Neal

Good on you for doing the start of the Cisco exams , it's become the minimum standard for entry level jobs into networking. You'll need the exam behind you to get your foot in the door overseas. The final exam is a series of multi choice questions. My understanding is that it's self adapting so will pick on an area if you start making mistakes. Make sure your solid on your Netmasking before doing the exam and know the differences between 24 /30 /32 bit netmasks etc. Use to be a site www.learntosubnet.com , it had an .exe for learning subneting , the site appears to be down , but someone or site is bound to have a copy. I don't have a copy with me here , but you can PM in late April , I'll be back in NZ and will have access to it again if you can't find it. Make sure you learn the full command syntax for IOS commands as the questions will give you a few similar looking options , with only one correct. Get in the habbit of using the full syntax util you become solid with it , EG show interface fastethernet 0/0 rather than sh int fa 0/0 Learn your OSI model , make sure you understand what layer does what , You will get a few questions on this. Also have a look around the internet , a few sites have a questions in a similar format before spending your money on the final exam. Plenty of sites similar to this one. http://www.jidaw.com/certarticles/ccna.html It's also worth visiting www.Gjobs.co.uk , It has a series of cisco tests (and others) that you can do and link to a CV , It's worth doing a profile just for testing sections. It will give you an idea of which areas you'll need to work on. Hope this helps Neal

I like the new retro styled Mustang and the forthcoming Selby GT500 5.4 32 Valve with supercharger, but not enough to want to shell out cash for one (couldn't afford one anyway) Other than that model , I think most of them look very ordinary , possibly why they are in trouble in the USA now.

Should be alright on the later E30's , I remember Shelly's ran a special in the 90's for these , about $175 from memory. It wouldn't work with a 85 323i , Wasn't enough room between the indicator stalk and the wheel.

Was just thinking about the Hp of 323's . The later ones were rated at 110kw /150hp (hopefully you've got the 150 hp version). Can't remember if the difference was compression or camshaft. They are a good engine , lots of torque around idle (longer stroke than 325) ,They are a bit thirsty on the gas , maybe motronic will help this a bit. If you stay with Le injection you won't need to remap if you go filter / exhaust mods later on.

Glad I was of help.

Chris Amon's old F1 car is up for auction. See link. A good bit of NZ driver history. http://www.qv500.com/handh06feb21matra.php

Andrew ,thats good news , five so far. Whats the mix of engines so far, are builders going for M20's over M40's ?. Gus ,Somehow I suspect the Le fuel injecton question earlier on is related. .

The photo's don't really do the CLK DTM justise. Every part of that car is amazing . Saw one at a recent London show, very tasty. I take it the M3 was a CLS ? edit , sorry , just noticed the fog lights , modded M3 ?

Thanks for spending the time scanning this . Building costs look reasonable as well. Something to ponder over the year

Does anyone have detailed info on the new 318 / 320 series ?. Will it include models like E30 318is / E36 318is or will it run similar regs to the current UK series eg E30s only 318/320 will 4.11 diff , no 318is http://www.selocmotorsport.com/ . Thanks Neal

Andrew , must of missed something ... Up coming series , please tell.Neal

My Granny was into motorsport before your parents where born and I'll leave you to driving "at speed in wet" .Driving is mainly commuting. Car does get the odd nudge, with a few twisty roads not far from our NZ residence. Running factory M-tech suspension / no track like camber settings. Have developed a smoother driving style over the years in the car. Wet weather grip has been well and truly tested going down Nauranga Gorge when a car spun in front, had to brake, take evasive action change lanes etc. Car didn't loose control in wet, GIII tyres are up to it in my book. My car at 140 kw (maybe 100kw at wheels) which is used on the road doesn't merit S03's/Pilots/Zero's/ A048's. I'd only go that way if I got serious about track day. (Probably A048's , they work well on Exiges ) Only place in my garage for sticky rubber is on the Motorcycle. Get 3500 -5000 km out of a tyre. Pushing 80 kw through a single 180 section tyre has it's challenges. Don't want to add two more cars unnecessarily to the tyre bill

3.0 Litre S50 M3 engine here in the UK , @ $4500 NZ. Will need gearbox. Thought some others might be interested as well. http://www.pistonheads.co.uk/sales/57986.htm

Think I've brought just about every BMW performance mag since about 1986 and I don't remember seeing an article on supercharging a M20. I've seen threads saying that it would be a problem as the engine doesn't have knock sensors. I think one of the wildest M20 engine was in a magazine called Top Car back in the 90's. Someone had done a 2.7 conversion and added a turbo. Good luck on finding info , a good source might be europeancar mag out of the States. They've run some excellent articles on E30 mods and upgrades. Good luck with your search.

A few of conversions I'd like to do. M5 3.8 Liter , 4.6 BMW, 3.5 inline 6 , S50/2 M3 Engine. S14 E30 M3 engine , HSV 5.7 (probably cheap to do compare to others) . A few links for ideas http://www.theeurodepot.com/e30m50.html http://www.forum-auto.com/sqlforum/section10/sujet129100.htm http://www.fantasycars.com/sedans/html/b8.html (My dream Car but sadly lhd)) http://wp1016621.wp027.webpack.hosteurope....1420/f01420.htm http://www.bmwpower.de/Fahrzeuge/E30_350i_..._uebersicht.htm

Tend to disagree on the difference between Zero's and GIII, the difference in grip is minor only. I'd doubt if there'd be a few centimetres difference stopping from 100 kmh wet or dry.$800 per set at 55,000 kms works out at 0.68 per KM which is 1/9th of the cost of the zero's for the mileage. That's $2700 difference for 55,000 kms, forget the coffee, I'll take the wife to the gold coast for a holiday. Are the Zero's that much better? Driving wise the GIII are fine, they have more than enough grip, the car never slides out when pushed. (225/50/16’s on M suspension) Here's another way of thinking about it. On a wet day a Zero that’s done 12,500 KM's will have 2.5 mill of tread depth, the same GIII will have 5 mill. Which will pump more water from under the tyre before aquaplaning? For the E30's the best price / performance tyre I had was the Yoko 539's. You can expect about 40,000 kms before the inside edge on the fronts go. Worst was a Comp T/A. No grip and poor wet weather ,ok wear. Worst wearing with ok performance was a Pirelli P600. 22,000 kms only. (190/65/14's)

My e36 325i is running 225/50/16's on 16x8 inch Schintzers rims. When I brought the car it had 1/3 tread left on the front. The car would tend to dart left and right following road camber or would do the same under braking. I had the wheel alignment checked with was fine. I changed the tyres from a very directional looking Uniroyal to a Bridgestone Grid II. The darting stopped straight away. The issue didn't return when the Bridgestones wore down and have been fine since with Grid III's as well

The Car Stereo Company in Wellington had these a few years back , could be worth a call .

Can't help you with the screen. Was looking to do something similar a few years back in regards to PC in boot etc. I decided not to go that way in the end , My Xplod head unit , with factory bootchanger as been fine and I probably get the Sony Ipod controller for jukebox style of listening. (drop in sound quality but still OK at higher MP3 sample rates) For your PC think about the following. Your boot can get to 50 + in summer which is out side of most laptop operating hardware ranges. Later laptops will shut themselves down with over-temp so consider extending your cars aircon ducting into the boot to give the laptop a fighting chance. Keep hard drive away from the Subs unless you want them wiped Make sure the laptop power supplies from the 12 volt is regulated otherwise when you cars alternator is running at close to 14 volt you can say bye bye laptop power supply. Sound card .... If your going screens in the car you might as well go for a 5.1 or 6.1 so I'd stick in a Create labs high end sound card. Speaker wise, put in a centre speaker and maybe a middle rear for 6.1. You'll only need short leads to run pre-outs to amps, noise could become a factor because of the lower "pre-out" from sound cards. Software wise, you can go either Unix or MS , MS would be better if your going to get into mobile data integration with your PDA cellphone. Go for WIFI connectivity as well , that way you'll be able to download more music / movie files from within your garage, rather than having to remove laptop all the time. You could also use your PDA via WIFI as your remote. Have a think about voice activation software for the PC , XP has this standard. Program basic functions such as volume up /down , track change etc. Probably other ideas, these were some I'd thought about. In the end , I went for sound quality with decent AMPs and Speakers , the Xplod unit was a bit of a compromise on sound quality , but in that I’d say that Sony’s joystick remote is ideal for driving. I don’t need to take eyes of the road to change tracks / CD’s.

Rims are 17's x 7.5 for both the 3.0 and 3.2 Evo Coupe rims , I'm not sure about how wide the M3 four door ones were but are most likey the same. There may have been an factory option for wider rears (Don't remember) .

I honestly don't recall those lower bolts being there on my wife’s 91 e36 , I kid you not , the bottom channel didn't have the bolts to tighten against the glass. The window was attached by some kind of glue on it’s bottom edge. (Car was an import and had signs of repair work on the doors ). PB probably lost the bits and glued the window. Please disregard my post. Thanks for putting me straight Homy. Some pictures that may help with the door. http://www.emotors.ca/Articles/26.aspx

Something else to consider , had something similar years back on an E21 Auto , The Flex Discs - Guibo Coupling had failed along with a driveshaft bolt. They are a rubber coupling between the auto transmission and driveshaft. Caused very bad vibration at lower RPM (1,500 - 2,000). I replaced the coupling and the bolt and the vibration stopped. I believe the E39's have these as well and is worth checking this out as it is a less costly option to check first.

Yep the alternator / battery doesn't cope that well with an ICE system that draws 80+ amps if it's humming. But I guess a second battery could be an ideal along with a larger alternator. Funny about the vanos , mine’s still quiet at 180k kms. The only BMW engine I did like the sound of was the 98 -04 3.0 , it sounded too much like a Holden 202 for my liking. Too much fan noise. Also forgot about the rear shock mounts failing , this is a trate on E21s/E30s and e36's. TMS motorsport sells items that sort this for good.

Guess I'll start. Have an m50 325i, It's up to about 180,000 kms now. The engine it's self and the car is fine , if the odder meter had 130,000 less I'd doubt I'd notice any difference as it still running smooth as. Maintenance / parts was, seems to be fine, no more or less to maintain than any other 6 cyl car. Although for some reason water pumps normally need replacing at 130,000 to 150,000 kms. These should be replaced with the later metal impeller version. I've also had the (1/2) radiator replaced (no overheating issues though). Other thing with BMW is with standard brake pads these tend to eat disk rotors. I've normally replaced rotors at the same stage as pads (roughly 190,000 kms on my manual and about 120,000 on the wife’s auto). I've had no issue with electrics on my NZ new car, but did have issues on the wife’s imported e36 318i, mainly window switches / dash lights and voltage regulator. The extra torque of the 328 is work it over the 325, but the 325 engine is a sweet, smooth revving engine. I prefer the 325 to the 3.0 engined Z3 I drove in this regard.

Hi Martyyn My first couple of BMW weren't brought via Shelly's , one was Fairview BMW Hamilton 1988, the other from Amuri Motors 1990, Shelly’s have always treated me in the same manner even when I was a young fella. Mike used to work down at Shelly’s then as well. Mind you , where talking servicing on 3 series , not 7 so possibly less liking to have huge price surprise (excluding e30 airflow meters of course) London wise, I'm living on the east side on the river about 1 km down from Tower Bridge (cool old wharf warehouse conversion); have been working down Canary Wharf which is handy.