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Yep... Truly awesome car. Hard to fault (except maybe the m stripes on the grille - but that's just personal preference). Love it and the noise it makes when you disappear in front of the rest of us!

Good to see the car again this weekend, Tony, it's one of my favourites. If you ever decide you've had enough of this project I'd seriously like to be considered as its new owner! I'd sell a kidney for it (I've got a spare).

Fair enough... I'd like a decent machine but 400+ notes is out of the question at the moment. That said, I do love good paint! Maybe I'll just drive over to your house every couple of months, Graham!

I'm not too fazed about learning to cut - it needs to be done so rarely that I'd prefer to get a pro to do it - but a decent buffer would be good. Do you reckon the cheapie from Repco and some decent wax/polish would be okay for that or is it just a waste of $40?

Yep, immaculate car and good to see it in the flesh today. Think I'd probably paint the lip but that's just me. Deliberated the similar Hamann lip for the 540i but I'm not totally sold - somehow too separate to the bumper (if that makes sense?) - though it looks pretty good in person on your car.

Buy Tom's Vorsteiner CSL bumper. It's got splitters and is already the right colour (I think). Would look good IMO.

Saw this GT3 on the way to Silverdale yesterday... It looked fast.

Another little update... Took the car up to Ray's to code the spare TCU so I can send one away to Dinan for a s/w upgrade. Means I'm running 740i s/w at the moment which isn't quite as fun as my standard tran but the upgrade should be awesome. Ray also ran a very revealing smoke test. Only one leak but a biggie from the front manifold seal. Fortunately Ray had a new gasket handy and 5 mins later the throttle body was off, new gasket in and wahey!! No more vac leak. Car's running beautifully. No more idle shudders. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Saw a Daihatsu (or similar) minivan with an M3 badge stuck to it on the northern motorway near Silverdale. Probably on their way to see Ray for an S62 conversion.

Yours is very inspirational. Not sure how long my good intentions will last as I don't have a garage at home. Badass until I'm 100% the spacers are staying, then cert 'cos I'm a goodun. Pretty happy with it... I'll play it to you on Sunday!

T is next to the R on a QWERTY keyboard. Could be an honest typo. I also need my rocket cover painted.

Nice!

If you're thinking of doing this check what the current setup is. I think the 530i only has a one (dual) catalytic converter and almost certainly has pre and post sensors. My 528 only had one pair of cats but no post cat O2 sensors so it was okay to remove them. It's okay on my 540i because there is another set of cats right after the headers but if you've only got one dual cat with pre and post sensors it'll probably throw a fault without defoulers or recoding the DME. Re: spacers - 25mm on each side is quite a big change to the offset so definitely noticeable. Similar effect to swapping for wider wheels at the front so a bit more grip in the corners. Have only really noticed at lower speeds.

Just did the sums and they didn't work out so the sedan stays... For now.

A little update. Got a good deal on some bolt on 25mm spacers up front. Because the wheels are staggered the 8.5"s at the front didn't fit the wheel arch like the rears. Looks much better now and a slight handling improvement in tight corners. Said goodbye to the main cats and replaced with a couple of small Coby resonators. Decided to keep the Y-resonator, having deleted it on my 528i I decided that there isn't a better way to avoid the drone and keep the cabin noise at bay - have kept the Fast Flow muffler I fitted when I got it and it sounds exceptional. The cats were damaged so the core was broken up and blocking the flow. Hopefully some small gains in power now. The 540i has another set of small cats up front, right after the headers, so taking these out hasn't triggered any faults. Will try and grab a recording of the exhaust note one of these days. Discovered an oil leak from the oil pan level sensor when underneath and also fresh oil on the crank case. Hoping this oil has been blown back from the sump which was pretty wet thanks to the sensor seal leak... But got a sneaking suspicion that this might be the crank seal... Which is a bugger. Cleaned it up with some brake cleaner and will monitor. Oil sensor seems fine so might see if I can buy the seal on its own. I'm gradually - as funds permit - buying up OE suspension parts to do a complete front and rear overhaul sometime next year as well. When the old suspension comes off i really want to give the underside a really good clean - with the (ambitious) goal of keeping it that way once the new suspension is in.... I live in hope! EDIT: Oh, and dumped this thing too last weekend. Was making a racket and doesn't really have a purpose now I've ditched the cats. No faults, less noise. Happy.

That's a very fine looking automobile, sir!

Hmmmn... Guess it all comes down to how much you need the money and need it gone. With that much interest I'd just keep relisting it... Sooner or later one of the watchers is going to have the coin that you want from it and will grab it as it's still a bargain compared to new. I've been watching a 540i supercharger that's for sale in the US. It's half the new price and hasn't sold in months. I can't afford it at the moment but if my fortunes change I'll grab it if it's still for sale. I'm sure some of the watchers on your auction are like me!

Factory smoked/tinted lights are fine, you just can't add a tint film or paint to functional lights (headlights, indicators, brakes, etc).

This one ain't bad, Josh.

^ This! I was always a very tolerant driver in the UK. 13 years in New Zealand and I now loathe most other motorists. Courtesy is so rare here.

If you're adding a reply to an older post just click the "More Reply Options" button in the bottom right corner of the edit box. Then it should give you a few more options including the ability attach your files. Once you've attached it you then click the "Add to post" link and it'll place your picture wherever your cursor is in the text box.

There's no such thing as a free video, Graham. We're all paying for it... on the inside.

Not much different to my commute really.

I've got a set of style 65 reps that were on an E36. Not sure if the fitment is right for your car but they look good on an E46. 235/40/17 Offset 41 5x120 pcd Going very cheap - PM me if interested - http://www.trademe.co.nz/Browse/Listing.aspx?id=660996578

Yep. Not even sure a remap would work that well with natural aspiration. High flow for FI is what I've heard but I'm no expert.