jonoe30

Yeah I know the arguments against getting them, and if it were me I wouldn't keep them, but to be honest in the nicest possible way he's not the kind of person who's going to fiddle around with a goo pumping solution ("M Mobility" style) on the side of the road, or carry a spare in his boot (I thought we might have been able to fit a space saver in the cavity under the boot, but it's way to small), so have decided to continue down the RFT path.

Not particularly, they have been standard fitment on BMW's for many years and are a simple design so they are a known quantity, just look up the last 7 digits of your VIN on realoem.com to get the exact part number... The OEM clutches are usually made by BEHR (I'm unsure of the exact OEM brand for the M52/54 engine). I would check out prices locally through Milland if you need it in a hurry, or you could buy through FCP Euro from the US and shipping is usually less than a week (I've had parts arrive in 3 days using their standard UPS service, as long as it doesn't get stuck in customs).

My little brother needs to replace the RFTs on his E91 Motorsport (staggered 17" alloys). I can see threads from a few years ago saying that Pirelli's were probably the best bet. Just thought I'd recheck and see if people are still fitting these or if there are newer versions out and opinion has changed.

Sounds exactly like a broken fan clutch as its moving in time with engine revs. The clutch allows the fan to spin freely when disengaged until the clutch expands thermally and locks the shaft to the casing, rotating the fan in time with the engine. There's nothing electronic involved it's operation. If you're replacing it yourself remember it's reverse threaded and you'll need a thin wrench to get at it. When you pull it out you'll need to carefully lift the fan and shroud out at the same time. There's lots of how-to's on youtube you can watch.

They like their 2.0l six's haha.... they are asking a more reasonable, but still steep 5k for their other listing: http://www.trademe.co.nz/motors/used-cars/bmw/auction-1166951544.htm

Thanks for the pic Andy and the info on what you're running, good to see a comparison especially with FL rear arches. I might see how they run with springs I have and change if I need to. I'm not looking for sporting improvements with the weak chassis, but I want to avoid crashing through road undulations as I do now, without creating a huge fender gap. I like the current stance, but previous owner lowered it on stock shocks so that's half the problem, will see if the bilsteins sort it, but have a feeling the springs are going to be a bit too spongy still - I just need to bite the bullet and do it... won't take too long to change the springs later if I need to!

Any chance you could post a side on picture of your E30iC on the Eibachs Andy? Are they the cab specific springs and are you running E90 drop-hats or thinner/thicker spring pads? I've brought Bilstein B8s but haven't fitted them yet due mainly to laziness and weariness about what springs I'm going to match them with, was thinking of going the H&R route but am worried about ride being too harsh for a DD.

When I talked my mother into a 2008 E70 3.0Si I had my doubts about economy and performance with the smaller engine. I've driven it quite a bit and I think the N52 3.0l is perfectly adequate (as the transmission is brilliantly matched), without the service and battery requirements it sounds like V8 has. Despite being pre-LCI (just) it is the final iteration of the N52 engine/6 speed ZF transmission so most of the drive-train bugs should have been ironed out (though we have been told to expect to replace the electronic water pump before 100,000km). Its a Japanese import and she got it with 50,000km and full Japanese dealer history. Despite this she got a 3 year mechanical warranty which I think will cover the worst of any bill shock, and as preventative maintenance I took it to ZF specialists for a transmission fluid and filter change straight away ($600). Scheduled servicing is reliably around $1000 (though I can't speak to what's getting done each time). Her real life fuel economy is ~11l/100km, but they live rurally and drive rather sedately. I don't have a particularly heavy foot, but was averaging around 18-19l/100km when I had it for a month here in Ponsonby. I think when she upgrades to the new version in a few years we will look at the 3.0l diesel - despite enjoying listening to the roar of the straight 6 a lot, as it uses it's full power band to move it's mass. But alas, having since driven a 3.0l diesel the torque makes all the difference around town and I think would make it the perfect package. I would be interested to drive an LCI with the updated transmissions; they may add something to the economy/performance in the petrol 6's. One criticism I have, and it's subjective, is the rear suspension (Nivomat shocks I believe with non-air suspension) is overly firm for a non-motorsport version and makes the vehicle feel unbalanced/light in the rear (it weighs 2300kg) particularly when hitting mid corner bumps/undulations in the road. Out of the 3 you posted, I would go for the one with the comfort seats (clay colour) - may add something to the resale desirability as they are much more adjustable than the sport seats, though those are pretty comfortable too! Also some comfort seats can be found with active ventilation which I cannot rave about enough in summer (look for a fan symbol on the seat heating button and perforated seats)

Has anything replaced the home page where there were the 5 or so most recent posts listed? I previously use to check in on this about once a day to see what was happening on the forum without having to log in. This is the link I use to have http://bimmersport.co.nz/index.php?app=ccs&module=pages&section=pages&folder=&id=3 (I'm in no rush for a reply, just when you get a chance... migrating/upgrading platforms in no easy task I'm sure!).

Perhaps Glenn from Botany Motor Worx will chime in... if not maybe ask him for advice; he gave me details (which I can't find anywhere) for a guy called Shane in south Auckland who rebuilds ABS units (I was talking to him re SI board stuff so can't speak for his work on braking components). He maybe able to help.

Looks like a great buy.... Out of interest, what springs is it sitting on? I like the ride height; not too low, but without a massive fender gap.

Weird... I don't think I can find part 15 on mine either... though it doesn't look like anything is missing. Did you get to the bottom of this?

Yeah you'll be lucky to find a X5 with less than 25,000km (as per your other post) unless its near new. Low KMs aren't necessarily a good thing in a vehicle that's 7-9 years old... you could end up with issues due to it not being used regularly enough, or if it's an export from Japan and it's km are that low it most likely only be used in stop-start traffic around town, which brings with it's own set of problems. I think the average distance per year NZ vehicles cover is 14,000km. ​Anyway... Tiguan's are decent for around town, obviously not as fast as an X5, but will be a lot more economical - just get a mechanical warranty (on anything you buy) to cover you for any DSG transmission issues in the VWs. They have become much more reliable, but are still expensive if things go wrong. Re satnav: You'd probably be best just to buy yourself a TomTom or Navman and stick it in the corner of your windscreen if you want navigation and the vehicle doesn't have it... some buyers (myself included) would be put off by an aftermarket headunit in a modern vehicle with a headunit sculpted to match the interior, so it could affect your resale value.

Based on your last post re the kind of SUV you're looking for, 2011/2012 and above should all have BMW CIC iDrive navigation systems, unless you're looking at X1s.

Hmm, hard without pictures, but my other thought is it could be this bar not folding back, perhaps if the tension straps are worn.

This is also a good resource outlining all of the components and adjustments... its in German, but the diagrams are quite descriptive and you can google translate the bits you need probably from about page 35... http://www.e30club.ru/stuff/e30-convertible/EM-Verdeck%20BMW%203er-Reihe%20E%2030%20Cabrio.pdf

And I thought I was the only one with an electric roof here! By the mechanism do you mean the two leavers that interlock or the drive motor? Is it the rear screen part that's not going in properly of the rest of the roof when it pulls that part down? If it's just started happening I'd check that there isn't anything caught where the control rods connect to the roof frame (and that none of them have broken - there is a noted fault where part 7 of this diagram: http://www.realoem.com/bmw/enUS/showparts?id=BB12-EUR-07-1991-E30-BMW-325i&diagId=54_0173 breaks) ​Also check that lever 4 of the diagram is properly seated, if not the top of the drive motor may have broken/cracked where it screws in (if you've not already had to fix this) ​Some good info here about resyncing motors: http://www.e30ic.com/powertop.htm but it sounds like your issue isn't to do with that.

If you can find a cheap one on ebay, a CD43 from an E36 with a GROM audio Bluetooth adaptor. I'm about to start installing this setup with a separate amp (speaker level inputs from the CD43), I will post on here the setup when it's finished.

Can recommend Auto Interior Specialists: http://www.auto-interior.co.nz/home.html they are on Newton Road in Ponsonby, next to Eastern Automatics (another place I'd recommend if you have an auto European car; they are ZF certified repairers). ​I got them to replace a section of leather in my rear seats which had dried out and split... They took the whole thing off and they matched the panelling and original stiching method, from memory it only cost me $260.

Looks like a good buy... well optioned! Dynamic Drive is quite different to DSC (which BMW added as an option in the '90s), though it compliments it - dynamic drive is a hydraulically actuated sway bar. It allows one wheel to go over bumps without transferring them to the opposite wheel via a solid sway bar. http://www.bmw.com/com/en/insights/technology/technology_guide/articles/dynamic_drive.html

looks well looked after considering km and year. Interior looks like its been swapped at some point... seat don't match door cards.

Early E36 M3 Convertible... wasn't this on TM for over a year for 14K? http://www.trademe.co.nz/motors/used-cars/bmw/auction-1049745346.htm ​A new roof's about 2K, not 10.

Having helped a friend with the system on his car, as far as I'm aware the nav system is actually the brains of the monitor (it drives the menus for the system) and everything else connects through that module (e.g. TV & Radio modules). There will be more knowledgeable people on here who will know for sure.

Is there anyone in NZ that rebuilds Bosch AFMs? I have read the stuff online re bending the arms to track across the PCB over fresh material, but would prefer to use someone who does this kind of work regularly and can make sure it meets factory tolerances, settings etc. e.g. something like what this guy in US does: http://www.bavrest.com/air-flow-meters.html ​As a side question/alternative is anyone here running the latest Miller MAF for the M20 on the standard chip that comes with it? I want to keep my car pretty much stock, but a MAF tickled my interest as a logical reliability and mild performance/economy upgrade, but with no other mods on the car I don't want to shell out for a custom chip. My concern about getting a standard chip is I'm guessing it would be tuned for US octanes.

Need a Hella (not Bosch) high-beam and 2 fog-lights in good condition (no cracks/major chips in lenses) for a facelift E30.