I was wondering if the track had improved. Mine is probably from early to mid nineties. My brother and I used to snap the track sections to separate them rather than unhook them from the back.. TBH the sections do feel a bit ropey now! My dad did tell us not to do that mind..

Nice track CB! Some banked corners in there by the looks of it?

Ben – do it! Get the old kit out and extend th setup.

I agree it’s a slippery slope with all the kit.. what’s this digital malarkey all about then?

*Googles Canam McLaren and Colin McRae mk2 escort*

Watching this with interest as looking to get through my test in early Summer.. Was planning on getting chuckied up to the eyeballs on an MT09 Tracer but I’m re-thinking that now! Mainly as I don’t want to drop a brand new/nearly new bike.. Hmmm..

Grenosteve – That BMW looks awesome! I’m a BMW man when it comes to cars but looks like that also applies to bikes! It’s cool as that thing.

Thanks for the replies all. Car now at dealership getting checked over. They didn’t even have a courtesy car for me (despite not being able to get bloody parked for cars!).. if it has to stay overnight I shall be demanding an M4..

Oh dear.. Mayo under oil cap.. Not loads but some. This is not looking good.

played it safe and bought some BMW coolant from the local dealer (not the one I bought it from) and it said to mix 1:1. Gonna ring the dealer I bought it from tomorrow when I have a bit more time

Hmm interesting – the coolant capacity for the car is stated at 6.7 litres so 1 litre does seem like a fair chunk of that..

Thanks all – deffo gonna ring the dealer tomorrow and get it looked at ASAP. Will check for mayo on back of oil cap while wincing behind sofa..

Thanks GQ and HF – it is a bit much so I’ll just go ahead and book it in.

Adam – that’s interesting as I’ve just been reading on the BMW forums about some problems on the 1 series of coolant issues causing a problem with the autobox..

I think EGR valves are more prone to ****ing up on a diesel as well… so add EGR to DPF! Friend has a Skoda Superb 2.0d and just been hit with an 800 quid bill on an 11/12 plate I think for some EGR related nonsense..

Petrols can bite too mind.. I had a 3 series with a particular liking for injectors around the 55K mark… They were £200/each just for the part and 6 of the little bar stewards to potentially go wrong.

Aye, just need to chalk it up to experience I think and forget about it. You’ve just been unlucky that the bloke has tried it on with the law and you’ve had to deal with them round your house.

I can’t help myself with stuff like that either.. I’d have probably called him a dick as well!

Thanks for the information and links everyone! Some really useful stuff there. The tyres are nearly ready for replacing anyway so that may be something to look into. I can’t imagine it is cheap getting someone to take your whole car interior to bits and put that stuff everywhere (especially with the number of airbags in cars nowadays!) so think I’ll research the tyres first.

Nah they’re not run flats. I had those on a 3 series though which was actually quieter inside.. potentially due to more insulation / not being a hatch though

It’s on the Michelin pilot super sports or something it comes with as standard on the 18’s. Mind you I am a bit of a fanny on account of having sensitive lugs and tinnitus.. I think the best car I’ve had for being quiet in the cabin was an old Passat saloon!

Funkydunc, I think Thatscold is talking about pushing the gear selector left into “M/S” IIRC this will put the ‘box into sport mode (quicker shifts) but will not be manual until you override with the paddles (or push back or forward on the stick). That’s how the ZF ‘box works on my 1 series anyway.. Never driven a 330e so it may be different.

Also – 20mpg at best on the IC engine?! That is pretty shocking.. it’s a 2.0T right? Is this so low because of re-charging and the electric gubbins being so heavy?? You should save some money on fuel and get an M135i… (not sure the BIK advantages will be the same mind..)

Pretty much anything V12 Ferrari for me. However the 6.3 in the FXX certainly left an impression on me after hearing it at Goodwood – glorious sounding thing! Nearly 800 horses at 8500rpm.. savage

Even a relatively lukewarm old Boxster is still going to have what 230bhp through the rear wheels? If it’s a newish ‘S’ then it’ll be north of 300. Even the former is a decent amount in a mid-engined sports car.. I’d more than likely have binned one of them at 19. I had a little 1300cc 60bhp fiesta at that age and exploring the limits of grip happened at relatively low speed with the result being understeer which IMO is more easily (naturally?) controlled than oversteer. If the parents facilitated it then I think it’s a poor call tossing them the keys.. That’s my pennys wath anyway.

Aye, make sure it’s the ones in the second pic. I’ve got the ones in the first pic and you do lose a LOT of space as noted. On my 1 series I think even 3 bike carriers and no box would be tight (even with the middle one pointing backwards). I’ve got two carriers on there and it’s spot on for what I need.

Vinnyeh – completely agree about the touch screens in cars. They’re a pain in th arse and instead of instinctively knowing where a physical button is you need to use your eyes. Had one in Golf I was driving recently – complete nightmare. Also if people think it’s alright to play with the cars touchscreen the jump to playing with a phone is only a small one unfortunely.

Sbob has it. People are lazy bastards, me included but there are degrees of laziness..

Take my work for example: Office block in Newcastle city centre, pain in the arse to get to by car, cheapest parking is £5/day and a 10 min walk away, we have two really nice shower rooms and “leisure” lockers, secure underground bicycle racks with CCTV with card access (I don’t even lock mine to anything) and there are only 2 people (out of maybe 300) that cycle to work regularly… we have a shower room EACH! The amount of people that are genuinely bamboozled by me cycling not even 12 miles round trip a day is staggering! A number of people have said stuff like “What’s up with your car? Is it in the garage?”. “How do you cycle in the rain?”. “But it’s dark outside?”. Mental.

Anyway, I must replace that rear wheel on my commuter as there’s only been 1 person cycling to work recently and it ain’t me!

Thank you for the kind offer parkesie but I’m in Newcastle and it is a 6 bolt disc I’m after.

Thanks for the suggestions all! Think I’ll just get one of them cheap ‘uns off decathlon down the road and get mesel back on the bike in short order. Can’t be arsed vegetating in me car in traffic jams to work much longer..
Cheers

Leguna Seca blue – lovely! Sad way for such a fine car to die!

I don’t even think you can get a saloon M3 in the E46.. but some roof rails for the bike and off you go!

Worst badge error I’ve seen was an Audi A6 2.0TDi M-Sport.. It wasn’t even stuck on straight!

What about a nice E46 M3? Last NA six pot to wear the badge in manual should be safe money. In fact.. I’m off to auto trader to do some man maths on trading the GFs Mini in!

Bails – the one I seen was Vehicle Savers Contract Hire & Leasing.. Popped on FB feed a few weeks back so every chance that batch is gone.

I also seen the brand new shape S5 for £359/month incl VAT on lease – was £3.5k down mind..

I have to say this thread has been an real eye opener for me on B7 RS4 ownership! I had no idea theft of this particular car was so prevalent.. The idea of hearing someone break into my house then hearing my pride and joy being howked towards the horizon (from cold!) is terrifying.

As above – I agree there is something about fast diesels that isn’t particulary exciting.. I test drove a 335d and whilst quicker than my M135i to 60 (4.8 Vs 4.9 IIRC) I knew within a few minutes it wasn’t for me. I actually enjoyed jumping back in my E90 325i after the diesel which was considerably slower but sounded the part and made red-lining it worthwhile!

Those M140i lease deals for £200+VAT a month look attractive. Why don’t you get a quote from a lease company and use that as leverage on your PCP to get the monthlys down? Are there any 330/5d lease deals you could do the same with?

What an absolute dick head. I wouldn’t have been able to help myself but have a word if I’d seen that… Opening gambit would have been along the lines of “Here, dickhead! WTF are you doing?”

You could probably get a set of winter tyres for the 18’s on an M135 for the price of an RS4 front disc.. But avoid the auto if winter is a concern. If ordering new (but I guess that would be an M140) and you’re really wanting to get into the dynamics of the vehicle tick the LSD box.. I tried but apparently parking sensors etc. Are more important (we both drive each other’s cars)… You can imagine the discussion in the dealership!

The only thing that niggles me a little about the 135 is the road noise on long journeys – it’s just not as quiet and refined in the cabin as it should be. It’s potentially no different to your 120 M sport but just a heads up. Maybe I got too used to my 325i SE saloon on balloon tyres.. Other than that it is an absolute peach.

Hang on, I haven’t had a chance to catch up fully on both threads but (and correct me if I’m wrong) you’ve went from upgrading your 120 to a 320 to considering an RS4 in fairly short order?! Is this correct??

Never driven a B7 RS4 (or any RS4) but I do like them a lot. However, with any car like this out of warranty I just couldn’t sleep at night not knowing when it was about to rinse me for many £k’s.

Anyway, If you end up back on M135s I’ve got one of them so feel free to pick my brains..

I’m surprised at a powerful 4WD automatic Audi being slow off the mark initially.. I’ve never driven one but a bloke at work has an S-tronic S3 and it is positively rapido off the mark! (not launch control either)

Good call on the snow/ice. I got caught out in my auto in a hail storm in Newcastle and it was all over the shop!!

Funkydunc – you need to get that back to the dealership in fairly short order! Definitely sounds like it’s not performing as it should. I don’t know if mine is mapped differently in the 135i but the test drive I had I a 335d didn’t feel massively different (albeit only 45 mins or so…. I sharp realised an oil burner wasn’t for me no matter how fast!)

Funkydunc – I take it that is the 8 speed ZF in your beemer? What year? Mine is on a 65 plate and there is almost instant upshifts in manual/sports mode (certainly no noticeable delay). Downshifts get a decent blip and are quick too – in mine you can also jump mutliple cogs at once in manual/sports mode (hit the kick down in say 8th then pull the left paddle and it will give you the lowest available gear, e.g. 8th to 3rd, with very little delay whatsoever).

Chris Harris actually had to re-record his original review of my car as he thought it was DCT not a traditional (albeit quite clever) auto.

gonefishin – good point about gear changes mid corner. Mine did that once in sports auto mode in the 1 series resulting in an armful of opposite lock. Very scary and kind of justifies the sports manual mode because you would never bang an upshift in manually with any meaningful amount of steering lock dialled in.

Interesting comment on the economy. My auto has better quoted mpg than the manual.. Maybe that’s because it has an extra 2 cogs though not because it’s auto. It’s faster to 60 than the manual ‘box too.

To address to point in the OP – I do think autos have come a long way. I got my first auto (8 speed ZF in a 135) after 13yrs of manuals and I honestly cannot fault it – I can’t think of an instance (in full auto mode) in 12,000 miles where I’ve thought its in the wrong gear. In manual mode I’ve been in the wrong gear but that just demonstrates that the car is cleverer than me! The ZF ‘box is a neat bit of kit but has a traditional torque converter at the end of it unlike the DSGs etc. I think… so is very smooth in comfort mode. Missus wasn’t too sure on the auto but now she’s saying she’ll never have a manual again!

Incredible save!!

“Just leave me alone for a bit!”
Magnussen’s on form th day

That VW video is cracking! Just had a propa laugh at the people carrier getting some decent air time!

What’s gannin on here then?! Another red flag!