Olaf

just a thought... if you were to join BMW Car Club NZ you'd get 10% off parts from BMW Dealers... membership paid twice over, instantly!

Thankfully, no reappearance of the CEL. As yet. iDrive did did tell me to pull over due to low tyre pressure; I'd done the pressures just 4 days before and put in 2.4 bar in fronts... it was down to 2.0. I aired-up, checked again in the morning and it was on 1.9. Visit to Bridgestone Torrens Terrace, and he had to put it in the tank to find the leak... (cue rim shot): crack, in the rim. I'm keeping it aired-up, and parked so the weight is off that corner... now searching for a new rim!

166605kms : happy one year of ownership (my first V8). So that year's gone by fast, 14,311kms, a decent chunk of change spent on maintenance, and many smiling miles driven. Every time I drive it, it puts a smile on my dial. Comfortable, quick, remarkably capable for a commode-sized car. Next up: bumper repaint (insurance - left a 'present', though left no note), 2mm stone chip in screen to be repaired (insurance), and source a new rim (slow leak from a crack). I'd planned on giving her a 'birthday' today, another good wash. Too busy with other stuff. So here's a snap marking the occasion:

The crazy thing is: there's a cost to carrying the part on the shelf, of course. But indent items? Where you walk in with the part number, they don't carry it, will order it in for you... yet charging you more than four times what it costs you to do the same thing, quicker (Volvo parts). WTF?

rattle can satin black paint job. makita lowering springs and make it *sound* bogan with rear muffler delete. choice of decals and a windscreen strip with appropriate text actually why not go Old School standard: banded steelies, chrome dress rings, low-as-you-can-go, roof rack, CB whip antenna, JDM stuff (doesn't matter that it's not a japanese car), japanese subway grip thingy hanging off back tow point. sorted. Extra points for Bosozoku exhaust. Image linked from Speedhunters.com

Yes, I read the same thing for e60 545i. I decided to have the workshop do it for me.

I've been back in contracting for four years, and this is the first time I've had an empty pipeline. I'm looking forward to seeing evidence of the vacancies and demand that's currently being touted, in the form of concrete opportunities!

yep, same with e46; early ones don't change, later ones do.

Just make sure you pick a good line between them, and think of your exits not just the apex

Awesome! Looking forward to seeing the pics, man.

indeed. they use 10 KHz, we use 9KHz. Plus FM, the equalisation settings in USA are different to NZ (and rest of world) - IIRC it's 15uS vs 25 uS. Plus fine tuning is slightly off in NZ with a US head unit. How do I know this? Apart from being a bit of a tech geek and having studied this stuff many moons ago at tech, I purchased a really nice Kenwood head unit in USA in the mid-90's to bring back (2nd to top of line I think). I knew the risk I was taking. The tuner was excellent, though never quite right down here. Tape deck was superb. I had it in a couple of cars, left it in a Sentra I sold along with some Magnat speakers. I doubt the new owner appreciated what they had. O.P.: The more modern kit may well have software configurable settings for local radio. Why not just buy one locally, save the shagging around?

Depends on which chassis you're talking about.

yep, you've got it mate. just 'follow' should see you right. +1 on Adro's recommendation of flickr; I've been using it since 2005, and the bonus these days is it's now free! cheers

yep, those coils do show their age, eh? Good old fashioned preventative maintenance. whoda thunk?

PS - sticker-bomb or manga comic the trim. It'd be something different. EDIT: Here's a bike I saw this morning that had been tastefully Hulk-bombed.

yeah Cory, as it's a runner and has the M54B30 in it, should be plenty of car for $3k or less. Only thing will be when you're insuring: "has the car been modified?" errr, yes, it's had its engine replaced. One wonders if there's more to be done; bigger front brakes? thicker ARB's at front and rear? I'd guess that as it's a 325Ti it should already have most of the fruit you'd need to put on, for a conversion. Hopefully Allan TIM325i will drop in on this thread and share his expertise. Could be a really fun package.

yeah, what Pete said We do a lot of organising out of the club, stand up events, they have cover under the NZ Club mantle, and we extend to Bimmersport acknowledging it's one big community and not everyone joins the club. As Pete indicates, we're an inclusive bunch and (fortunately) we're not yet faced with the challenge of events becoming 'too big', despite growing quickly.

Welcome, Seb! Suggest you subscribe to the Wellington region room, that way you'll get info on all the meetups that are held pretty frequently in the wellington region, running the gamut from the BMW Car Club NZ - Wellington's regular monthly pub meet up night, to coffee meets, roadies, and overnighters. Looking forward to seeing your Ti at a future meetup. And of course: PICS or it doesn't exist! Olaf

Where'd you get the oil analysis done, is it pricey, it it publically accessible or more 'through a mate' kind of thing. Also, how was your oil performing at 20k kms? cheers

I'd love to have a crack at it Chris, nowhere to put it at this time. GLWS.

Just when we think your Lexus has reached the pinacle of development, you bring on another cool thing to do. Looking forward to this one, @Michael.

essentially, by spending a shitload of cash with them, every year, for many years, to keep a scandi and a german on the road. EDIT: mind you, it might be like fight club, and now I've spoken about it...

Interesting! 60 days free storage is double what I get from MyUS.com as a premium member. MyUS gives me a choice of 4 carriers, 5 services, so I can pick my rates. I've weaned myself off US purchases currently; may give comgateway a go in future. I get 2 day US shipping free from FCP as a priority customer, and combined with 4 days on FedEx and sharp rates it's often better for me than UPS to Wellington from FCP. That said, I need a sunroof seal and rear window trims/seals... next order most likely plain vanilla UPS from FCP.

testament to the strength of it that the door still opens, and the passenger cell appears largely intact. Hope they weren't too badly injured. Looks like there's a decent door handle in that lot...

Welcome, Paul. Suggest you subscribe to the Wellington region room, that way you'll get info on all the meetups that are held pretty frequently in the wellington region, from the BMW Car Club NZ - Wellington's regular monthly pub meet up night, to coffee meets, roadies, and overnighters. Looking forward to seeing your Z3 at a future meetup. If you're looking for ways and product to address the swirls and marks, it'd be worth talking to one of our bretheren here @Barryn he's the local Auto Glym distributor, and can hook you up with the right product - or service - to get your new ride looking great again. cheers Olaf PS: Pics, or it didn't happen! PPS: nothing wrong with a midlife crisis, conducted with good taste, of course!