F10er

That doesn't sound good. It should run on 95 without a problem. What fault codes are you getting when the engine light comes on?

BMW dealers still use the Castrol 10w60 TWS motorsport oil for E46, E9X and E6X M cars. For everything else they now use Shell. I don’t think Shell do a 10w60 equivalent.

For the rough running fault i would suspect the injectors. The N53 (which i think your engine will be as it's a UK spec) is notorious for injector issues (especially cold start misfires) and I'm pretty sure there was a recall issued for the injectors in the UK. Can you know if that recall was ever done? For the starting issue, it could be a corroded main engine earth cable (known to corrode especially on UK cars) Or the other possibility is where battery cable passes through the body from the battery compartment. There is a connection there that often corrodes if there has been water in the battery compartment. You have to remove the battery to check this which is a bit of a pain on a convertible.

Who has been diagnosing the car and are there any fault codes stored in the car?

Pm'd

That's the one. My memory is a bit hazy as it was a few years ago but i think part of the valve was inside the hole in the block as well. If you post some pics of it here when you have removed the vac pipe from the block, it might jog my memory a bit. The part number is 11664725082

I probably wouldn't do that as it will end up inside the vacuum pump, and i think they have plastic parts inside them. I remember there was a series of small holes around the circumference if the valve and they were all but blocked. The carbon was quite hard so i doubt carb cleaner would remove it.

You can access it from the top. Its at the back of the block, just below the high pressure fuel pump. I think i removed the air filter housing and a few other bits. Its circled on this pic in red.

I've had a bit of experience with the vacuum systems on the n57. On one vehicle i found there was a check valve in the vacuum line near where it enters the sump. Tried to get a new valve but it was ex Germany (2 month wait) so i ended up disassembling the valve. I found it was full of carbon, (probably due to the ridiculously long BMW service intervals) so i cleaned it and refitted. That fixed the issue. I'll try to find the valve on ETK and get you a part number. Could be worth checking on your car. FYI, i remember it was a real prick to get at the valve, so prepare yourself for some cursing and anger.

I found this very amusing and had to share it. 🤣

Pretty sure it's oil temp not water and the sensor is the same one used for oil level in the sump

Not as easy as that unfortunately. An 08 would probably still be CCC in which case you need to change all the navigation hardware in the car and recode the headunit. Not really worth doing that as the last nav update for CCC was 2014 from memory. If it's CIC i think the HDD needs to be changed to euro spec then the headunit will need to be coded and maps loaded on to the HDD.

OEM Lemforder front lower control arm bushes for e46. Bought these from FCP Euro, but no longer need them as the car is sold. These are excactly the same as the genuine BMW bushes. $130

Thinking of buying one of these for my e46. Is anybody on here using them? Do you think they are any good, or are they Chinese junk? Cheers!

Yes you can check when or if it was registered with INPA, but to change the battery ah rating or type (agm or lead acid) you will have to use NCS expert. I can give you the steps if you need to change it.

Bimmergeeks.net I think they still have inpa in their downloads section. It is called "bmw standard tools" which has inpa (diagnostics) ncs expert (for coding) winkfp (for updating software) and tool32. I haven't used tool32 much, only to change the vin number of a used DSC module, but i think its also useful if you want to reset frm short circuit counters. They used to have ista as well but the BMW bullies threatened them will legal action. Im surprised they didn't order them to take down the standard tools download as well because that is all BMW factory software. How kind of them! You can still get ista for free here. https://www.e90post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1847924 but unless you're an active member on there you can't get the links, again because of the BMW bullies. It's pretty easy to install. I'm a bit stupid and i managed to bluff my way through it. Ista is by far the easiest to use.

If you have ISTA or INPA that will tell you what the car came with from the factory. Will also tell you if your battery was registered or not.

Sounds about right for a dealership........bloody hopeless. Maybe ask to speak to the Parts Manager or a Master parts advisor. They would have more experience.........you would think/hope. The Puma number is in the photo below. Ask them to look that measure number up.

You will have to speak to a parts guy at a dealership. I looked the levers up in ETK and it says to refer to a Puma measure for the correct levers. Only dealers have access to this.

You need to do some coding to the headunit to change it to NZ frequencies. You need NCS expert and a K+dcan cable to do it

Thanks. I need the whole unit. Replacement screens are available so not too fussed about the screen. How much were you wanting? Cheers.

That's ok. I've replaced screens in them before. When were you planning on replacing it?

Had thought about these. They all seem to be made in China and poor quality.