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I have gone and done it!

Specific discussion about the E89 2009 Z4 (sDrive35is, sDrive35i, sDrive30i, sDrive23i)
new_world99
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I have gone and done it!

Post by new_world99 » Sun Nov 06, 2016 12:37 am

I have done it! :driving:

2009 35i with 26K on the clock. Very good condition. Would have liked larger alloys, but there seems to be very little high spec 35i. I wanted the manual gear box so no 35is for me.

Are they sport seats? There are so many buttons on the dash and steering wheel I am still working out what does what.

As a bit of a messer, I am looking to do some minor mods, and your advise with be welcome, especially recommendations for people for the job around London.

1. I park it in central London on the street so am looking for some sort of protective wrap to minimise parking scratches. I had a quote of about £1000 to wrap front and back bumper and bonnet, which I think is OTT as I can have the whole car resprayed for that price. I use a clear plastic to coat my bicycles and I might just do a DIY - I don't think it would stand out that much as the car is silver (also will be covered in a thick layer of dust in a couple of days anyway).

2. Exhaust. It is surprisingly quiet. Mind you, I am used to motorbikes. It is a pretty common thing for bikers that as soon as we get our hands on a new bike to rip out the stock exhaust +/- catalytic converter and replace with an aftermarket system and a custom map. But then I am not planning on wearing ear plugs when driving the Zed! I have been looking at the forum and I like the idea of doing an OEM mod, i.e. covering 2 out of the 4 pipes in the back box. Does anyone know anyone that can do that in the London or surrounding area which do not charge an earth?

3. Similarly, possibly a remap. I really don't think it needs any more power for the given chassis, but it's more about making it more fuel efficient and ironing out the flat spots in the torque curve (and to be honest making it sound nicer!). Has anyone done this and care to share some thoughts, and again possible recommendations?

4. Heated seats. I think they are pretty important if I want to have the hood down when the temperature drops aka now. I am a bit of a softie clearly :oops: I don't think the seats in this car is heated, or at least I have not found the button for it if they are. Has anyone got any thoughts on aftermarket add-on heating elements for the seats?

That's it for now. I am sure I will think of other mods :-D

new_world99
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Post by new_world99 » Sun Nov 06, 2016 12:41 am

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Smartbear
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Post by Smartbear » Sun Nov 06, 2016 12:43 am

Nice car, it hasn't got the m sport seats though :o they look like this-
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Rob
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e89 Sdrive 20i, plenty of mumbo & good economy-the thinking bears z4
e89 Sdrive 30i, this ones busted, pass me another...
e85 3.0si sold

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Mr Tidy
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Post by Mr Tidy » Sun Nov 06, 2016 12:46 am

Lovely car OP - congrats and welcome to the forum.

If I was looking for an E89 I would do the same as you - 35i so I could get a manual. :thumbsup:
Coupes because stunning!
Current - Silver Grey MC, Imola Red heated Nappa & carbon trim. Aeros, H & R Coil-overs, 224s, OE Strut brace, Nav, cup-holders, DSP Hi-Fi, pdc, cruise, MFSW, no CDV! E90 330i daily
Gone - Montego Blue
Gone - Ruby Black

john-e89
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Post by john-e89 » Sun Nov 06, 2016 12:51 am

Nice. :thumbsup:

Ermmm...you bought a car wanting heated seats but didn't check first..?? :?

Anyway if it has, and it's not clear from the pic, the switch will be at each end of the black strip that houses the roof open and close switches, in front of the gear stick.

Fingers crossed for you it has. :)
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E89 35i project car...mapped 365bhp, M4 stoppers & wheels, KWV3’s, H&R front ARB, M3 front arms, strut brace Eisenmann cat back race exhaust, VRSF downpipes inbound
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Mr Tidy
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Post by Mr Tidy » Sun Nov 06, 2016 12:54 am

Well just in case you don't have heated seats OP, this thread my be of interest:-

viewtopic.php?f=7&t=91934
Coupes because stunning!
Current - Silver Grey MC, Imola Red heated Nappa & carbon trim. Aeros, H & R Coil-overs, 224s, OE Strut brace, Nav, cup-holders, DSP Hi-Fi, pdc, cruise, MFSW, no CDV! E90 330i daily
Gone - Montego Blue
Gone - Ruby Black

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Post by Smartbear » Sun Nov 06, 2016 1:06 am

Mr Tidy wrote:Well just in case you don't have heated seats OP, this thread my be of interest:-

viewtopic.php?f=7&t=91934
Only issue being that's for an e85 & the op has an e89 :cry:
Rob
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e89 Sdrive 20i, plenty of mumbo & good economy-the thinking bears z4
e89 Sdrive 30i, this ones busted, pass me another...
e85 3.0si sold

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Mr Tidy
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Post by Mr Tidy » Sun Nov 06, 2016 1:17 am

Smartbear wrote:
Mr Tidy wrote:Well just in case you don't have heated seats OP, this thread my be of interest:-

viewtopic.php?f=7&t=91934
Only issue being that's for an e85 & the op has an e89 :cry:
Rob
Doh! :oops:
Coupes because stunning!
Current - Silver Grey MC, Imola Red heated Nappa & carbon trim. Aeros, H & R Coil-overs, 224s, OE Strut brace, Nav, cup-holders, DSP Hi-Fi, pdc, cruise, MFSW, no CDV! E90 330i daily
Gone - Montego Blue
Gone - Ruby Black

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benv6
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Post by benv6 » Sun Nov 06, 2016 10:48 am

Nice one mate and welcome to the forum :)

Send us more pics please ... First thing I would do is to get rid of them wheels and the RFT at the same time.

I would upgrade the sound system if you have the 6 speakers set up.

LCI Indicators are a MUST.

If you want more sound from the exhaust there is a quick MOD where you unplug small pipe next to both sides of the exhaust (seen a video about it on youtube) just google it and let us know what you think.

Not having sport seats is a big let down but you can upgrade them depending on how much you paid for the car and how long you want to keep it.

But again you you buy a 35i for its gorillas living under the bonnet, everything else is a bonus :wink:

I am sure you will enjoy it :)
Now: BMW 335D Touring
Previous: 435D Coupe, BMW Z4 E89 35i, BMW Z4 E85 2.0, BMW E46 330CI

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freemadw
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Post by freemadw » Sun Nov 06, 2016 1:20 pm

Nice looking car. I'm in London, sadly parking scrapes (and worse) are more of a case of when rather than if.
As for keeping it clean, no chance. Someone dropped a can of paint in the road recently, after people had driven through the paint, my Space Grey E89 had a number of pale blue paint spots on it. Fortunately it wasn't parked too close to the spill or it might have been easier to have painted the whole thing in pale blue emulsion...
Looks like you don't have the M-Sport package, I haven't driven one myself but some say that the standard suspension is nicer especially on the corrugated cart tracks we like to call roads.
As has been said, the electric seat controls are on the panel in front of the gearstick/ashtray on the centre console (with the roof open/close buttons) They are on the extreme left/right of this panel, if you don't have the switches, I'm afraid you don't have the heated seats. As for retrofitting heated sports seats, I'm afraid I don't know. As well as the seats, you may need to add parts of the wiring loom and get the car coded to activate the seats. I'm sure someone has done it.
Looks like you have a fairly basic spec E89, but that's less weight and less to go wrong, at the end of the day it's all about the engine, I don't think you'll be disappointed.
Cheers, Dave
If God is watching us, the least we can do is be entertaining...

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Post by Maniac » Sun Nov 06, 2016 1:41 pm

freemadw wrote:, at the end of the day it's all about the engine, I don't think you'll be disappointed.
Cheers, Dave
I couldn't agree more. Toys are nice but the engine is what you get this car for. Get it remapped and you can go well beyond stock 35iS territory (unless they've remapped their 35iS too lol). Only you get to enjoy a manual car tho...

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Post by firebobby » Sun Nov 06, 2016 2:58 pm

Welcome to the forum, nice looking Zeee
BMW Z4 30i 2003 auto 107's Whippy Toledo Blue
Beige M sport seats, wood dash
Toyota MR2 NA 1995
Triumph GT6 1972 (project)
Land Rover Discovery 1994 TDI (Tow car)
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Post by Swiftly » Sun Nov 06, 2016 3:44 pm

Welcome aboard, hope you enjoy your lovely zed :thumbsup:
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Post by paulgs1000 » Sun Nov 06, 2016 8:44 pm

Interesting post - welcome to the forum and looking forward to your updates :thumbsup:
Now Porsche flat 6 experience, 986S & 981S.
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new_world99
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Post by new_world99 » Sun Nov 06, 2016 10:02 pm

Thank you all for the very welcoming posts. I am loving it so far - it's rather addictive putting the right foot down and get that 300 horses on the road! :evil: I have actually been lurking around the forum on and off for a few years, but life and circumstances have only just allowed me the luxury of being a proud owner of a Zed.

As to specs, yes I walked into it knowing full well it is not the highest specs by far. It's a weekend drive for me, and the essential bits for me are the 3.0 engine, manual gearbox, low mileage, having been well looked after and a sensible price. I consider the other things as niceties. The reason I was asking about heated seats etc was because the garage from where I bought the car didn't seem to know about the exact specs - they took it on as a trade-in.

I have a couple of questions about the windows. I notice that when the car was put in reverse, only the left hand side window dipped and not the right. Is that normal? Also, IF my car has electric folding window, where is the button that operates them?

Not been the brightest of all days today so didn't manage to get any more photos before it rained and got dark. I will try to post more photos next weekend when I get to take it out.

Many thanks all, I am delighted to join the Zed owners' club at last :D

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