Allanw

SMG would automatically rule me out... See what I did there? 🤣

If you take that tail pipe off, the rear should rise up 100mm to level it out too🤣

Such informed contributions....

Yeah, my spacer just slipped over the studs on the top mount. It was much thinner than the rough road version. Once you have the long studs in there, you can adjust thickness easily... but it just takes a bit of time lower the shock/spring assembly after removing the rear parcel shelf. Entirely from memory, the rough road version raises it 22mm??? I also raised the front of ours, which was a 10mm alloy ring, tapped so the studs were replaced with bolts, bolting the top mount to the spacer, and the extra length of the bolts from the studs to bolt it to the shock tower (plus I had a cheap strut brace to reinforce the soft shock towers). You can't get away with that on the back though, I don't think the bolt heads fit? I also wanted to make it all, before stripping the car anyway. You *may* be able to find replacement studs the right length, but the knurled part isn't always a standard diameter. I don't have a pic of the back, but this is the front, same basic idea, just slightly different execution: And this one is of it raised, which I don't think I quite achieved 20mm from original:

Nah, it makes it easier: You can buy "rough road version" rear upper shock mounts, with longer studs fitted (you can also fit longer studs, but why not replace the mount). BMW had factory fitted spacers on the top for rough roads. I machined up a plastic spacer to go on the top, to lift our E39 with the Mtech suspension. Be aware, that you probably only want a 5mm (maybe 6) spacer to lift it 9mm though??? rough enough is probably OK anyway - it's always going to be a bit either way, depending on load etc. I think I used 10mm spacers and got maybe 16 or 18mm of lift??? - the suspension pivot is about halfway between the outside of the wheel and the inner arm mount - mathematically, you'll get double the lift for the spacer thickness, but the leverage reduces it slightly.

I can't see the pic - Google images sucks for that. If the engine temp sensor is reporting the engine as cold, it'll inject extra fuel. The temp gauge and the ECU have different signals, so they don't see the same values. I can't remember if the late E30's use one sensor with 2 outputs, or if it's 2 sensors though? Certainly worth checking. I'm assuming the gauge is reading straight up and down at "normal" temp after running a while.

I really like how the Potenza re003 fitted really squarely on the 15" weaves on Dads E30. I have Continental MC6's on my VW, and they fit nice and square too - some other brands I have used are narrower, even though the size is supposedly the same, and they look a bit gash because they look stretched - not at all how an E30 on weaves should look 😎 Car looks awesome BTW!

http://www.bidbud.co.nz does it for you 😎 Used it for years. Plus its a more practical interface than the standard trademe one.

Different if it was a factory manual... The difference between autos and manuals is big. The auto E30's are just LAME as a collectable. Then, for me, it has to be original to be worth decent money. I want the build sheet to match what it is. I've been thinking about Dads old 325i SE. We sold it for $8500 in early 2016... but wish I hadn't - I knew I'd regret it! We're thinking about selling his 1929 Ford Model A which is probably worth about $30K, so wondered if paying $20K to get his E30 back would be silly... I probably would though - especially since it's HIS money 🤣! It was a "collector" who purchased it, so it's probably in similar condition to when he sold it.

https://www.supercheapauto.co.nz/p/sca-sca-removable-standard-towing-hitch/553480.html#q=hitch&lang=en_NZ&start=5 https://trojan.co.nz/Fixed-Towball-Mounts/6728-a5aba53d-5c4d-4df2-877e-39965b103d87/ It might need extra holes drilled for the length, but it'll work for the weekend (probably!)

I'd be surprised if it wasn't already happening on every outing!

Although... they make it so restrictive to get in... but do it so half-assed that it doesn't actually work properly. Family members who paid for quarantine had several "accidental" interactions with other quarantiners, that simply should never have happened!

Having a ticket does NOT significantly increase your chances of winning anyway

I love Steel Blue! Our old E39 was that colour. Looks amazing on a gloomy day, or in direct sun, yet totally different. Nice.

This thread explain the gauge readings. I read the EEPROM from my cluster, and changed the gauge to read more useful numbers. The gauge readings were 100% waste of time - like the lights in modern cars.

It's still being considered 🙂

I went full yokel/redneck/retard: Full temp control 😄 Bacon:

Was that NZ's biggest ever E61 M5 meet???

DID YOU JUST ASSUME THEIR GENDER??????? 🤣

Graham, talking to a counsellor; who knows what they're doing; just listens and asks questions that are relevant, with no agenda of their own: is a really amazing thing. If you have an Employee Assistance Program at work, or can access it somehow, DO IT! Privately, it costs $85 a session up here.

In addition to what 3pedals says, some bushes/components don't need much wear/age on them to create alignment or movement problems in a complex rear end. E39's are prone to it, and on my Current Touran (same as MK5, MK6 Golfs, B6 Passats and the likes), the lower inner arm bushes have a massive impact on suspension movements that cause inner wear. They go a tiny bit soft, and deflect under load, altering the geometry at bad times. Some tyres are far more prone to this than others too. I had similar wear on our old E39 in the earlier stages after we purchased it. I rebuilt the suspension, which tightened everything up, then had it aligned by a guy who knew what he was doing - I could visibly SEE the camber difference when my wife drove it home too! Also, I recently purchased Continental MaxContact6's for my Touran. I was previously having a similar wear pattern on the rear, but to a far lesser extent on the RE003's The Conti dealer had a cutaway of the Conti's I was fitting, and also my previous RE003 tyre (by coincidence) which was worn exactly the same as mine! It was clearly evident the RE003 wore excessively on the shoulder, between where the belt finished, and the outer corner of the tread. The belt was much narrower that the tread. This area wore a triangle off the inner edge, starting exactly where the belt finished. On this particular 215/50R17 Conti MC6 (I haven't comfirmed they are all the same), the belt was much wider, and ran right out to the tread edge. While his cutaway sample evidenced some wear on the inner side, it was very progressive and not at all like the narrower belted tyres - he's got plenty of examples sitting there to look at. He's been recommending the Conti's to heavy euro car owners, because he sees much better wear across them. He's actually an alignment specialist, and got into tyres more recently (maybe 10 or so years ago, after he and his father doing alignments only for probably 50 years!) He keeps these cutaways out for everyone to see and often uses them to talk people up from cheap/chinese tyres (the construction is dramatically "lighter" - scary, in fact! Even for the same load ratings)

Is it going on a road trip tomorrow then??????

I've owned some really oddball cars, and regret selling a LOT of them... but I always knew I'd regret not keeping Dads E30, but I really miss it more than I expected ? A LOT more! I think we should have kept it as the classic and sold the '29 Ford model A instead! This was my olds car for damn close to half my life, 18 of my 42 years! I kept the cobwebs well cleared out of it during my late teens and early 20's. Even got breath tested with like 7? people in it! I drove it before Dad did and even drove it home from the dealer, while Dad followed (trying to keep up!) in my sisters VL Commodore. ?

Nah... they'll still manage it! The electric system has coolant, and the transmission must still have oil - It'll probably all get out some time! ?... Especially the UK ones!