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Got up to Nelson for the weekend. Went up along the coast through Kaikoura & Blenheim and back down inland through Lewis Pass. Awesome scenic drive with nice bits of twisties along the way. Ticked over 230,000km along the way. Car behaved really well throughout, held the road really well, tracked nice and straight with no weird clunks or vibrations, an absolute joy to drive. Can't feel any noticeable NHV from the solid subframe bushes and even the monoball trailing arms don't feel too bad going over bumps or sharp edges with the new shocks. Definitely not the sportiest setup with some body roll felt in quicker corners but ride comfort was always going to be prioritised over stiffness and I cannot fault it at all. Forgot to mention before that I also threw in a 25mm Z4 front sway bar that I got off a mate. Don't think I could make out any real difference but I'm sure it also helps. Only real issue throughout was the rubbing from the rear tyres, mostly the left side one for some reason. The rear really does look to droop a wee bit, although the side skirts sit parallel to the ground. Ordered in a pair of 15mm ÜRO spring pads from RockAuto, should arrive during the coming week and will throw them in straight away. Whilst in Nelson, I cut up the old set of pads and threw them in as spacers to make the drive back south a bit less stressful. Seemed to work at first but after a while the suspension settled again or the springs pressed themselves into the pads a bit deeper and the rubbing became as bad as before. Mostly looks to be rubbing at the rear and into the inner edge of the bumper and actually managed to eat away at it quite a bit. Will try and fold the lip in a little bit more towards the rear and trim back the bumper somewhat. Might also leave in an extra spacer pad even after installing the 15mm upper spring pad. Will still probably need to tweak the camber somewhat. I hear that it's allowed to be half a degree beyond spec when going for cert so that's probably where I'll take it. As far as teething issues go, that's pretty mild in my book so cannot complain. Apart from the rubbing, cannot fault the car at the moment, couldn't be happier with how it rides and really pleased to finally have it at a point where I can just enjoy driving it. Will be eating up plenty more km's in the coming month.

Sedan has plastic trim inserts around the car unlike coupes with just the pin like indent. That M3 would look ok on a coupe im guessing. Ive seen msport ones mixed up and once you see you cannot unsee, looks odd.

In the same boat with my front bumper, all shagged so I'm looking at getting an M3-style bumper from this fella at some point - https://oscardistributors.com/collections/e46-bmw/products/e46-m3-style-bumper-to-suit-coupe-sedan?variant=40105130918022 Currently out of stock but should be more in soon. Claims to both fit coupes and sedans which I thought were different but decent value if true. No idea on the rears. Would be keen to know if there's better options out there ordering from overseas too.

Just testing to make sure you chaps are awake...........😁

VIN: WBSBL92050JR00039 Type code: BL92 Model: Мotorsport (EUR) E-F-R series: E46 2 Series: 3 Type: COUPE Steering: RL Doors: 2 Engine: S54 Displacement: 3.20 Power: 252 (342 hp) Drive: HECK (RHD) Transmission: MECH (SMG) Paint code: 416 - CARBONSCHWARZ METALLIC Upholstery code: N5TT - TEILLEDER W.N./G Napa Grey Leather Prod.date: 2001-02-01 S210 Dynamic stability control III S249 Multifunction f steering wheel S313 Fold-in outside mirror S358 Climate comfort windscreen S403 Glass roof, electrical S415 Sun-blind, rear S423 Floor mats, velours S428 Warning triangle and first aid kit S431 Interior rear-view mirror with auto dip S441 Smoker package S459 El. front seat adjustment w. memory S473 Armrest front S490 Adjustment, seat-backrest width S493 Storage compartment package S494 Seat heating driver/passenger S502 Headlight cleaning system S520 Fog lights S521 Rain sensor S534 Automatic air conditioning S548 Kilometre speedo S550 On-board computer S661 Radio BMW Business (C43) S674 Hi-Fi system Harman Kardon S692 Preparation, BMW 6-CD changer I-bus - now with changer installed S710 M sports steering wheel, multifunction S771 Interior trim strips, Titan Shadow S775 Headlining anthracite S785 White direction indicator lights S793 Sequential M Gearbox Drivelogic L807 NATIONAL VERSION JAPAN S832 Battery in luggage compartment S845 Acoustic fasten seat belt reminder S853 Language version, English S875 Infrared remote control S916 Development veh. w/out preservation S925 Dispatch protection pack S991 STEUERUNG VORSERIE - Pre-production car S992 Control of number-plate attachment HK Speakers with new OEM Mid and High Range drivers fitted - 09/22 Meyle HD RCAB's fitted and car serviced June '23 at 69,762 kms - as of 27 Oct - 70,762 kms New VARTA battery 11/22 Vehicle was imported by BMW Group NZ as Approved Import in 2003 at ~ 9000 kms. Owned within the family since 2005 at 25K kms - currently owned by little old German lady with no further requirement. Completely stock - zero mods. $58,000.00 Only listing is here - Pls contact by PM

I sometimes feel left out that I don't like them visually. Even as a kid I didn't like them. I think it is trauma from those Herbie movies in the 80s.

Do. Not. Get. Me Started. (Sur)real Estate Agents have surpassed the [can't write the word I want to here ] that lawyers are supposedly known for. There seems to be a preponderance of ill-educated, slimy, self-entitled tossers around masquerading as people pretending to sell houses and property. PBN, POA, tender... All are pathetic excuses for not doing the job they are paid far to well for. Try offering any amount for a house and you're always told "the vendor has indicated that they'll not accept less than $ludicrous..." SO WHY DIDN'T YOU PUT THAT ON THE LISTING AND SAVE ME THE BOTHER OF HAVING TO TALK TO YOU?!?!?!?!? There are some good ones around but the days where an agen represented a vendor and worked to find a buyer, or would take a buyer's requirements and find a house, are loooong gone. It's a self-regulated industry. And when you do finally get a house that a sensible offer is accepted on, the agent wants you - the buyer - to pay a hefty sum into a 'holding account' while contracts are sorted, titles are issued - whatever. I have never seen this done anywhere else. Who gets the interest off that money? Certainly not the seller, or the buyer.

Sold the 25 mm spacers that I had on my Maserati. The guy got them and asked if the smaller ones should go on the front or the back. Whaaat? I exclaimed. I've just found out that the spacers I was running for quite some time were 22mm and 25mm not 25mm all round as I had assumed. I can't believe I f**ked that up and it explains why it's handling was all over the place, it probably had a different offset on the same axle or the same offset one side. I lost a lot of sleep trying to figure out what was causing it to handle like a greased weasel.

f**kety f**k f**k. Went to fit new brake pads to the 535i and I have ordered the wrong ones. Anyone need these? Suit a F10 550i I believe. https://www.fcpeuro.com/products/bmw-brake-pad-set-front-eur1409