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Hi All, Maybe this topic has been discussed previously in the forum, but if it has I must have missed it. Has anyone in NZ tried fitting either the 4.4 or 4.5 litre BMW V8 into an E46 Coupe? We're looking at the possibility of building an M3 GTR clone for Targa and circuit racing, and would be interested in talking to anyone who has already completed this transplant. We already have the E46, the body panels, and engine ready for the project, and have more or less decided upon all the major mechanical components, but are still very open to ideas and suggestions. Appreciate your feedback. Cheers!

I know a couple of weeks ago you recommended not to touch 19" wheels, but my wife simply had to have them! So we went with the Protech, Albert, Model # P494 19x8.5. Great looking wheels, and certainly doesn't make the car feel any harsher than it was. Her 328ci already had 18" and lowered Eibach springs when we bought it, so it already had a firm ride. The 2 stolen 18" wheels & tyres were from the original set we took off the car, and we were in the process of selling them through TradeMe - the other 2 wheels in the set were in the boot of my car. Now we can't even sell the 2 we are left with! Bastards!! I'll post some pics soon. In the 2 weeks my wife has had the car we've fitted the new wheels, had it serviced, fitted euro plate and roof spoiler, had interior cleaned and repaired, & fitted an NZ / Euro spec stereo (thanks Jochen) - so it's looking, performing & sounding sharp! Cheers, and let me know if you spot those two 18" wheels for sale. PS: Dave, thanks for the original post on this subject. No, not the DnB producer. Prefer house, lounge and acid jass. This John B is the car-crazy, 740-driving, Dunlop Targa-entering, ex-Wellingtonian now living in Central Auckland.

Isn't it strange that backyard customisers think they can improve upon the work of professional car designers! This design simply doesn't work - it just doesn't 'look right'. Yet someone has offered $5000 for it ... that's about $4000 too much!

COMMUNication: from the Latin "to make common", ie: to make thoughts, ideas, information, & concepts 'common' between two or more people. Communication only occurs IF there is a common understand of the information exchanged. The problem with text messaging, and in particular the abbreviated language used when texting, is that often there is not a common understanding at the end of the process - both parties don't have the same understanding of what was said. Therefore 'communication' hasn't really taken place! If the person / people receiving your text (or should I say TXT?) don't understand the abbreviated 'short-hand' used, then you haven't really achieved much - you may understand what you're saying, but they may not! And I'll admit, I'm often bloody confused with some of the abbreviated 'short-hand' that I receive. In addition to the issue of 'short-hand', there's another short-coming with TXTing. Research shows that when speaking face-to-face... 10% of meaning is in the actual words spoken 40% is in the tone / way that the words are said 50% is in your actions / facial expression ...so people gain most of their information / interruption (up to 90%) from the non-verbal / non-word signals. And yet when TXTing we only use words - there are no 'non-verbal' signals! And words normally only convey about 10% of the meaning of a communication. No wonder there is so much miscommunication, misunderstanding, and misinterruption when TXTing.Scary thought isn't it!!

Seems like this issue of TXTing has created quite a discussion. I don't text alot - just when absolutely necessary - phoning is quicker, and less prone to misunderstanding. As sakdbma mentioned, "...get messed up through text messaging, people can take things the wrong way so easily...".

Well spotted...the 35mm was just a typo...I do understand about profiles / percentages. About 12 years ago I was running 205/35 - 17 on the front an Alpine (check out the red Alpine at SPR Race Team). The sidewalls were so narrow that both front rims were badly dented when driving over the railway cross on SH1 at Mangaweka. Both tyres went flat and I was marooned in the middle of the North Island at midnight on the way to the Wellington Street Race. Moral of the story, if you're running ultra-low profiles, make sure they are ALWAYS well inflated!

Both yourself and hybrid were absolutely right - the offset is critical. I guess that's why I have always fitted custom-made 3-piece Arrow wheels to my cars in the past. A 3-piece wheel allows you to have any offset (positive or negative) that you require. The wheel my wife is going for is a 19 x 8.5 inch with a 38mm offset. This wheel has been fitted on other E46s, and from the images I have seen, they fit ready well. Maybe we will have to lower the car, but we'lll make that decision once the wheels are fitted. I know a number of you have recommended not to go with a 19 inch wheel (because of the harsh ride), but my wife doesn't seem too concerned - she's been driving a Porsche for the last five years, so I guess she's used to hard riding cars. Plus she only drives about 5000km each year, so hopefully won't get tired of the ride. She's going with a 35mm profile so it should be okay ... touch wood! Maybe we shouldn't sell the 18" wheels currently on the car to quickly, just in case she changes her mind!

A big thanks to everyone who has replied to my original post regarding my wife's E46 328ci. All your suggestions regarding wheels and euro plate has been extremely useful. She picks the car up tomorrow, so it should be riding on new wheels and tyres, with its new numberplate panel by the end of the week. The plastic moulding for the euro plate was a much easier exercise than I thought. The part was available across the counter from Team McMillan for $85.33 + GST (part number B51118244354; description 'Licence Plate Base'). Shame I didn't see the posting from Nimma before going to Team McMillan ... the price from API was even cheaper! However, the Team McMillan part comes pre-primed ready to paint, and a local panel beater will spray it for $50, so the whole exercise is not particularly expensive - and will make the car look less like a Japanese import.

David, thanks for the offer, but the diagram doesn't look like an E46 model. My wife's E46 has a one-piece wrap-around bumper strip, not the 3 separate strips shown on the diagram. The moulded plastic number plate panel on the E46 is not part of the bumper strip, it is a separate 'add-on' piece that fits onto the front of the bumper.

Martyyn, good call. It's the separate moulded plastic number plate panel I'm after, not the europlate itself. See my reply to David.

Thanks for clarifying Cain. Maybe you can clarify something else for me. I've noticed people referring to 'thread' alot, as in, "...sticky this thread..." and "...many go to guys in this thread...". Excuse my ignorance, but what the hell is a thread? This forum laungage is all new to me - it makes me feel very old! John

...I have an e38 740i shadowline with the sports package and 18' polished rim m-pars....as in my sig You are right, they are reasonably common in the UK but less so here. I havent seen very many 740's at all in Wellington and for a while mine (brought with me from the UK) was the only shadowline with 18' wheels that Id seen in Wellington. Cheers Martyn Ah I see...now I get it! So that Shodowline pic is your car...looks VERY nice. I wanted a silver, but didn't have much choice. Only had one car to choose from, so bought a dark blue metallic with the 14 spoke 18 inch wheels (not sure what the wheel is called). Is a great car, everything works perfectly (including TV & phone), and is powerful enough to tow my racecar. I love it...except the petrol bill!

You're right Alex - I'm certainly getting alot of good info from this forum, and I've only been a member for 24 hours. But man, this forum laungage is all new to me - makes me feel very old! What does it mean to, "sticky this thread....and many go to guys in this thread" ?

Thanks for the info Antony. It's a painted plastic panel that protrudes forward from the front bumper (looks to be simply attached over top of the bumper). Any idea of cost?

BUYING EX-JAPAN : After looking at dozens of 328ci's, and even investigating buying direct from a Japanese auction, yesterday my wife finally purchased a Japanese import 1999 Silver 328ci (50,000km; 18" alloys; rear spoiler; clear indicator lenses; CD shuttle) from a car yard here in Auckland. Because of the current exchange rates, plus the over supply of imports in NZ, buying locally is definitely the best option (in my opinion). We negotiated the price down from $34,995 to $28,000 for our car. BUYING EX-SINGAPORE : I agree with those who have said that it's better to buy ex-Japan, not from Singapore. Having worked in Singapore I know the extreme conditions that their cars operate in - and the general lack of care / maintenance (if my colleagues in Singapore were typical car owners). I've also heard horror storys from within the car industry here in NZ about the electrical problems with Singapore cars. DEPRECIATION ON NZ CARS : The 'down-side' of all these imports is of course the depreciation on NZ-new BMWs. I've just been offered an $8,000 trade-in value on my NZ-new 1998 E38 740i, with only 80,000km on the clock - this was a $190,000 car when new! EURO PLATE ON IMPORT E46 : Question! I've also posted this question in the 'General Discussion' section, but it seems appropriate to ask here also. My wife likes the euro style plate fitted on my E38 740i, and now wants a euro plate on her new E46. Of course being an import the front number plate panel won't accept a euro plate - but I believe these plastic panels can be changed over. Anyone got any idea who sells these NZ/European style panels? Appreciate any feedback.

Sorry Martyyn, being part of the older 'non-text', 'non-abbreviation' generation - and this is the very first forum I've ever used - I'm not up on the short, cryptic replys. Is *cough* a derogatory comment (are the Shadowlines not popular / unloved in NZ?), or am I reading your meaning incorrectly?

The exterior 'Shadowline' trim package included matte-black around the side windows, body-side molding, front and rear bumper strips, and windshield washer jets (replacing all the chrome). It was a more expensive option on the e38 740i, and when combined with the sports package, and 18" wheels makes the car look quite different to the average 7 series. That's why I posted the question - I simply hadn't seen other Shadowline 7 series. Your 535 looks sharp - very similar (and same colour) as my 7.

Thanks for reply Bullitt. No haven't checked with BMW yet. Will phone them Monday re: panel for euro plate on e46. Yip, that's the wheel. Looks good but don't want to pick some rare, one-off, odd-ball wheel that could be hard to replace in the future. Just found someone selling a set (new) on TradeMe for $1959. Again, I'll check out Monday.

Gidday. Just joined your forum and have posted a couple of questions about my wife's 328ci (the enquiry about fitting euro plates), but I also have a question about my own car. A couple of years ago a purchased a 1 owner, NZ new, 1998 E38 740i Shadowline. Since owning the car I haven't seen any other Shadowlines in NZ. According to numerous websites, they were popular in the US and Europe. I was just wondering, does anyone know of any others in New Zealand?

Hi! My wife has just seen the light and come back to the BMW fold (she's had a 318is and AC Schnitzer coupe in the past) after a few years driving a non-bimmer. Yesterday she purchased a sweet Japanese import 1999 Silver 328ci (50,000km; 18" alloys; rear spoiler; clear indicator lenses; CD shuttle), but there is a problem. She likes the euro style plate fitted on my E38 740i, and now wants a euro plate on her new E46. Of course being an import the front number plate panel won't accept a euro plate - but I believe these plastic panels can be changed over. Anyone got any idea who sells these NZ/European style panels? Appreciate any feedback. Question number two. Although her new 328ci has nice looking 18" wheels, she wants to put 19" on it (she likes her cars to 'look' good!). She's picked out the Protech, Albert, Model # P494 from the Mag & Tyre website (19x8.5 with 38mm offset). Anyone got any experience with these wheels? The only aftermarket alloys I ever buy are 3-piece Arrow wheels, so I have no experience with off-the-shelf stuff. Again feedback appreciated. Only just joined your forum tonight, so looking forward to sharing ideas on these magic cars!