darkwolf

Levin, though I own a house in motown (that'd be Morrinsville for those who don't know). Consider me an ex-pat. Back up for the V8s. 1998 Fjordgrau Metallic 540i as seen below:

You mean a Co-op E30 like this one: Or you mean a BMW E30? Sorry I can be a bit simple some times.

It seems strange for only the woofers to stop on both speakers. Have you tried removing any crossover prior to the speakers? It seems more likely that there is a failure in a component before the speakers than two individual units failing at exactly the same time. Unless it was caused by a surge. Are they being run from the head unit or off an amp. If not off an amp - why not - they should be. But that's another story.

I second the fujifilm. I have a Finepix 5700. I bought it for $229 from DSE in Levin in June 08. 7.1M with 10x OPTICAL (important) zoom. It has a lot of features that allow you to get the shot you want. The Auto mode is ok, but for best results you are best to use the manual mode which will allow you to change the aperture, exposure and iso, probably some other stuff but that's all I really change. To be honest though it is a bit bulky i.e. it doesn't have a retracting lense like some of the other point and shoot but it does take some awesome photos. Took some photos at the WRC NZ in 08. You can see them here: http://picasaweb.google.com/DarkWolf9008/WRCNZ#

And a merc van (probably) costs about 2x the amount. If they had gone European they wouldn't have heard the end of it. You have to remember that NZ sees Euros as a premium (read expensive) brand.

That's possibly the best excuse for checking my car out I've ever heard... brb looking for mirrored glass to reverse towards.

Hey twisted, I see you're in the Kapiti coast. I'm in Levin, if you wanna head around and have a look at my 1998 540i. I think it's in bloody good nick. (Except I've got the spare on at the moment as a pot hole bent one of my rims). Sorry, just thought I'd mention I'm definately not looking at selling, just as an idea of what to look for.

Needs the rocket launcher sunroof as provided for by Q Section in MI-6. Go the bond car. Other than that basic necessity it looks very nice.

As I've mentioned on here before the 1UZ is a brilliant engine. It actually weighs less than the Toyota 2.0L Turbo I4 3S-GTE. To get the most power from the UZ you are better to buy the early (non VVT-i) model engine as the conrods (from memory are thicker). But the VVT-i engines develop more horsepower than even the Mighty M62TUB44 in the 1998+ 540i.

Jesus, from the outside it looks like the spitting image of mine. Minor differences (fjord grau mettalic vs black, 19" wheels vs 18") Nice find though. Then again though I'm a little biased on the 540i.

But only cos the honda wouldn't stay on the road

Bugger wish I'd known that when I did it.

Just check that the previous owner didn't go swimming with it. No jokes. I did with mine over Christmas and it doesn't work remotely anymore

ISO: This is the sensitivity ti light. It is best as low as it will go as a higher ISO can make the photo look grainy. So do things like increase the lighting around the subject or increase your exposure time. (My Fuji F5700 allows me to take a 2second exposure which is really cool for taking photo's of light bulbs ) Exposure: This is how long the CCD is exposed for. Increasing this allows for better light. Decreasing it allows for better speed. Too slow and you will overexpose the photo (looks all white and washed out). Too quick and it won't be exposed long enough. I'm a complete amateur with my camera. But this is the understanding that I have. I rarely if ever use automagic modes. Luckily my camera allows me to set a lot of things (but with in set limits). Also often you can take a photo and improve it via programs such as photoshop and fireworks due to the fact that what it looks like on the screen of your camera isn't at all what it looks like when printed.

To me this sounds exactly like the what the person I dealt with at Jeff Gray was thinking. Let me know what you do for a living so I know not to ever let you near anything of mine. If you get the opportunity to read the article by Scotty Stephenson in the January Edition of Top Gear NZ. I think you might find that you fall into the 95% he describes in the article. I see from your ride description (and your name) that you drive an E34. This makes your car a minimum of 2 years older than mine. Does this mean if I take my car into the same place you do I should be treated with more respect than you?

I'd like to throw my hat into the ring for Jeff Gray Euro (but in Palmy). I was utterly disgusted by the service (or lack there of) that I received today. So much so that I have taken the car to another service agent (not even a BMW agent unfortunately) where I got a service that was what should have happened immediately at Jeff Gray Euro. My point is that I might not have a brand new BMW but at some point in the future when I'm fully qualified I will be on the look out for a new car (hopefully something in the M series price range too). After the service I received today I will never be purchasing a car from them. I've even been so bitterly disappointed in how I was treated that I don't know that I will ever buy another BMW period. I would have thought that if a young person (22) came in with a car that needed some attention, it would have been in their interest to nurture this interest in the manufacturer for which you work as they will base their future car purchase on the service they have received in the past. To make this person feel like they're presence was dirtying up their service centre is not going to instill an image of a company that will be a worthwhile investment in the future. Today I have never missed my 1989 Toyota Celica so much. Today I was treated like a total nobody by an authorised (apparently trustworthy) BMW Service Centre and it is something I will never forget.

I almost rear ended somebody on the way home from work last night. Pulled out in a 100KPH zone, I had to apply the brakes to avoid rearending them. They must have noticed that I was really close and put there brakes on too! I mean WTF is up with that. I hate people who when they are being tailgated put there brakes on to warn the person behind them to back off. It doesn't help anybody. But to do it in the rain after you just pulled in front of somebody, who is still on the brakes to slow down anyway was just unbelievable. I don't understand what happens to people driving in the rain.

Cool. Thanks for that. I kinda feel like a d*ck now as if I had read it properly I would have noticed that. As I said I didn't really know what I was looking at. I'll probably ask about the steering wheel not being straight as it is a bit annoying. But then it could easily be caused by the brilliant quality of the manawatu roads too. Might go find a nice flat road somewhere and see if its just the curve of the road or if the steering wheel is out. I am beginning to think that I am being overly sensitive to the situation as I've never had a car like this and I'm kinda touchy about it being worked on. Thanks to everyone for their explanations of what happens with a wheel alignment.

I'm glad to hear that the numbers seem ok. The only reason I was worried about the numbers is because it seems to have min and max specs. The FR Camber is outside of these. The RR Camber is outside of these. The rear toe is outside of these. And there is a 0.5 degree difference between the RL and RR camber. If these specs aren't meant to be followed why print them? And I always thought that the an alignment was to bring everything into line. So why isn't my camber somewhere close. I think my biggest problem is that I don't know a whole lot about what I am dealing with. So when I look at these numbers (being an accountant and liking numbers to match up) it makes me think that something wasn't done right. The other problem is that normally I would have taken it to a specialist alignment centre. But as I have no idea where one is down here. I didn't have a lot of money to get this done as I have just had to unexpectantly fork out for 2 new rears (hence the alignment) but regardless of price if somebody advertises wheel alignments I would expect something near accurate. But then again because I don't much about wheel alignments I don't know if it has been done properly and I'm being overly concerned or if I'm just being dicked.

A part of me just died inside.

Mmmm steak seasoned with oregano, rosemary, salt, pepper, sugar wrapped in pork schnitzel. Spag bol, macaroni cheese, spag cheese (macaroni cheese with spaghetti instead of macaroni as you can fit more on a fork), spag bol with cheese sauce, chilli con carne (with spag as rice swells too much in the stomach and as mentioned before you can fit more on a fork:P ) butter chicken, mashed potatoes. Kilkenny Those who know. Know.

I had a wheel alignment done yesterday and I'm not happy with it. Firstly, it doesn't feel right at all. At 100KPH I've noticed: I can't travel between telephone/power lines without the car veering left. I still have a slight wobble in the steering (which could be caused by the roads here in Levin). The steering wheel is sitting at about 350-355 degrees (remembering maths rotation is anti clockwise) Just as I went to post this I read the sheet and a few of the primary angles aren't within the specifications. I also have 4mm setback on the front of the car and an 8mm set back on the back. Now I don't want to go off half cocked but if my wheel alignment hasn't been done properly I'd like to know. Can any tyre guys / mechanics / knowledgeable people shed any light on this for me? Has my alignment been done properly or am I just being ridiculously paranoid about my baby?

Thanks for that man. No worries about the wait. I understand you've had other commitments as of late. It confirms my suspicions. Though I sent it in for a wheel alignment yesterday at lunch time. Turns out my RR wheel had -3.3 degrees camber! Had the wheel alignment completed and now I'm just worried about the 8mm of setback that my car has on the rear. After having a wheel alignment done I'm not keen on the steering wheel sitting where it is. Gonna start a new thread to get some opinions of the alignment, could easily be only my paranoia about any bugger touching my car.

Do it once do it right. E39 540i. Love mine to bits even if she is using a lot of tyre lately. Probably a driver problem rather than a car though. Seriously though it just eats up long distances like you wouldn't believe. It isn't the cheapest to run but then if you want cheap then GTFO and buy a daihatsu. Don't go any higher on the mags than a 17" (I've gone 19" but they are just too aggressive and you lose some of that beautiful comfort - though she's awesome through the corners). Look for the S-EDC button at the bottom of the radio - it'll be beside the window blind and the DSC. Which leads to my next point. Get DSC. It has saved my ass once or twice and if you wanna be a wally you can press it and it goes away. If you do go 540i. Get a warranty with it. I would recommend this for any car. Take it to a BMW dealer to get inspected as they know the things to look for. You yourself can look at some basic things like: check the top tanks (or in this case the side tanks) of the radiator to make sure they don't look brittle as this is rumoured to be a weak point on these cars. Especially around the inlet/outlets. Do get it in Fjordgrau Metallic for no other reason than it's better than sex. Check that the oil filter (mounted to the right of the engine where the battery sits in a Japanese car) is secured correctly and doesn't move. Then visually check that the oil filter seal hasn't been pinched. Ask to see service history. I have a full history on mine and it's really good peace of mind. If you take it for a drive and you think it's sluggish, knock the gearstick to the left (leave it there don't shift it up or down) and gun it. If it's still feels sluggish, check the speedo you'll pack yourself when you see how fast you are actually going Check each gear by using the tiptronic. 4th is hard to check to it's full capacity (due to legal reasons) - so is 5th for that matter. Things to be careful of once you have 540i: Don't hit wildlife. Thus far I am 0/3. One dent between right headlight and grill. One replaced high beam bulb in right front headlight. One broken front splitter. Bird, bird, Possum (this was especially a bad idea). Don't expect it to be like your 1989 2.0L non turbo front wheel drive celica. It has 2x the power, 2x the torque at half the rpm. It also carries 14% more smoosh factor. Don't be worried about petrol. Sure it costs alot but then you never needed that kidney anyway. And children can fetch a nice price on the market. Also if this is a problem - buy a daihatsu. Don't get into the car with any sharp pointy bits that might scratch the leather. Leather is god. Don't take corners as fast as you did in your previous car... for a while. While the car will handle it fine, you may find that leather doesn't grip like cloth, especially when you just spent 15-30 minutes polishing it. Children. They make a hell of a mess in the car. This isn't worth your time and effort to try to tell them to behave. It has a giant trunk though should you find the need to carry them. You could probably fit a whole sports team in there with room for the sports gear. I've told you absolutely everything bad about the car I can think of. Keeping up all night thinking about where you are going to go tomorrow is normal. Don't fight it. Resistance is futile.

I just had to replace the high beams in mine (Bird at 100KPH = new bulbs). I put in some narva plus 50s. They are like daylight. I can highly recommend the high beams, I haven't checked the low beams out yet as I'm currently strapped for cash after realising I've been chewing the inside of my rear wheels out. Actually could you take a photo your car from the back to show how much camber you are running. I am going to take my car in for a wheel alignment as the eyecrometer (and walletometer) are telling me that I am running far too much camber thus increasing the wear on my tyres.