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Car came with 2 sets of wheels, some genuine 16" bbs rs's (which have been sold) and the original 15" basket weaves that I think fit the car perfectly. Only other wheel I would look at are the 16' alpinas but think they are more suited to the mtech 2. The wheels were in pretty rough shape, needing to be stripped back to metal and lips skimmed down and repainted. Powerstrip Industries in Onehunga did a great job at chemically stripping the wheels (for only $65 per wheel) and had the lips cleaned up by Alloy Wheel Repair in Grey Lynn. I painted the wheels myself and they came out better than I could have hoped. I've painted things before but not wheels... let alone basket-weaves. I primed and did 3 coats of base colour and a couple of heavy clear coats. I used VHT wheel paint (i think aluminium colour) and i'm pretty happy with the result. Maybe not quite as bright as original but I haven't compared side by side to a set of originals. Clear coat had plenty of time to cure as I was doing the whole front end servicing of the car at the same time so didn't see any road use for a month or so. Have since bought a 5th matching 15" basketweave that will get the same treatment and used as the spare wheel (as the car didn't come with one)

Clearances while fitting...toight!!! Will get rotors machined. The way this car looks and feels with these 18×10s, brakes, suspension etc...💪

with my 545i nudging its way towards 160k kms, I'm going to have the trans serviced, or at least, the filter and pan, mechatronics sleeve, and fluid replaced. I have the pan and bolts and sleeve, and new fill plug ready to go. I've been looking into fluids. Seems the ZF 6 Speed is sensitive to fluid... The Spec for 6HP26 is: ZF Spec TE-ML 11B Shell M-1375.4 Armed with this knowledge, and wanting to avoid "DexIII" assumption, I've looked at lots of info, written off Redline D6-ATF as it doesn't actually meet the specs, merely states it's a "popular crossover". BMW dealer kindly offered to retail me their Shell fluid at $80/litre. After that Redline prices in NZ looked almost reasonable at $40/litre! Options: There's a Febi oil 34608 which is relatively inexpensive, meets the M-1375.4 and is listed by Febi as being the right thing for 6HP26. Very little additional info, don't even know if it's mineral blend or full synth. A shade under USD10 per litre. BMW's own 83222220445 meets Shell M-1375.4 (USD37/litre) ZF Lifeguard 6 meets ZF Spec TE-ML 11B and Shell M-1375.4, it's price is getting up there (USD25/litre) Pentosin ATF1 is Full Synthetic, meets ZF Spec TE-ML 11B and Shell M-1375.4, and is reasonably priced in USA at about USD15/litre. I'm reading there's no NZ distributor, is this correct? I've also looked at the Penrite site - they have no equivalent, as do Castrol NZ (warning only to use Shell M-1375.4). Total's NZ distributor site listed FLUIDMATIC MV LV, but precious little else, didn't appear to be a stocked item. Fuchs product finder listed ATF4134, though it only appears to have Mercedes certification. Service Refill capacity stated as 9.7 litres. ruled out. Wildcard: Ford Motorcraft Mercon SP. Yep, it's for the Ford ZF 6HP26 (called Ford 6R80)... In the US it's inexpensive, meets the right specs. Dunno if it's full synthetic. Wonder if I should call a Ford Dealer parts department (though one recalls why one does not own a Ford!). Hyundai also runs this trans. Hmm. Proposed service approach: Drain fluid (just draining sounds like it's 4.5 litres). Refill to spec (I understand it's a three-stage thing, with correct trans temps reached, and adaptations reset). Drive for 500kms. Then drain and replace the pan with the new ZF part, sleeve, bolts, refill to spec with fresh fluid. I think 12 litres should be plenty for this adventure. Which Fluid? I think I'll go with Pentosin ATF1 as it meets both ZF's own TE-ML 11B, and Shell's M-1375.4 specs, is fully synthetic, and is reasonably priced. Question 1: Anyone in NZ sell Pentosin ATF1? I don't object to a reasonable margin for freight, tax, and holding stock... if only someone is selling it here. Question 2: Should I talk with a Ford dealer about Motorcraft Mercon S? Question 3: Anything I've missed? I also plan on replacing the diff fluid, and perhaps soon the Engine & Trans mounts, and the Guibo. It's a 14 year old car, needs a bit of upkeep. Your thoughts appreciated.

Fitted Fuel tank, brake and clutch lines, pedals, booster, abs pump, gear lever. Tomorrow engine, gearbox, subframes and suspension. Hole for cluch bleed nipple on gearbox. Gear lever slot, mod tunnel etc. It's like Lego nowdays... 20240816_185658.mp4