West Berkshire Newbie

Lazza · Post by **Lazza** » Mon May 13, 2019 7:38 pm

Welcome from Berkshire! I’m in Wokingham and my daily commute in my 35i takes me across country to Kingsclere.

Thrustyjust · Post by **Thrustyjust** » Mon May 13, 2019 9:03 pm

Evening Lazza. I recognise that name from PH , I believe

Took into work this afternoon and my MD was all over it , loving it and saying what a great place to be, sitting in it. Got lots of admirable looks and ladies bums in the drivers seat from other work colleagues to, so a hit there

My boss, hobbled off after a brief look, which I thought was weird , until a work mate said he wanted one , then bought a Boxster, which sits on his drive unloved

So, tonight, the current wife, who's veinage has now depleted from the gin distillery consumption on Sunday wants to have a drive. Being vertically challenged and having arms like a T rex , means the seat is in the forward launch mode. We 'just get her in to reach the pedals , then the seat gets to the end of the runner. So, she better not shrink anymore at her age, or she is stuffed

We go some oddball route from home in Thatcham, to Newbury along the Beirut A4 and then head out the the A34 for a bit of a squirt of 6 very excited pistons burbling away in harmony and she's................................... loving every bit of it

So, we get home .............
Me .............. and ?
C.W .......... loving it, its fab
Me ........... so, after 4 years of thinking about one, glad we done it ?
C.W ......... totally. Going to enjoy the NC 500 in this
Me........... Yes indeed
C.W .........Oh, by the way...................... I have a day off tomorrow, so dont stick the battery conditioner on, as will be seeing friends in the 4. Oh and I have named her Hilda !
Me.............................. What the ...........

C.W ....................... Yes, the kids thinks its a great name, so tough...........
Me.........................Er.................... I'll just go and hoover 'Hilda' out as she needs a bit of inside tlc..........

Shuffles to the garage , shaking my head.............

So, I decide to pull out the vacuum and drivers side seem to have clean mat, but everything was underneath. Quick wipe around the dash too and looks a little more pleasant. One thing I did find was a 3.5mm jack plug which seems to go into the centre console, so has anyone any ideas ? There is a jack plug aux under the dash as well . Strange one. May try an ipod or something and see what happens, should I ever be allowed to drive the car again, which is seemingly remote from earlier convo's with the current wife.

Mr Tidy · Post by **Mr Tidy** » Mon May 13, 2019 11:13 pm

Thrustyjust wrote: ↑Mon May 13, 2019 1:41 pm Now........... his M3 V8 ........... sure that engine would fit under the bonnet............

It would, but why have a V8 when you could have a V10?

Thrustyjust · Post by **Thrustyjust** » Mon May 13, 2019 11:34 pm

Nice ................ but he hasnt got a V10, so I cant nick it while he's working

Can imagine that being a bit 'wobbly' in a soft top chassis . But it would make the most of the noise it made at chat.
Been shopping................New silver bulbs for the side indicators. Dont like the orange ones. Rear pads looked a little low, so bought some , some POR 15 paint and needed some new disposable brushes. I think you can work out the next project ! . Front pads look fine for a year or so, with the expected mileage . Its good to rustle through the car and peace of mind its all good with maintenance checking.

Lazza · Post by **Lazza** » Wed May 15, 2019 12:09 pm

Thrustyjust wrote: ↑Mon May 13, 2019 9:03 pm Evening Lazza. I recognise that name from PH , I believe

That’s me, MX-5 Lazza on PH. Usually either on the MX5 or Thames Valley & Surrey pages. I still have the MX5 (currently SORN pending selling in summer) and now have an E89 35i

Thrustyjust · Post by **Thrustyjust** » Wed May 15, 2019 11:10 pm

Last couple of nights have been involving paint correction , as seems to be many years of marking and on the bootlid , thousands on fine scratches going across the paint , which I believe has been a cover for the car and usually scuffing from wind getting under it and moving it. Since the car is quite a size , I have been working a panel at a time, cleaning, claying , refining and then cleaning again before ceramic coating. So far I have managed the boot lid, O/S rear wing , door, front wing , sill and roof. It is work in progress and the list grows. I have a touch up paint coming , so thats my reason for leaving the bonnet undone for now , so I can fix the chips first !!
With regards to the jack plug lead under the drivers seat, I plugged in an ipod and stuck the sound system into aux and nothing came out, so thats scuppered the thought of it being sound related or could be broken somewhere.
My rear pads have now arrived and also paint. Waiting on disposable brushes . Seen the brake fluid has been filled to the brim

, so will have to syringe some out before pushing the pistons back in the calipers.
On another note, seems my coolant is on the low level. The previous owner had recently fitted a new water pump and thermostats , so hopefully it just needs a little bit to fill. Can I just use the Comma G48 coolant , which is blue glycol based stuff but BMW spec ?
Ordered some new wiper blades from Eurocarparts. Bosch set with a wing thing on the driver side, delivered for less than a tenner

I am going to carry on the n/s of the car with paint refining before I tackle the brakes . So, seems I have more than enough projects to keep me out of trouble and watching dire TV with the missus every night so far !
Also looking to visit Elite wheels on Saturday, in Reading ( not confirmed with the latest wife, she just ignored my asking on what we had planned for Saturday

) so as to see what wheels we can get for the car

Thrustyjust · Post by **Thrustyjust** » Wed May 15, 2019 11:17 pm

Thrustyjust · Post by **Thrustyjust** » Wed May 15, 2019 11:18 pm

Thrustyjust · Post by **Thrustyjust** » Sat May 18, 2019 5:09 pm

So, a bit of progress the last few days of new wiper blades and also changed the rear number plate bulbs for new ones I had left in a bulb pot. seems if I need LED versions, they need to be canbus compatible , so for now I put in super bright filament bulbs .
Went to Elite Wheels and Tyres in Reading this morning and to join the CSL replica possee have agreed on some Riva versions . They will be ceramic coated for me , so saves me buying a kit, new BMW style centre caps and M badges fitted too. Need to pay the deposit for them and maybe get them fitted next Saturday morning

Played around with tyre pressures on non - runflats , so started on a baseline of the run flat pressures in the door sticker . This didnt wrk well and became very crashy, so just dropped 3 psi all round to try that.
Topped the coolant level up as being a bit low. Potentially from recent change of the water pump before I bought the car. Didnt need more than about 250 ml.
Managed to clay and clean and then refine the near side this afternoon before the rain came in. So just need to panel wipe and Gtechiq ceramic that side. Then just have the bonnet and bumpers to do.
Also have a panic on as want to paint the calipers and disc bells before getting the wheels done next Saturday, which also involves fitting the new rear pads.

No pressure ..........
On another note, have seen cars with small front spoilers on the front valance which covers it to protect the edge from stones etc and seems a wise idea. Anyone tell me where I can get these from ?

Thrustyjust · Post by **Thrustyjust** » Tue May 21, 2019 7:56 am

Update on the car. Bearing in mind , I have owned it 8 days

I have replaced the rear pads and painted the brakes silver and the bells too. Looks better than rustic patina. Glad I got it done, as the missus says she has a day off on Thursday and is going to get the wheels swopped over then

. I have to adjust the hand brake on the drivers side as not really working, which will do tonight.
Lucky I took the front wheels off at the o/s headlight hatch in the wheel arch had come unclipped and ground a chunk including the screw clip away

I drilled and screwed a piece of alloy plate to it, to hold in place , while I get a replacement, which seem pretty cheap for a moulded part. The n/s driving light cover plate wasnt fitted properly either , which is good now.
Found the reason for the wobbly driving light on the O/S and was the front screw fallen out the bumber. One new screw and all good again.

Managed to machine the bonnet . Took a day and isnt perfect , but its at a level I am happy with , with no swirls , but a couple of deep scratches, right in the middle, where I need 6 ft arms to machine easier

In the end, I panel wiped the near side, as machined that at the weekend and ceramic coated that and the bonnet. Its curing in the garage and is weird stuff as is still a bit sticky 12 hrs later.
Managed to check the oil at the weekend and came up good , but couldnt get the tyre reset to work as have been playing with tyre pressures with non runflats. The rears seem to be wearing in the centre, so have dropped the pressure a tad , but wanted to reset it but nothing seems to come up on the dash.

Mr Tidy · Post by **Mr Tidy** » Tue May 21, 2019 9:10 pm

Well you've certainly been busy - sounds like you're getting addicted already!

The TPMS needs to be reset manually. Start the engine, and before you move off keep the button on the console pressed until the amber symbol on the dash illuminates - it will then reset itself as you drive.

You just need to do it each time you change the pressures so it has a new "starting point" to work from.

Looking forward to seeing the new wheels by the way.

Thrustyjust · Post by **Thrustyjust** » Tue May 21, 2019 9:40 pm

Mr Tidy wrote: ↑Tue May 21, 2019 9:10 pm Well you've certainly been busy - sounds like you're getting addicted already!

Looking forward to seeing the new wheels by the way.

Sadly I needed a project . From building and registering my Westfield and then selling it , to move on to something we looked at getting over 5 years ago, then the Westfield build went ahead , I ticked that box and the Z4C raised its long bonnet at us again. I had decided on CSL's over 5 years ago too

. So, although it may seem things are full steam ahead, its been a long time in the research and thinking !
I did hold the rest TPMS down for about 5 seconds or so, before we went out in the car and it didnt light up. Do I need to hold it longer than that ? Latest wife had a similar system in her Mini and that worked fine. This is being a bit reluctant to play ball.
Tonight I also ordered the replacement headlight hatch for the drivers side wheel arch, so should be here in a few days . Another job ticked.
Weirdly, from lying on my back and looking at the rear silencer, it has paper BMW labels on it. I am sure they wouldnt last 12 years on a silencer, so thinking it maybe a replacement ? The downpipes are definitely original , as they have an aged look and not flats on the nuts as old

Mr Tidy · Post by **Mr Tidy** » Tue May 21, 2019 10:02 pm

I think the Z4 had one of the first generation BMW TPMS, so it's a bit clunky. I think you keep it pressed until the amber light comes on, but if I remember right it takes longer than 5 seconds.

It's much quicker on my E90.

I wouldn't be surprised if your exhaust is the original - BMW fitted stainless ones, but the bolts obviously aren't stainless and often seem to rot away - a bit like the rear brake pipes!

Thrustyjust · Post by **Thrustyjust** » Thu May 23, 2019 1:23 pm

Wibble.....................................

Wife took the Zed into Elite Wheels and Tyres in Reading as arranged for the new wheels. They did an awesome job fitting them and they took a lot longer than the wife was expecting as they couldnt take their eyes off the car in the workshop. They had a Ferrari in afterwards and yet , this took there motoring geek eye more than the Fezza

Really fussy people who took care and pride in the job and no tyre gunk all over the tyres . Awesome and loving the rims

Vijay · Post by **Vijay** » Thu May 23, 2019 2:22 pm

Welcome from another 3si owner.
You've done a great job on the bodywork; fancy doing mine?

Z4-forum.com

Z4-forum.com