gjm

In the UK, the focus is on keeping traffic moving smoothly. No harm, no foul. (Over 85mph constitutes harm.) You may be stopped for speeds in excess of 70-75mph (in a 70mph limit), but typically you'll get a good talking to from the traffic police and sent on your way. As far as I know, if you're stopped over here, you are ticketed and fined - no officer discretion is allowed. In itself, that's sheer lunacy. Why aren't speed limits higher here? I've heard excuses like 'the roads aren't up to it.' Well, build some decent roads then, instead of scraping squirting some tar, and throwing some chippings down. Not all roads are equal - good highways could easily accommodate 70mph+ (110km/h+) or more. Many secondary roads ought not have a 100km/h limit, yet there it is. There's no rhyme or reason to speed limits, or their monitoring, in NZ, other than the revenue raising aspect. Improving driver ability costs money and doesn't provide income. So the only solution is to charge motorists, one way or another, more, so that income can be increased. It has *nothing*, or very little, to do with safety.

BTW - just envious I didn't get in first!

FFS! 1 minute? Wow.

This is quite long, but worth a read: http://revenueraiserresistance.com/camera-swindle/ It backs up research done at the TRL (Transport Research Laboratory) in the UK, and several locations in the US. I doubt it'll make any difference, but it is staggering to learn authorities are forecasting revenue from speeding fines and incorporating them in future budgetary projections! Can't let the real world get in the way of revenue raising, eh?

If this is your first, there is a good chance you've not heard of RealOEM - www.realoem.com. Enter the last 7 characters of the VIN of your E39 and browse through. It'll help find the part numbers.

And.... that wasn't the problem. It is a pulley having a squeaky session - power steering, I think. It'll have to wait. It's not as if I can get parts this weekend! So I did lots of other things instead. Little jobs, like removing the inlet manifold and giving it a clean up, removing the rest of the EGR gubbins and fitting my 'custom' blanking plate on the exhaust, replacing an errant brake sensor cable, and replacing the air filter. I've got some pics which I'll post in my 'high mileage' thread. (No, I didn't change the oil this time!) Still, made good use of a nice day. We could have gone out instead, and then today I would have been working in the rain! I do have to find a 3/8" drive 10mm deep socket that slipped down the side of the engine and didn't get as far as the ground. I think it is on the undertray or one of the steel beams. Anyone who has been there knows the pain and hope - ding (sh*t - dropped it) clang, clunk, ping, donk.... Silence. sh*t. No thunk sound of metal socket hitting concrete. I wonder where that's gone?

Had a bit of a squeaky noise from the front of the engine. A quick look didn't show anything and I'd thought it was perhaps one of the pulleys feeling tired. As a result, driving was limited to 'absolutely essential,' and the 500SE pressed into service for shopping. (Mrs M hates going shopping in that!) Today, pulled things apart and found the aircon belt hanging off the front of the compressor. The smooth side was polished to a lovely sheen, and the ribbed side cracked all the way around, although nothing is missing. We were very lucky - if it had caught on the fan things could have been very bad indeed. These belts never get changed. BMW don't stock them in NZ, and RealOEM only shows a kit comprising belts, pulleys, and so on - p/n 11282339103. However (and for anyone who might need to know) the belt is a 4PK 968. If possible, get a 4PK965 as the 968 has the tensioner almost fully extended; the 965 doesn't fully compress the tensioner but does give a teensy bit of stretch leeway. While you're there, you may want to check the main drive belt, another 'never gets changed' item. Again, RealOEM shows this as a part of a kit, p/n 11282339099. Again, you can buy the belt separately at ~$90+GST from BMW (they have 1 in Auckland, but more often than not bin them when shelf life expires), or from a factor as 6PK2090. The aircon belt can be replaced from under the car (remove the engine undertray), but the main belt will require fan shroud removal, which requires removing the fan.

Sad. Still, in good hands now, eh? (May be worth dropping the sump too.)

Could be poor maintenance prior to you getting it? When in the UK, my Audi was like that. Took 2 or 3 quick oil changes to get things sorted.

The Mazda Tribute we had required a more-or-less complete interior removal to do the handbrake cable.

Yuck. Hopefully next time will be better. How long have you had it?

Driving without due care and attention. Is that an offence in NZ? He's admitted to it when stopped.

Changed the engine oil and filter. In the Mercedes, for a change... 1 hour, end-to-end, including getting everything out of the garage, clearing up afterwards, and even having a cup of tea in the middle. Then went for a nice drive south.

Sabine is an interesting choice. She's a farmer, holds a helicopter pilot's license (she owns a Bell JetRanger) and first raced the 'ring in 1994 at the age of 15. She's clocked 400000 miles 'round the 'ring, won the 24h race twice (^ as Nathan says) and held the lap record at the age of 19 after clocking 8.16 in a Sierra Cosworth. She also held the record for a NA car at 7.07 in a Porsche 997 RSR. She still regularly races professionally, and prefers racing in the wet.

SH1 southbound approaching Te Kauwhata from Hampton Downs is an absolute shambles - craters appearing in the road surface where the surface has been ripped up after the tar has melted. Same problem northbound approaching Dragway Road at Meremere (again). This is an annual event - scrape, tar, chippings, let the traffic bed them in while the cars get chewed by flying stones.

And dogs. Saw a woman in a Micra (or similar) swerving all over the place at 70-80km/h while her dog was trying to lick her face.

Especially when the speed limit itself is an arbitrary number, and not one based on any sort of scientific (or other) investigation.

Apologies, Jason! 4x100, 16x8, et20-25.

I don't doubt this is correct, but it does seem pedantic in the extreme! However, I think it applies to certified changes detailed on the plate, and not to a (reasonable) change of wheel on a standard car. That's a bit of a pain for anyone adhering to the letter of the law. From the LVVTA docs: "you can fit any diameter wheel without the need for an LVV cert as long as the rolling circumference (the distance one turn of the wheel travels on the road) does not increase more than 5% over the original equipment." This applies (afaik) to an otherwise standard car.

I knew certs were tight, but this sounds like overkill! I would have expected that maintaining rolling diameter while not allowing tyres to extend past the wheelarch or rub on suspension components would be fine. I'd heard a number of inspectors have quit over ever-more draconian policies in this area. Still, it's nowhere near as bad as Germany and their TÜV requirements where parts manufacturers are required to extensively test any aftermarket and non-standard components. At least here the decision to modify is in the hands of the vehicle owner.

I have 16x7.5 Momos if they might be useful?

American reporting suggests Chris Harris and Sabine are 'unknowns'! Oh, 'merica. You're so last century.

Fair points. She may surprise us, though. Chris Evans will overdo trying not to be Clarkson while trying to be funny.

Lookin' good, John.

Latest news: Ginger to be joined by Chris Harris and Sabine Schmidt. So Ginger just went from front man to weak link.