gjm

I was going to ask the same! Seriously - I'm interested.

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.

... 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.

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.

I like it!

Kyu - you appear to be trying to help resolve the issue. This is good. He doesn't appear to be being helpful. Be aware that some people, despite not being 'i phone technician' are not beyond swapping components and claiming something received is faulty. Do you have detail of the IMEI number? It may become relevant. I had exactly this with a Dell laptop - the buyer swapped the motherboard and claimed receipt of a faulty device. Fortunately I had lots of specific tech info and photographs...

I've heard some people say that... I used them and haven't had any issues. Good tyre. 452s are directional, not that that should cause any additional noise issues.

Koni Sport yellow for the Merc - $576 for a set of four. (Plus gst, duty, customs, shipping...) Does that price include local (US) sales tax? I have some serious head scratching to do. I'd need springs too, and had been considering a Yellow Speed Racing set up. Need to check that the ones I'd looked at are comparable to Koni yellows.

Combined is quoted as 37mpg (in the UK) = 7.63 litres per 100km.

Has exactly the same (quoted) economy as the Polo 1.6 auto we have here. Hmm.

Yup. Still seems odd... OK, they don't fit. Surprising perhaps, but not impossible. The buyer would like to recoup his outlay. Fair enough. So list them back on here at the 'good' price with an explanation. Don't list them on TM for a significant profit - that's not playing the game nicely. Julian - you're being very nice about this. I think the rest of us are annoyed on your behalf.

I had a really good look for the ISV at the weekend. I think it is under the inlet manifold, making it a nightmare to get to from above or below. I've got as far as possibly being able to touch it - I don't really want to remove the inlet manifold. I took the plastic cover off the side of the throttle body too: _ There is no sign of any method of adjusting idle, base or otherwise, on this TB. I think there is a motor in the side of the throttle body which is designed to rotate the large beige cog to open the throttle at idle or when cold. The first picture shows a connector (secured by two torx screws) above the throat: this takes a moulded 4 (or 6) pin plug, and I'd expect receives an input from the ISV via an ECU. There's no easy way to disassemble the gearing on the side of the TB as the silver cam-shaped piece on the top is peened to the shaft. Still runs well when I put it back together, so I've not broken anything irrepairably (yet). So that's as far as I've got with the tickover issue. The hesitation while driving... Could this be due to a vacuum building up in the fuel tank? I need to pay more attention when driving to see if that's the case. Full tank/half tank, and so on. It certainly only seems to happen after driving for a while, which (I'm guessing) may have allowed a vacuum to build up.

The newer cars (like our E46) have it beaten for power and torque, but that's the benefit of 10 years' development including hybrid turbos and more advanced ECUs. The E34 525tds has an 80 litre tank, the E46 holds 64 litres.

Something like this, or a Mercedes 300TD. I'm quite patient, really.

How very dare they?! No worries. Thanks so much for offering to take a look.

Aww... There was a question on the listing offering $1750. It could be that the asker turned up with cash in his/her pocket.

The figures in the spreadsheet can be changed - both for economy and fuel cost. The biggest issue to consider or be aware of, without going into calculations, is that more km per litre is fine, but for a diesel there's also an increase in RUC cost per litre. An extra km per litre costs another $0.058. Nearly 6c. Modern petrol-engined cars can be significantly more economical than their predecessors, potentially making them competitive in terms of fuel economy. However, modern economical petrol-engined cars will cost significantly more to buy, and suffer far greater depreciation than an older at least as economical, diesel. They may also be more expensive in terms of maintenance and/or parts. Obviously an older high mileage car will have incurred more wear and hence a likelihood of running cost expense. Swings and roundabouts.

Ta.

In the interests of fair play - if Clinton is keen, he should have it. $1750 should cover the buy. He's on the scene, I'm not. However... And assuming you've spoken to the other two (or three!?) people involved, please take a good, long look. Regardless of what happens, I'll cover any expenses. Including a beer afterwards to discuss how that silly person from north of Hamilton could be interested in a car in Dunedin...

It's true, The P38 + M51 + uphill + full throttle = ... nothing. Or, at least, very little. I think Top Gear made a big deal of this. Fortunately I'll be happy if it holds 100km/h up Bombay hills with a several km run up. :-)

The engine in the 525tds, the M51D25 OL, makes a maximum of 141hp and 280Nm. The M47TUD20 makes 150hp and 330Nm. Both will easily tune, with provisos. The M51 cylinder head needs special attention to keep it cool or it cracks, but it's generally good for ~250hp before reliability and economy start to suffer too much. They'll go to 400hp (big turbo, injectors, huge intercooler), but the economy is then down to the same as a stock petrol 2.5 and the head may not be happy for long. Still, not too shabby. The M47 goes to 200hp with a pipe and remap. Add a hybrid turbo and you can have 250. Apparently 300hp (from a 2-litre diesel!) is possible with suitable hybrid turbo, intercooler, injectors, pump(s), pipe and custom remap. The problem (for me) is price. And availability. The 525td is comparatively common - later, 5-series Tourings with a decent diesel engine just don't come up for sale at a price I can consider at the moment. So the 525td is (relatively) a slug, but it'll run forever if looked after, and tow pretty well. It just takes a little longer to get up to the maximum NZ-usable speed of 100km/h.

I like that too, and often it's enough. This time, it's different and therefore cool, but also practical, economical, and has the opportunity to provide fun. What more could anyone ask for?

Ooh! <ahem> Pretty please... Does anyone feel inclined to take a look? From what I can see the paintwork has seen better days, but the seller has taken some time at least to see what what need doing. The question has to be whether or not he's seen or commented on everything... It has no WoF or rego so I'm either going to be indebted to someone down south for a long time, or I'll be into shipping to get it back this way.

Aye... Whether it is this one, or another, there is a diesel estate (wagon) in our future. The perfect car is a 530d M, but they are few and far between. And besides, I prefer the older cars. The advertiser of this one makes a good point (imho) on the benefits of simplicity. A Mercedes W124 300D would suit well too, but there seem even less of these around. Or at least, fewer for sale. Who do we know in Dunedin?

Yup. Over less than certainly 12000km, possibly more, I'd stick to petrol. But for now, it's 50km each way for work, and that could become 60km (each way) before long. Less than I was doing, but still definitely oil-burning economy territory.