Leaderboard

You do you, personally I think its an abomination that needs killing with fire Im not always right though.

Hi folks! After only a short 5/6 months I am dumping my e-tron and ordering an iX. The e-tron is pretty capable and the ride and handling are excellent but Audi’s MMI and car software are a hot mess and now that there’s a BMW alternative I’m coming back home. Our order spec: Xdrive40 Sport Mineral white metallic Amido interior Comfort and Enhancement Packages I drove the iX (test car photos attached) this week and wrote a quick comparison to the e-tron: https://evforum.co.nz/quick-reads-bm...on-50-quattro/

Hagree

Looking Toight an Tidy Mate!!!

I would say they've done some things right (non-M 3 series, 5 series) but this is not one of them...

Oh right wow I thought it was a Nissan Leaf competitor. Price suggests otherwise! wow

A these the low cost successor to the i3? The low rent interior looks even more basic than a prius if that's possible. I guess it makes sense you get what you pay for if they are affordable to most new Zealanders as an entry level electric car.

x

x

CSL wheels + spacers on, nice! Still waiting to hear back from my man about semi slicks for these wheels. https://i.ibb.co/khhPST5/2085-F4-A3-381-D-40-BD-BE4-B-B2-DFA35911-F3.jpg https://i.ibb.co/LpCqHzG/F6-A037-D6-42-BC-4-CC4-9-F0-E-DF92-B9-CFC1-E2.jpg

Big day today in general !! Got the drive shaft back and it looks really great ... was worth them noting 'fussy paint job' on the job card As per everything these days it was super expensive but at least they did a really great job. Went for the big boy 1350 slip yoke (because why not) which makes the OEM middle joint look positively puny. Also has a new CV on the end as the old one was poked apparently. Not directly swap project related but I installed my AliExpress air and oil separator for the compressor which is pretty sweet. Also washed the car with my apprentice, SO satisfying as it had 18 months of garage dust all over it (plus a dead cockroach). The E46 is such a classic good looking car

Replaced the front brake pads today, they worked fine and had plenty of life left in them but they squealed a LOT when they were hot, hoping pads will sort it, if not it will get new rotors as well. Also got a new water pump, thermostat and coolant to go in so thats my holiday job .

325iX power

Sunny Sunday out and about

Hey Team Hope every one is well and ready for the silly season. Small update but a good one. Finally got my oil pump setup back from the turning shop. I had to source two n62 front oil shaft supporters to hold the new longer shaft in place. the X5 pump now bolts right up the back. Also had to get a spacer made for the pick up to be able to rotate it inwards. Next step is to get my engineer to help fab up the new sump and oil feed lines. Also got my exhaust flanges cut, Brought a lego kit to help aid in making the headers myself and brought all the 180 bends ready to go for over the summer. As i was originally was going to use a steering shaft from a e87/e90 when i was at the wreakers i noticed that the F series have even a slimmer one. so i took the plunge and brought two. After some test fitting the base U-joint are the same spline as the e46, the top needs to be swapped with the e46 one and the total length was shorten by 20-25mm which now matches the factory e46 length. I will use one for the v8 swap and one for the v12 swap. Now the main part is back ( the oil pump) i can get the ball rolling again. Thanks Team

Hey team hope every one is well and ready for the silly season. So got a few more things done to the wagon. Car is finally up and running now though not without a few little issues. Exhaust leak, rear adjustables rebound need to be wound up to make it stiffer, wheel alignment, smaller mid muffler to be welded in as current one is a tad low, change rear seal in the gearbox and get some tyres for the Hamman wheels. Painted the exhaust and baked it in the oven. Changed out the factory twin fuel filters and put a single one in with a regulator and ran a vaccum line up to the manifold. Custom clutch and flywheel installed. Exactly the same setup as the manual swapped X5. Running my spare LSD 3.15 till my LSD 3.64 gets back from Kayne Barrie getting a rebuild. Driveshaft made to length. Tack welded the nuts in tunnel so i could bolt down the RTD shifter without needing someone to hold the nuts for me. Brought this ultra racing Strut brace cheap, it was made for a 525i model. I cut the bar off the hinges and flipped it, rewelded it to make it work with the 540i The Factory mid muffler was rusting and had a small hole, so decided to redo the whole exhaust from the new headers back. Redid the o2 sensor bungs too. But after lowering the car found the mid muffler sits too low so will change out for a smaller one. Fitted the new Zimmermann sports brakes and pads in and flushed the brake system with new fluid. Just arrived a couple days ago this M5 rep center console surround. .Will be running these wheels on the car. 18 x 8.5 fronts 18 x 9.5 rears will get a exhaust clip onces its fully running good. Thanks Team

Eeeep

So managed to get the bushings and front arms swapped out on Monday. It doesnt look like much but man it took me all day. I had one of those moments of "what a dumb arse" where the 1st rear sub frame bushing took me about 2.5 hours to do. Once i realised that i needed to leave a gap between the subframe and body of the car in order to allow the new bushing to protude through to the top. Once i clicked on that the 2nd bushing too me 15mins.I also swaped my XYZ coilovers in while i was there. Just the steering rack, tie rod ends and rear coil overs left to put in.

Hi @Eagle i wasnt going to to be honest. Its completely factory other than the headers on it, it would be nice to know though. Maybe later down the track if i have funds available for it. thanks

Hey Team So getting a fair bit done to this build. Cleaned the engine bay, Fitted a custom braided clutch line, custom clutch fluid reservoir utilising the old c101 plug holder, manual pedal swap Lucky enough my setup had a single spring on the clutch pedal. I didnt have to go through the whole dreaded steering column removal. retro fitted e46 drive by wire pedal, test fitted motor with trans and custom headers to check for clearances issues, test fitted RTD shifter from my e46 build which fits perfectly so im going to keep it for this car and shorten the selector rod too. Started the wiring from Condor speed and it seems qute easy with good instructions. Feeding the wire throught the e-box and through a fan hole. Little bracket made to hold oil filter housing, New brake disc and pads to install Will start on rear and front bushings tomorrow and send the driveshaft to get shorten. Getting so close

Hey Team So managed to get a few small items sorted. Refitting factory radiator so i can get the aircon and powersteering lines from the e46 to work. Had to customize the rad hoses abit to work with the motor. Got the drive shaft and steering shaft back, both fitted and working a treat. Shorten the selector rod too to work with the RTD shifter. With a bit more room now, Im hoping to be able to make some decent headers for it. Also have to get the aircon hoses custom made as the factory ones dont line up, she's pretty tight due to not allowed to cut into the chassis rail. Spoke to the machine shop and hopefully not too long on the oil pump either.