BMW and M Power Owners

Simon · 20 Nov 2012 at 10:10

That's very varnished in my opinion

mattx2 · 20 Nov 2012 at 10:43

Has anyone bought any of the newer runflats are they any good?

Need to change the rears soon and not sure if to stick with the run flats or change

commited · 20 Nov 2012 at 12:20

Tesla said:
I don't think any of them are sweet-sounding at idle. I'd never describe mine as diesel-like though. I'd leave the DISA unplugged for now if I was you.

How is your front numberplate attached, does it not have a surround?

Thanks for the tip, I'll leave it unplugged. I think the numberplate is just screwed into the bumper. It's the one part of the front end that really lets it down, I need to get some replacement plates.

Jonnycoupe said:
How many miles has it done, the head does like quite 'varnished'.

I guess higher performance engines are bound to load up the oil more, particularly the heat generated on a good thrash.

Simon said:
That's very varnished in my opinion

I've seen M54s that look a lot worse inside with less miles. A lot of guys who do the vanos seals encounter gunge etc which I didn't have to deal with. That's what I meant by clean for an M54. It's done 133k miles. Should I be worried about something?

Myshra · 20 Nov 2012 at 16:02

mattx2 said:
Has anyone bought any of the newer runflats are they any good?

Need to change the rears soon and not sure if to stick with the run flats or change

I just installed 2x Michelin Pilot Sport 2 ZP's to replace the default bridgestone RE050As on a Z4 and the difference is night and day, I'd highly recommend them if you wish to stick to runflats, cheaper too.

rG-tom · 20 Nov 2012 at 16:07

Sparky-F1 said:
Mine are about 42 and 38.

Ditto, anything less it feels remarkably skittish

[TW]Fox · 20 Nov 2012 at 17:41

Myshra said:
I just installed 2x Michelin Pilot Sport 2 ZP's to replace the default bridgestone RE050As on a Z4 and the difference is night and day, I'd highly recommend them if you wish to stick to runflats, cheaper too.

Pilot Sport *2*? They must be older than time itself now, is that really the best you could find? I'd certainly have ditched the runflats in favour of something else.

J1nxy · 20 Nov 2012 at 17:47

I had the Michelin Pilot Sport 2 ZP on my 335D and never had a problem with them as run flats they were very good.

mike gunnz · 20 Nov 2012 at 19:20

I'm thinking of replacing the 16" Turbines on my e39 with 17" M-Parallels. The paras in question have just been refurbished so look to be mint. Now these things are obviously entirely subjective but I was wondering what the general consensus is on pairing them up with a 51 plate 530i SE, do they look to "modern"?

My other question is in relation to the interior Vavona (walnut) trim. I've got a quote of £100 to get them all painted (was thinking satin silver a la Sport). How easy/difficult is it to take them out?

Lastly, the leather on my steering wheel has completely thinned out so it's very uncomfortable in the hand as I can feel the ridged edges of the wheel through the thin leather. Its also massive.

but I think I could tolerate the size were it to be retrimmed. Anyone know a shop that can retrim to a high standard?

[TW]Fox · 20 Nov 2012 at 19:24

They don't look 'too modern' especially as they first appeared on the 1999 528i Sport anyway, but the Sport wheels don't tend to look right on the SE. Frankly the 17" Style 66's don't look great anyway, for an SE I would want Style 81's.

Atari · 20 Nov 2012 at 19:29

mike gunnz said:
Lastly, the leather on my steering wheel has completely thinned out so it's very uncomfortable in the hand as I can feel the ridged edges of the wheel through the thin leather. Its also massive. but I think I could tolerate the size were it to be retrimmed. Anyone know a shop that can retrim to a high standard?

Jack at Royal Steering Wheels does a fantastic job. I'm contemplating getting my e46 wheel done there but I've got a few mechanical issues that need to be done first

Next week I shall mostly be tackling a noisy PAS pump by replacing it with a new one, along with all new hoses and a new PAS reservoir (mine is a bit leaky).

The week after, uprated VANOS seals and a brand new CCV and hoses.

Question for you guys as you'll undoubtedly know more than me on the subject - I need to purchase some ATF fluid as I'll be draining the power steering completely. I know that I need to buy Dexron III fluid and not power steering fluid, but are there any recommended brands or worth paying the extra for stuff from Opie Oils (over say Halfords)?

Ta

Tesla · 20 Nov 2012 at 19:34

Unlike Fox I do like the style 66 wheels. I prefer the 18" Para M's Fox has but I didn't want to increase my tyre costs and I found 18" wheels on a different car to be too noisy on the motorway so had my 17's refurbished.

Not sure what'd look right on an SE? Have you thought about getting sport bumpers for it?

Also, instead of painting trim just buy silver trim.

mike gunnz · 20 Nov 2012 at 20:32

Tesla said:
Unlike Fox I do like the style 66 wheels. I prefer the 18" Para M's Fox has but I didn't want to increase my tyre costs and I found 18" wheels on a different cam to be too noisy on the motorway so had my 17's refurbished.

Not sure what'd look right on an SE? Have you thought about getting sport bumpers for it?

Also, instead of painting trim just buy silver trim.

Yeah sport bumpers and skirts will go on eventually when some good ones come up for sale and I'm watching several silver trim kits on the bay. Just assessing all my options at the mo.

[TW]Fox · 20 Nov 2012 at 20:33

The Sport doesn't have different skirts.

mattx2 · 20 Nov 2012 at 20:39

I've just ordered 4 x Goodyear Eagle F1 Asymmetric 2's for the 130i to replace the solid lumps of rubber called goodyear NCT5's just couldn't put up with the harsh ride and wallet raping run flats any longer

will do a quick update once I've put a few miles on them

Biohazard · 20 Nov 2012 at 21:21

[TW]Fox;23171532 said:
Had exactly this problem MOT'ing an N53 525i. MOT centre failed it on emissions. Booked it into BMW who MOT'd it before doing diagnostics only to pass the car saying there was nothing wrong with it...

That's not that unusual it would seem. It's happened with my parents before, but between independent garages. I suspect from the fail sheet that they ran it stone cold. Recommended a cat, quoted over £150 for a second hand one. :rolleyes:

mike gunnz · 20 Nov 2012 at 22:42

[TW]Fox;23208378 said:
The Sport doesn't have different skirts.

Cheers thought it did

Mackass · 20 Nov 2012 at 22:48

Biohazard said:
That's not that unusual it would seem. It's happened with my parents before, but between independent garages. I suspect from the fail sheet that they ran it stone cold. Recommended a cat, quoted over £150 for a second hand one.

Seems like many MOT centres have a problem pulling the correct emission parameters when using only the registration of a modern BMW.

When mine failed on emissions last week, it was because the tester entered my registration onto their system and it pulled a lambda upper limit of 1.03

Having identified this issue online, I took it back the next day, made the tester search manually for my engine code, and their system found the correct lambda upper limit of 4.0... I then passed easily with a lambda reading of 2.1

It seems many people have this problem (after doing a bit of research online), and probably explains why their cars sail pass a MOT at the dealers, as the dealers pull the correct details.

GTA767 · 20 Nov 2012 at 23:41

my german baby

new from BMW center 2012 3.5 fully loaded

i had 21 rims but changed to 19 as its more comfortable to drive

coopersim · 21 Nov 2012 at 10:50

I've got a bit of a problem with my E92 325d, from cold starts I get some engine shaking - nothing too pronounced, but more than I used to get, also when on cruise I notice that engine seems to be hunting - noticeable by the MPG gauge moving up and down very slightly even on a level road.

Is there anything common that could cause this?

commited · 21 Nov 2012 at 12:35

Did a bit more work tonight on the interior of "Lemon" as the lads in work have affectionately started calling the car..

First job was to fit the repaired drivers floor mat - basically I sacrificed a new $5 mat to make a heelpad for the fitted drivers mat that was worn. Looks great but no pics unfortunately.

Next job was to replace the broken cubby hole:

New on the left, obviously. Was pretty frustrating as it just wouldn't fit properly. After a bit of crafty filing and a couple of persuasive thumps it fitted and its made the centre console look a lot cleaner.

One of the major things I didn't like about the car was the existing steering wheel, so that had to go...

And in its place, a nice M3 SMG steering wheel, with the paddles wired into the steptronic which is a nice touch.

It feels absolutely amazing compared to the previous wheel, absolutely no competition. Paddles are also good fun and I'm sure it will spur me on to drive the car in other positions than "D" once in a while.. Wheels in much better condition than the pics suggest, phone camera is a bit harsh. In fact, all my pics are awful but I was too focussed on getting the job done. Hoping to give the car a good solid detail this weekend so more pics then