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Got rid of the amazing "Hifly" front tires and replaced them with some Michelin Pilot Sport 4 S. What a shock the wheel vibration that couldn't be balanced out with the quality Hifly's is 99% gone. Yes they look like balloons from this angle, but they are the standard 255/40r19.

https://www.trademe.co.nz/3217515800

Newest acquisition: Recaro Pole Position ABE's de-badged and trimmed in M texture to match. These will do nicely... Breykrause brackets on their way to mount to a set of OEM manual sliders.

I'm selling my trusty and much loved 550i M-Sport E61 Touring. I needed to get a 4wd for our lifestyle block and I sadly don't have space for my wagon. This is an excellent sport/family wagon that does pretty much everything well. This is a great tow car with self levelling suspension and Westfalia tow bar with both 50mm and 1-7/8 removable tongues. Serviced and maintained well under warranty for my 6 years of ownership. Asking $9900, some price flexibility for Bimmersport members. Viewing in Warkworth or North Shore by arrangement. More info here: https://www.trademe.co.nz/a/motors/cars/bmw/listing/3203314996?bof=7U5jme8e

I may have issues with authority figures trying to push their agenda on me when they have no idea. Let me put it another way, our illustrious leader says utes are bad news, farmers, tradies, jaffa's and the like are abusing the intention of the "ute" - how dare they have freedom of choice ? (or buy something that can cope with the amazingly well maintained roads, go light rail yay it will save us all) My solution - buy a V10, use it like a ute................... I won't claim to be the first person to point a finger at the govt, but I'm probably the first person in my neck of the woods to rock up to Farm Source and pound 60kg of sheep feed in the boot of a superwagon. I like my ute, it's got a bang'n stereo 😎

Got this much done tonight. Intake, exhaust and head bolts and she should be out. Bloody good to get wrenching again.

Engine assembly continues along with a cleanup of underside and exhaust. Awaiting parts including my radiator which a mate has stolen temporarily for his 540...

Who TF puts Hifly's on a 507hp RWD car. Needs shooting...

Got there tonight. Couple of nuts seized on the exhaust manifold, but not bad for thirty-five years old. Above: Head gasket is in one piece, but absolutely covered in sealer. Above: As is the head. What's the best method for cleaning it out of all the coolant passages? The two head bolt holes on the right-hand side of this image (cylinder six) were full of oil, none of the others were. Is that normal? Above: This head bolt hole between cylinders one and two was really dry and full of powder, I have no idea what it is or why, can anyone help? Above: This scratch was the most concerning issue, on the intake side of cylinder one. Looks like a scratch rather than a crack. Can't be from removal tonight as I hoisted the head in one go and gently lowered it onto a couple of blocks of wood so the head wasn't resting on the valves. There's no corresponding marks on the block. Any advice is really appreciated as I haven't done this before. Cheers.

I've found if you can get a pot large enough to sit an end in, and put that on the boil, and add washing powder will do a great job.

yes a faulty regulator could possibly cause a battery drain, depending on how it has failed, you also need to consider whether the faulty regulator killed the battery, or did a knackered battery kill the regulator?

For reference have just been down this path.

Bit more fiddling with vanos stuff. Adjusted the cam timing so that the alignment marks are perfect. The efforts paid off as the vanos tests now consistently pass. Below are pics of how making the slightest adjustments affect the test results. Also fitted a new radiator and renewed all the front coolant hoses.

Slow progress, but made a start and got my project and tools back in the same garage. I’ve lined up a healthy M20B20 to swap in while I rebuild the original. Any advice on changing from L-Jetronic to Motronic would be appreciated. I’m not trying to make an L-Jet engine run on Motronic, but swap a Motronic engine into a pre-facelift car. Cheers.

I am new here and looking to share and learn. First bmw was e46 318i msport. Learnt a lot from it after overheating needing all new cooling parts and head gasket etc. I have a 120i e87, which I got from auctions, with lots of issues. Have fixed the engine ones and almost all the computer issues, where I learnt the basics of ista and repated software. More recently got an e83 3 2.5si - n52. Sadly this has a few issues so currently working through them which led me to come here. Know a bit about what I am doing, but not mechanically trained, have done engine transmission swaps etc in Toyota, Nissan, and Mitsubishi and from owing a Ford territory I became an expert in suspension bush changes! Really enjoying the bmw and beautiful to drive - previously drove a new 7 series with work, which lured me to bmws.

2012 is a model changeover year I believe. F31 - (newer shape) yes, buy it E91 - more likely - (old shape) Poor value and a poor engine choice - get a 325i

I actually wrote a full on rant about that very fact, I mean FFS - Then I deleted it. But yes, I totally agree with that statement. I mean have some respect for what it is, what it can do, how many were built, and don't be a dreamer who over extends to the hilt just to buy it and then can't afford to keep it - so it just becomes another under maintained M5 which adds to the its unreliable BS. Although I was told this came from some eccentric collector, I think it was bought, driven for a couple of months until the reality hit home and it was parked. The tires are just annoying, but not because of the cost - but because the car went through what can only be described as the most useless PPI I have ever seen done on a car by a "specialist" in CHCH, report literally was written on the invoice....... and they missed a glorious slice clean through the sidewall to the banding (and countless other things), right where the rim had been repaired, probably because someone assed it into a curb. I only came across this beauty after two tire shops couldn't balance these wonders and I was cleaning a ridiculous amount of weight adhesive off the rims. And if you ever want to know what you need to throw at a Hifly to try and balance it - start with this: Then put about the same on the inside further around, quality............ The Michelins have no weight on one and 5 grams on the other.