Apex

Nice catch and haul, Gurnard is yum! Shush!!

Good to hear you are having a problem free run, they are a fun little car! Should have done the cam belt with the water pump!! Haha I did call Auto France a call to ask what a service would cost for the RS250, they are only $20 cheaper than A&S. Their hourly rate is much better at $80.00 but they still do not have the Renault Clip Diagnostics system or workshop program.

I remember Brent did some scientific testing on our way home from South Auckland drinks one night and we established the 750I was as quick as a E36 328i Manual in terms of stand still acceleration. The V12 is a kick down king though, from 80-120 it would leave most cars for dead and probably get your car above 250kph with ease. Does your car have self leveling?? Would make a mean tow car indeed, does your car have the self leveling?

Out of curiosity what have you had done by them Phil? Interested to learn what they can do, last time I spoke with them a few years ago they said they did not do much more than basic servicing on newer Renault as did not have the tooling, manuals or specific Renault software required to do proper maintenance? I would be keen to know what they can do as they are only around the corner from my wife's work and it would be handy to have them do services on cars!

For sure, and good on you for doing it, I have a few mates who do conversions and know what's involved! I remember Lance had his E34 with V12 at Hampton Downs and it went quite well on the straights for a bigger car, was enough to hold a few back. Was more digging at the "faster than cars this side of 40K" comment and wondering what it meant, if you mean brand new cars then I think you would be spot on, nothing I can think of will keep with it in a straight line! Looking at your car's power to weight ratio it should it the 100km mark at around 7 seconds on a good run, possibly low 15's on the quarter.

Sounds like a legit way of measuring performance, some solid data logged there. My mate had a VR4 back in the day that ran 20 pound boost and he once dragged off Hyundai Scoupe in a school zone, was hard out!

Only pace I would take mine is Archibald and Shorter in Green Lane. The service is crap and they charge $120.00 an hour but they do have factory trained tecknitions and Renault specific tooling including the proper diagnostic equipment and only they can maintain your car properly, they will do most jobs in one third the time any other mechanic will take and they will not damage your car like most other mechanics will so the hourly rate and appalling customer service is worth enduring. I warn you, ignore proper dealer maintenance at your own peril, the RS cars are like BMW M cars or Porsche's, they are built from scratch in a special factory, they are nothing like other Renault cars and without proper expert servicing and preventative maintenance they will lose their RS magic very quickly and end up a soggy pile of sh*t worth essentially nothing. The car is going to cost you money to maintain, if you are not prepared to spend upto a few thousand each year you may want to consider something less hard core. I have tried saving money and taking the car to other “specialists†and every time it has cost me more in the long run as they are essentially learning as they work and often damage clips, mounts etc as they do not have the workshop manuals showing them how to properly remove and refit parts on the the cars, Renault have their own way of doing things and even a very good non Renault mechanic will struggle to do even a simple job like bleeding the brakes. I have a workshop manual for my cars and if you do a bit of digging you may find one for your car online, these are worth their weight in gold, I now service my older car myself with the help of friends but have it through to A&S for a check-up at least once a year, they pick up on things I wont. Unfortunately parts cost a big bucks locally, especially the RS specific ones so you may want to look at get major service parts from England or a parallel NZ importer if you can’t stomach the dealer’s prices, from England they are often one third the price and normally arrive within a week. I get a lot of stuff from Ktec, they sell all genuine parts if you request them, just send them your chassis number and be specific as to what it is you want, there are a few variations if the Clio II RS so make sure you give them your chassis nunber: http://www.k-tecracing.com/ These guys seem to have the best pricing in NZ if you don’t like using a credit card or importing yourself, they obviously make a cut on parts but it less hassle and stress at times. http://www.speed.co.nz/ Final tip is to join http://www.ozrenaultsport.com/ if you have a problem just do a search there or as a question, they will know how to resolve it much better than any local non-Renault Technician and I find the Australian forums have more approachable hands on members, lots of Clio owners!

Only the Mclaren was X2 S50's in a V shape and more than double the power... apart from that its essentially the same engine! Is this car a Manual?? Would be interesting to see what it can do down the quarter mile.

Welcome.

Welcome back Brian, hope the health is on the up and up! Still got the E36?

Nice one!

Just call any BMW wrecker, they wont give you much but they will take it.

One for my 10 car garage also!! Just read Alex Roy's book when I was on holiday and decided mine would have to be Team Polizei Spec

Very nice car. Good work.

I am trying to get hold of the guy who drives the White Toyota Hiace, one of his gumboots fell off the nudge bar and I want to get it back to him. Especially now that it has just started raining.

I normally just hire them from Mc Entee Hire, they have a couple of sets and are cheap. If you call your local branch today they will get them to you tomorrow.

I hear they use no gas when switched off and rolling down hill and I feel that's a fair representation of expected fuel consumption. "My HSV is not too bad on gas, it averages 8.9 on long trips" "My penis is not that small, it measures 6" if you measure from the roots" Average consumption is all you need to know!

Would make a great Targa/Open class car. Want.

I'm told the Michelin Pilot Sport 2's work well on the E46 and that is what they run OEM, might be worth seeing whats available, last time I called the local importer had a slack size range and wanted way to much money for them, like double the price of tyres it rates no better than in independent tests. Tirerack is worth a look at, I brought a set of tyres a couple of months back and service, price and delivery was very impressive, I saved around $800 and had the tyres faster than what the NZ agent could deliver. Be sure to reiterate that New Zealand is not part of Australia as Michelin Australia has put the kibosh on them selling to Australians, seems they were taking a big hit with smart people buying them at half the price from the US. From shopping around locally it seems Bridgestone offer the best performance bang for your buck in NZ, they still didn't have any tyres in my size though. Good luck, its a confusing task buying tyres!

Haha, bloody Germans! Nothing wrong with hot German chicks squealing in the back of a BMW though.

Spotted a 545i with a M5 kit and nice twin exhausts on the weekend... I spose at least it had a V8.

Best looking, well looks are subjective, I like the 5 but not for its looks, I rate it on ability and for that it is awesome but to say it is the best looking is a big call. IMHO there are some great sedan designs floating around at the moment, the Jags look awesome, the Quattroporte is still up there especially with its new look, the current A6 looks more cohesive, hell take the badges off and I guaranty most people would rate the Kia Optima as one of the best. My favourite looking modern sedan is Tesla Model S, that thing is absolutely beautiful thanks to low lines and a good designer.

Where are they playing?

Well done MJH, nice bloody cars!

Palm face. It was a Taxi and I was drunk so I did not have a test drive, I asked the driver what kind of times it did around Hampton downs but he didn't seem to understand. Bushes, lights and everything else on that M5 will have been replaced at least once in half a million KM's, I would think the engine would have been rebuilt also, well you would want it to have been.. would love to see it on a dyno if if were original.