gjm

I need to get our E46 Touring sorted (aligned) too - it's showing some wear that can be attributed to incorrect camber. I was thinking of using Autolign in Hamilton (because I work there), but I think they can be found nationwide.

'tis pretty. A-L - I think it might just suit you more than me!

Thanks Alex. Great to meet you yesterday.

Looks sweet. Hmm... A few days to think about it.

My 320d has (had) two cats. One is in the downpipe, the second in the middle section of the exhaust. Had? It now has just one cat - the one in the downpipe has been removed and replaced with a straight-through piece of pipe. It's a bit of a faff to do as there are heat shields and suchlike in the way, but it does mean that a cursory visual inspection won't notice there's anything different. However, some exhaust systems have sensors and the like in them, reporting to ECUs. Removing a cat can cause the signals reaching the ECUs to cause them to function in ways you don't want, leading to more problems - nothing that can't be sorted, but it is something to be aware of. I don't know what facilities there are here in NZ, but in the UK companies that sell aftermarket exhaust systems will often be able to provide a re-flash of an ECU, or a piggyback, so that the car continues to run properly. I'd expect something similar to be possible here... Isn't there someone in East Tamaki who does stuff like this? It's worth a look. Removing the cat will change the note of the exhaust but it tends to be subtle. A good free-flowing cat won't affect performance, either. It's only when you have a 350,000km+ sooty and smokey diesel that has clogged the cat that removing it really brings benefits!

Call Mike at Sinco in Hamilton.

Ffffff....lippin' 'eck! Oh well. I write that one off my list of cars to have! I'll stick to looking for a E28 535i. They do exist. Even if the only one on TM lately has been chopped about to take a Lexus engine...

And (presumably) the grey one I saw in Huntly a few weeks ago.

Nice car, good condition, provenance, 'sensible' upgrades that can be undone again if desired... But, yes. $77k? Prices in Europe are definitely on the up. When I looked a few years ago (and was put off by the first 5 cars I saw having bodged repairs to that tricky inner wing area) you could pick up an E9 3.0 for well under GBP 10k. Now good ones start at GBP 20-25, and the best are advertised at over GBP 50k. If this one is as good as it is claimed to be (check that inner wing box section!) then maybe the price is about right, by Euro standards.

Happy Easter Brent. And everyone else, of course. This weekend I swap the wheels (again) and change the engine oil. Hopefully that'll not need anything to effect any repairs...

I wish. The diesels use a canister and insert arrangement; the petrol engines typically have a screw-on type. I've been looking for a decent older MB diesel for a while and there aren't so many about. Those that do have them, don't sell. And I know - MB diesels of that era don't tend to get a good rep. For shits and giggles, check out Black Smoke Racing...

Heresy! Not sure it's worth the asking, but they are nice cars. (Perhaps for those of us who are a 'little' older!)

Bump? Well, roll actually, but you know what I mean.

I'd love to take it on as a whole car. I even have space! Just a teensy bit short of what Brent would want in order to part with it, I suspect.

E30 and W201s are sufficiently different for comparisons to not really apply. The W201 was even a one shell design being only available in 4-door saloon guise (if we ignore the specialist aftermarket conversions). Take 4 adults and their luggage. Put them in an E30 and drive for 200km. Compare that experience with 4 adults in a W201... The only real similarity is that both cars, E30 and W201, were successfully used in DTM racing.

When I read about the 19" rims I was ready to think 'they're going to be too big'. But they look pretty good... Sweet.

Bolting BMW calipers on to a 914 is a common brake upgrade... Slightly tenuous, but I suppose it is a link!

Easter isn't over yet! There's a Hells in Pukekohe. That's about the closest. Good bunny. Tasty bunny... Speaking of which - anyone know a good , not-quite-so-seasonal, source of bunny for stews?

Bunny tastes good. Didn't know Hells did one. Must try.

Unfair. And, perhaps, deliberately inflammatory...? The M3 was developed especially for motorsport and as such represented a no-holds-barred, optimised for the track, approach, and then prepared for the road. The 190E came from the other direction - a road car that was developed for racing. I like the M3 too, but the MB deserves respect.

There were three engines built for the W201 with design and assistance by/from Cosworth - the WAA, WAB and WAC. The WAA was the 2.3-16 engine and featured design cues from the BDA including the bearing supports for the camshafts; it was originally designed for competition use (around 300hp), but later detuned for the road. The cylinder head work was pure Cosworth from design to casting, and the 2.3-16 engines were assembled at the Cosworth factory. The WAB was the 2.5-16 road engine, and the WAC was the short-stroke engine (a whole 8cc less displacement!) used in the Grp A racing W201 190E 2.5-16 Evo II. The WAC initially made 330bhp from a normally-aspirated 2490cc, and was later tuned to over 370hp (some sources say over 400). While Cosworth contributed to the design specifics (especially for the cylinder heads and fuel systems) for the WAB and WAC, all 2.5-16 engines were built by Mercedes. </mercedes geek>

I think I was passed by one on SH1 this evening. Which just goes to show that with a ~6km run up, a diesel 4x4 travelling at 105km/h is faster than any other car travelling at 100.

The 2.5s are quite a lot rarer than the 2.3-16s. It's a solid 200bhp engine, with a fair bit of tuning potential. Both the 2.3 and 2.5 engines were developed in conjunction with Cosworth. Frankly, those two look bloody expensive, but that may be my ex-UK perspective. Certainly they are significantly cheaper over there, especially once you take the over-pricing chancers out of the equation. The MBs are not typically as nimble as an M3, but that has typically been the case anyway. Stop thinking of MB and BMW as competitors (although they were/are) and view them more as being complimentary: MB was more comfortable while BMW was more sporting. For daily driving, commuting 50km+ each way, I would take an older MB over an older BMW. For more excitement and perhaps a detour via some backroads, the BMW would be better.

... at that price. There's a-ways to go yet.

It was certainly very similar... Couldn't say if it was that one, of course.