gjm

That's another part of the problem. There is no public transport outside Hamilton.

Popped down to Huntly earlier to do a spot of shopping. On the way back, a Nissan Lafesta which had been stopped on the hard shoulder pulled out and accelerated, indicated right and moved in to the right hand lane. I thought it was going to do a u-turn, but no... It continued in the right hand lane at about 85km/h. That was it. nothing had been in front of this car, there was nothing to overtake. Sadly this exemplifies the state of driving that many of us see so often. To most of us it is incomprehensible - what are these people thinking?

Speeding, mate... It's all about the speed. Or so we are continually told. Of course, placing wire strand barriers on either side of the highway, reducing available space for vehicles who have stopped for any reason to get away from the carriageway, won't be a factor. Even the police are up in arms about this - when they are pulling speeding motorists, they now place themselves, the person they are stopping, and other road users at increased risk. Some f%&#wit at a council obviously thought this was a good idea. Poor driving standards (which aren't addressed in any way whatsoever) remain the biggest issue on NZ roads. That's too hard though, so let's go after people who are speeding instead.

Shamelessly copied from Sniff Petrol (18th April 2018) Modified Munich missile sure to herald helmsmith hard-on BMW has announced details of its new M2 Competition which the company says has been “fully optimised” for its target audience, which is car journalists who will never buy one. “Every detail of this car has been fully considered,” explained head of M Division, Headov M. Divizhun. “Starting with the way the car looks in a massive line-up of the same model in the same colour at a launch venue on a race circuit in Spain when you’ve just flown in to a nearby airfield aboard a private jet.” “Our stylists also considered every detail such as the new front intakes, the blacked-in grille trim and the new door mirrors,” Divizhun continued. “And specifically how they would look in photographs when the car is on full opposite lock on a rented race track and used as the opening image in a first drive story.” Naturally, the new M2 Competition is more than just a styling exercise and boasts an uprated, 404 horsepower version of the twin-turbo straight six, shared with the M3 and M4, and sure to appeal to people who will spend 36 hours dicking around with it on a circuit someone else has paid for because they could never afford it, or the car. “Thanks to new spring and damper settings and recalibrated stability control the car is now capable of more extreme drift angles and other things that would get a normal person thrown off a track day,” Divizhun explained. “Unless of course you are a journalist on, for example, a race track that has been hired by, for sake of argument, BMW for, let’s say, the launch of the new BMW M2 Competition.” “This car with developed with a complete focus,” Divizhun concluded. “And that focus was on people who will write rave reviews about based on its ability to oversteer wildly and make them look heroic in photos without bothering to think about boring stuff like ride quality or running costs.” The M2 Competition will be available in the summer for car journalists to rag about for two days with a massive bonk on and then not buy one.

Nothing. I have spent a lot of time getting tools out of the garage, and putting them away again. Bloody weather!

OK... Sorta sorted the fuel hose connections. Not just the oetiker clamps, but also two sizes of jubilee clips, and some one-way screwdriver clips that may have an oval-shaped head. Hard to tell. They're all the bloody same now, though. So much ridiculous faffing around for two things connected by a short piece of hose.

Got the WoF...

F1 - Chinese GP "Sebastian Vettel has questioned the timing of the Formula 1 safety car period that compromised his race in China." Is this the same guy who had no hope of winning in Melbourne until a very lucky safety car period allowed him to pit and leap-frog Hamilton into the lead? Live by the sword. Die by the sword. Suck it up, buttercup.

OCD may not be the *last* word in everything car prep related, but they're very good, and their affiliate company - United Car Care - sells much of what they use. There *are* other products out there but the ones OCD use have been proven to work.

This is on the fuel filter. Metal fittings. I suspect that with the right tools and a bit of practice, the clips are actually easier to use. Without the correct (expensive? Don't know) tool, it's a completely different matter.

I was going to just use jubilee clips?

Thanks Glenn. Unfortunately the angle of access to this is wrong for side-cutters - I can't actually get the blades around the head. I may end up removing more than I want or even need to just to get the job done.

Hmm... Maybe a Dremel. Never get an angle grinder in to where these ones are.

Anyone got any useful tips on how to remove these little blighters? I assume there is a special tool that only BMW dealers and specialists have, but in the absence of that...?

Not this time. My tracking showed UK departure, NZ arrival, and H e l d f o r c u s t o m s... . . . . . . For 8 days.

Most of the trauma has come at the hands of an inept and slow customs "service" who sat on my parcel for 8 days, yet did absolutely nothing with it! YouShop hardly covered themselves in glory, but using MyUS for stuff bought in the UK would have presented its own challenges! (I know - don't shop in Europe...)

Yesterday it was the c-clips used to secure bundles of wires. One every 6 inches or so it seems... Great fun when they're on the firewall: slot head screw on the inside of the vehicle in the top of the footwell of the bulkhead, and a nut in the engine bay!