gjm

Can't help with the wheels - kinda need them on my car and I head north towards Auckland every day. Out of interest - what tyres do you have fitted? All 4 having high spots sounds unlikely. Not impossible, but certainly unusual. Alignment - I used Tyre Tracks on Kent St in Frankton.

Take the car to a different tyre fitter and ask them to check the wheels for balance - an alignment won't show if the tyres are round. When they're spun up for balancing you'll be able to see if they're round or not. And if they're out of balance, that can cause the vibration, too. What year is your 320i? E46s (in particular) get vibration when LCA bushes need replacing.

Shh! I suspect it could be as simple as marginally low fluid - that would give the two codes you're getting. Take it back, say you've been getting this issue since they changed the fluid, and ask them to check/top up. There are other possible causes, but that's the one which is most easily checked.

722.906 7sp transmission... Does it shift smoothly at low speed? If you slow down to a crawl, then accelerate again? Did the dealer replace the gearbox sump gasket and the filter? (For $600 I sincerely hope they did!)

I'd overlooked the number of 8-series built. My brother and I both had one - mine was an 840, his an 850 - and we knew several other people who also owned and drove them. As you do, when you have a specific model. Our cars were nigh-on stock. I think bruv had some fancy 3-piece rims. Incidentally, my comment re Dobi and never having heard of them wasn't intended to be detrimental. There's a lot of stuff I've never heard of, including (until we moved here) King springs, for example.

Tail lights option 2 will attract less 'unwanted' attention than other ideas.

Hmm. Sad. Lots of positive results on Mercs and other BMWs. Past performance no guarantee of future success? Or replacing worn-out and sagging springs that show a saggy lower height with springs designed to ride lower? Never 'eard of 'em!

H&R - http://www.h-r.com/bin/29583.pdf

Jules - 29583-1? 25-30mm drop front and back, but the price is a little exciting. Over EUR 500. E34 parts are much cheaper. Well under EUR 200. (Prices plus shipping, etc)

Why is the frickin' blower motor resistor mounted in a place requiring contortions that only instructions from the Kama Sutra will help you get to?

Depends how much lower you want to go. H&R do two spring kits suitable for a 525i - p/n 29672-1 and 60672-1.

Some years ago we drove from the UK to France for a 2-week holiday. As we got on the ferry, the wipers on the Audi packed up. Bought some Rain-X, cleaned the screen and didn't need to use the wipers for the entire holiday, despite several downpours. That stuff really works. Is Glass Science stuff similar?

Unfortunately this isn't a shiny slippery feel... This is a 400000km+, worn out and little surface left, kind of feel!

Thanks guys, and apologies for not looking harder for the thread. Oops.

Is this a 'thing'? Has anyone done it? The steering wheel in our E46 is looking a little worn. I don't think it is necessarily the common issue due to the driver wearing rings... Just worn. Is it possible to refinish it, preferably as a DIY? Our wheel should look something like this: https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/7TL3rJYDGQkT1FiKkCJLoGAt5lHOrGZS4YFX0dcubxw=w522-h391-no Sadly, it doesn't. The finish has worn through in a few places. Not disastrously so, but enough so the rim is no longer smooth or shiny in affected areas.

Ta.

All original at the moment, except the front downpipe which no longer has a cat in it. EGR bypassed with a golf tee (I have an Allard delete kit), and I plan a turbo swap at which point I'll also fit a 'proper' front downpipe. Records show that at some point in the past the inlet manifold was removed and 'one' swirl flap was found to be missing. Or not found. If you see what I mean. (Massive, extensive service history.) No idea if proper blanking plugs have been fitted, and it doesn't much matter - remove the swirl flaps and don't blank, and you can see a slight drop in bottom end. Given most of the driving we do is highway at 90+, bottom end isn't much of an issue. Might help clear some gunge build up, too, but that is another planned investigation. Gearbox is original too. Fluid was changed less than 12 months ago but that means it needs doing again - I have everything (now) to do this, including a borrowed pump from a Very Nice Man. Just need a couple of hours to get under there and sort it. Fluid was changed by a company in Hamilton (known for transmission work) but I was unimpressed by their work. The car reeked of burning ATF (probably from the exhaust) for two weeks after they did the work, and I had to tighten the sump bolts to fix a weep. They also used (imo) poorer quality fluid than I had asked for. The good news was that while the fluid that came out was horribly overdue for replacement, there was no particulate matter.

At one point I was doing a near 250 miles (not km) round trip for work. Add in any client visits and running around after a teenage girl at weekends, and 1500-1600 miles a week was sometimes underestimating things. (We topped 2100 miles one week. ) Nothing compared to a lorry driver, or even some sales reps, but enough. Things have settled now... We fill up (probably) three times in a fortnight, so about 800-850 miles a week. Hoping that'll drop further fairly soon, perhaps to 500-600 miles a week. Yay! I can look forward to oil and filter changes every 2-3 months! Most of the driving is up and down highways, rather than sitting in traffic for hours on end, so I don't mind stretching the interval a little. Never more than 6000 miles, though.

Preferring to lose count isn't an issue - I've lost count! I could work it out based on regularity of fill-ups, number of miles to a tank, and number of miles between oil and filter changes... Let's just say there is never more than 2 months between changes, and typically less. That's much more economical than at one point where it was barely a fortnight between changes...

444444km. Seriously. (276165 miles.)

Bottle of buckie, mate... Remember them?

Just seen a picture from the UK posted on Facebook about the Anti-Austerity protest in Leeds. Thousands of people, many drinking beer. On a Wednesday morning. Did no-one see the irony in this? Indulging in luxuries while others are working? Do these people have jobs? Or are they just concerned because any austerity measures might cut into their 168 hours a week leisure time?

I was looking for somewhere to ask a question about steering wheel refurbishment and noticed there doesn't seem to really be anywhere that deals specifically with interiors. Self-dipping rear view mirror retrofit, seat swaps and what is required (what fits and what doesn't), interior restoration (including steering wheels!), that sort of thing. I appreciate it's not really technical, and it may well be that there's likely to be insufficient interest to warrant it's own sub-forum, but... Maybe 'Appearance' is expected to cover this? Just a suggestion.

A rule of thumb seems to be that if you replace something non-adjustable with something adjustable, then you need a cert.

I work maybe 10 minutes from where the auction will be held. Except on June 2nd, when I'll be in Wellington. I know it's a simulcast but I'd be prepared to bet I'll be in a meeting at the time! I hope they've wound the windows up otherwise it's going to have a small pool inside by now.