gjm

That puts us meeting somewhere between Paraparaumu and Wellington! OK... So that's not so practical. Is there anyone you know of down that way you could run the same test with? I keep wondering if I should get some sort of OBD testing kit... It's one of those things you don't need often, but when you do need it, it is the only thing that will do.

Where are you based? You're welcome to do a comparative test on my car if that helps? (Might put my mind at rest, too. )

It could be so... Above 3000rpm the engine makes enough noise that I can't hear it any more! It could well be that as a result of this thread, I was listening more carefully today. It's not an ear-splitting sound, but it is definitely there. Almost a friendly little whistle, really. Checking the turbo, hoses and cleaning the i/c won't hurt.

To be fair, the offset is the thing I was holding out for. Although if the arches on an E36 need to be rolled in order for them to fit, I doubt they'll fit on to an E46.

I know.

Just drove my car down the drive. For the first time, I notice it is whistling, too. Funny how that happens when you've been discussing a similar problem with someone else's car. I'd best move the turbo check work up my list of priorities.

The stopping distance is not one easy to work out. 100-0 in a 740i is around 50m, as tested by magazines and depending on model year. (Don't know if this included driver reaction time.) 200-0 is not going to be twice as far; it'll be a lot further. How much further, I don't know and can't be bothered to calculate. Stop within visible distance is a good rule, imo. However, the comments made by the Judge(s) regarding this, in this context, are likely arbitrary and unproven, given by someone probably unqualified to even estimate what is possible and what is not in those circumstances. My comments aren't around whether or not the driver should have been punished, only that the reasons given are inappropriate. Simply saying "you were driving at nearly twice the posted legal limit" would have been sufficient; anything more sounds like moral indignation and self-justification.

Red E30 318iS with gold (BBS?) rims parked in Papakura. Looked sweet.

Yup. Sounds to me like you have a leak.

Sucking oil and detritus through the turbo won't do it any good, but unless that has caused turbo seals to fail, I don't think it would cause the whistling you are hearing. Does the note or pitch of the whistling vary with engine speed and/or throttle position?

The presentation of speeds here still makes me smile. Several times I have seen the shock and outrage headlines citing speeds of "up to 130km/h". In the UK, on a clear dual carriageway, you'll probaby not even raise the eyelids of PC Traffic Cop at anything under 85mph, and on a clear motorway it would be entirely dependent on their mood as to whether they came looking for you at 90mph. (130km/h is around 80mph, a very normal cruising speed on UK motorways despite the limit being 70mph.) OK, so this event involves a higher speed (but doesn't mention how that speed was recorded). Spped doesn't kill, provided it is safely and appropriately applied. Whether the 7-series driver in question was driving in a situation that meant he was being unsafe, I can't say - I don't know the road, or the area. He cites in defence that there was no other traffic around, yet the prosecution continues to say he was a danger to the public. Judge Venning seems to contradict himself: "According to the appeal decision released by Justice Geoffrey Venning, he accepted that while there was no other traffic near Fleming's car..." Then: "Justice Venning found that if Fleming had at any point lost control of his car, it would have been dangerous to the public." OK. In the event of an accident, the damage caused and the eventual positioning of the vehicle may have presented a danger to other traffic coming along behind. But if I crash at 75km/h on SH1 around J427, it's more than likely to cause a similar problem. Sure, the driver was breaking the law. But it seems rhetoric and drama have been used to justify the fine and licence suspension, rather than law.

Check the hoses. Unless they've been changed they are at best 7 years old , and do perish. Removing and refitting the i/c may have been enough to expose this.

Is retrofitting clear lenses, but with orange indicator bulbs also OK? Personally, I don't like the full clear lens look at the back of a car, but keeping it to red and white can look tidy. I know some countries insist on amber lenses, but don't know the rules here.

To some extent, it depends on the alternator output. I ran 4x150W KC Daylighters on a Land Rover without problem, but that had a big alternator and significantly more (potential) output than standard. (The whole vehicle had been rewired, too.)

No clutch to worry about, of course, but my left leg is uncomfortably bent when the sole of my foot is on the foot rest. I can almost get comfortable by messing with the seat height and rake, but maybe I just have long legs? It was enough to turn my head at mention of a 530d Touring M-Sport...

To be honest, I was thinking of between 5 and 6000km between engine oil changes. Mahle, or Mann-Hummel oil filter? Diesels can run for a long, long time. The swirl flaps on the engine in my car was an Achilles heel, but I don't think mine has them (any more). I also suspect that the flaps were removed but the tracts not blocked... We'll get to that eventually. Maintenance stuff, like the lower rear bushes on the front wishbones, will be done with a view to longevity, so I'll use polybushes or similar. Stuff like this really is made so much easier by having people like Brent around - I can pick up 'old' arms from him, replace the bushes, and swap the arms on to my car. The rear diff bush is starting to crack, so I'l look at that in due course. Also need to consider the diff itself - it's had a hard life and is making some smooth noise. There will be changes and updates done as time goes by. The suspension sits a little lower on the drivers side - perhaps as a result of a heavier driver having done a lot of the miles. I've long had a 'thing' for Konis and Eibach springs but as this isn't a serious issue, I'll just keep my eyes and ears open for something suitable. Wheels are the same. I've sorted a temporary solution in the form of a second set of Style 45s but with much better tyres. They'll do for now. You'll have gathered that maintaining comfort is a key consideration, but handling can be improved by uprating the sway bars. Brent and I talked briefly about this today. Basically though, just a rolling program of keeping things 'good'. If nothing too serious has happened under the 'standard' maintenance regime, this one could run and run. The accumulation of mileage will drop off sometime next year as we plan to move a bit further south. Find a nice piece of land, a nice house, and a big garage barn. The only real problem at the moment is legroom. For me, in the front. I'm not especially tall at 6'1", but I cannot get the seat back far enough to be properly comfortable. Anyone else found this? Incidentally, Mrs M took rather a shine to a white E24 down at Brent's today. I used to have a gumetal M635CSi highline - cracking car. I now know a bit more about looking after them than I did then, so maybe...

It would have been an expensive car when new... The running costs don't change so much. I'd anticipated there'd be a lot of things to sort, possibly more than I have needed to do, but I didn't pay much for it and so long as it keeps running, I'm happy that all-in it is a very good deal. The money has been spent on servicing stuff, as while the original BMW ethos has been followed, I don't agree with it. Servicing a diesel needs to be done more often than every 13000 miles, and diffs and gearboxes aren't sealed for life! I'll add up the costs in due course. Just spent some more, today, with a very nice man in Papakura - I have some better discs and pads for the back of the car now. I think Brent was a little surprised at just how low the pads were! LOL.

I used BBS rims on my Porsche 928S2. 8" front, 9.5" rear... RS016s, if memory serves correctly. I'm not sure i it was this company or another that I used for a spare lip (kerbed, split and so on) and gaskets but I also bought a set titanium bolts when I split the rims for refurbishing. No more rusting or corrosion problems.

Sweet. Mrs M's VW Polo 1.6 wasn't a whole lot less than that.

They were $1500. I keep thinking about them, but do I really want 18s for a commute? Probably not. I know where there are some 17" Alpinas, but they need some tidying. Those 18s look pretty good.

Saw a white 7-series (I think - it was just a glance) being driven in a <ahem> 'spirited' fashion from Walters Road along Tironui Road at around 7,20ish this evening...

Looks as though the powers that be have the kms/miles thing covered now. I did breathe a sigh of relief. Car is back from Marshalls. Pre fluid change it drove OK, with just a little occasional rev flaring - sometimes when accelerating the revs would rise, and then the car would 'catch up' - not significant, and not particularly bad, but something that suggested the fluid needed changing. (Really? After 360000km who woulda thunk it?) There was no noticeable notchiness in changes up or down... Generally pretty good. But the fluid looked like dishwater after you've cleaned your barbie in the sink. (You do clean your barbie, don't you?) OK... That's a slight exaggeration, as while it had the consistency of water and was black, there were no particles or foreign matter in it. At all. Post-change and perhaps changes are that little bit slicker than they were. Accelerating from standstill is a little quicker. But that's about the limit of the difference. Of course it was worth doing, and an excellent idea... Good for another 10 years! (OK, maybe not 10 years, but y'know what I mean. ) So, next... Rear brakes discs and pads. The discs are well-worn, and I'm pretty sure the pads are the same. I'll give Brent a call.

That thing is wicked. http://cars.mclaren.com/m6gt.html

That's definitely cool.

The fact it was able to be shared, and you didn't need it all to yourself? Selling cars. I'm terrible at it. I don't think I have ever bought a car simply because I needed transport - pretty much every purchase has been a long-winded and considered one. This means I develop an attachment for my cars, and when I have no space left, tend to find somewhere else to keep them rather than sell. And when I do finally get a grip on reality, I tend to be brutally honest about what I'm selling. None of this 'excellent [or perfect] for year' rubbish; excellent and perfect are (in my opinion) absolutes. It either is, or it isn't. Age has nothing to do with it. And then I detail what I have done, which sometimes raises questions. Why did you have to do so much to it? If you've done all this, why are you selling? And I detail all the little things that are wrong, too. It's probably a subconscious effort to make sure no-one buys it!