HalfJobHarry

You took it in for a WOF, and through a specific action that was INTENTIONAL (and not related to what you took it there for) they have caused adverse effects to your vehicle. This is no different to if they too it upon themselves to respray a wing in a different color. Matters not that it's an import or you had modifications or whatever, you took it for a WOF. If it had even being going in for a service they would have had *some* defense as the service might stipulate they will update software etc etc. They need to put it right, or send it / pay for somebody who can put it right.

Good grief drop an N52 in. Can't fathom spending that time and money on those engines just waiting for the next silly thing to need doing (valve stems .. and the rest).

The warranty isn't a big deal for stuff like pads.... but it's really good to know that the big ticket items will be the last time I ever pay out for them... Coils, Injectors , that kind of thing. Shipping back to the USA is often *LESS* than what a single item in a set costs from a supplier here in NZ.

I would recommend this mod as a garage DIY for sure. Hardest part is torquing up the bolts with the wheel hub at the normal driving height. I measured the centre of the hub to wheel arch with weight on the wheels ..and then jacked the hub up to that height to torque everything up.

You're right..900 usd is a lot more than I thought they would be. Fortunately the later model part tend not to fail. It's the earlier runs that had a design flaw. Sounds like you got a good deal and glad it's all sorted.

Glad it's sorted...did you not fancy the FCP Euro lifetime replacement...or couldn't wait for delivery.

My initial total toe after changing to my M3 arms was nearly 18mm 😂😂. I was complimented for getting both sides to 8.8 and 8.7mm though. I put the tie rods back to exactly the thread they were on with the stock arms..so presumably that 18mm change is down to the longer control arms... The extra stiffness and super responsive turn in with the new arms feels amazing. I had felt that it was the rear that felt loose powering around a roundabout (at or below 50km/h of course) was slightly loose but that feeling has gone away with the front arms (which I don't fully understand). Down side is it makes one feel *very* adventurous and there is strong urge not to step the back end out given how planted the front feels. Awesome shop. Top marks for sure, this is a place that knows their stuff, regular priced too , sure you can save $20 going elsewhere but my experience with many places is you're rolling the dice.

For wheel alignment??? Eurosurgeon do know their BMW stuff and can certainly save some aggro for many people but I wouldn't go as far as calling doing coding 'proprietary' ...

I never came back on this....a set of extractor drill bits got this out...$15 from Toolshed or whatever its called.

Good to hear the props for xHP. I run the stage 3 xHP on my E82 and for the cost / time it was the single biggest improvement I've made.

I've had BlackVue in two of the cars over the past few years. Not the cheapest but not the most expensive. Image quality is excellent in HD at night even and more than good enough to read the plate from other vehicles. I fitted both front and rear cameras myself and wired them in with PowerMagic Pros.

On the subject of EWS. With a blank key ..going under the dash and programming a new key eith an onchip programmer is a 3 minute process. With the correct equipment it doesn't take that much longer on the newer CAS vehicles. You then break the lock barrel and away you go. For these high value high target vehicles. You need layered protection. An aftermarket GPS tracker with remote fuel kill is essential. Under $500 with fitting. Also a steering wheel lock...it won't slow down a pro for too long but every little helps. This won't have been a random act.

The big ones to look out for are misfires but another mode can be a hard start first thing in the morning due to the pressure not building quickly enough in a failing pump. What's often misunderstood is that it's really only the early production run of HPFPs that "die young"...often well below 100k KM. Even below 50k KM. The replacement spec should live a very long life. With BMWs easy access to a scanner tool / inpa or even better some way to take logs is essential to ownership as proper diagnosis is vital to prevent massive unnecessary expenditure. However as with all things automotive..the symptoms above can be nothing to do with the HPFP.

I have a spare N54 HPFP that came off my donor engine. Believed to have as much as 100k on it though. If you've got an earlier N54 then the HPFP will almost certainly fail relatively early. Mine failed at 54k. I understand the replacement units have cured the fault. I'll dig out my spare and check if it's one of the later pumps. If not save yourself an arm and a leg and get from FCP Euro.

So after a month of various maintenance I come to the valve cover gasket. I discover that I somehow already have a snapped bolt for the valve cover...which incredible didn't seem to be leaking in the area. Looking at the marks around the hole looks like somebody tried to get it out before and clearly chanced it by somehow sticking the head of the bolt in place. Anybody in Auckland I can pay to come in and get this out?