dream///machine

3 hours ago, TermiPeteNZ said:

Great to meet you today Seb! Think we're accumulating a good supply of talented photographers  

Likewise Pete! Monte Cervino keeps me busy at nights, great to have the chance to finally attend one of these meets.

6 hours ago, Olaf said:

I bought Bosch Evolution wiper blades for my volvo, they've lasted very well, and cleaned well too.  Bought from the USA, no issues with up/down reversals.  There's probably a set for your BMW?

For my BMWs I just buy the Original BMW ones, they last a good year to 14 months, perform very well.  I rain-x the glass, use BMW washer fluid, and never start the wipers without a spray from the washers first.  Works for me.

Nice tip Olaf, I've recently been using rain-x - enjoy watching light rain bead, and depending on conditions have often been able to drive without using the wipers.

I've never bought into washer fluid, guess it has to do with experiences in the past with that 'bug off' stuff, as it was all that was available once upon ago, can't stand the amount of suds and streaks that sh*t leaves behind. 

BMW washer fluid you say, any good?

25 minutes ago, Olaf said:

Yep, if you take a moment to consider and interpret the images, that supports the claim of asymetric. 

If you're ordering from abroad, I think you'll find the prices a little less spendy on FCP Euro compared with Amazon. 

Just order all three.  You're paying the same freight anyway! 

Good ol FCP, have a few things on my wish list there to add to the order

1 hour ago, Olaf said:

reading the Bosch Icon site, it states the blades feature an asymmetrical spoiler.  Buy with confidence.  

Though like I say, I buy the BMW blades because they're very good.   For me, the Bosch blades would need to last three months longer and be 30% cheaper for me to give them a crack...

It states it, but from images it doesn't appear that way... either way I'll order the rear wiper first to inspect (as this is same direction for both LHD and RHD - direct fit). 

Are the BMW ones a single beam design? My OEM's are the original Bosch Metal ones where you feed the rubber through multiple contact points. 

The BOSCH ICONS are still so much cheaper on Amazon than our market options here from SCA and Repco (Tridon etc) - The Tridon's look cheap and overpriced.

Wiper Blade porn talk if anyone is interested.

Have tried every corner of the web to find detailed literature on the product, even tried to search .pdf manuals of the ICONS.

Reason being is that it seems this product is not avail in NZ, I can find them easily on Amazon US..

BUT - I've noticed that on LHD Bimmers the wiper system is reversed and will rotate anticlockwise towards the LHD, where as our wipers move clockwise towards the RHD. The Bosch ICONS have spoilers that run across the entire blade system, and don't appear to be asymmetrical (I could be wrong). From looking at images within US sites, the design appears to be best fitted fo LHD anticlockwise rotating wiper arms.

What I'm thinking is that purchasing ICONS from the US could pose a problem, unless (I'm hoping) there are the necessary attachments provided in the pack to let you reverse a US wiper so that you're not facing the rear of the 'spoiler' on the blade towards the direction of wind flow.

In short... has anyone purchased ICONS from Amazon US and fitted them without issues?

https://www.boschautoparts.com/en/auto/wiper-blades/icon-wiper-blades

Cheers.

As promised... a few pics (apologies to attach, will open a Flickr soon)

Spent last couple of days doing the full detail, headlight refurb.. just exterior stuff for now as I have some work to do inside (roof lining) so figured I'd leave that cleaning till last. Until now I've never used a clay bar, and it was totally worth the purchase and patience.

Sagging headliner...? Try Absolute Upholstery Wgtn, if you remove the tray yourself and brush out the old glue and clean it as best as possible, bring it as is, you can save some costs on the relining work. They quoted me $250+gst for my 318Ti compact.

50 minutes ago, qube said:

The other website is https://www.germanplates.com/

The one dave has on his car is from one of these sites and they are technically not legal. However I know he hasnt had any issues with it in many many years.

Some people get lucky and some people get caught within weeks.

 

Weird, I don't understand how these are technically not legal.. it's black letters on a reflective plate after all, I figured the legal requirement would simply be 'needs to be clearly visible', is it somewhat FONT related? because that's the only thing that looks 'non NZ standard', as for the choice in pictures on either side I imagine this doesn't have any legal barriers, given that you can have a car make emblems on one side and a flag on the other etc.

Side note, I purchased a pack of trim removal tools (6x assorted, red coloured and made of plastic) from Repco prior to pulling the second pillar off but still snapped a couple of tabs! My guess is it's just a natural thing for plastic in old cars to do, or perhaps how I used the tools. The tools itself I know will come in handy for many other tasks, esp ones that involve removing something without damaging the cosmetics of seen surfaces, dash, paint etc

On 12/12/2017 at 0:15 PM, M3AN said:

There's not much more admin to issue new plates than to issue replacement plates, even if it were 100% more effort we're still in the region of $30, not hundreds.

We live in a capitalist world, I support companies making a profit but in this case it seems like somebody is profiteering - either through margins or tax/duty (or a combination of the lot). I'd simply like to understand that breakdown.

Also plates aren't a scarce resource, they can add characters and increase the pool so it vastly outstrips demand.

Q. the plate on your E36 M3.. was this ordered from https://www.customeuropeanplates.com ? If so is this legal?

I've wondered about this... I own 2 torque wrenches, however a DIY'r such as myself would use such tools much less than a pro mechanic would commercially. I've had both my wrenches for about a year now and have done minimal tasks such as oil changes and spark plugs etc... the certs and manuals supplied with my wrenches specify to have them calibrated once a year, but something tells me this may be overboard for my type of use? 

(I always reset my wrenches to the lowest torque setting after use and store them in the case supplied)

1 hour ago, Olaf said:

indeed.  they use 10 KHz, we use 9KHz.

Plus FM, the equalisation settings in USA are different to NZ (and rest of world) - IIRC it's 15uS vs 25 uS.  Plus fine tuning is slightly off in NZ with a US head unit.

How do I know this?  Apart from being a bit of a tech geek and having studied this stuff many moons ago at tech, I purchased a really nice Kenwood head unit in USA in the mid-90's to bring back (2nd to top of line I think).  I knew the risk I was taking.  The tuner was excellent, though never quite right down here.  Tape deck was superb.  I had it in a couple of cars, left it in a Sentra I sold along with some Magnat speakers.  I doubt the new owner appreciated what they had.

O.P.:  The more modern kit may well have software configurable settings for local radio.  Why not just buy one locally, save the shagging around?

Awesome to know and yes the old mix tape era! I'll have to google 'IIRC 15uS vs 25 uS' as that's beyond my knowledge.

I'll see how I go for local, I simply opened my own can of surprises by searching elsewhere and now I'm curious...and I'm also a fussy pussy cat that refuses to eat dried biscuits when I know theres something better in the fridge.

Oh, and for what it's worth.. if you're going to remove the A pillar trim just be mindful of the plastic tabs, they can be brittle and snap off which is what happened to a couple on each of mine. I'm hoping to epoxy glue them back on, and then attach the metal retainers over them prior to reinstall so that I don't re-snap during the process.

It may depend on how much fabric has come loose for you but I found it much easier to do this work on a bench rather than in-car (esp with spray glue).. It also allows better time to cure (24hr) being laid flat on a bench rather than installed in car, avoid it being exposed to heat etc during the curing phase.

19 minutes ago, kwhelan said:

I was under the impression all BMW had world radios, you just had to program them from japanese to world, which isn't hard, certainly was the case on my e39

32 minutes ago, MD13 said:

I remember reading an older thread which stated BMW's had 'world tuners' but are set to the region they are intended to be sold in. 

Are you guys both talking about the OEM factory head set itself, or a separate radio module in which all head units connect to? eg. 'Any head unit -> radio plug -> some kind of module -> cars antenna'

cheers!

per qube's comment, I just did the A pillar trims on mine the other day. Using the same adhesive (ADOS), but there are a few different types all ranging under $20.

https://www.bunnings.co.nz/search/products?q=ADOS spray adhesive&redirectFrom=Any

There is a High Strength can, which to me seems overboard for fabric, then there's the 'Multi Purpose' one which allows you to reposition within a few minutes which is very useful for porous materials that can bubble if you lay it down wrong.

The water based one, I believe is the one you'll want to avoid.

2 hours ago, kwhelan said:

99% of them have international radios on ebay and work fine here, the jap import cars have japanese specific bands which is what causes the issue

you just need one that increments in 0.1 otherwise you could pick up 93.3 and 93.5 but not 93.4.  type issues and it will list the upper and lower limit as well which from memory are about 88 to 106 on FM

https://www.lovenewzealand.net.nz/new-zealand-radio-stations.php

Great tip regarding the increments, cheers.

5 hours ago, aja540i said:

Your thought is correct, different parts of the world use different frequency ranges for commercial radio broadcsts and radio units are made accordingly, that is why you need a band expander on jap imports to listen to NZ radio stations. There is some overlap, I think the UK uses a very similar range to us, but some time with google might tell you more.

I believe my Ti is a Jap import, but using the vin checker was made in Munich... are we saying here that during the build, German cars destined for Japan get made with specific bands?

Prior to pulling out the old head unit the other day the frequency settings was moving in increments of 0.05 and would pick up the common low and high limit. It was a single DIN pioneer CD player only, hence the need to replace - guess this means I have a Jap import with a good enough band on it?

Anyone have any prior experience with this one? 

I'm currently comparing brands, models and prices from most common suppliers here together with the likes of Amazon, Ebay (US). 

It seems some head units can be purchased for a LOT cheaper on Amazon etc, BUT it appears model #'s and cosmetic design can have the slightest variances too, yet the SPECS on the head unit itself appear the same. It also looks as though NZ suppliers is either behind a year or missing out on certain models??

Just wondering if this is due to the manufacture process where they design a head unit for a specific region, and that the unit itself will only work for radio station frequencies in the region it was designed for etc. (much like the whole DVD region thing)

OR, am I good to ignore this thought and move forward on purchasing?

I need to ask because arranging overseas returns is such a fun process if I get this wrong

Cheers.

7 hours ago, Olaf said:

yeah, what Pete said     We do a lot of organising out of the club, stand up events, they have cover under the NZ Club mantle, and we extend to Bimmersport acknowledging it's one big community and not everyone joins the club.  As Pete indicates, we're an inclusive bunch and (fortunately) we're not yet faced with the challenge of events becoming 'too big', despite growing quickly.

Sounds good!

On 3/5/2018 at 9:27 PM, TermiPeteNZ said:

BTW we have Driver Training Day in Taupo this Saturday and Sunday the big car show in Hastings - Wheels on Windsor.

Thanks for all the info and the warm welcome Peter, as much as I'd want to do a driver training day... dream///machine needs to undergo the usual health checks before any long trips, at this stage anyway

7 hours ago, Olaf said:

Welcome, Seb!  

Suggest you subscribe to the Wellington region room, that way you'll get info on all the meetups that are held pretty frequently in the wellington region, running the gamut from the BMW Car Club NZ - Wellington's regular monthly pub meet up night, to coffee meets, roadies, and overnighters.

Looking forward to seeing your Ti at a future meetup.

And of course:  PICS or it doesn't exist!  

Olaf

Thanks Olaf!

Went to the link and clicked 'follow' assuming that's how I subscribe to it.. I mainly work nights so here's hoping I can make it too some of them. Thanks, and yes pics will come soon... just need that day off to drive somewhere and park it up for a tasty shoot. Looking forward to the meets and the range of bimmers that come with.

On 3/5/2018 at 9:03 PM, _ethrty-Andy_ said:

yes some are on there, but the BMWCCNZ only events are club members only, not on Bimmersport

Hi Andy, yeah I saw the link from Peter.. at this point it would be too early for me to commit to the costs of the BMWCCNZ.. the events in Taupo sound fun, but I simply would not have the time at this moment. Totally up for the casual hangs at this stage.

On 3/5/2018 at 8:57 PM, adro said:

Hiiiiiiii Seb,

welcome to Bimmersport.  Adding photos is a pain, I use flickr then copy the share link into the post.

Catch you at a meet soon.

A.

Cheers Adrian! 

yeah I closed my Flickr years back, but will def look into reopening an account for stuff like this. I've noticed through other forums that some user 'DIY steps' which are supposed to have photos are instead replaced with a 'photobucket' ad, that states I need to login to photo bucket in order to view them. 

Will see how I go on the meets, working a lot of nights at the moment.. but yeah catch up soon I hope!

Seb

On 2/26/2018 at 10:43 PM, qube said:

in all my time looking at bmws and bmw wheels i dont think ive ever seen this set anywhere in NZ. not for sale nor on actual cars for sale, not on bmws seen around the streets.

you will have much better chance finding a nice set of BBS rx or similar i would say

Thanks, yeah I've seen some cheaper aftermarket ones online.. weirdly with the rivets, I've always thought that forged wheels were more expensive. I'll take a look at BBS in the meantime

Hi NZ, 

Looking to purchase 4x Style 78 wheels, and hopefully some that are in great condition and won't require additional work.

I don't know how rare these are but I have never seen them on anyones ride...yet. Which makes me want them even more.

Most online stores I've gazed at do have them, but sadly not the *exact setup I'm after:

(pasted from bmwstylewheels.com)

*Must be BMW original, I'm not interested in 3rd party copies that are of the 2/3 piece forged design with all the rivets, way too much unnecessary attention and cleaning for a wheel of this design.

Ideally I would like to try out the staggered setup, but open to standard 7,5's all round if that's all someone has and is willing to part with.

If you used to own a set, I'd be interested to know what tyre type and profile you ran on these.

Many thanks!

d///m

2 minutes ago, dream///machine said:

Thanks Peter, ill try and find it on the App Store.

Nice to hear about the active community, is there a noticeboard somewhere for the monthly things?

Ignore my Q, just saw the Meetings Forum on main page  still navigating my way around and setting up prefs