Olaf

so after buying this car, will I be able to play tennis, swim, ride a bike?

If you're the first NZ owner after life in Japan, there's a good chance that at 80k kms, it's probably suffering from a bit of deferred maintenance. You're approaching the 100kms mark, which will cover more than an Inspection II anyway, so you can expect to be replacing a few items, and getting a thorough Transmission service. As Glenn points out, if your PPI wasn't done by a BMW Dealer or good Independent, it's about as much use as a chocolate teapot. I think Pete's recommendation - get a repair warranty - is a good one. Had I splashed the extra when I bought my car and purchased Autosure or similar, that transmission failure 18 months into my ownership wouldn't have stung my pocket to the tune of $5k (trans rebuild, new trans cooler, hoses, fluids, assorted gaskets for valve cover, power steering, seals, and fluid top-ups including CHF-11 and full synthetic trans fluid, and labour). Still, a trans failure in a Maxima, Falcodore, Diamante etc would have cost between $3k and $5k so it's all relative, right? Finding an excellent Independent BMW Specialist workshop to do business with will help keep your car maintained and running well, and provide a more enjoyable BMW experience. Using Joe Bloggs motors will be more of a crap-shoot; the specialist knowledge brought to the party more than make up for the slightly lower labour rates of 'the other guys'.

oh man. where's the fun in that?!

Hi, welcome to the forum, Lidushan. lovely looking e30 you have there. I'll make a prediction: soon, e30's on Bottle Caps will become preferred, as they'll be rare. Everyone else will be running cross-spokes (basket-weaves). Those running bottle-caps will be seen as people of discerning taste. cheers!

it's interesting. Useful link, Troy - thanks. power increase 20-50% above factory - 3 cycles 0-100-0 within 2 minutes. power increase above 50% above factory power output - 5 cycles 0-100-0 within 3 minutes. You lads with the big (350-400rwhp) power under the hood will be needing the real big brakes. I can only imagine how much fun that is to play with.

"all TVRs should be registered as pre-production prototypes". Yes, something with a BMW V8 I reckon.

okay, we can do charades errr can it run on chip fat?

come on now, more detail needed!

bummer, Nathan. sorry to hear of that. something better will come.

you'd want to be the first on your block to have that, eh! sounds very James Bond. or at least, Jakob Bunt.

which pads did you settle on, Troy? and which ones did you work through and eliminate? it'd be really interesting to read of your experiences. Might save others a bit of leg-work too. cheers

you sold the e46 330Ci? oh man.

jebus, that's a serious brake kit (the Massive 300x32 kit)! Very impressive. You're designing for 400 wheel horsepower. How much does your vehicle weigh? Is it the same as street trim, or significantly lighter? Firstly, a little about "warping brakes". Plenty of people talk about warping rotors, though this is a very rare occurrence - actually getting enough heat into a rotor before applying forces to alter its shape/form before cooling. Think about it - how does that happen in context of a braking system? Most folks aren't getting their rotors red-hot. More often, it is pad material imprinting onto the surface of the rotor, or uneven wear. What Causes Brake Pulsation? Raybestos Brake Tech School, Part One: Rotors Don't Warp That's certainly an awesome brake kit you've decided on, though you may be hitting the acorn with a sledge hammer. Relatively simple upgrades like cooling ducts, racing brake fluid, and high-performance pad material, even slotted and/or drilled rotors are places you can visit that won't see you needing to get low-volume certification for street use. It could also be your technique. You should know: you can actually have "too much brakes". cheers

PS - I'd already replaced the spark plugs with BKR6EQUP Say, what's the service interval on thr BKR6EQUP?

they're a common failure item in the M54 config, I think there have been part revisions to (in some way) address thei sh*t longevity. The misfires caused by by the dodgy intermittent/failing coils throw codes in addition to less-than-smooth running. mine were failing on two cylinders. I chose to replace the lot, used Bremi OEM. One had already been replaced, though did not appear newer, just different. Result: silky smooth running, easier starting. a little more pep. I must get around to selling six for the price of a couple, "four pretty good, two dodgy". #8 )

sorry mate. it's all VW Lego yeah - no cutting discs required? Get on with it! #8 )

you're not sure if you're selling them?

good score. Like I said, gotta be worth $40k; it was certainly one of those 'cars on my list that I'd just buy straightaway if I won lotto on Saturday night' #8 )

yeah, should get a sweepstake going: number of additional screws installed within flesh/bone within the year

yes, tasty - nice work. personally I'd steer clear of anything that provides an opening to a side of road discussion with an officer of the law; the light tinting would not fly for me.

buying fresh fish at the markets without paying in body parts. eating wasabi peas in the car with my kids. the genius of Dave Grohl's drumming in Them Crooked Vultures. life is good.

awesome news, Nathan. you'll be all ready to swap in an M54B30 now, yeah? #8 )

weren't you bolting in a whole bunch of forced-induction audi 4x4 kit into the Touran, Allan?

no good really. only third party.

tons to choose from on TM: searching 325i 2000-2005, up to $7,500 nets heaps of results... Nice looking 325i with under 100k kms in New Plymouth at $6k. and it's "the right colour". Or there are cheapies around $3000 up. Plenty to choose from, and enough change in your pocket to put on some good rubber and have some judicious servicing done. The world's your oyster!