Matth5

Those engines are the best balance of reliability and performance you can get in a modern BMW IMO. The engines below are only slower, and the turbo engines come with new issues. Only thing you'll miss compared to your 530i is space, mainly with the back seats. I've heard they are a bit tight in the back for adults. Definitely test drive to see how comfy you are in one, it'll probably just mean there's no legroom left behind you.

For anyone wondering what to expect, prices from Speedfactor work out pretty close to what you'd pay if you organised your own sea freight from the USA. Cheaper in some cases. So they're pretty good. If anyone else reading this is keen just email them direct and tell them Matthew from Auckland referred you. Think it's simpler for them that way. Qube, I haven't got the price on the 19s just yet. Will PM you when I've got it.

Speedfactor are based in Tauranga BTW. They'd need to ship from there. I imagine shipping from there isn't cheap. If any of you guys can arrange something, it might save us a bit.

PM'ed the quotes to SweetM3 and BatmansWilly. Let me know if you'd be in for those prices. Qube, assume you want two of each? He wasn't clear if there's a discount if we do as a group buy though, seemed to be regular quotes. They actually seem like good prices compared to importing them ourselves though.

Cool, I've asked Speedfactor to do up a quote on those as well. Let's see what we get.

If you guys are interested in turning it into a group buy sort of deal, let me know your desired wheel specs and I'll get some quotes? Speedfactor tell me they actually import about 50 wheels from Apex at a time, via sea freight. They sell heaps of them. So it might actually be quite economical to order from them. I'll hopefully get a quote for 1 set tomorrow. They don't usually sell the specs and colour I'm after so they need some time for the quote.

Hmm yes that's a idea. Speedfactor are doing up a quote for me, they'd need to order them in as they don't have what I want in stock. They might be able to get a better rate if they bring in a lot of stuff from the US. Maybe Speedfactor can also get a better deal if we both order. Do you know exactly what spec wheels you want? Also Apex just told me the box dimensions, this is for 18inch Arc-8 wheels: "The dimensions for the boxes are (x2) 21x21x23mm and weigh 50lbs. "

Hmm I suppose I'd better get myself a customs Client Code. Did a bit of reading and it's required for anything over $1k. Chasing up speedfactor.co.nz for a quote again, because they still haven't replied.

Thanks for the suggestion. I took an estimate of each wheel being in a 50x50x30cm box and roughly 15kg each. Youshop is $160 per wheel which is $640 (Edit: 9-14 day deliver cuts costs down to 120x4=$480) Kiwishipping is about the same for air, but sea freight estimates it at $222, which is much better. Apex says they can ship on a "pallet via freight" (I guess sea freight), but I have to order 2 sets of wheels. It'll be $748.11 Don't know why USA companies insist on using stupidly expensive shipping methods... Kiwishipping is looking like a good option so far.

Welcome. They sure are fun cars

I've been eyeing up the Arc-8 wheels for a while. They just look so good on the E92s, especially the concave profile ones. If anyone in Auckland has them in "Hyper Black" I'd love to see them, want to see what this colour looks like in person. Seems to have an almost pearlescent effect where it transitions from silver to black. I'll get that or silver. There's the local group that resells them, speedfactor.co.nz, I've emailed them for a quote but haven't heard back yet. The Apex website gives me a quote of $588.44 for shipping, which is half of what a set of wheels costs. I've asked if they have other shipping options. Currently have factory 19s (style 225). Want 18s (maybe even 17s) for the cheaper tyres, smoother ride could be a bonus. Apex guys gave me these recommendations for fitment, I'll likely go with the staggered option: Also, has anyone got advice on other ways I could get them shipped over here for a good price, if I order direct from Apex? Her's a link to a Google image search, if you want to see what these look like: https://www.google.co.nz/search?q=apex+arc+8+e92&espv=2&biw=1773&bih=1290&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwiE3I_t-__RAhUBs5QKHYtpC3kQ_AUIBigB My current style 225s:

Nah prices of tyres for 19s is killing me lol, I'm more likely to downsize and buy 18s. Just got a sidewall puncture in a tyre that cost $500 and still has 5mm tread, such a waste

Been keeping a regular eye on Trademe for nice wheels for a over a year, I quite like the 313s myself. I have never seen these come up. I think you'd have to resort to buying new or looking overseas.

The 330i is a great balance between reliability and power. No turbo so nothing much goes wrong with the engine and related components, but still plenty of power. Water pump will fail at some point, you'll probably catch it well in time if you check your coolant level occasionally, as they tend to leak before the more serious issues start (that's been my experience with my E46 328i and my E92 335i). They're pretty reliable but be prepared for $1 - $2k service and repair bills when things break.

You'd think so... but BMWorkshop could never pick up the HPFP shadow code that I could see in MHD. Only showed on their software after my car stumbled and went into limp mode... Which reminds me, I need to check up with them if they have the HPFP for me

I think MHD will read codes for you even if you haven't purchased it. If you have a phone and cable, lets see what comes up? Would offer to lend you my cable, but I'm in Auckland... Better than a generic code reader as it'll pick up everything. Were they able to actually test the waste-gate solenoids? I don't think they're easy to test. I just swapped mine when the shop failed to find a boost leak and it did the trick. Busting the old one open, I found the plastic membrane attached to the metal actuator had a small rip. Seems like a weak design to me, definitely a part that won't last. I hope the current revisions are better. If you know someone with an N54 and no boost issues, and they're willing, you could try temporarily trading the solenoids with their's. They're not terribly hard to swap.

Haha, I wasn't sure if it was that or you just thought it was a weird mod

Exhaust tips, the end bits of the exhaust. Some people get the stock ones chopped off and replaced with bigger ones. He hasn't got any good pics of them though, first pic has the stock tips. Can see them but not well in others. Did the same to mine but generic Ebay tips, not Magnaflow. Can't say I used the badge as a reference point though... Those VMR wheels would have cost him a few grand, you need to import them from the US, have had my eyes on some before but I doubt I'd recoup much of the cost selling my stock rims.

335i's with N55 and DCT do pop up frequently, so if that's what you're after you can get one with a bit of patience. Only the coupe/convertible had the DCT option, not sedan (unlike the M3). I have one, it's great fun

CIC iDrive (with the hard drive) started rolling out in 2008 models I think, so KPS should have it. My 2010 E92 does.

Also have a vague memory of driving past it while it was parked on the roadside with someone taking photos, lol. Could have been someone else. Car shows 11.6l/100km but not sure how accurate that is, only time I made any effort to be economical was when heading back from Cape Reinga with low fuel. The stretch to Cape Reinga could have easily been 20l/100km... Anyone in the North Island who loves driving, needs to drive that road. It's a dream.

According to the E90 manual you guys are wrong, you can use this to copy music to the iDrive hard drive... This is different to the USB audio interface under the armrest (which is an option, not all have it). Attached the manual for reference. 2011-BMW-335i-Owners-Manual-Coupe.pdf

Were you at Cape Reinga on the 28th? Pretty sure I saw your car parked there... Man the drive up that road was fun. I had to take it easy on the way back though, used up too much petrol

So after about 1000km on my trip up north... this combo is working great. Did the bedding procedure on the road towards Cape Reinga I was more aggressive than EBC recommends, braking hard. First I did 5 hard braking runs from 100kph, then drove gently for 5 mins, then did 6 hard braking runs. Even on the 6th run there wasn't even a hint of fade. Drove hard on the roads up north, not much traffic up there and the cops were all focused south of Whangerei it seems. Braking from well above legal speeds was fine. Nice sharp yet linear response, easy to reach the ABS threshold. Perfectly smooth with no noise or vibration under braking so far.

One member had a Wavetrac installed at BM Workshop Botany, here's his build thread: I'd put an LSD quite far down the modding list. The e-diff does quite well unless maybe you track it or have much more power than stock. Got the back-end out several times in mine, seems very controllable with the e-diff. Although I was in DTC mode, I'm not brave enough to turn DSC off fully on the street...