Olaf

Novus Adelaide Road, Newtown, Wellington are very good. Reuben is a BMW enthusiast and sometime contributer on here.

Nice!

ouch!

Aye. I was going to enter panel-beating/spraypainting; not ideal for an asthmatic. And pleased I didn't. Huge respect for their skills, though observe it must be the passion for a great job well-executed that carries a painter through each day. I did some bumper and paintwork repairs recently, worked flat-out all day from 1100-2100, took two 15 min breaks, 24,000 steps... and my clearcoat was sprayed in two low a temperature (I'd used a hot-water bath for the cans), so went a little milky. I'll be paying a pro for e30 work (wheels and edge cleanups, excepted). I think the ute looks excellent.

"nice pair!" Welcome aboard. Loving that technoviolet M3. Bet your lab likes riding in them both, too.

14k kms on those rears is pretty good going, given the demands of their job getting that awesome power to the pavement! 335i? Do it!

Sorry! I'm trying to figure out how to convert then; they came from Barry's iPhone. HEIC is beyond the version of Lr on my laptop... will try tomorrow. EDIT: sorted. Made a Quick Action script using automator... https://www.howtogeek.com/398927/how-to-convert-heic-images-to-jpg-on-a-mac-the-easy-way/

I fear you're being a little disingenuous here? A track day suitable brakepad will probably need plenty of heat to work, so not ideal for round town stopping eh. The OP said "Any recommendation for quality yet inexpensive brand?" for his F20. Quality yet inexpensive? Buy parts from BMW dealer with your BMW Car Club NZ membership card. Or find the OEM parts from your trusted parts supplier. Be sure they know what you want: inexpensive, quality, low dust, excellent performance; pick two?

I've barely driven them beyond Wellington. Initial impressions: Softer sidewalls (at same pressure) providing a more comfortable ride. Amazing grip at the back (275 vs 245); the extra drive can provoke understeer in some circumstances (I don't think 1/2" narrower front rims help - EDIT: WRONG, they are 8.5's on front) - EDIT - nope, it's actually 8J and 9J. Quieter than the RE003's Plenty of grip overall PS: turn-in not quite as sharp. (close, but no cigar). Haven't pushed them yet, nor driven them in very heavy rain on open road. Overall, pretty favourable. Broadly equivalent to each other, with minor strengths/weaknesses opposing. If Bridgestone did RE003 in 275/35R18 [EDIT: in NZ] they'd have gone straight on. Update in a couple of weeks.

Why cheap out on the most important safety equipment on your vehicle, along with tyres?

19 September 2019. 175yyykms 1. Headlight hazing treated. Wellingtonians should contact @Autoglym for this (professional) treatment. I'd refinished lamp lenses before, wanted this sorted and knew Barry could provide an excellent service. "before and after science" (spot the music reference - 5 pts to whomever names it without google etc) RH Before RH After LH Before LH After. Magic! With thanks to @Autoglym for the before and after photos! 2. Steering Wheel refurbished. Wellingtonians should contact Andrew at Fibrenew. My steering wheel was a little tired, needed more TLC than I could provide. It's come up feeling and looking superb! 3. WoF passed with no advisories. Another year secured. Now for a wash and polish, ahead of the Gentle Annie trip.

Excellent idea! I'll see what I can do. I had a near miss last visit to pick-a-part involving wind, a bootlid (sans struts), and my fingers; the bruising subsided after 3 weeks. Nearly prevented me from earning my livelihood, and I re-assessed some of the stuff I do. I'll have a look after I've sorted the wheels.

Yeah I like it and all, but that cabbage tree mural on the side is a bit much for me, eh? ?

I found the cup brush on a small grinder fast. Much faster than a brush on a wire drill. Yes, it's a bit more brutal... but it gets you on to cleaning and masking sooner.

Thanks @Neal, very helpful. I'm thinking I'll start active in the rear (two way premium speakers). I'll make power distribution provision for the second amp for the fronts, add that later. Where would you put a front amp in an e30 - under the passenger seat? (13.5"L 10"W 2.4"H). Head unit - I've decided to keep it simple and start with a modern mechless. Yes it's not period correct; my TDK-SA and AD will have to wait a little longer. Modding a period unit can wait until after I've got speakers and amps sorted. The benefit of the Kenwood KMM-BT305 is it has 3 sets of 4 volt pre-outs, built-in time attenuation and equalisation, and all sorts of setup features. Handsfree, bluetooth, plays WAV, FLAC, Spotify... and all for under a ton! Thanks for the link to T-Spec, looks like well-made stuff. I'm now learning that all 4ga cables are not born equal. Thanks also for the offer of help with a sub box design. I'll bank that, get started with the Fusion and go from there. Big battery and 'big three' noted, looks like I'll get that underway. Now, question is how easy is it to relocate battery to the rear? Oh, here it is... https://www.e30zone.net/e30wiki/index.php/Battery_In_Boot I guess I might as well do that as run custom cables from front to back for amps. Has anyone got an e36 kit to sell me (see link)?

yes indeedy. Hopefully the rest of the flock down here will realise there's something smelly in Welly, and it's time to clean house. Still, they did vote in the last one twice ? so we can't expect too much.

you're lucky. In Wellington we've been f#%ked. Our Mayor is pushing political party politics ahead of the ratepayers, briefing councillors and then denying any such briefings happened. https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=12255888 https://www.newshub.co.nz/home/politics/2019/08/julie-anne-genter-denies-claim-greens-used-leverage-over-let-s-get-wellington-moving.html https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/114795409/ombudsman-to-investigate-julie-anne-genters-refusal-to-release-letter-to-transport-minister-phil-twyford https://www.kiwiblog.co.nz/2019/08/the_truth_emerges.html/comment-page-1

Even better, your district councilors are just supporting whatever the coalition transport ministers deny they’ve ever instructed the mayor with doing. And they’re denying they had conversations with councilors, or received direction from government. Oh, and for good measure, screw the official information act you serfs, and while you’re at it here’s a double helping of my ten years of roading delays to keep your bellies full. It’s cheaper than cake. David Copperfield doesn’t have slight of hand like this.

@EUROLESS Which power plant is it?

they're super-awesome. I'd buy them if they weren't the wrong colour for my car. Lovely work.

very tempted

it's amazing to think that this could have shared a showroom floor with e30's eh?! ?

@zero Nathan, my concern is 'which are the decent ones', 'I'll need to replace 30-year old capacitors', and 'they seem bloody expensive for what they are on Trade Me'. @slideways Chris, hmmm C43 is pretty much unobtanium yeah? They're from the e36? Thanks, yeah I'm enjoying it too. @Neal what do you reckon of my rag-tag 'plan'? Is my thinking flawed? I'm now thinking my way through power distribution and cable runs...

it's pretty damned cool!

I think these are my amps (as in, this is what I'll get). My Scots heritage at play! https://www.planetaudio.com/product/car-audio-sound-system-auto-4-channel-amplifier-planet-audio-ac1600-4/ Plenty of crossover adjustability, yesterday. The subwoofer is a Fusion 10" driver Bass Tube EN-AT1100.