gjm

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.

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.