Jay 735i

Probably Elite, they make custom steel wheels for stock cars and the like... will investigate that option as well, but seeing if it's just easier to have a set of stock steels widened.

Well wasn't planning on letting people know of my plans until I'd found out if it's all possible, but yes widened steels... it's not hard to work out though, so may as well fess up... Elite Wheels in Chch can widen steels, from what I understand from searching so far is they can do up to 15 inch diameter. For cert purposes, I'm allowed to add a maximum of 3 inches (plenty of mis-information on the net about widened steels not being legal, they are, there's just a few cert restrictions and they need to be done properly). So plans are 15x9.5 or 15x10 on the rear, 15x8.5 on the front. Tyres to be worked out and confirmed, but big old ballon tyres for that Nascar element... so perhaps 265x50x15s on the rear and appropriate profile 245xXx15 on the front. Need to confirm with Elite they can do the 15s and can band the wheels to get the right offset. Just fancy doing something a little different to the usual staggered 19s...

Ah cool, that gives me some options, so cheers for that (and no point asking if you have any I assume :-) ) Not actually after snow tyres, just a quick ebay.com search throws up loads of steel wheels for the e32 in the US, but they were used as winter wheels etc. and were available from BMW for that purpose. I have a plan with the steels, they will be modified and the work I want done isn't really possible with alloys (can be done but is much more expensive and I don't think will look as good).

Just wondering what other cars have a factory steel option for 5x120, 72.56 hub (not keen on spigot rings, so 74.2 not really what I'm after). In colder climes, the e32 could be fitted with factory 15x7 steels and snow tyres, but likelihood of finding a set over here is not really an option. Offset isn't an issue for what I'm planning, so something like some e36 steels are fine... some 16s on tardme at the moment, but I need 15s....

On mine I cleaned them using oven cleaner (works well on tar spots), then a light sand over everything, a wipe with thinners, couple of coats of primer, then acrylic over top. Just used spray cans, no clear over that as the top coat was satin black (clear coat would defeat the purpose ). Has worked well, lots of coats of the satin black means it's standing up well to stone chips and the like.

No immediate signs of damage to the paintwork, no. If it's a long-term issue, then the car's most likely to be repainted before then anyway.

Air cleaner is just a different name for the same product the guy in the vid uses. Got the liquid CO2, got the ice building up in the car, it was definitely cold enough...

So hit the local Jaycar yesterday and got the air cleaner. Got home, grabbed my GF's hair dryer and got stcuk in... ... I can safely say that it was a complete resounding... well it didn't work... I'd say both dents I tried it on are now slightly shallower, so it did something, but they are certainly still there and there certainly wasn't the successful dent removal the youtube vid shows... ah well, for $18 for a can of air cleaner, it was worth a try.

Yes you do. Whether it be creeping 10km/h over the limit on the motorway, or down some deserted side street, or not slowing to 50kph exactly at the point of the 50 limit sign, or accelerating up to the 100kph limit just before you leave the 70kph zone in a rural area, you speed. Saying 'I don't speed' if you justify yourself by saying "no I mean speeding, like 20 or 30 kph over the limit, what I do isn't real speeding", well the cops zero tolerance policy for holiday weekends would clearly disagree with that. Everybody speeds, the police know this and quite clearly target people in areas where "unobservant speeding", i.e. people not paying attention to their speed and allowing themselves to go over the limit, is prevalent and, regardless of if you think this is revenue collecting or not, a detector allows you to be warned of their presence and adjust your speed accordingly. The purpose of the penalty points and fine are to get you to slow down, if a radar detector does the same job, I don't see any issue.

Then you'll be up there with Father Christmas, the Easter Bunny and the Tooth Fairy, because everybody speeds. Everybody. Speeding is like masturbating, there's those that admit to it and those who lie.

Cool, I can just hit you up on here when I need more bits then... The bonnet seems to sit correctly, it's still lining up with the wings properly and it's the driver's side, so doubt it's sag. Reckon it is as you say, a 20 year old car with a few things starting to wear out. Not a problem, I'm reasonably mechanically competent, just a few things catch me out. Had the alan bolt out completely already, spread the gap with the screw driver and it wiggles, just will not come off... will keep trying though. You're spot on though, the spindle shaft moves up and down, so it is worn. Got a spare?

Cheers guys, reckon it's more the worn washers than bonnet sag. Now to figure out how to get the damn wiper off(apparently I press down... on something...). Oh and Brent, I assume you're the guy I got the CD autochanger and red sunroof off a couple of months ago?

Will try and get to my local Jaycar this weekend and get a can of air cleaner, then see how it goes

This is a new one on me, the driver's side windscreen wiper came loose a month or so ago and was flapping about on it's own, so I tightened it up with an allen key and it was all good... until I noticed the bottom section of the wiper is actually rubbing against the underside edge of the bonnet. I've had a look at the assembly and it seems like the spindle the wiper sits on is sticking further out than it did before, raising the bottom of the wiper assembly and causing interference issues with the bonnet. I tried taking the wiper off to have a look at what was going on underneath, but I could loosen it, but not remove it completely. I'm a bit stuck on this one...

ha ha awesome... I'm actually going to try that, I have just the dent to give it a go on. There's a couple of others that will definitely need the hand of a professional, but for the one I'm thinking of...

It's not expensive when you realise it comes with a special wascher... a good few grand right there...

Can anyone recommend a panel guy or dent removal service out west Auckland? Just want a couple of dents popped out and prepped for painting, I'll be doing the paint myself but just do not have the patience for filling and sanding...

New thermostat is exactly the same as the old one, so should do. Got the new fan clutch installed on Weds night, bled system yet again and finally braved driving the car to work this morning (so plenty of crawling traffic). All good, no overheating, fan engaging nicely, way earlier than it used to even before the overheating started, so fingers crossed all is ok...

Can you even get unsealed batteries these days? Everything is sealed, zero-maintenance now, so this test might not even be possible.

Not quite, you're describing pre-ignition, pinging is where the spark ignites the fuel as per normal, but conditions in the cylinder mean the fuel doesn't burn correctly. Although I thought the same as you for hundreds of years before I was corrected by a car nerd mate.

Cool, will go home tonight and... um... give my car a... erm.... blowjob... But seriously, can see the logic behind it.

yeah will keep bleeding it over the next week. Not driving it at the moment, but will come home from work, bleed, go for a drive, let it cool, bleed again, then do the same the next day. I've also read that it can help if you have the car on a slight incline, so as the driveway is a slight incline, I'll reverse in and try that. Thanks for the help!

Reackon you may well be onto something, I bled it again last night, just more out of curiosity than anything, and there was plenty of air back in the system. Will bleed it a few more times as, like you say, it's really simple and takes about 30 seconds (assume E39s and E32s are a similar set-up). I haven't done any maintenance or anything that would introduce air into the system, so no clue as to how it would have got there in the first place... unless... (see below) That's worst case, really hoping that isn't it, but I have to consider the possibility. However, there's no sign of coolant loss, unless its the gasket failure that's somehow letting air into the system. No signs of condensation on start-up, no mayo in the oil, runs same as ever, so fingers crossed I'm not looking at a head gasket. Has done 250ks though, so wouldn't be that surprised if the gasket has gone.

Yeah I checked that and it's clear, in fact the coolant system seems pretty healthy, no signs of gunge or sludge. It is confusing with the fan, yesterday I sat on my driveway after the first test drive and I could hear it, but on the longer run I was sat at the lights and it started getting hot, when the lights went green I pulled away and there was definitely no fan. Will swap the clutch out when it arrives and see what happens...

Ah sweet, thanks for that. Was looking at it and wondering how it worked, couldn't see any wires or anything that would point to electronic control. Just got one off tardme, so will swap out and see if she's all good.