Herbmiester

My 335i always had a shimmy under braking and it bugged the hell out of me. The rotors and pads looked pretty new when I bought it so I soldiered on, new wheels, tyres, balance and an alignment never quite made it go away. I bought some RDA rotors and went for some Stoptech street performance pads. So far so good. Pedal pressure is a bit higher when cold as you would expect but the feel is very linear (the old brakes were a bit grabby as well and this always lessened my confidence to really press on) but when warm they feel very good indeed. I will report back after I have some real mileage on them.

Before I got my E60 530i I had an Forester STI, It was a lot of fun but I sold it because at 1.97m it was just to tight up front. The 530i was very nicely balanced and although my wife's 3.5l Aurion was faster in a straight line the balance in the corners was wonderful. My mate Boytie has a 550i and its quite quick and again very nicely balanced in the corners but perhaps not quite as nice as my 530 because of the extra weight up front. I was tempted by a 550i and the touring models always float my boat. I now have a 335i with a tune and its quick compared to both the aforementioned 5 series. Its got massive torque and can rev out cleanly as well. I do a lot of work myself and looking at my notes the 530 cost less to maintain than the STI. The 335i has cost a bit of time but the parts themselves have been reasonable. Up Whitemans valley hill my STI might shade the 335i but only just, an LSD added to the 335i would see it pretty even. Both would be quicker than the 550i but again not by much.

In the end the market will dictate, if someone pays that price then its worth it. As always we buy on emotion and justify with logic.

The Rx4 was a cool car and was quick in the day. Engine was bridge ported and she was noisey.

I had an Aveger Tiger, mine had twin Webbers, pop up pistons, ported head a cam and long tube headers. Supposedly made well over 100 hp. I sold it in 85 to buy a yellow Mazda RX4 coupe.

How many Kms has she done now?

Glad shes up and running again

I have had good experience with Taiwanese QC, its definitely not China!

I will be around Sunday if you need a hand. The whirring you mentioned could be stater motor related, motor spinjing but not engaging.

I did the maths about a year ago and it was cheaper to buy in NZ

Probably not but they cost a lot less and when you get up to 9 or 10/10th driving it's generally well past what goes on on the highway.

On my e36 I ran Koni Strt's and they worked quite well with factory m Sport springs and sway bars. Not in the same league as Koni Yellow, but the car responded very well and was a pleasure to drive.

I realise this is an old thread but having fitted a new set of RE003s on my 335i I thought I would give an updare. The old front tyres were Nitto 830s and out back were a set of RE050 run flats. First impressions are that the front end is a lot more precise, turn in is noticeably more direct and I feel like it goes were it should now. The rear has a bit more compliance but grip wise it seems to be at least as good as the 050s maybe even better. I never really felt I could trust the run flats on anything other than bowling green smooth roads, they had a lot of harshness and the ride was jittery. On a typical NZ road with a few undulations and irregularities mid corner the 003 is just so much more predictable. I was considering S001s but having had them on my 335i on the original 17s I didnt think they were appreciably better than the 003s, not a fair comparison I know as one is a 40 series and one is 35. I suspect on a track the S001 would show its advantages. To sumarise I now have much sharper and more accurate turn in, the car feels more predictable and overall grip levels in the dry are higher especially up front. Later this week I am driving another 335 with 19s and its running some Falkens, I will report back when I have given it the 48 corner test.

Interesting I bought mine just over a year ago with 72km on the clock for 17k, perhaps this is where the price is.

The MHD fix and manually tightening up the actuator arm are at best temporary solutions. The issue as mentioned is a worn bushing.

My Bridgestone were happy to do a 3 for 4 deal on Re003's that were staggered, he worked it out so the cost was somewhere in between the 255 and 225 price.

Not really an E38 Man.

Yes a gun locker in the car has a certain appeal .

I would really like these lets see what I can sell.

Having owned an e60 and an e92 (not wagons but same series) it's a toss up. I liked both but am slightly swayed towards the e90/91 etc as I like the smaller more nimble car. That said if you need space for a family go the 61. The older I drive in the 61 is pretty basic so if you want Bluetooth etc go for an LCI, it may not have Bluetooth from the factory but a retrofit is much easier.

Looks like a stripped out 5 series diesel is on the cards. http://www.driven.co.nz/news/news/victoria-highway-patrol-replace-aussie-fleet-with-new-bmws/?ref=driven_fbpage

Out of curiosity what was the waste gate like? Did it have play in the shaft like the n54 units do?

Should be able to help next week when I get back from the USA, is you cable not working?

Interesting, I am running a 255/35/18 on a 9 inch rim and was thinking about going to a 265 or even a 275 as BMW fitted these rims with a 275 from the factory but with a 50 aspect ratio tyre. I assume with a lower aspect ratio I shouldn't go quite as wide as 245/255 seems optimal. I wonder why BMW went wider?

The 9 inch style 350s on my car run a 275 width from the factory.