jaimzthedrummer

Hey guys. I had my e36 headliner (with sunroof) replaced for only $160 by Proficient Interiors in Weymouth. The guy just works out of his garage and he did a fine job. Not the greatest material, but close enough and it stays up! I can dig out his details if you like...

What a great build man. Looks like you're doing everything just right! Quick question about those seat rails... Could they be used to lower an OEM (vader) seat? I struggle for headroom in my M3 and wondered if they might be an option... James

Yeah, the Primera dude (Sam I think..?) and I had a good chat. He was doing really well in that thing. Owned me in the corners with the semi-slicks he was running. To be honest he may have owned me in the corners anyway! Yeah, it really is. I'm thinking I won't be able to go to tooooo many more track days before I start pricing up an E30 racer! Thanks for the comments guys.

Just a quick note about this Puke track day I went to on Saturday. It was utterly fantastic! The track is pretty dodgy in places but it all just added to the whole seat-of-the-pants feel. Turn 1 is quite daunting. I was taking it at around 150kph and the bumps mean the rear was doing these little micro-slides all the way around. I didn't feel I was in danger of losing traction altogether though and my confidence around the track just gradually built up as the day went on. I had one brief excursion on the grass at turn 6 (took too much speed into the corner), but the M3 handled that - and everything else - very well. I think the main thing I need to work on is dealing with distractions (like cars in my rear-view mirror, and getting my heel-toe technique more ingrained) so I can focus on a consistent line. Andre said I did every corner perfectly... just not all in the same lap. :-) All in all, about 85kms of track driving, top speed north of 180kph and a whole lot of driving experience. All for only $90. I'll definitely be going back. :-)

Thanks Jon. It's looking to be a fine and sunny day. Andre's taken me around in his race car before, and yeah... those barriers seemed real close at times! Hope my suspension soaks up those bumps on the home straight okay.

Hey guys, I've made a snap decision to head to Pukekohe this Saturday and try out a new track (I've only driven Hampton Downs so far). Details are here: http://www.countiesracing.co.nz/motor-racing/?contentid=13&bookingid=2620 It's only $90 for the day. I think they divide it into sessions (bikes, cars, single seaters) depending on what turns up, but getting there early should mean some good track time. I'll also have ex-BMW open class winner Andre Cowan with me, giving me some instruction (my car used to belong to his dad). I'm sure he'd be happy to share his time around a bit if any other bimmers turn up. Be good to see some of you there. I'll give more notice next time! James

I'm itching for another track day, but can't make anything in early April because of work. I'm keen for something in the last half of April / early May though. Uncle's Club usually have one in the first week of each month. James

Aw man... Tripped up by autotext! It's an M5, but my phone knows I type M3 MUCH more often. :-)

Whoa. Just saw an E60 M3 at Mitre 10 Mega, Mt Wellington. It was shiny red, like a candy wrapper with a matt black centre stripe. Plate was M5 BM I think. I've never been a fan of custom paint jobs... but they're the only ones that stand out enough to post them in this thread!

Thanks everyone, Earlier today Jayden found me a guy selling a full Evo exhaust for a few hundy. I'm picking that up tomorrow, and will switch the rear section into my car… then keep an eye out for a full exhaust (with modified rear section) in the for sale section! :-) James

Mmmm. The store has been offline ever since I've been a member. I'm keen for a sticker too, but what options are available..? I'll fire an email off and see if I can get some images back. :-)

Thanks for the replies guys. Looks like it's only non-stock behind the cats. Single 3" pipe to the oval muffler, which has a single exit that splits into two tips, like a pair of pants. No etching on the tips that I can see.

So, I chucked the camera under the car to take some photos of the exhaust. Not too sure what I'm looking at… but I note two things: 1) The rear muffler is a very different shape and size to how it looks on RealOEM 2) There's a dark patch between the front and rear cats. Kinda looks like it could be a gap, but if it was it'd sound a whole lot worse than it does. Maybe you guys can make better sense of it than me...

Hey. Mine's not an EVO... Only 3.0L for me. Which did you need it to be?

Only after swaps mate... I don't want to be left with nothing. :-)

Hey man. Yeah, sounds like a good option. I'm not sure what system mine is. Can I find out without removing it? And I'm cool with rear section only. That's probably where the loudness is coming from right? Shall we meet up over summer break and jack them up side by side..? Thanks, James

Hey team, I've had my M3 about a month, and the plan is to gradually restore it to factory spec and condition (yeah, I know I know... ). The only obvious aftermarket parts are the exhaust and the suspension, and I'm looking to swap out the exhaust for an OEM one. I don't really know anything about it, but it's louder than standard and I'm not a fan. I understand the M3 exhaust system essentially has two sections (headers to cat, and cat to tip), and I'm not sure if my car has upgraded both or not. I'd be happy to provide details of the system I've got but am not too sure what to look for. Where do I look for stamps/indications of brand/part no. etc? Is it just the bore diameter that matters? Basically I'm looking for a direct swap with another E36 M3 owner who wants something louder with a bit more flow (potentially?). If anyone's interested, I'd be keen to park up side by side somewhere over the summer and do a transplant. James

Gold E46 323Ci parked in Symonds St just now. And I mean GOLD, like Shirley Easton lying on the bed in Goldfinger gold. Can't say I'm a fan, but it certainly stood out.

Man, I'd love to get some air-tools. Looks like I have another reason for it. It can go on the list after most of my other car fix-up stuff. :-)

Jon, thanks for your (obviously) considerable input into The Race Series Brains Trust. That title is worthy of a website all of its own! I'll be sticking to degreaser and a rag from now on... don't you worry.

Hey guys, This may be common knowledge to many of you, but I just thought I'd quickly share an interesting experience I had a couple of weeks ago with my e36 M3. In summary - be careful when washing your engine because water can get down into the spark plugs. The full story: I've had the car about 6 weeks. The previous owner obviously lived on an unsealed road because there are HEAPS of stone chips on the front, and the engine bay was very very dusty. To make the cleaning job easy, I went to Wash World and used the engine cleaning foam stuff, and high pressure wash. Two days later, the engine started behaving badly. No power, awful sound... the works. It sounded like it was missing, so I went looking for a problem with the spark plugs and found that Nos 1 and 3 were wet. I quickly checked the dipstick to see if the oil was milky... it wasn't (thank jebus), so I guessed that it was the high pressure wash that did it. The coil packs don't seal the plug chambers off completely, and the M-Power plate that goes over them has no seal around it either, so I guess it's easy for water to find its way down there. I wiped off the plugs and jammed a rag down the chambers to (hopefully) soak up the water. Took it for a drive, and it seemed okay for 10 minutes... but then the problem came back. I took some advice from the BMW race series guys (in particular, Brett Cowan who used to own my car), and he suggested taking the coil packs and plugs out and putting them in the oven on a low heat... and using a hairdryer on each of the chambers. I tell you, it was REAL weird putting car parts on the oven (fanbake at 75 degrees C for 20 mins), but it worked. Problem solved. James

Hey guys, Sorry for the late reply, haven't checked up for a while. Richard, I live in Ellerslie mate, so it can't be mine. I do drive through Remuera a bit though, so maybe you've seen me on the road. I'm happy for you to come visit anytime (send me a PM), but I'm not interested in selling I'm afraid. I'm just getting started with this thing. Nigel, thanks for the headsup about the Vanos. It's only my to do list, but ain't at the top. Gotta budget all this out otherwise it'll get out of control pretty quickly! Might catch up with you gents at the next meet. James

Jeez, I'd be keen for one of those too. Do I smell a group buy comin' on..? Would save on shipping if you sourced one overseas. James :-)

So, my M3 has arrived! First impressions: It feels quite old, but potent. Very similar to the Audi RS2 I took care of a couple of years ago. Power delivery is different to what I was expecting - not quite as much torque down low as there could be, but above about 4krpm it feels more at home... and starts making a great sound! Lots of little bits and pieces to fix up, so I'll be trawling the forums to find all the little tricks. First up is to change the engine and drivetrain oil (I'll also drop the sump pan out and check on that infamous oil pump nut), find some driver's door trim, find out why the left wiper is binding against the bonnet, and make my way around all the nooks and crannys cleaning up the grime. Fun times ahead! Look forward to my first club meet! James

Sweet. I'll see how I go for the dyno day. I haven't been to one since I had my VR-4 Legnum! Ah... the memories. Got a meeting from 10am-2pm so that might rule it out.