aja540i

On 11/6/2021 at 1:58 PM, Twistee said:

Thanks for the input - I didn't know that Supercheap sold 10w60 Supercar, I thought they only sold EDGE as I've never seen it advertised that I can think of. @aja540i totally agree on the oil change frequency, who do you use for the oil analysis? @BM WORLD Thanks, I'll touch base in the near future and grab a couple of containers. 

I use Gough, they have a branch just around the road from work but all the testing is done in Christchurch I believe, you buy the kit from them and drop it back to them, they send it to the lab and email the results.

I did a set for my e39 540i touring in coal dust, it is an old colour now but I chose it because the brake dust doesn't show up on it!! 

We really only do our own product but it is a mix of galv steel and aluminium, and we have the pre treatment tanks for both, so I would be lying if I said I hadn't seen a few sets of wheels going through

I usually dip strip or sand blast (depending on the finish of the wheels) then run them through the pre treatment process, I am currently doing a set of style 66s for the 530d but I am going to wet paint them as I couldn't find the exact right colour in powder coat.

30 minutes ago, E30 325i Rag-Top said:

Doesn’t say if the camera is still included, could be a nice money making scheme for someone if it is…-

I think you mean SAFETY scheme!!

is it just a gloss black? Seems odd that a powder coating place wouldn't have gloss black! 

As with painting, prep is the key to good results, the only other step I would recommend is a chemical treatment to coat the bare alloy  before powder coating, if the place you use does a lot of aluminium they should be able to do it for you, we have tanks that we dip everything in to pre treat.

I always use the Castrol 10w60 supercar,  but only because I wanted consistency for used oil analysis results, if you take it to BMW they will stick Shell in it, and any other 10w60 is probably going to be fine. I doubt the Warehouse have a no name 10w60!

The only advice I would offer is to not wait 25k between changes, which is what the CBS will start with after a reset.

I would suggest that given that line up 10 is the right number to make sure you always have one that is drivable!!

Cheap nasty paint touch up work when it arrived from Japan plus ultraviolet light plus neglect....

Yes you can replace the entire unit if it was an option from new, have done it on a previous e39, VTNZ guy tried to fail my WOF because he thought the entire wiring loom needed to be replaced to handle the high voltage for the HID bulbs! I have never been back to that VTNZ...

Sweet sweet motocompo. 

Do they have a gasket or is it just sealant? I can't remember getting a gasket when I had mine done with the timing chain guides etc

Doesn't look like i can get the rear size in the 003s, hyper have some Dunlops on sale that have both sizes, about $850 for 4, which is about what I wanted to spend.

I am in the process of refurbishing the style 66 wheels for the E39 530d touring and am after some recommendations for good mid range tyres,  staggered setup so looking at 235/45 17 for the front and 255/40 17 for the rear, don't want to spend silly money but would ideally get same brand and model front and rear. Any suggestions of good, bad, or avoid like the plague appreciated.

Started welding away the curb rash, I am doing sections about 20- 50mm long, and about 5 sections spaced around the rim at a time to minimize heat input and avoid distortion.

So, wire brush a section, weld it, wire brush the next section, weld it, etc, etc, leave the whole lot to cool down, file down the welds with a cheese grater file then smooth off with a fine file, then repeat until the whole rim is done, then repeat for 3 more wheels!!

I am guessing around 4 hours each for the worst wheels and 1-2 hours for the ok ones!!

2 hours ago, Young Thrash Driver said:

What the hell, it's all dented up. Diplomacy on a budget?

They also held onto it for 10 years!

got the style 66s back from being dip stripped last week, now to start the laborious task of welding, ginding and filing the curb rash! It was less obvious when they were Matt black but they are going to be silver again so needs to be sorted, these wheels will consume several more weekends of my life before they are ready to wear tyres again!!

I actually could, 1700w pure sine wave inverter, I would just have to run  the e39 for 8 hours or so, think of the environments!

Added a 175 amp DC connector in the boot, mainly to connect an inverter but also whatever else i need! 200 amp circuit breaker just in case...

1 hour ago, Breaker said:

Why would you put those wheels on, they are awful on this car, it’s whole point is understated 

Because you still had them from when you sold your Commodore??

I can probably help out, I work around the corner from Ray and we pack and send stuff all the time with PBT. PM me if you are keen.

Maximum tyre width 245mm, so no good for the M5 then....

I don't think they need a special battery, but, like every car, they do need the CORRECT battery! I don't have specific knowledge of the 'verts, but the owners manual should list it, if not try a friendly BMW parts department.

We have been a dumping ground for dirty end of life vehicles for decades, now we are becoming a dumping ground for end of life EVs, it represents an amazing opportunity to develop world leading systems for recycling these vehicles, but in typical fashion the government will be too short sighted to take that opportunity and our kids and grandkids will end up paying to clean up the mess. I hope I am wrong. And yes I am part of that end of life EV owners club, but I intend to repurpose the battery from mine for solar storage when it is due for replacement.

I currently use a charcoal furnace but I am in the process of upgrading an old electric kiln to use instead, I have done some stuff with steel moulds but mostly just use sand moulds and MDF patterns.

To satisfy my own sense of humor I made sure I used some of the old suspension arms from the M5 in this casting!!

59 minutes ago, Olaf said:

hugely impressive.  bravo!

you going to open source the plans for this?

 

I am honored and amused that you think there are plans!! Its all out of my head and made largely from what I had kicking around the garage. 

If anyone is keen to replicate it I can post up some photos with measurements,  and I have the pattern to cast the aluminium block so I could work out a price to supply that, the rest is pretty straight forward.

A couple of points to note:

 1)I used an E39 hub but that might not be the best option considering the odd bore size on the E39 hubs.

2)As it stands it has no ability to deal with dents on the outer lip of the wheel, it wasn't an issue for me as all the rims I have to repair are only dented on the inside edge. If a wheel is buckled on the outside edge I would question whether it is wise to attempt to repair it anyway given that it is probably cracked as well.

3)I have used a 4T panel beating hydraulic pump / ram kit so far, but I would recommend getting a 10T kit as I am getting to the limit of the 4T pump quite easily. 

4) I have no problem with anyone using my design and making one for their own use, I will consider it a dick move if someone starts making them and selling them!

5) I am open to hiring this out in the Auckland area but I'm not keen to lend out my dial indicator so you would need to aquire one if you don't already have one, pm me if keen.

This one took a bit of heating, but still only the 4T pump, got it within 1.8mm of perfect, also removed 105g of balance weights that were probably masking the effect of the dent somewhat!!