what part would you like to see made for the z4?

[solo_the_lad]

Some sort of lifetime expansion tank. The plastic ones self grenade every few years… AFAIK Mishimoto did a aluminium one for the e46? So similar concept.

I honestly don't even know if carbon/ epoxy is chemically resistant to coolant, but this would be cool.

[solo_the_lad]

Personally, I quite like the look and performance gain of the RPI Scoop. Not sure if that was the intake piece you were referring to.

A brake cooling duct would be pretty neat. I know pre-LCI E85s can delete their fog light and run a duct, but, to my knowledge, the post-LCI non-M doesn't really have any options at the moment.

Yeah the RPI looks effective, do you have to reposition the cross brace for it? for me its hard to justify paying $130 for such a simple metal apparatus

[DaveP]

Looking into developing another part, in addition to the intake tube I am making which is still in the works. I want to make something that could be applicable to all the E85 z4's and not just the N52. Right now I am considering a carbon fiber air scoop for the front behind the grille, since the only one on the market is a jenky metal thing (unless you've got one of those Dinan ones from way back). If I made one, it would be properly done. Let me know if anyone would be interested, or if you have something else in mind. Also if someone could verify the air ducts at the front of both preface/ facelift models are the same, that'd be great too.
3.0i z4, every aero mod on the planet, stage 3 intake swap + tune. Remember guys, you can't fail if you don't try.
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bigwinn
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Unread post by bigwinn » Sun Mar 10, 2024 9:10 pm

Brake cooling ducts like the msport e46 set up?
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+1 to this. I'm tracking at the Ring in September, and I've got a weekend there next month to start prep. I'm already expecting to be slightly brake limited on the tighter sections, and fitting ducting looks like DIY ballache.

[solo_the_lad]

so here's the model I have in mind for the ducting @DaveP

Duct inlet is here

83FDC5B8-3805-4C9D-8A0D-D98D831466EC_1_201_a.jpeg (71.25 KiB) Viewed 294 times

duct will travel through here

E82123F3-8E2A-41B4-A1F7-F09CC516AE43_1_201_a.jpeg (122.03 KiB) Viewed 294 times

This is where it gets tricky though...

0596C9EB-648A-4043-964F-6D4046E2E8E2.jpeg (61.5 KiB) Viewed 286 times

with my pretty standard sized aftermarket wheels, we've only got a few cm or so of spare room for the duct to pass by, and my wheel could've still been turned inwards a tad more. Keep in mind too I have stretched tires, so if you had proper track tire fitment, this would leave just about no room between the liner and the tire. What people on the forum have done previously is run some ducting under the car and completely avoided the wheel well, but this isn't a good option for lowered cars, which most people who track their cars will likely be relatively lower...

this leaves us with one option as far as I see,
which is to pass an oval shape tube between the CV shaft and the sway bar as shown in the next pic. I don't know if this is a good idea though as I assume the CV shaft travels upwards a decent ways in congruence with the suspension

IMG_7870.jpg (89.5 KiB) Viewed 274 times

of course there is the option of just having it dump where the yellow circle is ...

0F014962-F66E-4D7D-9A78-F3FF42FF4467.jpeg (83.17 KiB) Viewed 268 times

however this won't do much good if you are turning right in this case as it will just be blowing air at the tire

[Dr. Zed]

like the AFE but less $$ is that what you're getting at

+1 on this. I really want the afe intake but just cannot justify the price tag for them.

[Rsipad]

Personally, I quite like the look and performance gain of the RPI Scoop. Not sure if that was the intake piece you were referring to.

A brake cooling duct would be pretty neat. I know pre-LCI E85s can delete their fog light and run a duct, but, to my knowledge, the post-LCI non-M doesn't really have any options at the moment.

Yeah the RPI looks effective, do you have to reposition the cross brace for it? for me its hard to justify paying $130 for such a simple metal apparatus

Nope; it just slots in. It does have a few mounting screws, but I couldn't reach the ones in the back so mine is just held in by the bottom screw and 3M tape. Hasn't gone anywhere in the year I've had it installed which is a good sign

It does look like a simple piece of metal, but it seems a lot of thought has been put into it. The scoop is the biggest size possible without blocking air from the radiator and it fits as close as possible to the left grille and silver brace underneath it without touching either.

[solo_the_lad]

Personally, I quite like the look and performance gain of the RPI Scoop. Not sure if that was the intake piece you were referring to.

A brake cooling duct would be pretty neat. I know pre-LCI E85s can delete their fog light and run a duct, but, to my knowledge, the post-LCI non-M doesn't really have any options at the moment.

Yeah the RPI looks effective, do you have to reposition the cross brace for it? for me its hard to justify paying $130 for such a simple metal apparatus

Nope; it just slots in. It does have a few mounting screws, but I couldn't reach the ones in the back so mine is just held in by the bottom screw and 3M tape. Hasn't gone anywhere in the year I've had it installed which is a good sign

It does look like a simple piece of metal, but it seems a lot of thought has been put into it. The scoop is the biggest size possible without blocking air from the radiator and it fits as close as possible to the left grille and silver brace underneath it without touching either.

well I might have to reconsider it then... still however a bit tempting to just try and make my own out of carbon though

[coldel]

An open air filter unit, with heat shield, that isn't silly money

When I had the 350z they did these for about £85, obviously no performance enhancement but looked good in the engine bay and made a great sound!

like the AFE but less $$ is that what you're getting at

Yep. Ultimately its just a metal box with a 10 quid ebay cone filter in it

[SOhioZ4]

An expansion tank redo , those things are terrible .

[brillomaster]

i think you'd be surprised at the effectiveness of some front brake ducting, even if it does just blow air into the wheel well. it'll only hit the tyre if you're on full lock, but most trackday applications you're rarely turning the wheel more than a quarter turn, miles away from full lock like you'd need to do a three point turn. and that blanking panel is ripe for a trumpet of some kind, slight turn on it and then blast it straight at the caliper would be great.

e85 z4s have zero front brake cooling as standard, and pulling through air from a high pressure point like in front of the bumper would be very effective IMO. no need to protrude into the wheel well, just an angled vent would be blasting 80mph air at the brakes. at the very least it would stop the air in the wheel well becoming hot and stagnant - as i say, zero brake ducting as standard!

[DaveP]

so here's the model I have in mind for the ducting @DaveP
83FDC5B8-3805-4C9D-8A0D-D98D831466EC_1_201_a.jpegE82123F3-8E2A-41B4-A1F7-F09CC516AE43_1_201_a.jpeg

0596C9EB-648A-4043-964F-6D4046E2E8E2.jpeg

with my pretty standard sized aftermarket wheels, we've only got a few cm or so of spare room for the duct to pass by, and my wheel could've still been turned inwards a tad more. Keep in mind too I have stretched tires, so if you had proper track tire fitment, this would leave just about no room between the liner and the tire. What people on the forum have done previously is run some ducting under the car and completely avoided the wheel well, but this isn't a good option for lowered cars, which most people who track their cars will likely be relatively lower...

this leaves us with one option as far as I see,
which is to pass an oval shape tube between the CV shaft and the sway bar as shown in the next pic. I don't know if this is a good idea though as I assume the CV shaft travels upwards a decent ways in congruence with the suspension
IMG_7870.jpg

of course there is the option of just having it dump where the yellow circle is ...
0F014962-F66E-4D7D-9A78-F3FF42FF4467.jpeg
however this won't do much good if you are turning right in this case as it will just be blowing air at the tire

Some real brainpower going into this.

I'd be interested to know about the performance benefits of 'on disc/caliper' ducts, vs those which are just generating airflow in the general vicinity. Gut feel is that, for Joe Average like me, the difference is probably not that great.

[enuff_zed]

i think you'd be surprised at the effectiveness of some front brake ducting, even if it does just blow air into the wheel well. it'll only hit the tyre if you're on full lock, but most trackday applications you're rarely turning the wheel more than a quarter turn, miles away from full lock like you'd need to do a three point turn. and that blanking panel is ripe for a trumpet of some kind, slight turn on it and then blast it straight at the caliper would be great.

e85 z4s have zero front brake cooling as standard, and pulling through air from a high pressure point like in front of the bumper would be very effective IMO. no need to protrude into the wheel well, just an angled vent would be blasting 80mph air at the brakes. at the very least it would stop the air in the wheel well becoming hot and stagnant - as i say, zero brake ducting as standard!

Don't forget that there is also a cooling gain to be had by extracting the air from the wheelarch, allowing cooler air to come in from outside, even if that is from around the wheel. Of course, this would ideally require a vent of some kind. For a trackday car you could cut slots in the rear of the wheelarch liner, perhaps covered with gauze mesh to reduce the crud build up behind the liner. Then look at a vent that could replace the side indicator. They are very easy to remove/refit, so you could even pop them back in for a legal trip to and from the track.

[DaveP]

i think you'd be surprised at the effectiveness of some front brake ducting, even if it does just blow air into the wheel well. it'll only hit the tyre if you're on full lock, but most trackday applications you're rarely turning the wheel more than a quarter turn, miles away from full lock like you'd need to do a three point turn. and that blanking panel is ripe for a trumpet of some kind, slight turn on it and then blast it straight at the caliper would be great.

e85 z4s have zero front brake cooling as standard, and pulling through air from a high pressure point like in front of the bumper would be very effective IMO. no need to protrude into the wheel well, just an angled vent would be blasting 80mph air at the brakes. at the very least it would stop the air in the wheel well becoming hot and stagnant - as i say, zero brake ducting as standard!

Don't forget that there is also a cooling gain to be had by extracting the air from the wheelarch, allowing cooler air to come in from outside, even if that is from around the wheel. Of course, this would ideally require a vent of some kind. For a trackday car you could cut slots in the rear of the wheelarch liner, perhaps covered with gauze mesh to reduce the crud build up behind the liner. Then look at a vent that could replace the side indicator. They are very easy to remove/refit, so you could even pop them back in for a legal trip to and from the track.

Given the ride height of a road car, I suspect the air would take the path of least resistance and flow out under the car. Race cars are obviously a different story, where clearance is smaller and air is being more actively routed underneath.

[enuff_zed]

i think you'd be surprised at the effectiveness of some front brake ducting, even if it does just blow air into the wheel well. it'll only hit the tyre if you're on full lock, but most trackday applications you're rarely turning the wheel more than a quarter turn, miles away from full lock like you'd need to do a three point turn. and that blanking panel is ripe for a trumpet of some kind, slight turn on it and then blast it straight at the caliper would be great.

e85 z4s have zero front brake cooling as standard, and pulling through air from a high pressure point like in front of the bumper would be very effective IMO. no need to protrude into the wheel well, just an angled vent would be blasting 80mph air at the brakes. at the very least it would stop the air in the wheel well becoming hot and stagnant - as i say, zero brake ducting as standard!

Don't forget that there is also a cooling gain to be had by extracting the air from the wheelarch, allowing cooler air to come in from outside, even if that is from around the wheel. Of course, this would ideally require a vent of some kind. For a trackday car you could cut slots in the rear of the wheelarch liner, perhaps covered with gauze mesh to reduce the crud build up behind the liner. Then look at a vent that could replace the side indicator. They are very easy to remove/refit, so you could even pop them back in for a legal trip to and from the track.

Given the ride height of a road car, I suspect the air would take the path of least resistance and flow out under the car. Race cars are obviously a different story, where clearance is smaller and air is being more actively routed underneath.

Air will find every route it can. Given that the rear of the tyre is pushing upwards it may well direct more air out there than you think.

[Rsipad]

Yeah the RPI looks effective, do you have to reposition the cross brace for it? for me its hard to justify paying $130 for such a simple metal apparatus

Nope; it just slots in. It does have a few mounting screws, but I couldn't reach the ones in the back so mine is just held in by the bottom screw and 3M tape. Hasn't gone anywhere in the year I've had it installed which is a good sign

It does look like a simple piece of metal, but it seems a lot of thought has been put into it. The scoop is the biggest size possible without blocking air from the radiator and it fits as close as possible to the left grille and silver brace underneath it without touching either.

well I might have to reconsider it then... still however a bit tempting to just try and make my own out of carbon though

Go for it! It would definitely be cool to see and I'm guessing you'd still end up with similar performance gains.