Matth5

Try the dealer, BM Workshop, or Brent/BMWorld.

Yeah I would think that compromises rust protection, I wouldn't be too pleased, you're paying good money for those!

At the very least, they could do a partial refund so you can get that fixed up. Would probably be easier than dealing with returns (assuming you bought from overseas). 

Either of the BM Workshop branches will be a good choice to get it done. Just ask them first if they're ok with you supplying the shocks. The Botany branch was always pretty flexible around this sort of thing in my experience.

You'll likely see an improvement even if just from the fact they're new shocks. Your stock ones might be quite worn depending on mileage and the kind of roads that mileage was racked up on. Ride quality does degrade on worn shocks.

1 hour ago, KwS said:

Its no real surprise that the N team is led by the former BMW M boss.

But it does make their 'N' naming pretty funny. 

Pity they couldn't go full-M with the Supra/Z4. I guess it would upstage the Supra and maybe break an agreement with Toyota. A modern Z4M coupe with the current M3/4 drivetrain would be awesome. 

It's interesting to hear about the handling difference vs the M3. I imagined these would be more nimble and tossable but it sounds like it's fairly different. I think they look really cool, more unique than the M3 for sure. 

20 years... dude should have done in NZ. After a few months of home detention he'd get to enjoy his nice new BMW.

Hate to say it but I saw them in person this week... and... yeah they actually are much nicer to look at in the flesh. There's a "nardo grey" M3 at the Christchurch dealer and my first impression on seeing it is that it looks badass.

I hated them in photos.

I sat in the carbon seats. I love them. You do have to climb in and out of them though due to the bolster. Impressive that they even still have the inflatable side bolsters like the regular sport seats. I want those seats in my M4.

From a quick Google, the S55 is 18psi, or 20 in the Competition spec.

Although I'm not sure PSI really tells the whole story, I think a larger turbo and piping would push more air with less PSI (don't shoot me if I'm botching the physics here). 18PSI from the stage 2+ tune in my N55 335i didn't give quite the same thrust as my stock M4, I doubt that was cracking the 400hp mark.

1 hour ago, Gaz said:

I never understood why people wanted carplay/android, always thought and still do think native idrive is better

I never find myself using iDrive for navigation.

Easier to use my phone than stuff around using a scroll wheel to type an address into outdated mapping software (because I didn't pay for the updates), that is also not connected to the internet to take traffic and road closures ect into account. And there's the excellent voice control on Android. "Hey google, navigate me to the nearest Countdown", and it'll even tell me if the Countdown is closing soon or closed... iDrive can't touch that.

And of course I can't get the latest and greatest iDrive software and features from BMW without buying a whole new car, meanwhile Google Maps is up to date even if I had a 5 year old shitty Android phone.

Occasionally I just use it to have the map visible as it's handy to have a quick reference on where I am.

I do have a Chinese Android Auto integration kit I bought months ago but the installation looks like such a pain I have yet to bother, not sure I want to take the dash apart. Using the phone on an air-vent magnet mount works well enough...

Reviews are very positive on the handling. It seems the extra weight has really been hidden by some magic chassis and suspension work... he's not the only reviewer to remark that it felt like an AWD at first due to the traction. I guess at a certain point, weight helps the tyres grip the road.

Still not sure I can accept that face, and the lack of DCT. Even though the ZF8 sounds like an excellent transmission, the DCT just has that extra fun factor IMO...

Never heard of them but that does look pretty handy if I'm ever after something that I can't find in NZ... would be interesting to hear if they're any good. 

Small chance the ethanol might have drawn in some water, but I'm not sure that's a significant issue with 10% ethanol (likely less by the sounds of it). 

I only did the front, I did get the TRW front kit from FCP I think. The rear M3 control arms are marginally less stiff than stock actually. It saves some weight though and I imagine they're more durable, but I'd only get them if I was replacing worn parts.

You can throw a lot of money into this but I think the benefits get smaller the further you go

This is the rear upper shock mount you want, not that foam crap:
https://www.fcpeuro.com/products/bmw-shock-mounting-kit-monroe-907984

It has both the upper and lower portion (33506771737 and 33506771738)

The OEM one is so soft you can squeeze it in your hands, almost like a sponge.

My 335i had these, KW V2s, solid subframe bushings, M3 front arms, and a solid brace that bolted the diff to the subframe (like this: https://burgertuning.com/products/bms-differential-support-bracket-brace-for-e82-135i-and-e9x-335i)

Still rode nicely, no harsher than the stock M4 I have now. Not suggesting you need to go all-out like that, it's overkill for most people.

23 minutes ago, 3pedals said:

Top mounts front and rear , lower mounts on the rear 

The OEM rear upper shock mounts are super soft foam (presumably to compensate for runflat tyres). There's a cheap rubber bushing by Munroe that makes for a nice upgrade, FCPeuro should have them.

"2 x phones with built in scramblers to guarantee privacy"

Umm what

18 hours ago, balancerider said:

Spec is a bit 💩 on the black one - halogen lights on a 43k GBP car can piss off.

They still did halogens in 2015? LOL on a premium brand like BMW no less, that's shameful.

Just did a quick Google and they still do halogens on a few models now... damn, as if LED hasn't been around for years now?!

Skids and drag races are all those insanely powerful builds are good for most of the time, just toys to show off with, no real usability and no good on a track. 

Edit: Removed. Too much controversy, I'll stay out of it from here 😁

14 minutes ago, M3AN said:

That would be frustrating. But I'm not sure that your analogy works...

In this case it would be like saying "imagine if you find a car you want on Trademe... it shows pictures of everything but the body and chassis rust. You only want it if it has... ???". What? Heaps of rust? Really good rust? Great condition rust?

The seller was clear here - it has roadworthy concerns, it has serious rust, you need to inspect in person, you can't drive it away... I'm not sure if s/he could have waved a bigger flag. 

"In this case it would be like saying "imagine if you find a car you want on Trademe... it shows pictures of everything but the body and chassis rust. You only want it if it has... ???". What? Heaps of rust? Really good rust? Great condition rust?"

Come on, you're just being silly with this statement, it's obvious what I meant. 

It would be incredibly frustrating to take a look underneath and see immediately that it's too severe for you to want to deal with, when a picture could have shown you that and saved you the travel time + expense. 

But whatever, I guess some people like making buying and selling stuff harder than it needs to be.

Imagine you find a car you want on TradeMe... it shows pictures of everything but the interior. You only want it if it has black leather interior or whatever your favourite colour is. It's on other side of the country.

The seller is refusing to show you pictures of the interior or tell you what colour it is unless you fly across the country to see it.

How bloody frustrating would that be 😂

On 2/21/2021 at 5:14 PM, M3AN said:

I spoke to my solicitor mate about this and he said the seller is doing the right thing by requesting personal inspections. If he provides photos and/or details that leads somebody to believe the vehicle could be roadworthy then he's in the poop, by forcing people to make their own judgements he's sufficiently arms-length from the decision that he can't be implicated.

Taking more pictures doesn't mean he can't still require inspections for bidders, it just helps people, especially those who might need to fly in from another town, decide if it's worth their time and expense to take a look.

To me it seems silly saying photos showing the rust would expose him to liability, but not the nice photos showing the exterior? 😄

I think he has his head up his ass.

On 2/20/2021 at 4:30 PM, Blackie said:

Said dealer is even offering a hoist for inspection. People who don't want to inspect, don't have to bid and shouldn't.

They have a hoist... that does make their refusal to provide photos even more baffling.

Whatever, if someone doesn't want to make an effort to sell something, that's their choice. It's just that you'd expect better from someone whose profession is selling cars...

People acting like asking for photos is such a terrible inconvenience for a car dealer... lol.

8 hours ago, Jacko said:

Sounds like it popped when doing skids...

 

What makes you think that?

The crappy looking single exhaust tip makes me think you're right though

Edit: Just re-read the listing, "Both back tyres need replacing", OK that was probably it haha.