aja540i

the links have no effect on the swaybar stiffness at all, what matters is the strength of the bar (basically the diameter) and the distance between the pivot point (the mounts on the car) and the attachment point for the links, the longer that distance the less torsion on the bar for the same amount of wheel travel. You will see adjustable sway bars have 3 or more sets of holes to bolt the links to which changes their distance from the pivot point and therefore the effectiveness of the bar. The Z3 bar will be designed to work with the Z3 suspension geometry, i think it will be a waste of time fitting it to the E30, which probably has quite different geometry.

Changing to a thicker bar will be pointless if the 'arms' are longer, the bar may end up feeling 'softer' as it is not working as hard because of the longer arms. Surely Whiteline or someone does an uprated bar to fit? That would be your best bet.

Yeah, easy if the plastic cover is not there, but you can't remove the cover in one piece without opening the glass... it's a chicken/egg scenario.

Does anyone have a laptop with ISTA (or some kind of software) on it that could pop open the tailgate glass on my e61? I need to replace the switch and i don't really feel like smashing the plastic cover off the inside of the tailgate to get the glass open!!

Was asking $14500.

https://www.trademe.co.nz/motors/used-cars/bmw/auction-1558389725.htm?rsqid=2deb73c2dece42bba1011fd2640d0698

I used Gough, $49. Includes postage. From memory my copper was about 7 ppm, but lead was up around 28.

For the money i think this is a better buy than most e60 M5s, im not a fan of timber in my cars though! There is another one on TM at the moment en-route from Japan with a dark timber interior, oddly has a MPH speedo.

I have found a willing mechanic (that i trust) and ordered parts from Turner motorsport, about $2500 NZD all up. Once bits arrive it will be off to the mechanic to spill its guts. Only 1 person i contacted apart from BMW was willing to do the work which surprised me, it is a fairly basic bearing replacement and it has been done by a lot of people but it seemed to scare everyone i spoke to. Once it has been done and i do a few running in donuts it will be getting an inspection II at BMW, and i will be doing oil analysis at every oil change to monitor condition.

Blue line is without power button, red line is with power button.

I did this in my e39, bought an adaptor unit off trade me, worked for volume and skipping tracks, was using a sony headunit with wired remote input jack.

what part of Auckland are you in?

Nice one, now you will have real trouble deciding what to drive.

Do a skid in it....

If the alternator isn't charging, the battery light on the dash should be coming on, more likely to be a parasitic drain issue.

No, being a broke uni student doesn't help You could try unplugging the hedgehog, or pulling the fuse for that system and seeing if the battery still drains, if it doesn't then the hedgehog is the most likely culprit.

I got a used towbar and module from a wrecker and wired myself on the M5, took a bit of homework finding the wiring diagram but job itself was quite easy.

Your thought is correct, different parts of the world use different frequency ranges for commercial radio broadcsts and radio units are made accordingly, that is why you need a band expander on jap imports to listen to NZ radio stations. There is some overlap, I think the UK uses a very similar range to us, but some time with google might tell you more.

Done through gough analytical, less than $50 for the sample kit, includes freight and analysis, report etc.I just walked in off the street and told them what I was after. Took about a week. Honestly, the oil seems to be holding up, but im not willing to go more than 20k on it. It has had 4 x 1 litre top ups of fresh oil, fairly evenly spaced out since the last service so its not all manky old oil.

I am getting ready to have the rod bearings replaced in the M5 as i am on borrowed time with them (157000 kms), looks like there are plenty of options for getting the parts at a reasonable price, but i doubt BMW will be interested in doing the work if i supply the parts, so i am hunting for a reputable shop to do the deed. I have seen Taylor automotive mentioned a few places and am wondering if anyone has any first hand experience with them good or bad? PM me if you don't feel comfortable mentioning here. I have also asked BMW for an estimate for the whole job. I am probably going to use the BE bearings replacements as i will be monitoring them with oil analysis at every service and they use a copper/ lead bearing surface which gives plenty of warning of impending doom, the new BMW bearings are aluminum/ tin which don't. I am also going to try and sneak a power pulley kit past the accountant at the same time....

results of oil analysis back today, lead level is high, copper is quite low, so bearings have started to wear but are not terminal. Sodium level is also elevated which can be caused by coolant contaminating the oil (or about 4 other things) but water was 0%. Recommendation is to drain and replace the oil (due now anyway) and retest ASAP to monitor levels. Bearings will be getting replaced.

My M5 told me that it would like a service over the weekend so I checked the mileage and it has done 20700 since the last one, done by BMW with the proper castrol stuff, I have taken a sample and sent it away for analysis mainly to see how much big end bearing is in it, but I am also keen to see how good/bad the oil is at that age, bearing in mind that it has had 4 litres of new oil added in that time. I will post results when I get them.....

Can i see how many Km my car has done since the service light was last reset? 07 e61 M5, i can find out from the dealer, just wondering if i can find out from the car?

What condition is your battery in?

parked the leaf next to its brother from another mother in Takapuna this afternoon...