cainchapman

How come no one cares about the carbon footprint of diamonds? Tonnes of pressure for millions of years. This far outweighs the consumption of drilling for and refining oil.

You are definitely the first person to complain about a 6 cylinder E34 understeering (in my memory, at least). The Motorsport springs that the 540iS has would be a good start, they are a 20mm drop off memory, and some number stiffer. I have to push the 540iS really hard to even get the feeling the front isn't turning in.

Welcome and enjoy your car.

Not true at all. It is the Lithium Ion and NiCd batteries that are the issue from an environmental point of view. The Standard 'Lead-acid' battery is 99% recyclable. The rest of the car is the same as any other. So assuming they can make a sensible choice on battery type. A 100,000km on a battery (bank) is not really a fair comment either. Batteries are either designed to have a use of 'standby' or 'cyclical'. In this application, you need a cyclical battery. They will have calculated the life (a NiCd is generally good for about 500 cycles). And this is significantly effected by the depth of discharge, frequency of discharge and the charge regime put in place. The rate at which you discharge the battery also effects the 'apparent' capacity of the battery. For Example... On this datasheet. You can see the the battery is capable of supplying 3.4A for 20 hours. So it is 'apparently' a 68Ah battery. It will also deliver 11A for 5 hours, 55Ah. 18A for 3 hours, 54Ah. 47A for 1 hour, 47Ah or 305A for 5 minutes, 25.3Ah So they same battery can be anywhere between 68Ah and 25.3Ah depending on how you use it. Would I buy one? Yes. However, I don't believe that the Power Generation and Transmission network of NZ could cope with an influx of these vehicle. US_ODY_1500_002_1206.pdf

No, it's up against the firewall on the LHS, near the bonnet. Even me (who does no work on his car) managed to do it quickly and without problems.

The coolant level will probably be the heater pump leaking. I have had these symptoms in the past and Brent helped me with spares to diagnose the problem (thanks again Brent). A new heater pump from Team McMillans and it's never been back. Less than $50 to fix in that case.

Have a read of this months NZ Autocar. Page 29 "in the field" to be exact. A VW Passat Variant Blue motion, driven Auckland-Wellington-Auckland at normal road speeds and they achieved it doing 4.8l/100km. 1290km on a tank, with enough fuel left over to get to Whangarei. Not the power and style of a 5 series, but let's hope it helps fewer people buy a shitty hybrid.

That'd be grinning from ear to ear then Emma! No amount of mud or water can make my Spaniel look sad. Good mileage in the new tank too. The 5's come into their own on longer trips.

Awesome planes. Saw 16 of them flying in formation at Duxford for a Spitfire anniversary. Actually 10 years ago, so they must be due a new one. Gus are you still up there? Just off the A14 (or A10) off memory. Great museum. Good luck with the sale. That should buy a ferry or two.

And BMW are in 2nd in the constructors, ahead of Ferrari. When did that last happen? An interesting points situation after 2 rounds too. Pos Driver Nationality Team Points 1 Lewis Hamilton British McLaren-Mercedes 14 2 Kimi Räikkönen Finnish Ferrari 11 3 Nick Heidfeld German BMW 11 4 Heikki Kovalainen Finnish McLaren-Mercedes 10 5 Robert Kubica Polish BMW 8 6 Nico Rosberg German Williams-Toyota 6 7 Fernando Alonso Spanish Renault 6 8 Jarno Trulli Italian Toyota 5 9 Kazuki Nakajima Japanese Williams-Toyota 3 10 Mark Webber Australian Red Bull-Renault 2 11 Sebastien Bourdais French STR-Ferrari 2 12 David Coulthard British Red Bull-Renault 0 13 Jenson Button British Honda 0 14 Nelsinho Piquet Brazilian Renault 0 15 Giancarlo Fisichella Italian Force India-Ferrari 0 16 Rubens Barrichello Brazilian Honda 0 17 Anthony Davidson British Super Aguri-Honda 0 18 Takuma Sato Japanese Super Aguri-Honda 0 19 Timo Glock German Toyota 0 20 Felipe Massa Brazilian Ferrari 0 21 Adrian Sutil German Force India-Ferrari 0 22 Sebastian Vettel German STR-Ferrari 0

Welcome back Kerry. Are you up North or back in the BOP? Catch up sometime. Cheers

I thought maybe Emma was heading to Cromwell. Just Kidding Emma. I'll shout you a beer to apologise.

Tell me how much it weighs, packed and ready to travel. I'll see if I can be of assistance. Otherwise, I'll be flying back mid-April, is when my next trip down will be. Just flown back from there yesterday.

plus these. Where are the ex-BMW Motorsport cars? 2 x E36 320's and the E36 325 Coupe

Laurence, that Monster truck would be frightening at 120kph. They should get you up those hills in Wellington. Maybe when the cable car breaks down, you'll be able to give people lifts up to their cars on the tracks

I'd keep the AC Schnitzer pin stripes too.

Don't sell it for the kids. You can fit 3 child restraints across the back of that car. And the boot is huge (which you'll need too). Good luck with the sale (if you don't come to your senses)

Looks nice. Colour code the bottom trim and it'll be awesome.

And the saga continues. Barichello disqualified, so Ferrari get a point.

Welcome. Nice car. Calypso Red, a great choice in colour.

Well, that race was harder to pick than a broken nose. Final results (provisional) McLaren BMW Williams Renault McLaren Honda Williams That's all the runners who finished. Torro Rosso, get the last point.

Poor old Timo Glock has been docked another 5 places and is now starting 19th after being pinged for impeding another driver. The BMW has definitely sprung some interesting wings. It doesn't look as ugly as the "warthog" of a few years ago, but it's getting close. A bit like an x-wing fighter on steroids. Go Ferrari! I am so looking forward to racing without traction control!

Welcome and enjoy your new wheels.

Well, you got something good for your birthday then.

Happy Birthday Martyn! Have a great day.