Twistee

Doing some forward planning, any recommendations on where to purchase replacement rotors? At the moment it's $500 (or more) per corner from the usual suspects.

I think this article sums it up nicely : Branding experts have reacted with confusion and bafflement at Jaguar's new rebrand - which has shed the iconic 'growler' badge amidst a technicolour marketing push that doesn't feature any cars. The British sports car marque has been fiercely criticised over its most dramatic rebrand in decades, which swaps the roaring big cat badge for a roundel containing two letter 'J's and swaps the imposing font of the logo for a softer typeface. It comes as Jaguar puts its entire range out to pasture and pauses new car sales for an entire year as it develops its entirely new range of all-electric vehicles, to go on sale from 2025 with a much younger audience in mind than in the past. The redesign attracted fierce criticism. Californian designer Joseph Alessio said it would be 'taught in schools as how not to do a rebrand,' while another designer labelled it 'one of the most destructive marketing moves ever attempted.' And public relations experts have told MailOnline they are stumped by the firm's decisions - from the 'vandalism' of the company's iconic logo to the apparent casting off of decades of motoring heritage to attract new buyers. Brand and culture expert Nick Ede says he was 'baffled' by the marketing push - which featured precisely no cars - while Oli Garnett, co-founder of creative design agency Something Familiar, called the rebrand a 'dog's dinner'. Jaguar, meanwhile, has doubled down on the rebrand, sending sassy and saccharine replies to detractors on social media who question the wisdom of moving away from the kind of thinking that birthed iconic vehicles such as the E-Type. Some owners have even threatened to end their car deals early to, in the words of one social media user, 'avoid the humiliation of being seen in one again'. And in case you had not seen the majestic new roundel :

I don't know what they are, but clearly Jag does..................

This is as close as I have ever seen anyone come to creating a proper DCT setup without having to rewire half the car and throw the factory DME in the bin. I'll be following this, if nothing else it gives owners more options than a manual swap. I love my SMG and it's something you have to embrace if you want to enjoy your ownership of these beasts, if I had to choose DCT or manual I'd go DCT all day long.

Add me to the list !

Out of curiosity was the voltage regulator stuffed or something else on the alternator?

I learnt the hard way why you don't park up a car with a half full tank on Gull 85 for years. Knowing that there was old gas in the tank I powered up the pump expecting to fill up a plastic 20l, no dice ..... I pulled out the pump which was brand new when the car was parked up and it's now a solid block of rust, a fair amount of the exposed metal in the tank has very mild surface rust on it unfortunately. Other than the POR system is there anything else that members have used and would recommend.? The surface rust is very light and I just want to nutralise it and reseal the metal. On the plus side I had planned on pulling the tank for paint work so this is not a huge amount of additional effort. File this under the idiot does idiot stuff because he loves to burn money........

I think Harry Metcalfe's latest vid does a good summation of the new car market and gives some more insight into the euro politics that we (APAC) have very little to do with but end up along for the ride. "Safety aka FAT" is great in modern cars, watch the vid as he makes a compelling argument for all of us to keep buying classics (or soon to be).

BMTHUG's old e28 535i parked outside Waiuku College this morning. Sorry, no pic. Unmistakable with those rims and I'm fairly certain it still doesn't have the front bumper on. I regret not grabbing that when the previous owner put it up for a quick sale.

I can almost live with the orange / black / silver combo, but corduroy???!!!!! Very torn on this, I like Chris Harris and his no nonsense approach but this is pushing it. This just makes me think of a giant orange corduroy bean bag from my childhood, not really something that I want in my M5. https://www.roadandtrack.com/news/a62567012/top-gear-chris-harris-put-corduroy-seats-in-his-bmw-m5-wagon/ His point is that "you do you", buy an old car customise it the way you want. He could have done almost anything to prove that point though, it looks way more like an attempt to attract viral attention. Anyway, it clearly has brought out the haters and probably done exactly what he was after. If it was leather I could live with it.

Where's the face palm button..................

https://www.trademe.co.nz/a/motors/cars/bmw/m5/listing/4912018458

https://bmworkshop.co.nz/branch/christchurch/

https://www.bimmerworld.com/Driveline-Shifter/Transmissions-Accessories/SMG-Electric-Motor-MLR-E60-M5-E63-M6-23017841032.html Upgraded version US$445

@paulo Cheers for the pics, yes that was only not long before I bought it. I actually wanted another colour .Here is the collection of the M5 thread Just picked it up from BMWorkshop, last insurance claim. New AC condenser, and the heater valve. For 80,000kms it's had all the usual items replaced under warranty which worked out well. Next major expense is the bearings, most other items that fail are supported by the aftermarket / oem and I can tackle the work - bearings not so much. Off to paint and panel assessment in the next week or so.

Not a prob.

While waiting for the M5 to come back from BMWorkshop I finally managed to finish a side project of mine (one of countless). About 12 months ago I bought a flood damaged set of NZ made Image 414 tower speakers, they were absolutely fubar'd and realistically I should have just left them with the seller and kept the money in my pocket but they were very cheap. I managed to dry out the cabinets, glue, clamp, get everything square again and remake part of the base plates - saving $750 on those alone. A lot of careful sanding so I didn't go through the veneer and a pile of water based polyurethane and more sanding later they started to come together. Unfortunately I couldn't get the water damage out of the front veneer to a point that I was happy with it hence the harlequin wrap that I applied, I'm sure there will be as many who like the finish as those who hate it. Two of the drivers needed to have the rubbers replaced, being odd size Israeli Morel drivers it took some time to get aftermarket replacements. All up they owe me about $400, Image Speakers still sell the 414.1 for close to 10x that price dependent on spec. I'm pretty happy with the result and now have a set of office speakers.

https://www.bimmer-service.com/bmw-5-e60/bmw-e60-wiring-diagrams/ The PDF's are safe. The complete zip is about 2GB

https://bmwtechinfo.bmwgroup.com/tech_training_manual/ST505 E60 M5 Complete Vehicle.pdf Page 87 onwards

Today marks 3 years of ownership of the M5, it also marks the day that the mechanical warranty runs out - no doubt it will turn into a pumpkin at midnight. Over the past three years I have replaced: - Clutch / flywheel - Heater control valve - A/C condenser - 10x Spark plugs - 1 coil pack - Module that controls the airbag compressor - Oil cooler - SMG reservoir filler cap - Lower control arm bushes - 4 x tires And as is fit for the anniversary it's at BMWorkshop having the annual service. Would I buy it again after the last three years, yes no question. It's a high maintenance item, but it's cheaper than a therapist and without leaning too heavily on the YOLO mentality it's pointless being the richest man in the graveyard. The first picture ever taken after signing the papers, perfectly framed up by my wife............ And the first night at the Clearwater Resort being the family wagon

ROFL, like the SMG reservoir plug that I just had replaced. $150 for this :

This be of use: https://www.ebay.com/itm/196270994828

Wouldn't mind putting that plate back on the car.

Aliexpress is your friend https://www.aliexpress.com/w/wholesale-E87-Kidney-grills.html?spm=a2g0o.productlist.search.0

These are ChatGPT suggestions : Here are some ideas for a personalized number plate for your BMW M5 Touring / station wagon: 1. **M5WAGN** 2. **TOURM5** 3. **BM5WGN** 4. **FASTW5** 5. **M5ROAR** 6. **WGNM5** 7. **BMWM5T** 8. **SPDM5** 9. **M5TOUR** 10. **WGNPRW** 11. **RAPID5** 12. **M5STN** 13. **M5V8TT** (V8 Twin Turbo) 14. **BLUM5** (if your car is blue) 15. **M5FUN** Feel free to mix and match elements or come up with your own based on these ideas! Here are some fun, ironic options for a personalized number plate that play on the idea of being slow: 1. **NOTFST** 2. **SLOWM5** 3. **EZDRIV** 4. **SLOWW5** 5. **M5SLOW** 6. **CRUISN** 7. **CHILM5** 8. **LAZYM5** 9. **SLODRV** 10. **M5TURT** (as in turtle) 11. **SLOSPD** 12. **M5EZGO** 13. **SNAIL5** 14. **CRAWL5** 15. **SLOWMO** These options can add a humorous twist to your speedy BMW M5 Touring!