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Read the WELCOME ALL BMWFANATICS post.
Llew's F90 M5
- Thread starter TurboLlew
- Start date
Somewhat unrelated, also a shoutout to @FiRi@Rennzport and @Neven for sorting me out at EXTREMELY short notice on my sudden power requirement changes and associated renovations LOL. A power surge resulted in my long serving inverter failing... and as part of installing the new one 'the right way', I decided it was time to pull everything off the walls, sort out a few issues I had, repaint. do a new garage door motor etc etc (pics are from WIP).
@TurboLlew I had similar batteries on my setup. Worked perfectly well running 90% of my house during load shedding. But 20 months later +/- and they are due for replacement. Kind of faded... last an hour now if im lucky. Wont install similar... biting the bullet & adding 10kw of lithium batteries & thinking of solar panels to keep me off the grid for most of the day ... and thus recover costs. 🤷 I have 3x Growatt 5kW hybrid inverters on a load balanced 3-phase setup.
Im sure you've done your homework on this... what would your ideal setup be?? at R55k +/- Im trying not to make a mistake with battery brands... so any insight is appreciated.
PS: Your M5 = 🤤
Last edited:
TurboLlew
Honorary ///Member
At my new place I have been chatting to Firi about some options. Definitely going with a similar route you have described above. I am likely to go with 3x 7kw hybrid inverters and sufficient battery capacity in Lithium Ion. The only reason I didn't go that route at the old place was because I already had these batteries and they were fairly new. It is a very expensive exercise to do it right regardless.
There are certain ratings and specs to pay attention to such as the C rating of the batteries- I find there are so many brands out there but many are just the same basic units with a different colour scheme and there are claims akin to car audio and PMPO vs RMS just looking at a spec or two
I will definitely share what I end up with... not long to go.
TurboLlew
Honorary ///Member
So the state of our roads ranges from first world to junk-tier. What is a problem is that the N3... the only route that is available to us if you aren't driving a Unimog... has been infested by unroadworthy trucks who are perpetually in a state of performing some life-threatening manoever or another, if they aren't dropping parts along the way. This is a direct consequence of us having a barely functioning rail network and trucking being the only alternative.
When we had to attend a funeral unexpectedly, it was our turn to experience one of these incidents. I hate driving this route and would rather fly, but because of the unique way South Africa seems to be run these days, there are no airlines and no flights during busy periods... not expensive flights. Not flights at odd times... JUST NO FLIGHTS.
We left early one morning nearly two months ago hoping to be in time for the funeral... about an hour and a half in, a truck on the oncoming side in the process of performing one of the aforementioned dumb overtaking moves took ZERO evasive action launching a tyre carcass head first into my M5. Combinations of luck and instinct meant I managed to limit it to just the driver's side bumper and fender... and SOMEHOW we were able to still drive the car (wheel and tyre were intact though I had to bend some of the metal stays and undertray out of the way and keep checking that the mangled, but somewhat intact intercooler didn't leak.).
Of course the thing you worry about most is that your family is safe and I had two kids and a wife to worry about. All were very rattled by this as you'd expect. That shock of realising what was happening in the moment was traded for "what if there was someone waiting in the dark" or possibly opportunistically taking advantage of a stricken vehicle. I drove a few metres on to a safer spot and then got out to make sure that the car wasn't dramatically overheating and that the fluid was just washer fluid. Fortunately lights and radiator etc were OK though my poor car was alerting me to the fact that all of it's driver aids were unavailable.
Not wanting to take further chances in the dark waiting on an extremely dangerous section of road (trucks really don't give a shit at all about themselves or anyone else), we limped back to JHB... the car was taken to the Midrand ARC (when getting it onto the truck, the makeshift 'cassette' of the dangling AWIC radiator tucked into the undertray finally let go as I reversed - its situations like this where you start wondering about what guardian angels were watching over you).
The following day, my in-laws decided to drive up. Cue round two where there was an incident with two of their tyres that meant even RFTs were of no use. Off I went almost to the location of the activity of the previous day to do what I could (drove my SIL & MIL home while the FIL waited for the flatbed...). I half thought the universe/simulation was playing a trick on me or wasn't satisfied that I'd evaded something far worse the prior day. The N3 is a death trap. Fly or don't use it.
That aside, the claim was approved in record time - Sela brokers and Auto Body Specialists were great in getting all of this sorted out. I was very happy with the feedback that I got over the course of the process and I got to check in a couple of times - in fact this was probably the best repair experience I've had to date despite the delays in sourcing some of the parts. The car was actually ready nearly 3 weeks ago but we had drama sourcing a coolant pipe. First, an incorrect pipe arrived and then it was a bit more of a wait to source and air freight a new one. Only after this could it be fully assembled and the rest of the test/calibrations/servicing be done. Frustrating, but at least it was done 'the right way'. In the process the car became due for a few services which were carried out at BMW Midrand...
Seeing some of the vehicles in at the ARC made me also quite grateful that things were not a heck of a lot worse... for instance if it was a rim+tyre instead of a carcass lobbed into our path... (this example below is being fixed BTW)
The experience has made me more of a 5 series fan than ever - the cars are built like absolute tanks - if you look at the damage and considering what kind of impact it was, I was absolutely amazed that it was as 'straightforward' of a repair as it was and there was nothing suspension wise that was broken/bent - I was also very impressed with the lengths that the ARC went to show me the measurements they had taken on the car, regular pics of the progress and regular calls (to be honest I was so busy renovating and moving that the time didn't seem as long as it actually was).
Majority of the cost was bits of the cooling system that needed to be totally replaced and panels. It was sheer luck that I didn't end up with a much worse incident (literally a centimetre higher would have been R100K more repair bill and a few centimetres further left might have resulted in the engine overheating between the incident and where we stopped. As it happened, the impact damaged many things, but didn't "break" them completely. A different mix of angles may have ripped the AWIC radiator right off... or sent the tyre underneath the car... or set off the airbags... your mind plays all these scenarios out for you in the weeks afterwards.
Ultimately all that matters is that everyone involved was safe.
And of course that the car is back, repaired properly and looking better than ever!
I really feel like a missing piece of me has been returned - there is no replacement for this in my life LOL - Family hypercar indeed.
More positive stories will come soon! I may start another thread for my garage build...
When we had to attend a funeral unexpectedly, it was our turn to experience one of these incidents. I hate driving this route and would rather fly, but because of the unique way South Africa seems to be run these days, there are no airlines and no flights during busy periods... not expensive flights. Not flights at odd times... JUST NO FLIGHTS.
We left early one morning nearly two months ago hoping to be in time for the funeral... about an hour and a half in, a truck on the oncoming side in the process of performing one of the aforementioned dumb overtaking moves took ZERO evasive action launching a tyre carcass head first into my M5. Combinations of luck and instinct meant I managed to limit it to just the driver's side bumper and fender... and SOMEHOW we were able to still drive the car (wheel and tyre were intact though I had to bend some of the metal stays and undertray out of the way and keep checking that the mangled, but somewhat intact intercooler didn't leak.).
Of course the thing you worry about most is that your family is safe and I had two kids and a wife to worry about. All were very rattled by this as you'd expect. That shock of realising what was happening in the moment was traded for "what if there was someone waiting in the dark" or possibly opportunistically taking advantage of a stricken vehicle. I drove a few metres on to a safer spot and then got out to make sure that the car wasn't dramatically overheating and that the fluid was just washer fluid. Fortunately lights and radiator etc were OK though my poor car was alerting me to the fact that all of it's driver aids were unavailable.
Not wanting to take further chances in the dark waiting on an extremely dangerous section of road (trucks really don't give a shit at all about themselves or anyone else), we limped back to JHB... the car was taken to the Midrand ARC (when getting it onto the truck, the makeshift 'cassette' of the dangling AWIC radiator tucked into the undertray finally let go as I reversed - its situations like this where you start wondering about what guardian angels were watching over you).
The following day, my in-laws decided to drive up. Cue round two where there was an incident with two of their tyres that meant even RFTs were of no use. Off I went almost to the location of the activity of the previous day to do what I could (drove my SIL & MIL home while the FIL waited for the flatbed...). I half thought the universe/simulation was playing a trick on me or wasn't satisfied that I'd evaded something far worse the prior day. The N3 is a death trap. Fly or don't use it.
That aside, the claim was approved in record time - Sela brokers and Auto Body Specialists were great in getting all of this sorted out. I was very happy with the feedback that I got over the course of the process and I got to check in a couple of times - in fact this was probably the best repair experience I've had to date despite the delays in sourcing some of the parts. The car was actually ready nearly 3 weeks ago but we had drama sourcing a coolant pipe. First, an incorrect pipe arrived and then it was a bit more of a wait to source and air freight a new one. Only after this could it be fully assembled and the rest of the test/calibrations/servicing be done. Frustrating, but at least it was done 'the right way'. In the process the car became due for a few services which were carried out at BMW Midrand...
Seeing some of the vehicles in at the ARC made me also quite grateful that things were not a heck of a lot worse... for instance if it was a rim+tyre instead of a carcass lobbed into our path... (this example below is being fixed BTW)
The experience has made me more of a 5 series fan than ever - the cars are built like absolute tanks - if you look at the damage and considering what kind of impact it was, I was absolutely amazed that it was as 'straightforward' of a repair as it was and there was nothing suspension wise that was broken/bent - I was also very impressed with the lengths that the ARC went to show me the measurements they had taken on the car, regular pics of the progress and regular calls (to be honest I was so busy renovating and moving that the time didn't seem as long as it actually was).
Majority of the cost was bits of the cooling system that needed to be totally replaced and panels. It was sheer luck that I didn't end up with a much worse incident (literally a centimetre higher would have been R100K more repair bill and a few centimetres further left might have resulted in the engine overheating between the incident and where we stopped. As it happened, the impact damaged many things, but didn't "break" them completely. A different mix of angles may have ripped the AWIC radiator right off... or sent the tyre underneath the car... or set off the airbags... your mind plays all these scenarios out for you in the weeks afterwards.
Ultimately all that matters is that everyone involved was safe.
And of course that the car is back, repaired properly and looking better than ever!
I really feel like a missing piece of me has been returned - there is no replacement for this in my life LOL - Family hypercar indeed.
More positive stories will come soon! I may start another thread for my garage build...
GravityLee
Well-known member
The N3 is a clusterfuck indeed. That section in/after PMB…
Salt
///Member
Firstly gladly you and your family are OK! Secondly, sorry that had to happen to your car. I can relate as I know you too take pride in looking after your things from all your posts I've read over the years.
Our roads are in the same state as the electricity infrastructure, heath, water, national airline (or nine there off) and the list goes on. I don't think anyone - especially those responsible - realize the financial cost it will take to catch up and restore maintenance of the road infrastructure in SA...again same as electricity, water etc.
The R24/R21 is an example of a newer highway that was heavily upgraded and widened with a road road surface that is now crumbling and has become a stone chip meteorite storm field. Yet it just carries on and seemingly no one cares. What makes matters worse is how the overall crumbling infrastructure is doubling up to increase their risk levels...it becomes so much more trickier to avoid potholes during loadshedding at night as the roads are pitch dark.
Anyway, again just glad you and your fam are OK. And your car is back home!
Our roads are in the same state as the electricity infrastructure, heath, water, national airline (or nine there off) and the list goes on. I don't think anyone - especially those responsible - realize the financial cost it will take to catch up and restore maintenance of the road infrastructure in SA...again same as electricity, water etc.
The R24/R21 is an example of a newer highway that was heavily upgraded and widened with a road road surface that is now crumbling and has become a stone chip meteorite storm field. Yet it just carries on and seemingly no one cares. What makes matters worse is how the overall crumbling infrastructure is doubling up to increase their risk levels...it becomes so much more trickier to avoid potholes during loadshedding at night as the roads are pitch dark.
Anyway, again just glad you and your fam are OK. And your car is back home!
AlexYannoulatos
///Member
Happy your family is safe and your M5 is back in your garage! I was at ABS/Midrand ARC on Tuesday this week, and the workshop looked incredibly organized and neat. I did not see your car there, perhaps i missed it or it was at BMW Midrand for the services due.
As always, looking forward to future updates
As always, looking forward to future updates
I had to drive drive to Dbn this past weekend to attend to a sick family member. Its an absolute horrible experience driving this route. It seems with the increase in fuel prices, logistics companies are skimping on maintenance and tyres. The amount of tyre carcasses or pieces thereof on the road is just insane.
Apart from the above, there's just no general care or concern for other road users. Ridiculous overtaking moves, people driving inappropriate speeds in poor conditions and road hogging has just become the norm on this road. As for the stretch between PMB and Dbn it should just be called "final destination".
My car performed faultless however, after a 6 hour drive I was mentally and physically exhausted.
Apart from the above, there's just no general care or concern for other road users. Ridiculous overtaking moves, people driving inappropriate speeds in poor conditions and road hogging has just become the norm on this road. As for the stretch between PMB and Dbn it should just be called "final destination".
My car performed faultless however, after a 6 hour drive I was mentally and physically exhausted.
Holiman
Well-known member
This was a really terrible experience. But I am glad all is well manSo the state of our roads ranges from first world to junk-tier. What is a problem is that the N3... the only route that is available to us if you aren't driving a Unimog... has been infested by unroadworthy trucks who are perpetually in a state of performing some life-threatening manoever or another, if they aren't dropping parts along the way. This is a direct consequence of us having a barely functioning rail network and trucking being the only alternative.
When we had to attend a funeral unexpectedly, it was our turn to experience one of these incidents. I hate driving this route and would rather fly, but because of the unique way South Africa seems to be run these days, there are no airlines and no flights during busy periods... not expensive flights. Not flights at odd times... JUST NO FLIGHTS.
We left early one morning nearly two months ago hoping to be in time for the funeral... about an hour and a half in, a truck on the oncoming side in the process of performing one of the aforementioned dumb overtaking moves took ZERO evasive action launching a tyre carcass head first into my M5. Combinations of luck and instinct meant I managed to limit it to just the driver's side bumper and fender... and SOMEHOW we were able to still drive the car (wheel and tyre were intact though I had to bend some of the metal stays and undertray out of the way and keep checking that the mangled, but somewhat intact intercooler didn't leak.).
Of course the thing you worry about most is that your family is safe and I had two kids and a wife to worry about. All were very rattled by this as you'd expect. That shock of realising what was happening in the moment was traded for "what if there was someone waiting in the dark" or possibly opportunistically taking advantage of a stricken vehicle. I drove a few metres on to a safer spot and then got out to make sure that the car wasn't dramatically overheating and that the fluid was just washer fluid. Fortunately lights and radiator etc were OK though my poor car was alerting me to the fact that all of it's driver aids were unavailable.
Not wanting to take further chances in the dark waiting on an extremely dangerous section of road (trucks really don't give a shit at all about themselves or anyone else), we limped back to JHB... the car was taken to the Midrand ARC (when getting it onto the truck, the makeshift 'cassette' of the dangling AWIC radiator tucked into the undertray finally let go as I reversed - its situations like this where you start wondering about what guardian angels were watching over you).
The following day, my in-laws decided to drive up. Cue round two where there was an incident with two of their tyres that meant even RFTs were of no use. Off I went almost to the location of the activity of the previous day to do what I could (drove my SIL & MIL home while the FIL waited for the flatbed...). I half thought the universe/simulation was playing a trick on me or wasn't satisfied that I'd evaded something far worse the prior day. The N3 is a death trap. Fly or don't use it.
That aside, the claim was approved in record time - Sela brokers and Auto Body Specialists were great in getting all of this sorted out. I was very happy with the feedback that I got over the course of the process and I got to check in a couple of times - in fact this was probably the best repair experience I've had to date despite the delays in sourcing some of the parts. The car was actually ready nearly 3 weeks ago but we had drama sourcing a coolant pipe. First, an incorrect pipe arrived and then it was a bit more of a wait to source and air freight a new one. Only after this could it be fully assembled and the rest of the test/calibrations/servicing be done. Frustrating, but at least it was done 'the right way'. In the process the car became due for a few services which were carried out at BMW Midrand...
Seeing some of the vehicles in at the ARC made me also quite grateful that things were not a heck of a lot worse... for instance if it was a rim+tyre instead of a carcass lobbed into our path... (this example below is being fixed BTW)
The experience has made me more of a 5 series fan than ever - the cars are built like absolute tanks - if you look at the damage and considering what kind of impact it was, I was absolutely amazed that it was as 'straightforward' of a repair as it was and there was nothing suspension wise that was broken/bent - I was also very impressed with the lengths that the ARC went to show me the measurements they had taken on the car, regular pics of the progress and regular calls (to be honest I was so busy renovating and moving that the time didn't seem as long as it actually was).
Majority of the cost was bits of the cooling system that needed to be totally replaced and panels. It was sheer luck that I didn't end up with a much worse incident (literally a centimetre higher would have been R100K more repair bill and a few centimetres further left might have resulted in the engine overheating between the incident and where we stopped. As it happened, the impact damaged many things, but didn't "break" them completely. A different mix of angles may have ripped the AWIC radiator right off... or sent the tyre underneath the car... or set off the airbags... your mind plays all these scenarios out for you in the weeks afterwards.
Ultimately all that matters is that everyone involved was safe.
And of course that the car is back, repaired properly and looking better than ever!
I really feel like a missing piece of me has been returned - there is no replacement for this in my life LOL - Family hypercar indeed.
More positive stories will come soon! I may start another thread for my garage build...
Sent from my SM-G985F using Tapatalk
TurboLlew
Honorary ///Member
After a bit of a wait something arrived...
I didn't really want the M Performance wheel which is half leather and half alcantara... and Deago managed to work his magic as well as getting M5 CS paddle shifters to go with the M5 CS full alcantara wheel.
Watch this space...
I didn't really want the M Performance wheel which is half leather and half alcantara... and Deago managed to work his magic as well as getting M5 CS paddle shifters to go with the M5 CS full alcantara wheel.
Watch this space...
Damn that steering looks good
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TurboLlew
Honorary ///Member
I was at BMW Midrand bright and early:
Paddles are more aligned to the design of the M buttons and with the red accents that the gear lever also has...
Really happy with both wheel & paddles. Small changes which make a big difference.
Obligatory shout out to Vashan and Deago for great service once again.
Paddles are more aligned to the design of the M buttons and with the red accents that the gear lever also has...
Really happy with both wheel & paddles. Small changes which make a big difference.
Obligatory shout out to Vashan and Deago for great service once again.
Dr Evil
Active member
I was at BMW Midrand bright and early:
Paddles are more aligned to the design of the M buttons and with the red accents that the gear lever also has...
Really happy with both wheel & paddles. Small changes which make a big difference.
Obligatory shout out to Vashan and Deago for great service once again.
Looks awesome, is it the same size steering as your original or a bit smaller in circumference?
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