Allanw

Mmmmm! Sparkely! My Mrs didn't notice... but she asked what the boxes were for. I told her it was some bits for the headlights, because they would fail a warrant sooner or later... That's my excuse! Hope that loom arrives soon, so you're all ready to go!

So Clark sorted it then?? I got mine in, and they look AWESOME! Makes the car look way newer without all the pitting and dullness!

I think this is the key! Theres a bunch of bad installs giving air a bad name - there are a great deal of luxury cars with air springs (and buses etc for that matter!). A good install can give a low stance when required, but that's not normally where you'd drive it! It the bumpstops in most installs giving the bad ride! There's many a steel sprung low car which sits really low, and handles like a bag of arse and there's nothing you can do except change springs. The air gives you options.

Progressive? You mean like soft, progressively getting harder??? like a spring does? Ummm... A decent air bag setup will ride nicer than springs, for this exact reason. They are MORE progressive than a spring - softer over small bumps harder at more compression. Even driven a old Rolls? They're nice riding, on air. Lexus LS400, Toyota Crown etc etc

Those rivets TOTALLY look like genuine BMW...

I can see the point of testing oil. I have nearly $150 of oil in the E39, so working out how long it can stay in would be a good thing (I think I'll leave it 15K) I KNOW i'm not following the lights on the dash that will come up at over 25K based on the number in the dash. I do expect that this tool is about as useful as snake oil though. Realistically, if might tell you the PH or something, but it won't tell you if the viscosity is changing too much, or if the "additives" are past useful etc. There was someone selling blotting paper like strips on Tardme that supposedly did the same thing. Uh-huh.

You can edit your first fuel up to make it correct :-) Fuelly is telling me 10.2L/100kms, and the OBC is reading 10.3 - which I reset at the first fuel up, so it's pretty close!

So.... They arrived Early! Freight free too! Thanks to those who participated or showed interest.

Very True. You'll end up in BIG trouble. Or Dead.

Do be scared! Well.... CAREFUL!!!! I've had a spring compressor let go off a spring before... they move FAST! Be wary of the pent up energy in that spring! I also know it's hard to get spring comressors in the wheel arch of an E30 to try to compress the spring in place. I hope it goes well. Please, BE CAREFUL!

Turps not so good. Either thinners, and do it a couple of times with a new cloth each time - or spray it to rinse the oil off. Or buy wax and silicone remover (same as prepsol). Etch primer for alloy isn't a bad idea TBH.

Last time I used a dealer, it was $72 plus GST per hour, and rates were fixed at the BMW book times It was a while ago). I assume the rate has gone up (and may vary with location too), but I assume they still do book times/rates per job??? In Dad's E30, clutch, gearbox and engine rear main seal, machine flywheel, bleed brakes/ABS and rear subframe bushes was just under $1100. I thought that was really good. We knew it was costing that BEFORE we started and agreed to it. The dealer has always seemed quite reasonable for prices. Dad will need to replace his E30 one day, and will most likely get another 3 - auto next time though :-(. He had a Toyota prior to the E30, and won't own another, because the parts and servicing were stupid expensive (cambelt was $280... JUST for the belt!) Some people (like my father in law) end up spending MORE on thier car, because they try to get everything done on the cheap. It just has to be done three times, or stuff fails more often, or the used alternators he paid to have fitted die every 6 months to a year, when a new or rebuilt one would have lasted AND had a warranty! It just pays to compare.

I'd get the alignment done first (assuming everything is tightened etc). It may have excessive toe out, and a slight turn creates more drag on that side and it tried to launch that direction. If you want to guestimate it, you can use two overlapping sticks to measure from rim to rim, front and back of each rim... although I'd be surprised if you could get the sticks high enough to do it on an e30.

All Sorted! Thanks!

Do they still use different transmissions in the Jap ones this late? Those Jatco's weren't really that good.

^WHS - I don't think you can beat 5's on a 6... seriously.

Hi All, Mrs parked a bit close to the kerb today, and reversing out left quite a lot of the car on the footpath I'm looking for a front bumper for a facelift E39 (in steel blue would be nice! but unlikely). I just need the main skin, although a set of trims with working PDC sensors would be nice too. Also, the lower front wheel arch plastic liner from the front left wheel. Would like it either shipped to Whangarei, or dropped off to a mate in Glenfield (near glenfield/wairau roads intersection) or Silverdale (anvil/forge road) during business hours Cheers

Final call! Genuine Hella OE supplier halogen E39 facelift lights. $640 a PAIR. You're saving atleast 30%. PM me if you want in. Boat leaves Wednesday

Or even a BRAND NEW Toyota - Our Work hiace is hideous! Sounds like a 20 year old Surf! Euro Diesels are quiet. The japs aren't up there yet. The performance is the same story. Our hiace at full noise, 3rd or 4th gear, nearly empty wouldn't keep up with a VW transporter, with 8 passengers and a trailer full of gardening tools up a particular passing lane - he started to pull away from us, so I had to pull in and let the cars behind me pass. I had nothing left. Both are 2.5 common rail diesel turbos. BMW diesels are very impressive. I probably wouldn't buy one, because a diesel at 5000 rpm will never sound as nice as a BMW petrol 6 doing 6500 rpm :-) (unless it's a 2-stroke detroit doing 3000rpm! - like the greyhound busses!).

TeeHeeHee.

Get one of those 1000L tank's from trademe, and hide it around the back under a downpipe. I have rain water at my place (country, 50,000L) and after washing the car, there are NO watermarks. I don't even chamois it down most of the time. Even looked good on my old black Accord (until I drove it anywhere). I think the plastic tanks are about $100? Then just need a pump (or use gravity, if you have somewhere high to put it). The rain water is only really needed for the rinse, to wash the hard water away. I like the "filter rejuvinating tablets" in the link above :-) . They mean salt. It will work well, just rinse the filter before using on the car! The resin beads in the filter "absorb" calcium and magnesuim etc and the sodium "recharges" it. They should be able to be reused 100's if not 1000's of times. Our water softeners at work treat at least 45000 litres per week, and regenrate once per week, using about 25KG of salt :-)

Mrs worked last weekend, I had the sprog. I'm on call this weekend, so STILL can't go

Congrats on the 540i! nice :-) If you're slightly mechanical in nature, it's quite easy to do youself. Get the cable from pixelfix.net and follow the instructions. You WILL need a dremel/diegrander with variable speed and a drill type bit to make it easy though. a battery drill is too bulky really. There may be a number of electronic shops (like audio/tv repair etc) that would be happy doing it though. Make sure they have acetone and a fibreglass pencil for cleaning the tracks on the board, and a plastic scraper (credit card etc) to clean the glass then tidy up with the fibreglass pencil. I did mine at home in about 3 hours, but I was having to chase my 18 month old away quite a bit too :-) He likes tools.

My Mate used to have a beetle which had a 1700cc Kombi motor made into a 2.9 (he's an engine rebuilder). It was just s tiny bit faster than an RS500 cosworth down the back straight at Puke. Got to about 235 before braking for the hairpin :-) It was the beetle that was on High Octane (except on High Octane it still has standard VW brakes which stopped working after the 1st lap!)

True. Or a Camry.