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Olaf

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Posts posted by Olaf

  5. Posted · Report reply

    Graham, whats the story with the heater matrix?  I am getting a whiff of coolant at startup, and am closely monitoring coolant use now.  Everything under the bonnet has been replaced except radiator (water pump, pulleys, sensors, thermostat, expansion tank, rad hoses).

     

    cheers...

  6. Posted · Report reply

    back when I had my e30 325i Touring, my local independent replaced diff oil and gearbox oils (respectively) with the appropriate Castrol Synthetics (of the time - the year was 2001).  It was, as Ron says, spectacular.  Quieter, and better (slicker, smoother) shifting from cold.

    I've not tried Red Line, and don't intend this to be a brand x vs brand y argument.  You can use Castrol with confidence.   Some of our resident idependents (forum sponsors) use others such as Elf, and I personally use Penrite products generally.

    HTH.

  7. Posted · Edited by Olaf · Report reply

    Hi Clive, if you want to avoid the redirect to NZ, you can use a proxy service such as www.unblockUS.com  it allows you to select the country you want to appear as using a simple drop down box. I use it for watching UK content.   Hope that helps.

     

    PS.  Nice challenge you have!  As a matter of interest, what sort of money are you saving by buying new from abroad?  And have you found any issues with servicing your X5 here?  I guess there's no 'new car warranty'?  Interested in your thoughts/experiences.  I take it you've found it worthwhile as you're doing a second...

    regards

  8. Posted · Report reply

    13 hours ago, jom said:

    <Yorkshire accent>

    You were lucky! I took my test on a car with no synchro on first, synchro gone on second, AND a column shift!

    </Yorkshire accent>

    column-shift, nay problem!  holdens, falcons, (1st = toward you and down, 2nd = away from you and up, 3rd (top) = away from you and down) even those rubbish brit cars like mk1 and mk2 cortinas (and if my memory serves, 1st = toward you and up, 2nd = toward you and down, third = away from you and up, forth = away from you and down)...   oh yeah, HR Holden 3 speed manual, what a hoot.

  9. Posted · Edited by Olaf · Report reply

    12 hours ago, 3pedals said:

    And if it was in NZ then you would have had a Licence   not this modern License rubbish

    f#cking autocorrect. :)

    my first licence was in a small booklet, and you paid a fee and got a sticker in the back reflecting the licence fee (current).  It was issued by the Ministry of Transport.


     

  11. Posted · Report reply

    4 hours ago, 3pedals said:

    Olaf " but how often do you go for a drive purely for pleasure?"

    There is the rub , daily drive includes 11km of fun driving terrain  each way , some suburban crap  and generally only two sets of traffic lights ,  - so  just about every day at lease once ---- hence the manual fits well.

     If you don't like your daily drive and the way to deal with it is to slush about, text, play with the radio and load up the cup holders - change your daily drive - why waste your life sitting in traffic.

    I don't have much option with my current gig.  35kms each way.  Mostly SH1 or SH2.  Next gig I'll be able to walk to work again, much more fun.

    2 hours ago, 3pedals said:

    Having driven an M3 V8 manual around Auckland and in traffic, there is nothing scary about high powered manuals, in fact quite the opposite.

     a 318 would drive me NUTS

    I had a super drive in an e36 318iS coupe manual, back in 1993.  It was less than 6 months old.  Sure, it was missing 2 cylinders, but I was steering it with the loud pedal, the balance was superb.  Did 600kms in it, loved every minute.

  13. Posted · Report reply

    1 hour ago, Golfboy666GTI said:

    Lets say an E90 320i Motorsport? Is a manual worth more than an auto?

     

    Hey, surely that's a trick question.  

    Everyone around this parish knows that anything powered by the N42 4 cyl Valvetronic motor is to be avoided like syphilis.:o   Whether it's auto or manual, considerations of the N42 in a 1 or 3 series are largely academic!  

    Should we engage in considerations of which transmission is best in the context of a car featuring a motive unit likely to consign it to the workshop while quietly emptying one's wallet? 

    ^_^

     

    /rant.  nothing to see here, move along. B)

    • Like 1

  14. Posted · Report reply

    as a daily?  Hell, if you're driving in traffic, I have to be honest.  I'll take the auto these days, they've gotten much better.  Going for a "real drive" - and if I ever get an M3 or 911, yes a manual for sure.  But how often to I get to drive purely for the enjoyment?  Mostly (and I mean pretty much all the time) I'm driving to get somewhere, like work, or back home, or driving the family around, or on holiday.

    I started to entertain the idea of auto a little over 20 years ago, living in one of the largest cities in the world.  Traffic like you've never seen.  I had a Golf GTi manual.  My boss had just bought an e30 325e auto.  It was clear that for the conditions we usually drove in, the auto was far superior.  When we got into the mountains, the manual was the go - but that was about 5% of my time behind the wheel.  Thankfully autos have improved these days.

    Being real for a moment, most of my driving is commuting in traffic, so I confess I actually prefer the auto. And yes, I got my license around cars with non-synchro 1st gear, mastered double de-clutching and heel-and-toe downshifts before I was 16... consider myself a dyed-in-the-wool manual driver.

    Next car I buy will be the first time I select auto by preference.  Perhaps I'm getting old!

    • Like 2

  18. Posted · Report reply

    Hi Kyu, how long have you had it, how many k's in that time, and what servicing has been completed in that time?  I'm a wagon guy, have been thinking about a e90 330i saloon.  Would I regret buying your lower mileage e91 325i instead?  It seems like the more sensible option.

    Oh, any warranty (eg Autosure) remaining?

  24. Posted · Edited by Olaf · Report reply

    I'll see if I can email you the calcs/diagrams I sorted out, Allan.  Dunno if the Ti is much different to the standard e46, but I compared stock 7J16's with 205/55 through the Style 68 staggered 7.5/8.5J with 225/45+245/40, up to the style 194 staggered 8/8.5J with 225/45+245/40 (e46 tyre sizing rather than e90) and it all works swimmingly.

    Of course if you want to get it as close as possible to a factory Ti, nothing else will do other than a set of 97's. :)

    cheers

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