Herbmiester

Nice E39 though, kms are a bit high but if the maintenance has been done should be no problem.

Yes I put ceramics in my old 318is not impressed. No dust for sure but pedal pressures were up and feel was down.

Like many E92s my seat belt handover did not work so I ordered a replacement. To fit it I waited until it extended then removed the fuse that manages the seat belts, marked with person in a seat and a slash across them like a belt. This stopped the handover from retracting. I then removed the old part and replaced it with the new part. However when I reinstalled the fuse the remote and Comfort Acces functions on both keys stopped working. The fuse is not blown as the handovers work fine. I am really unsure where to even start here. BTW I did replace the battery on one remote even though it was working perfectly before I removed the fuse, just in case. Can anyone give me some direction here.

Good news brakes are the same as 328i and sway bars are bigger up front than a 328i Msport and same out back. Bad new the diff is a small case with 4.44 ratio, so maybe just an M52 swap with m52 driveline and some stiffer springs up front. Not sure about the electrics though.

So my Nephew has my old 318is auto and he owes me some money so I am thinking of calling in my debts. Bad news is it doesn't run but from what I can get from him the engine turns over so it's possibly a transmission problem. Anyway I would be keen on a manual conversion but have been mulling over the options. So I could just do a manual conversion/diff and maybe put a turbo on it. Do a m52 conversion new diff brakes etc. Or maybe get radical and fit a Nissan RB turbo, 2jzgte or even an LS1. The body is pretty straight and the interior is ok so what would you guys do if you had an e36 coupe lying around?

I will be interested to see how those akebonos go, I am still on the fence with ceramic pads.

Yes the Aussie car industry was indeed propped up by subsidies and with the demise of the large car it was bound to die but that said in losing the VF commodore we lose a well made, powerful, decent handling rear wheel drive car that is far from its use by date, the falcon not so much apart from that glorious Barra Turbo engine and the less said about the Aussie assembled Camry/Aurion the better. My wife has large 6 cylinder cars as company vehicles and I would take a VF Commodore any day over a Subaru Legacy, Skoda Octavia or Aurion which were her alternatives; why? Rear wheel drive, comfort, room, safety, technology and a bloody good chassis, Maybe we will get the Camaro one day, I certainly hope so as every test says it's an excellent drive.

I would argue the quality of the VF and later VE Commodore was very good, the Falcon was a bit of an old design and it showed.

Yes the SUV is the king of family vehicles but what a bore they are to drive.

Yesterday was the last day of production for the High Feature Holden V6 and the first big step in the end of Holden production. As a brand Holden may be doomed especially if they continue with rebadged Korean sh*t boxes. The whole demise of the Aussie car industry is a bit sad as in the final years Holden with the VE/VF Commodore especially showed that they could make a decent car. I drove an SSV Redline Commodore recently and I have to say I was impressed, the very tasty LS3 V8 power was not the main thing that impressed me it was actually the chassis. This car drove well, corned well, gave decent steering feel and was a pleasure to drive enthusiastically. Having driven the XR6 Turbo I would say that is Australia's best engine ever and if that were in the VF Commodore Chassis it would be so much fun. In fact put that motor in GM's new Alpha chassis (Camaro and Cadillac) and it would probably be the best straight six engined car in the world. Very sad we are not getting any Alpha chassis cars in NZ as the Camaro seems to be dishing out a few black eyes to more expensive so called drivers cars. Anyway sad that it's all going to end next year but at least we have our Jap import BMW's to give as turbo 6 and V8 RWD fun for not too much money.

My RDA dimpled and slotted rotors paired with the Hawk HPS pads work well. Dust levels are low, initial bite is good and under heavy braking the feel is excellent. Test by tire Rack confirm the HPS is a street pad and will lose friction above 700 degrees which is probably only a few laps of any decent track. however most of us don't do track days and the street is what matters. As mentioned a spirited drive over the Rimutakas will not overheat my HPS pads so they pass my test.

The N54 motors seem reliable just the parts bolted to them are the issue.

Finally getting a problem fixed even if the next problem is already raising its ugly head. Not positive I know but my BMW life seems to be that way at present

If you want the RDA rotors just go to Empowered Auto parts direct, I found the shipping was cheaper this way.

When I updated my 330ci brakes I went with Aussie company RDA. I bought slotted and dimpled Rotors ex Aus and shipping was only about $35 Aussie dollars. I then bought Hawk pads off Ebay (cheapest). The setup works really well and the Hawk HPS Pads are very good on the street and even handle a spirited up and down the Rimutakas without any signs of getting hot. That said the new Hawk street 5.0 pads are getting very good reviews and they a quite a bit cheaper than EBC and other quality pads.

An associate has a e90 330i and its a great drive. Can never go wrong with silver and I really style 194 wheels.

Yes the 1 series seem to hold the prices I think there are less of them as well, I have CCC with NZ maps and will get bluetooth installed soon. Isn't CCC to CiC about 3 grand?

If it has been in an accident there is a small chance the chassis is bent. Best bet would be a panel beater with a chassis alignment setup.

I very much like the 1 series coupe but the 3 series coupes are a bit cheaper so I went that way, That said your car looks great, any mods planned?

The ZF 5 speed auto is a reasonably good box as far as shift quality goes and being a tiptronic it does allow for some manual control. I use mine daily on the 50 odd corners through the Valley to get home and apart from it upshifting if you hit the rev limit it works well. would say that after a full trans service at 180,000 kms the shift quality improved dramatically. However if you want a manual then that's what you you should get, but be prepared to add another 4-5k onto your budget, realise you may have to wait a number of months and dont be upset when you can't find a manual in your colour etc.

An alignment is a must on any car.

Might be a bit late but poly bushes for the LCA's work well. I like the Super Pro versions and get the offset ones for more castor. Worked a treat in my E36.

Sadly JG in Wellington have been a bit of a disappointment for me. I asked in detail about an intake port clean on my 335i even sent them a video link, first reply was never head of it before and probably unnecessary, so I sent him a video and asked if he could check with BMW NZ and sadly no reply. I even sent him told him BMW make the tool for putting in the intake port for the clean to happen.

E36 Coupes are so pretty.

Yes probably not fair comparing it to a fairly well modded E46, so when the shocks and arms are done it will be a fairer match up. That said my E46 even with its handling prowess would get slayed on the straights by the 335.