aaronmartin

The last few weeks I've noticed that my aircon was not particularly cold driving around town, and only really got working at open road speeds, but even then never really cooling down to the nice 18C that I like. Today I finally figured out that my aux fan was not working, and that the 50amp! fuse for it was blown. Since there was a spare fuse sitting right above it, I thought I'd try my luck replacing the fuse and seeing if everything worked ok. However the old rule that fuses only blow for a reason was true, and no sooner had I replaced the fuse and walked around to the drivers side when I noticed a huge plume of smoke coming up from under the front of the bonnet! I ripped the fuse back out, but it was already burnt out. The smoke was coming from the aux fan, so I assume it is stuffed? Replacement fans seem massively expensive ($200 on EBay, $600+ locally) so my question is could it be the fan that is at fault, or could something else be faulty, and that has killed the fan (and will kill a new one?)

If you check out the staff carpark at the airport, you'll find most pilots driving early 90's corollas / nissans etc. Only management drive BMW's :-)

What are they like for daily use? When I last changed from Yokohama to Hankook, I noticed a massive decrease in wet grip and more understeer in the dry, so I wonder if these will be better / worse than the Hankooks.

It might be worth asking on the xoutpost.com forums, as they are X focused, and there is alot of discussion on there regarding trailers and towing.

Just wondering if anyone here has bought some of the Altenzo tyres, and if so, what do you think of them?

I have had my PPL for 5 years, and get to fly quite often for work purposes which is good. I write software for the aviation industry, so I know quite a few people in the industry, so have seen all the different methods for getting through the system. The CTC course is good, but a bit expensive. Most aero clubs are also doing full time courses now, usually in affiliation with Massey or NMIT or someone similar, so after 3 years (and about $100k) later you end up with CPL, MEIR, B or C-Cat instructor rating and a bachelor of aviation studies or similar. Doing your training through the clubs also gets you industry contacts, and remember the people teaching you to fly at the start, will probably be your captains later down the line. Ever since CTC came on the scene, they have pushed the national pay rate for instructors up to the point where full time instructors can actually make a living and no longer need second jobs. While this has made flying more expensive ($200+ per hour for a 2 seat trainer) it has also made it easier to move from student to earning as a pilot. Fully qualified you can either work as an instructor, or work for the GA airlines i.e. SunAir, Skyline etc, doing crappy hours and getting minimum wage, but clocking up the hours. This is probably the hardest part of the career path, and you get really good at spending time sitting in airports. This sort of flying probably looks better on your CV than lots of instructing time, as it is generally twin engine IFR rather than single engine VFR. You generally need 1000+ hours to get a job with the feeder airlines i.e. Air Nelson, Mount Cook, Eagle, QLink but generally once you get a job with these guys, you've "made it" as they are all owned by AirNZ / Qantas and it is just a matter of doing the time to move up to command, then bigger planes. It is not a career where you make the big bucks, and it is a bit of an inside joke about everyone wanting to become "rich pilots". There is a saying that to make a small fortune in aviation, you need to start with a large fortune.

There are a few options for sub's in a E53 X5 I added a Fusion 12" Tube Sub to my X5, made a huge difference to the overall sound quality. Another option, which I would like to do one day, is to build a custom sub enclosure that fits in where the factory sub would normally go: X5 Sub Project Custom Sub Install Or if money is no object, go for an off-the-shelf sub designed for the X5: BSW Sub JL Audio Stealthbox

I think we should adopt Soviet Russian rules = small car gives way to big car. Kinda like Remuera.

With the first one, the reason I was told for this new rule is that for the car turning right (across traffic), they have to give way to ALL traffic coming towards them, and cars turning left can just keep moving and get out of the way. Having driven in USA and Europe, this rule actually works really well as it stops cars queuing in both lanes, only the people turning right queue up. Many accidents happen now because people try and turn in front of a left turning car, without realising / noticing a car behind it that is going straight through. Also the for the car turning left it can be hard to tell whether the right turning car is going to go, based on straight through traffic from behind that the left turning car can't really see. The right on red rule works really well in USA, but I don't think it (left on red) would work here, Kiwi drivers are just too agro. In USA causing an accident can cost you ALOT of money, so people are much more careful at driving than in NZ.

Used some 600 and 1200 grit sandpaper, cutting compound and plastic polish to remove the hazing on my drivers side headlight, also got the steptronic selector replaced under warranty after a stupid little plastic part broke in it.

I'm pretty sure the warranty would be null and void if they found out I had the car on a track :-)

How much does a test cost?

They look really good, where did you get them?

I get around 12l/100km on open road, and 15l/100km around town, which I figure is not bad for a 2+ ton V8. My wife's Legnum VR-4 is lucky to get better than 17l/100km anywhere. It used to average 14l/100km but suddenly changed one month (our fuel card reports monthly fuel consumption). Taken it to Mitsi twice, they can't find anything wrong, so it might be time to get the emmisions checked on it. Any one in Hamilton able to do this?

I'd love to do a track day one day (once my warranty has expired) but I worry that a X5 will just be embarrasing or scarey on a track? I wonder if anyone does SUV track days...