jeffbebe

Interesting, took my EGS out to check the part no. and it isn't listed (on RealOEM.com) for my car. Rather it's listed for an E38 740i. Same engine and gearbox obviously, but would they have had identical software?

Yep, that's what I was thinking. The EGS has to be coded to the VIN (and run in the car) before it is upgraded, hence why I can't just buy a cheap matching EGS in the USA on eBay and ship directly to Dinan... Has to go in my car and be coded first.

Thanks Martin.

Have a good one, mate.

Yes, know anyone who can code an EGS to a new VIN?

Is that for me? You shouldn't have!!!

Thanks Josh. Great to have a proper explanation of what's going on! So my best options are to: 1) Send the EGS away and do a lot of walking for a month 2) Pick up a secondhand EGS - recode to my VIN (not sure how easy/expensive this is to do) and send that away to Dinan and be able to use the car

Genuine 3M is lightyears easier because the adhesive qualities remain after repeated reheats and bends. Means you can work out around the tricky corners, etc quite a few times and it'll still stick. The cheaper products will give up after a couple of times and you'll need to start again. EDIT: Looks good though, Tristan. Definitely stick with it!

In your opinion. Although I prefer manuals, since it's not an option, I'm keen to do what I can to improve the shifts and fun from the auto box I have got within the budget I have. Anyway, I don't mind the auto transmission in my car and I like being able to accelerate hard through the changes. Nor do I see the point of posts like yours, and it's certainly not the first I've seen you make unhelpful posts like this (invariably regarding your disdain for non-manual cars). Having such a black and white view about anything is narrow minded and doesn't add to the discussion. If I could afford an M5 do you think I'd be looking at a $300 s/w update?! I don't drive it that hard but it does get the occasional workout but what's wrong with wanting to make it better and more fun? Isn't that why we're all here?

Done a lot of reading on the Alpina and BMW boards and opinion seems pretty divided over whether Alpina just upgraded the software or replaced some of the transmission hardware as well. Guess the only way to find out would be direct from Alpina but I can't imagine they'd share the s/w with a non-Alpina car.

Okay, further research shows they did use the same gearbox with switch-tronic controls (pre flappy paddles) on the steering wheel. Looking at the 0-60mph times I'd say it almost certainly has different software to the stock ZF box in my car. How did you get hold of the Alpina s/w on your car, Suresh?

Yeah, already thought of that. Was hoping to just buy a cheapie on eBay in the States and ship straight to Dinan. Unfortunately, the EGS has to be coded to the vehicle VIN when it's in the car. Rang BMWorkshop about doing that and they had no idea how... Maybe someone else does? EDIT: Yes, TCU is separate. Not sure... Where did you get the Alpina flash from and what were the changes to stock? EDIT: A quick search is inconclusive Suresh. It looks like the B10 540i had a different s/w package - but by the same taken it looks like it also had a different gearbox.

Read the OP, Graham.

Yep, no one I've spoken to in NZ seems to have any idea about transmission s/w mapping.

Not to be confused with auto erotic asphyxiation. Okay... Long story short... I've ruled out a manual conversion already so don't want to hear about that. Really like the sound (and price) of Dinan's performance software upgrade for the 540 transmission. In particular, firmer and faster shifting coupled with being able to maintain selected gear regardless of speed, would make a huge improvement to the fun factor. I also found a tuner in the UK who can flash the EGS - CA Automotive - but here's where the frustration starts... The guy at CA Automotive is adamant that the software for my transmission cannot be programmed to hold a gear but can do everything else for a similar price and is happy to flash my EGS remotely via Teamviewer. The guy at Dinan stands by their claims that they can programme it to hold the gear (apart from when you press the kick down button) but says they can't (or won't) flash the EGS remotely, so I'd have to send it to the States for mapping. Don't think I've really got a question... I'm just a bit annoyed. What to do....?

Don't really need to wax them at all as I clean them regularly, just do it when I wax the bodywork. Don't recommend using a brush on wheels that are painted though. You wouldn't brush clean any other painted part of your car.

Yeah, avoid acid-based cleaners. Meguiar's and Mother's cleaners both very good but make sure you get the right one for your wheel type, particularly if you have exposed aluminium. Still need to clean them though... I do mine weekly to avoid heavy build up. Spray with Meguiar's All Wheel cleaner (which is safe on most wheel types), leave for a couple of mins, hose down, then wipe with a microfibre cloth. All up takes about 10 mins if you do it regularly, longer if you've let them get really dirty. About every six months I wax them when I do the rest of the car.

If kms and wheels are both genuine I think $8-9 would be more than fair. Sell/swap the wheels for something that suits it and you've got a low kms luxury boat that will only need two private oil fields to run.

The red engine cover's not my cuppa on a bimmer or a silver/blue car but it looks a pretty decent job in the pics. Was it black originally? Maybe a carbon replacement or wrap (if it can stand the heat) would look better. EDIT: Speaking of which, I had that CF wrap in my car at the dyno day and completely forgot to give it to you! Next time.

Great pic!

This parked a block away. A nice motorsport red E39 with shadow chrome wheels behind too.

Kind of. The distance focal length (distance from camera to objects) in those pics wouldn't have been greater than the distance of the objects to the background. It would just have been far enough (coupled with a narrow aperture lens) to keep the objects in the foreground and the background all in focus. If you had the camera tight up to the objects the background is likely to have appeared out of focus and it also is likely to have 'miniaturised' the objects. Making them look small. This pic gives you an idea of what it would look like shooting close up to the subject (it was actually done in post production but gives you an idea of what I mean), because the depth of field is so shallow that the car isn't even all in focus it makes it appear almost 'toylike', so imagine how that would like if it was actually miniature to start with. And without... It normalises the appearance, which is really important if shooting miniatures:

Yep, as Kyu says, there are a number of factors that affect the depth of field. If you shoot close to the subject and/or use a narrow aperture lens you'll make the depth of field shallower so that only the subject and objects close to it appear in focus. A wide aperture lens is great for shooting cars to give that sense of depth but for shooting miniatures like this, where you want them to appear part of the real and full scale background behind, it would be better to shoot from further away using a narrow aperture to create a large depth of field so everything appears in focus.

Love this... http://www.techeblog.com/index.php/tech-gadget/these-are-not-real-cars-just-a-mind-bending-optical-illusion#ZfbpGCX9oScH1Cki.01

Is a moonroof better in NZ? The sun in NZ - when magnified through glass - is just too hot! I've got a moonroof but rarely have the hood liner panel open more than a crack just to let some air in if the moonroof is tilted open and I only open it all the way when I want to listen to V8!