aja540i

7 hours ago, gjm said:

Have considerd a hybrid... 170km+ daily commute (85 each way), and site visits.

How many kms do you get from a charge?

My commute is about 22km each way, mostly on the motorway at 100ish, I get a shade under 100km per charge now so I am charging it every day, but I don't nurse it along and I use the a/c all the time, mine is at about 80 % state of health which is above average for its age and mileage, but you won't get an above average one for 10k.

Realistically a hybrid is a better option if you can find one that blows your hair back.....

Get a Leaf?

That used to be sticky cloth tape, pretty common for it to dry out and let go, especially in hotter locations like near the radiator. A couple of cable ties will do the job, I managed to get some fabric tape online to re-do my e21 loom, but its probably not worth the hassle for that job.

2 hours ago, Eagle said:

Slight end play on the PS pump is normal. Clunking could drive train, diff or worn trailing arm bushings. Does it only do it when cold?   

Subframe bushes??

Got sick of seeing the ABS and ASC lights, plus the speedo not working was really screwing up my fuel economy, so pulled the ABS unit out to send off for repair.

Also managed to pick up a replacement upper tailgate section with a much better steel / rust ratio that the current one, will have to repaint it but it will tidy that issue up nicely,

And happily changing the front brake pads has solved the God awful squealing issue, one less reason not to drive it!

Now to paint the style 66s and get them on....

https://www.trademe.co.nz/a/motors/cars/bmw/x1/listing/3434046037?bof=JWOZbkQf

You're welcome!!

1 hour ago, dirtydoogle said:

Seems a little pessimistic when a 10.9 m12 fastener will take 7500kg on the shank before shear

Yes, but what is that bolt going in to? The shock mounts were never intended, or designed, to take the full weight of the vehicle, let alone any extra loading from hitting bumps at speed etc.

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

Hot oil leaking onto an exhaust.

Not sure about that, I was always told all fires need three things: fuel, ignition and oxygen. 
The latest hi-tech equipment that’s being deployed to fight the anti-christ that is the EV fire… the good old fashioned fire blanket! Great big car sized ones. Cuts off the oxygen.

Yeah, in certain situations a chemical fire will release its own oxygen and become self sustaining, not sure if that is the case with a lithium battery fire though...

Hey, I have this lying around if you want it, its NOS, and its for a 6  cylinder but you might be able to drill the rivets out and replace the dented bit on your one. PM me if you want it, I can put it on our truck next time its heading to Hamilton. 

Yeah, not enough boot space for me, "needs" to be a touring!!

I got mine from Turner motorsport, was about $300 cheaper than BMWNZ, but be aware there are a couple of versions and you may need an adaptor for the wiring harness to the small plug, mine did.

I would guess vacuum pump or plumbing. 

3 hours ago, Michael. said:

I once priced up an electric conversion probably 10 years ago. Seemed that about 2/3 of the cost was battery 1/3 motor and control units + custom install work. From what I worked out you wouldnt have had much change out of $50,000

I wouldnt be surprised if they were asking 75k+ for this MG  

 

Used import Leaf, $10k, old British car, $????, then its just labour and compliance  costs. The beauty of ev conversions is that the motors are relatively tiny so you don't have to worry about space and the battery can be configured to fit the space available and give the required range to a certain extent. Aside from the dangers associated with a 300+ volt battery pack, it is no more difficult than a mechanical conversion. 

Imagine having an old classic car in your garage and KNOWING that whenever you want to drive it, it will just work! 

3 minutes ago, Michael. said:

Definitely one way to max our your at home power supply haha. I wonder what it looks like when the whole neighborhood is doing the same thing mid winter (if everyone had an electric car in that scenario)

On that note of chargers, I was shocked a how slow most of the typical at home chargers are, definitely require overnight charging which means long hours of unattended charging. In some instances I've read it's suggested for electric cars to not be left unattended while charging or parked inside garages at home out of safety concerns. (There area already some apartment complexes and underground garages that don't allow electric cars to park inside due to the fire risk and the potential insurance headaches etc)

Of course no one is going to watch their electric car charge all night for safety concerns with this weak sauce at home chargers, Obvious not the intention but it's not like people fill their cars up with petrol without watching, in fact they are fully involved in the whole process (which takes 2-3 minutes) and there are various safety aids in case anything goes wrong. Obvious given the materials involved on both car types, all have inherent risks, nothing is completely safe.  

Time will tell how all this plays out when thousands more electric cars are added to the market in the coming years. The numbers are still tiny so hard to see any actual trends yet.  

The "charger" that most people talk about is not a charger at all, it is an adaptor that connects the charger built into the car to the mains power supply in a safe way. Proper ones monitor things like the capacity of the supply, and get info from the car to make sure nothing goes wrong. Of course there will be occasions when people don't do things properly and sh1t happens, but that is also true of petrol stations!! 

51 minutes ago, polley said:

Must be slow as f**k to charge if it only draws 10 amps. A decent charger will draw 30 amps. Consider the average house is only supplied with 60 amps. If you come home, plug in your shopping trolley, have the heat pump on, turn the oven on to do some cooking etc, you're pretty much maxed out.

Yep, it takes all night, I don't care, it's full in the morning when I need it!! I can use the wall box to top it up quickly if I need to, or use a free fast charge point that I drive past every day, options!! 😉 

12 minutes ago, polley said:

There is not a single street in the country where the electrical infrastructure is up to the task of everyone coming home and plugging in their EV. Couple that with the government wanting to get rid of gas how are factorys supposed to supply steam to their process? It's not uncommon for a small factory to have a 5MW boiler. And that's not even bringing into the question the generation side of it.

There isn't a single street in the country where the gas station is up to the task of everybody trying to fill their car at once.

Its a bit of a pointless argument as there is no scenario where everybody in the country will plug their car in at the same time, mine uses about the same amount of power to charge as boiling the jug or cooking some toast, and I don't HAVE to charge it every day.

As for the commercial users, hydrogen will take care of most of that. (Eventually!)

the mild steel shouldn't be too bad for distortion (compared to stainless) but that is a sh1t load of welding in some tight areas, I have always gone for donuts for that reason, and have always been happy with the outcome.

Are you going to TIG it or MIG?

A hybrid is less beneficial on long journeys than short commutes as there is less slowing down to charge the battery so a higher percentage of your energy is coming from the gas tank,  but perfect if you do a lot of commuting and an occasional long trip and you don't want 2 vehicles, plug in hybrid slightly better if you can stop and charge it along the way.

37 minutes ago, wrs said:

Stick with fossil fuels. All electric vehicles in NZ are currently running on coal. Until new renewable generation is built all shortfall in power in NZ is provided by coal. Even if all current electric vehicles are removed from NZ roads we still need coal to fill the gap.

EV's worldwide are currently just marketing hype. Until true renewables are available to power EV's they nearly all run on fossil fuel as that's where the power is ultimately generated from.

The cost to run them may be better but what's the overall environmental cost?

I like EV's and will eventually change to one but until the truth about where the power comes from is common knowledge and power is made from renewable resources (not coal) to power them we're better off sticking with petrol/diesel. I think it's only a number of years until electric is viable and better for the environment but until more renewable energy comes online in NZ coal is the source of power for EV's.

Not 100% true, mine is charged by power from the solar panels on my roof, which were manufactured in a factory in China powered by the tears of slave laborers ( or something similar)

1 hour ago, qube said:

With petrol prices expected to continue rising, are people considering alternative vehicles? Maybe a cheaper to run daily or complete change to an electric or hybrid or maybe a diesel instead of petrol bmw?

Curious to hear everyones thoughts if anyone has made a move or planning or thinking about it. 
 

Not many good bmw hybrid options, maybe something diesel, or possibly alternative brands?

Side question - thoughts on running 91 on bmws? Something economic but newish like a 116/320 or similar, not a performance or sports model or anything.
 

 

Get a Leaf!

The undervoltage codes are almost certainly because the battery is low, thats what that means, just because it is new doesn't mean it is full!! A low battery can cause all sorts of codes in these, the problem will be figuring out what is sucking all the power out of the battery, I am going through a similar issue with my M5 at the moment, I keep a trickle charger on it all the time otherwise it won't start after a few days, and it had a new battery in November!

Contnental cars kept it overnight and did an energy diagnostic but didn't come up with anything concrete so I am still trying to figure it out....

I mean, if you are re-mapping a 320d to get more power you may have bought the wrong car for your needs, there are plenty of faster options, even in diesel, that don't require sacrificing reliability or emissions controls.

Swapped over the complete toolkit from pick a part, resisted the urge to include the spark plug tool to make it totally complete!!

Replaced left rear window lifter mechanism,  the casting that carries the window was twisted and cracked and the cable had lost its little ferrule that keeps it in place!

Also gave it a long overdue wash, I keep thinking I should give it a polish, but the paint is so bad I think it would be a wasted effort.

Finally fixed one of the more worrying previous repairs carried out on the old girl,  at some stage someone had damaged the section of the drivers door card that covers the airbag, and decided to turn it into a home made Claymore mine by repairing it with a good solid layer of Araldite!

I shudder to think what this would have done to me if the airbag had ever deployed!!

As you can see there is some silicone in there as well, just in case.

Replaced with a good door card from Pick a part, unfortunately it was from an electric seat car so it has the memory buttons which mine has no need for ( manual leather heated seats for the win) so I will keep an eye out for a correct replacement, but in the meantime this one won't cut me in half if the worst happens!