RobD

Birds shitting on it for one thing.

That's pretty funny. I haven't heard the term 'fruit' for a while!

Which year M135i are you looking at? The N54 is such a peach. You can accelerate effortlessly out of roundabouts in 3rd gear from idle speed and in 6th at 100kph it accelerates like most cars do in 3rd.

Love the E90 M3. It has to be the ultimate everyday drivers' car. Prefer it to the E92.

I'm not sure the M5 is a car for NZ roads. It has a reasonably low torque figure for its engine size and weight of the car (525Nm vs. 450Nm for the M135) and weighs about 300kg more. It also develops that peak torque higher in the RPM range. It isn't an easy car to drive to its potential, and isn't that well suited to our shite roads. Sure, we'd all love one and know it's the daddy. But it's better suited to the Autobahn or Autostrada where it can embarrass Ferraris. Not here, where a boosted Evo will eat it to 100 kph beyond which you're dicing with the law.

Remember the 0-100 time of an M135 is the same as that of an E60 M5. Same for in gear acceleration between 80 and 120 kph. Unless you're on a track, the extra power of the M5 will never be used. The running costs however....they are there all the time.

Buy an M Sport 335i. In manual. It's the complete package.

Yep adjust the seat right down and it's super low. On fact so low I need to grab the A pillar to pull myself out...

My combined fuel consumption on my E90 2007 335i manual is 9.8 litres / 100km. Mostly city driving. That to me is impressive for the stock power. On the freeway in 6th at 100kph on the flat it reduces to 5 or 6 litres / 100km. I'm 6'3" and 98kg and have absolutely no issues at all with interior space. I love the cabin - it's a very nice place to be with full leather, fat M Sport wheel and Pro Nav. Get the M Sport - they look great with the M193 or M225 wheels. Also, remember NZ new doesn't automatically mean anything other than a lot of stone chips, shagged suspension from the terrible roads and a lazy service history. That said, Japanese cars will have spent their lives idling away in Tokyo traffic so take your pick! HPFP more an issue in the USA as their sulphurous fuel eats away at the seals in the pump. Key issues with the N54 are injectors, coils and turbo wastegates. Good luck!

What was the main noticeable improvement? Smoothness? Power? Quietening of the engine?

Excellent thanks very much. I'll give him a ring and ask for some estimates.

Can I ask roughly the cost?

Nice wheels. Always wondered about replacing my 193s with those.

Yikes I wouldn't want to own a reshelled anything.

The only OEM wheel you need to consider is the 19" style 172. Those ones above are fine but the 172s are stunning. A lot of UK E60s were optioned with these.

Definitely. Really what it is is an E39 with M5 running gear. Not a bad thing in its own right. But not an M5.

It's a tough call. I'm sure it would be fine enough to drive, but the whole appeal with M cars, apart from the usual, is their provenance. Once the car loses its integrity and originality, it becomes compromised.

Ha! Miss that part of London. And London period!

Hi there, front (18x8") is ET34. Rear (18x8.5") is ET37. 5x120.

In fact, here it is on my old street in South Kensington.

Thanks. They are the M193 wheel as fitted to both coupe and sedan in M Sport form. The car is a factory M Sport manual. Brought it back with me when I moved home from London. Lots of them round over there.

Gave her a Sunday morning wash and wax..

Disagree. Ever seen a BRG Aston with cream leather interior and piped seats? I think you'd find that combo works rather well.

Fair enough. It's always a good idea to upgrade the intercooler with the increased boost. Though it all comes down to driving style in a way. 95% of the time I shift at 3,000-3,500 rpm and treat the car kindly. The other 5% is during on ramp blasts and overtaking manoeuvres. I probably won't worry with a larger intercooler because of that, but I would if I spent more time on full throttle.

Hi Krish,I'm purchasing a Cobb AP3 next week direct from the site. I've been in two 335i's that are running the Stage 1 aggressive set up, and it is just a whole different animal. The car really wakes up and shows its potential. Both cars had no other mods, which is how I'll keep mine. I like the sound of the stock exhaust and if you look under the car you'll see the pipework is pretty big from the factory. I think the downpipes only add another 10-20 bhp, and it is a lot of additional expense and hassle to do that as far as I know but I could be wrong there.