gjm

They're a factory-fit on the E38, but maybe most people decided to go with something else?

Does anyone know what these weigh? Could even be a possible call to see if anyone has a set available. At some point. Maybe.

Had a 'proper' suspension alignment done on the 320d a few days ago. It seems it was going in a straight line more by luck than judgement, or by virtue of everything being wrong coincidentally pointing the car back in a more-or-less straight line.

That's really sad news. I've heard of three potentially relevant causes for valve spring failure: Over-revving (although I don't see how this would break a spring - maybe localised heat build-up?) Poor quality metal used in manufacture Rust on the spring (which can result in failure in the same way a stress fracture would) Could the spring have been exposed to damp while the engine was in pieces?

That looks like really good vfm. I was looking at a similar 4x100 set up on 300mm.de: 300x24 front and 294x19 rear using Porsche Boxster ATE calipers with all mounting kit supplied, but that's 50% more (before shipping).

US$100k, NZ$150k, give or take.

Lots. Alpina built two models based on the E31: 97 850i/Ci-based B12 5.0 cars with 350PS (345hp) offered exclusively with an automatic, and 57 850CSi-based cars with a 6-speed manual or an optional Shift-tronic transmission. The B12 5.7 Coupe was based on the 380PS (375hp) 5.6-liter V12 850CSi but with a slightly larger displacement 5.7-liter V12 with reprogrammed ECUs and modified intakes to develop 416PS (410hp) and 570Nm. Minor changes were made to the front suspension, and the Alpina got 18-inch wheels with 245/40 tires front and 285/35 rear. There were some cosmetic upgrades like the vented carbon-fiber hood, front spoiler and a blue-background for the instrument dials. Price: one was offered this time last year for US$250k.

Sam - please could you let us know what the outcome is? It'll save anyone else interested having to go through the process of asking and so on.

Very, very cool.

Just... noisy. To be honest, I don't know, but I suspect while driving straight.

FL E30 316 - noisy diff at <170000km. Serious, or is a change of gear oil likely to sort it?

Just 'another day'...

The Ford guys in the UK are getting 325 and even 330mm under 16" rims when using AP 4-pots.

Does running out of brakes imply requiring more pressure, greater nodulation, or simply a lack of brakes? Good fluid will help make the best of the mechanical parts. Something like Endless, or similar.

Thanks John. I thought there had to be something like that or everyone would be doing the relatively easy swap. I was thinking the mounts were a long way up the strut! Nice pic of an 'after' on G's website:

This is kind-of related to recent discussions around 5-stud set ups, and the front sway bar topic where mounting of the front swaybar was discussed. The simplest (and allegedly purest) way to update a 'normal' E30 to 5-stud is to fit M3 suspension. That's potentially one of the more expensive ways to do it too, requiring acquisition of some fairly rare parts. (Let's put E36 M3 / Z3 etc setups to one side for the moment.) A "benefit" of a 5-stud conversion is the availability of other rims. If that is the only reason, regardless of the route taken it is probably more economic to buy any rim of suitable offset, and have them welded and re-drilled if the pcd isn't 4x100. Another benefit, judging from the swaybar discussion, is the ability to mount the swaybar on the strut bringing the benefits Ron describes here. Would it be possible to fit aftermarket M3 struts (or coilovers) with original 4-stud hubs, or would this lead to issues with rim clearance? Or is the hub mounting different on the M3 to the other E30s? Apologies if this is an eye-rolling question - I wanted to get this down while I remembered. I don't immediately have time to trawl RealOEM!

I think you're missing the point, Ron! Not that I'm sure what the point is...

Guy recently broke the walk of death speed record, something that's more complex than it first appears. He said at the time that after 11 years racing the IoM TT, the racing was losing its edge and excitement

Would you consider something that needs spacers?

'as it 'appens, yer not wrong. I was very tired. That's my excuse. And having spoken to someone on the phone who called it Kat-eye-ar, I managed to ignore the second vowel.

Anyone on here from way up north? There's a car in Kaitaia I'm really quite keen on, but a 10 hour round trip to view is reducing my enthusiasm. Visiting Kaitaia from here with a trailer would be necessary anyway, but I'd prefer to have a little more confidence in what I'd be seeing before I set out. As is always the way, I know someone who has recently returned from a trip to KariKari. Fabulous beaches, apparently. Please drop me a PM if you, or someone you know, might be able to help. Ta.

New car prices. I've never bought a new car and probably won't be about to start now. Mrs M is experiencing some difficulties getting in and out of a 'normal' car, so a small SUV or similar might be in order. Details of the "new" Jeep Renegade popped up and while it wasn't the first thing that sprang to mind, it looked interesting enough (Fiat platform and all) to warrant a quick look. They are new to NZ, but were released in the US in a number of guises, last year. Price: in the US, "from" $18000 (US). In NZ, the only model anyone will talk about is the Trailhawk (the most expensive model in the range), "from" $50000 (NZ). Well, US$18k is about NZ$26k. And you can't even speak to someone who might be able to arrange a test drive. (Prices are MSRP, and don't include ORC.) Oh well. It was just an idea. I'm not sure I can be bothered to be upset about this. The flip side is, of course, that I could well have been wasting someone's time had the model we might have been interested in been available!

It'll be interesting to see how things pan out in the Auckland market. Recently, the rate of price rise outstripped the rest of the country but even that has slowed. Regardless, a very ordinary house in the Auckland area now costs $800000. That's 3 beds, 1 bath, a garage if you're lucky, and maybe 600sqm of land. Never mind 1st time buyers... How many people can raise $200k equity from the sale of their house in order to find the deposit? I earn reasonable money but have no chance of buying here. We'll move, but not (as I've said) until Miss M has completed school - I suppose we could move, but it could be so devastatingly detrimental to her and her education that we'll not do it. Unfortunately by then I'll be lucky if I have enough working life left to pay a mortgage off! On the upside, she's keen on Waikato Uni and wants to stay there during the week. I can look for work almost anywhere.

Lots of M3s here including one listed at USD200k (NZD290k) which has sold. Obviously, no idea what price it actually sold for, but it is another example of a great drivers car that has never been driven, and at that price, is unlikely to get driven much further.

Not a rant, just puzzled/confused/discombobulated... I've just seen a used E30 Mtech kit - just the kit, no car - being offered on TM for $3k. E30 prices have gone a bit silly lately, but this seems a step too far. To me.