elmarco

Have you checked the headlamp and front position lamp bulbs are all working? Could be a dodgy bulb.

That IS an electric car.... They just use the hydrogen in a fuel cell to make electricity and drive electric motors as opposed to using the hydrogen as a fuel in an internal combustion engine.

I read the problem was also ignition of the hydrogen before it even got to the combustion chamber - so blowing manifolds off etc. Might have been some early experiments though. Must have made one hell of a bang, and puckered the dyno operators pants! Hydrogen is a much smaller molecule and much more difficult to seal effectively - no chance to use standard type seals etc (they all need to be very specific, as do refuelling connections, earth straps etc). It also burns with no flame making it impossible to see (not nice in an accident). I'm guessing they could add an odourant as is done with LPG - maybe it is not necessary as it is lighter than air and rises (as opposed to the opposite with LPG). The storage pressure required for the tank (to get decent energy density) is around 10-20 times that of your standard LPG BBQ bottle and around 200 degrees C colder so there a few engineering challenges there as well. Nothing insurmountable, but development needed. They can obviously store it relatively safely at the moment - maybe just not at a high performance or high volume production level yet. Manufacturing H2 is quite energy intensive at the moment as well - making it less effective in combating CO2 etc. However, with new nuclear technology it will allow reactors to run at very high (800+ degrees) and use process heat directly in making hydrogen from water. Just hope like hell one of those doesn't crack off.... I don't think a conventional combustion engine will be the way of the future using hydrogen as it is too inefficient. Still, some pretty cool work going into it and I'd be interested to see one in person!

From what I understand, yes they can be similar in concept to a normal spark ignition engine but are not always. The induction system is different (obviously), and there has been a load of work around minimising the amount of static electicity involved (apparently static electricity used to ignite the hydrogen and blow the motor apart!). I wonder if there are special coatings for the valves, pistons and bore? There are loads of sticking points with hydrogen vehicles that are taking years to work through. One is the fuel storage, another is the fuel supply network and production of the hydrogen. Most manufacturers have looked at it as a way to generate power via a fuel cell, although even this is an end goal with natural gas as the interim step. Mazda getting some really good results using a fairly standard rotary running on hydrogen a few years back and had rotary engined prototypes running around. Not sure I would be too comfortable having a tank of hydrogen sitting behind the back seat, or refueling it at a gas station though....

I still remember the Lusty Brothers parking their Commodore in the bank on the same corner every single year (the esses if I remember correctly) - and they used to leave it there until end of raceday.

I'm just concerned that they have limited spectators to 1 slab of beer per day. For gods sake man, how are they supposed to put the burning HQ Holdens out with that puny amount of piss??

Think mine is a 65 litre tank (so close to a C note to fill). Around town I can get up to 600, and anything up to 800 on the open road depending on speed and terrain. I don't think that is too bad given the weight, engine size, A/C load etc. I went through this process 2 years back but couldn't find a decent touring and preferred the coupe shape in the end. I actually think I preferred the 325 over the 330 - it was down on power (obviously) but seemed to be a bit smoother. Good luck with the search.

Wow - thats cool! Hate to price parts for it though....

"The only real cure for a real hangover is death" - Robert Benchley.

330ci auto about 10.5 - 11 l/100km around town, and as low as 7 or 8 on the open road

Only thing I'm not down with is the spoiler - looks a little gay to me. Oh, and the price.... Wasn't there someone on here looking for a 330 diesel manual??

Make sure you don't touch the glass when installing them. They will blow in record time if you do...

Haha - I saw that in Panmure yeserday as well.

Bugger me with a fish fork! That is something very special.

If I'm not mistaken, the 323 uses the M52 engine, and the 325 is the M54 (newer generation) engine although both are 2.5 litre. The M54 has a bit more power from memory. Apart fom that, the 325 will have the facelift steering wheel etc. Apart from that, I think the guts of the car are pretty much identical (unsure about brakes). Signifcant modification like turbo or supercharging, or manual conversion is a big of a no-no with the E46 (any model) as the electronics are so integrated that it becomes super-uneconomical (literally everything talks to everything else). If you want the extra get up and go, go for the 330 or E36 M3 (or E46 if you can afford it). More important is to get a good service history and a pre-purchase inspection from someone that knows BMW's (like Glenn on here). When BMW's are good, they are very good, but when they are bad, they are a freaking nightmare (not to mention expensive). Good luck in the search.

Mine is a custom made one! Previous owner cut one to fit. Have you tried the dealer?

All of them still well out of my league (except the Alfa but wouldn't touch that with yours)!

You should never use chemicals or abrasives on polycarbonate lenses. PC scratches very easily (it is actually reasonably soft compared to arcylic, but is also very tough), and can literally dissolve in front of you if it comes in contact with the wrong solvent (seen this happen with common truck wash believe it or not). This is the reason they are normally coated with a special lacquer (lensguard or diamond coat) - sanding them only destroys the coating, or the lens itself. Typically the yellow you see in PC headlamp lenses is due to the plastic material degrading from UV (which could be from sunlight, or from using cheap headlamp bulbs which are not low UV). Once it starts, the only real solution is replacement Well worth the extra $ if you ask me (you need them to see after all - and all headlamps are not equal even though they may fit in the same hole)!

Quality, service, and lead time.... Wasn't sure about the pricing, but the lamps will be OEM quality (and quite possibly out of the OEM tools/production cell).

Hella sell them.

I had a manual VR6 before I got the 330. No major issues, but I did seem to come across a few smaller ones (like clutch slave cyl, battery, rear wheel bearing, window regulators (both rears after 6+ months of no use)). Nothing out of the ordinary - just their time to go.... I did come across a couple of ABS issues in the service history on a couple of cars that I looked at (steered well clear of those particular cars). Apart from that, it went well (as did the only auto I test drove before buying) but was a bit heavier on juice than even the 330 (and mines an auto). Think I was getting about around 11l/100km around town, and the best I ever saw on the open road was around 7.8l/100km. One thing I did notice was a bit of timing chain rattle at idle which seemed to be consistent with all the ones I looked at. They are a bit nose heavy compared to the 4cyl versions, but are a tardis when the rear seats are down. I squeezed 4 big guys (all 6ft +), 3 bikes on the towbar rack, and a boot full of bike gear in without too much trouble coming back fro Rotorua one time. I think they are a reasonably lazy motor and not particularly highly stressed in that they are only 127kw from 2.8l. Well built, solid, reliable cars. Only reason I don't get one for my wife is they only have 2 airbags. Edit: forgot the knocking engine mounts (bugged the hell out of me for ages until I replaced them).

Oh that sucks. Not as bad as getting char grilled in the process though. That build was completely badass.

Totally agree - although the 1st gen Camaro has been done plenty of times (even in NZ). This is a little different and the end result is an absolutely stunning car.

Mine uses around 500ml every 5000km - which seems to be similar.

+1 The ipod connection systems are pretty good, but this takes it to another level. Be interested to seee the $ when released.