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Not too much of an update for a while but things are ticking along. The main news being the Titan Silver 540 is now seriously for sale after a bit more work on it, paint being the main focus. $7,500. Please message me for further information.

BMW is going to need to up their software security, or else we will all end up emailing some guy in Bruges and enabling massage seats and self driving on our poverty pack 116i

It'll come to a head when something breaks (probably a line of code somewhere) and the car is recording a fault- but the fault is in an item that you can't use. Imagine failing a WOF for a TPMS fault when you killed the system to save money for more alibaba ///M badges and monitor tyre pressures yourself instead.

Compared to Mtech I the 540i Mtech II suspension gets M5 front shocks, lower front springs. Progressive and taller rear springs with different shocks to accommodate. Ride height is 10mm lower. Don’t quote me on this but I think swaybars are slightly stiffer too.

The way of the present? Nope. Nah. Not for me thanks. Imma stay ol’skool analogue with my e31 manual 😎

Been a while since I posted anything but thought I would post some of my rough old wagon. Bought it late 2019 and fixed it up somewhat over the first lockdown. Did a big road trip all over the south island with it in late 2020. Then in early 2021 I moved from Auckland to Queenstown and didn't have access to a garage anymore so it hasn't been getting as much attention as it did when I was trapped at home and had nothing else to do. It's Still running pretty well, has a couple of little things playing up but other than that it's been a good reliable daily. The ski season and access trails haven't been particularly kind to the suspension and a couple of possums have made my bumper a bit mangled (anyone got a silver m-sport one lying around...), and not to mention the various dents that came with it when I bought it. It's been a great car though has served me well over the last couple of years, three cities, and 30,000km. I have picked up a Prado 120 to start doing the ski runs up the remarks and for the trailhead to save my poor car from some more pain. Bonus of the prado is it makes my 330i's consumption feel like a prius... Highlight was having the Milford Road all to myself earlier this year. I Installed an Avin Avant 4, works great and it's good having carplay. My car didn't come with the OEM radio so this has been a huge upgrade for it. Not pictured is the absolute carnage the previous owner had left when they installed their radio. Loaded up with all my sh*t. Cleaned up after the big trip. Whispbars always good. Routeburn trailhead. Another unkind and brutal road. First snow of 2021. Coronet Peak, my preferred mountain since its mostly sealed... And stuck on coronet peak on the most mild of inclines. 🙃 No comment. Bought a set of mint winter tyres for $100. Night and day difference on snow and ice. Extra sidewall helps heaps as well. Big clean after the winter season. The 21 year old paint still has a decent bit of shine. Made a friend. Putting the winters back on for 2022. Can't understate what a difference the winter tyres make down here.

Calling the wise BMW gents. Does anyone know what these are? Came off my E30 and want to sell it but don’t know the value. Tried googling it but wasn’t that helpful.

Courtesy of Instagram...

The beast‘s heart has been taken out, just before I’ve become unwell. Coming a bit right now so hopefully will get cracking soon again. I’m going a direction which will probably sting BMW purists 😂. Fingers crossed I can take it to meets this summer.

The subscription, in theory should be cheaper over the lifetime than the option then? (Haven't looked) The cost of the individual parts is small over the production lifecycle of a car, so either way, subscription or buying heated seats as an option, you are bound to be ripped off 🤷‍♂️

I only had one custom hose when I got certified. The high pressure line from the e46 rack to the pump. It was never even mentioned on the cert notes. If no leaks, and properly secured, I think it won't be an issue. Do it.

Peak capitalism, baby! What a time to be alive

Yes, secondary market (used) vehicles present an interesting set of scenarios, if you sell a car with heated seats, does it actually come with heated seats, etc. But my IT manager had an interesting take in this today when I shared it with him (other than rolling his eyes). In most cases it's different to a (for example) software subscription (which is becoming the norm). With most software subscriptions you have nothing before you subscribe, you're not carrying any load. With this ridiculous car features subscription, in most cases, you've already paid for it, it's just not activated. If I subscribe to heated seats for a month it's not that a technician comes out to install the heating elements when I subscribe, and returns to remove them when my subscription lapses. So, if I pay for the equipment up front, and I'm paying gas to haul the equipment around, why aren't I entitled to use that equipment? And if I don't intend to pay extra to use that equipment, why did I have to pay for it up front, and why do I have to pay to carry it around? Surely, if the manufacturer feels entitled to charge me to use it, I should be entitled to have them remove the dead weight I can't use. It's moronic in the extreme but, once they all do it it will become the norm, and incremental deception will have won again. It's anti-consumer and BMW should be ashamed for being a part of it.

@Vass Yes, I assembled all of the hoses. If you're handy, AN Hoses really aren't too hard to assemble. I would say thing trickiest part is just cutting the braided hose cleanly. Youtube has many excellent tutorials. When I did it, I just planned out what parts I needed, and measured how long the runs were. Then ordered the hoses, hose end fittings, and various adapters, from Aeroflow's website. I also got a few AN parts from Silvester v8/Japanese Race Supplies (on Moorhouse Ave). I would recommend checking them out. The low pressure supply hose from the reservoir to the pump and the fitting on the end are from there SRP brand which seems like pretty decent quality, and quite affordable vs. shipping from Aus. I'm sure you could make up 2 lines for less than $400 in parts. You may need to do some custom bracketry to make sure the hoses are routed, so they aren't rubbing on anything.

Don't usually give trouble, sometimes a bit of jiggling. Push and hold the white clip in while moving the line forward and back. Spot of penertrating spray may help if you think it's stuck.

Loving the updates, looks like things are taking shape.

I hope they sell exactly none of it and the people who buy new BMWs laugh in their faces... but they wont. Worlds going crazy.

Head does seem to be all good so at the shop now awaiting to be worked on. Continued dismantling the rest of the engine in the meantime. Driveshaft now off, transmission cooler lines removed, gearbox all disconnected, AC pump now dangling off the side so just the mounts holding the engine and gearbox in. Haven't touched the front end yet. Wondering if I can either lift the engine & gearbox out whilst tilting it up or maybe slide it back under the car and out without dropping the subframe. Should be a fair bit easier without the head and OFH sticking up. Would save a fair bit of hassle as I want to roll the shell out into the driveway to clear some work space. Want to see if I can tidy up this wiring loom a bit. The O2 sensors are paired up with the auto gearbox connections in the same tube and connect into a whole spider's web in the fuse box. Will play around with the loom that came off the donor car to see what's safe to cut away and what not to touch. Also, f**k these things straight to hell. Absolute devil's work. Any clever way of getting these off? Have spent stupid time already trying to pry them off but no luck, pushing the plastic tip in but still feel well stuck on. Considering carefully slicing it open with a rotary tool at this point.

https://www.bmw.co.nz/en/shop/ls/cp/connected-drive The subscription options are already listed on bmw NZ. No doubt this will expand as time goes ......

Lovely car. Awesome to see it properly used

What a build! Loving the dedication and workmanship, goals right there. Did you make the power steering hoses yourself or is there a shop in Chch you'd recommend? I need two new pressure hoses for my E46, all the usual suppliers like FCP and RockAuto only stock LHD ones and the best local quote I got was $800... Probably cheaper to get them custom made instead. Cheers

Posts like these encourage me to get a wriggle on! Good job on all the above, looks tidy and a good package!

Yeah they're great right up until the you need to clean them haha.

Yeah certainly haven't given it the easiest life, was maybe a bit better fit when I was in Wellington rather than down here but I make it work. Super glad I found a 3L one, they seem hard to get these days, it's Fantastic on the roads around here. Just had it up coronet with the chains on tonight to get some more skiing in so the abuse continues 🙃 And yeah bought the Avin directly from them. It would've been an extremely easy install if the previous owner hadn't massacred the wiring harness for the radio on their install. Can highly recommend it though, it looks great in the dash and having carplay with navigation and all it's other features is well worth the price of admission. Certainly makes the car feel much more modern but keeps the OEM look to it.

Must be the best value 540i ive ever seen for sale. Someone will get a good deal and wont have to spend 1000's down the line for once.

Quick wee update. Had no luck finding a spare head locally. A few places claimed to have one but either couldn't find it or just failed to get back to me, so those hopes fell through. Unfortunately also, the head on @wrs' engine turned out to be borderline unusable. Was super helpful though that he went through the effort of stripping it off and taking it in to his local machine shop to get tested before going through the trouble of shipping it down. Top man, greatly appreciated. My wagon had decided to spit the dummy and started misfiring in the meantime so it made it an easy decision to park it up and start tearing it apart. Rolled it into the garage and spent all of last week tearing into it. Finally got the head off on Sunday, stripped it and took it in to the machine shop yesterday. They did a quick hardness and straightness test on it and it looks all good to use! Much better than the first candidate I took in so well chuffed with that. Will have them clean, pressure test and seat the valves properly, as well as getting the injectors tested and cleaned. Should be a week or two before I get it back but happy to be making progress again. Happy days.

If the prices on TradeMe for E30 parts are where the market is then I’m sitting on a gold mine and should retire tomorrow. Should you want your eyes to really water, go on one of the E30 M3 sites, E30 tax x M3 tax is moonbeams! “Genuine E30 M3 door handle surround US$50” etc, when it’s the same as any E30. And then there’s the S14Bxx parts.. 💰