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Spring todo list - [Electric seats are in]

2003 - 2009, roadster, coupe, facelift
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MrPT
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Spring todo list - [Electric seats are in]

Post by MrPT » Sun Mar 16, 2014 10:08 pm

1. First, some "keen" driving - shame to waste the awesome weather... :driving:

2. ...then a much-needed clean (except the rear window - oops).

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3. Replaced a single missing torx bolt on the engine vanity cover. They don't serve any purpose apart from to annoy you when they wriggle free.

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Image

4. Added strut tower covers. Hopefully these will stop the pond life growing in there.

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Image

5. Replaced my centre caps. They were the crappy sticker type before.

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Image

6. Used Gtechniq C4 on the exterior plastic trim. This stuff is amazing!

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Image

That's all for now. Thought I'd create this thread to give me some motivation to get the rest of the list done:
  • Fit piano black trim
  • Fit heated electric seats
  • Replace roof motor
  • Clean Vanos solenoids
  • Paint calipers
  • Replace all disks and pads
Lots to do, but it feels good to make some progress after a miserable winter. :thumbsup:
Last edited by MrPT on Mon Apr 14, 2014 10:40 am, edited 1 time in total.
2008 Z4MC: heavy wheels | crap suspension | skittish rear end | wobbly engine | not enough induction noise | underwhelming turn in | inconsistent braking | lardy battery | chubby steering wheel
2006 Z4 2.5si: gone

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GP06Roadster
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Re: Spring todo list - finally got started

Post by GP06Roadster » Mon Mar 17, 2014 10:20 am

Looking very nice MrPT :thumbsup: that Gtechniq gear looks very impressive, really smartens up that trim :)
E86 3.0si Manual

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MrPT
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Re: Spring todo list - finally got started

Post by MrPT » Mon Mar 17, 2014 9:44 pm

GP06Roadster wrote:Looking very nice MrPT :thumbsup: that Gtechniq gear looks very impressive, really smartens up that trim :)
I was trying to get away with using peanut oil as a cheap solution. It's great - just doesn't last very long. The C4 is expensive but a few drops apparently go a long way.
2008 Z4MC: heavy wheels | crap suspension | skittish rear end | wobbly engine | not enough induction noise | underwhelming turn in | inconsistent braking | lardy battery | chubby steering wheel
2006 Z4 2.5si: gone

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Re: Spring todo list - finally got started

Post by Dale_B » Mon Mar 17, 2014 9:55 pm

Looking great, darker wheels suit the car.

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TonyP
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Re: Spring todo list - finally got started

Post by TonyP » Mon Mar 17, 2014 10:02 pm

Where did you get the strut tower covers from please?

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Re: Spring todo list - finally got started

Post by si-forks » Mon Mar 17, 2014 10:09 pm

TonyP wrote:Where did you get the strut tower covers from please?
+1

sent by galaxy S4 on tapatalk
E85 Z4R 3.0si 2006 current:
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paulgs1000
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Re: Spring todo list - finally got started

Post by paulgs1000 » Mon Mar 17, 2014 10:40 pm

like the dark wheels and tower covers. :thumbsup:

:driving: :thumbsup:
Now Porsche flat 6 experience, 986S & 981S.
2006 Z4MR Imola Red/Imola Red, 2008 3.0si Sport Stratus Grey/Piano black, 2006 2.0I Sport Silver Grey Facelift. MX5, TVR Chimaera, many motorbikes.

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Re: Spring todo list - finally got started

Post by Andrew-C » Mon Mar 17, 2014 11:06 pm

Wow!

Very similar car, and VERY similar list of jobs to do!

Already got my new wheel centres, GTechnique C4 and IPA. Next on the list is brakes, spooky!
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Re: Spring todo list - finally got started

Post by andysat » Mon Mar 17, 2014 11:46 pm

:thumbsup:
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Gone but not forgotten.
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Re: Spring todo list - finally got started

Post by MrPT » Tue Mar 18, 2014 12:36 pm

si-forks wrote:
TonyP wrote:Where did you get the strut tower covers from please?
+1

sent by galaxy S4 on tapatalk
They are part number 31312229458. £6.75 inc VAT from Sopers.

They are a friction fit on the nuts so you really need to give them a whack to get them on properly, i.e. block of wood + hammer.
2008 Z4MC: heavy wheels | crap suspension | skittish rear end | wobbly engine | not enough induction noise | underwhelming turn in | inconsistent braking | lardy battery | chubby steering wheel
2006 Z4 2.5si: gone

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Re: Spring todo list - finally got started

Post by MrPT » Mon Mar 31, 2014 12:19 am

One heated electric seat is in!

Meant to fit both, but between the f1, mothers' day, WDS not working and the passenger side kick panel taking about an hour to refit (what's the secret?!), I ended up running out of our newly-extended daylight hours. :( Only managed to finish up by stealing a billion watt uplighter off my folks.

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It was the trickiest mod I've done so far. A lot of awkward lifting, dismantling and wiring, although the actual connections were fairly straightforward in the end. The electric adjustment is neat - my passengers never seemed to get on with the manual controls. Always lots of crashing and banging. :?
2008 Z4MC: heavy wheels | crap suspension | skittish rear end | wobbly engine | not enough induction noise | underwhelming turn in | inconsistent braking | lardy battery | chubby steering wheel
2006 Z4 2.5si: gone

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Re: Spring todo list - finally got started

Post by MrPT » Mon Apr 07, 2014 11:47 pm

Right, the other one is in, after another half day of abandoning my family. :? :D

The driver's side was still not particularly straightforward, even after completing the passenger's side, and it was very awkward doing all the loom work in the footwells. I would still recommend it if you have heated manual seats and fancy a bit of DIY - the required skill level is moderate but nothing special. The heated electric seats seem to be about the same price to buy/sell on ebay and don't weigh much more (this was a surprise, actually).

If you do anything like this, remember to disconnect the battery at least 20 mins before removing the seats!

Old seat out:

Image

Footwell trim off:

Image

New wires (power, ground and the K-Bus connection) inserted into the under-seat connector:

Image

Wires tidied up and plumbed into the existing harness guide under the drivers seat:

Image

Ground soldered onto a ring terminal and connected to the common grounding point behind the kick panel:

Image

Image

Power and K-Bus connections plumbed along the main wiring harness from the driver's side to the passenger side and out into the fuse box (the power is the light blue cable - temporarily secured using electrical tape as I need to swop it for thicker wire of the correct colour):

Image

Here's the fully populated connector (in purple/pink on the bottom RHS of the fuse box) showing the top left - driver's side - and bottom left - passenger's side - power wires slotted into place:

Image


Must do a proper How-To post at some point. For now, here are my notes from the installation:
  • Seat bases have 16mm nuts/bolts
  • This post from WestCDA has details of the required connector part numbers and other useful info
  • The under-seat connector (driver's side) pins are:
    15 - K-Bus (red/white striped plus yellow dots)
    14 - ground (brown)
    13 - power (red)
  • The fuse box connector is X11004 (for driver's and passenger's sides) and the pins are:
    10 - driver's power, fuse 29
    5 - passenger's power, fuse 15
  • 17A wire for power and ground (approx 12ga) and 5A wire (approx 18ga) for K-Bus
I still need to patch in the K-Bus connection somewhere - maybe the centre console switch panel.
2008 Z4MC: heavy wheels | crap suspension | skittish rear end | wobbly engine | not enough induction noise | underwhelming turn in | inconsistent braking | lardy battery | chubby steering wheel
2006 Z4 2.5si: gone

coaldust
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Re: Spring todo list - finally got started

Post by coaldust » Mon Apr 14, 2014 7:17 am

MrPT wrote:Right, the other one is in, after another half day of abandoning my family. :? :D

The driver's side was still not particularly straightforward, even after completing the passenger's side, and it was very awkward doing all the loom work in the footwells. I would still recommend it if you have heated manual seats and fancy a bit of DIY - the required skill level is moderate but nothing special. The heated electric seats seem to be about the same price to buy/sell on ebay and don't weigh much more (this was a surprise, actually).

If you do anything like this, remember to disconnect the battery at least 20 mins before removing the seats!

Old seat out:

Image

Footwell trim off:

Image

New wires (power, ground and the K-Bus connection) inserted into the under-seat connector:

Image

Wires tidied up and plumbed into the existing harness guide under the drivers seat:

Image

Ground soldered onto a ring terminal and connected to the common grounding point behind the kick panel:

Image

Image

Power and K-Bus connections plumbed along the main wiring harness from the driver's side to the passenger side and out into the fuse box (the power is the light blue cable - temporarily secured using electrical tape as I need to swop it for thicker wire of the correct colour):

Image

Here's the fully populated connector (in purple/pink on the bottom RHS of the fuse box) showing the top left - driver's side - and bottom left - passenger's side - power wires slotted into place:

Image


Must do a proper How-To post at some point. For now, here are my notes from the installation:
  • Seat bases have 16mm nuts/bolts
  • This post from WestCDA has details of the required connector part numbers and other useful info
  • The under-seat connector (driver's side) pins are:
    15 - K-Bus (red/white striped plus yellow dots)
    14 - ground (brown)
    13 - power (red)
  • The fuse box connector is X11004 (for driver's and passenger's sides) and the pins are:
    10 - driver's power, fuse 29
    5 - passenger's power, fuse 15
  • 17A wire for power and ground (approx 12ga) and 5A wire (approx 18ga) for K-Bus
I still need to patch in the K-Bus connection somewhere - maybe the centre console switch panel.
holy sh*t glad mine has elec heated seats stock lol
z4 3.0i Manual

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JonBooth
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Re: Spring todo list - finally got started

Post by JonBooth » Mon Apr 14, 2014 8:49 am

Hello there

I was just wondering where you got your wheel badges from? Are they genuine BMW ones? Mine could also do with being replaced.

Cheers,

Jon.
Jon.
2007 BMW Z4 2.5i Sport

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MrPT
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Re: Spring todo list - finally got started

Post by MrPT » Mon Apr 14, 2014 9:40 am

JonBooth wrote:Hello there

I was just wondering where you got your wheel badges from? Are they genuine BMW ones? Mine could also do with being replaced.

Cheers,

Jon.
No, not genuine. As much as I don't like using non-OE parts, these aren't far off, quality-wise, and the genuine centre caps are 4x the price!

http://pages.ebay.com/link/?nav=item.vi ... 1081308792

I'll replace them with proper ones if they tarnish quickly. The part number is 36136783536, FYI.
2008 Z4MC: heavy wheels | crap suspension | skittish rear end | wobbly engine | not enough induction noise | underwhelming turn in | inconsistent braking | lardy battery | chubby steering wheel
2006 Z4 2.5si: gone

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