jom

98 E36 is OBD2. What is energised after 30 minutes? Carbon trap? i know I had the same problem about 14 years ago but for the life of me I can't remember what fixed it. Old age....

Has anybody checked to see if they have registered the name? No they haven't. As soon as BMW NZ see this there will be a cease and desist issued.....

As the cams are (hopefully) coupled together. one sensor is enough.

Aliexpress is about two weeks at the moment. If you can borrow one locally, so much the better. We don't all have shedloads of cash...

On the other hand, if you need a working one to test whether yours is faulty, fifteen bucks on a wild goose chase is cheaper than $130. If it was at fault, the Chinese one should last until you buy an OEM one. (Why does this bring to mind the Python sketch "if you feel bad about eating her you can throw up in the grave???)

mine has lasted 10 years...

Absolutely. Mine has been working for the past 12 years...

I had this problem years ago and I think it was the crank sensor, the insulation rots off the wires or something. If you're going to try it - don't go for OEM - Aliex have them for $15 or so. if you're worried about longevity buy 3, you'll still save heaps of money.

Thanks for all the answers. I hadn't realised how bad EBC pads are! I will go with Vertex discs, Hawk HP+ pads and race Dot 4 fluid. Is there a NZ stockist of Hawk pads that does more than Japanese performance cars?

I know that this has been discussed to death, but with OEM discs and BMW pads I got fading and brake judder after 4 laps of Manfield. I use the car mostly on the road but with the occasional track day, and I don't want to have to replace the rotors every time I go on the track. The braking is really good, just not for long... Don't really want to go down the E46 330i route, I was thinking of slotted discs and EBC yellow pads. Anyone had experience with these? BTW its a 328 coupe...😁 Jo

If you're low mileage AA do classic car insurance. It's a lot cheaper...

Well, on a Corolla I cleared the spiders webs out of the drain tubes and sprayed them with flykiller....

IIRC, the 4-6 cyl conversion is just a plug in module on the back of the cluster

My E36 is 11/97 and it's OBD2. I have seen an early 328 that's OBD1, but that's pretty unusual.

Yes, but in Belgium where they have guns. We had a loose rear jack stand on a trailer that was trailing on the road and sparking. Porsche 911 Targa, they moved up both sides of the Transit tow vehicle and banged on both doors at the same time. We would have been scared if we hadn't just had an awful channel crossing. They got us out of the van, motioned us to follow them and pointed out the loose jack. Big deal, but they weren't being friendly... Went on to lose 2 out of 4 trailer tyres on that trip and hoon down the Eifel mountains in the fog. Only scary when we drove back up in daylight...

The current system uses infra-red. Who's going to bother to hack that?

The shock shop in Porirua have been good in the past.

The Jatco box is also used in a Nissan, with a different sump. I would be very surprised if BMW removed/used cheaper components in the JDM E36. (The E46 may be different - the same parts as used in the E36 seem to fail earlier?) . 250,000km and 24 years later my JDM E36 still runs sweet. However - as Andy said, that doesn't necessarily apply to all manufacturers, but I suspect it may be with locally assembled (and part sourced) CKD kits. I worked at the "university on the hill" and things like carpets, wiring looms, ehausts were locally sourced. There were also bits left out - possibly for spec changes (e.g. no rear wiper) but some other bits were deleted to make assembly easier. I'll leave it at that....

I have type 2 - have to manage it but my doctor caught it early. Too much stress at work plus cakes every week (failing project needing support) did it for me. I'm now classed as pre-diabetic, and retiring has really made a difference. Keep on going!

The calcium battery is a lead/acid battery with calcium added to the plates. In my view it's not suitable for older cars that weren't designed for it, it needs a higher charging voltage and for the vehicle to be used regularly. Check the label, google the part number.

Is it a calcium battery? If it is a standard charger won't touch it. If its fully discharged you'll need a calcium specific charger to kick it into life.

A long long time ago I rebuilt a 69 Camaro SS with a "mildly modified" 454. Thought that we had clutch slip at 100mph. Then we saw two trails of smoke out the back....

I have 245/40/17 PS4s on the back on M3 Staggers, no problem. (standard Motorsport springs)

Try suggesting that you will contact the legal ombudsman in the UK....

Especially a plain unmarked green van parked in the shadow of an overhanging tree, or just over the brow of a hill... SH1 Himitangi to Sanson (actually I think the VW Iltis that's usually around is blue)