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andrewm

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Posts posted by andrewm

  7. Posted · Report reply

    E39 540i shift quality was degrading in traffic and had a very harsh downshift coming to a stop when hot. 

    Took the heat exchanger off and found it clogged with light brown clay like substance and an O ring. Cleaned that all out, replaced the voltage controller on top and put new o rings on everything. 

    Looking on the net this has happened to a fair number of people. 

    Will do a trans filter and fluid change and she should be right as rain. 

    • Like 1

  8. Posted · Report reply

    Have bought a c63 - from user liyi_92 and drove it back from Christchurch to Auckland on the long weekend.

     

    As a daily driver the c63 isn't great, the suspension is hard, the clutched auto gearbox is finicky, the bucket seats are hard to get into and the cold start noise is obscene.

    And yet it is exactly what I wanted.

    After you clamber into the very supportive bucket seats trying not to wreck the bolsters you immediately get over the increased difficulty as you realise how supportive they are. You turn the key and then engine barks at you, at very short sharp exotic sound before quickly settling down - you almost feel it winking at you, nudging you to stab the noise pedal at some point in your journey. Pulling the T handle handbrake release in the lower dash you cant help feeling that its very in keeping with the theme of this pseudo luxury car, an unholy cross between fiendish race car and mid level sedan of yesteryear. As you bump along at 50kmh on your coilover hard suspension avoiding potholes and speed bumps or anything else that might clean your bumper right off, you start to wonder what you have gotten yourself into. Deciding there is nothing to lose and with the 100kmh target approaching you punch it in auto mode and a wait a fraction of a second while it drops 4 gears before the car shoots out from under you.

    Thunder roars behind you, four hundred and fifty odd maniacal german horses loose from their stables and you grab the steering wheel for dear life- but you needn't have done so, a perfect smooth straight acceleration occurs, warpspeed but under control, no tire noise, no torque steer no fighting the steering wheel on road imperfections, just glorious throaty vocals and a blurred pointless digital speedo. 4 or so seconds later you're well into lost license territory and back off and slow to the limit, the car rewards you by smoothing out the ride considerably and its low speed faults fall away. No longer an unhappy racecar idling around the pits but balanced mile muncher, perfectly in its element doing the Christchurch to Picton run in the dead of the night.

    You hit the first 65 corner at 85, not ready yet to push it and the car just eats it for breakfast leaving you wondering if you actually went round a corner or just through it, giving you confidence for the next corner, then the next... Before long you have the paddles going and are smashing the fun pedal upto the corner before jumping hard onto the picks with no sign of fade or complaint from the giant 6 piston stoppers, you wonder how you could ever muck it up enough that you couldn't stop in time or couldn't make the corner.

    The 70 target appears and you coast through a sleepy village at 70, the car still completely content, almost relieved that it isn't executing a 3 point turn in a Ponsonby car park but merely gathering its breath for the next blast. Now you pass the 50 target which excites you because you know there's triple digits coming up and you aren't going a hair above 50 till its in sight, another few seconds of symphony to soothe any fears you had pottering around town.

    100 approaches and you put $1 of 98 into the German jukebox again looking for that brilliant but over all too soon track, bumps are present but don't transmit to the chassis, somehow the stiff suspension transfers it away without upsetting the balance letting you know the harsh ride isn't the result of a cheap coilover setup.

    Too soon you reach Picton, your stomach growls because you forgot to stop for dinner with your high octane shenanigans, doesn't look like anything is open in Picton either, must remember to eat tomorrow..

     

    • Like 7

  9. Posted · Report reply

    20 minutes ago, KwS said:

    Looks tacky imo. Saw it when it was on TM and was interested in buying until I asked if the stripes were painted or stickers.... they were painted. The side skirts also dont work. Could be a cool car otherwise.

    Glue a downpipe on that side skirt and it would do a 10/10 job of taking water from my roof. 

    • Like 1

  11. Posted · Report reply

    Who is actually going to police the 60k-1 million per year overseas vendors? I can see that the biggest few would comply but cannot see most vendors caring at all.

    Thinking about it though between ebay, amazon and alibaba thats probably >50% of sub 1k imports anyway. Not a bad haul for the no new taxes govt, will go a long way to building some real flash HNZ houses. 

    • Haha 3

  15. Posted · Edited by andrewm · Report reply

    Was thinking maybe issue with trans cooler and thermostat as the setup is different pre/post vanos.

    Battery disconnect is supposed to delete trans adaptive learning feature. 

    Google had a thread with guy that had the exact problem but he never came back with the resolution, dont you hate that. 

    Rheingold (ISTA/D/P) is the newer diagnostic tool, much easier to use than INPA

    • Thanks 1

  18. Posted · Report reply

    On 8/29/2018 at 1:41 PM, BrokeMyWallet said:

    Because I didn't have the right bit at the time, and even if I did I'd need some sort of low profile ratchet head to get at it. Anyway I managed to back it off using vice grips + masking tape!

    After getting that done I promptly managed to strip one of the bolts on the VanOS Servo motor. Clearly this thing has been apart before, I can see the valve stem seals were done, god knows why they didn't do the valley pan at the same time ?

    Vice grips and masking tape, 60% of the time it works every time.

  23. Posted · Report reply

    21 hours ago, M3AN said:

    So much this.

    Really, if you love the E39 then do as @BreakMyWindow suggests and take a serious look at the M5. A good friend of mine had a lovely 540 manual years ago and used to drive a fair bit, he tried an M5 and blew his load, it ruined his 540 for him. Many years on he now owns an E39 M5.

    Of course, with a cool 50 your options are endless. Buy Tom's E46 M3, save and invest 20k, drive it like you stole it and get something more responsible in a couple of years?

      

    I had thought about this a few times but they just dont look to be value for money anymore, im thinking a 2001-2003 in le mans blue or carbon black with around 100,000km would be 40k ish.

    I watched a 2009 black 80,000km e60 m5 with supersprint exhaust go for 24k on trademe....

    Manual isnt a necessity for me.

  24. Posted · Report reply

    Thanks guys, hadnt thought of the Alpina stuff, will also look at the 6 gran coupe and the XFR.

    I knew someone would post an e39 m5 haha.

    I counted out the quattroporte as its no real upgrade in speed, the f01 7 for worse handling due to weight and size, and anything diesel as I enjoy the noise of a good petrol engine and have no fuel economy concerns. 

    The non facelift w212 looks like a high end hyundai to me im afraid. 

    A friend at a mercedes dealership told me they sold a 2012 f10 m5 with 91,000 for 54k... Maybe I should hold off till next year and bag one of these.

  25. Posted · Edited by andrewm
    change c7 and c8 to c6 and c7     · Report reply

    I have had my 1999 e39 540i about 7 years now and through 3 promotions so am in a position to substantially upgrade.

    Looking to improve in every area except fuel economy and neutral on space which arent priorities.

    My e39 has a few mods

    -Fortune auto coilovers 11kg/8kg swift springs, radial bearing mounts and camber plates

    -Full suspension overhaul of lemforder susupension arms, balljoints, tie rods etc 

    -m60 intake with velocity stacks and all engine gaskets replaced

    -80kg of weight reduction including scuba tank delete

     

    Looking for something faster, handles better, sounds better, more comfortable, not 4 cylinder, not hatch but still 4 doors upto $50k thoughts? Have I missed anything off my list?

    May add kw v3 coilovers to whatever I buy.

    c63 amg

    c6 rs6 - may handle poorly due to weight

    f30 335i

    f10 550i

    c7 s6

    e60 m5

    e90 m3

    e55 amg -probably mediocre handling.

     

     

     

     

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