Leaderboard

$2500 for a two or three alphanumeric plate, others are much more affordable (lol) for 4, 5 or 6 alphanumerals ($999) or your chosen ABC123 format at a mere $599. I didn't see the value at $400 years ago, two and a half grand is just taking the piss.

These have now left my possession.

The N57 injects extra fuel as part of the DPF burn cycle which naturally brings up the oil level, this is completely normal. When you do an oil change, just put the BMW recommended amount of oil in it. Don't use the dipstick as a guide. From memory, if you put the recommended amount in, the level sits at about half way on the dipstick.

Also fitted new Michelin PS4 all rounded to replace the noisy 6 year old RE003's. Was going to go to a square setup with 235\40 and new PS5's but i found brand new 255 rears someone was selling fairly cheap. Car is so much quieter and more compliant over rough seal but initial steering response isn't as good (only positive thing i can say about the RE003)

Seats Ive never been happy with my seats, they are certainly not uncomfortable but very lacking once you start cornering harder. Having to brace your knees against the console and holding on to the wheel gets old quick. The foam bolstering on the RHS is a little worn\sagged as you'd expect with all these older seats, but i dont think replacement top and bottom sections @ $800 is going to improve it that much. Also the leather seats aren't quite as grippy as the equivalent fabric units. Decided to experiment\gamble on other options. Shipping prices and quotes i got for one seat overseas were basically the cost of the seat itself, so i ruled that out quickly. Locally no one really stocks anything besides racing buckets and didn't really want to order in something expensive i couldnt test sit in. I figured with the somewhat decent selection for second hard Recaro seats that they were probably the best option. E46 seat bases were still available from Nengen in Japan for around $500 landed so i went with that. Turns out the older E46 bases had been discontinued, only option was to go with the newer bases which sit lower and no height adjustment built in (as below). Im guessing these are more for designed for bucket seats and\or newer Recaro seat models or maybe they are just cost cutting. I saw some Japanese vinyl seat covers for a Recaro SR-3 on facebook and a single good condition SR3 seat on tm. Seat seller was in Auckland and was very hard to contact so i couldn't actually view the seat, gambled and hit the buy now. SR3 - Upon sitting in it i immediately felt it pinching the side of my glutes, trying to move your bum forward relives this some what but now your spine is bent and has no lumber support. Im not fatty with 36" waist, but the seat base being narrow esp at the rear with high side bolstering means if you have a developed some quads and glutes, you get pressure on them from being squeezed. Being taller and having broader shoulders i find they are sitting on outer edges of the upper bolstering rather than inside them. Its really a seat built for your average Japanese guy aka skinny with little muscle it seems, probably fits them like gloves if they used it in so many JDM cars. In saying that is its still much more supportive than the stock E46 seat in cornering. I took it on a 300km trip and it did seem to get more comfortable as my body adapted to the discomfort, but i did have some delayed back pain after. Shame as i thought the SR3 with vinyl covers matched the stock seat ok. Recaro E46 mount (new style)- 1" too low with the SR3 even after being raised at base by 30mm (Im 182cm tall). Still livable. Side seat bolster slightly pushes against the door card arm rest when door is closed. If base or seat were higher it would probably clear. The SR3 upper bolsters do flair out a bit at the top which doesn't help. Im leaving it for now but will likely sell the SR3 and keep an eye out for a later SR series seat. Would have to be taller, more comfortable and has good support. SR6 maybe or later SRXX series. Z4 Msport Sway bars Picked these up from Ray - 25mm front and 19mm rear. Biggest OE front bar that is a direct fit (M3 one isnt really). I always thought that non M E46's with sport suspension came with bigger bars, turns out that was the earlier 98\01 cars with S226A\S338A option (24mm front and 19mm rear) From April '01 they all used 23\23.5mm front and 18mm rear (excl 'vert with 20mm rear option) Certainly helped with the turn in response, removed some understeer bias with no noticeable change in ride quality. Ended up using E60\E61 25,2mm Corteco synthetic rubber front bushings, genuine ones were overpriced and the only option at $80ea. Had some Lemforder 19mm bushings id ordered by accident awhile go so was good to make use of them. Clock fix Suffered the classic shitty BMW plastic failure and couldn't adjust the time due to the plastic tabs breaking. $25 Ebay 3D printed part to remedy.

Very few NZ New X5 35i's, majority will be 30d with a smattering of 40d/50d. Would avoid a post facelift 35d as they'll be ex-Japan and likely with AdBlue emissions gubbins to go wrong. Facelift came with the ZF 8 speed which is much better than the old 6 speed auto. N57 in 30d/40d guise is a sound engine IMO (I have it in my 335d). I would steer clear of anything with dubious service history, even factory service intervals are too long

Well I went down the same path a few years back and ended up with an X5 40d 7 seater factory M Sport. There are lots to like: it is quick to be sure and wins traffic light dragstrip contests regularly. It also handles well for a 2t vehicle and my road home will test the ability of any vehicle in this regard. The N57 is the issue. Mine has had a myriad of problems; it needed a new glow plug controller and the vacuum pump failed. This cost me 5k but the mechanic did a full inspection while the pan was off and said everything else was great. The EGR is an issue and I have chosen to delete it. Pramod will code it out soon. Based on the research I have done the vacuum pump was a rare issue but the EGR is a common cause of problems, the upshot is that those that delete the EGR are almost universally happy with the result. Ironically it results in a cleaner engine and there is some evidence to support longer engine life. I suspect I have leaking injectors as my oil level is rising, I will have this rectified soon and I think that will be the end of it. I considered and N55 and drove one. There was a noticeable torque deficit but its not as bad as I thought it might be compared to a 30d but quite noticeable compared to a 40d. It revs higher of course so overall its not much slower if at all. As to timing chains I have come to the conclusion that the N57 with good maintenance will go past 200k kms. I did a fair bit of research on this mainly around when UK based vehicles started to have issues and yes they could fail as low as 160k kms but this was when service history showed late oil changes or missed changes. High quality oil frequently is as always the key, there are plenty that will go 250k kms.

i take exception to this

According to the net, yes. I can only truly reference mine. From what I’ve seen, the multi turbo cars whether M57 or N57 seem to have more issues. I’ve seen at least 5 M57 35ds on TM with timing chain issues, but it’s only anecdotal.

Here’s your car. https://www.trademe.co.nz/a/motors/cars/bmw/x5/listing/3890381992 I can’t imagine an N55 will move the car with the same ease as the diesel. I think Breakmywindow(?) found the same with his X3? I get an easy 900+ kms around town, doubt the petrol would come close and even worse when loaded. At the risk of cursing myself, mine has been perfect for 2.5 years.

Seeing the state of cars in some places with no vehicle checks makes me think that's the least of concerns. People running performance tyres are more likely to care about that sort of thing in the first place i would say. When i first got my 318Ti i couldn't do 20kph around a roundabout in the wet without understeering, it was fitted with Japanese '08 made Bridgestone Ecopias from when it was imported from Japan in '08. Legal as with fresh VTNZ warrant and only half worn. Old tyres like that are worst than anything.

Does it make you feel better that its an Aussie company too? Dogs.

Just copy and paste the link that appears above your video when you view it on YT. Delete the link you have currently and you're good

This vid explains how to use dielectric grease on coils... Cheers...

Good thing there's not much stuff in the drivers side of the engine bay, they will spot a leak no problem!! If it is a crack in the manifold and you want to get it welded PM me, I do special rates for fellow E61 M5 owners....

Cheapest I have seen HPR5 for quite a while. https://www.supercheapauto.co.nz/p/penrite-penrite-hpr-5-engine-oil---5w-40-5-litre/14911.html?cgid=SCN8006450 Maybe we should keep posting any half decent relevant oil prices here. I also see Nulon has a new HPR5 equivalent. https://www.supercheapauto.co.nz/p/nulon-nulon-full-synthetic-apex-performance-engine-oil-5w-40-6-litre/646302.html?cgid=SCN01070403

Just throwing this one out there in case there's a remote chance it may help. short summary = diesel crank no start with a dodgy sounding crank, relative compression test showed 1 cylinder needing more power from the starter, problem was a stuck open injector flooding and hydrolocking one cylinder.