Yuen

well i have a sticker on the drivers side shock tower, a metal one with the NZ vin number.

and i do have that cutout by the windscreen wipers but it only has the 7 digits in it. not 15.

what do u mean by the brake booster? drivers side inner guard? i've looked under there before, but have not seen anything.

Yours only has 7 digits? IE: XX12345?

If so, that's really all you need to get parts. Ie: www.realoem.com

EDIT: I guess if you really meant digits (no alphabets) then that won't work.

Sorry to hear about the theft, damn thieves, what goes around comes around.

Post it up on the nzice forums. THose guys watch trademe all day long.

I tend to back into parking spaces near a wall if I can till I'm touching it - makes it much harder to break into a boot if you can't stand directly behind it.

Good ideas!

Hey, nice car, it's one of the nicest TIs that I've seen! The AC Type IIIs are 17x8.5" right? They suit the car very well.

Yeh I've actually been thinking bout getting angels, will see

Whats your guys opinions on my mags? I'm comtemplating getting some different ones, maybe some deep dish shadow chromes or something arather

5 spoke wheels always look good on E36s. Deep dish shadow chrome 5 spokes, maybe?

On another note, I was surprised to see those E46 wheels on your E36, I've always wondered how they'd look, and they actually suit it fine! I remember there was a set or two on TradeMe for not much money a while back.

Don't get the 'angel eye' headlamps, unless you want to downgrade.

Thanks Yuen, all the info is much appreciated!

Sounds like the Hella HID set up is what i'm looking for, depending on price and availability of course. I'll be looking in to it.

Also does anyone know where to get front, side and back clear indicators as my non evo does not have them, and i reckon it also makes it look more modern

Sorry for the delay in response, but i havent had the net for 2 weeks.

No worries Alex I just sold a complete set of clears for an E36 coupe 2 weeks ago on TradeMe. Keep your eyes peeled there though, try to get OEM ones and if you are concerned about setting off the tail light failure error, make sure you get the ones with the same number of pins as the ones you have now (this applies to the tails only). You probably have 8 pins on your M3, the ones that have 7 pins will set off an error on your OBC.

UPDATE: They did ring me back the next day in the end, by which time my hose had already arrived on the courier from my parts supplier in Albany.

Sorry to hear about the crappy service. Sometimes I feel that we know more than the dealer. It should obviously be the other way round. They were insisting that my car (after I gave my chassis number, I have it memorised) did NOT have a microfilter. I insisted it does, it's an E36. They said no, since it's a 1991 build it won't have one. I bought one and found it myself in 5 minutes.

Same for the engine coolant drain plug, before I replaced my radiator, I went to the dealer to get the parts. They insisted there was no engine drain plug. That the only drain plug was the one on the radiator. I told the guy at the counter to check, I went to look at his computer, we couldn't find it in the ETK because it was too small. I even got him to ask the senior tech guy and the senior guy said no.

Well what do you know, when I get under the car, ready to do the job, there's a drain plug right there on the engine block. I had to postpone the job, got the part number off my fellow experts on Bimmerforums and life is good again.

This was all at Team McMillan. I'd be happy to know if others have had better experiences at other dealers in Auckland, because I might just go there if they're more knowledgeable.

the slat one looks budget LOL..

was planning on replaceing the slat and buy a mesh and just stick it on.. but the msport one looks way better.. isnt it the same front bumper as a m3?

??? Something tells me you're talking about the stock bumper when you say 'slat'. The M-sport bumper is the same as the M3 bumper, and has 2 types of inserts. Slats or mesh. The slats seem to come on 'luxury package' M3s, and those didn't come with twisty sideskirts either.

That's a tidy interior you got there!

1995 e36 not to sure the model of the head unit

Open the covers like you've done, then use an allen key to unscrew the screws, there are two. One on the left, one on the right. In actual fact it's not exactly the allen key shape I believe, but allen keys work fine and I believe 99% of people use allen keys I've never stripped them just don't overtorque them.

Dammit, another good BMW magazine gone, now we're left with BMWCar and Performance BMW (which IMO is the lousiest of them all).

cool, good to know. im thinking about changing my engine from 2L to 2.5 sometime, rather than changing the whole car since i know everything else is fine.

my engine is a m50, are 325's m52's? i dont really understand that whole numbering system.

AFAIK, there are M50 and M52 320 and 325s, but there are only M52 323 and 328s

Changing your engine from 2.0 to 2.5L sounds like a lot of work and money for too small a difference. Perhaps you should bore out the 2.0L and build it?

That is such a mint car, everytime I see it which is only occassionally, I can't help but stare , you are very lucky to have had the luxury to own a car like that. Good luck with the sale, if its not already sold

I saw this car in the city yesterday, it was parked so I spent some time admiring it. It's stunning, the paint is awesome, looks like it got a full repaint. And the Eisenmann exhaust and Rieger kit...

Found this wee gem.

Link to PDF file

That's certainly useful. Thanks!

I was just wondering if its just my stupid car or all NZ cars that have this. When a bmw comes out of the factory it should get a 15 digit vin number, usualy starting with W...., and then the last 7 digits will be your chassis number. On my car, I cannot find the original VIN number anywhere, just the chassis number and the NZ VIN number (of which the last 7 digits aren't even my chassis number).

I rang team McMillan and they don't have it in their system either (they found this interesting), they only have my chassis number. When i look in my engine bay, under the windshield, i only have my chassis number written there too.

Is this strange or normal?

thanks in advance.

That's odd, mine's a 1992 (built August 91) E36 320i, and the entire VIN is on the firewall in the engine bay, under the windshield.

I was just wondering what the mechanical differences were between these two models. Appart from a bigger engine? Are the brakes, suspension, the diff all the same?

thanks.

You're pretty much right - only the engine is different. 325 onwards also have twin outlets for their exhaust, so the exhaust system can be slightly different.

Simple, just look at the engine, at the front of the engine (right in front of the engine fan) the valve cover will have an extra bulge, while non-VANOS engines won't have it. That's the VANOS unit.

Slat types were fitted predominantly to 318 models and look crap , go the mesh style and yes they are the same so comments apply.

Fibreglass copies look sh*t they can be picked at 10 metres by a half blind person with half an understanding of the E 36 models

I actually like the slats better, it makes the E36 look more like a luxury car. But when the mesh goes on it's also nice in a sporty way.

Yep this is for a guaranteed value. They told me to give them a figure and then they'll come back with the premium.

Not sure, but just wanted to say I like your taste in wheels RCs in 18" are hot!

Is the M3 kit any different to the motorsport one? Because i ment i wanted a motorsport one. Thanks

It's the same thing. Motorsport, or ///M ones, have different moulding badges. Also, some have slats instead of the mesh in the front bumper, these came with the M3 luxury package as well.

A clay bar can get the thin layers of tar off, but for the thicker parts that have been there for some time, you need a tar remover. Or maybe just give the laundry solution method a shot first.

Can't wait... it's fast.

Yep the kit came with everything BUT i have yet to install the bracing as it is a real snug fit already and I couldn't find a good place to brace it. I will probably have to buy a self tapping screw and screw it onto the bodywork just north of the strut tower and behind the headlight assembly OR I may get a longer piece and attach it directly to the strut.

I have a method of cleaning a pod filter

1) remove from car

2) Wash in warm soapy water with dishwashing liquid

3) Dry

4) respray the oil - use a spray bottle and you can buy the filter oil from Repco/supercheap

5) reinstall into car.

Works like a treat everytime.

You could buy the K&N filter recharge kit from Repco for about $30~$35 I think.

Cheers.

Sweet, cheers

Go for 95 at the very least. If you put 91 in you will notice less power, I did!

Just took the car for a short hoon.

don't know if there is actual horsepower gain.

BUT I did notice

1) Slightly hornier sounding car from 2500rpm onwards (still have my exhaust flap and cats and resos)

2) Definitely sharper throttle response from 2000rpm - feel more rev happy.

I'll be awaiting fuel consumption when I fill up and see if there is a difference.... maybe not as I'll be mashing the throttle from now on

Keep us updated on the fuel consumption. I expected to see a price higher than the US one converted to NZD.. but whoa... it's cheap! Thinking of getting one now... must.. resist. Hey, did you get the same accessories as the one in the picture? And do you know how to clean it? Is there a kit like the K&N filter cleaner kit? Simota's site has one, I wonder if you use that, and if so, is it available for a decent price in NZ.

I thought I'd get a really high corrupt score

You answered "yes" to 36 of 97 questions, making you 62.9% BMW pure (37.1% BMW corrupt).

According to the scoring guide, your bmw experience level is: You need to spend much more time with your BMW.