cainchapman

These guys test all the great cars. http://www.autoexpress.co.uk/evo/

Sorry, you are correct. Brain wasn't so clear after 6 hours in the pub. :beer:

OK Martyyn I stoped in at Retro Products, they are looking into bits for me from Austria. Yours are $1,205 + GST each new. With quite a lead time.

There are plenty of people around to help. Peter R has the nicest E30 M3 in the country, an E30 325 that he is just playing with. He would be a good source of advice, however he co-pilots Gerry's 535 in the Targa. I'm sure there are guys down South to help you. There is sh*t loads of BMW off the shelf stuff to buy. It's not cheap though. Unfortunately for you, there are none of the BMW Motorsprt guys in Wellington to my knowledge. All the good guys are in Auckland, Christchurch (or Bavaria). Outside of F1, rallying is about as expensive as motorsprt gets.

All I can say is Grrr knows his Fords and this would be one of the best non-genuine works cars in the world. I know where he lives, but just like the guys building the Hulme I won't tell you where he is. It would be a great car. The kind of thing Stig Blomquist would be happy driving. It has a pedigree. A bit like arguing over whether a Zonda Roadster is better value than an Enzo...

Welcome Claire, nice to meet a fellow Westie! Come on down. :bounce:

Roger, I'm not complaining. It's the price of owning a great car.

You can also get BMC filters from Retro Products 27 MacKelvie St, Ponsonby 0800 738 7648.

And a cropped enlarged version

Number 2

Here you go.

I think that's the only bit of chrome that should be on a BMW!

Awesome!

It depends on what you need to have done. Inspection I or II, Oil service etc. And on your car. Milan and I are happy if our services cost less than $1000 each time at McMillans.

Dean Jensen @ Motorscience, behind Giltrap Porsche

Using XP. You go to Microsoft Office Picture Manager, select Edit Picture and resize to Web - Large. It took me ages to find this feature. I think Andrew talked me through it the first time. I had the same problems.

Rubber ages, the silicone and other components leak out over time. Read attached file. tsb_112102.pdf

Haha, that doesn't work. Otherwise I nailed Elle McPherson first too. Because, I'm sure I thought of it first.

Tyres do go off. Shoot down to Marshall Tyres in Newmarket and see Leon Marshall. He'll sort you out.

I recognise the yard. He is an Ex-works Cosworth engineer and did the prep on Miles Sierra's. It would be a weapon. As a replica, I'd think $100k is steep, however, I haven't driven it. Brilliant cars, motors are a work of art. Why not if you want a real rally classic.

Air Intakes. Greg Stirling Half of what a car engine needs for combustion is petrol. The other half is air. Petrol costs money but air is still free so if you want to improve your car's performance why not start there? Air Filters: There are a huge variety of air filters on the market and making a choice is not easy. You've got to consider your car, your budget and what you expect from the filter. Most brands of cars will have at least a replacement panel type filter available while more popular performance cars will have a range of intakes and filters available to enhance performance, noise and looks. What is available will depend on any number of factors. Is your car naturally aspirated or supercharged/turbocharged, injected or carburetted, modern or old, popular or rare? Standard air filters that can be bought at any parts supplier are a compromise between performance, noise and cost. Most lean towards being cost efficient while trapping most of the dust particles it is designed to keep out. They do their job well and are relatively cheap because of their paper build. But if you own a fairly new car or have a performance engine in your car you might want a higher quality air filter. A better quality filter should still trap as much of the dust particles as a standard filter but also allow greater air flow. There are generally two types of air filters: panel replacement filters for standard air boxes and pod filters which attach to the intake tube. An air box is simply a factory fitted box which houses the air filter and only allows air to pass through the filter before entering the engine. An intake tube then attaches to this box to connect it to the engine. Putting a panel replacement filter into your air box gives you a compromise between the same noise of the factory standard filter and the very slight performance increase of a better filter. Because it still uses the restrictive piping from the factory you will notice very little change to a standard filter. You might have more peace of mind knowing you've got better filtration of the air going into your engine though. If you're really lucky you might gain a fraction of increased performance. The next step is to remove the air box and fit a pod filter onto your standard intake tube. They can have more of a performance gain, although it is still very slight, and you will notice an increase in noise from the sound of the air being sucked into the filter. It is also possible that you could be now sucking in more hot air from the engine bay than from outside the car so ducting in cold air is always a good idea. Intake Tube: Finally there's the option to replace your intake tube as well as your filter. Just like filters there is a large range of intake tubes available in a variety of styles, brands and quality. The most important thing to remember is that the filter and intake tube will be the point of entry for air into your engine so you don't want to put anything on there that will cause damage. You don't want to leave any packing from your new intake tube inside it just to have it sucked into your engine. You also don't want to place your filter somewhere that could cause it to be damaged by water or debris from the road. A cold air intake is generally considered to be an intake tube that will place the air filter away from the hot engine bay. The reason for this is that cold air is better for the engine than hot. Without getting too scientific about it basically colder air is denser and the more air you have in the engine the better combustion will be. So it makes sense to prevent hot air getting in. Because of New Zealand's climate you should be aware that some cold air intakes will not be suitable. Some place the air filter where rain can get into it such as low in the front bumper. Others have a better option of leaving the filter within the engine bay but also sealing it against the engine bay by having a tube air ducting cold air from out front of the car. Performance: It is important to note that on most cars you will generally gain no real power difference between a standard filter and a new filter and intake. What you might gain however is better throttle response and some noise from the intake. Most people interested in performance would agree that the noise is something they like to have, much like a good exhaust system although nowhere quite as loud of course. Just keep in mind that getting more air into the engine isn't going to help if all the dust and dirt make it through your filter too. A cheap no name brand pod filter might look better than the plastic air box but it you're not filtering the air properly you've wasted your money. On the other hand don't go spending $500 on a big name brand cold air intake imported from Japan or America if your car isn't a top of the line machine. You're not going to gain enough to justify a huge outlay. Go with known name brands and ask around to see what other people have. You'll find most people in car clubs or associated with racing will have a range of opinions of varieties they have tried. You might even be able to pick a good second hand one. You'd be lucky to find a performance shop that doesn't carry any performance filters so ask around. Perhaps the most widely known brand is K&N. Their filters flow much better than standard, trap far more dust particles and come in a huge variety of sizes and styles for any application. They are priced quite reasonably for such a quality filter, being around the middle of the market. They use an oiled cotton filter which is guaranteed for a million miles. All you have to do is use one of their filter cleaning kits on it every 10,000kms or so to keep it in perfect condition. Other options: If it's not enough to simply swap your filter or intake tube there are a few other things you can do to help. Using plastic tubing you can find a way of ducting cold air from the front bumper or basically behind anywhere outside air gets in and then direct it to the air filter. Some cars might have something similar attached to the factory air box so you can look at leaving it in place to increase the flow of air to the filter. Make sure that any tubing is properly attached to the car and in a sensible location. You don't want it low enough to take a drink from large puddles. Some cars can adjust the position of their headlights enough to let in a small gap of air towards the filter. It may not be much but every little bit helps (especially if it's free). Move the battery to a better location in the engine bay or even have it mounted in the boot by an autoelectrician. Batteries cause heat so if one is close to your filter or intake tube it can heat the air up around it. Remember that if you've got a new intake made of metal that if it gets warm it can have an effect of warming the air inside. Coat your intake tube in heat protection. It is a little bit extreme for the average person but a coating or wrap around the intake that prevents it heating up can help. Basic physics suggests a reflective coating, such as chrome, will be better than if you have one in a matt black colour. Basic looks suggest that chrome is better eye candy too. You can always go to a few other extremes like placing the air filter outside the engine bay but that isn't recommended for anything except the track.

Andrew has traction problems in the dry! 20 second 1/4 mile Henna beast. I'll try to drive passed the K&N place in Onehunga and get the name tomorrow. Get a strut brace made that is a solid unit. Don't get one with bolts at either end of the the strut (as it attaches to the Strut tower mounts), you don't get as much benefit. This Racing Dynamics one like Tim's is good, but not great.

The one for the 540 is about $180. Next months purchase. Cats out this month. Keep an eye out for the dyno results.

There is a distributor down Church St, Onehunga. Forgotten their name sorry.

I'd have one, but I'm picking parts aren't cheap. It was the car that beat the M3. Bags of fun I'm picking.