Euro Discussion Latest Topics

Share Your Euro!

Fri, 10 Apr 2015 08:09:48 +0000

So, theres a few of us here who no longer have Japanese vehicles, so, lets see what you've got!

I have two VWs; a B6 TDI Passat wagon and a Bora 4Motion V6.

Both cars are very cool, I love them! The Bora has a surprising amount of squirt (150kw) and handles really well (I put Bilstein B8's in it.) The Passat is less lumber-like that I thought it would be. Its still very 'soft' in how it goes about things, but thats what makes it a perfect family car. Its totally unexciting.

I'll post pics soon.

25/30 e36 build

Wed, 27 Nov 2019 11:25:57 +0000

So this is my 92 320i e36 im currently tearing the front apart as you can see for a 25/30 engine swap and i think this is probably the best place for this build to be posted.

it doesn't need too much outside of the conversion but i defiantly need a few things so here is the list of things to do or at least i hope to do at some point 😂

e46 purple tag rack
new wheels probally the 2 im missing to match the front
euro tailights
decent seats
possible m3 front bar
the obvious missing engine

any ideas on other things that are nice things to have on e36s

The Sour Kraut And The Swede - A Euro Tale

Fri, 22 Apr 2016 02:33:50 +0000

I have been a member of this site for quite a while (2005, sweet Jesus), some cars ago I abused a 230rwkw (Racepace tuned) AUTO R33 S1.5 GTS-T - good times.

The Sour Kraut

About 13 months ago I hunted down and purchased what I thought was a good example of an AUDI A8 D3 4.2 Quattro with only 103000km. In my defense I was under time pressure after my previous car was written off. I had looked at some others, D2s were all thrashed out and other D3s had S8 badges and dodgy fixes or were very over priced. I had done quite a bit of research, knew the common faults, picked up a VAG-COM and was confident that should some of these common issues arise I could handle them. Instead I learnt a lessen in German over-engineering. You see, most Euro cars seem to be like onions in that each system and subsystem is layered on top of each other and other unrelated systems. The more layers you have to peel back to even inspect something the more you cry and or cry about paying labour for.

I had had the car inspected in QLD (never buy interstate if you can't inspect personally - first lesson) and it came back with a near clean bill of health bar the A/C heater valves, a common VAG issue.

The whole heater valve box was changed out prior to the car being shipped down. A/C didn't work properly after I picked up the car - which was entirely due to the retarded monkey that replaced the heater valves. Pinched wires had damaged the loom, all the tabs were broken off the unit and it was glued in, ECU covers were broken or missing (layers). Jeremy Clarkson with a hammer could have done a better job. Ended up just bridging the passenger valve to the driver controls as after the dash was out and half the engine bay still couldn't find every break.

Car came with a single key - never buy a car with a single key (no shit guy), especially a euro. $700 later I had a spare.

MMI screen struggled to move from closed to open - extremely common issue due to the weak as piss plastic gears. Picked up replacement metal gears and never got around to installing them. Taking more of the dash out for something that mostly worked did not appeal.

The auto boot could not auto itself without some help, another common fault which was resolved with an uprated motor in later years.

Water would pool inside the boot lid. Actually a common fault due to inexplicably poor workmanship on the boot lid construction where gaps could be left in seams behind the tail lights in the boot lid. Solved with any all purpose sealant.

Starter motor would almost randomly say f**k you and the car would not start. Not really a "common" fault but the more you look into it the more common you realize it is. The car would start every time - as long as the battery was near 100% so it had the juice to kick the starter in the guts.

Battery was not being charged enough. I would have to charge the battery every one-two weeks so the car would start consistently. The alternator in these is water cooled because f**k you that's why. The battery was also enormous, the same unit that goes into a Porsche Cayenne which I lucked out and picked one up at cost price from Battery World, naturally the battery had partially collapsed en route to Melbourne, required two truck batteries to get started when it arrived off the train.

Front suspension collapsed. This is a common fault for all cars that use air struts which is a list of very expensive and never kept past warranty cars. Replaced the lot with DGR coilovers from Otaku Garage - surprisingly good. Put the fronts in myself because when they go the front is very very low, not Tesla on the ground low but close enough that driving or getting a tow were pretty much out of the question.

Engine was misfiring, never got around to fully investigating, suspected it needed a new valve cover gasket, happens to the V10s a fair bit and can on the V8s. Oil gets into the spark plug tube and fouls the plug.

ZF 6 speed would "hoot" and sometimes hunt a bit when in slow but not quite stop start traffic. There is actually a service bulletin for this not that Penfold AUDI had any idea. Picked up the filter and gasket from the US because Australia still believes the lifetime fluid lie, never got to changing over the filter and fluid.

Firmware was all original versions and should have been updated by AUDI when it was serviced. Couldn't find the interim version I needed to then update to the latest firmware. Penfold AUDI told me not to get them to do it and to download the discs myself instead.

The thing that really killed it was the leaks. After a weekend away I came back to a drivers footwell full of water. The sunroof drains had blocked and some water had got in that way but if the volume that was in the footwell had come in through the roof the car would have been a write-off, there are tales of this on VAG related forums because again an inexplicably shit design for something has managed to exist for 20+ years and water pours all over the MMI controls and gets into the loom which you'll be quoted near $20,000 to replace. Near impossible to clean out and requiring many layers to come off to do anything about. The rest of the water must have come in the AC vents. Two causes for this, weather guard at the top if the bonnet missing or the plenum drains are blocked. Easy check right? Just jump under the car and inspect? NOPE. The correct procedure to check the inexplicably crimped plenum drains is to remove the engine and gearbox. FU AUDI, FU.

Even with all that and I have likely forgot many more issues, the A8 was a brilliant car to drive, even better with the coilovers.

So it was with equal measure frustration and regret that I began the search for a different car and different I found.

The Swede

For some reason I was drawn to something opposite, much smaller (A8 is ~5.2m long and that's the SWB) with less stuff but still comfortable and with...something. It had to have something about it and not just be a snoozefest A-B all the time. Some people don't get that at all. "Why don't you buy something common?" indeed, why buy clothes when I could wear a hessian sack? Why live in a house when I could gut a horse and crawl inside?

My search criteria kept turning up a lot of cheap shit which was of no interest to me but interspersed in all the crap I kept seeing Saab and Volvo. The 9-3, 9-5, S40 and S60 grew on me as I hunted around. A turbo-X would have been nice but they are extremely rare in Australia and about $30k which was a bit more than I wanted to spend. My first child is about to arrive too so part of the criteria was fairly cheap and cheaper to run. My biggest issue ended up being I needed to trade in the A8 which limited my options quite drastically, mostly because there was no way I would sell a car I knew was about to implode to a person instead of an entity of the same type that screwed me in the first place.

If I could have bought private I would likely be in a 9-3. Instead I found a nice little S40 D5 the "performance" diesel. It's not optioned up apart from being a D5 but it's clean and comfortable and based on a pretty great platform that it shares with the Focus and Mazda 3. Some idiot put OptiLife tyres on it which is great if you hate grip because they are totally inadequate in a FWD car with over 400nm of torque. But still the car has been great fun so far.

The BMW attached to the dealer I bought the S40 at was supposed to perform a minor service - but being a dealer instead they topped off the oil and probably did nothing else. Being the ignorant twats they are they did not realize this would cause a DTC due to the oil level being too high as most dealers will put 6L into a D5 engine when it should have at most 5.8L (5.5 recommended). It says so on a sticker under the bonnet... How hard can it be. I extracted the extra oil.

So now after much oil specification research and finding the right stock I'll be changing the oil and the ATF this long weekend. Recently managed an easy 680KM for under $50 which is fine by me. The S40 goes really well but would go even better if it wasn't strangled by Euro IV emissions gear which it could have been sold here legally without but now that it's on I definitely won't be tampering with the DPF...

There is not a whole lot that I want to change with the S40 which is probably a good thing. The adventure continues.

TL;DR

Common problems are common.

Used car salesman are dicks.

If you can't run a diagnostic scan on a euro yourself and it's out of warranty you probably shouldn't buy it.

I drive a Swedish tractor.

That was cathartic.

My E90 BMW 330i

Tue, 12 Dec 2017 04:11:27 +0000

Hi All,

This is going to be my restoration thread. It might turn into a build thread in the future if I get the car to a good place where I can start upgrading and not fixing.

Last week I picked up my E90 330i with only 50,000k's on it. I'm totally in love with it but there are a number of things that need my attention.

I haven't got many pics yet.

The body and mechanical are immaculate. It has a solid service history from BMW and its only bits and pieces causing me grief.

Here is my current list of things to fix;

The seal/trim around the rear window has disintegrated
The same around the windscreen also
Both front door seals are falling apart
The rear passenger window won't go up when put the whole way down - looks to be catching on something and triggering the anti-pinch
Bluetooth not working (MULF) - i have bought a BT interface to use in the interim
Headlight washers don't go the whole way in and the passenger fell out when I was looking at them the other day. I'm scared to use them in case it falls out on the road.
Drivers side cup holder does not come out without some persuasion.
Boot struts are gone (have already ordered new ones after almost being killed by my boot)
The electric rear sunshade has broken in one of the arms. It looks like a big inflatable person when I put it up, limbs everywhere

When I'm happy with those being fixed I'm going to consider;

Wheels. Some M-Sport ones maybe. Mine are ok but a bit too tucked for my liking and I don't want to use spacers
New sport front seats. The current seats are in great nic and do a good job but lacking a little in support.
Something with iDrive. The screen is pretty nice but it does bugger all. Maybe an after market reverse cam or even a new interface or something.

I believe the car was not used by passengers, or at least not regularly. The only floor mat missing from the car is the drivers one and the others look mint. The passenger seat was super hard like it hadn't been used and theres no evidence of the rear seats having much use either. This meant that the passenger seat belt was putrid with mould. It took lots of hot water, car wash and vinegar to get it looking presentable.

The pics don't do it justice. It was thick enough to stop the belt bending properly.

DIY make Arch for mini with WordArt

Fri, 23 Feb 2018 22:54:11 +0000

DIY make Arch for mini with WordArt

Part1

Part2

AMG Hammer Wagon

Fri, 08 Sep 2017 03:30:33 +0000

AMG Hammer Wagon

Oh man.... So much cool.

God Damn The Mk7 Golf Gti Clubsport Is Hot!

Thu, 10 Sep 2015 03:54:28 +0000

What do you think?

Those seats!!!

Volkswagen Golf R 400

Mon, 27 Apr 2015 03:21:48 +0000

Autoblog is stating that VW is going to put the Golf R 400 into production.

That is an AWD Golf R with 400HP from the factory. Pics are below.

I'm not sure I like the green line and I definitely don't like the exhaust tips. What do you think?

God I love these wheels.

Theres more info on Car Mag.

Midnight Rambler | Magnus Walker Cruising Around L.a. In His 1971 Porsche 911t

Thu, 14 May 2015 02:43:40 +0000

I love the guy, I LOVE the car, I especially love the sound.

Golf Gti Clubsport Concept Looks Awesome

Thu, 14 May 2015 02:09:05 +0000

An overboost function even kicks in an extra 10-percent more horsepower to bring peak output up to 287 hp

I'm assuming thats just a boost controller but whatever, 287 is pretty good. The R makes 292.

Looks like some stance on the wheels and an 'Edition 25' style decal at the bottom.

I'm a fan. It looks awesome.

Porsche 911 Targa 4s

Tue, 21 Apr 2015 02:08:15 +0000

I love this thing!!

THE KEY IS A LITTLE PORSCHE!!!!

I still think I like the 911 Classic better with that spoiler and the big Fuchs wheels.

What do you think?