Eagle

Pretty happy with my std E34 535 with 330,000km making 171rwhp(6 less hp than a 3L M54 auto) In my experience with M30's - new ignition components, cleaning injectors, adjusting afm etc has helped restore power. Would of nice to dyno my old 535i with 530,000 on the clock.

Id most people wouldn't care but you can get some anal mofos having a cry over things like that . Same people who probably cry over factory manual conversions, certain engine swaps etc.

Mobil 1 5-40W full synthetic is what i used to use. I think any good quality synthetic 0-10 would be fine, would need about 8L

then you may as well do gearbox bushings and seals if needed.

If you dont care about being slow the M10 is great, reliable, easy to work on and cheaper to repair. Can't say the same for M52.

Not everyone, just clueless people.

Sounds like spending your money elsewhere is the best solution if you aren't happy.

They are decent shocks for the coin, i was lucky to get a whole set for $550 on my old E34.

No use for this anymore so need it gone. http://www.trademe.co.nz/Browse/Listing.aspx?id=748793233

I dont think you'd want to touch anything with the N42\N46 engine in it. M42\43\44 maybe slow but at least they are quite reliable.

Caught slipping

The average NZ'ers idea of "mint" holds as much merit as their "serviced regularly" definition.

My experiences with the T1-R's and Proxes4 was while the grip decent the sidewall flex was quite noticeable, this on a E30 with 205/50/15 tyres so probably worse on an E46. Last time i looked 16" rims are a pita to get good tyres for and aren't that cheap. Yeah 17" would be better and cheaper but 18's do have more tyre selection.

Nope

4 available @ $10ea Part no:11-42-9-063-138 Brand: Mahle (OEM)

Can't say i had anything to compare it to but it sounded fine to me. Install was easy as its just plug and play and route the aux cable. I remember something about E39's with 16:9 display having aux cable which you can just buy and plug into the back of monitor.

Plenty of stuff on ebay. I used one from InCarConnections, was like $80

Would of thought the M62 with a manual box and super charger would be the best option, unless a S62 coversion is cheaper than i think.

Since its probably going to be an auto, 540i all the way. 3 series with slushboxes have never felt right to me.

Same. I dont think they are worth more than $600 myself.

sh*t like this is the reason i didn't want to give my old E34 a new paint job.

Its also a bunch of other levy fees, admin costs etc, not just GST.

Shipping shocks and springs shouldn't cost more than ~350 NZD from the states but then you got f**king customs tax. Cheap coilovers would be a waste of time in your case and i doubt they would go the distance. Finding a good 2nd hand set of springs locally will save you on shipping cost and gst. Ive used Bilstein's in the past but prefer Koni's these days. My last E34 had Vogtland springs with Koni street shocks, decent ride quality and handling while costing me less than $800.

Your definition is clearly different to mine, all that means nothing to me. I can see tidy M3's going up in value and becoming a collectible, but imo they will never be a true classic BMW

Wont be reaching classic status anytime soon.