elmarco

You could try Paul at Miland, or car key doctor.

Thin automotive air conditioning. Hes mobile but based in blockhouse bay - no bullshit, stands behind his work, fast & reasonable pricing.

Huh? That sounds completely normal to me....

All turbos have some level of whistle. Listen to the next CAT or Cummins powered truck you see....

Red rear indicators are permitted if the lamp has an SAE marking on it. ECE (i.e. everywhere except the US) can only be amber. Front indicators have to be amber (or "yellow" as defined in the SAE standards). Here in NZ the LTNZ/LTSA (or whatever they call themselves now) accept either SAE or ECE approved lighting. So the short answer is yes, red indicators are ok on the rear. However, they look f**king awful & there is no law against poor taste unfortunately.

I had a DICE in my old one. Yes it deleted the CD changer, but i had more on my ipod anyway... And yes, i could control the tracks from the steering wheel. I think they are now Audiovox and there was someone on here that sold them.

Only max 98% throttle opening??...

My coupe had 17's on it & i drove another with 19's. Mine was a nice comfortable ride, the 19's made an identical car truly unpleasant & like riding a skateboard in a quarry. 18's maybe better, but personally i'd stick wth the 17's & put some good tyres on it. I suspect 17" tyres are cheaper as well. Think the E36 offset was pretty close to the E46, but the E90 is lower

There you go..... Not BBS but will still look sharp. http://www.trademe.co.nz/a.aspx?id=661473368

Take a look for some 17s with tyres on trademe. There were some E46 motorsport wheels with tyres on there for $700 ish

You got proper diesel oil for it, right? You cant use regular petrol oil in a diesel.... It needs to have the right additives & detergents to deal with the carbon buildup.

You may also find the front tyres are contributors to the fidgety front end - worn or cheap tyres are possible suspects. The other place for new spares is Milland - think my rear rotors, pads & sensor for the 330 were around $400 all up for an OEM brand (ATE from memory). Do your oil level sensor at the same time as the next oil change (you need the sump empty). The other thing to get onto fast would be the engine oil leak - you dont want to hurt a turbo... Good luck!

New career as a crash test dummy?

Yeah anything except fuel & air going in there makes for bad jujus.... And then theres the turbo on the other side. You'd have to be buying a lotto ticket if there was no damage at all.

They wont pump the wrong fuel even if some smart arse swaps them around. The trigger to pump fuel is on the pump not the handle - if they are swapped over (eg: diesel handle in the 95 slot) it will still liven the slot you lift not the incorrect nozzle. Fuel pump has similar symptoms, but wouldn't normally bring up the dash lights. My money is on battery terminal clamp, crank sensor or a loose electrical connection.

Wonder if it did any damage to the alimentary canal? Any other receipts for having the head off?

Which bit is face lifted? Considering you could buy a newer NZ new M3 cab for $35k http://www.trademe.co.nz/motors/used-cars/bmw/m3/auction-647273458.htm and others that are similar for $20k, my gut tells me its worth about half the asking price.

In gear or neutral? Think they should really idle around 650 - 750 rpm when hot. Obviously they idle higher when cold though.

Without any specifics i would guess that the level of inspection also reflects the level of repair you'll get. I would just be claiming on my insurance & letting them sort it out. Precision Autowerks in Glenfield would be one of the best ones around - and i wouldnt be accepting that anyone except your preferred repairer does it no matter what the tyre shop says.

This is precisly what i would get if i ever went back to gas. Yup - love my weber kettle. You need to get the right chrcoal though - the stuff i like (from namibia of all places) at Mitre10 seems to be good if you can find bags that havent been squashed & broken up. On the down side, the beer budget seems to get consumed pretty quick.....

That thing would sh*t in your fridge, steal all your booze then bang your wife. Its truly that badassed. That sound is only rivalled by an F14 on full afterburners.

So, you were working in a high security data centre & decided to pick the lock of a cabinet you didn't have access to? The last data centre i visited was about as secure as the Bank of England (escort at all times, passport for id, senior management approval to be on site etc) - so they are understandably touchy about security. Hmmm - ill advised at best... Unless you're a contractor with a penalties clause in your contract i doubt your company could charge you for the $3000. Their contract with the customer probably does have penalties which are enforceable but i don't believe they can just pass that on to their staff. It would be a pretty shitty thing to do even if it was legal - and if there has not been any disciplinary action internally i suspect they would be on very shaky ground. Wouldn't worry about it until they slap a formal disciplinary process on you.

You should talk to Joe (EuroSurgeon). He may be able to do something locally....

Supercat is Bridgestone/Firestone not Michelin & is classed their entry level touring tyre (according to their website anyway) so i would think that they arent far off the intended application as you've described it. Personally i dont think you have a leg to stand on if you didnt specify what they replaced them with. And to be fair, if they were really trying to cheap out, im sure they could have found some chinese no name brand tyres for even less. At least Firestone are prepared to sell them through their own network.....

Pm'd