jimbo01

BTW how do you get that pic of your car showing at the bottom of posts. By the way nice example. My wife had a 96 red 323 coupe a few years back - loved that car!

Thanks for the feedback and suggestions. A small drop may work but there isn't a lot of clearance left in the front at the moment. When I replace the tyres in about 6 months I may go 235/35R19 front and run 255/35R19 rear to return it to the staggered fitment and then run some slighgtly lowered springs. The tyre shop says there is plenty of room to go 10mm wider in the rear. As the original wheels were 205/55R16 and 225/50/16 I was surprised these fitted - I thought an 18" would be about as big as I could go. Something that may help balance the look is to get the black strip at the bottom of the door and rear bumper colour keyed with the car. BTW I took the photo from down low which probably makes it look a little higher than it is. Anyway I'm seriously stoked at picking these up for just $1200 - they are absolutely mint. Apparently new they would be about $700 each plus tyres - ouch. Anyway I'll be taking some photos this weekend of the black 740 and red SLK together, both sporting DTM rims, 19" and 20". I'll post a pic - Itls a bloody nice mix of "fun" vehicles. Our regular drive is an Mitsubishi Outlander.

A very good score on the 19" - I can't tell which of the wheels has been re-machined to fix the curbing. Cost just $120 + GST to re-machine the rim. They are otherwise in perfect condition! Fitted today.

I put new wheels on the SLK today - DTM like on the BMW. They have 245/35R19 Yokohama tyres.

Do you have the rear parcel shelf with speakers etc? Thanks

Good thinking - I've changed my mind - I'll back the froggies after all. I've been to France twice in the past 2 years - to Nice. They seem to love rugby, essecially the all blacks. It breaks the ice when they relaise you are a kiwi and not a pom!

The French played well - but not as well as the Blacks - the all blacks dominated every stat except the points. Luck? Good on the French for the win - why not take advantage of an apparent bias by the ref. But unfair they didn't hoist him up on their shoulders as they did their victory lap - he should have got player of the day! He and the touch judges missed a clear forward pass that led to a try. He sent our guy off for a simple collission, then didn't send a Frence guy off for the exact same thing. He missed blatent playing the ball on the ground in the ruck not once but twice when the all blacks were within 10 meters of the French line. What an aboslute toss pot. Hopefully they ban the prick, better, he walks into a bar full of kiwis....I feel sorry for the All Blacks, and Graham. They did a good job, and I don't think in this case the other team were better. The soft pool games didn't help, but the ref was a big factor, which is OK if hes even, but this prick wasn't. Wonder if he has a secret bank account somewhere? Anyway there is an up side - more sleep! Now I want any one of Arginetina, South Africa, or Fiji to win.

Hmmmm - the machining may have f***ed the balance of the wheel though, there is a terrible vibration through the wheel at any speed above about 95kph - bad enough that the kids asked why the car was shaking! Will take it back and get them to rebalance the wheel tomorrow morning (they were supposed to have done this already). No vibration at up to 120kph with the 16" 235/60 tyre on the front corner when I went to have the 20" re-fitted!

It was $187 all up icluding fitting and balancing the 4 new dunlop SP1A tyres. Also scored 4 DTM Euro Merc R 19x8.5 wheels with Yokohama tyres for $1200 for my wifes SLK Merc

Damn thats nice! V12 Manual - does it get any better?

The Dak21 trademe member who is so unkind to BMW's has a profile that lists: Occupation: Full Time Grump About Me: Part Time a**hole His Profile photo is of Adolf Hiltler Sort of says it all doesn't it.

Not forgetting allowing continental Euopeans to step out on the foot path...

Lets use the 750i - with basically the same spec in the US and NZ. A 750i in NZ will cost NZ$219,000 or US$151,638 (Made in Germany) A 750i in the USA will cost NZ$110,537 or US$76,575 (Made in USA) A 750i in the UK will cost NZ$169,511 or UK 62,345 (Made in Germany) Given our BMW's come from Germany like the English ones this is a fair comparison. Yes we are far away so transport cost rise, but come on! Comparison A Legend in NZ will cost NZ$86,750 or US$64,493 (Made in Japan) A RL (Legend) in USA will cost NZ$62,568 or US$46,280 (Made in USA) A Legend in UK will cost NZ$98,817 or UK 36,352 (Made in Japan) This would be the car that Honda NZ claimed would be the best value Legend in the world - yeah right. At least BMW isn't making out they are giving the buyer a "value price". However I think we can confirm that BMW is charging what the market can stand - silly rich buggars are too easily parted from their money!

Sad to say I've a mate who is 49 and he regularly has 3 pints in a single hour, jumps in his car and drive 1km home from the Cossie club. He's a bloody idiot and the sooner he is caught the better. His 18 year old son refuses to get in his dads car if his dad has been drinking. I'm 42 - and I never drink more than 2 standard 330ml beers if I'm driving - and make sure I drive at least an hour after the last drink.

Yep - previous owner put $4000 worth of rims and tyres (ok the tyres are Nexen 3000, but the wheels are DTM) on the car - and despit the 740 having a mirror which turns down when you are reversing, managed to really munt this wheel - and all the others to a lesser extent!

Nicely put! This thread has one benefit - it identifies those inclined to intollerant, ignorant, bigoted, racist views. Do they realise how redneck they seem?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BMW_M50 M50B25 2.5 L (2494 cc/152 in³) 141 kW (189 hp) @ 5900 245 N·m (181 ft·lbf) @ 4700 6500 1989 141 kW (189 hp) @ 5900 250 N·m (184 ft·lbf) @ 4200 6500 1992 141 kW (189 hp) @ 5900 245 N·m (181 ft·lbf) @ 4200 6500 1992 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BMW_M52 M52B25 2.5 L (2494 cc/152 in³) 125 kW (168 hp) @ 5500 245 N·m (181 ft·lbf) @ 3950 6500 1995 M52TUB25 125 kW (168 hp) @ 5500 245 N·m (181 ft·lbf) @ 3500 6500 1998 M52B28 2.8 L (2793 cc/170 in³) 142 kW (190 hp) @ 5300 280 N·m (207 ft·lbf) @ 3950 6500 1995 141 kW (189 hp) @ 5300 275 N·m (203 ft·lbf) @ 3950 6500 1997 M52TUB28 142 kW (190 hp) @ 5500 280 N·m (207 ft·lbf) @ 3500 6500 1998

What asertions did I make that I am reguritating earlier? - I only made the one post in this thread. Anyway when they introduced the 330 what did they call the 3 series with the 2.5 litre engine - the 325! And what was your point - that the 323 engine was actually the better engine even though on paper it only claimed 125kw?

Are you serious? - His ongoing situation is a legacy of the hysteria that went arround the world 9/11. Who needs facts - inuendo is good enough. He was part of the democratically elected government, but as it was an islamic government does that make him less of a refugee? He appears to be a genuine refugee in every sense of the word. Think about it - our estemed leaders have no qualms about released dirt on people - if they had any real evidence they would "release it/leak it" to sway public opinion. This is Helen "I must save face" Clark we are talking about here - admit she is wrong? - no way! She will let a bunch of cops doing their job hang rather than admit she knew and tacitly agreed to speeding.

The 323 and 325 engine are basically the same; a 2.5 litre inline 6 - although the 323 (on paper) was detuned. Thats what to do when your range topper (excluding the M3) is a mere 300cc bigger than another model - change the numbers and make it seem even smaller. Keeps the premium price up. Our manual for our 323 has it rated at 125kw - the 328 was rated at about 140kw (or so), and was exactly what the earlier 325 had been rated at. It was suggested to us that BMW detuned it due to some reliability issues with the 325 (yeah right) and that essentailly was a ECU thing - ours had either been re-chipped - or it was - as I've suggested a paper exercise for marketing reasons.

I don't think these guys can be taught respect - thats the core of the problem they have no respect for anyone - and access to fast cars, and the ability to really screw them up. Boy racers is a term that makes them sound more grand than they are. "Dangerous w**kers in fast but f**ked up cars" is more accurate. It also lets off the hook some equally stupid females who seem to like the culture. it also doesn't address some of the older guys who are no longer boys but have something to prove. If they have killed someone - crush their cars with them inside! Too harsh? OK how about not letting people under 20 own highly modified cars. Lets make insurance compulsory - can't afford it - then you can't afford to drive the car! I saw some sh*t head recendly advertising his 3 serries BMW with cut springs, but has original springs for getting a WOF. A beating with a tyre iron on his skull could not go astray for that particular human POS. Any car found in that sort of condition shouldn't be pink stuickered - they should be crushed!

I took the worst curbed 20" DTM wheels into Hagleys in Lower Hutt on Friday. They siad it would cost between $90 and $150 to remachine the curbed lip. I thought I'd get one done 1st to see what it comes up like. When it comes back I'll be fitting my new Dunlop SP 01A 245/40ZR20 tyres to the rims. As I've posted before - at $755 for 4 from South Pacific Tyres that affordable rubber. I'll also have 3 Nexen 3000 tyres for sale.... Before photo added - most of the rim is curbed!

I say leave it on - if I see a BMW without a badge I assume it's a 316 / 318 / 320 / 520 etc - and if they are that embaraaseed why buy the car? As people have noted in NZ people only seem to debadge their low spec cars. On the other hand if it's for cosmetic reasons and you prefer that look - go for it - it's your car.

I agree - pretty much all Honda's love to be thrashed, and red lined. Just remember to feed them regular good oil. One of the most fun cars I've driven in recent years was the Type S Inegra (the Type R replacement here in NZ). The other was the new SHAWD Legend - about the same KW as a 4.4 litre V8, pity most people will never drive it like it was inteneded - but if you do - wow! I may pick one up in a couple of years when it's depreciated to my budget And yes I love Honda's.

Hmmmm - they did recommend a cost effective panel shop - they were helpful - coldly efficient would be my description. Perhaps it's the souless showroom out in no mans land. My expereince at Wellington Star has been good - we may try them for general servicing and just take the BMW to Jeff's is it has a specific problem.