Harper

To be fair the 320Z is a pretty desirable gearbox, more so than the getrag 5 speed that came in most E36/46. The ZF came in the E36 M3 and E46 330 etc, it's pretty bulletproof and has one of the nicest gear changes of any BMW box imo. Going rate is 3-4kish depending on what's included. You can get a getrag 5 speed for $1000.

1700nzd shipped from Schmiedmann right now with black Friday sales. 430 a corner but you might get stung for tax at the border with it being over $1000.

Yeah the $/HP is not worth it. I'm just after some itb noises more than anything.

Either crank can spin up to 8k happily, limiting factor is always the valve train according to the metric mechanic info. The perks of the M44 bottom end is a little more displacement and it has a larger oil pump which flows better at high rpm. But the late M42 head has a host of benefits over the M44 head so it makes sense to marry the two for an OE+ street motor I think and still keeps things simple. Unfortunately nothing is a drop in solution with the diesel stroker crank as far as I know. One way or another you end up having to deck the pistons, have custom rods made, or both in order to get the CR and the valve/piston gap correct. All that being said. The stock M42 is a lovely motor. I've taken the e36 for a few burns since getting it driving again. Not fast but super zingy and responsive, feels like a mini M engine.

Ha, it was considered but the cost gets pretty out of hand going that route. You end up having to go custom rods and custom/modified pistons afaik. Still haven't fully decided if we'll commit to cams/valve springs so it can rev to 8k.

This one is far from new, 270,000km. Required quite a bit of love to get it be a 'nice' car. We're some of the way through building a revvy motor for it. M44 bottom end, with M42 head, ITBs, lightweight flywheel, all rotating assembly balanced etc. It's all going to the machine shop this week. The short block I got from a scrapyard for $200 with 90,000km on it.

That's exactly what I did with mine. From memory these don't fit the karb box. Pretty sure I ordered those as well and ended up having to use the karb supplied bolts. I put a small rubber washer under the head of the bolt so it didn't damage the finish of the airbox. The downside to the CSL dipstick tube is that you have to remove the unfiltered section of the airbox just to check the oil level. You can very easily bend the stock dipstick tube to the side and it's way more functional, that's what I ended up option for.

Interestingly, almost all of the 840 manual parts are still available to buy brand new for not crazy money. And although uncommon and not cheap, the V8 bellhousing 420G gearbox is still pretty attainable unlike the V12 bellhousing gearbox. I may have priced up all the parts to convert an 840 earlier this year when I was considering the project. 4.6is swap + 6 speed 840 would be wicked.

I so wish I could buy this https://www.trademe.co.nz/a/motors/cars/bmw/other/listing/5006551772

I think you have to modify the heat shield a bit to get it to fit but it's pretty straight forward.

Helped the old man make some progress on his 318is project. Finally off it's jackstands and moving under it's own power again. And a quick blast to supercheap for some fluids

My M3 has always passed WoF with my cmp coupler, but it did get picked up on my compact when I went through the cert process for the engine swap. Go to an independent shop that does WoFs

Interesting. But that doesn't really concern me honestly. That report says "The latter disadvantages are all associated to blends with NMA significantly exceeding a typical concentration of 1.3%." So even if NPD are using 2-3% it's probably fine. Not to mention "However, no traceable sources and references as well as descriptions of investigation methods are available". All the sources at the end of the report are unverified Russian articles, and the Russians are far from impartial when it comes to the production and sale of gas...

Yes it's due an update, I'll make a post soon. Yep all certed and legal, surprisingly painless experience to be honest.

I don't really care whether it's blended or not. I'm just going off feel, unreliable as that may be. Typically I would use gull 98 which is an ethenol blend anyway, and on occasion BP98 as a last resort since it's overpriced. BP98 and force10 feel the same to me with BP getting slightly better km/L. NPD100 feels like it runs the best of the 3 in the compact, I was quite surprised how noticably. I'll have to test it in my E90 M3 since that thing seems to be super sensitive to fuel.

Weirdly, I recently tried NPD100 in my compact and it ran noticably better. Within 10 minutes of driving I could feel it. Revved nicer and pulled better, sounded cleaner. Couldn't believe how noticable the difference was. Definitely going to be my go to gas from now on. I can't wait to try it in the M3.

3 series compound. Not a single sun roof, as god intended

LSB E46 on the motorway yesterday

Schmiedmann is almost always the cheapest for genuine parts. And spareto to is better than pelican for basically everything else in my experience.

It has definitely been done if you look on the m42 forums. Loads of parts on them are interchangable. My dad is building a 318is coupe and considered doing a Frankenstein m42/44 but ultimately just went with the m44 for simplicity. Lightweight flywheel, itbs etc.

Where did you get the vinyl stickers? I'll need a set for when I do my calipers as well.

M44 has a larger oil pump that flows better, M42 has the forged crank and supposedly the valvetrain can rev higher. The best version is probably a hybrid of the two. M44 block with 320d stroker crank and M42 head for the revs and replaceable cam trays. One can dream.

Not on realoem

E46 M will always be my first love. I drove it to work this morning and it's just so good, I was smiling the whole way. But I've really grown to love the compact. It's perfect for it's purpose which is a practical daily driver that's still fun to drive, it's even pretty decent on gas compared to the M3. There was nothing wrong with the 130i, I just never really gelled with it. Drove good, sounded good. But I didn't love the way it looked and it didn't make me excited when I looked at it like the other 2.

My dad still reminisces about driving the Porsche race cars from Auckland down to Wellington on dealer plates for the wellington street race. The convoy of fully caged racecars with race tyres on public roads was probably more fun than the actual racing. Doubtful you'd get away with it today. I'll forever be jealous of the cars he got to drive and race at that time.