kerrynzl

theres a company called "R A Johnstone & Co.ltd" 5 Ryan Pl ,Manakau [ph 09 2610336] that sell all the automotive clips [They are the suppliers to panelbeaters & motor trimmers]

I could be interested depending on price/condition [Could you post some pics] or send them to my email kmathers@xtra.co.nz regards Kerry

Birch ave auto wreckers in Tauranga have a 3.64 E36 Diff, I only saw it the other day ph them[07]5782400 normally $395+gst will do it for $316+gst [$355.50] plus freight Ask for Simon [use my name for referal if you want to] Cheers Kerry

Nobody else here is pretending to be the Stig. Why doesn't he be more honest,It adds credibility and maybe more people will be interested in the track-day [unfortunately there are too many rip-offs throughout the car scene in NZ]

Hey Mate a little knowledge [in the wrong hands is dangerous]sorry about that. A responded to your question about compatability of engines & boxes [but added extra info about 'gearbox ratios & diff ratios'] these I got from a USTCC homoligation form for E36 325/328/M3's The answer to all your questions is YES [Just bolt it all in] What I was trying to point out is BMW ZF S5-16 boxes with their respective diffs were just as compatible as the 1:1 5th Boxes with their diffs Everytime I hear of people doing a Manual conversion,they go running around looking for a manual diff [You don't need to with this box] Look at the bright side,At least I got one person to pick-up their calculator [Enough to make my maths teacher proud]

OK Topgear ! So the track day is run by Topgear magazine [a profit making body that is Freeloading advertising on this forum] And You will be there [so what!] What about the Stig? will he be there too? HEY GUYS! Watch the TV programme [it's good],Go to the track day if you want to! Try and keep your money in your pockets! $300.00 + GST so they can make a TV programme [but you get lunch] The Ford musclecar club, The Capri car club, The Nissan 300Z club, & The Taupo Car Club, are all having dual sprint type events at Taupo in May/June. ALL UNDER $100.00 You can get a damm good lunch from the leftover money. This is just Taupo,Check out some of the Auckland Car Clubs these meetings are everywhere [all the time] These small clubs are the BACKBONE of motorsport in NZ, they need OUR support [in return they usually make us very welcome]

My info sources [uSTCC homologation sheet] quote the E36 325/328/M3 as all having a ZF #23.00.1.434.485 ratios as listed ;1st 4.21 2nd 2.49 3rd 1.66 4th 1.24 5th 1.00 the E36 318 has a getrag box #220.0.0225.96 ratios as listed ;1st 4.23 2nd 2.52 3rd 1.66 4th 1.22 5th 1.00 1st, & 2nd are slightly lower ean 4th is slightly higher

I agree with you Conrod, Top-gear is one off the Best Motoring-journalist programmes around,good humour & entertainment for the masses. But the Networks make their money from advertising [Not from their Television subjects] I'm sure they do. This Track day is clearly a commercial proposition, and somebody is trying to use this forum to plug it. I wonder whether the BBC has relenquished the use of the name "TOP-GEAR" or "THE-STIG" so some bullshitter can use it on this website & claim to be both.

Good One Andrew, All SCCA ITE cars, TRANSAM cars, V8 SUPERCARS, NZ V8's run a spool. I had a Mk1 lotus race car with a locked rear end [set up right you cant tell the difference,except for drive off the corners] There is 2 ways to set up a locked rear for racing; 1; stiffen up the roll resistance in the rear [stiffer springs or add stiffer rear sway bar]to help "unload" the inside wheel on corners. This method works well for low to medium horsepower cars & slower corners. 2; On high powered cars,where you need a soft rear to drive out of the corners,They usually stiffen the rebound [extension] of the shocks & slightly soften the Jounce [bump] . When you turn a car into a corner the inside shock with more resistance "unloads" the inside wheel helping the car corner.When the car accelerates off the corner, the soft rear spings [& soft shocks] help the car squat down & get traction. Method number 2 doesn't work as well on slow [hairpin] corners. Apart from the "Detroit Locker"[Fords crude mechanical ratchet locker] the locked rear end is one of the best set ups for racing

Fire extinguisher are only required for MANZ logbooked cars [WOF & Rego'd cars wouldn't require one, instead of spending $375.00 on Bullshit Topgear days [spend $90.00 on a normal track day, & put the remaining $285.00 towards a fire extinguisher, & maybe some lunch] You guys should support your own racing/club activities a lot more! Here we have a situation where at 10.57am 9th May,Somebody signs on to this forum calling themselves TOPGEAR[without leaving any personal information]. One whole minute later,they are trying to plug you guys into an Overpriced Pommie TV track day,Then sign off calling themselves THE STIG [what a load of F**ken bullshit] C'MON YOU GUYS,YOU'RE NOT THAT BRAINLESS. support your local Club activities.You all know each other,so you can have a lot of fun at; Track Days, Street Racin', Partying or Whatever

Hey Ollie, I've seen them weld themselves together [usually during a burnout,as I found out in a V8 valiant] the spider gears destroyed themselves but the side gears were welded enough to drive home. remember a diff carrier drives from the pin & spiders thru to the side gears.When you pre load the side gears it results in too much slop in the spiders [the diff clunks in on-off driving,it can break the drive pin]

You can be that someone if you don't care! Do your maths, Open diff approx $200.00 +Phantomgrip US$300.00[$460.00 NZ] plus shipping & GST. Sounds like a Bargain,Try it [let us know how it works?]

Me and my brother and a few mates run race cars, we're allowed to take passengers[cars with rollcages].I try & teach 'em religion [make them pray, ha ha!] there's about 5-10 race cars & about 60 road cars in various stages of modification. It's really laid-back. This year should be interesting with the new track. All cars get a basic scrutineer,all drivers/passengers must wear helmets,closed in shoes,and cotton overalls[minimum] & no alcohol until the dayis over

What the pre-65 boys do [because slippers/locked diffs are prohibited]is pre load the crap out of the side gears so there is so much binding-up [word chosen carefully]that the diff acts like a slipper, for one meeting at least .dial in "R200 Phantomgrip Install" on google, you'll get a better idea of what these dreamers are trying to acheive.

Hey I just looked at the phantomgrip website + the site showing it's install, my advice is to stay well clear of sh*t like that [it belongs in the bin,along with the fuelmisers & polarizers] All it does is preloads the side gears against the casing [using metal-to-metal contact under high load] to control slip.Ask yourself what happens when you get metal-to-metal contact on your crankshaft? the diff isn't any different. The gears will eventually weld themselves to the casing [if they are loaded properly]save yourself $300.00 & weld your spiders now. or better still spend some more $$$ and get a real slipper.

Why don't you wait a week & bring your race-car to the Ford Muscle Car day at Taupo, They are running on the new track [everyone is welcome,they are just the host club] costs $65.00 If you aren't rebuilding your car at the track,you usually get in about Ten Races for the day I'm not a member & they have ALWAYS WELCOMED me you can even take home a trophy Spend money on your own racing [why support the ego's of some pommie television "star"]

Ha! Human nature. Looking for the unfair advantage before the series has even started. I'd like to see E36's [purely from a spectater/sponsor angle] but its a E30 series. I agree with the M10 argument [why not]. The tech boys should be allowed to handicap via weight. Being a Techno-Boffin I'd like to see more adjustability in the cars [camber, ride-heights,springs,shocks,pads,etc] by allowing mounting points to be moved instead of buying bling-bling anodised crap. Why have it compulsory to have Rego'd cars [there are lots of uncomplied beemers out there that would make cheap race cars] The cheapest way to get a car to go fast is to remove weight [remove something & don't replace it] this would be a direction the promoters of the series should look[it doesn't hurt reliability in most cases] having seen the pics on the forum [the cars look spot on] WOFs will be a hassle though. "Some Sound Advice For Anyone Wanting To Build A Race Car" Go and Buy the Mintest Most Immaculate Car You Can Find That Fits The Purpose, these cars are now selling for less than a Paint Job [Why spend your money restoring a Dog] Start from a good car & strip it out.

For a road car, I wouldn't pay anything for a slipper [i'd leave the diff standard] For a race car, I would Lock-it up [& alter the Roll-Couple & more front negative to reduce the understeer] So If I had a spare slipper I would sell it! You are better off altering the ramp angle,than to preload it up [for road cars] In slippery conditions, A high preloaded diff will understeer into a corner [dangerous for Crap Drivers] altering ramp angle increases the fun-factor off the corners

If you know a friendly car dealer [They're all friendly] They can check out the details for you.[in exchange for some liquid currency] VR4's fell victim to NZ's frontal impact rules [same with early E36's] so there are a lot of re-tagged ones around, also when people owe moneyon a car they re-tag them to sell them. I have legitimately re-bodied a damaged race-car [it does go on], But listen to yourself The cheap Price is the warning, Trust your Instincts!! IF YOU PAY TOO MUCH, YOU LOSE A LITTLE! IF YOU PAY TO LITTLE, YOU MAY LOSE THE LOT!!

I've seen David Blackmore [drift]racing a bentley at the Wings & Wheels at Whenuapai about six years ago [he got Tee-Boned by Jacko in a Camaro] This Guy is Loose [he really fits the Bentley Image; Tats,Studded belts & wristbands,Kilt,Shaved Head etc] he looked like a warrier from Braveheart. FUN GUY

Hey Mate , Use a ZF if you can get one [they're stronger] E36 M3's in euro spec had over 300 horseys [the boxes a quite similar] The Torque rating varies with the gear reduction [borg Warner WC-T5's rate the wide ratio less than the close ratio] To all those swapping engines and boxes in 1991 the E34 manual used the same box & had an M20 & a M50 engine during the same year [so they interchange] I cant confirm this but I thought a getrag had the sensor bosses cast on all boxes [All you have to do is drill & tap them] If anybody needs rear g/box mounts? I have a mate in Aussie Who can send some repro's over [NZ $42.00 a set landed] every second hand set I see are f**ked

The Car Sharks all use Church Towing AKA Auckland Vehicle Deliveries Those buggers know the cheap deals

Why would you need a custom rear mount? Both the M50 & M20 are on the same angle [it looks different on the M50 because of the 24valve head] In fact the crank can be swapped over in stroker situations [check out Bimmersport forums HaHa!!] I have physically swapped over a gearbox from a M20 to a M50 they do bolt up. Use the M20 flywheel It's lighter [they are all internally balanced]that way you can also get rid of the bullshit dual-mass M50 flywheel [unless smoothness & driving like a Nana is your cup of tea] Just a note to others reading this [because I've asked this Question myself and got "Don't know" as a reply]I took my M50 backing plate & bolted it up to a M40 engine [the M10 is different] The Ratios in the S5-16 are 1st: 3.50, 2nd: 2.01, 3rd: 1.34, 4th: 1.00, 5th: 0.82 usually with a 3.86 diff [uS spec] The Ratios in the E36 M3 [and the 325/328] ZF box are 1st: 4.210, 2nd: 2.49, 3rd: 1.66, 4th: 1.24, 5th: 1.00 usually with a 3.15 diff [uS spec] If you do your maths and multiplied the gear ratio's by the diff ratio's you would find the overall ratio's almost identical [by using the S5-16 box in a manual conversion, you should still be able to use the auto diff]

HEY MATE! Don't be afraid to abandon a project, If a better one comes along [my 2 cents about procrastination] I use ARP head studs in a Chevy race car. They are a very good product try Summit Racing on the Web,they are a huge Mail-order house [i've used them a lot] The advantage of head-studs is they are re-usable,And the threads in the block only support clamping loads[most yank & pom sh*t use coarse threads because of poor quality castings]therefore saving the threads during the Torquing process. The downside is, Trying to Remove the head in the vehicle [on a V engine,or a slant engine]The head has to be lifted higher than the studs.[on a Corvette the brake booster interferes,I assume an E36 is the same] I would recommend ARP head bolts for high perfomance street/racing [they are not Torque-to-Yeild] so they are re-usable [for a limited number of clamping cycles anyway]

Hey , With private parking what THEY are doing is 'placing a lien'[with-holding] your car by clamping it [because they have reasonable grounds that you may abscond without paying for their time] If you can remove it [without damaging it] and get off their property, they then cannot touch your car. They can bill you and legally recover your debt to them. Once You've removed the clamp [they ratchett like Handcuffs]Find the most expensive vehicle on the lot [hopefully the Chairman of the board or somebody important] and clamp their car. Let somebody else give them grief [it's easier]+ these vermon might listen to them for a change