Michael.

That is probably one of the worst things you can do. Cats aren't mufflers, they don't cut noise by design. Better off to deal with the mufflers that are noise cancelling. Have you had a modern car without cats too? They smell terrible & that is a bad smell.

I think if you're going to stiffen one part up, any movement / stress is simply going to shift to the next weak link, IE the sheet metal holding the subrame to the chassis Having dealt with an E36 falling apart at the rear it was plain to see how the sheet metal in various places split from the welds. My thought on rubber mounts is they would dampen the shock / stress transferred, of course the older they get the harder they become. I don't know what the new F80s are designed like, but if its anything like the E36-E46 setup that is concerning.

Make it solid so you start cracking the subframe, that is always fun.

That kind of power is only useful for doing burnouts Then again I could see you doing such when out for coffee in Ponsonby DO IT

Repaired a CD stacker over the last couple of days, it needed a bit of clean out, slightly too much dust on the plastic gears for me. I regreased them and did a full recap of the board, it took a good few hours to document their specs, remove, clean the board and solder in new ones. A lot of their locations are near ICs which don't like heat, so plenty of care is required. This one had a CD jammed inside the player mechanism. It seems the deteriorating caps on the control board were causing this issue, other stackers I've fixed including my own usually start with poor tracking and skipping, especially on higher number tracks.

That interior!

Wow that little venting fan for the DME is so cool. Quite a good idea too. What are you doing with the old unit?

How super frustrating.

I tire of how convoluted the new TG hosting arrangement has become... If only they just called it quits and made a whole new show, the desperation they have to cling to the money making machine of the Top Gear franchise is hopeless, especially since it's star host that allowed that to happen is gone.

That's awesome. Would be a good project.

I thought you were selling it ? Haha

Welcome. Very cool looking car!

Awesome. What a price.

^ yeah the F01/F02 is a bit of a failure style wise. Generic saloon shape with a very odd kidney grill arrangement, the size and placement with that flat front looks so wrong. Mercedes and Audi have been making much better front ends because of their grille design and the current pedestrian impact legislation. Sad the days of jutting out bumpers are well gone...

I saw a W222 S600 going down the road yesterday. Classy and elegant is what comes to mind. Unbelievable engine performance too for a non AMG, V12 biturbo 523 hp @4900–5300, 830 N·m @1900–4000 It needs it though, 2,300kg to haul around. Still great figures though, 227hp / Tonne 360nm / Tonne That's shifting for a big barge

No doubt the E38 is the best looking of them all. I don't know what happened with the W140, it doesn't look like anything other than a grotesque lard with the 3 pointed star on the front. Sad when the W126 had real flare and style... The replacement W220 was quite bland too, I'd avoid one of those like the plague, even with the S55 version. Problems for days! W221 finally go its act together, but like new cars I'm sure we have yet to see what these are like long term. E38 still wins as far as I'm concerned. Some of the 90s Jaguar XJRs are a cool subsitute though, big and long with classic styling, X300 and X308 chassis particularly.

BMW owners manual Stats I found suggest the 750i models are 2180kg with fuel and driver, 321hp / 490nm Makes for 147hp per tonne / 225nm per tonne I mean they are all relative figures for cars of that weight / late 90s engine performance. The less attractive Mercedes S600 W140 beat them all though with 400hp, 2.2 Tonnes, 181hp / per tonne! That is a quick barge

I think applying some data on the matter is a good idea. Taken from BMW documentation: 740i Curb weight (with driver, ready for operation, full tank of fuel, options not included) 2050kg With the 2001 V8 4.4, that makes for a quoted, 282hp and 439nm output. Giving, 137hp per tonne / 214nm per tonne 0-100km/h 7.0s ____________________________________________________________________________ 728i Curb weight (with driver, ready for operation, full tank of fuel, options not included) 1930kg With the 2001 I6 2.8, that makes for a quoted, 190hp and 280nm output Giving, 98hp per tonne / 145nm per tonne 0-100km/h 9.6s ____________________________________________________________________________ As well as that the engines delivery characteristics are also very different being a V8 vs I6 so that also needs to be taken into consideration. I personally think anything less than 150hp per tonne is a pretty underpowered drive, still - it depends what you want from the car etc.

But then I wouldn't have an improved E38 / project. Hypothetically speaking anyway.

Terrible.

I'd love one of these, find a good late 728i and change the engine to something a bit nicer 3.5 Litre M52 / M54 would be cool to make it like the old 735i E32 with the M30. But that is quite costly for little gain... Maybe 2JZGTE in standard spec would be nice. Mmmmm

Hey guys, Might be of interest to some, I have a pair of Audi RS4 muffflers with no tips. Include valves for louder and quieter operation, vacuum actuated. 2.25" Inlets / Outlets. Could be perfect for many BMWs! $200 http://www.trademe.co.nz/motors/car-parts-accessories/performance/exhaust/auction-1022392610.htm

Genesis cassette tapes.

Reading Toyota technical literature

It's going to sound like a rattly honda without the baffling inside Don't do it.