Your fleet running reports

[Delphi]

My mate was up from Essex at the weekend and I was showing him the 928. Had the engine running with the bonnet open and I revved the engine using the the throttle cable. I noticed the engine didn't rock on its mounts as it should. Measured the top of the intake plenum relative to the front strut brace - engine was slightly lower (it should be at least 5mm higher) so that means collapsed engine mounts. Arse. Replacement mounts are £380 EACH from Porsche.

Luckily, there's a company in the US that supplied replacements (made by Volvo of all people) for $150 for the pair. Shipping was $120(!) so I included a few other bits in the order (new fuel sender, sunroof motor cover clip repair kit and jump post end with cover). Should be here by the weekend, so I'll fit the other bits and get Strasse to do the engine mounts when it's in for its service in a couple of weeks.

[DeskJockey]

Public service announcement: It has been scientifically proven in controlled test scenarios that adding a roofbox reduces mpg by about 15%*

*When towing a trailer with a 1.2 Yeti at 60mph

You’re welcome.

Last time I used mine on the 330 I got the best ever economy. And that was cruising at 80-85 with 3 adults and a baby on board. Think I managed 34mpg which is 4-5mpg above normal for that cruise speed.

Maybe it was the low profile aero bars + low profile box combo. There was probably only 2" between the roof and the box.

What's your normal cruising speed? I've got the low profile bars too and a fairly sleek roof box, but 80-85mph, five up and loaded to the gunwales took a toll. Also, going through the Central Massif region in France and the border region with Spain didn't help. So many ascents!

[Jobbo]

Public service announcement: It has been scientifically proven in controlled test scenarios that adding a roofbox reduces mpg by about 15%*

*When towing a trailer with a 1.2 Yeti at 60mph

You’re welcome.

Last time I used mine on the 330 I got the best ever economy. And that was cruising at 80-85 with 3 adults and a baby on board. Think I managed 34mpg which is 4-5mpg above normal for that cruise speed.

Maybe it was the low profile aero bars + low profile box combo. There was probably only 2" between the roof and the box.

Drag as a force is proportional to the frontal area multiplied by the Cd. Unless by adding a roofbox you have lowered the Cd by ~15% (seems unlikely) then there's something else going on.

[Ascender]

The boy's Corsa has been MOT'd - another introduction to real life and real bills - nearly £700 as there was a couple of things including a shock needing replaced which meant the pair got done.

M2 is going in for its free MOT and end of manufacturer's warranty check in a couple of weeks. There's a bit of a vibration when you get to about 80mph and a don from the brakes, so will get them to look in to that. I've installed a wifi aerial and got Apple CarPlay activated thanks to eBay so that's a job well done.

I continue to absolutely love the car (as does Mrs Mike), the only criticism is the DCT gearbox. Its a real pig when starting from cold and pulling away in 1st - its as if the clutch biting point has been set way too high so it ends up over-revving for very little progress. Not great for neighbours in the early morning. Reverse is also clunky as hell and unresponsive - seems to be a common criticism of the gearbox though so not much can be done.

The throttle response can also be a bit binary - kind of like turbo lag in some gears and parts of the rev range, but again, its another thing which I've seen other people complain about.

That's all pretty nitpicky in the scheme of things though, its an incredibly fun car, pretty practical too and is racking up the miles without any real issues.

re: apple play - how did you go about it (which seller/link) I need to do mine!

I have a spare OBD cable, so if you message me your address I'll send it out. I somehow managed to end up with two and CBA returning one. I think its because one took ages to come so I ended up ordering a second.

Seller I used on eBay was: bimmerretrouk for the antenna and the unlock programme.

Antenna install was incredibly easy and the unlock worked first time. I think there's slightly different methods depending what version of software the iDrive is running.

[Rich B]

The boy's Corsa has been MOT'd - another introduction to real life and real bills - nearly £700 as there was a couple of things including a shock needing replaced which meant the pair got done.

M2 is going in for its free MOT and end of manufacturer's warranty check in a couple of weeks. There's a bit of a vibration when you get to about 80mph and a don from the brakes, so will get them to look in to that. I've installed a wifi aerial and got Apple CarPlay activated thanks to eBay so that's a job well done.

I continue to absolutely love the car (as does Mrs Mike), the only criticism is the DCT gearbox. Its a real pig when starting from cold and pulling away in 1st - its as if the clutch biting point has been set way too high so it ends up over-revving for very little progress. Not great for neighbours in the early morning. Reverse is also clunky as hell and unresponsive - seems to be a common criticism of the gearbox though so not much can be done.

The throttle response can also be a bit binary - kind of like turbo lag in some gears and parts of the rev range, but again, its another thing which I've seen other people complain about.

That's all pretty nitpicky in the scheme of things though, its an incredibly fun car, pretty practical too and is racking up the miles without any real issues.

re: apple play - how did you go about it (which seller/link) I need to do mine!

I have a spare OBD cable, so if you message me your address I'll send it out. I somehow managed to end up with two and CBA returning one. I think its because one took ages to come so I ended up ordering a second.

Seller I used on eBay was: bimmerretrouk for the antenna and the unlock programme.

Antenna install was incredibly easy and the unlock worked first time. I think there's slightly different methods depending what version of software the iDrive is running.

Very generous of you! What was the function of enabling Wi-Fi? Is it required for enabling carplay?

Just done some googling (like I should have done in the first place). My car is pretty sparse on options, so I expect I'll need the Wi-Fi too - but it seems all pretty straight forward. £30 code, £13 Wi-Fi aerial and the obd cable and roberts your fathers brother yeah?

[Ascender]

re: apple play - how did you go about it (which seller/link) I need to do mine!

I have a spare OBD cable, so if you message me your address I'll send it out. I somehow managed to end up with two and CBA returning one. I think its because one took ages to come so I ended up ordering a second.

Seller I used on eBay was: bimmerretrouk for the antenna and the unlock programme.

Antenna install was incredibly easy and the unlock worked first time. I think there's slightly different methods depending what version of software the iDrive is running.

Very generous of you! What was the function of enabling Wi-Fi? Is it required for enabling carplay?

Just done some googling (like I should have done in the first place). My car is pretty sparse on options, so I expect I'll need the Wi-Fi too - but it seems all pretty straight forward. £30 code, £13 Wi-Fi aerial and the obd cable and roberts your fathers brother yeah?

Yes, its wireless CarPlay rather than wired, even if you plug your phone in to the USB port, so the antenna just makes sure there's a good wireless signal to use. Downside of wireless CarPlay is that there is a tiny lag to pushing buttons on the screen. Seems to be really common across lots of different manufacturers, so its not specific to this model or even BMW.

Yip, its surprisingly easy to do.

[integrale_evo]

It seems I have a bit of a type when it comes to car stereos


So, getting more and more annoyed with the Blaupunkt, which is a shame because it’s the most oem looking non-oem stereo for a 90s bmw I’ve ever seen. Even the colour of the black plastic perfectly matched the obc/clock!


I’ve decided to go the opposite and embrace the aftermarket. If I can’t get anything oe looking which ones what I want it to then I’ll go for something which doesn’t attempt to blend in.

Annoyingly, the amber illumination is much closer to the bmw colours than the red of the Blaupunkt.


As soon as I fired it up I was happier, the sound is so much brighter and more crisp, with actual low down bass. Front rear and dedicated subwoofer line outs, rear trailing lead mounted usb, a nice clean noise free output with no pops or clicks. Plus a high pass filter for the speakers, quite handy when you only have little 13cm mids, just stopping them trying to do any low bass really frees them up.

Honestly, I’m amazed at the sound quality improvements even before any tweaking. And it was literally just a stereo swap, all the feeds, cables, speakers etc are exactly the same.

I’ll keep looking for the perfect ‘moon on a stick’ headunit, which I don’t think exists. Also tempted to go full 90s retro and get one of the ultra high end copper chassis alpines like all the audio demo cars back in the day used, but were far too expensive for my pockets at the time.

[DeskJockey]

Family fleet update.

My sister's Octavia (originally my dad's) is apparently beyond economical repair. They wanted an electric car (very favourable terms in Denmark with 0% loans and so on), but couldn't find the budget for it. My dad offered them his Qashqai, but they didn't want it. Having had it since he went into hospital, they've decided they like it and bought it off him.

My dad wanted an electric or hybrid, so was looking around, tried a Citroen, asked me to look at what he should get, tried a Nissan Ariya and bought a chocolate brown 2019 Qashqai.

Ignoring the fuel he reasonably argued that he liked his old car, knew how everything worked and didn't want to spend the £35k+ or waiting 6-8 months for one of the electric or hybrid cars he was considering.

He takes delivery on Thursday.

[Sundayjumper]

@DeskJockey - did the new drive shaft resolve the Galaxy wobble ?

[DeskJockey]

@DeskJockey - did the new drive shaft resolve the Galaxy wobble ?

No, the brakes still grumbled on long descents. It is booked in with our trusty indy next week for a good going over.

[Matty]

That is as close to perfect as you're going to get

So, getting more and more annoyed with the Blaupunkt, which is a shame because it’s the most oem looking non-oem stereo for a 90s bmw I’ve ever seen. Even the colour of the black plastic perfectly matched the obc/clock!

[Rich B]

That is as close to perfect as you're going to get

So, getting more and more annoyed with the Blaupunkt, which is a shame because it’s the most oem looking non-oem stereo for a 90s bmw I’ve ever seen. Even the colour of the black plastic perfectly matched the obc/clock!

a stereos main purpose is to play music though. I'd be putting up with worse lols for better sound and function too.

[integrale_evo]

Yep. I just wish I was clever enough to be able to make that front work with a better quality unit

[Sundayjumper]

I went out for lunch yesterday with a couple of former work colleagues. We all took our convertibles.

I think I could almost fit the MG in the boot and the Lotus under the back seat

40D24F72-F6E1-4DD1-9349-A5B55B32CE70.jpeg (108.64 KiB) Viewed 2264 times

[mik]

Hehe - that looks like a caption competition image.

[Sundayjumper]

This was mentioned:

(only in terms of size, obvs, in terms of value the Lotus is waaaaay ahead)

[Ascender]

@Rich B - Have you considered winter wheels & tyres for your M2? I've run M cars through the winter before, but none have been as easy as this one to break traction in the dry, so am just thinking it might be a worthwhile purchase.

[Rich B]

@Rich B - Have you considered winter wheels & tyres for your M2? I've run M cars through the winter before, but none have been as easy as this one to break traction in the dry, so am just thinking it might be a worthwhile purchase.

the supersports are totally useless over winter - so it would be a good candidate for winter tyres. I just put up with it though - can't be arsed with the expense of having another set.

[mik]

@Rich B - Have you considered winter wheels & tyres for your M2? I've run M cars through the winter before, but none have been as easy as this one to break traction in the dry, so am just thinking it might be a worthwhile purchase.

the supersports are totally useless over winter - so it would be a good candidate for winter tyres. I just put up with it though - can't be arsed with the expense of having another set.

We've spoken about this before, but for the benefit of Mike - I ran the Evora on Supersports for a couple of winters. Not recommended. Very much like driving on bars of soap whenever the temperature drops below 5 DegC.

If you can't be bothered constantly swapping between full winters and summers, you'll be pleased to know that the PS4S (available in 19" now) is as capable as the SuperSport in the dry, but waaaay better in cool conditions. (I am not trying to suggest they could match a proper winter tyre on ice or snow, but they are a far better year-round prospect. I keep a pair of snow-socks in the boot should I ever get stuck in proper snow and wish to understeer into the next available solid object).

[Sundayjumper]

@mik - you don’t live in Surrey like rich does. You don’t know what it’s like