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PMd.

Hmmm... Me likey. Might have to swap - keeping the best bits of mine, of course!

F10 M5 KFC

E60 M5s are getting quite cheap, Dan!

Yep, I noticed the torque graph onscreen... Should have taken a photo but I thought it would be on the printout.

I meant to ask Robyn at TP about that, did you find out why?

Should be able to restore it with a decent cut and polish.

Do you mean prior to painting or once painted? Prior - yes, you've got to clean thoroughly then use a solvent based cleaner (or Meths works well) to strip the original coat). Post - nope, ordinarly leather cleaners and conditioners are fine. They obviously recommend their own. I've got a good set from Freedom Furniture that came with our couch that also has a protector which will hopefully make it last a bit longer too.

Yeah, me too. To be honest, I'm not that worried. It took about 8 hours all up to do and I've got enough paint left to do them all again if need be. Not bad for $200. I'd need to do it 25 times before it cost as much as replacing with new leather! haha EDIT: Actually, it was only $150.

"S" is Sport mode. Basically means the RPM limit in each gear is higher and the shifts are slightly firmer and quicker. I think "steptronic" is just a fancy word for an automotic gearbox that has a manual mode. To engage manual mode you shift it over into Sport Mode then push the gear lever up or down. Once in manual you control the gear changes by pushing the gear lever up or down. The car will still change gear automatically in manual mode if the control module deems your speed to be too high or too low. Had a similar problem, though not as pronounced as yours, on my 540. A service and new trans fluid sorted it out but I'd do as Glenn says and take it to an Auto Trans repairer for a proper diagnostic.

PM me. I can show you. Done it on mine.

Thanks Brent. Sadly, my sewing skills aren't that good or I would have redone the stitching on the door cards, etc too. Just bought the handbrake boot and gear stick gaiter from Top Gaiters on eBay. Cheap as chips and a good fit.

Thanks Justin. Yeah, I try and be pretty careful. Since getting my wheels refurbished I have just parked like an a*sehole miles away from any curb... Now I just do the same at the front. Have to be a bit careful in my work carpark where the car lives most of the time, the ramp's pretty steep!

Blimey, sounds like the previous owner hasn't replaced much and the car has reached 'that time' when things start to fail... Hence why they're selling as it gets expensive, particularly if you have to do a lot of it in one go. If the shudder was gone after wheel alignment hopefully that's all it was (crap tyres!) but probably worth checking suspension parts. Hot spraying water is probably from the cooling system. Find out what it is and get it fixed urgently. You're right to take it somewhere you can get a full diagnostic - scan the codes, etc. Then you'll know exactly what's in store for you. Beautiful cars... But potentially expensive.

Thanks Tristan. Put everything back in... Big improvement, even it it is a bit shinier than I'd like!

All in all very happy with the results using the Pelle Care kit to refurb my leather interior. Steering wheel, in particular, came out really well. The finish (on the front seats especially) is a little glossier than I had planned but hoping it will dull down when it's fully cured. Failing that I'll try and find a matte finisher of some sort - though I think most of the matte finishes have to be sprayed rather than wiped on and any blemishes would be more visible. Also did the door cards and handbrake lever. Will be interesting to see how well it wears. From this: To this:

Eh?

Yep, really easy... The prep's the most time consuming part. Mine was pretty quick as the wear was fairly minor and I'd cleaned the seats recently but I can imagine it would be the best part of a day's work to prep and recolour a full interior that was in worse condition. Basically, you do this: http://youtu.be/5OLBt8t0xHM EDIT: I should add that the stuff I'm using doesn't require a top coat and will fill small cracks. Some filler and a bit more sanding's probably required if yours is pretty rooted. The worst wear on mine was like this:

My good lady has got work in Sydney this weekend... So I brought the interior into the interior... of our lounge. Re-dye of the leather in progress using Pelle Care products. So far, it's been a breeze and it looks brand new - at least it does on the floor of the lounge. Done front and rear seats and steering wheel. Will do the door cards too, but now I've found out how easy it is I might just do them in the car. Just got to leave it for a couple of days now to cure. Will post some before and after pics once done. Other jobs over the long weekend: Install anti roll bar link rods Fit new front bumper undercarriage covers Put the interior back in

They are if you drive from Islington Street to Ponsonby Road and back everyday with not much other driving!

James, they guy who brought his E61 M5 touring to the dyno day, said most of his driving his short trip around town and he rarely gets more than 150kms per tank! That's around a buck per kilometre! Awesome value!!

Ray, you're a legend, thanks. Will see you this weekend (either at Puke or on Monday). Cheers

Suspension's on my to do list. The front drop links are on their way out so guessing that other suspension parts will follow soon. I've bought a cheapish pair of drop links to tide me over while I save up to replace the entire system with OE parts. Would you recommend doing shocks and springs at the same time? Saw one of the forum sponsors was doing a reasonable deal on Eibach sway bars but shocks and springs seem to be really expensive here. Mind if I ask if you sourced yours locally or overseas?

Thanks Allan. According to Dinan all the boxes - US, Japanese, Euro, etc - were the same. Also, pretty certain the EGS can be accessed via the OBDII connector (my car has OBD I and II).

Uncompromising would be if you applied it to your own decisions. Black and white is forcing your 'uncompromising' opinion on everyone else even when they have stated up front that the opinion you're offering has been deliberated and ruled out.