Andrew

I think an E38 would be backward down the evolutionary tree - they are just not as good as E39s. Higher end E39s have those seats (mine did)

No - we aren't. But they may give you a discount.

Hi Malcolm - Motronic gearboxes don't need any sensors in them. Motronic gets RPM (from a HT lead), CAS/TDC is on the front of the motor. L-Jetronic gearboxes have all those sensors in them. So in your case (if you have motronic) - then either gearbox will work for you.

You need to order 2. No problems with law.

Sunday, April 15, 2007 A1 Team New Zealand has taken its third race victory of the season winning the A1GP Shanghai, China Feature race this afternoon ahead of second placed Great Britain but it was Germany that had the most to celebrate as their third place finish gave them enough points to take the 2006/07 A1GP World Cup of Motorsport title. As the pack weaved through turn one, South Africa made contact with India, damaging the front wing of the first and the side pod of the latter, further back, a tangle between Mexico and Australia forced Brazil wide and the three. Debris on the track caused the safety car to be deployed at the end of the first lap and as it slowed the race speed and re-grouped the field, South Africa took advantage heading into the pits to replace its damaged nose cone. Racing quickly resumed as the safety car pulled off at the end of lap three with Great Britain’s lead instantly coming under attack from an aggressive New Zealand. The USA made its move on a struggling German car for fourth and an unusual mistake from last year’s race winner, Malaysia saw the bright yellow car head into the gravel losing seventh place to Italy. Malaysia re-joined the field at the back of the pack but was offered the opportunity to improve the situation after a spin from Mexico on lap six re-deployed the safety car. With the Mexican car recovered, the safety car headed back to the pits at the end of lap eight and the race re-started with Great Britain leading a top ten of New Zealand, Germany, USA, Switzerland, India, Italy, Netherlands, Australia and Ireland. After their podium finish in the Mexican Sprint race, hopes were high for A1 Team Australia as it headed to China and despite a poor start to the weekend, things seemed to be on the up for the team. With rookie Ian Dyk behind the wheel again, Australia had the best start off the grid, moving up from 16th to 11th by the end of the first lap. By lap five they were running back in the points in ninth place and were looking strong to continue further but unfortunately it was not to be. Gear selection problems forced a pit stop for a steering wheel change on lap16 and the car headed out again but vibrations in the rear wheel, caused by the first lap collision with Mexico ultimately led to the team’s retirement. For Ireland on the other hand, fortunes have finally changed. Running with a new chassis this weekend having swapped their regular car for one of the designated spares, fearing an underlying fault may be affecting their performance this season, the team had its best result of the season. Climbing two places on the first lap and then progressing steadily throughout the race, driver Richard Lyons put in a stunning performance that saw him defend well against attacking manoeuvres and pull off some impressive passing to ultimately finish fifth, more than doubling the team’s points haul for the season. The pit window opened while the safety car was on track and with pit stops under the safety car not allowed the teams were forced to wait an extra two laps to stop. Third placed Germany headed in first with Italy and Ireland close behind. For Germany, a strong pit stop could have gained them a place but a problem with the rear left tyre forced the car to stay in the pit lane for crucial seconds that could make all the difference. Back on the track, Great Britain began to ease away from New Zealand seeking to build up a lead that would buy them time when they then pitted on lap 11. While the British car was in the pits, New Zealand put in its fastest lap of the race so far and began to close in on the race leaders. With Germany approaching fast as Great Britain left the pit lane, the battle for the leadership between the three began to heat up again. New Zealand pitted at the end of lap 13 but along with Germany, were one of only two teams not to put new tyres on the car but to opt for pre-used ones instead. As they headed back on to the track, Great Britain’s Robbie Kerr just maintained his lead and Jonny Reid slipped Black Beauty into an effective second place ahead of Germany. With the gap closing between the race leaders, Great Britain came under increasing pressure to defend its lead and when the pair came up to lap tailing Pakistan, the gap was reduced further. Pakistan moved aside and the two passed on to the main straight for New Zealand to make its move into turn one. The pair entered the first corner side by side and it was not until they exited turn two that it was clear New Zealand had the advantage. Black Beauty slipped into first and Jonny Reid held the position comfortably for the rest of the race. Towards the rear of the field, the disappointment continued for A1 Team Brazil who had got caught up in the Mexico Australia collision on the opening lap, only to make contact with Portugal 10 laps later. When driver, Vitor Meira who was making his debut in A1GP this weekend, pitted for a new nose cone after it was damaged in the Portugal incident, the team discovered suspension damage caused in the first incident and Meira was forced to retire. The USA’s Jonathan Summerton held third after their pit stop and at times looked close to attacking Great Britain for second but its race came to an abrupt end on lap 24 when an unforced error saw the ‘We the People’ car spin from the track on turn seven and start the third safety car period of the race. With Germany up to third place, it began to challenge Great Britain as soon as the green flag dropped. Great Britain defended its position and eased away setting the top three positions which remained for the rest of the race. Further down the field battles raged throughout the race with continuous attacks and impressive defending. The A1 Team Netherlands car, driven by rookie Renger van der Zande who was making his Feature race debut this weekend fought continuously to take fourth from a ninth place start as did Portugal’s Joao Urbano, also making his A1GP racing debut this weekend who defended his position to finish 14th. The hairpin at turn 12 proved the best place to overtake, often taking advantage of driver errors as they braked to negotiate the tight turn. A1 Team India, who started the race in seventh position was a common victim, losing places to Italy, Indonesia and France. For driver Narain Karthikeyan, the situation was worsened by damage sustained to his side pod in his opening lap collision with South Africa which had exposed his radiator and was no doubt affecting the aerodynamics. It was not until lap 27 that repairs were made during the team’s second pit stop but with only 11 laps to go, India failed to regain position. But their misfortune was not to end there as rear suspension problems on the final lap caused the car to spin off at turn 15 and hit the wall. Karthikeyan was able to get out of the car unassisted and walk away. Another victim was A1 Team China, who went wide on the hairpin on lap 27, allowing Malaysia, South Africa and Portugal to pass. Lebanon was next to make its move on the struggling home team passing on the inside at turn 14, only for China to regain its position on the next corner. ‘My mistake, I tried to pass Italy from the start and unfortunately I lost quite a lot of places but overall it was quite an eventful race and we were unfortunately involved in some racing incidents. Also we were struggling with our top speed compared to a lot of other drivers so basically I was under massive pressure from the driver behind me down the straight so it was not an easy race. Overall, I’m really satisfied with the team’s performance and we will just have to work harder for the next race,’ said Chinese driver Congfu Cheng. Race winner Jonny Reid said: ‘We’ve had a great car for much of the weekend, we’ve been working on it pretty hard as the conditions have changed lot over the weekend, so this is a credit to all of the guys who have put in so much time and hard work. Basically we had a problem with the gear box. It was leaking quite a bit of oil and dropping on to the exhaust quite dramatically. The guys were flat stick working on the car and it was just a credit to all their hard work and it shows how strong a team we are, to get the car working under tough under circumstance.’ Talking about his winning strategy, Reid went on to say: ‘Basically Robbie and Nico pitted earlier, so we knew the tyre degradation was quite high, so we knew we had to manage the tyres a little bit longer and makes sure I had strong pace and I managed to nail some good laps while Robbie was in the pits and when I came out I caught them quite quickly and then there was the safety car period and I managed to get a good exit out of the final turn and get the car up the inside. Robbie gave me just enough racing room, it was getting tight there but it’s great to work with such classy drivers.’ A1 Team Great Britain failed to make it three in a row but were happy with the result ahead of their home round and the season finale at Brands Hatch, Great Britain at the end of the month. ‘Two safety car periods did hurt us, we made our strategy believing their wouldn’t be a safety car and adjusted the car to suit, and when we came out and caught the safety car it definitely hurt us and we had to re-use the PowerBoost and which hurt us later on in the race as well. So when we came out of the pits we knew that I had to push hard, so we pushed, we hurt the tyres a little bit so we had to back off and look after the tyres and that’s when Jonny was quickest. Unfortunately that went against us. But later on in the race we showed we had the pace again and that’s when the tyres came back,’ Kerr said. Commenting on the team’s home race in a fortnight’s time, Kerr continued: ‘I’d love to go back to Brands Hatch and have the crowd behind us once again, it’s the first time ever in a race I’ve heard the crowd over the engines and I’m looking forward to hearing that again, and hopefully with the best support again we will make it one step better and make it two wins. Id like pole and two wins at the next race!’ Third place was enough to secure the season title for A1 Team Germany although driver, Nico Hülkenberg admitted he was still a little disappointed at the result: ‘I know I can’t always win, it’s impossible, we were struggling all weekend long from the being, and I’m sure New Zealand and GBR made a step when they were in Mexico, and I was doing eight days of testing in F3. It was hard to come back because the cars are different like day and night so I was fighting and trying everything, but in the end we didn’t manage to get up to speed. ‘I think we had a little problem with the rear left in the pit stop, but the pit stop was still alright. Just at the beginning of the race with the two safety car periods it was not the right time for the car, and I was just fighting and struggling and after that before the third safety car, the car was pretty good, I was doing the same lap times as New Zealand and GBR, but then after the safety car it was not so good again.’

Not really?

Yep

Overshadowed by both all day, Kimi Raikkonen was third, a further 8.4s behind, with Nick Heidfeld driving a superb race for BMW Sauber to keep world champion Fernando Alonso in his mirrors after passing him round the outside in a dramatic move on the 32nd lap. The result puts Hamilton, Alonso and Raikkonen in the joint lead of the drivers’ world championship, with 22 points apiece. Massa moves up to fourth on 17, with Heidfeld fifth on 15. The race was always a battle between Massa and Hamilton, the Brazilian holding a narrow advantage which he extended after the first stops. The McLarens had the weaker middle stint, but came back with a vengeance in the third on their harder compound Bridgestones. Crucially for Ferrari, Raikkonen took third place from Alonso after the first stops, but equally important for McLaren a longer middle stint for Hamilton saw him just keep ahead of the Finn when he rejoined after his second pit call. Instead of being the hunted, as he was in Sepang, Hamilton then became the hunter, slashing Massa’s 7.6s advantage to 2.3s in the remaining 13 laps and leaving Raikkonen trailing. The result answered several questions, not the least of which was how Massa would react in a straight fight with Raikkonen, and how Hamilton would perform in one with Alonso. Three races in, and the rookie not only leads the world championship (albeit jointly) but is the first man ever to finish on the podium in his first three races. It was a good day for BMW Sauber, as Robert Kubica took a distant sixth for the team. Jarno Trulli put Toyota in the points again with seventh place after a fabulous mid-race scrap with the similarly-powered Williams of Nico Rosberg and Alex Wurz. The latter both fell back, however, allowing Giancarlo Fisichella to take the final point for the once mighty Renault team, ahead of partner Heikki Kovalainen. The Williams pilots were eventually 10th and 11th, helped on their way by the retirements of the two Red Bulls. David Coulthard drove a stormer, but neither he nor Mark Webber made it home, the former suffering a driveshaft failure, the latter left frustrated first by a sticking fuel flap and then by gearbox problems. Nor did the Toro Rossos, Scott Speed coming together with Jenson Button on lap one, and Tonio Liuzzi being delayed by the same incident and eventually retiring - though not before picking up a drive-through penalty for passing under the safety car that came out briefly following the Speed and Button incident. Ralf Schumacher was an undistinguished 12th, having been thoroughly drubbed by Anthony Davidson, who was headed for 12th when his Honda V8 went the same way as team mate Takuma Sato’s - up in smoke - after he had outpaced the Japanese pilot. Honda’s only finisher was thus Rubens Barrichello, in 13th, ahead of the Spykers of Christijan Albers and Adrian Sutil, who was forced to make an early stop after sustaining damage as a result of the first-lap melee. Reminded of his new status as the only man with successive podiums in the three opening rounds, Hamilton had one word: “Sweet!” Indeed it was, for him and for Massa.

Hyundai is really working hard to prepare itself to go up against the tough luxury car market in the United States. It has already confirmed a luxury sedan that will debut in 2008 and had a very successful launch of the Hyundai Genesis Concept this past week at the New York Auto Show. Now Hyundai is getting ready to launch a series of TV commercials, that will debut late April, showing its luxury car going up against upper-class brands such as BMW and Mercedes-Benz. The company plans to show the consumers that Hyundai can offer the same luxury for a lot less. With the production version of the Genesis concept set to start well under $30,000, Hyundai is hoping to aim the car at the BMW 5-Series and the Mercedes-Benz E-Class giving it luxurious features like Bluetooth technology, HD radio, navigation, USB/AUX input, heated/cool seats, push-start button and active cruise control. It also has safety features like front, side and rear airbags, anti-lock brakes and stability control. The Korean company is also spending the next 12 months preparing its dealers to sell and promote an upper-class, luxury Hyundai brand. Hyundai Genesis Concept Gallery (click thumbnails to enlarge images):

<h2 class="articlestrapline">Here are the shots that finally reveal the inside track on BMW's daring new X6 SUV</h2> 12th April 2007http://' target="_blank"> Although the big 4x4 has spent 12 months testing on public roads, a heavy disguise has prevented our spy photographers from getting to grips with the newcomer's unique design - until now. These first interior pictures of the car change all that, and also show the X6 is a strict four-seater, with its rear chairs divided by a large armrest. They also reveal how aggressively styled the BMW's back end will be. You can see from our image of the rear seats how steeply the back of the roof slopes. As well as making the X6 look really sporty, it will help BMW to pitch the model at such rivals as the Nissan Murano and the forthcoming Infiniti FX45. More coupé than fully fledged off-roader, the car is likely to build on the sharp handling of the already impressive X5. The German manufacturer is hoping drivers will be tempted behind the wheel by a range of V8 petrol and six-cylinder diesel engines. When it goes on sale in 2008, entry-level editions ofthe newcomer will cost from £40,000.

Please don't use caps.

chassis looks bent....? roflcopter

made another...

cheers - pics would be great

$200 pay. (Plus badass representing in a music video, win)

Looking for: Stock looking 2002s, E21s , possibly E12 - basically pre 80s Need to be able to driven on a beach. Any help appreciated.

also - go buy Maximum Boost by Corky Bell and learn to read compressor maps - it will help.

some programmer has a sense of humor hah

Land Rover and Acura recently launched entries into this growing segment, so how is the revised X3 looking these days? BY STEVE SILER, April 2007 Three years ago, the BMW X3 was a novelty: a slick-handling luxury compact SUV. We liked it, but didn’t love it. Now, newcomers such as the Land Rover LR2, the Acura RDX, and the upcoming VW Tiguan, come surprisingly close to matching what we remember enjoying most about the baby Bimmer—gifted handling, abundant luxury, premium brand cache—and do so at a price that undercuts the X3. Hmmm. Time to take a fresh look at the Bimmer And a fresh thing we found. Technically, a freshened thing: for 2007, BMW gave its cute-ute a significant update—inside, outside, and under the hood. But what remained to be seen was how far these changes would go towards ingratiating the X3 to us to the extent that we could actually love the thing, not merely accept it. Moreover, would they help justify the X3’s ever-climbing price? Mild exterior freshening Well, it looks better. Or at least somewhat better. Now that all other BMWs—including the larger, all-new X5—have taken on “flame-surfacing” overtures, the X3’s wedgy, angular flanks look even more dated than they did when the X3 was introduced for the 2004 model year. But there have been improvements. The new bumpers are no longer the masses of black plastic that made early X3s look about as high-brow as a base Kia Sportage. In back, the cluttered taillights have been cleaned up nicely. Up front, the grille slats are now a sporty silver hue, and with the xenon headlamp option come BMW’s now-ubiquitous “corona ring” spectacles. That’s better than nothing, we guess. Upgraded interior Inside, upgrades are subtle, yet very effective in raising the cockpit’s perceived quality. Previous X3 interiors never felt quite up to par with other BMWs, but that is no longer the case. More soft-touch materials and a healthy amount of lustrous wood trim dress things up convincingly, though BMW’s button-heavy ergonomics remain. The navigation system is a joke, making us almost wish for iDrive. On the upside, our X3 came with the $800 (and worth every penny) Comfort Seats, which feature no fewer than 16 ways of adjustment, including a separate upper-back-angle adjustment as well as three memory settings. Better still is the standard two-row, two-panel panoramic moonroof that bathes the cabin in sunlight. As always, we appreciated the impressive cabin layout, which yields a near-perfect driving position whilst offering rear passengers the kind of legroom they might expect in a one-size-up ute. The leather upholstery has been upgraded from last year’s mediocre “Montana” leather to a higher grade “Nevada” leather. And as always, the 71-cubic-foot cargo area (with the rear seats folded) gets a gold star as one of the most spacious among all compact SUVs. The 3.0si engine: Valvetronic and 260 horsepower Best news of all for the 2007 X3 is the installation of BMW’s lovely 3.0-liter inline-six in “si” guise. This engine differs from last year’s 3.0i by a magnesium-and-aluminum composite block and the fitment of BMW’s innovative Valvetronic variable valve lift system, which meters intake air so precisely that the conventional throttle body is bypassed altogether once the vehicle is warmed up. Horsepower climbs to 260 at 6600 rpm and torque rises to 225 lb-ft of torque at a low 2500 rpm, compared with 225 hp and 214 lb-ft for the 3.0i. We’ve enjoyed this motor in every BMW that has it, with crisp initial throttle response and acceleration that builds and builds the deeper you plant your foot. The X3 is available with a six-speed manual transmission (unlike the new X5), or a three-mode, six-speed automatic as a no-charge option. Our tester came with the latter, and equipped thus, upshifts felt quick and decisive, particularly in sport mode, which raised shift points to just about where we’d put them. Kickdowns, however, often suffered from some delay. We’d have spent more time using the manumatic mode to shift manually if the sport mode wasn’t as good as it is. Perhaps if it came with steering wheel–mounted shift paddles, like the Z4 3.0si, the story might be different. Quick reflexes The only other slight disappointment was with the engine speed-sensitive variable assist steering, which felt a touch slow just off-center. Aside from that, however, the steering feel was both meaty and communicative and the rest of the chassis proved faultless. Gone was the wretched ride quality of previous models, which reminded us of when our older siblings would take us sidewalk sledding, sans the snow. However, not lost on us was how BMW left the optional Sport Package off this particular tester, an equipment group that features more aggressive suspension tuning, sexy 18-inch wheels and low-profile tires. Turns out, despite leaving us with the less-attractive 17-inch wheels, the base setup is more than gifted in terms of maintaining body control under all handling circumstances, rendering the Sport Package all but unnecessary. Our advice: skip it and upgrade the wheels if you must. Oh yeah, there’s the money issue Turns out, skipping options is a good thing, considering that, even without the Sport Package, our Montego Blue X3 arrived with an eye-watering sticker price of $47,975. Sure, it came with front/rear park-distance control, navigation, curve-following xenons and a $2500 premium package containing items like auto-dimming mirror and homelink; but, frankly, those should have been included in the X3’s $38K base price. Adding the Sport Package would have knocked the price over the $50K wall. Still, forty-eight large for an X3? Whoa. Shortly after our first X3 encounter in January, 2004, we wrote, “we like the idea of the X3 better than the vehicle itself.” After three years and a major update, this is still true. Because on paper (not counting the window sticker), the X3 3.0si is everything we’ve ever wanted in a vehicle like this. And in terms of driving dynamics, it is every inch a BMW. In general, however, it remains expensive and still lacks the overall charisma that we loved in its big brother, the X5. And though it can still drive rings—corona rings, even—around some of its new competitors, it’s not so much better as to justify the price.

On road trips - I wave to all BMW drivers. Mainly for the laughs.

I actually thought about it the other day - need to send my form away tomorrow! Anyone have contact details for him?

An exhaust is an exhaust - just make sure it is large enough pipe diameter - 2.5 - 3 inches would do the trick for you.

What do you mean exactly? You have a turbo/supercharged car and want to change your exhaust? Any (decent) exhaust shop can make a suitable exhaust system - if you wanted a Remus muffler, then you could use one.

April 7, 2007 BMW has announced details of the new BMW M3 Coupe, a model that 21 years ago created an entirely new segment for super-high-performance compact cars. In the past two decades and three previous generations, the M3 has proved a success on road and track. Originally powered by BMW’s first 16-valve four-cylinder engine and subsequently by 3.0-litre and 3.2-litre powerplants, BMW M3 engines took top category honours on a record six successive occasions in the Engine of the Year awards. Racing derivatives have also won more Touring Car titles than any other car as well as numerous Endurance races. Engine and Drivetrain With DNA connecting the new M3’s engine to that of the BMW Sauber F1 Team, the racing link is maintained in the fourth generation M3. The new M3 Coupé engine develops 420hp at 8,300rpm and 400Nm of torque at 3,900rpm from its 3,999cc V8-power unit, and red-lines at 8,400rpm. To highlight the flexibility of the engine, 85 per cent of torque is available from 6,500rpm. Power is transferred to the road by BMW M’s six-speed manual gearbox and variable M differential which conveys up to 100 per cent of available power to the wheel with most grip. Like its predecessor, the new V8-powered BMW M3 easily breaks through the magical 100hp per litre barrier, offering 105hp per litre. This engine powers the car from zero to 62mph in 4.8 seconds and on to a limited top speed of 155mph. However, these supercar levels of performance do not compromise economy with the car still delivering 22.8mpg on the combined cycle, being an eight per cent improvement over the outgoing car. BMW Efficient Dynamics This relative frugal economy is delivered, in part, thanks to BMW’s EfficientDynamics programme. Far from only influencing the smaller-engined cars in the range, EfficientDynamics offers benefits to one of the most sporting cars offered by BMW, courtesy of Brake Energy Regeneration. This technology uses an Intelligent Alternator Control and Absorbent Glass Mat battery to recognise when the engine is on over-run and activates the alternator to charge the battery with what would previously have been wasted energy. Another facet of BMW’s EfficientDynamics programme is lightweight technology. The previous-generation M3 CSL showed how carbon-fibre could be used by BMW in limited-volume production cars. The new M3 Coupé is the first full production car in its class to feature a carbon-fibre-reinforced plastic roof panel with exposed weave. In isolation, the carbon-fibre roof panel saves 5kgs over a conventional roof panel but it also lowers the centre of gravity to contribute to the M3’s benchmark driving dynamics. The drivetrain in the new M3 Coupé features lightweight, but high-strength, materials. Using an engine block manufactured alongside F1 engines at BMW’s light-alloy foundry at Landshut, Germany, the new V8 powerplant weighs a mere 202kgs, 15kgs less than the six-cylinder engine it replaces. To further highlight the weight advantages, the crankshaft in the new engine is made from one complete forging and weighs only 20kgs. Additionally, the front axle components are constructed entirely from aluminium. Even the five-link rear axle, normally constructed from high-strength steel, has aluminium components to save weight. The control arms and dampers alone are 2.5kgs lighter than conventional parts. Personalised settings Like the larger BMW M5 and M6 models, the new M3 Coupé also features an MDrive button that brings together numerous personalised functions of the car. The settings for the optional Electronic Damper Control (Normal, Comfort and Sport), three DSC+ traction control settings and three specific engine control maps, plus the response rate of the Servotronic power steering can be controlled with one button on the steering wheel. Once the desired settings are created in the iDrive menu, part of the standard Professional navigation system, one push of the MDrive button transforms the M3 from a car to drive to the shops to a track day special. All of these power, technology and lightweight innovations combine in the new BMW M3 Coupé to offer a car that is significantly faster around the infamous northern loop of the Nordschliefe. The outgoing M3 was capable of an 8mins 15secs lap but an official lap time for the V8-engined M3 Coupé has yet to be announced. Coupé design but with BMW M flair The new BMW M3 Coupé shares many design cues and components with the ‘standard’ 3 Series Coupé model. Only the doors, bootlid, windows and front / rear lamps are carried over. However, a number of subtle performance enhancements combine to deliver an unmistakably sporting outline. A striking powerdome and two air intakes in the aluminium bonnet cover the new V8-engine and help engine cooling. Primarily, the design of the front of the car is created by the need for significant volumes of air for the induction system. As a result, three large air ducts in the front lower valance keep the engine breathing. In profile, the new M3 Coupé features 18-inch double-spoke light-alloy wheels as standard, with a striking 19-inch wheel available as an option. Another BMW M trait, a side gill in the front wing, also includes the side direction indicator and the M3 logo. Such is the performance of the new car, even the exterior door mirrors enhance the aerodynamic characteristics of the car and provide a degree of downforce. From the rear, an aerodynamically-efficient diffuser emphasises BMW M’s trademark twin double exhaust pipes protruding from beneath the valance. The bootlid also features a discreet lip spoiler. The new BMW M3 Coupé goes on sale in September 2007 and prices will be announced nearer the launch date.

Here http://www.trademe.co.nz/Trade-Me-Motors/C...on-94706859.htm