rotors could do with replacing and also has a reverse light out, not sure if a bulb or if it's the wiring. Unfortunately also has a crack about 20cm across passenger side of windscreen. Comes with front left door trim however will need trim clips to attach it. Been used as a daily driver for the last two years and is incredibly cheap on gas. Could be a great base for a race car? Sold as is where is for $1800 or near offer. Available to view in Pokeno.

Yeah, my spacer just slipped over the studs on the top mount. It was much thinner than the rough road version. Once you have the long studs in there, you can adjust thickness easily... but it just takes a bit of time lower the shock/spring assembly after removing the rear parcel shelf. Entirely from memory, the rough road version raises it 22mm??? I also raised the front of ours, which was a 10mm alloy ring, tapped so the studs were replaced with bolts, bolting the top mount to the spacer, and the extra length of the bolts from the studs to bolt it to the shock tower (plus I had a cheap strut brace to reinforce the soft shock towers). You can't get away with that on the back though, I don't think the bolt heads fit? I also wanted to make it all, before stripping the car anyway. You *may* be able to find replacement studs the right length, but the knurled part isn't always a standard diameter. I don't have a pic of the back, but this is the front, same basic idea, just slightly different execution: And this one is of it raised, which I don't think I quite achieved 20mm from original:

wow! 1000 thank yous, Cam. That's brilliant. Re the steering, plenty mention 'bending the pipes'. I'm not so keen on that. I've talked to Dan in the UK (the guy mentioned on e30 Zone, who makes beautifully turned-out pipes and hose kits to suit e46 racks in e30), £205 plus freight. "BM Conversions UK Ltd". Pricey but proper? Or is it a case of getting in Pirtek or Hydraulink or similar, and having something made up?

Why not download the BP app, link your card to it and use that to pay? Stop living in the stone age 🤣

Sold

Not sure if it rings true for M3s, but my E46 spring research usually showed. H&R sport = mild drop, slightly moreso in the front, slightly firmer spring rates Eibach Prokit = mild drop, slightly more even drop (not rake) and more comfort You will have seen they also do 'Race' and 'Sportline' respectively which are lower and firmer, but not ideal for stock shocks.

Anyone running aftermarket springs ? Obviously a lot of overseas chat about which are 'best' - interested in local feedback? I'm really looking for; mild drop (close to standard 'rake' - not a dumped rear) - I'm worried about ramps access Ride quality over 'handling' From what I can tell; King Springs - look pretty low (too low?) Eibach - a lot of people change to H&R? Rear lowers more than front Tein - they green H&R - seem to be the popular choice Safari spec:

mine had kings , good sporty ride maybe a little firm crashy on bumps with the 19" ok on clearance on my gravel drive had to lift a little in the front to get on an hoist

Chad, what is your aim/ goal with this exhaust alteration? Modification information for the N54/55 exhaust system post cats appears limited and is sound owners are sourcing, as power gains are very limited. The indication over many years of say N54 is the stock system flows well, with little gains if modded. If you are looking for power with stock turbos, down pipes and modded mid section, expect to be let down. With upgraded turbos and catless down pipes, modded mid section, you will also be let down. Will be a constant drone on open road! Rolling nausea!!

I've gone to Dean at Mister Muffler in Pakuranga for all my exhaust work over the years. Have always been really happy with his work. He did some minor modification to my old 135i's exhaust last year with no dramas so might be worth paying him a visit if you can

What exactly is an "oil and filter check" ???

Hi Nicki, your x1 (regardless of engine size) should be running on premium only (95 or 98). Ethanol blends or not is not critical. They tend to knock and run poorly on 91 and you should feel a significant improvement in performance on premium particularly under load. Personally, I don't find any difference between 95 or 98, so I would run on whichever is available.

"Unlimited changes based on CBS"... find a 300,000 km+ BMW and sign it up... they'll do an oil change, can't reset the service light, as soon as you drive it out it will need another oil change... perpetual cycle because of their anti-consumer practices. I'd like to see how they responded to that.

Fitted new Lemforder Tierod's last weekend and got a fresh Alignment at RaceAlign on Monday. With Suspension now pretty sorted, decided to put in some 98, inflate the side bolsters up and give her a good, sustained spanking. Went for a blast out to the Manakau Heads Lighthouse which (after the hideous Southern Motorway traffic) was fantastic - brilliant views, no traffic and some pretty fun (if a little sketchy) roads. Car was great - really happy with it - didn't miss a beat, flat and direct, but compliant, heaps of feedback and with the 3.38 diff, plenty of power for me on these types of roads. A bit much tramlining for my liking, but a lot of that would have been the nature of the crappy roads. Only bummer was the speeding ticket and 20 demerits doing 98 in what I had assumed was a 100kph zone in Drury. Oh well, could have been worse 😜

@Simca, rxsumo passed away last year. He is missed. Great that you've got one of his former cars. Enjoy it.