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Everything posted by gjm
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A friend back in the UK has (had?) a LS7 in an MX-5. He reckoned that if he was going to use an LSx, he may as well do the job properly. I often wondered why there aren't more multi-rotor MX-5s about. Seems (to me, in my ignorance about the RX-7 and so on) a natural conversion.
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Traction Control... So long as it's working 90% of the time it'd be OK.
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Aside from some of the monster engines fitted into cars that really weren't practical - The Beast and it's 27 litre Merlin lump, Charlie Broomfield's Rover SD1 with a similar engine from a tank (Meteor), those other aircraft engine swaps - what would be an ultimate swap? I present exhibit 1: a Honda S2000. Not your first choice perhaps for an engine swap. Nice little car, speedy revvy little 2 litre engine, nicely balanced, handles well... What would you swap in there? A Skyline motor, perhaps? A 4-litre Lexus lump? Nah. How about an 8.3 litre V10? It's for sale on Craigslist in the US for $27k. Lots for an S2000 maybe, but you're unlikely to find another like this. Kinda brings to mind that twin-turbo E30 V12, doesn't it?
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Dunno about that specifically, but make it a bookable offence to drive in the outside lane at 90 when there's nothing in the left lane. Enforce those 'Keep left unless passing' instructions.
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It's on a few roads. Waikato Expressway is one that has been mentioned.
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Very, very common. The people working in these places get paid peanuts, and eventually the temptation of a bit of fun obviously gets too much. A fried had his mint condition Porsche 928SE written off by Heathrow Valet Parking. He had an almighty battle getting them to pay up, too. Only tip I can come up with - take a car you don't like to drive to the airport. Or hire a car instead.
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I opted for a Dexron VI in the E46, and in our Merc, using this. Overkill for the Merc, and Dexron III May be suitable for your E36.
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I was coming to the conclusion that for family comfortable motoring, there is little to choose (other than rear legroom). It just seems odd that the 5-series seems so much more popular. The E38 728i isn't a bad car, and on a run is actually quite economical. Good ones are more pricey - a E32 735i goes for $5-6k, an E38 728i is about 50% more - but that could simply be due to them being newer. Or just that I've not seen enough examples to get accurate figures. There's a 728iM (quoted as an M, but I thought those models had different seats) for sale in Hamilton for $9k, but it's been on TradeMe for 3.5 months. Working on the V8 was the only real concern I had about them.
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Same engine, different size car. Assuming predominantly highway driving, and not looking for overly sporty handling, is there all that much to choose between the two? The 5-series seems to be the much more popular car... I've debated (with myself) the I6 vs V8 argument, but keep coming down on the side of the 6-cylinder engine. I really quite like the E38 too (just call me Transporter) but they seem to be a fairly rare beast over here. Just thinking out loud at the moment.
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All I can say with confidence is that it'll be better than going from Manukau to Auckland. If you're going to be there before 07.30, it'll probably be OK.
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I knew there was something different, but (without having checked) thought the sedan and touring bars were the same, but the coupe one was different. I'll keep looking for a touring bar, or modify/design/make one from the E36 one I have here.
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I found the TM guy when looking for a 'bar for our Touring. I thought they were the same (sedan and touring) but he assures me that's not the case. Whatever. Didn't seem too fussed about selling the 'bar on it's own when I'd asked.
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http://www.trademe.co.nz/motors/car-parts-accessories/bmw/gear-boxes/auction-774881770.htm I've no connection to the trader.
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Got tied up with doing a whole load of stuff over the weekend and missed this. :-( Did see some nice-looking cars on trailers heading south at one point, though.
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Tried that, although I have so far only lifted one side at a time. Time to get the whole front in the air.
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No pulling that I recall, just the steering wheel juddering: juddering probably describes the feeling better than vibrating. It does it above about 70km/h, does it for a few minutes, then stops. All fine before and after. Disconcerting. And very puzzling. And I want to fix it!
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I'll recheck the tyres, but I agree - I'd expect something more consistent if that was the issue.
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Actually, very, very intermittent. A few weeks ago we were driving (quite gently) when the steering began to vibrate quite badly. It was a sudden onset - no deterioration or similar. Just a sudden significant vibration, bad enough that it felt almost like th front of the car was shaking. Slowing to around 50km/h meant the vibration appeared to go away. Above that it came on, and while the severity doesn't vary significantly with speed, it is bad enough that I wouldn't try to 'drive through it'. We stopped, I got out and checked wheel nuts (a similar previous experience, years ago, could be traced to a loose wheel) lifted and spun tyres, shook the wheels... No obvious issue. Back on the road, problem persisted and then... It was gone. Completely. Back to normal smooth as silk driving. I assumed I'd picked up a stone or something and while I did think about it, didn't worry unduly. ... Several thousand kms later... ... Yesterday, it happened again. It is quite a violent vibration. The steering wheel visibly moves, and you can feel it through the seats. Reduce speed, drive gently... And it was gone a few minutes later. OK - note to self: this needs more investigation. Write off next weekend. But this morning it happened again. (So the investigation is more urgent!) However, it has been impossible, so far, to replicate the issue. It 'just happens', then 'just stops'. If it happens again, we're going to try the IT 'reboot it' solution - stop, switch off car, remove key from ignition, restart car - just to check that doesn't resolve the problem. Thoughts so far: a misshapen tyre (although I'd expect a much more persistent issue if that was the case), CBA bushings (again, I wouldn't expect the vibration to seemingly turn on and off, and these were done a couple of years ago), or sticking brake caliper (most reasonable and likely-seeming candidate at the moment). Any thoughts? Recommendations for somewhere that will do caliper refurb?
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$8250 sounds (to me) like a lot if it's not in at leat good condition. Give Bellars a call. See what they have to say - looks like they've seen it fairly recently.
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Someone in Wellington region to do Valve Stem Oil seals on E31
gjm replied to Kodachrome's topic in General Discussion
I don't know if this is Jon's sort of thing, but JKSE in Newtown have a very good reputation. -
SnapOn and BluePoint are pretty much the same thing, but with a significant price difference. Heard good things about Koken, but haven't used any. Stahlwille spanners are the absolute business (imho), but you may need to buy in from Germany to get decent prices. They are typically slimmer than most, but so well made they are less likely to cause problems. I have a couple of sets of 'Halfords Professional' spanners which are really nice to use. Very similar to early Kamasa kit. (Halfords are like a UK version of Repco.)
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I was going to ask the same! Seriously - I'm interested.
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And here we see why I posted what I did in #15. It's not just NZ. It's a confusion of indetermination world wide. In some countries the terms 'lane splitting' and 'filtering' are used interchangeably, but in some they mean different things. (I don't know if that's the case in NZ.) In some countries one law applies to motorcycles, and another to pedal cycles. I think it is the differentiation between passing a vehicle while remaining within the same marked lane, or moving out of the lane and into an adjacent one, but I don't know which of these would be deemed inappropriate or dangerous. The question of stationery or moving traffic also plays a part, and then there is the question of what constitutes 'slow moving' traffic, or traffic moving slowly enough for lane splitting (or filtering) to be legally permissible. (Note: I didn't say safe!) I'll research it properly sometime. Perhaps NZ law does make it explicitly clear and I've just not read the right bit, yet. Given the inability of so many road users to read and obey a sign stating 'Keep left unless passing', there must be a case for ensuring any rules for road use are as clear as possible. As a motorcyclist I ride as safely as possible, and treat every other road user as though they are out to kill me. I give them as much space as I possibly can, using the full width of the carriageway if necessary. After all - it makes no difference whatsoever if I'm right or wrong in the event of an accident: I'm always going to come off worst.
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... And then there is a seemingly different set of laws that apply to motorcyclists. I've not quite got to the bottom of what is legal, illegal, allowed, frowned on, or what you can get away with when on a bike without attracting unwanted attention. I believe it to be legal to pass a vehicle on the left, using the left lane on a multi-lane highway. Given the number of people indiscriminately using the right hand lane at 85km/h, this is perhaps just as well. (And not all of them respond to flashed headlights...) It comes back to the same discussion that's been had here and elsewhere. Better driver education is needed.
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The right hand lane thing confounds me. Many roads have signs explicitly saying to keep left, but still there are a huge number of drivers who this obviously doesn't apply to.