red89mx

I picked up a Modulite unit the other year for the E46, and even though i specified the euro model found it was a wire short of a good time.....forgot to think through how the Yank trailers were wired. Can use it but need to add an additional relay for one of the sets of lights. Just use the towbar for a bike (very occasionally) now and leave trailer duties to the 4WD. Must look to get arround to finding the unit again in my garage. Recon a set of relays will do the same job and be cheaper.

Analoug TV for another 4 years or so then nada. See http://www.nzherald.co.nz/technology/news/...jectid=10652346. Cant you order a euro spec unit from the factory?

Thanks guys My E46 is german assembled (even if Jap imported) so assume the spare well is the same as NZ new. There is a hell of a lot of room free with the space saver in. What is the front wheel diameter - suspect it is narrower than the rears? Anyone got a motorsport 17" front wheel arround for sale? Alan

Well still having bad luck with the Goodyear F1's being nail magnets. Missus picked up a puncture (nice big nail) during the week and when I went to put the spacesaver on found it was also flat....there is a leak arround the valve. On my E46 I have the standard motorsport staggered fitment of 245/40/17 rears and 225/45/17 fronts. The space saver is a continental 125/80/17. Question - The spare wheel bay seems very generous on the E46 what else could I consider if not getting the spacesaver repaired or replaced? Could I put a 225/45/17 in (similar to the front) instead of the space saver. Realise I still need to drive slow if lose a rear, but should be better off if I needed to replace a front? (depending on tyre selection). Thoughts and suggestions?

The Coupes and post facelift 2003 were glued on I think.

Cool - look forward to the rest. Does this give you cruise control as well or just the buttons? What else is needed for cruise control if not included. Alan

Ta TW - bulbs arrived today seem to be typical kamakoosa packaging so will see how they go. Will not be too worried as long as they do not cause other issues. Main prob now is sourcing the headlight lenses/covers (my model has replaceable lenses). Pelican parts have 2 different Plastic lense covers for HID and non HID (plus another for ZKW's), Bavauto have 1 plastic cover that they confirmed with BMW (USA) fits both HID/Xenon and halogen). Part number from my searching via realOEM.com is 63 12 8 380 189 (last 7 digits of my cars serial is FJ77303 - makes it a November model). The lady from BMW parts in NZ said there unit was glass - although looking at parts catelogues the term "Glass" may be used in a generic manner rather than as a a specific compound. My existing lenses are Bosch (plastic I am sure) and show signs of damage in the front of the HID bulbs......may just be age. I think I am willing to pay a premium for glass over plastic so may go for the NZ sourced covers as the options ofshore are a little confusing.

Ta See they are comparable to HIWorld at $45 USD (not sure what the freight is). Just need to get the front covers and gassgets and checked at Jonnos and need doing. The 2001 models seem to be replaceable and not baked on.

Ta Hybrid Going into JK southern in the morning to sort out the oil light. Grabbed some DS2 4300 from HID world....but may need to go for better units. At $75 NZD not really botherd. Who did you get your HIDs from?

E markings? Out of curiosity fired the lights up this evening and both were working fine again. Had the lamp out warning a few weeks ago as well but after checking latter in the day everything was working ok again. Want to be able to rely on the lighting - so will investigate a permanent solution. When checking the lights noticed the plastic "Lens"? of the lights showed a little cracking (seemed internal) and minor discolouration (from the heat?). Would be good to replace these units as well - are they available or do you need to mortgage a Kidney.

Cheers Jono Have a few other little things that need sorting as well. Will give you a yell Alan

After getting my E46 330 in Late 2008 I had the Oil changed to good quality non-syntetic oil as it was a fresh jap import. This was meant to be a flush for a few k and to be replaced by a syntetic .....well got busy, and the next oil change was 12k latter and about 6 weeks ago. Since then the oil warning lamp (yellow - not red) has started to come on regularly after starting up but goes out within 20 to 30 seconds. We checked the oil and levels are ok - added a little more just in case. I am parked on a slight hill (bonnet up)...bur light still comes on whren starting off on the flat. No signs of oil usage, or leaks. With mechanic brother in law off in sunny Switzerland on holiday I cannot access the specific synthetic spec he put in (have emaild). Still have 3 liters at his pace as got 2 x 5L containers for the job. Thoughts and advice? Should I revert to non-synthetic. Cheers Alan

Hi All Had one of the E46 330's low beam HID's fail on me today. Pottered into Repco and the Navara HID 35w D2S bulbs were $240 each...not a pair (Philips $700 each). I walked out and decided to do some research b4 ponying up . Quick research on net suggest doing both bulbs at once as colour changes with use and if one replaced then would look strange. I want the best light for driving , dont care re the colour "look" so want to stick close to OEM spec 4300k or therabouts. Looks like a pair of replacement bulbs can be got from HIDworld.com for $50 USD with free freight? Has anyone used these guys before? At approx $75 NZD it is not too much of a risk. Who else is recomended? - happy to buy in NZ....not happy with $500 though. Cheers Alan

Cheers Guys. The Kapiti option probably better. Bit confusing having a couple of Page Europeans floating arround. Brother in law a fully qual mechanic with a number of years working in Switzerland, knows his way arround the BMW's . Will get him to liase with the Kapiti crowd so they are all speaking the same lingo...I will stick to IT. Alan

Thanks for the time and advice Glenn. Will sort out a good local BMW specialist down here in Wellywood. For Welly based members - any reccomendations or is it straight to Jeff Grey Alan

Hi Guys Just had my first check engine light experience and once scanned turns out to be a PO420 Catalyst System Efficiency Below threashold B1 (Assume this is bank 1) Details Car: Model ie: E46 330 Motorsport Sedan Year: 2001 Vin number: WBAAV52090FJ77303 Import / NZ new: Import Options ie: Auto, std Motorsport fittings KM: 127,000 Some quick searches on E46 fanatice indicates that this is probably O2 sensors or a cat failing. Any experience with this? What is the order of diagnosis and rectifying? If a cat do we need to replace in NZ or can we do without and put a simulator in for the computer? Had brother in law do the scan and reset check engine light.....but suspect it will come on again and interested in resolving the underlying issue.

:wacko: ahhhhh Well things went a bit downhill on the tyre front this week. Got the tyre checked out and was advised to replace it asap for safety reasons (The cut was a 25 x 15 mm triangle on the sidewall down to the canvas) by a reputable shop down here.. Seems that there are no F1's on the correct size in the country at the moment and no ETA, and RE001's are out of stock until after Jan 17. Local tyre guys had Pirelli on special so went with PZero Rossos....during the fitting they indicated one of the rears (not the one with the plug after 1st weeks nail) had a bulge in the sidewall and needed to be replaced (checked to see if it was manufacturing fault....but said it looked to be impact damage)....so three tyres today (the F1 rear size was available). Again thanks Jonno for the time and advice earlier in the week....I know Sh*t happens but have not had that much luck with the F1's (puncture, bulge and supply issues). Tempted to get another new F1 to keep everything in sync....anyone want a set of 12k F1 rears (one with a small bulge - apparently) for $250? ....plenty of tread .....good for some track days

Ta A quick review of what I could find was the following order. 1. Goodyear Eagle F1 Asymmetric 2. Dunlop SP SportMaxx GT 3. Continental SportContact 3 4. Maxxis Victra i-Pro 5. Bridgestone Potenza Adrenalin RE001 6. Federal Supersteel 595 7. Marshal Matrac FX Have not seen the article. Not against the re001 - they were my choice last time but F1 price was the same down here in Welly so went F1 on rears. If cannot get the F1 in 225/45/17 or too much $$$ will seriously consider the RE001's as do need a new set of front feet. Already know the conti's are out of the $$$ budget. Must stress I am no expert and probably could not tell the difference between any of the above for most of my driving.....but want good wet weather holding with a reasonably powerfull rear wheel drive car.

OK Front tyres are ready for replacement - found a good gouge on sidewall today so need to be a priority this week. Will look at putting the Goodyear F1's on front as well....wonder if the $$ has gone up since they did well in the Aussie test? Rears have been wearing well with about 12 k on them. Anyone had some reasonable F1 prices for 225/45 R17's recently?

Ta Glenn If the water was in the floor well i could understand it being a vapour seal or similar. But on the edge of the seat seems too high for a vapour seal prob unless it managed to run down armrest. Location makes it look more like a high leak. May remove trim and check anyway. Alan

Hi All Anyone seen a water leak onto the edge of the rear seat of an E46 sedan? It is not a lot and the water stays in a cohesive wee puddle - possibly 5 - 10mm diameter. I have checked door rubber and surround and see no damage. Another symptom that makes me thing some moisture is getting in is the time it takes for the air con to clear a fogged from windscreen - sometimes 3 + minutes on a cold evening. Not sure if this is the correct forum - but seemed a better fit than others. Some research on the US forums mention door vapor seals and BMW Tech Service Bulletin (510400 JUL 00 Door Sound/Vapor Barrier - Water Leaks ) but cannot find details of the TSB. Saw a basic u tube video on vapour barrier repair ( ) ...but struggle to see how a damaged vapor barrier would get water on the rear seat....unless ran down rear armrest. Cheers Alan

Hi Jochen Should I be able to see where the rear demister is broken? Spent some tine on weekend and could not track down. Also not as noticeable with the replacement radio/Tape unit. Ta

Cheers Jochen Will have a look for the break and try to fix it. This also explains why the demister seemed to take forever to work.

Hi all Anyone had any problems with their stock radio reception when the rear demister is on? If so what have you done to fix the issue (RAdio or Read demister issue?) Been a bit chilly lately so have only just noticed that the radio signal go to rubbish when I put the demister on? Swapped out the head unit on the weekend (Thanks Oli) so will check if it still happens. It was a pain getting the unit back in flush - still not quiet there. Seems the wiring at the back bunches up....must be a knack to this. Cheers

When looking at moving from the E36 328 I briefly flirted with the Swift sport and the newer Subbie Imprezza GT (an Import with 2l turbo....Geeze did it go) finally came down the E46 330i Motorsport vs Mk 5 Golf GTI. I liked my test drives in the Swift Sport (bugger it is only manual 4 U) and if had been looking for a town car would have been seriously tempted. Remember to use the Turners website to look for vehicles - 4 of my last 5 cars have come via Turners, their advanced search lets you select NZ New and most of the fruit. Now guys don't flane me but the merc meets most requirements (little too much $$ and a few doors shy) http://www.turners.co.nz/Vehicles/Pages/Ve...amp;scrpage=sea .Hmmm the NZ New selection does not seem to work too well and when selecting over 2002 get lots of ex lease Mondeo, Camry, Elantra and Astra's - first 2 too big, Hyundai bit ugly and not hatch....Astra too much maintenance. Admittedly 6 of the last 7 cars I have purchased have also been imports...never had an issue. I am old enough to remember the gouging dealers used to charge pre 1987 and realise that I would not be buying nice BM's. Also for some vehicles the spec is better eg still looking for a new MX5 and the Bilstien RS models are common...bonus is the Jap MX5's have an additional 8 kw standard (Helps when NZ new is 118kw)