Neal

according to chemical guys, of their snow foam soaps:

"All Chemical Guys products are biodegradable and VOC compliant. They contain no volatile chemicals, and they dilute and break down when mixed with water."

I can imagine the neighbours though... the FIGJAM assumption that I'd not have done my homework before dumping my nasty car chemicals into the stormwater drains, which of course in turn runs to the sea. They're probably driving a Prius and burning tanalised fenceposts in their woodturners. #; )

Are you in a suburb that drains to the basin in Porirua, Neal? Genuine concerns there, understandably.

Storm water ends up in the inlet where I live. Driveway drainage ends up in it. I'm thinking of getting some kind of water boom or washing sump system. Unfortunately I have no grass areas and the only way to create one is to cut down well established native trees which is ironic. I typically only wash the car with water , car bush and shammy.

I like the evolution of the BMW, refinement with performance comes to mind. I quite liked the f series 320i touring the dealer lent me. It actually reminded me more of my old e30 than the e36 & e46. Come to think of it I also set a faster slalom time in a f 320d than my e46 M3. I think BMW just gets better.

What happens to all that foam after ? Just asking , does it break down ?

Live in a suburb where it's now illegal to wash your car if any of the runoff gets to storm water drains

Not sure about the others, but I would avoid those like the plague.

As Josh says, there is a lot of difference with the same size tire between brands, (look at the 'stretch' a PSS has compared to other brands)

PSS a step up from these. For the odd bit of Motorsport RE11 better again. re71r has replaced it but sizing might be an issue. Pzero has been known to crack below 5 degrees btw Probably not an issue in Auckland

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/TT3D:_Closer_to_the_Edge

This is one of best motorcycle documentary I've seen. Best watched on a big screen with a home theatre system behind it. It really brings the story of the Isle of Man TT . It stars Guy Martin who is larger than life to the point I thought he was an actor as he's so out there. The on bike footage is just mad !

Enjoyed it more than Sennia

Got back from the annual holiday, 1500kms in the wife e36 328i , can't believe that it achieved 700kms on a tank, 4 up with the boot filled to within one wafer of capacity.

Non M suspension soaked up the bumps well. Might scrap the x5 replacement idea of another year ....

The guy has a number of BMs, wife and two kids.

What's with stereotyping converitale owners on this thread ?

Come to think of it my gay friends and family drive everything from 60s muscle cars, Rollers, Bridgeport rotarys, Toyota Carollas and e36's.

Not one convertible. Only vert owners I've met have been hetro guys.

It's a colleague of mine. One of the most fastidious car owners I know. His M3s have always been maintained and upgraded to the highest standards.

This car is no exception.

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there, that's better. you got some aliteration going on there too. #8 )

That was Thursday's wine.....Shirza tonight......

Will be doing the same again tomorrow whilst most people are at work ?

Beach

BBQ

Merlot

Gutted the old cd stacker.

Raspberry Pi based system will replace the CD stacker function. Control will be via factory Nav controls.

Kit list

Raspberry Pi 2 b ..... edit Now Raspberry Pi3.

P-Ibus custom board with onboard Ibus interface and hifi components

Wifi dongle

Bluetooth dongle

128gig thumb drive

Asus USB Bluray player for cd/DVDs duties

Mini sata extension cable

Powered 7 port USB hub

Logic relay to send power to usb hub

Modified video loom to BMW video unit for reverse camera and system video

Old pc 3.5 inch system rack trimmed down.

Sabre based USB Dac 96k/24 bit with optical out.This will feed audio directly to car stereo processor via optical interface.

Cd stacker emptied ( got one for $40 off TM)

Usb Bluray drive. Case removed and sides dermalled to fit stacker opening.

Usb hub and raspberry position mock up.

Wife's 328i recently had drive shaft UV joint replacement. Drive line vibration gone completely.

Here's to the next 100k kms.... Or X5 replacement

Hi Neal might like to extend that thought to some kiwi drivers as well

Allan, too true but this was similar to a DIC driver. Absolutely clueless to what was happening around then.

Not looking forward to the return trip home in a few weeks.

I've found with Bridgestone tyres they are at their best from roughly 1000kms. Had re001/2s and the ones before. Same for the out going re11 as well. Well priced tyres for the performance .

tourist drivers

Had my first dose yesterday of the stereotypical ones that have been making the news lately.

Rental car pulls out into SW1 by Wiaouru. I brake hard (70k zone) . About 50 meters later the tourists car just comes to a standstill in the middle of the road. Occupants are just looking around Wiaouru from the middle of the road!

Sound the horn and the driver finally realised they weren't the only car on the road. So they pull across in front of an oncoming car. Another near miss.

All for tourist being able to drive here, but clearly some don't have the basic skills to drive on our roads. Basic test needed before letting them loose !

^there was an Emola red at Manfeild on the weekend.

Was that the supercharged one , plate something like 500hp ?

maybe a second hand Coke machine and install gear inside. Only would need to chill to about 20 degrees ?

Isofix tether mounts on e46 M3. Nervous bit of drilling on rear parcel shelf, but came together alright. Took about 5 hours .

My Little girl likes ridding in the M3 which made it worth while.

Great project. Like the way that it issues little room in the dash and the apps your using.

The issue you where having with the Dacs is the factory amp was expecting balanced audio so running a unbalanced output of 2 volts doesn't give enough drive. The BMW balanced amp input is expecting close to 8 volts . So basically you get 5 watts per channel peak.

Clear run on an inlet road near Porirua on way home

Dancing with 3 y/o daughter this evening ( she's been unwell this week)

Red wine

Just wow , that's an awesome restoration job.

Do the x5s come with side sun shades on the rear doors standard or is it an option extra or "highline" model only ?

I'm not getting a definitive answer via Google.

My thinking is I want something that has similar passing acceleration to a standard e36 328i if needed. The 328i I think is a good car in this regard getting passed the 80kmh brigade that like to speed up when you go to overtake.

Looks like the 30d is similar and the v8 looks very good in this regard.

Period correct aftermarket gear, nice!

Possibly showing age here, Brought this brand new along with a alpine tape player. Amps were 20,40 & 90 watts reflectivity. Considered high powered at the time. Bumper bolts used to come loose running a crewinvega in sub.

These days , 100 - 150 rms on components with 500 rms plus on bass becomes the norm.

I wouldn't put a class ab amp under the seats if more the 60 rms btw unless it has a massive heatsink or the air can easily be extracted. ( if you like your music louder). Amp may run on the hot side which will shorten its life.

Come to think of it, still have bits of my old e21 system circa 87