Leaderboard

Picked up the new sensible car / wifes daily - 2014 F31 320d MSport in Alpinweiss III. I've always thought BMW do the best looking wagons, so stoked to have one in the fleet in a great looking, low maintenance colour. Fresh import 76km and in absolutely fantastic condition - I don't know how the Japanese manage to keep their cars in such amazing shape?! Early days, but really loving the look and the M Sport interior. Powertrain is plenty in the real world, definitely sounds like a diesel at idle but meh - seems pretty damn efficient! 'Modern' cars are bloody nice with all the fruit for sure. Comfort access / electric tailgate etc. Came on new staggered 19" BMW replica wheels of some sort (anyone know what style?) and some cheapo tyres, but the fitment is excellent and it looks good - may upgrade the tyres in due course but they are brand new and already overspent a little on the car. Plans for it so far (most parts en-route) are: Euro Plate Black Kidneys Black Mirror Caps Paint or wrap the M Performance style front splitter black (AKA sacrificial bumper) Floor mats (didn't come with any) Tints(?) wanting the black and white look and seems to have very light factory tints - look dark in the shade but very light in daylight Wireless Carplay Bimmercode to do all the custom options / disclaimer deletes etc Looking forward to doing some road trips in this!

Hi all, I was a long time lurker on this forum back in the early 2010's when I bought my E39 530i, which I still own. Having a couple of kids and a busy job has meant I haven't had as much time for cars as I'd like. The garage since then has been mostly station wagons, a Volvo V50 T5, a god awful Mazda MPV turbo, a diesel B7 Passat and an diesel C6 Audi A6 (which I will most likely part with). I've become a bit of a fan of oil burners and was really in the market for a 535d but they are a bit thin on the ground right now. I have always been a fan of the F06 6 series Gran Coupe, and decided to start my mid life crisis a little early by picking up an LCI one with the same N57 engine as the 535d. Less practical than an F10, but I find them to be more attractive. I quite like the tan interior, and there as no faux woodgrain to be found which I prefer. It looks as though the iDrive has been upgraded to the NBT EVO ID5 system and it has Apple CarPlay which I don't think was standard, though it looks to have NZ maps the iDrive nav is not right, I think it has a dead GPS antenna. The previous owner told me he thought the maps hadn't been updated from the UK as he just used CarPlay, something to troubleshoot anyway. On the whole looks to be in pretty good order otherwise, but the PPI highlighted a couple of wear and tear items which will be getting looked at after the Easter period. Its got a Maxton Design body kit which I am on the fence about, it certainly makes an already low car lower. As it has no front camera it'll only be a matter of time before I wipe the front lip out on a parking bollard! The factory wheels 20" wheels are gone sadly and the previous owner has fitted Vossen CVTs in the same size as the OEM wheels which I don't hate. I would have liked comfort access and the multi-camera surround view, but beggars can't be choosers! It has got a HUD though which after using on a BMW G01 recently I don't think I could go without again. I drove a 1000 kilometres in it from Auckland home to Christchurch in it last week, I was very impressed by the power and also the efficiency, averaging 6.1 litres/100 kms on the trip. I am sure you could go below 6 if you tried to. Anyway, that's me, I'd love to hear your thoughts. Cheers, Tim

Hi Over the last couple of years, I've been learning how to read the OBD2 diagnostic logs for E46's and E36/7's. This has mostly happened over in the E46Fanatics forum. Finally got around to writing up how to do the diagnostics. It's based on the M52TU and M54 engines but the principals should apply to most engines. It's a good intro, if you haven't done this type of diagnostics before. Enjoy. How to Read OBD2 Engine Diagnostic Logs V1-7 NZ00Z3.pdf

For the 2013 116i, my son has it now and don't want him to go into a random place for servicing and WOF. Looks like Manawatu BMW is a good choice, I wonder whether they offer drop-off in the morning, he's based at the hospital which is not too far but not too close to the dealer.

No rush on the tools mate.

Haha I’ve had your tools in the boot for a month 😬 its still a bit lower than it was then too

You can now test my driveway again, it may pass this time! 😉

Hi If you just need help to jack up the car & get the wheel off I can bowl around and help you with that. I have a trolley jack, some ramps if needed to raise the car a little to get the jack under, and some axle stands. But I haven't worked on F series before so I don't think I'll be any help with the actual horn removal part.

Yes I have thank you! Running across those photos were what started me looking down the Nogaro route. I hadn't previously considered them really, but upholstered like that they look pretty close. Hopefully I can figure something out that keeps everyone happy. Am in the middle of sorting out fabrics, etc. and finding out what can be done, so hopefully something in this space in the not too distant future! Thanks again for letting me hijack your thread 🙂

No worries. I assume you've seen the set of nogaros that someone had trimmed in CSL materials. They look very OE when done that way. The manual sliders are a very basic mechanism so I'm sure the release handle would be an easy thing to fabricate. Hopefully the gap between the pillar is passable. I look forward to seeing what route you go.

Put in some additional / thicker spring pads in the E30 front and rear to raise it 5-10mm all-round, along with new front brake pads while I was at it. Subtle changes - Extra 6mm rear spring pads in the rear and added 9mm and 3mm front spring shims - fair bit of work but I'm *very* happy with it now - ride height is aesthetically perfect for me - its still quite low, but getting in and out of my driveway now is less of a challenge (still scrapes if not careful but margin of error is higher now). Height is very even now, with the 16's and Ad08Rs filling out the arches perfectly.

Mine’s just clicked over 118k and I had a leak in the rocker cover and they ended up walnut blasting the engine as it was all gummed up - it made a noticeable difference to the diesel rattle and it feels smoother. Oil leak would be covered under your warranty but you might need to bank on doing the blasting which is not too much effort for someone who knows what they’re doing. Guess you would have to read the policy wording.

Thank you very much for your reply and for taking photos for me! Gee it’s very close to 300mm! Yeah I’m thinking of maybe going the Nogaro route to retain the OE seatbelt routing (likely with custom upholstery to make them look more like the CSL seats). I would love to go with the Recaros being the manufacturer of the CSL seats, but I’m planning to keep my car otherwise stock, so I’m looking to avoid the need to cert. Assuming I do manage to get 300mm, I’d then just need to look to solve a lever to slide the seat forward that is accessible from the rear. My car is a weekend car and I never have anyone in the back seat, but obviously need to keep things legal and keep the WOF man happy. Thank you so much for taking the time to reply and share your knowledge - much appreciated!

Damn, that does look mighty fine. Black will probably take away a bit of the bulky look but pretty mean as it is as too. Good buy! Keen to know how easy these engines are to maintain.

Cheers Thomas and Sam. Good on him if he gets that price for that car. I did undervalue it a little and I had a couple of time wasters trying to low ball me.

Gave the X3 a much needed clean on the inside and out.