M3_Power

The ITB trumpets/velocity stacks can come out of the standard airbox - they are plastic and are held on by a plastic ring on the back + rubber boot - remove those and the trumpets slide out. So technically you would just mould the carbon box and reuse the ITB plastic trumpets/velocity stacks The stock airbox from what I can gather is made up of no less than 7 individual sections (4 on the main plenum and 3 on the snorkel). Some of the moulds I've seen have about 6 individual sections - the box is then assembled from those individual sections. I am of the opinion that you can 3D scan this from the outside and tidy it up in CAD - hence my post here. I am merely putting this airbox up for anyone that wants to take on the project of doing it - I am not doing this personally as I don't have the know-how or the capacity to actually get the project done on my own (except down the route of cutting it open and moulding it which I am not about to do). Good feedbacks and suggestions so far - anyway just throwing the idea out there to get feedbacks on the best solution to approach this. I highly doubt even China can produce this for $100 a piece - the material alone would far exceed that! Unless done out of thermoplastics I suppose haha!!

Okay ... a member on here already knows about this, but I thought I would throw a post up and see if there are interests and ability to do this here locally. Everyone knows how expensive the CSL intake is (even a replica) - to make a replica air box you basically have to cut one open to mould it. My question to the members here in the industry is, is it possible to make a replica of one without cutting the original one open. If so I would like to hear about it, because I am able to 'donate' one for such an exercise (not out of my car) - but a genuine air box. Once moulds are made (or CAD drawing done or similar) I have access to a really good fabricator that can then make these up for local members that want one. I am not after anything out of this, really just doing this for the community - that's if it can be done at all.

Personally I actually think it's the worst year to be buying CSLs from Europe ... at least not before May ... The 10th year annivarsary is coming up so most of the decent cars all have owners now (apparently about a 1/3 of the cars are going back to Munich in a weeks time for the big bash). Wait after the event has passed before you pick one up - I am sure there'll probably be a few dented ones too as there's two track days lined up for the celebration. Buy the most decent one you can afford. Depends on how original you want to keep the car - but expect all the exhaust flanges to be rusted to nothing from Europe (they were mild steel and not protected) - over $3000 for a brand new rear muffler and over $2000 for a mid pipe - these two are the most often to go first. I would never buy one without looking at the floor and rear wheel arches - inside the boot floor under the 'cardboard' floor trim. Everything's for sale my friend - I can lay claim to having the most spare parts for this car also in the Country and if I were to sell I'd sell the whole lot including all the spares.

I swear we need larger inboxes!! But happy to just answer questions here so others can just look up in this post instead of resorting to PMs. 1383 made in total (excluding the prototypes) .... 542 RHD. 10 official NZ imports (8 silver grey and 2 Sapphire black) - I know of 3 private UK imports since (one Sappire black, and 2 silver greys) I am told there has been another silver grey come in last year, but I've not seen it. One NZ new car is now in Australia, so making official NZ car telly to 9. The driver training car that was written off was not part of the 10 official imports. I have chassis no.1 - in terms of first registration - in NZ : ) If I remember correctly 6 of the 10 official NZ cars are delimited and two came in without radio - all had aircon spec'd. If you think prices are high in Aussie, you should see what they cost in Germany, Turkey, Switzerland and Hong Kong. I was told by a friend in Germany that you couldn't pick up a decent one for less than 60K euros. In Turkey one was sold for nearly 150,000 Euros - it had 10km on the clock, never used. In Hong Kong I was told you'd still be paying about NZ$130K for a moderate km one. I know of one still for sale in NZ, but the owner want decent coins for it, so unless you are desperate for a minter and are prepared to pay look to import. Just be careful when you import from the UK, most would have some sort of corrosion underneath (every single one I've seen have it) - worse now as majority of the cars have had the rear floor replaced due to the infamous subframe crack - this will mean you'll need an engineering cert (as it's considered chassis repair work) to get it complied in NZ - chances are it probably won't pass - as owners tend to sell their cars if the floor isn't done right(from my experiences in import in the past and having had engineering certs done, the floor is a major). CSL will meet the SIV tests and has been done before - I believe it might even be on a list. Personally if I was to import I would buy a LHD one if you can find a decent example - they are better balanced (these cars are engineered LHD not RHD) and slightly higher hp (and have the lighter carpet that the RHD apparently don't have). I also think you are dreaming to wanting to find one for 21K pound that has never tracked - people buy these cars to track ... it's almost a given. It's how well it has been taken care of that matters not whether it was tracked at all. All the suspension rubbers and bushings can be replaced - I've taken mine to the track a total of 6 times (4 at Pukekohe and 1 at Hampton Downs and 1 at Taupo) and I've replaced basically all the bushes on my car already and the oil comes out after each track day - the diff oil has been replaced twice, and the gearbox once - and it's done 29k km. It comes down to how you maintain the car. Get NJ to send you photos of the bottom of the car and find out if the floor has been replaced - decide then if you want to buy it. He had a real low km example with 2 owners for sale before and a friend of mine in the UK went and checked it out - he walked away after he saw the floor - apparently it was rusty as f**k.

I don't mind the US boot lid I think on a black car it's not that obvious. Should swap the kidney grills though .....

You missed one Paul, if you ever decide to open up a vehicle detailing business let me know because I want in!!! Far out, I don't think I've ever seen those rims that clean ever!!!! LOL ... my first thought when I saw the photos!!! Hi my name is Tom and I too am like every other BMW owners on this forum with a serious case of OCD!!

Do factory racecars count? For me these three ... 1. M1 Procar 2. BMW CSL 3.0 3. E46 M3 GTR PTG edition

You lose toe change articulation under braking and acceleration with the powerflex design - i.e. you lose stability under braking. Even the WTCC BMW motorsport solid spherical bearing allows for toe change articulation within a design range. OEM+ limiter kit is, in my opinion, the best of both worlds - retain stock NVH and you limit the toe change to an acceptable level. Limiting the full range of movement in the RTAB = bent RTAB carrier bracket - we've seen it many a times on the WTCC E46 car we help maintain and repair.

LOVE IT!

Glad to see someone willing to rescue this!!! Awesome and congrats!

Very nice ... glad to finally see you find the one! Personally I would avoid the powerflex bushings ... Definitely big Wednesday if you are going for an Evolve airbox!! Why not just get the interior leather dyed? The fun begins!!

buy me!!

I wonder which version it is ... apparently the Telecom version has 4G disabled for now. Only the Vodafone version is fully unlocked.

According to the friend, they are no track tyres that's for sure - but then again he was comparing them to the Michelin Pilot Sport Cup he was running.

Would much prefer to sell as a set to be honest. The rears won't be hard to pass on if you don't need them as it is a popular sizing I am told. I actually think the 265 will be okay on the 8.5 - these 265s are a lot narrower than the standard 265s I've seen with other brands like Michelins or Pirellis. $250 per tyre is very cheap already, so I am reasonably firm on the price sorry. Contact me if you are interested. Thanks.

I normally just use a hair dryer - takes a little longer but better result as you don't run the risk of over heating it and stretching the ABS plastic (and you don't have to push on the dent for longer as the plastic cools faster ... win win!

SOLD

I have a Teng Tool one - they have a budget range and a premium range, don't get the budget stuff. Their premium stuff is actually better than the powerbuilt ones in my opinion, the draws roll better and hold more weight without bending ect ect - well priced also. Mine's packed with loads of tools and heavy stuff and I've never had an issue with the roller draws. Pretty good for non-professional use in my opinion.

I bought my wife one of these last Thursday and I have to honestly say I am now very jealous ... makes my iPhone 4S seem like a toddler's toy ... size does matter!!

My bad Allan, my mistake!! I should have read what you wrote a little more carefully!! That actually makes complete sense and I am suspecting what you are saying may in fact be how it has been applied. Interesting perspective. Thanks.

I have the figure stored somewhere, but it is below 20,000 per annum, except for 1996 I think (unless you count all the civics and Integras made - which is what NZTA is doing). Sorry I must respectfully disagree with everything you've said above - perhaps also due to your lack of understanding of a "Type R" variant of a Civic or Integra. I can tell you a Type R variant of either has "MORE" difference to a standard Civic or Integra when compared to a "M" variant of a 3 series or 5 series (which is what they are - period). The Civic or Integra Type Rs are not registered as just a Civic or Integra. The most important and telling fact is that the chassis is completely different! You don't get that in the M models (at least not the E46). Not only are some sections of the unibody chassis triple skinned (versus double or single skinned), but the welded subframe is completely different - so unlike the M cars where usually only bolt on stuff change (I am aware that some bolt on points are changed, but the basic chassis body is the same throughout the 3 or 5 series - more or less.) The remainder of the stuff of what makes a Type R a Type R and what a M car a M is basically the same - better engine (usually hand built), different interior (Recaros in Hondas), different sway bar, suspension, exhaust and the list goes on - but the underlying principle is the same between the two - they are performance variants of a model line up, not a seprate model in terms of NZTA's interpretation or should I actually say biased interpretation. The M cars are just a model variation of a 3 or 5 series ... or in current days, also the X5 and X6 - but they are still just a model variant, much like a Type R.

Apart from the fact already mentioned above that E30 M3s are 20 years old, they are also exclusively LHD so come on a separate allowed LHD list. Yes Type Rs are rare-ish (non-molested ones at least) and various magazines have mentioned it as a future collectable - the only reason it's being rejected I suspect is because it's a Honda, nothing else (following the logics given above). Are you kidding me!!? Just because there are plenty of them doesn't mean they aren't a desirable collector's car - I understand the reason why many don't like Hondas, but honestly don't slag off the best 90s FWD ever made (and possibly even better than some of the best FWD made today - as shown in a recent EVO article comparing the DC2 Type R with the new Toyota 86 and Ford Focus RS - the DC2 type R trumped both cars - speaks volume I think). NSX easily meets all 4 criteria, as it's 2 door, highly collectable (Senna developed blah blah blah), made in less than 20,000 units per year, and is a performance car. The Integra Type R or the Civic Type R (DC2 and EK9) if following the E39 M5 interpretation would also meet all 4 - that's the point I am making, but as it stands they've rejected it under 1 , 2 and 3 (because following the logic of criterion 2, it's the full model range that's considered, and given Integras and Civics were made in 4 door variants it doesn't fullfil the requirements of being made as a 2 door - so I've been told). Maybe I'll put in an application and see if I can get them to revisit this, it just seems wrong to me.

Thanks for the reply Dave and congrats on the new car ... Very surprised that the NZTA accepted the above given that they've rejected numerous Type R applications based on the same reasoning ... very strange indeed and I'd say double standard actually - as the 'model' isn't "M5" itself, but all of E39 produced in the same year - as M5s are simply considered a variant of the E39 chassis. Interesting indeed ...

DC3 ... do you mind explaining how you were able to be issued the SIV permit ... from reading the rules it wouldn't seem to apply, but obviously it does. Which 3 of the 4 criteria did it meet?

SOLD and going to a good home