Olaf

John, where's your 335i project thread?!

I like the general shape. I think the detailing is wrong - like the headlights... very 70's.

thanks for that chaps, I stand fully corrected! I managed to pass school cert science, that was about the extent of it. #; ) Physics and Chemistry at the next level up were interesting.

Awesome read, Allan.

come on Andy, that's seal-clubbing, really. We all want an X5, even if we don't know it, or are unlikely to ever show it worse than a skifield carpark or wet grassy field.

EDIT: nothing to see here, move along!! ++++++++++++++++ I stay the hell away from any ethanol fuels for my BMW, think I've written the same in other threads. Boaties generally know to stay away; with there usually being a high likelihood of water in the form of condensate in the fuel tank, ethanol can be very dangerous and costly where it separates from the fuel, combines with the water (that usually floats happily on the surface) and sinks to the bottom of the tank... then clogging the fuel system. At best, a Coastguard tow, at worst stuffed injectors and an expensive rebuild (these boat mechanics aren't cheap!). Consider your alloy fishing boat with a 100 litre sub-floor alloy tank. http://blog.bavauto.com/287/is-ethanol-safe-to-use-in-bmws/ http://www.bimmerforums.com/forum/showthread.php?925902-Ethanol-Damages-BMW-Engines&p=11962660#post11962660 http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2009-05-14/the-great-ethanol-scam It is for this reason I stick with BP98 (not Mobil, not Gull), and Caltex 95. It may have been coincidence wirh my e46 that the Fuel Pump was on its way out at 120k kms (112k of which were in Japan) when I ran two tanks of Mobil 98 through it and it died. The mechanic flushed the fuel system as requested, did find some moisture in the tank but not the phase separation I feared. http://www.popularmechanics.com/cars/hybrid-electric/a6244/e15-gasoline-damage-engine/ http://www.bimmerfile.com/2010/10/14/exclusive-bmw-says-no-to-e15-gas-blend/ There should be stickers on the pump in NZ like these;

hello, and welcome along Bjoern. as others have said, that's a pristine looking e39 engine bay. I'm looking forward to seeing more of your car. best regards Olaf

Did you call Glenn?

which would suggest you were only addressing the issue, not the problem!

indeed, I can attest that (when I last had the pleasure of a drive), the suspension setup on John's car is superb. I know he's further progressed development since then. Sadly I may not get the chance for a repeat performance until after the school hols, by which time I expect this car will undoubtedly be bedded in with its new owner! GLWS John, though you barely need it as this car sells itself!

Jeez. I just re-read my post. Which is to say, I now realise how my last post could be read: - as a direction or order (just re-read my post), or - as a statement (I) just re-read (as in reviewed) my own post. I meant the latter - though understand that by ommitting the apostrophe at the start of the sentance, there could be misunderstanding. cheers

had my local trusted independent Page European replace the rear springs with 325i Touring springs, and replace the top and bottom spring pads. And an alignment. Only a couple of short drives today, but it feels a lot better. Happy days.

yeah, it came from my macbook Andy - I drank the KoolAid too #; ) Could be one needs to be logged in to Amazon? Not sure.\ cheers

your offspring grow up fast - it's good you're there for them when it counts. our no. 1 son just entered his teens, I can't beleive how quickly that's happened. good to observe you've not given up on your 5er, and know it will be there when you have some spare $$. Looks superb!

yep, ^^ when I was investigating RFT 18" recently, JGBMW were competitive and had tyres in stock!

you can buy brand new, fresh TRXs. They're for the well-heeled, though.

the whole of Blakes 7 is on youtube... it's slow, but 80's good.

certainly, though making it a sleeper didn't give them a license to make it look butt-ugly!

Neal, if you were to get free freight within USA from your supplier (eg TireRack), ship to your box address at www.myus.com and then trans-ship to NZ you should be fine.

19's eh? I always scratch my head when there's cheap rubber on a car, makes me wonder what other aspects of the maintenance they've cheaped-out on.

those blistered guards: what were they thinking?! Still, good to see an '02 on the roads.

... and the good news: The Grand Tour is set to start on Amazon Prime on November 18th. Teaser trailer here It looks slick and sharp.

wow. if your tyres are as sh#t as you describe, the word "justify" doesn't come into it. It's a safety item, pure and simple. replace them.

I know what you're talking about, I was in a similar position. I went to Sears and bought a Craftsman socket, the workshop I went to (in a rough part of Mexico City) we like "you sure you want to do this to this nice socket? We're going to leave grinding marks, it's not going to look pretty...". Yep, thanks. Explained what I was up to. When I collected the socket, they said 'go see our neighbour, he's just around the corner, he car swap out your shocks without even taking the wheel off. Tell him we sent you, he'll look after you". They were bang on the money, he had a big f*ck-off lever tool, and showed me how he did it, I came back with the parts, and he had it done in no-time flat.