Hi Folks,

Just thought I'd drop in.

Still have the BM (still love it TBH), chopped the "break down every 4 seconds Defender" in for a new VW California 180 4Motion camper. Bit mad to many but hey ho, we love it!

Also moved to the beach at last - now in Polzeath.

Hope you're all well?

 

Where have you been lurking Matt?

 

Nice to hear you!

Shall I purchase popcorn or will it not be required upon your return?

 

Hi Matt

Good to see you posting again.

 

Hi Matt - its always nice to see an old name pop up again,
Where have you been hiding then ?

Richard

 

**** off - we don't want your type around these parts....




























just joshing - nice to see you again.

 

Its been a while son.

Bring me the fattest lamb...!!!!

 

welcome back Matteboy

it has been a while

was in Polzy this summer, and will be for new year too

 

Cheers all. A few of you here are well worth keeping in touch with. Hodgey; one day, we shall meet!

I had a series of weird stalker type oddballs so laid low for a while.

Hope you're all well?

Today I have mostly been admiring Allan's Vantage...

 

 

And if anyone likes vans, here's the Cali...

 

Why the disappearing act? I miss the BM soot chucking banter

 

.......i even started a Where's Matteeboy thread

 

Very touching!

I do rather fancy the new M135i but the wife us having none of it. The soot chucking barge (on 44k miles) is probably now worth about 19p.

 

I'll take it

 

No problem...

I admit to hankering for a petrol again but it will be a way off. At least the BM sounds okay. The bi-turbo four pot in the van works well enough but sounds utterly cack! Other than that, it's great. 25 nights spent in it so far this year with our two young kids (and dog), a week of which were on the stunning island of Mull. Bloody long drive but worth it!

 

Hey Matteeboy! I've often wondered what became of you, hope you are well.

Bit p1ssed off with you to be honest, I bought a soot chucker because you went on about them so much and I hate the bloody thing!

 

Good to see you posting

 

Is that better for surf., ?

Gwithian is supposedly best for windsurfing - if anyone does it anymore,

 

Dpb; not necessarily better but a two min walk instead of a 25 min drive to the waves now.

Ding - what's up with it? A few seen unhappy with the F11s steering/chassis.

 

Steering

Ride/chassis (run flats)

Brakes (but perhaps that's because I've previously been spoiled by AMG/M Power cars)

The car is beautifully put together, looks nice, is 100% reliable and the engine is actually very good but the ride/steering/brakes mean its no fun to drive at all.

I've never felt the urge to go for a drive, or looked forward to a drive since I've bought it.

But hey ho, you live and learn.

 

Welcom back Mattee, I think I've missed having a good old ramble about Beamers.

Ding; After comming back from my Euro trek, on a runflat equipped BMW 530d gt, I've amazingly had a change of focus with runflats. It seems the ride quality issue on run flats is actually only a problem on UK roads, and Spanish dirt tracks. This says something...Uk roads are as bumpy as a Spanish dirt track.

I'm not joking either! 85mph on a French toll road was silky smooth and spooky quiet. In the UK it would skip about on every expansion joint (M5 at West Brom feels like driving a old 4x4 with live axles) and I have to crank up the radio to drown out the tyre noise.

I still want a spare tyre though. I drove past 4 stranded cars, 2 with shredded tyres. Now thats fine I can drive for about 50odd miles on a flat tyre, but in the middle of France at 8pm on a rural motorway? To where? Everything is shut! So I miss my slot on the Euro Tunnel and will have to find somewhere to sleep until the tyre is fixed/replaced.

The rest of the Beamer did its job well. 40mpg averaged over 2600miles in a 2ton car that can still do 0-60 is 6.7secs is nothing short of remarkable...when I've done the same run a Seat Altea TDi that averaged 41mpg in the same driving conditions...a car half a ton lighter, 100 less BHP, and 1 litre smaller in capacity. Can't argue about the driving dynamics though, I don't get any urge to push it round some twisties. Sure it does handle well if chucked about, but it just feels numb and cumbersome.

Looking at a replacement sometime next year, the new Mercedes CLS Shooting Brake looks interesting....if you're into that kind of thing...We are, we need something with comfy 'proper' back seats and a big boot, hence the current GT (lovingly nicknamed "Bertha" ).

 

Ali: cheers!

Ding - I ditched my RFTs as soon as I could. I hate them; a good car spoiled by silly tyres. Are the brakes just not powerful enough? I had an issue with mine wobbling and it took a few attempts to sort it. They work well again but I do get a bit of brake rumble on some long journeys.

The new F30 only comes with electric steering and no 35d unit so not keen. The M135i is definitely one I will be testing out.

The current BM is starting to get a little tired on the outside (despite my near OCD cleaning of it) but the inside is still fresh and on almost 45k miles, its still a hoot to drive on Cornish lanes. Did a mission to North Wales ona single tank of fuel recently and very much enjoyed the Llanberis pass. Driving heaven.

I did pick up my first ever points in August in Scotland. Jumped (just) a red light in the Cali. Doh! The cops lost my license too. Not handy.

 

Was that a camera Mattee or were you pulled by plod?

 

Good news: the new M135i doesn't have RFTs as standard

Bad news: It doesn't have a spare either. Just the usual mobility pack; a compressor and tyre sealant.

Wouldn't bother me anywaya as I wouldn't use it for bashing across Europe in. A spare on a commuting/city car isn't really needed (i.e the 1 series), but should be supplied on cars intended for long distance mile munching (like the 5 series). Still doesn't explain why the boot on my AWD Golf is just as big as a one series and still has space for a spare AND a fecking huge 90Ah battery.

Having said that, the press spiel says it will have dedicated high performance tyres...hopefully not something stupid and useless in the UKs climate where its often wet and below 15 degrees, like on the cut slicks (for want of a better description) that were supplied on the e46 CSL, or the OE Pirellis on my old Monaro.

Had an email back from BMW UK saying they aren't planning on importing the X-Drive version, seriously, why can't the UK consumer get a choice for once like everywhere else? http://www.m-power.com/_open/b/varlink1.jsp?lang=en

 

Don't forget it also makes your wife pukey.

 

Hello Mattee. Welcome back (for a bit or long term?)

 

Mattee, brakes just don't seem up to the job of stopping a car with this much weight and torque.

Ali, yes I've read elsewhere that the runflats work fine on German, French roads etc and really show their worst on UK roads.

Anyway, I've learned my lesson which is that nothing less than an AMG, RS or M Power car will ever have the tyres, suspension, steering, brakes etc to make a large sized saloon car fun to drive.

 

Jim - camera. Dabbed the brakes but decided it was too risky so rolled through and got flashed.

Ding; fair enough. Happy with my set up but you all know that anyway. Is your steering electric? Mine isn't and the car really benefits from it. AMGs and RS Audis all have mega brakes but are still often gash to drive (recent AMGs are getting much better, Audis almost seem worse).

 

Nice to see you back Mateeboy.