gjm

I'll get a price for shipping.

Apologies if this has been posted before. I had a look but didn't find anything. This list is mainly from https://www.vorshlag.com/bars.php. I've added a couple of entries.

Some time ago I acquired some very nice suspension parts for our 320D but for a number of reasons it now seems unlikely we'll be using them. Mainly, Mrs M's arthritis isn't getting any better and it may be pragmatic to buy a vehicle which is a little taller so she can get in and out more easily. This is a pair of AC Schnitzer sway bars (anti-roll bars, as we of English origin call them ). They are made for ACS by Eibach. Vivid Racing list the ACS bars at $1384 (less discounts and so on); the Eibach bars are listed at $700. (Both plus shipping and so on.) You may not be able to see it clearly in the pic, but both names are clearly printed on both bars. Part numbers are 313546311 (front) and 313546312 (rear). The ACS p/n for the set is 313546310. The Eibach p/n for the set is E2066-320. I'm told these will fit all E46s, except (perhaps) the M3. Front bar is 27mm; rear bar is 21mm. Don't fit just the front - fit both. Your car will understeer if you fit just the front bar. What's in the pic is what is included, so you get the links and all bushes too. All bushes look to be in good condition. Asking $350 - half new listed and discounted price..

http://www.bmwstylewheels.com/bmw/109

Yup - M9 concept. I'd not seen it. Took a 15-year old girl to bring it to my attention!

I agree - there is no doubt the Bridgestones should be a much better tyre. Does the $980 include all the fitting and disposal? Good price, regardless. Unfortunately I didn't have the opportunity to shop around or the price may have been lower, or the solution different. I had bought a set of rims and tyres and despite a thorough check of the tyres (tread, cracks, age, manufacture) suggesting they were fine, it looks as though they may have been fitted to a car which was parked with the tyres flat for a long period of time - all were misshapen, out of round and similar. In the absence of a reliable way to spin them up, it is sadly the sort of thing you find when driving, rather than looking. Replacement tyres were essential, immediately, and at a time when we didn't have money to buy them. Good, cheap tyres were the order of the day. (There are many much cheaper ones we might have been able to get, but I won't fit something if I am unsure of the quality and safety.) Hankooks are typically good. Bridgestones are typically better. As Ron points out, it is important to look at the driving you're doing. 200km+ per day at ~100km/h on SH1 is very different to spirited driving on a more rural road.

I think these are 30mm front, 25mm rear. A nice, sensible drop for a standard height car.

Just for future reference: Hankook H457s, 205/55-16 - 4 new tyres fitted and balanced: $500 Hankook Optimo N426, 215/45-17 - 4 new tyres fitted and balanced: $780 (including disposal of old tyres) Neither of these are the last word in performance but they aren't marketed as such: they are a 'Grand Touring All Season' tyre. After many thousands of kms, I'm happy to say they are very good. Not great perhaps, but we've not been looking for the last few % of performance. They grip well in the dry, and give no cause for concern whatsoever in the wet, even last night on SH1 with a moderate to heavy swell and whitecaps driven by high winds from the south. (If you were out there, you'll know what I mean! A boat would perhaps have been more suited to the conditions.) They wear well, too and let's face it - with our mileage that's a consideration.

PM'd with my phone number.

Bear i mind the profile of the tyre - by which I mean shape, not height - can vary from manufacturer to manufacturer. I'm running 17x7 all round and initially found a 215/45-17 to look and feel over-tyred. Very comfortable, but turn-in was slow and it generally felt like they were running under pressure. I don't recall the manufacturer but will see if I have a note somewhere. We've since fitted Hankooks. Same size, but a completely different story. Really nice 'look', and feel great when driving. Cost $780 fitted (including old tyre disposal), IIRC.

When is too much power just about enough? While back in the UK recently, I was talking to a development engineer who works at Lotus. Aside from all the Norfolk-based stuff, he suggested looking up a guy called Erik Zackrisson, someone who isn't afraid of tripling the size of the engine in his car. He has built a Lotus Exige fitted with a S85 V10, managed by a standalone EMS. There's several videos on Youtube under two channels - Erik Zackrisson, and M3E30V10. The second one is a bit of a giveaway, too... Just as a little taster: Check the channels for more vids. I wonder if a development would see him nip across from Sweden to Norway to pick up one of these? S85 twin-turbo on methanol. 1851bhp. Sub-7s 1/4 mile...

That's different.

Got a part number for it?

I can confirm that genuine UK Marmite is so far ahead of anything similar Sanitarium make that it's like a completely different product. As for Sanitarium claiming trademark infringement - I think there should be a case from the UK against Sanitarium for misrepresenting a delicious product with the rubbish produced in NZ. I may need to revise the plan to bring a couple of jars back with us.

Is an E65 more to everyone's liking? I saw one of those for sale this morning... Scary stuff. A car which would have nudged $200k little more than 10 years ago, now selling for under $10k. There have always been bargains to be had on these upper echelon cars, but that still seems quite a staggering depreciation. Of course, it probably takes into account the repair bills when that huge list of options starts to go wrong!

I quite like the front grill. But like the front of a E85 Z4, too. (Gets coat...)

"I had to swerve three times before I hit him..."

I'll probably get shot down fo this, but them's the breaks... He got what could be an excellent deal when buying the E34. He's selling at a profit. It's what dealers do all the time. Seems expensive though, especially when I've been offered a good condition, WoF'd (but no rego) E38 740i for $1k...

http://bimmersport.co.nz/topic/52989-i-stole-an-e34/

In small doses, I suspect... How long before the impracticality wears thin? Still... Fun!

Mike Hoskins had a fairly scathing diatribe describing Kiwi drivers just now... Essentially, he's in favour of the UK law.

I wouldn't be surprised if you could use your phone to arrange for an onboard coffee machine to have a long black ready for you when you go out to the car on a cold morning! I drove an older S-class Mercedes (one or another of them) for years in the UK. Great cars. A little uneconomical for my current commute, though. The diesel F01s would be much cheaper.

Someone here must have driven one... Whassitlike, mister? One of the parents at our daughter's school has one - looks very nice. No idea which engine. And it more than likely cost several buckets of unaffordium so I'll have to dream for a while, but I'm keen to hear of driving impressions. I think the F01 would be enough compensation. The extra 5.5" isn't really needed.

The stupid woman in the outside lane of SH1 this afternoon, clutching the top of the steering wheel with both hands and leaning so far forward she could have bitten her nails at the same time, travelling at 85km/h - max - would have been better dealt with by a rocket launcher. Queues of traffic, lorries with blaring horns - nothing made the slightest difference. What excuse do these people have? "You can always overtake on the left", while it may be legally correct, is absolutely no defense. Grrr... $2000 is nowhere near enough.