gjm

Well, that's what the listing says. http://www.trademe.co.nz/motors/used-cars/bmw/auction-924170424.htm Gotta be rare, right?

Any idea of the cost associated with the testing? I reiterated what I was told by a Castrol Racing rep when I said they're the same, but that doesn't mean he wasn't wrong! I recall years ago people saying how superior ATE Blue brake fluid was when compared to the 'normal' Gold. These genuinely are identical fluids: ATE used a different colour to speed when the user could identify new fluid in a fluid change. Of course, that reasoning doesn't apply with engine oil!

I have a very similar set made by Draper. Originally bought for replacing the front shocks on Mrs M's Mk3 Golf, they've been very, very useful ever since. Only downside is that the head of the ratchet is, of necessity, quite large and sometimes too large to get into some spaces. Conventional sockets have their place, too. http://www.lowes.com/pd_451559-22328-89853___?productId=4771537 They're cheap! And another of those 'right tool for the job' tools. Excellent find. If you have any spares, I'd be keen to help make some space in your toolbox.

A genuine dual-mass flywheel for your car will be US$7-800, so over NZ$1k. You can get a LUK pattern part for a little over half that. Regardless, either could be a lot more than they were expecting so they could have cut corners. You don't say where you are so we can't recommend someone to take it to for an inspection, but this is not right. It won't get better with time.

BMW TSB SI B11 08 98 regarding engine oil for M engines calls for "Castrol RS SAE 10W-60 Synthetic Oil also called Castrol TWS Motorsport SAE 10W-60 Synthetic Oil". Castrol RS is the pre-2000 formulation. After 2000, Castrol RS product was reformulated and lost its BMW approval. According to Castrol, EDGE 10w-60 is the same as TWS. The pre-2000 RS formula, Castrol TWS Motorsport SAE 10W-60 Synthetic Oil, and Castrol Edge 10w-60 have a higher film strength than other Castrol 10w-60 oils. The BMW Approved product is ester-based and a direct competitor to ELF and Motul ester racing oils, while the non-approved formulations are PAO based. You can normally buy Castrol EDGE 10w-60 at Supercheap. Edit: Or go to a BMW dealership, as Glenn suggests.

Cheaper than the last item, the Sidewinder is a very useful tool for those situations where you want a ratchet but don't have space to swing the handle back and forth. http://www.wellforce-osk.com/detail.aspx?itemno=21300&productid=412&pfourmenu=11 Prices vary (of course) but they're on Amazon for under US $35.

OK - this one is perhaps not quite so cheap, but it's not ridiculously expensive either. All the same, probably best to check you will actually need it before caving in to the collecting tools fetish. http://www.tite-reach.com/

Front strut brace. Pretty simple provided the dimensions are correct - a bit of bent tube with a couple of pieces of bent flat stock welded to each end. OK - so it's not adjustable. But we don't need adjustable.

Everything takes longer than expected!

Certainly doesn't help! I do like the details though - a 4.15am crash when 'neighbours could hear them winding up.' Dunno about you, but I'm asleep at that time. No speed details released, but 'speed was excessive.' Probably true, but a typical knee-jerk reaction to a fast car involved in an accident. That said, it takes a lot of force to rip a car apart. Sounds like someone out for a high speed run on a road they knew to be straight, but didn't know well enough to consider the 'bumps'. If it's the bit I think it is, they could have come down the hill at speed into the dip and bottomed the suspension, even in a GTR. Or come over a bump and got some air - landing a car isn't as easy as the rally guys make it look. Driver error, and excessive speed, are the most likely causes. It'll make the headlines to reinforce the 'war on speed' approach being taken. In other news, an orange police road car with a rear-facing camera on the parcel shelf was sitting on the northbound side of SH1 towards the top of the Bombay Hills this morning, and completely ignored the rattly, smokey, blue Hiace pickup with three large people in it, carrying a bouncing and unsecured load.

Saw diesel for 70c today. I'd use Gull, but their unmanned stations don't accept my credit card. Edit: This was in Te Irirangi Drive. I think 91 was $1.40.

"Road policing national manager Superintendent Steve Greally said the road toll had been on a downward trend since the 1980s, but there would always be fluctuations." Didn't say why, though. And under a fairly prominent heading 'SPEED KILLS' there is absolutely no mention of speed even being a contributing factor. I'd not be surprised to soon see a suggestion that speed limits be reduced over holiday periods. Sadly, I don't see the government letting up on speeding motorists (which is fair enough as far as it goes - it is illegal) but I also don't see them making any changes to policing methods. For this government, the police is a business with a balance sheet and not the funded service it should be.

Not yet. I know where he lives, but him being 40 minutes out of Nelson doesn't make it easy to knock on his door!

Oh.... riiiight. The RZ 3-somethings.

The ones on the white car, or the ones on the black car? Durn't much like either! ;-)

Front strut brace completed. (Pics to follow.) And rather than make them, we've bought a set of chassis reinforcement plates. The car won't go any faster, but should feel nicer to drive which fits with plans. Same speed - more feel.

I thought all money realised from speeding fines went to central government? I suppose they might spend it on law enforcement, but more likely on junkets for MPs, new flags...

Cops sitting hidden up a slip road aren't watching traffic, or drivers that don't drive. They're typically watching a 200yd stretch of straight road. I woke someone up who nearly drove into me yesterday. Black VW Passat, driver with a shirt and tie, had been weaving fairly well between Meremere and Hampton Downs - two wheels over the line to the left, or the centre line. As I passed him he started to drift towards us but a hand held on the horn saw his head snap up, and him nearly drive off the left side of the road. I saw in my mirror that he'd stopped. Policeman? There'd been one on the southbound HD slip road. Camera van? Would have made absolutely no difference whatsoever.

I've not given up yet. My (light touch) investigations reveal the seller has been a very naughty boy and may not currently be at liberty to respond. However, if it does all stay as it is then the gear is still in the back of my car.

Leaking heater matrix? Any smells in the cabin?

I don't go in for warranties like this, but I tend to buy older cars and then normally fix them myself. My experience is, therefore, irrelevant. In your position I would certainly take Glenn up on his offer of having a chat. You'll be better informed and able to make a decision.

As I understand it, the thermostat opens once a temperature is reached. Temp will continue to rise for a short while, but will then drop back to the desired temperature. As such, yours is probably fine.

Toto Wolff, boss of the AMG Petronas F1 Racing team, is threatening to drop one of the two drivers if they can't get along. Sky Sports has reported the relationship between Hamilton and Rosberg is at an all-time low and that they very rarely even speak to each other. Wolff has said that "if it were to become detrimental to the team that would mean that we would not maintain the long-term set-up in the team with the drivers." He went on to talk about team spirit and that while Hamilton and Rosberg are competitors on the track, any rivalry must not overflow in the pits - such competition is not good for team dynamics. Seems an odd thing to say given the number of Mercedes 1-2 finishes last season, but it sounds like he's playing a much longer game.

Go get it, take it home, then decide what you want to do.

Many thanks to Craig for the parts. Sadly, I don't know if I'll be using them. Looks like the person (no-one on here) I was getting the 320/6 from may have done the dirty on me - he's completely unresponsive and didn't show (or contact me) when he was supposed to be dropping the car in Picton yesterday. He has a deposit, and I'd paid for a one-way ferry ticket for the car. I shall continue to press for some sort of explanation, but it's not looking good at the moment. If it doesn't work out, I'll have some parts for an E21 if anyone needs them!