gjm

That's happened a lot lately. I've spent far too much time working, and when I'm not... It's raining.

The 30-something driver of teh white X5 that pirouetted of the road in front of me last night was unlucky. Or maybe the other drivers motoring along like it was a bright and sunny afternoon were lucky? Torrential rain. Spray. Poor visibility. Standing water. Dark. Line of cars travelling at 80-90km/h but that wasn't fast enough. Came tearing past me on the inside, pulled into the outside lane. My spidey senses were tingling so I backed waaay off and then - the left hand indicator of the X5 comes on, so he's pulling back to the inside lane? Then a twitch from the back of the X5. Hmm. Then a wriggle. And then I could see the side of the X5. He'd hit a patch of standing water, perhaps while making his lane change, possibly while accelerating. A big ol' Merc handles water quite well so I was able to slow while watching the graceful rotation of the X5 as it gently spun off the side of the road and down, well out of harms way. As I started the thread about BMW drivers it seemed appropriate to post this, but in fairness that driver was far from alone - so many people in a huge hurry with no regard for the road and weather conditions. It was probably a combination of big fat tyres, standing water, and an ill-advised manœuvre that was his undoing. No one was hurt, but one of the attending police officers was preparing a lengthy lecture on 'driving to the conditions' when I left.

It could be that I identified a BMW driver in this instance because I am familiar with BMWs. That said, I've owned and drive a lot of cars over the years and I'd never really made the same distinction. Of course, this one was particularly evident as he was in front of me, behind me, alongside me, cutting me up, throwing rubbish from his car while in front of me... And I wasn't having a great day so I just fancied a good moan. So there.

I have no doubt this will be a lot of fun to drive, if a slightly detached driving experience (rather like another manufacturers V12 twin-turbo luxury saloon from - say it quietly! - nearly 15 years ago). "The V12-engine combines two turbochargers to deliver a maximum output of 448 kW at engine speeds of between 5,250 and 6,000 rpm, propelling the vehicle from 0 to 100 km/h in a mere 3.7 seconds. At the same time it’s incredibly fuel-efficient thanks to High-Precision Injection, consuming just 12.6 litres of fuel per 100 km with CO2 emissions of 299 g/km." I doubt it consumes 12.6l/100km while travelling from 0-100 in 3.7s! Yeah... OK. I'm being pedantic. I think it is a car I would prefer to be driven in, rather than drive, but without either experience that is pure conjecture. More info here.

I followed a black 745Li this morning. Dark tinted windows, big plastidipped wheels (maybe 19s, with peeling), scabby-looking tyres with well-scrubbed sidewalls, slammed, bouncy suspension, loud exhaust, broken near side mirror, and a driver who threw rubbish out of the window on to the road - looked like a Bundaberg bottle cap. Y'know - the pull ring type. Change lanes without indicating, accelerate hard (loud exhaust) before swapping lanes at traffic lights (no indicator), then sit with arm dangling out the window holding a cigarette. At least there wasn't evidence of a multi-MW stereo playing music for the whole neighbourhood to hear!

Should be fine. Vapour blasting is non-abrasive, and non-destructive. If bits are missing after vapour blasting, it's because they were rotten/rusted or corroded before blasting. Vapour blasting is suitable for aluminium, bronze, magnesium, titanium, brass, copper... It gently cleans the surface returning it (as close as possible) to how it was the day it was cast or machined.

I know vapour and media blasting yield different results, but can a single cabinet be used for both? What differences / changes in equipment would be needed?

What was it Olaf was saying about it being good to have a spare car? Mrs M would love driving this. Just that little matter of $9k...

Drop the front by 25mm and the wheels would look better. Nice car. Not sure it is worth $9k, but as I don't have $9k to spend that could just be sour grapes.

My apologies - my lack of E30-specific coilover, or BC, knowledge. I've used coilovers before on other cars, but it's been a case of unbolt various bits, and bolt up again. I didn't realise that with an E30 it's necessary to cut the original struts and weld to the new parts: I doubt it's something that's unique to the E30, but I've not heard of it before. (DIY coilovers is another matter!) While in the UK I worked on a tarmac rally E30 which had AST suspension. I don't recall any welding having been done to fit the front kit, but wasn't looking for it. That car had more than it's share of beautifully machined custom parts, too. From the sound of things you know what you're doing. I found this link which may be useful?

I've got to ask - why not buy something designed for the E30 in the first place? If you got these for $5 and can do the work yourself then there's an economic argument, but that's about it. I don't like Scarles and don't rate them, but as has been said on another thread, they'll do coilovers - new - for about $1k.

With some of the rain we've had lately, they'd be very handy!

I believe someone hereabouts is already taking a good, long look at this. (Not me! Although that person did bring it to my attention. :) )

I've had some recent problems locating Konis at good prices. They do exist and would be my preferred solution. Bilstein B12s are a readily available kit ex-Germany. The part number is E90-20-004-04-22. Check prices here in NZ first.

Do any E36s or E46s, other than the wagons/estate cars, have a folding rear seat? In a sedan/saloon or coupe?

Bilstein B12 kit (Bilstein B8 shocks/struts and Eibach springs), or a Koni/H&R set-up.

Grip juice. Actually, you'll find a lot of places and strips actually do call it that. There's a few products available that work in different ways, but in the US (and probably here) they use something called VHT. It's sprayed on the area you'll be launching from, not the staging area, and when it gets hot, it's gets really sticky. It's very similar to a glue. It also means that your tyres will pick up and hold all sorts of crap when coming back from your run. There's another product called Tracbite which you apply to your tyres, not the track. That's a bit better - it softens your tyres (so be careful) but after a while your tyres should return to as they were. Best bet is to take a spare set of wheels to a drag strip and change them before driving home.

I forwarded your details to someone who might be able to help. He said he'll get in touch.

They've been spending a lot of time rubbering the track this year. It was completely resurfaced fairly recently which won't help. Of course, that may be incidental! I've not raced there. A friend ran 11.44s on a street bike last weekend though, so it can't be too bad.

Or one of those "I know what I've got" sellers?

I s'pose it must be 10 years ago now, but one of the motoring TV magazines did a comparison between the BMW M5, Holden Monaro and... Something else. This sort of comparison was popular at the time, featuring one or another of the GM group cars, often badged as a Vauxhall, eg VXR8. (Other cars that featured in these test were the Jaguar S-Type, whatever the contemporary hipo Cadillac was, and so on. The summary, when compared to the GM car? The M5 was typically the better car. But so it should have been given the substantial difference in price. More than one review reported that spending the difference in purchase price on the Vauxhall/Holden would probably see a very different outcome, certainly in performance terms. For an everyday car - the M5. It is 'the package'. If you want to tune it to do silly things... Is there a limit to the power that has been made from a GM small block? These days, a s/h M5 is a bargain. The perceived complexity marks it down, while the national pride and greater simplicity of the Holden means prices are holding up well. A Monaro in NZ costs quite a lot more than a Monaro in the UK at present.

Special order colour, US$82k of modifications, originally sold with a BMW 3-year warranty. At the asking price, buy the mods and get an 850 for free. eBay #322436127022

Unlikely to ever see something quite like this again! http://bangshift.com/bangshift1320/the-inside-scop-on-the-greatest-gearhead-publicity-stunt-ever/

<sigh...>

That's worth saving for most people, let alone racers. Do you have any details of which parts you used...?