E30 325i Rag-Top

sh*t, yeah, no idea what that video is supposed to be all about, very cringeworthy. Unfortunately, the proper “Motorsport” department is now only a small part of the overall M division. However, if things like that sell more M cars and keep the Motorsport side funded then I’ll take it as a necessary evil. In terms of those weights, was that what you saw from putting yours over some scales?

How much lighter was the E46 version than the standard M3..? 110kg seems to be the quoted figure. So that extra 10kg difference makes it a “L” ..? Ok, I look forward to the final kerb weights being confirmed.

Aren’t there two big cables under the Cook Straight already? I’m not saying send the power from Tiwai to Auckland, but it’s a supply grid, use that capacity for SI and then any spare can move north until it gets to Auckland (simplistic and very non-scientific explanation, sorry). Yes, they arrive home after 5pm but most chargers have a timer function for when you want it to start and stop so you can choose low rate periods. Agree, home charging doesn’t work for everyone (here’s a tip don’t use an extension lead!!) that is where workplaces or possibly public chargers enter the equation. It is worth pointing out that not EVERY EV needs to be charged EVERY night. Traffic stats show very few people travel more than 100kms in a day. With 600km range that’s a charge once a week. Yes, there are new factors to be considered and some clever solutions to be found, but I’m afraid it is not a joke it is very real and it’s already happening. There have been over 5,500 NEW electric vehicles put on the roads in NZ this year already. Not including all the used Japanese import Leafs (Leaves?) coming in.

Rules on RUCs on EVs have been in place for a long time. EVs are subject to RUC, there has been an “exemption” in place for a number of years and was until either a set date or the total number of EVs on the road reached a certain percentage. The end date has been moved out a couple of times but it has now been stated it won’t move again, iirc it’s some time in 2023. Cost of electricity + RUC will still be way cheaper per km than petrol or diesel. As for the supply grid, a lot rests on the closure of the smelting plant down south freeing up a lot of capacity. With the vast majority of charging done at home the flexibility is there to use “off-peak” periods.

In the case of the CSL it’s the safety stuff that still weighs in, most of the luxury is gone - manual front seats, no rear seat, very few Driving Assistance features. The best direct comparison the “cooking” M4 Comp RWD and the CSL is about 100kgs lighter. Which should be noticeable, same as having a reasonably large passenger jump in/out.

There’s been a real bad harvest in Brazil I believe, which has pushed the price of beans through the roof as Qube mentioned above. Luckily I’m a Pom and drink tea mostly and whether it’s batch roasted barista or home made Nespresso tastes much the same to me 😳. If it were the price of batch brewed Hazy IPAs going up, then I would be in a whole world of hurt..

Box of goodies arrived from Vink Motorsport for the race car, so that is nice. Also came with the added extras of a bit more enthusiasm and determination to crack on and get it finished.

That may be the case for yourself, and a few others on Bimmersport. However, in terms of the BMW buying public then it’s a very different story, order bank is out into next year and growing. Most of the orders I have seen are trading a fairly new BMW so they are BMW owners as well. The “BMW owner” group in NZ is vast and wide, Bimmersport, Simply BMW NZ, E30 club, BMWCC all cater for various sub-sets but there are still lots out there that are outside of these communities.

Most customers are aware of the situation, but there are some really entitled twats out there as well. “You want to know exactly when it will arrive Sir? Certainly, I’ll just phone the people in Ukraine that we are waiting on and see if they can hurry it along”

There’s probably a reason the items weren’t in stock and probably the same reason they are still not in stock. Parts supply worldwide is still absolutely stuffed, from raw material shortages, production delays and transport issues. They probably haven’t replied as they have no idea when they will be getting the parts in, as the supplier cannot say when they will be ready.

“I am trying to sell the car dear, it’s on TradeMe and everything, just not getting any interest”..?

Because you all know Tech I > Tech II

Great question - a few have been sitting in there for some time, I see the flipped M325I Tech 1 is back on again for silly money. Of those which sell its impossible to tell which have sold for asking or near the ask price.

There’s always two sides to every story, and that’s one side. The other side of the story reads quite differently, but no point re-hashing that now. And as the saying goes “the truth is somewhere in the middle”. As someone said above there are no winners in all off this.

The good news is that after measuring up with the trusty eye-crometer it looks like the bolt holes are the same for both the Tech 1 and the lip, so if I’m not happy with the result it’s easy to swap over. My only concern is the Tech 1 will look a bit much without the matching rear skirt - which I also really want but that’s another issue..

I think it went for under $7k in the end, I would put that firmly in the “bargain” category..

Could be great news that it’s been found, fingers crossed for you that there is minimal damage, and it’s covered by insurance. Sucks that no car insurance wants to cover consequential losses for all the stuffing around you have to do to get things sorted. Any word on how they managed to take it? Anything from the CCTV?

Actually got to do some work on the race car today, for the first time in ages! Have cleared a number of other jobs off the to-do list, so the race car is back to the (near) top. First jobs were to move the pile of bits off the top of it, so I could actually get to work on it, and then too vacuum all the dust and sh*t off - it’s amazing how much crap gets under the bonnet, even with it down!

What are your current tyre set-up, how old are they how much tread on them etc? Also, what are all the bushes, etc like in the suspension? Shocks and springs good? I’d be looking at stuff like that before throwing new wheels and tyres at it, and the things M3AN listed above?

Totally agree with Qube, they are fantastic little cars and do so many things so well. I have one at the top of the list for wife’s replacement vehicle in the near future. Some might say they are the newer E87 130i..

Keeps any passengers getting a backie nice and warm in winter 😳

I wasn't sure that the charging time was correct, so I double checked with the fact sheet. iX Charging.pdf The 54 hour charging time is only when using the 3-pin contingency charger, which you would only really do if you were stuck somewhere away from home or a charging network. Using a wall-box charger on single phase you can get 7.4kw supplied to the car (just under 30 amps) which is a more realistic time - as tbh if you have an EV like this you need a home or office wallbox to charge from, without the need to add in 3-phase power. It is possible to open the bonnet, but this is intentionally restricted as you don't really want people poking around in a high voltage area if they don't know what they are doing.

When I were a lad, my Dad bought a Renault 18, brand new. At one point it’s favourite trick was to switch itself off completely, at random intervals, whilst driving along. Very funny to look back on, but bloody scary when you’re in the back seat of a car doing 70mph and it decides to shut itself down.

Wow, 348 whp in an E30 should be plenty fun!!

Auction closed with no bids at $105k (no surprise) and it’s just been offered to watchers at $109k plus change.. WTF? Never understood people that offer at more than the original price.. no one was interested at the lower price to start with, why would they take a higher price on an offer..? Certainly an interesting way to (not) sell a car..🤪