Eagle

To me the Audi has quite a similar setup to the E39 while looking a bit more modern, i like both of them being a classic layout compared to a lot modern ugliness. I don't know about the Audi but the E39 is plenty comfortable for me, those Audi bucket seats do look like they give good support though. I think they are quite similar with the Audi being seemingly more civilized, refined practical performance and the BMW having the more traditional driving pleasure\performance.

Ive had no issues either and good lifespan so i zero benefit for me buying expensive pieces of steel. Ive never had any BMW rotors machined as they are just too thin as Michael has said and cheap to buy anyway. 540i front rotors are alot cheap than rears.

I never measured mine but yeah most E34 ive have had slight variations, iirc wouldnt have been much more than ~10mm thou. Different thickness spring pads can help even up things.

Yep glad some people what im talking about and it was regarding motorcycles which i thought was clear.

No its definitely a grey area as there is a way to do it legally( passing cars on the right within the same lane) but obviously that not always an option with cars positioning them selves all over the lane. Constantly switching from left, right and riding the middle makes it technically illegal but the safest option.

Ill usually pass in the same lane to move to front if a que of traffic stopped at lights(which is legal), or some one is going way under the limit that its just easy\safer to get by them and ride at speed limit. Lane splitting is a bit of grey area but usually as long as traffic is stopped or moving very slow and you keep you speed down then most cops are usually ok with it. Ive only really needed to do it in Auckland for the most part. Amount of car drivers that sit 1-2m off my ass is crash waiting to happen, plenty of stupid people in cars, trucks etc etc. Makes me laugh when people get mad because they cant do what a bike can do in their car.

Alot of Meyle stuff is manufactured in China so thats probably why they are cheap. I doubt they would be better than Boge but may possibly good for the price. Probably pay to do some research of them.

Maybe to some but 7 series aren't exactly easy to sell and i dont see that one selling in a hurry. You can pickup a very tidy 740i for 1\2 that price.

Got my Boge's thru SAS suspension in Auckland. They did i me a real good deal on them at the time($1300-$1400 iirc), worked out a few hundred cheaper than getting them from overseas mainly due to the weight, you have to buy the complete strut housing(rather than just an insert) on E38's etc when replacing front shocks. Never heard of anyone rebuilding factory units, im sure its possible but probably not worth it.

Paid $159 for pair of 540i rotors from NZAD

ATE probably, wont be cheap in NZ if you can get them. Ive always bought chinese? rotors from NZAD and i can't say anything bad about them.

Sounds like E38 sports or UUC/B&G springs with OEM shocks would be a good choice, they are mainly for lowering rather than performance. I replaced worn OEM Boge shocks on a E38 740il with new Boge's and it rode and handled like a 7 series should. Other BMW's have the same suspension design but the suspension components are usually specific to a certain series.

2 of them are common E46 weak points so its not really suprising, not to mention its a 14 year old car nowl so its not just km that have an influence.

Seems pointless not to replace the fan blades and fix the rear view mirror.

Last time this was on i went thru shox.com, 25% off + free shipping(which reduced overseas shipping cost) got me a very good deal.

For my driving situation it is a good choice. If i was in different situation then it could be the worse choice. I am used to cars with decent low down torque so wouldn't own anything that has none.

For someone like me who doesn't do huge km or tow much nothing beats the 540i, everything else feels slow. Never been impressed by the M54 motor, sure they get better fuel milage but are more complex and the power output is barely more than ancient 3.5L M30. Not to mention getting E39's in manual isn't easy so i can handle having an auto if its a V8.

I dont see the point of anything agressive on a 7 series, a car design for comfort. The OEM sport and std boge setups still have quite acceptable handle for a heavy car. Bigger swaybars would help out alot too im sure.

Genuine BMW parts from dealer vs repco branded japanese parts is the usually idiots comparision. Parents bought their E46 at 42,000 and its done over 100,000 now. The Oonly things replaced beside usually maintenance items have been a DISA valve, heater resistor and a control arm.

Yeah i don't think 14k is a realistic figure for one these.

My old man has a P38 Range Rover with the M51. The weight combined with the turbo lag means its slow off the line but goes ok otherwise and is a good work horse.. Im sure a good tune and probably a better turbo would give it that kick up the ass.

Poverty spec but tidy, they're one of the last quality built BMW's. Wish still had my E32 750il sometimes. You've owned one for awhile now so it can't be too bad.

Thanks to NZ ****ing post the gasket has been split but nothing a little sealant wouldn't fix or you can reuse your old one if its good. Will fit any BMW with a ZF 5HP24\A4S440Z automatic transmission found on M62 4.4L V8's. Brand is Febi Bilstein Part no:24341422673 $45

I couldn't even imagine being desperate enough to wait 20mins for kfc of all things.

You probably wont see one that cheap most are $400-500