jom

I put synthetic in a replacement (trademe $300) Jatco box and it's brilliant - however as it was out I got to change all the fluid. Don't think the torque converter drains fully with the box in the car. The fill procedure for the E36 is tricky - you need a u shaped tube and a pump, as the filler is a vertical tube in the bottom of the sump. Level needs to be set with the car in the air, the box at operating temp and a set speed - with the rear wheels turning... If it's a Jatco box it's nearly identical to Nissan, so get the filter and gasket from your friendly auto specialist, not the dealer.

About 11l/100km crawling into Wellington, 9.5 on a run - it's an auto. And 60l/100km around Manfield. Jo

A bit off topic, but changing the primary cam chain tensioner spring is a 10 minute $12 job and works wonders to reduce the thrashiness.

The easiest way to find out if it's built for Japan is to look at the speedo - it has JPN in the centre. All Japanese E36s were built in Germany, but the ones for the Japanese market had some Japanese content - in this case the Jatco auto box. I think the main difference is in the sump - the Jatco box has a pressed steel sump, painted black, the ZF is cast (I think) my Jatco box failed at 175k. Made a sound like a raspy exhaust (torque converter?) and eventually blew the front seal. I'm now on a scrapper that had done 140k. Completely replaced the fluid with synthetic and it runs like a dream...so far....(25ks further on)

According to my last alignment, the max figure for an E36 rear camber is +2°15". how can an arbitrary figure of 1.6 (what?) be set by NZTA?

Drove one a lot in 1976 - a CSA. Awesome car, my GF didn't even remark on 120 mph on country lanes around Silverstone.... Sadly it swallowed a carb jet and was banished to the land of Arthur Daley. Replaced by a V#@x%all Carlton that wasn't. Well, it just... wasn't. How much was it?

Just replaced my Bridgestone RE001s with PS3s, they were about $200 per set more expensive. First impressions are that the ride is substantially improved, and they seem quieter. Anybody else tried them?

Have you tried MillAnd.co.nz?

I bought Koni sports shocks and springs for an E36 a couple of years ago from Demon Tweeks in the UK. About NZ$1250 to the door. It was cheaper than buying just the shocks in NZ. The exchange rate is even better now, too.

You could also try Porirua City European, in Raiha St., Porirua

Fuel consumption on an auto 328 can vary a lot depending on how you drive it. For example a day at Manfield for the sprints uses a tankful, more or less. It's 150km to Manfield for me, it uses about 1/4 tank. That's 10l/100km for 100kph road driving. 1/4 tank on the way back as well (tank is 65l) means it's using 30l to do 20 laps - at 2.5km/lap that's 50km... consumption is up to 60l/100km or so. Now that is foot either on the throttle, hard down, or on the brake, but you can see the difference. Even I didn't believe this while I was typing it. Man that's a lot of fuel.... ...but it equates to 4.71 mpg, which is better than I remember a G1 Camaro doing. Jo

Change it annually. It's still full of crap after a year. I thought it was on Inspection 1? Jo

+1 Rotors are about $150 each front. Complete set of OEM rotors and pads is less than $1k. The quality is better than similarly priced aftermarket stuff too.

Yes you do get more power, but at the expense of torque. Personally I think it suits an auto, the power goes all the way to about 6,200rpm instead of tailing off at 5,600rpm or so. In sport mode the change point is at about 6,200, so for overtaking etc. it works well. The drop in torque at about 2,500 isn't that noticable in a 3 series, the extra weight of the 5 may make it seem worse though. Jo

Yes it does replace the stock part - but there are other non-BMW braces out there that don't cross over the sump (not sure how deep your's is) . I think Turner do one? Might also mount separately. bbs - the mounting holes are in the front x-member, but you will need to fit the rivnuts youself. Not a big deal, it just needs a long bolt, a thick washer, an extra nut and a couple of spanners. Details are on the net. Jo

Start with the crossbrace under the sump - it's a standard part on the E36 convertible. If you want to use a strut brace, the only way to get it properly stiff is to tie it back to the firewall - otherwise it's a waste of space. Part no. is 51718410212 - no.16 on the diagram Jo

RS200s had coilovers as standard, yes? Would compliance actually know what was on a limited run group B car? Just a thought....

It's usually a random clonk. The mounts don't have to look torn to have failed, either. Jo

E46 mounts seem to be weaker than E30 and E36. I knocked out a set of E46 M3 mounts in less than a year on an E36.The mount is the same size - if you want to go stiffer E30 convertible mounts seem to be favourite for E36 or E46. However, on a stock 318 they may be intentionally soft for NVH reasons. If they are shot you'll hear a knock going over bumps. Jo

Likewise, have tried Ferodo DS2000 for racing, gone back to OEM.Jo

I was hoping somone would know.... From the Police website, at https://www.police.govt.nz/resources/2007/s...forcement-guide "All speed measuring devices are to be operated in an overt manner. Hidden or camouflaged deployment is not to be used unless there is a specific operation targeting offending consisting of: Sustained loss of traction; or Engaging in an unauthorised street or drag race; or Dangerous or reckless driving. The operation cannot effectively or safely be conducted using overt means." However, this Speed enforcement guide expired in 2009. Have there been new guidelines published? PS: I took the photo from about 50 metres away. There is no way that you can see that van until you are passing it.

It's ticketing southbound. Got a ticket for 106k at Easter....

Seen on SHI south of Mana roundabout - spot the camera van..... So is this legal? Isn't there a requirement that camera vans are supposed to be a visible deterrent?

So...when i bought the car it had a very flakey BMW cassette player in it, which I got the dealer to replace. Subsequently I replaced that (green graphics, it was horrible) with a BMW fitted VDO head unit, and I had some front speakers sound with that. What I think happened is that the car came in from Japan with a quality stereo and amp. Somewhere between compliance and the dealer it got removed and the BMW amp wasn't reconnected - the wires were bullet connected to mimic a crossover circuit. A lot of bullet connectors and cable (and new amp) from Jon and Keren, and I now have sound in 8 speakers, not 2! PS If I ever find out who did the compliance... I know it was 5 years ago, but I'lll strangle whoever fitted the Indian made brake pads. White painted with "Gur" marked on the back. They wore the disc more than the pad, and were so bad that the ABS didn't even work in the wet.

done that. Still not too much noise from the front speakers (but at least some), so I took a look at the amp in the boot. It's not pretty.... Any ideas why it's like this? What should it look like? Cheers Jo