Neal

The maintenance has been high. Bike spec is somewhere between R & RS. vavle train takes a hammering with RS cams Peak power is 12250 rpm rather than the usual 10 ish. Does 8 l / 100 km

Interesting concept My reckoning I have a Mini that owes me about $3k per meter A Ducati that is roughly 5 cents per meter A 328 that is .10 per meter and the M3 would be about $.15 per meter. Hopefully the wife doesn't read this otherwise two vehicles will have to go

Got 23 l / 100 km around Taupo (m3) . First time I've seen an expected range of less than 300 km on a near full tank.

Pass me the 1/4 inch or 5 mm spanner please. Translates well on the metric and imperial sides of my garage

They're not bad eh Between Taupo and Wellington I got 6.9 / 100km average ( it's down hill though) in low traffic . I get 26.7 mpg on my 60km daily commute......10.5 in those metric thingies

Jap VICs system toll road card holder ?

And that beeping noise on turn off is a reminder to either return the level to r or 1 position Others On s1-s4 you can drop 2 or three gears by tapping the downshift paddle in quick succession (RPM dependant) S1 mode ignores 1st gear on takeoff to limit wheel torque on slippery surfaces S6 mode is only avavailbe with DSC off on normal M3s CSL tune allows full engine torque on gear changes rather than slight reduction on standard smg or half second delay on manual ( interesting enough antadoataly csl are less prone to subframe tearing) Later mcoupe smg software load has smoother auto mode changes ( running this on my 2002 )

@Dkonsta1 If your handy with a soldering iron its possible to retrofit a controller board and freeview module into the later ibus based TV tuners when you change it over. On my dyi to do list after finishing off carpc. http://pibus.info/tv/

Possibly a rhetorical question , but can 02 cars run track mode or do they need the later 03 abs module ?

By contrast I remember seeing a Porsche in a very sorry state parked backwards into the Wellington motorway barrier. A local indie euro garage lost control on the onramp and spun it across three lanes. Was quite amusing watching the guy in overalls trying to explain to the cop what had happened.

Sorry , roughly right shape but about 165mm across for the Apollo at the widest part. http://www.knfilters.com/universal/apollo.htm

Without measuring the filter looks similar to the element used in the K&N Apollo setups. Can check tonight

Didn't Hartge do the earlier v12 in the e36 chassis mid 90s ?. Something like an H50 from memory

Check out agm batteries first in terms of price. 285 is not bad ! Paid closer to $500 for mine. Car has over 50 electronic modules for the car to run well. Cheap batteries are a false enconomy in my opinion.

Can't go wrong with either place IMO. Think I paid about 160 for a 90 point check. Which is reasonably standard across the dealers

Feaken hospitals...... My little girl is far too used to the routine yet is barely 3. And this is my second rant in a week....... That will teach me

E61s certainly aren't child friendly let alone adult friendly . Have to remind myself to let it cool down before giving it a clean.. Similar to the daily challenge mechanics have when work on engines no doubt.

Why is it that the "rant" thread is twice as long as the "life is choice bro" thread ? Are BMW owners glass half empty types or is it just that we can express anger easier than enjoyment ? Pondering ..... Rant over !

Had a number of machines as the coffee addiction has increased . Most machines initially lasting 3 ish years before pump failure. Went e61 about 7 years ago, machine has done 1000s of cups, features copper boiler and braided pressure lines on hot water side. alwats has plenty of pressure for shot and steam, never needs a break between cups. These machines work out cheaper overtime as time before failure is high compared to domestic machines ( exception being Ranccilo)

Bottom looks like a standard box. I'd be inclined to get one of those custom sub box places in Auckland to make you up one. Light grey speaker carpet is a very close match to the factory boot lining carpet which jaycar sells for that factory look. Then a case of matching a subwoofer for a smallish box and a nice small class D amp power it. Or ..........go for side firing woofer such as this build http://www.diymobileaudio.com/forum/build-logs-project-install-gallery/90199-stock-location-sq-2009-e90-bmw-335i-sedan-install.html

I reckon. That z has il6 M3 performance. If a golf did that to me I'd want to shake their hand.

Was a 1995 Penfolds 389 cab Shiraz, about $25 in 1998. Lasted well as half thought it would be corked. Boy was I wrong ?

New job is great thanks. In banking sector so quite a contrast from Government , best part is my team has a number of petrol heads so plenty to talk about in the lunch room. Finished off a 20 y/o bottle of wine tonight bar a mouthful left over from a wedding present. Life is good

Serves me right of taking a swig of wine before golf appeared. Need clean pollo shirt !

I had the best part of a month to think it through during the "three interview process" and even then it was a hard decision. I had a great job working with a team I'd put together over the 20 years. Still st!t scared about the decision, but as they say "feel the fear and do it anyway " All the best with your own decision but don't over think it :-)