Olaf

That's certainly the traditional and proven approach. first 500 km, this.... then oil change, then 5000rpm with some acceleration to hit that... then at 1500km oil change, then give it the beans. If I was driving a rebuilt motor, that's what I'd be doing. But that was then, your technomarvel is a whole new ballgame.

Your engineering mate was still explaining that while the girl he was explaining it to went off with the artist... to learn about the poisonous snake first hand. Sometimes art trumps science.

And are you fizzing and buzzing from those 200kms, after your months of anticipation?

+1 for CTEK, mine totally rocks, bought my own after borrowing a mate's one a few times over the years.

I disagree. Well, I will grant that use of the term moron is somewhat offensive! All sorts of exemplars of sub-species of humanity are gravitating towards e46 also. In the Venn diagram of e46 (or e36) ownership the e46 (or e36) is not fully enveloped by any one - or all - sub-species of human ownership. Thus, loving an e46 (or e36) does not lump one in amongst all other appreciators of these fine vehicles. Eg just because I run an e46, does not mean I am a drift shredder. A Venn diagram, this morning.

I like white cars too! I've owned a couple and willdo again.

Probably because it's too old for main dealer sales; it may not have been well-serviced (despite being low-kms for year); I've seen a few end up in Christchurch at higher price than they were pitching in Welly/The Tron/Aucks, with some of the repairs done. Chances are (like a couple of 330i Msports I seriously looked at) it needed diff output seals, a few bushes, a trans service, an Inspection II and some tyres... it's worth about $6-7k in my opinion if it's not needing any work, and nudging $10k is madness. IMHO, of course! ?

nope. nuh-uh. no way. I dig the e60 M5, there's no denying it. But this one. It's white. And look at that number plate. Just. No. Even a personalised plate won't rid the stains. SMEG, perhaps? ?

in the late 70's we had interesting developments. Against a backdrop that included hippies and quickly transitioned to Kill ALL Hippies, (and soon punk as a complete backlash), some clever europeans had been (quite literally) plugging away in their studios, and enjoying some commercial success... airplay in addition to Baby Boomers showing off their flash new HiFi systems (accessible in the 1970's for the first time ever) with whatever fine-sounding vinyl they could get their hands on... and toward the end of the decade, increasingly affordable synthesisers. The race was on. The Germans seemed to celebrate their high speed concrete motorways with the global hit 'Autobahn',, and the Frenchman... well, he was picked up by French airline UTA and spent his advert money on wild disembodied heads music videos.. in 1976! And a crazy veeeeeeeee-neck jumper. Meanwhile Bowie had decided - after shovelling a mountain of charlie up his hooter (and slipped in creation of a couple of great albums such as Young Americans and Station to Station) - to shoot through from the states to in search of pastures new. You've all heard Station to Station, so I'll put Stay (from the same album) here instead... oh lordy, GREAT players, funk, swing, this song is virtuoso Bowie. And a stark contrast to the Frenchman and the Germans, who seemed a bit pedestrian. Now Bowie has immersed himself in Berlin at Hansa Studios (with a steady supply of smack), producing the three coolest albums of his very cool career. And this is where it gets odd; yes in a truth that's stranger than fiction, they all start thinking about trains! Iggy Pop (who's been hanging out in Berlin with Bowie), also thinking about trains matybe, with his masterpiece The Passenger... And now the Germans now start singing (robotically chanting?) about the Trans Europe Express... (inspired by Station to Station?), and in an odd twist they plug David Bowie and Iggy Pop, and even give them a cameo in their new music video! and Bowie gets further out there in Berlin (it's still Cold War Berlin)... and he's getting even more brilliant in the studio with Brian 'Squelchy' Eno! Just listen to Sound and Vision, it's astonisihing more than forty years later. You know that track backwards so here's Joe the Lion: Perhaps he's taking stock, or thinking about his next move? The Germans (Kraftwerk) clearly got a hipness boost from all of this, as The Man Machine contained the timeless classic The Model. Meanwhile, in North London a nerdy guy sitting in his bedroom mixed in the Bowie influence and came up with something very unusual... ... And some lads from South London were clearly influenced by Bowie (and earlier Roxy Music)... and in 1979 they released Quiet Life (this is a later video for the album's re-release) Oh man, it's enough to explode the heads of MoR radio listeners!

yep, best to get the correct offset, and (preferably) the correct CB. Sourcing your wheels from M46 (non-M3) or e90 (non-M3) would be your best bet.

and they would be a total pr*ck to clean!

these guys are touring here shortly... this was a huge hit in '79 Jools Holland Esq on keys, and whatabout their backing sings garb!

curious, they've taken footage from the original Gone in 60 Seconds...

Holy Thread Exhumation, Batman! Paul, I know ARS, they were very clever. Think I've one of their albums on vinyl in my collection somewhere. Now, for 70's in a predominantly 80's (mostly middle-of-the-road 'zm network pop) thread? Hmmm, how about these three for starters: Nile is still a genius! And now a bit more 70's AOR Right then.... see if ya'll can keep this thread south of Dec '79, eh?

good driving out in that area ?

Style 194s work brilliantly on e46. Give you a little more track, no rubbing issues (standard springs), use the e46 225/45R17 and 245/40R17 combo. And they look great. Though they're 17's; so if you're looking for that magic number, you won't be happy. Can't stress enough. Do put 1000kms on this car before you empty your wallet on wheels/tyres/lows.

Are you doing this for looks only, or something? If you go low, you're going to get negative camber, unless you correct it. If you want zero camber because of looks, am concerned you're going to create a car that doesn't handle. What are you trying to acheive? Leave it as-is, she's a beauty. Please put 1000kms of trouble-free motoring on it first.

Because Touring. Or, to put it another way: Because. Touring. Love. ❤️ ?

You're right about that. Genuine M-sport 325i coupes continue to rise in value, best to preserve that with sympathetic mods. Looks like a beaut, great score! Question is, are you bringing it to e30 Mega Meet in New Plymouth (this year) 29 November - 1 December? There'll be others from the deep south attending. It's going to be a blast. Welcome!

So you’ve just bought photo 2 from Wellington? Thats a low-mileage beauty, yeah? That’ll be collectible soon, as they’re pretty rare in clean in-molested form. I’d drive it for a couple of months before spending up on your wheel and tyre combos, and lowering it. You might get the gen from @Herbmiester and @eliongator as John built up the 330Ci with Ohlins adjustables, trick springs, and beeeeeg antirollbars. It was sublime in the ride and handling department.

Welcome!

post-trip wash completed. Hooray for Auto Glym!

Bummer dude. Still, nobody hurt, I trust.

Date: 12 June 2019 Distance: 259342kms 1. Engine New engine mounts, oil filter housing gasket, sump cleaned inside and out (found bolts reinstalled), and new gasket. Oil filter and fresh oil. [edit:] 5W30 synthetic. The lifters in M40 respond well to the modern blend. Also replaced the two drive belts. 2. Suspension Front: Installed freshly painted 20mm front ARB, with new bushes. Assembled and installed 51mm strut housings with all new hardware (upper spring perches, and strut collars excepted), H&R Sport Springs, Koni Sport 8641-1210 strut inserts, new bellows kit and iS bump stops. [Edit: also new wheel bearings and associated hardware]. Rear: Installed freshly painted 14.5mm rear ARB with new bushes. Installed H&R sport springs, Koni Sport 80-8522 shocks with new top mounts. 3. Front Brakes Installed Vented rotors (Zimmermann Sport X-drilled Z coat rotors, rebuilt Girling calipers, Hawk Performance HPS pads, ATE hoses. Bled brake system rear to front. 4. Steering Wheel. Sport (also called SE) steering wheel installed. I just hadn't got there. 5. Aligned. It was aligned again, iS/m-technic specs. Jon & Auto38 did the hard work, with customary efficiency and precision, and updates. Report: Initial impressions: I collected it on Thursday at the end of the work day. All the slop in the steering is gone. It feels a bit lower (30mm for the H&R's). Jon cautioned me the the M40's sump is now closer to the road surface. I think a sump guard may be a wise precaution for touring. The setup is firm, yet comfortable. It's like a go-kart, compared with how it was previously. Big grins. Noted I may need to reduce tyre pressures; I was previously running higher to counteract the baggy suspension. I was initially worried that the tyres weren't up for it. This was proved to be wrong. Saturday morning I was out on the road at 0600, bedding in the rotors and pads. Zimmermann call for braking from 100 to 50 km/h over 3 seconds, cool for 3 mins; repeat 15 times. Then do heavier stops of 100-25 kmh over 3 seconds, cool three minutes, repeat 15 times. A saturday morning is a reasonable time with less traffic, slow lane on motorway, check mirrors, hazards on, brake. Rinse and repeat. After 90 mins of driving (to Te Marua, then Ngauranga, then Paremata, Johnsonville, back to town), a Nada Bakery pie was needed to settle my now-queasy stomach. The Brakes were feeling better. The Z-coat takes a while to wear in. I figured I hadn't finished the pad bed-in, but that would happen later on the Rimutaka Hill road. I sorted myself out, packed the car, and headed out to Melling BP and brimmed the tank with 98. A bloke in a people mover asked me if it was for sale. Told me had 3 other BMWs; I said "search for BMW Club NZ, we're off on a run. Join us!". I met up with the crew for the Wairarapa & Castlepoint run. The run over the Rimutakas was a joy. My first distance drive since buying Grey Thunder and bringing her home from Paraparaumu. Not a lot of power for hill-climbing, the momentum style is required. I did manage a couple of passes, notably a 4th gear pass toward the top of the Akatarawas. On the Rimutakas, I tucked in behind a D-Max whose driver knew the road well, we had a great run down, with a few motorists kindly making use of the stopping bays to let us pass. This is where the new suspension setup started to show the new character & capability. Loads more grip, turn-in is vastly improved, You can precisely place the car in the lane. Weight-shift is now a ballet, and the car is far more planted. I stopped at the bottom on nearer Featherston, and did my customary photos of the group passing at a bridge. When I re-joined the group at Martinborough, I couldn't stop smiling. This thing is a buzz. It's so much fun to drive. Later I headed out to find another vantage point, and drove more roads trying to re-join the group after they passed. I drove, dry, drizzle, rain, and fog. I drove unfamiliar country roads, and some more familiar, on a variety of seals. 200kms from the start point to Castlepoint, and I enjoyed every one of them. I can trust the car's handling, even if my entry line is wrong. It's going to take me a little longer to make the weight shift super-consistent, but I'm loving it. It's less a scalpel, more a sharp chef's knife, and it's forgiving. Oh, and it's comfortable. Firm, not jarring. I hit the bump stops on the fronts once on the way home, just off the brakes at the end of a descending bridge (to turn right) and found a pot hole right in the line. My fillings are intact, it was fairly gracefull. There will be some experimentation to do with the Koni's adjustable rebound damping. Tyres. These Hankook Optimo K415's are pretty good for what they are. Shame we don't get high-performance tyres in 195/65R14 down here. Reviews on the Falken Ziex 912 indicate it's no better; there are a hoarde of low-cost el-cheapo tyres to choose from, but little else (mostly touring tyres). I think it's nearly ready to receive it's iS badge. Should I wait till it has rear disc brakes? An LSD? An M42B18? I'm going to buy a strut brace. ? Workshop Photo Credits Jon Mechaniker. Beneath Grey Thunder in dry dock II: Sump gleaming, new gasket installed. Photo Credit: Jon Mechaniker. Beneath Grey Thunder in dry dock II: H&R Sport Springs, Koni Yellows, 14.5mm Anti-roll bar. Photo Credit: Jon Mechaniker. Beneath Grey Thunder in dry dock II: New front brakes. Photo Credit: Jon Mechaniker Rebuilt caliper with new piston and seals, nipple. Ready to install.. Photo Credit: Jon Mechaniker A more comfortable helm. Moody garage shot showing Sports wheel. Out in the country, photography pack-horse.

Elijah buy that and have it painted.