M3_Power

No one breaking an E70 X5 anywhere in the Country???

Yes you can. Sometimes the centre bolt will snap on that v brace if corroded. The torque setting is really high on that brace however and technically speaking you should replace the bolts as it is a stretched bolt torque + angle.

Part number 64226958748 Looks like this: PM if you have one for sale.

Appreciate the well wishes Jason and Tyler!!! Now sold : ) Thanks all!

2 x Bruno Mars seated tickets. Will post up detail and price when I find out. Wife's pregnant so can't attend.

I've used the Penrose place a few times ... they are more expensive in my opinion. Try Smits Group on Greemount Drive in Botany - much cheaper (the shop is very Spartan - it's more a warehouse with a small retail attached to it, but they are cheaper than most - and cheaper still if you know someone with a trade account with them). Have also Used Car Colors on the Shore (talk to Brendon), extremely helpful and definitely ready to do a good deal if you beg!!! I find in terms of colour matching, Car Colors are extremely good - I've been in their mix room and it is pretty state of the art.

Josh thinks everyone needs an E30 If the McLaren P1 and the MP4-12C can do with an open diff, so could you Jooles

You can if you have the full Adobe Acrobate software and integrated the function to the web browser. I do this quite often myself. Post up the link and PM me your email and I'll do it and email it to you if it isn't too large. If it's multiple pages then it will need to be saved as individual pages and then combined as one PDF file.

Well done!! I am just wondering whether the reason it has a slightly strange snap ring in there for the vanos oil pump housing is because someone replaced the bearing and race in the past and used the snap ring that came with the bearing kit? (when the bearing goes bad) I would double check that the race, metal washer and the snap ring are snug with the new s54 versions in place. Keep it up.

Part of a spares package I picked up that I don't require. The Alcantara portion that line the seat frame (does not include the back support portion or the seat base or the lumbar support pad). I would rate this as 8.5/10 condition wise. Very tidy Alcantara. This used to be on the left hand seat, but they are interchangeable between left and right (passenger and driver) - only one part number for the seat cover for both seats. There is a very very small pin hole (about 1mm x 1mm) by the left hand side where the seatbelt used to rub against it (it's in the piping portion of the stitching so very very confined - you can probably get this tucked by an upholstery shop if you really wanted to) - it's really not as big of a deal as I am probably making it out to be as you'd most likely miss it if I hadn't said anything - so take it as it been hardly noticeable. If you put this cover in the driver seat it won't rub against the belt and will not get worse. Worth while spare to have and put on your seat if you use your car a lot - keep the good one in your car as a spare. RRP for this is just over $1000. Half price and take it away $500 (firm). the pin hole if you can spot it

I run mine on s3 basically all of the time now and nothing more than s4. s6 is just far too brutal, even s5 is a bit too much sometimes in my opinion. You should NEVER lift in an SMG car, once calibrated correctly you shouldn't need to. And if you do, it'll just slip the clutch overtime as it adapts. According to the US guys who have been dissecting the coding for the SMG tune for both standard m3 and CSL the difference is vast. The S5 shift speed is about the equivalent of the S3 shift speed in the CSL. The torque ramp up is also 100% (in the CSL) vs 60% (in the standard M3) - this is what gives it that instantaneous perfect rev match in the CSL. There are apparently 6 different maps for the DME for the upshifts and 6 more for the downshifts characteristics - each of those incorporating a full throttle map (100% torque load) It is now possible to fully flash the CSL SMG software together with the corrected CSL DME codes to match (you need to do both, otherwise it is pointless as it'll just give you the higher launch modes and slightly better upshift speed, but you lose out on the downshift torque match from the DME).

I believe the two are basically the same product actually. Here's some specs: TWS (for M) : Now known as TWS Edge Professional Relative density @ 20.0 deg C = 0.865 Viscosity at 40 deg C = 163.1 Viscosity at 100 deg C = 24.3 Viscosity Index = 181 Flash Point (closed) deg C = 198 Pour point deg C = -42 TBN = 8.1 http://www.tds.castrol.co.nz/pdf/10709_Edge%20Professional%20TWS%2010W-60.pdf http://msdspds.castrol.com/bpglis/FusionPDS.nsf/Files/6FDB8BF64A70767380257B520054A718/$File/BPXE-96ZTLQ.pdf Compare that to the Titanium: http://www.tds.castrol.co.nz/pdf/10806_EDGE%2010W-60%20SN.pdf Almost exactly the same specification. Now if you really want to get to the bottom of it all, why don't you PM the guy (Doug Hillary is his name) that developed it for Castrol himself directly on this forum below LOL (seems from what he says, it was developed and then branded separately, one for BMW and one for Castrol itself): http://www.bobistheoilguy.com/forums/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=2988455

Seriously just because you don't like something you don't have to keep telling everyone about it at every opportunity. We ALL know already. I may think the E36 M3 is the ugliest looking car ever made but you don't see me shouting about it at every opportunity. Similarly I may think you are an incompetent home mechanic and shouldn't be working on cars at all for screwing up a simple Vanos job following a well written instruction from the web. The reality is we all like different things and appreciate different aspects of our cars and those of others. I am here to share knowledge and help others if I can, not to put down other peoples' choices - they have their own reasons for purchasing and driving whatever they like - who are you to cheapen other peoples' choices? Be a little more respectful. The reality is also a lot of these "issues" are well known now and many have workable solutions or fixes or are sufficient enough to prolong the car till its end of life (nothing lasts forever people) - so just pick carefully and enjoy it.

Couldn't have said it better myself. As with anything, you can break any car by running it to red line from stone cold day in and day out and then claim that it was a shitty engine and post all over the Internet about it. The SMG is no different and no worse than your average manual. In fact it's probably better than all the manual M3s out there. Many of these cars would have seen multiple owners now and I doubt all of them can shift as seamlessly as Aryton Senna. The SMG cars on the other hand you can almost guarantee the gearbox (if regularly re-adapted and reset) will be as good as new. The fact that you often only ever see SMG cars replace pumps and other ancillaries and not the actual gearbox due to worn synchro is testament to how well designed these systems are. $20K for a new gearbox vs $2.5K for a new pump, I'd take the pump each and every time. I have had 2 conventional manual E46 M3s from brand new and one SMG and I would take the SMG car each and every time without hesitation. At least the DME in the SMG cars aren't programmed to have the 0.5second delay on power delivery like the conventional manuals do.

The wallet must feel lighter just from typing that out haha!!!!

Bling!!!!

You simply purchased the wrong handbrake ... RHD part number is 34412282662. I hope you didn't pay a fortune for one, because they aren't actually that expensive from the UK. Doesn't look like it.

Hmmmm interesting ... As a comparison, the E46 M3 tip is ID 61mm OD 65mm L 121mm I wonder if it'll fit the E46 M3 muffler if cut down to be shorter ....

Tristan Can you measure the ID and length of these for me please. Thanks!

PM'd

Pondering what I should work on next ....

I priced up a RS3 rim last year and nearly had a heart attack ... It makes BMW M rims like pocket change. But then whenever I feel a part is a bit expensive I logon ferrarichat.com to check out what Ferrari owners pay for a carbon fibre cupholder or an exhaust bolt and I start to feel all better again

I have the official CSL wheel paint - got it really cheap too (a whole litre of the bloody thing) - it's a really thin paint, so I'd just use it as a final coat otherwise you'll end up using a tonne of the paint just to paint the wheel. If Matt hasn't sent you the official paint code and the applicator instruction let me know and I'll send some over.

I could say the same thing about local BMW parts departments, but no one would believe me : P I can't even remember the last time I actually bought a part from abroad instead of local (bar second hand items)

I am fairly sure those clear lights were a "factory option" - it was during a period when clear tail lights were all the rage and BMW brought them out as an optional pacakge (wife was working there at the time and I remember seeing that car being sold new with those lights).