Jazzbass

I'm still undecided. My wife and I bring in a decent combined income, no kids at home anymore, no student loans, no HPs etc and therefore Labour is offering us a total of nothing. National on the other hand is offering us a decent chunk of money per week. I loathe Labour's social engineering of NZ into a nanny state and all the PC bullshit just pisses me off so much (I work in the education sector - 'nuff said). OTOH, I can't imagine Brash running my country and I don't want Winnie anywhere near any decisions of importance - imo he's a political embarassment. If there was a way I could vote to totally eliminate the loonies (Greens and NZF etc), I'd be in like a shot... bravomikewhiskey is right - people tend to get pissed off if you have a different opinion to them, so discussions on politics are pretty much a lose-lose and I generally avoid them, although this one seems fairly civilised - so far :thumb:

LOL - Well, I'm old I may have forgotten ... doh! It was a 1974 Mazda RX3 which I bought brand new in Feb 1974 - I was sure it was a 13A - was I wrong? Maybe it was a 12A - hell I can't remember now, dammit!! I only once got beaten at the lights in those days - by a rather hot Mk 1 Ford Zephyr of all things (which incidentally sounded very, very sweet). You can't compare those old cars with modern ones - hell a modern push bike would thrash my old cars... In 1974 you had to order new cars in and I didn't even get to drive it as I'd skipped the waiting list (friend of a friend) and had already paid cash for it (it was $3800 new).

> All engines sound badassness with the right work(even a scrotery) I agree, you are quite right - I've heard otherwise identical cars, one of which sounded miles better than t'other. The setup and tuning can make a huge difference. I've even loved the sound of one of my friend's Stingray - whilst hating the sound on another's similar 'vette.

One thing the US V8s excel at is making an old XJ6 Jag into the car it should have been. The first time I saw that was in 1979 - I couldn't believe anyone would do that to a Jag - then I drove it....

I agree with the M5 - very nice indeed - haven't listened to the Audi.

Excellent! Pleased to meet an enthusiast.. :-)

O yeah - I can't stand lawmowers or vacuum cleaners either - LOL

LOL - I've had 49 cars and 5 motorbikes - not everyone thinks the same about things... we have to allow for individual tastes! :-)

Thanks for that *sic. I don't know if I'm a pussy, but my Mum's dead, so isn't a man. Not only do I loathe the sound of American V8s, I also loathe the sound of Harleys, two strokes, blow-off valves, hot fours and rap/hiphop .... :-) FWIW, I've owned a Camaro, Mustang and Impala, so I do have some experience of US V8s (aka boat anchors). Ownership of them does not imply I have to like their sound. As far as performance, my 13A RX3(aka sewing machine) used to eat my Mach 1 although I wasn't that keen on the Wankel sound either...

In general, I absolutely loathe the sound of American V8 engines. But BMW V8s do not sound like that. Why is it that BMW manage to make a V8 which sounds so much sweeter than Ford or Chevvy etc? Is it because a BMW V8 is a refined engine, compared to an American engine, where there is less refinement required - eg: if you want more power, make it bigger etc? I'm sure some of you V8 owners would be able to help me here??

I think the lower suphur content is what has made me decide to go with the 98: Property Ultimate Premium Unleaded Unleaded 91 Octane (RON)(min) 98 96 91 Benzene (max %) 1.0 4.0 4.0 Sulphur(max ppm) 50 150 350 IRRC, it was the high suphur content of USA petrol which caused problems with the Al/Nickasol engines of the 328? I have such an engine in my 528 - better safe than sorry - after all, as someone said - why pay a premium price for a great car and shove cheap petrol into it??

A friend of mine has just done quite a bit of research into this area and he claims that evidence shows the higher octane fuels actually improve engine longevity as well as giving better performance. He's a tight as a snapper's arse, but he happily shells out the extra for 98 all the time as a result of his findings.

Mine has been creased since birth..

drag times

After 7 years with a couple of E36s, I moved to an E39 two months ago. For the first few weeks, it just felt 'big' and my driving style changed as a result. This week, something happened and everything fell together and the car now feels 'normal and right'. Although most BMWs feel much the same - the change from a 3 to 5 is different from just changing between 3s. How long does it take for you to feel at one with a new car?

In my filler cover it says ROZ/RON 91 - 98. I now know what RON stands for - thanks, mate. but: What the smeg is ROZ.

I've tried both and can't tell any difference at all in round town driving. I mean the max speed I can do is 70kph on the way to work and most of the way its 50kph - I'm not caring about performance on going to work days. However, when I'm driving out of town, I use the highest octance I can find - currently 98.

I threw a set of Silverstones on my 325 and they held on really well at Manfield and on the road, wet or dry. They were cheap as and lasted well - they're still on the car, which I've sold. Most importantly (LOL) they looked great on the car. I'm currently running Bridgestones, which were OEM tyres.

I guess he got it right, then - not everyone does.

My E36 325 had a great sounding exhaust and as a result I never used the stereo - I loved the exhaust note too much. Now with my E39 528 I can't hear the exhaust note at all, so I use the stereo all the time. Anyone else found that?

> Unless you have tricked out your suspension 17 & 18 inch wheels will probably drive like crap. I agree. I recently drove an E46 328Ci which had 18s on it and it was dreadful - very harsh, unenjoyable ride. It had previously had 16s on and was, IMO, a far better car in both ride and handling for it. I also found on my E36 325 that changing from 205 to 235 made a huge difference - more road noise and less steering feel. Overall, less enjoyable to drive. While changing rims and tyres may make the car look better, there is normally a trade-off in ride, road noise and handling. Yes it can be sorted, but often it isn't.

Roger (Rog) E39

Yes, ur correct - I used to be able to see mine at the bottom right (driver's side) of the windscreen even with the bonnet closed.

There is a fix at E39 tips & tricks for stopping that irritating fan noise in the CC unit (left side of the CCU when you first get into the car). I couldn't be bothered taking mine to bits, so I've used a black (to match the dash) paper clip poked into the fan blades and sitting round part of the grill - undetectable. That stops the fan and since its a low torque fan it doesn't harm it. Its easily reversible and takes a total of about 20 seconds to do. End of annoying noise.

I've had my share of tickets and I've never been pulled over when I was obeying the law. I treat it as a fun tax. The times when I haven't been copped burning up the road far outweigh those where I have. I've had free fun. Most of us know how fast our cars will go - if we know that then we've been driving two and half times the speed limit. We were lucky we didn't get copped when we did that - or no licence. The people who fair piss me off are the blokes who lose their licence for DUI and still drive pissed, without a licence. I'm out there stone cold sober and I don't want to get plowed by those idiots.