Arma

25000km sounds way too high. I do my oil + filter every 8000-10000km, and I have a non-turbo (M54).

Looks spotless. Good work!

Whoops fixed. For some reason it removed my link after I hit post.

Ok below are some of my pics (the bmw ones), didn't want to post all 100 of them here. To see the full album of photos in full quality, visit my flickr album here: Euro Car Club Meet - December 2014

Ah yeah bummer. Didn't know you were coming, or what you were driving in, or what you look like either . Else would have come say hi. Next time!

Meet was great, good job Amber & team! I'll use this thread to post up my photos as well, once I find the time to get them off the camera. :-)

Congrats! Sure must feel like a whole different machine compared to the 323 :-). Got any interior shots?

Have you had a look at the CCV valve? Some symptoms seem to align with that going bad from what I've read, but don't take my word for it I'm not a mechanic. Another silly suggestion: by accident some oil couldn't have gone into the plugs during the RCG change right?

Awesome progress. I want to see this in person!

Oh cool. Yeah I work at Xero, which is in the same building as the Paddington, and also on the opposite side of the building (Watt st). Where abouts do you work? Should come say hi Bit off topic, so on topic: Added a missing screw on my air intake box, not sure why i wasn't there. Obvious +5hp.

haha yep saw that yesterday, and my thoughts exactly. Though there is something interesting about the camo, seeing as that car weighs as much as a tank. Actually belongs to a friend of mine (Paul) - used to be white. Not sure why he did that, but has got some logos of Gloria jeans etc. for promotion (he's the managing director in nz)

Oh yeah, forgot about the hoses attached to the bottom of the shroud. I think last time I just reached down to detach them (after lifting the shroud up slightly). But yeah I'll try do it without removing first and see how far I get.

That looks so awesome. Random question (for anyone) - where do they sell those BMW nz euro plates now anyway? Plates.co.nz no longer has them in the 'brand' euro format. Has for every other make though...

Yep, that's the one. 3M tape, shouldn've done that I guess The front doesn't look that bad, they painted the screws black and placed them over the black areas. It's just having extra holes in the bumper makes me feel ai34rjfakl3ra234. It's alright. Damage is done so will survive with how it is for now - which isn't too bad apart from the faded stickers, which can be fixed hopefully. They offered to do a cut/polish of my bootlid which had badly fading paint (up close), but I'm having 2nd thoughts of doing that with them now, even for free. Don't want to show up Friday afternoon to see a bootlid with no paint on it. Thanks, I might get in contact with you. I'm pretty tied up for a few weeks so if you still have them then, then will possibly buy off you if my OCD starts eating me inside. Here's a pic of the rear:

Mine has an undertray, which is the main reason why I was asking about whether I can do everything from up top. Otherwise I'll have to jack the car up and remove the tray. Re: aux pump on the shroud. Are you talking about the auxiliary water pump (electric one)? I *think* mine is located on the passenger side of the radiator a bit below where the upper radiator hose connects to radiator? Will have to check. I was reading this: http://www.pelicanparts.com/BMW/techarticles/BMW-Z3/39-ENGINE-Oil_Filter_Housing_Gasket_Replacement/39-ENGINE-Oil_Filter_Housing_Gasket_Replacement.htm Which suggests removing the the 3 bolts for the ps pulley from under the car. But I figured I might just be able to do from top. Correct me if I'm wrong. Some other guides don't even seem to touch the ps pulley. They just take out the alternator belt and idler pulley. (http://www.bmwtips.com/tipsntricks/oil/housing.htm) And yeah most of the stuff compared to the m52 looks the same to me. Don't have to deal with leaks from the freeze plugs in the m54 o.f.h. though it seems. I would take it in to get it done but figured I wouldn't learn much that way, which is my mission at the moment. Of course there's more risk with me doing it, but hey.. no risk, no reward.

Thanks a lot man, that will be a saver! Will send you a text tomorrow. Might order some frames if you ever do an order again. Otherwise I'll try source some myself (if you can let me know where to look).

Got my plates today. Thanks for that Andy! Was happy with them after I unwrapped them. That all changed when I decided to drive up to a certain popular panel shop @ Parnell (walking distance from my office) to quickly put them on. Not sure how such an easy job can get f***ed up... Rear plates: Somehow they destroyed the stickers for them (see pic velow). The black colour faded right off. Also, looking at the rear plate, I don't know if it's just me but it doesn't look fully aligned. The left seems ever so slightly lower than the right side. They have already drilled more than 1 hole to fix alignment once and now you can see the drill hole there. Front plates: Plates turned out fine, except they decided to drill new holes into my bumper rather than using the old ones. And they drilled them at the far top left and top right corners of the plates. And, just like the rear plates, they drilled more than one hole to fix alignment issue or whatever. So now I have 4 new holes in my front bumper that will show up if I ever decide/have to switch back to regular sized plates. Is there a quick way to fill these holes and paint it white, or is that a fully panel beating job? Kind of wish I had 'supervised' them, even though they asked me nicely to go sit in the office. They asked me to come back on Friday so they can spray paint over the ruined stickers to try to fix it. If not, a sign-writer can apparently knock something together. I should have waited and just done it at home - idiot Adeeb. Maybe I'll have to order some new ones. /endrant On a positive note: The plates are actually really good quality. I can't tell them from the originals. Thanks again Andy.

Is this in Parnell? Looks exactly same place opposite to my work

Got a few questions regarding this job if anyone can help. Does the car need to be jacked up at all? e.g. to do anything required from under the car. Or can this be reached easily from the top. Some guides do it on a hoist but I'd like to know if this is necessary. A lot of guides say to unplug the positive terminal of the battery (since alternator will be removed). Does it have to be the positive terminal or can it just be the negative too? Is it necessary to remove the fan shroud + fan? I suppose it will give more space for the job. Is the power steering pump only attached by the two bolts that go into the oil filter housing bracket? If yes, do I need to support it on something after those bolts are removed? Might have more questions later. Thanks in advance

I probably am already running a 'sub optimal' match then. Currently running: FL: RE001 FR: RE002 RL: RE002 RR: RE050A Runs and feels fine to me. Maybe I'm not picky or just haven't experienced an awesome setup yet. :shrug: I thought the S001's were just the next step up the line in Bridgestone tyres, from the RE002. Didn't think it would make a massive difference if i split them front/rears.

Sweet!

Yeah they are only available for my rear tyre size. So thought I'd just run re002's up front and s001's rear.

Aha, good stuff. Yea I was seeing it like everyday when I'd come home. There was an e92 m3 parked in the same area for like a week or two as well.

Sweet. They seem to be fine at the moment. Guys at bridgestone seemed to agree too. Will keep an eye. Maybe if my OCD kicks in, I'll just end up replacing it when I do my rear tyres.

Did an oil and oil filter change today. Put in new Castrol Edge Titanium 5w30