gangzoom

Looks nice am sure your enjoy it..but the engine is missing a turbo . I notice you put good mpg and low tax as important factors in your car choice, though am not sure swapping 5 cars in 2 years is best way to minimise running costs!! Hope this one is going to be a keeper...though the new 4 series is just about out.

MPG better than the Z, doing mainly start/stop city trips 23-25 mpg, sitting on the M roads at 70mph, 35-40mpg. But thats because at those speeds the engine is essentially off boost, higher speeds and the mpg is about on par with the Z....Though my massive roof spoiler is not really helping on the aerodynamics front

Just to reassure my self, had another look at my logged runs, and am pretty sure the guy doing the dyno must have had wheel spin at 3000-4000 rpm, since on my logged runs by 4000 rpm the boost is already nearly at 14 psi!! Looking at other 335i dynos graphs it appears maximum torque is usually around 4000 rpm, wheres on my graph at 4000 rpm the car is making hardly any torque/power, so wheel spin seems like the most feasible explanation . So I guess the maximum torque is probably over 400 ft-ibs!!

The speed limit is fine, no one follows it any ways, put the limit up and people will go faster. Regardless of why people crash faster speeds means bigger accidents and more death which no political party is going to like. Road traffic accidents is one of the biggest killers of young/mid aged people in the UK, black boxes in cars will certainly reduce death but cannot see any politician trying to introduce it driven how in popular that will be.

Theres not much to look at from the outside in regards to the car, pretty much like any other 3 series your find parked on any street

Looking at the dyno graph i think there must have been wheel spin between 3000-5000 rpm, certainly driving day to day there it's a pretty linear power delivery.

It's taken over 12 months, and all the mods on the car is done (BMW 335i). Finally had time to take it back to the dyno today so see the results (hottest of the day of the year)… Last year, running just tuning box, and Forge intercooler with Tesco super unleaded (99 Ron), 15 degrees ambient temp, the car made 316bhp at the crank. Now running, AFE sealed intake, AR catted downpipes, and Forge intercooler, Procede tune with boost limit set a 14 PSI, Tesco super unleaded (99Ron), about 29 degrees ambient temp, the car made 380 bhp and 390 lbs at the crank. Total spend is hard to workout but about £1500 in parts. Had it been cooler, or had I pushed up the boost limit to 15-16 psi am sure the car would have made 400 bhp+, but main aim for me is to have a reliable motor hence the conservative boost limit (over the pond people run at 17-18 psi). Overall I'm very happy!! Not sure how much extra BHP £1.8K gets you on the Z, but big thumbs up to Mitz/Andy for getting the downpipes fitted, not a easy job ------------------------------------------------------------------ So a quick update on the car: Not done any significant mods for the last few months but have had the joys of experiencing good old German reliability. After a quick trip to Tesco the fan came on full blast and 2 hr later I was been towed to Cougar Store. Luckily Andy and Mitz as usual was able to sort out the car and put right a few other issues a local BMW 'specialist' had not quite sorted (lesson learnt in future always take the car to CS, regardless of how close the near by 'specialist' is). Turns out the water pump was knackered, a known problem. I also had a new high pressure fuel pump fitted as mine was starting to die, another know problem, and also recently had a gear box oil leak fixed...you guessed it another 'known' problem. At least now the car should be sorted for the next 12 months....next up hybrid turbos, am keen to break 450bhp+ without having to run meth, but need to get bigger oil coolers fitted....I feel another trip to CS coming up

Is that about 12kg?? Riding that must feel like driving a tank ...I'm currently trying to get the weight on the road bike down to below 7.5kg, and even than I still think it's 0.5kg too heavy

If you can get into a job with good progression defiantly don't focus on the starting/initial salary. My income has more than doubled in the last 7 years due to progressing up the ladder, and I expect it to more than double again in the next few years. I've had to work hard (lots and lots of weekends, hardly any holidays for 2-3 years) but now in a position where I can almost pick and choose which position I go to next. The difficulty I guess is your coming from a position where you've worked hard for a while built up good experience but that experience is hard to translate into 'normal' jobs. I wouldn't be too afraid to spend money on more education, I've spent £10K+ on adult/postgraduate degrees/courses since leaving University but they have already paid for themselves. I had a interview a couple of years ago where I had a postgraduate qualification the other candidate didn't, I'm pretty sure the job was given to me on pretty much that point alone!! But you do have to be-careful which courses you go on, alot of them are there just to make money and do little in the form of education. Good luck

Some of my mates had a go with shares years ago, they spent £500 initially, their shares did get up to £800 at one point but now worth £50.

As with lots of religious stuff you aren't allowed to take photos inside, but otherwise no one cared.

Passed through Bangkok on the way to a family wedding last week.... ...yes that is the groom on an ELEPHANT!!!

Love it, been thinking about planning a 'holiday' around climbing up Ventoux....Really love the idea of going up one of the climbs on the tour, it'll be like taking the car to Spa or having a kick about at Wembly.

Will do, just don't seem to have much spare time these days...apart from getting on the bike obviously You don't need a whole day off work, it starts at 530 - 8pm. I got there at 6, and when I left at 730 there were still people arriving....loads of people there from little kids to guys on full on TT bikes, I'm going back on the 5th with some mates to try a team TT .

Just been to my first track day at Donington park, only cost £1.... The 335 didn't get a work out though... Than I noticed something interesting in a dark garage... ...oh best laptime; 7:15, just under 20mph average, going back in a couple of weeks to see if I can shave 15seconds off the lap time http://www.donington-park.co.uk/events/run-cycle-evenings/2013/08/05/cycle-in-the-park/

Also just wanted to check, I'm pretty old these days....do the youngster still use words like "cool"

BMWs are as common as Ford/Vauxhall these days...and nearly street has a 120d/320d/520d parked somewhere. Theres nothing cool about the BMW badge, BMW makes some very nice cars, but I much rather my BMW had a Z badge

I was born in Shanghai and lived there for a while so it wasn't really a culture shock for me, the biggest shock for me was how "westernised" all the cities I visited was getting. Even in Xi'An which is by far the least developed the main shopping street had all the same shops you will find on Oxford street in London or Orchard road in Singapore which is kinda of sad...I really do think Gucci shops are just a front for some international mafia, just how many Gucci shops does the world need . Luckily bits of Beijing are now pretty much protected from been developed any more, its a great place to visit but just don't expect to use FaceBook, its banned.

Yeah really need to pop in and get the suspension bits fitted on the 335.

Got back to home after what I can only describe as an epic holiday… Started by spending 5 days in the saddle, riding a fabulous Trek Road bike across Scotland with a bunch of mates and seeing some of the best bits of the Highlands, ended up in John O'Groats. Some how just 48hrs after getting off the bike at John’O Groats I was in HongKong!! Followed by a dash to Shanghai (thunder and lighting show included for free at the airport) to meet up with my wife and see the rest of the family. Amazed how much one city can change in less than 2 decades. Than smashed it to Beijing at 310 km/h thanks to a rather fancy train to see some of the old stuff (and some food to scare the tourists). Even managed to make it to Xi’an,and got a quick bike ride in on the 500 year old+ city wall to finish off the holiday!! ...now I just need another holiday to get ready for a trip to Thailand in a few weeks. Me and the wife are taking full advantage of been kids free and trying to go to as many places in 12 months as possible ..before we have to start looking at prams and talking about how to change nappies all day

Some epic rides going on here!!! Almost makes me want to get a mountain bike Managed to get a chance to ride along the 500year+ old Xi'an city wall last week.... Hopefully I'll stay as KOM on this segment for a while given its about 4500miles away !!

£400+ for a games console, another £40-50 for games, and having to pay extra for Xbox live...no thanks. It may just be me getting old but neither my 360 or PS3 have even been switched on once in the last 6 months, my iPad/iPhone has taken over game playing duities nicely. Infact I've not had to pay a single £ to play RealRacing 3 on iOS, Microsoft is mad expecting people to spend £500 on a games consle at a time when money is tight for everyone, make the PS4 looks like a bargin in comparison!!

Loving the iPhone camera!!

Really like the look of the new Pros but I suspect the starting RRP will be £2000-2500

Some cool pics on here...been in HongKong for a few days. Had time to take a few snaps, not a bad little city. I was staying pretty close to the city centre, so as a result Ferraris/Lambos etc are a common sight and pretty boring, but did find a nice motor that caught my eye enough for me to whip out the camera. Also happened to catch a Celica....guess its pretty clear I'm a JDM car fan at heart!!! Been lucky to visit a few nice places in the world the last few years, HK is pretty cool but Singapore still stands out, really starting to think very seriously about moving out (or back home for me) to the far east in the next few years.....Off to Shanghai today, lets see if my home city can trump Singapore