bravo

Welcome. Bet both of those know how to move! Good choices.

Its a hybrid - he never has to put petrel [sic] in.

Maybe, but the toothed wheel on the front of the crank on f/l cars is a 60-2 wheel. I'm not sure about the pickups on the flywhel in pre f/l cars. If they are not 60-2 then the ECU may not be able to figure it out. If it is 60-2 you may be able to get the damper/toothed wheel/front pulley and crank angle sensor and bracket of a f/l and make it work. I suspect not though.

David - facelift box is missing the hole for the crank angle sensor. Pre f/l measures of the flywheel, so you can use pre f/l box on f/l but not the other way around unless you drill and tap the hole. Pretty sure they don't make 323i f/ls but I could be wrong.

Firstly, what is your personal perception of BMW? What makes the cars so good? Character. Which is why the new ones lose huge favour with me. And character in a good way, not in the way an old Rover, Fiat, et al. have character by constantly rattling and breaking down. Also an image of refined sportiness - like a new Bentley, but Bentley's more fun, less aggressive kid brother without the obesity problem. What do you love about them? Look, engaging drive, something a little out of the ordinary from the usual stuff my mates drive. Secondly, how do you think BMW is regarded New Zealand wide and partcularly by non-BMW owners/drivers? How do you think people in NZ see BMW drivers? They think we're a bunch of self-important, pricks who think we drive a great machine that is actually pants. And they'd be right mostly - I think it about every other BMW driver other than those with a "different"/modified/higher spec model. As evidenced by the huge number of people that say they drive "m3's", but there's an m42 under the hood. Thirdly, what do you think of BMW advertising/marketing? Did it have an effect on your car choice? How do you think they could advertise/market themselves better? I see it, but its just another car advertiser. I agree with another contributor - invoke images from the companies history. Bank on the motorsport involvement, etc. Start making e30's again with identical bodies, but better handling and lots more power.

TM I know it says 1990, but it also says 323i which they didn't make in 1990 - they were all pre f/l so maybe you need to find out what car it REALLY came off. Plus its a tad more expensive than the last one I bought, but theyve possibly gone up in price since then.

P.S. to "TheJen". I see you reading this. The article about the s65 (pgs 82-85) will give you all sorts of ideas about the ethos of BMW for your research.

My bro and sis got me a sub to Top Gear NZ mag, last months issue being the first to arrive. It's not a mag I'd ever buy myself, and previously have only read the first ever NZ issue to see what it was like, but in what can only be a fluke, last month had an article on the 6-er, and this month there are articles/reviews of the new X5, 335i vert, e92 m3, plus a pictorial history of the m3 from e30 to present. Also article on the s65 from the e92 m3, and a sidebar with the BMW art cars. Nothing "wow" and as expected a few errors that only BMW geeks would notice or care about, but definately worth flipping through at your local bookstore.

Looks alot like that plymouth they buried in Tulsa.

If the rim and tyre combo have bigger rolling circumference that makes teh car higher, then the wheels and tyres are illegal in any case. Can't go more than 5% overall increase. BTW sounds like your WOF place is dodgy.

Fixed

Yeah - I like the fuel economy guage. But I guess I got on fine before with just a fuel guage and and odometer, plus if you REALLY wanted you can leave the laptop plugged in all the time and have data logging and realtime AFR etc. Very geek/High Octane Overboost Indians.

Gay man - at least you'r manning up and taking the fall. It'll suck for awhile, but you'll live and hopefully learn from it. I've been there.

I believe just for setup. They sell temporary plug in ones for tuning several vehicles. (It's used to get your AFR maps right etc. Once you have them sussed it's no longer needed.) BTW I found out today that Your engine check light on the dash, and any OBC functions to do with fuel, and your dash fuel economy guages will no longer work (doesn't worry me). Also, much more setup involved to run spark and control boost, but at this stage I'm following crshbndct (Nathan's) lead and getting it running on a stock n/a setup first so that I know any probs are either tuning or engine changes, not in the computer itself.

Brennan. You have to replace the Throttle Position Sensor for the variable one from an e36. You have to install an Intake Air Temperature sensor. You remove the stock AFM and put a bit of tubing in and install it there. You don't run the AFM as MS runs of a MAP (Manifold Absolute Pressure) sensor which is as simple as running a vacuum line from the intake manifold to the sensor on the ecu. If you want to properly tune it yourself you also need a wideband oxygen sensor. All of this is included in the price except the TPS and installation. There is alot of homework to be done before installing. I have spent countless hours reading and learning to get to the point I am comfortable with what is required. I will still be learning as I go re installation and tuning. Also, at the above price you have to assemble the board yourself - i.e. solder in all the parts. You can buy them assembled, but add US$200+ to the price. I was originally going to do this, but decided that I needed to modify the standard kit abit to do what I want, and I'd be better off knowing how it went together if I wanted to do that. Plus all the guys who have done it reckon if you are decent at soldering and can follow instructions its a piece of weasels. You can re-run all the wiring and install new fuses and relays,but I intend on butchering an old motronic ecu, installing the MS inside the case and wiring up the stock connector. This should mean that apart from swapping the AFM back in, I could run the stock setup again with minimal work, and reuse all of the factory wiring, sensors and relays etc. Its been done before, so I'll basically be following someone else's footsteps. David - doubt I'll be ordering before then, and yes, planning on being there. I'll wander over and have a chat. www.e30tech.com forums for lots more e30-specific info.

welcome. post pics.

He still hasn't been given back his stick. For better or for worse. You decide. Oh and PBOY - calm down brother. no need to pop a vein. The dude's baitn' you - you don't have to bite.

I'm sure you will agree Josh that handling on the track and handling on the road are two different things. And as you said the suspension makes all the difference. However, this cat seems to want a big kit and big wheels to match. It's possible, so why not. Go for it dude. But don't expect it to be easy to make them fit, drive with them without rubbing, or have a decent ride. If its a low, slow, cruiser you're after, and you don't mind rolling guards then sweet.

I will sell you my mtech II kit for $8500. Should leave you plenty spare for paint. Seriously dude, do your homework. 1) Why would you want to waste $10k on a kit for a 318? 2) You can buy mtech BMW kits for around $1k-1.5k 3) You could sell your 318 and buy a kitted m325i for that and have change If you are looking to spend $10k on the kit, you must be looking at sepnding a shitload on everything else. In which case a 318 is prob not the best base - but its up to you.

If you don't know what this is, you probably don't need it. Breifly it is a ECU replacement/Engine management system like a Link or Motec or Autronic etc that comes either preassembled, or in kit form and you assemble and install yourself. More info at www.megasquirt.info Can manage fuel and ignition and boost control, antilag, etc etc. I'm buying the following: Megasuirt II CPU on v3.0 PCB (latest board and cpu) kit (Unassembled) Stimulator Board (unassembled) Internal USB out for plugging into laptop for tuning. (standard kit comes with serial out only). LC-1 Wideband O2 sensor and comms. Intake Air Temp Sensor. Anyone who wants one of these or anything from www.diyautotune.com please let me know so we can save on freight. On todays exchange rate you are looking at $750 for the above plus shipping. I am going to assemble mine in a motronic ecu case, and run full stock wiring with the exception of the o2, IAT, and TPS. Should be plug and play when done. Once I have it running in my car I may offer it to selected others ready to go for a price, but if you have been thinking about doing this now's your chance to save on shipping costs. Mops has one in his car, mike is in the process of doing his, and crshbndct has bought one. Don't know if there are any more running it on the site?

I hate know-it-all scientists with nothing better to do than dream up ways of ruining the driving experience. See front page of the Herald if you have no idea what I'm talking about.

Dude, the torx head bolts on the gearbox are near impossible to strip if you use a torx socket. BTW that's what happens when you hang around Nissan boys. They're all wankers lol.

That's the one.

WTF are you talking about? It is so not rice.

I know where you mean Emma. Matthew Ridge bought a house in that subdivision from memory.