jochen

Switzerland. Beautiful country, no loud exhausts, no stinky diesels :-) But 10x the traffic of NZ, so accidents can and do happen. Crazy drivers exist whereever you are. Did you hear about the 9x supercars that got caught on the motorway doing 200kmph in a 120kmph zone? They sat in jail for 3 weeks, were released on a 20,000 Fr bail, and they are talking about million-franc (close to million NZD) fines. Because its linked to income, and they were millionaires... Cars and trucks are beautifully maintained here. I drive past diesel trucks and busses and cars on the motorway all the time, never any loud noise, never any blue smoke, never any diesel stink. I hate stinky diesels. I drive a diesel now, but it drives and smells like a petrol car. Particle filter, modern drive-by-wire turbo common-rail diesel, beautiful engine.

All you people that love modding cars would be scr**ed if you lived where I live Here, cars must stay in the original manufacturered state. You can only replace like for like. No changes to lighting (front or rear), wheel sizes, exhaust systems, or engine mods allowed. That includes cold air intakes - you fail the car check every time If you want to modify the car, then you need an external independent engineer to check and certify the changes, and the vehicle will still need to be inspected by the vehicle inspection office. And they are VERY strict. Other points: No fluid leaks of any sort allowed. Thrid party insurance is compulsory Annual exhaust emissions check (on a measuring machine, not a 'visual' like NZ) Speeding is rewarded with heavy fines linked to level of income If you import a vehicle from another country it must go through the thorough homologation check at your cost. eg the vast majority of Jap imports would fail. Until you go and live in another country, you don't appreciate how lax and liberal the New Zealand motor vehicle regulations are.

the proper way to propergate is to propagate :-)

6km per litre = 16.7L/100km My 540i would use 20L/100km around town, and the 3L 6cylinder cars can also use 15L/100km around town if you do a lot of start/stop or heavy driving I'd throw new plugs in and then monitor the plugs in a week or two and see what they look like. While you're at it,. make sure your air filter is good - replace if necessary. As for oil smoke, generally that always means you have some repair work to do - it can only be piston rings, valve seals, or cracked head gasket. Off the top of my head. Someone else will probbaly tell you what else to check.

The bushes are one of the pivot points of your suspension. If they are worn then your suspension may squeak, or it may wobble as it doesn't sit right in the holder. A wobbly suspension means uneven tyre wear and poorer road holding and poorer cornering. BMWs do tend to wear through the bushes - it is a typical thing to replace at around 8 to 10 years old. If you're doing the rear, consider getting all bushes (front and rear) all replaced at the same time. All bushes will be similarly old and worn. The handling will improve a lot with new bushes. Think of it as nothing more than scheduled maintenance for your car.

Yeah I note they supply a litre of oil with the car. I will keep an eye on. Does remind me that i never checked my last Passat - only had it for 3 months as a temporary car. The new common rail engine is sooooo much quieter than the older TDI diesel. Good car, shame I could only get a base version - I'd like to have had a few extra features :-( Electric park brake takes getting used to. Electric-assisted steering is good, and the ESP and antilocking work really well, especially on snow. Family has lots of room, kids find it comfortable. Overall a good car. And the particle filter on the diesel makes you feel good too :-)

All radios from when the E46 was first built to 2001 will fit any pre-2001 E46. The only change was 2001, when they changed from old-generation to new-generation radios. Post 2001 has different radio connector and different antenna amplifier.

You got it: I now have the 2008 VW Passat Variant, 2.0L TDI common-rail turbo-charged diesel, 140 horsepower (103KW). Practical family car. Common rail is soo much quieter than the previous model. Currently I have 45km on the clock :-)

I've got run-flats on my last 2 cars: 2007 model, was absolutely fine 2008 model, only 5 hours old as I write this: first drive of 35kms - feels fine Can't remember what the 2007 car had, the 2008 has Michelins Old car still had winter tyres on, new car has summer tyres, which are by their nature harder. But I'm in Europe and the roads are smoother :-)

Here is how the problem is fixed properly: http://www.bimmerboard.com/forums/posts/527361/

Ha ha - I have soo been waiting for someone to comment :-) I have a turbo charged engine with no spark plugs in my current vehicle. I actually am replacing it (it's last years model) for a new one which gets delivered tomorrow. Hopefully the new one has the new version of the engine, which uses a different fuel delivery system, designed to enhance performance and reduce noise. As for PKW... here you can get LKWs and PKWs.... have a guess as to what they are.... and have a guess as to what I now drive....

The 10k is for the sat nav, radio, TV and you may even get telephone in there too. TomTom doesn't have radio, TV or telephone TomTom doesn't integrate into the car and show you turn-by-turn instructions in the middle of your speedo, mute the stereo when it wants to talk to you, and lots lots more You cannot compare a TomTom with a BMW integrated system That's like saying why buy a BMW 545 when a 1200cc 20year old Toyota Corolla will also get you from A to B? And you could buy 30 Corollas for the same price as the BMW So you gotta compare apples with apples. But I respect that some people want the best (that's why they bought the BMW) and want everything to work, and other people couldn't give a rats a**e about radio, nav, paint colour, upholstery, wheel types, or even what type of car they drive. As a wise man once said to me: "Thank goodness we're not all the same"

The main comment I made was the differences between ROW (rest of world) models and Japan models From the introduction of the MOST bus, which appeared in BMWs in about 2003 (E65) and progressively in other models, the ability to change the country-specific radio, TV and nav options became much much harder. It can only be done with specialist BMW software tools and specialist programming knowledge. So specialised that the standard BMW dealer does not have the tools or the knowledge. For cars built for Singapore and NZ and Australian markets, all the audio/nav/TV options are the same as NZ, although even then some small differences occur. Eg: in Australia, the nav system comes in Business and Professional versions, and the maps are different. In NZ, the system is Professional only, and there is no Business map produced for NZ. So an Aussie E60 car I saw with the Business nav couldn't have working nav in NZ because the required map disc was simply not available. As for general software issues: yes they exist, but again with the right tools and knowledge a lot of modules that are labelled as "faulty" actually work, and can be restored to life if you use the correct methods.

Hi. Interesting to hear this I have developed many theories about changing the Japanese nav, radio etc in iDrive cars to work in NZ. But I have had no practice on this car, because I never found a willing enough guinea pig who was prepared to spend the money with no guarrantied outcome. One of the reasons I had success in changing navs on the previous generation BMW cars was that I had a willing guinea pig, and also that I owned the same type of BMW. Also, the technology was simpler and had less inter-dependencies in the software. The new cars demand the proper BMW tools and that is also a challenge. As for programming going wrong, that is an interesting topic, because I firmly believe that the devices can be recovered if you have access to the write type of tool (one of the BMW tools will do this) and you have the necessary knowledge and experience, and some EEPROM contents from good working units. Another 2 cents worth :-)

All countries in the world EXCEPT Japan, China and Korea. Those 3 x countries have very special systems fitted. So there are essentially two systems: Rest-Of-World (ROW) and Japan/China/Korea It clearly shows this in the WDS. Remember when importing one to also make sure the gearbox is fitted to the correct side of the steering wheel :-)

There are lots of dirfferent part numbers depending on whether you want 1. Reverse RDS 8radio/tape, no CD changer control) 2. Business RDS - Tape (radio/tape, with CD changer control) 3. Business RDS - CD (radio/tape, with CD changer control) 4. Business RDS - Mini Disc (radio/tape, with CD changer control) 5. Professional RDS (Radio-CD, with double tuner and CD changer control) 6. Navigation-tape (called the mono nav) Add to the above the differences in generation : pre 2001 and post 2001 have different connectors and different control of the antenna diversity amplifier Add also to the above the special differences between pre-2001 Japanese, Oceania, European and USA models. Plus the units are allways being revised and updated. So there would be around 100 different part numbers. You need to say: 1. Year of your car (post us the last 7 digits of the VIN so we know exactly) 2. Whether you want radio-tape + CD changer, or radio-CD (or radio-navigation :-) Then I can show you what and where to buy.

If you get ex-Japan and want fullly functional navigation, TV, telephone and radio expect to spend anopther $10k to get it working, IF it is possible 8dunnon if anyone has achieved the conversion yet: a lot of theory, very little practice) Due to the huge difference in electronics between Japan and non-Japan models, I'd go for a non-Japan model by a country mile so that everything audio etc works. The whole audio and iDrive system is really cool when it all works. Which it does for a NZ or Singapore car. And doesn't work if it is ex Japan. My 2 cents worth.

No, just control units which containt electronics A fuse does not contrain any electronics The majority of relays do not contain any electronics.

Low cost method: White plastic sheet Scissors Paint Cut out the shape you want Paint it with whatever symbols you want Put in on the car behind the legally required NZ plate This is along similay lines to the car I saw in Auckland once that had side skirts made of cardboard taped to the car...

Because a ) it offers really good functionality b ) it is actively supported and updates are released regularly and are easy to install c ) it is made by BMW enthusiasts I like point c)

And check the contacts in the bulb socket are clean and dry as well. Sometimes lightbulbs make bad contact because the blob of solder on the bulbs wears away with vibration and makes bad contact. New bulb fixes that issue.

Thats right. There are so many electrical currents flowing through the car when welding that the risk of damage to electronic components is quite high. To be safe, remove the electronics when welding to the vehicle body.

Here's the special tool:

Why? Stock is super high quality stainless steel with lovely understated V8 noise Beautifully crafted and quiet Why spend money to change something that works so well?

Easy to determine for sure. 1. Rear numberplate holder: wide euro-size, or narrow kiwi-numberplate size? Narrow = Jap. Wide = Singapore/NZ etc 2. Radio display on FM. Goes only to 90 or to 108? 90 = Japan 108 = Singapore, NZ, etc 3. Warning labels in engine bay In a asian language (chinese, japanese?) = Japan In English = Singapore, NZ, etc