Eagle

Some certainly appear better than others but dont see anything for sale that had a real mechanical birthday. To me it always felt like people stop about driving them when they reach 10+ years old and creep up around 100,000km, certainly rare to see anything over 200,000km. I dont know if that's due to perceived value loss, mechanical uncertainty, or both. Any profit would probably vanish if you refreshed it and drove it regularly for 5 years. 

I thought dragon sports were decent for the price. They are average when compared to the premium sport or touring tyre but ahead of the average Chinese stuff.   

Possible. Bad strut mounts or something loose could cause it. Popping the strut cap and check the nut is tight would be the first step. Giving the end links another crank cant hurt.

2 people should be able to do a good check with one moving the shaking the steering wheel when needed and one under the car looking and feeling for play. Prybar is useful too.

Only go to replace the rest of the original worn parts now

Pedals like those with no rubbers are bloody dangerous in certain conditions.

Looking at Pirelli site they appear very similar\same grouping to the P7's i have on my compact, made in asia somewhere too iirc. Those are generally slightly better stats if you go by their performance ratings.

I can't fault mine for a daily driver in any area especially since they were only $99 each.    

Sway bar bolt hole is typically larger than the link bolt but shouldn't be by much ~1mm. They do have fairly high torque value so shouldn't move if tightened correctly.

Have you done any other front end work? or what been replaced? Manually checked\felt for any play in bushings, ball joints, steering joints\bushings etc when wheels off the ground and\or loaded? 

May of rounded out the hole a bit. Could try to lower the strut down and try to press it in with a c clamp. 

I remove and reuse those studs all the time. They have always gone back in fine using the same nut to draw them in and holding/pushing them up by hand.

I'd just get a 2nd hand one. They are stepped with splines so unless you get a bolt with with the same step or add small washer to fill in you are leaving a small gap. 

6 hours ago, gjm said:

I don't want white, but something a little less dark would be nice!

Ive always liked 80's German blue interiors. Some balance between light and dark and something different.

1 hour ago, Driftit said:

I've had grey before in my E46 and it was like it was always slightly dirty no matter how much I cleaned it. Had tan in my E39 and it felt dated and grubby, especially because it also had tan carpets and dash

Grey is just really depressing to me, many cars i never bought due to that. My E39 tan\beige interior was nice but had the black dash and other trim pieces which balanced it out a bit. Worst looking interior when worn and dirty like most Nissan Tidia driving around

Yeah having Koni's and the adjustability would certainly help. 

5 hours ago, Olaf said:

Don't feed the troll lads.

Tilted trolling?

Weird code and wording but aftermarket scan tool so no surprise.

If it is the OBC immobilizer then you could try a reset. Ive seen the procedure at some point but cant remember. Google search will yield no doubt.

10 hours ago, Olaf said:

why do folks love Eibach so much with their one-size approach

Eibach pro-kit is basically the same ride quality as OE sport springs, but slightly lower to remove gap. They work well OE dampers and are black so look stock too. Maybe not the best choice for tourings it seems but are fine for the more common sedan and coupes.

Ive run never H&R sports but they are lower and firmer than the above, uprated dampers seem to be always suggested which bumps costs up or at least harder on stock units. May or not be an issue but it could be an expensive exercise especially if you dont like the change.

Yeah when I looked I'm sure they were all the same number as Olafs. End digits may of been missed on Spareto or wherever I looking

Springs are calculated based on options and body style I presume hence no part numbers. Assuming no one has swapped them they are probably correct. As you know Eibachs prokit are soft and non specific, so stock touring appears to be the better choice 

19 minutes ago, Olaf said:

Old tools

Was beginning to think i was the only here. May take me awhile but i could probably build up a quality tool set for a similar price than some cheapo new one. Facebook marketplace can deliver too despite the rubbish 'search'. Used Koken stuff (mainly ratchets) always seem to be for sale on trademe for around $50. What ive used for most of my wrenching life - https://www.trademe.co.nz/a/marketplace/building-renovation/tools/hand-tools/sets-kits/listing/4405203721 

24 minutes ago, Olaf said:

LED lighting

Love my Fenix headlamp. I know some people dont like them, but i wear mine much that forget its even there sometimes. Lamps have their uses too.

Tightening bolts etc like that via rattle gun is incompetence/inexperience like you said. Average alignment shop doesn't have the best tool selection but you provided tools, no excuse regardless. 

Bad luck i think, maybe you got more cowboys down there in Christchurch. I tend to use only one alignment shop + dealer here in Hamilton because ive never had an issue in over decade.

F\L toe is a bit poor. Guess you going back in BMW once you get it all sorted\certed anyway.

Yeah if it has spark then pull all the plugs, fuel pump relay and crank it over without them for a bit and retest. Pump could also be priming but not supplying correct pressure at rail. Pulling the fuel return at the rail if is the basic way to check.  

3 hours ago, Apex said:

Funny, I have a Koken socket set from an uncle that passed away in the 90's and its still mint also. Even still have the 10mm

I get thr feeling that japanese stuff was more common place and probably cheaper back in the day. Aigo spanners used to common and cheap, now they fetch good money 2nd hand. Used quality hand tools are one of the best things you can buy with money, they don't tend to lose value, last forever and never become obsolete.

8 hours ago, Vass said:

Lifetime replacement though. I've only broken a 3/8 one so far, and that was probably my own stupidity, trying to break loose a bolt that was too big and done up too tight for it.

I just like stuff that holds up for life and feels good to use, just like id buy a quality used car over a cheap new one any day. Started off using my father Koken set hes had since 70's, still perfect and been used quite a by me over the years. BMW's are pretty good but when you working in tight awkward areas undoing stuff in more comes into play, those tool test channels like Project Farm etc give you a idea. 

Is it getting spark? Pull plug\coil, make sure its no flooded then ground it and crank.  Bad CPS shouldnt trigger the fuel pump and or coils.

Slight bump in rpm on the gauge when cranking too is another basic test but easy enough to do the proper resistance check on the M60 with a multimeter.

2 hours ago, Driftit said:

am not convinced they do here

If you knew were to get them in the past there were some good deals via i-tools in Wellington eg $349 for m18 high torque.

Toolpro ratchets suck and fail easy like most of the cheap brands. Plenty of good second hand stuff around  ive bought Koken and Snap-on ones for around $50 and can they can be rebuild for around that price if needed.

Lives down the road from me. Seen it for sale for the road. Not bad but nothing really special about it. Good thing for buyers its still basically the same price as it was nearly a decade ago.