elmarco

I think this particular rating is based on analysis of actual road accidents - not the standardised ANCAP testing stars you see on new cars. This is real world analysis, not lab testing according to the report and sometimes it throws up anomalies (which can be influenced by the type of driver that typically uses a car, sample size etc)... Must have been a pretty complex job to do when you think about it - loads of variables.

Hope you reported him to the 5-0 - stomp the f**ker. I am so sick of this kind of sh*t happening on our roads - we are way to tolerant of these scumbags. I had a gun pulled on me from a passing car a few years back - reported it when I got home, and could hear the armed offender squad mobilising in the background. Hope they got a good stomping - they did scare the sh*t out of me although it took a bit of time to sink in. Sadly, anyone caring this little for their ride probably doesn't own it and it may even be stolen. I take it you are insured?

Glen @ Botany Motor Worx would no doubt be happy to take a look at it for you, and comes highly recommended by many of the people on this forum.

The problem is that it isn't just the bootlid (grrrrr).... To get the colour correct they need to blend it into the panels next to the lid - which on the E46 coupe means the rear quarters which run right over the roof and finally break down at the bottom of the windscreen. So it ends up being damn close to half the car. Initially I thought I would get away with just the lid, but to do it properly (and I am not gonna do a cheap nasty job - that was what a previous owner did and it bugs the hell out of me!) they need to blend across both guards. Bugger. Still, if you put it in perspective - half a car painted for $1200 - $1500 by professionals isn't too bad. Just a little more work that I was expecting and can afford right now.

Well the good news is that Evans European are a similar price to Euro Collision - so I don't think anyone is being an opportunist..... The bad news is that they are both north of $1000 and I will have to wait until some other big bills are sorted in the next couple of months. Bummer.... One way around this conundrum is another mint titanium silver bootlid that doesn't need painting. Anyone know of where I could find such a beast???

I'm planning to go into Evans European tomorrow morning. Got one quote from Euro Collision which was a bit frightening. They do a really special job from what I saw in the workshop (BMW NZ / Rolls Royce send all their cars there apparently - so they do factory quality work), but I'm not sure my little issue is a 'north of $1000' problem for me.... I know there is a bit to do in blending the paint, but at that price I can probably live with it as is!!

Haha - piston knocks alternator off the block = electrical issue! Brilliant. Bummer about the hole in the block though. You should get it cleaned up, chromed, slap a slab of glass on top and call it a coffee table. Or chain it to the front of a boat... Have you got a prime suspect? Or was it a random failure?

Sounds like you might have it sorted - won't know yourself being able to use the doors!

Hahaha - funny (just picturing it)! Well, not so funny for you I guess.... Especially with the 5-0 watching. So does the remote unlock the door? Or does it not have remote central locking? Sounds like it might be time to consult a locksmith or take it in to see Glenn at Botany Motor Worx....

Yeah sealed beams were a legal requirement in the US until the mid 80's... Something to do with the piss poor quality coming from their local manufacturers in the 40's and 50's (or maybe earlier) I think. A mate of mine had a mid 80's Porsche 944 over there and the headlamps were sealed beams (shocking visibility).

Stereo is about to fall out too. Sad, sad day.... Just can't understand why you would do that to an M3. Good thing there are plenty of E46 M3's around!

I was wondering about this too - the rim looks to be outside the tyre. Recepie for disaster if you ask me.

I prefer the E46 over both especially as a daily driver (I agree with Hybrid - it is a nice place to be in the traffic with good stereo and creature comforts). I wanted one since the late 90's... Having said that, I have always loved the E30 M3 and still remember the days of Emanuele Pirro and Roberto Ragvalia in the Schnitzer M3's - pure sex. Not sure I would ever part with the money required to acquire one now though.

Does the random indicator coincide with the tacho dying etc?

The US regulations are totally different to here (SAE/DOT vs ECE). There are some major differences even though they appear to be basically the same lamps. Apart from the dip pointing to the wrong side (LHD vs RHD) the SAE rules don't require the washer and self levelling systems that ECE rules state (I think the jap rules also allow HID without washers). This is why all NZ (or Australian/UK) spec vehicles with HID also have the washer systems for the lamps and some of the imports don't. Interestingly, I saw the first motorcycle HID headlamp on my last business trip to Europe. It was for a US bound bike - they can't use them anywhere else in the world as the ECE rules require a washer system and self levelling and bikes don't have these systems.... That really depends on the arc position relative to the lens. If the burner isn't located correctly it could easily blind someone.

I struggled to get past the avatar....

Yip - I'd suggest calling Feraz at Unique Tints too.

I just assumed it was a std that BMW used that they all had them... Quite right though - you aren't buying it for it's economy! I am still surprised at how economical it is for a heavy wagon with the big V8. A guy I know had the V8 rangie with the super thrifty auto trans - he was too scared to take it into town as it would cost $20 each way from Howick (and that was at $1.30 a litre!). 14 isn't a hell of a lot more than my coupe around town.

What happened to the $650? Inflation can't be that bad - even in little old NZ....

Lightbulbs fit the failure rate bathtub curve really well - and yeah it is really annoying when the other goes 3 weeks later! http://www.landtransport.govt.nz/vehicles/...ghts-right.html Let me be very clear - a lamp (including lens) needs to be specifically designed for HID burners - you cannot just replace a normal H1/H7 bulb with a burner. You can, however, replace an entire light module with an HID kit - this includes the lens etc as well, and comes with a certification like http://www.hella.co.nz/?t=9&pcid=187&a...7&View=Full . Unless you can prove that you meet the minimum / maximum intensity requirements they are illegal - and this is not something you can check with the naked eye. Your insurance company might have something to say if they caused an accident as well.

Interesting that it doesn't seem to have the economy gauge in the cluster (only the OBC). Wonder if it was too scary to include in the spec?.... Looks like a nice wagon - and 14.6 l/100km is pretty good for something that size. My boss has the 3 litre diesel and has similar consumption to that.

Pretty cool stuff.

Could be the relay or a dodgy connection somewhere. You just have to use a process of elimination - it shouldn't be too hard. Do you have access to a multimeter?

Were those ejector seat buttons on the steering wheel? Would gladly be ejected from that thing! Looks like someone has tagged it and they just painted over the top.

That would probably be the combination of new bulbs, and the new ones being 30% brighter... They won't last as long, but it isn't normally a problem unless you are a real night owl. Damn good policy to replace them in pairs. +1000000 Using an HID burner (not to be mistaken for an H7/H1 filament bulb with "Xenon" on the box...) in a regular lamp designed for a filament bulb is downright dangerous and irresponsible. You may well end up seeing a lot less than you did with the filament bulb as the light source position (i.e.: the filament - HID burners don't have a filament) is incredibly important for correct photometric performance. You could also blind oncoming drivers very easily. I've said it before and I'll say it again - anyone using HID burners in a std lamp deserves a slapping. Don't mess with precisely designed safety equipment unless you know more than the engineer that designed it.