Neal

The metal firewall at the back of the e36 (and e30s) has been pre-cut for the ski bag accessory thing that appears through the arm rest. If you look close the oval shape metal cover is only tac welded in four corners. A few taps with a hammer and the cover will come out leaving a prefect oval hole (30cm by 25cm) to get sound between the boot & interior. As the hole is already made for the ski bag kit you shouldn't have any warrant issues as no cutting is required. However , The e36 backseat as a reasonable level of sound deadening on it , so bass coming from the boot through the hole / backseat combo will drop the bass by about 10 -12 db. I've used this hole to mount a simple IB 12 inch subwoofer up against it in the past. Sub worked well on the e30's due to back seat design, the e36 required more power because of the back seat. One thing to consider is that the boot isn't so air tight so you need to be careful about exhaust fumes entering the cabin via the boot (especially if de-cat performed). Mainly an issue if you carry something in the boot that needs the boot lid slightly open.

Could be tuff if based on an ACS 3.2 Compact. 5.6 to 100kmh , 260 kmh vmax

E36's either have 4's ot 5 1/4 rears depending on year, very easy to replace , pop up rear grill , phillips screwdriver and you're away.

I'll still stand by Shellys, I'll share an experience going to another so called specialist in Wellington a number of years back. (Not PAGE BTW). The car broke an exhaust stud, no problems with that, a common issue on M20's. Whilst driving the car home going up Haywood’s hill the temperate gauge went off the clock (Very quickly as the e30's do). The result was a blown head gasket and a cracked head. What had happened was when they'd worked on removing the broken exhaust stud they'd moved the overflow tank out of the way. They did the repair and moved it back into place. However, the hose that connects between tank and raditor hadn't been checked. The result was the hose was just hanging on and let go about 15 kms later. Car dumped its water and cooked the engine. The specialist argued that it wasn't his problem.(Usual BS about car being high mileage etc) Wife and I were left with a $3,500 bill (Parts only as brother rebuilt the engine) and no car during winter for 3 months. I won't name the specialist as I think they probably spend time on here and are quite well respected and it was some time ago. If Shelly's had done anything similar I doubt it would have cost me a cent. BTW, A few of the Pages guys were at Shelly's when I first went to Shelly's.

Try http://www.caraudioproducts.co.nz/jlaudio.html for JL in NZ, the stealths were about $1000 , but that was when the NZ dollar was low against USD.

Could a few Wellington guys stop bagging Shelly's and let the rest of us take advantage of offers such as Michaels. The guys probably thinking why did I bother. Michael , keep them coming How about some discounts on BMW wheels & body kits ? I've been using them for 18 years now without issue across 4 different BMW's. I've always had excellent service. I know a number of Shelly customers that think the same thing.

Lyn Rodgers Automotive (09 534 3363) is up your way and has an excellent reputation for building race engines. NA engines his specialty His shop should be able to advise on best treatments to retain some of the strength when removing metal (EG shot penning / polishing etc )

Boston Accoutics make nice componets for the front speakers. I have one of their subs in the boot as well. Some of the front speakers are rated at 3 ohms so you'll make a few more RMS's out of most amps. They need plenty of clean power to sound best. http://www.bostonacoustics.com/car/car_pro...;product_id=297 http://www.bostonacoustics.com/car/car_pro...p;product_id=68 If your not worried about the sounds for the rear passengers then what about some jl stealth subs. They mount up to the rear deck speaker cutouts. http://mobile.jlaudio.com/products_stealth...il.php?fit_id=2

Names Neal At the risk of been called "Dad" by some of the younger members posted a couple of pics sampling the competion

Have a mate that use to teach before having 3 kids , lives near lower hutt. Could ask him if he's still interested in teaching if you haven't found someone .... Neal

Simple , one of each. Personally I prefer the look of my coupe to the wifes 4 door. But when it comes to having more than one passenger , the 4 door wins hands down.

I'm not suprised , Smith & Smith Wellington replace the wind screen on my 325 , The fit is very poor , the outer seal has a 3-4 mill gap on one side and the buggers put a couple of small dents in the bonnet where they rested the screen on it. I complained to my insurance company about the quality of the work who weren't interested. Let ask know how you get on.

Looks like the larger six's do well on the fuel front. I thought they'd drink more.

Based on fuel light coming on (e36) , commute with combo of motorway / heavy traffic / city & urban. 1981 323i auto 400 km for 50 litres on a good day 1985 323i manual 450-490 for 50 litres 1991 318i e36 auto 510 -550 to fuel light 1994 325i e36 manual 520 -550 '' 1996 328i e36 auto 530 - 560 '' (a bit suprised !)

Shorty , Show your mate the ghost rider verse M Coupe video, should change their mind about BMW's being drifted http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7ZxKMwl6cQc

Is that not an e34 ? Couldn't tell , but you wouldn't expect to see a 5 or 7 series being drifted. Any takers .... Martyyn ? Would give the police a real reason to pull you over.

Agree with Top Gear on this one, probably driving like this http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-7134388833706149913

Ricky, I came arcoss this e30 318is enthusiasts site when living in the uk , Will answer most of your questions around the 318is and has pictures of motor etc. http://www.esatclear.ie/~bpurcell/index.html

I visit the x10 site from time to time. Nice thing about x10 gear is it's standards based so you can get products from different manufactures to work together.Worth a look if you can stand popups. http://www.x10.com

Thats a serious amount of kit on bass duty , What sort of SPL are you hoping for ? Like the BMW emblem on the perspex

Andrew, In my view unless you can legally get out of this I'd suggest for your own reputation that you finish your current job in the normal way. If you're staying within the same industry word could get around that you lack ethics by finishing early. May not effect your next job , but when in the future your going for a job and someone does a background check , calls this employer and finds out you walked out. Could limit future opportunities by leaving early. In IT we have a saying "Don't burn your bridges" .

Done

From what I've seen you'll also find some of the cleanest and most looked after cars compared to most large cities in the World, BMW's are a very expensive car in Singa's they possibly pay the highest BMW prices in the world, If it's been garaged at home and work (very likely) , you probably won't find better. Mind you , you may need to run one in , it's most likey never been over 80kmh in it's life.

For the sticky Couple of UK websites to find cars , also good to compare with NZ values to see if it's worth while. Despite some peoples view of UK salting roads in the winter many fine examples can be found without rust. If cars are coming out of the cities such as London many of the cars will have parking dents and dings. Service history a must , garaged car more ideal. Make sure the car is HPI clear , Cat D means accident repaired. http://www.pistonheads.co.uk http://www.autotrader.co.uk http://www.birdsauto.com/ ( Aftermarket tuned)

Interesting thread MP3 Files have two parts within the data file. Firstly the bits have an encoded audio stream , which has been sampled data rates between 24 bits / sec to 320 bits , The higher the bit rate, the lower compression of the orginal audio track. (Read closer quality to the orginal track) The second part of the mp3 file contains data , such as track name , group name etc. The function of the head unit in an MP3 system is to decifer the data part of the file system of an bunch of MP3 which has track name etc. The Headunit will also extract the audio stream for the data file so you can hear it . Mp3 boot changers normaly do the following. Extract the audio out of the MP3 file and pass it to the head unit via the RCA audio leads. Extact the Mp3 Data information (ID3 tag) and send it down the "Bus" part of the stacker cable to the head unit so it can display the track. Or the Headunit will send instructions down the data bus to tell the bootchanger which track to play. In regards to your 1996 headunit / stacker neither can either play or control MP3 encloded CD's. It's not a case of adding a Mp3 boot changer to the headunit as it won't be to control what track to play etc. The only way to get a Mp3 stacker to work with the unit is to get one with a remote control / display unit and connect that to the head unit . Personally if I was going down the Mp3 track , I'd replace the headunit with something that can connect and control an Ipod. With 60 gig you can sample the CD's with Wav files and have no compression on the audio tracks. Or fit 400-600 Cd's on it in Mp3 format In terms of Mp3 Verse CD's in a car. If the sampling rate is 128k or above , I tend to agree with bravomikewhiskey with most factory car systems. The difference is so slight due to the resolution of the factory head units / speaker (HK pack included) that most people won't tell the difference. But then again , why limit your music to 10 or 11 CD's when you can carry your entire collection.