Jono's Z4 Coupe

[JDavis21]

Well to be fair the main reason I won't track it is because I couldn't afford to bin it!

I did think about tracking my daily when it was an E46 325ti Compact, but last year I replaced it with an E91 325i which wouldn't work too well.

There was a few E46 325ti's at Bedford on Monday, think they raced in the Kumho championship, bet they'd be good fun!

Made me miss my E36 Compact Cup car

I keep looking at E46 M3s, but as much as I'd love to try something with the S54 engine you'd still be sitting in an E46 cabin!

And while the E46 M3 looks great, I think an E86 looks way better!

I guess you need a Z4M then

[Mr Tidy]

That looks like a busy grid of E36 Compacts! Will Gibson used to race one of those - you didn't know him by any chance did you? Only he now runs TWG Automotive in Camberley where my BMWs go when they need attention!

I'm sure an E86M may be on the agenda one day.

[JDavis21]

That looks like a busy grid of E36 Compacts! Will Gibson used to race one of those - you didn't know him by any chance did you? Only he now runs TWG Automotive in Camberley where my BMWs go when they need attention!

I've heard his name before, believe he may of raced them in 2013? I competed in 2014 and 2015 before moving onto Mini's.

[JDavis21]

Been a few weeks since my last update, that's mostly because there's been nothing much to update with - I've just been thoroughly enjoying the car as it is!

I've taken it to my usual BMW Car Club meet near St Alban's, not that local for me anymore but I used to only live a few miles away, so it's nice to catch up with friendly like minded faces. It's fair to say they loved the upgrade from the MINI

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Then had my MOT last Friday, passed with no advisories! Pretty happy with that.

Also attended a Cars & Coffee at Azuri Car Care in Stevenage with a few mates, and reminded myself I need to get to Sycamore BMW and have a play with the new Z4.

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New pads arrive next week, so I'll get those fitted along with the new discs from BMW. Still need to order braided hoses, but I was going to custom spec the rear lengths to replace the flexi-solid-flexi setup with a single flexi - does anyone know what lengths are required for this before I get underneath and measure?

Plus my stiffer front springs have arrived, so I need to get those fitted.

I'm also debating rear camber arms, as I'm running a little too much negative on the rear but have run out of adjustment using the eccentric bolts.

For those Porsche fans (basically everyone?), my friend just picked up his 996 after having some maintenance work done, so I'm sure it'll feature in many more updates along with the 350Z and 130i I often upload.

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I'm not sure I'll fit another track day in before my trip to Switzerland and Nürburgring early July as race season is about to kick off which means my weekends become very busy! So this thread will likely just end up full of pictures for now, but I've got some long term plans and upgrades to come later in the year/early next year

[JDavis21]

Fitted the new brakes and stiffer front springs today, car felt massively improved on my way home.

I opted for Mintex 1144's rather than anything overly aggressive, as I don't have any track time planned for a few months due to work commitments so there really was no need for a pure track compound. The cold bite feels great, so I'm hoping they don't deteriorate with temperature.

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Plus the BMW performance (2-piece) discs upfront, hopefully having directional cooling vanes should help on track.

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I also replaced the standard rubber caliper bushes for Millway Motorsport brass ones, probably not a common mod on Z4's. But helps brake feel without going to a monoblock caliper.

My list before my July roadtrip is now:

- Braided brake lines and fresh fluid
- Full service
- Gearbox and diff oil change

Still makes me smile every time I get in, I definitely bought the right car!

[JDavis21]

Been a long time since I've made any update to this, mostly due to just being able to enjoy the car as is without any further changes...

Since the last update I've managed many UK miles, completed my 2000 mile trip across France, Switzerland and Germany - with 5 laps of the Nordschleife squeezed in. Plus, booked onto a track evening at Donington National on Monday 2nd September, giving myself a deadline to get a few more jobs done on the car!

The car was faultless on the roadtrip, and impressed a few others that swapped between passenger seats in the rest of the cars.

First stop was Reims, as per most roadtrips into France. Obligatory photo at Circuit de Reims-Gueux below:



After this, we headed down to Chamonix - via Geneva. First fuel stop of our Europe leg being only a few miles out of Reims:



And our first breakdown a few miles later (Porsche):



Although, made for a cool new phone wallpaper...



The rest of the journey was relatively boring until around an hour before arriving in Geneva, we had to stop on the descent towards Geneva due to my brake pedal getting a little spongey - but the view over Lake Geneva wasn't all that bad either.



Sadly no photos in Chamonix as the cars were safely tucked away - I would thoroughly recommend our hotel for a great stay in Chamonix though! https://www.heliopic-hotel-spa.com/en/? ... nbEALw_wcB

Next stop was Engelberg in Switzerland, just north of the Andermatt Loop (Grimsel, Furka and Susten pass). Due to the ludicrous cost of nice hotels in Switzerland, we booked an Airbnb that had more than enough beds for all 12 of us.





My previous new phone wallpaper didn't last long, as it was soon replaced by this shot queuing to fill at a Shell prior to climbing the Grimsel pass.



We had some stunning sunshine on our climb, but unfortunately at the summit we met the clouds - it stayed this way for the rest of our day driving the Furka and Susten pass - so we missed out on the excellent views (guess we'll just have to go back).



This was taken at the bottom of the Susten pass, as we all car hopped for one last run of the day. The 996 was brilliant on these sections, with a few choice mods it felt planted and of course sounded glorious - plus you have to love Speed Yellow.



Our next stop was to the Nurburgring, predominantly to drink beer and watch VLN4 - but of course some laps of our own were due! We stayed at RingVilla in Adenua, run by the guys at Hotel an der Nordschleife and Pinnochio's - I'd definitely recommend the stay if you're in a big group. Plus, the garage came in handy to fix a few bits on the RS4 after it's undertray and diffuser blew out from underneath...





No ring trip would be complete without the racetracker.de photos from TF laps!











I had a passenger in for every lap and didn't bother to time - as my primary focus was to learn the track a lot more whilst making sure everyone on the trip managed to experience the place.

The VLN race was excellent, and pushes my goal to compete in at least one VLN in 2020 even further. Plus, we want to come back as a group with mountain bikes to explore the area and be able to see the whole circuit from the sidelines!

I'd be looking at racing in the V4 class in the E90 325i's as the racing looked so close between the pack!



That's all from the roadtrip, now to start planning the next one!

As for my track evening at Donington, I can't wait to get the Z back on track as it's thoroughly enjoyable. I have a few changes in my mind prior to the 2nd - but I'll update this thread with those as they happen! Below was the last time I was at Donington, so coming down Craners might feel a little different in the Z4...





Apologies that this has been so pic heavy, I really should keep it updated more often!

[skelters]

This is a great picture......



....for a Coo Pee.

Nicely captures the condensation in the fog lights.

Could only be bettered if it was a Roadster with the roof down.

[Mr Tidy]

Some great photos there, and it makes a change to see a Z4 in a BP filling station!

[JDavis21]

Nicely captures the condensation in the fog lights.

I've been meaning to do something about those for a while now... time for some of the BMW blanks!

[JDavis21]

Some great photos there, and it makes a change to see a Z4 in a BP filling station!

Not much choice in France on a Sunday

[JDavis21]

As for the upgrades for Donington, the first happened last night...



BBS RC303, 18x8.5J ET38 with 255/35R18 Yokohama ADO8R's fitted all round - they feel great so far!

I was originally looking for a silver set of Apex ARC-8's, or potentially buying a set of anthracite ATS GTR's with 235/40R18 Cup 2's - but the BBS came at a great price with brand new tyres. I'm enjoying the black on black for now

The wheels come in at 8.3kg each, but sadly the Yokohama's weigh more than my old PS4's - so I have a weight saving of 2.1kg per front wheel and 2.8kg per rear wheel.

Next job is to fit my new vibratechnics engine mounts, hoping this gives a great improvement to the feel of the car by controlling the mass better - plus should help make the gear change more consistent by restricting movement of the assembly.

[Rich8]

Not had the joy of going to the ring yet - but assumed crash helmets would be mandatory.
Obviously not.

[JDavis21]

Not had the joy of going to the ring yet - but assumed crash helmets would be mandatory.
Obviously not.

They are for track days, but not for Touristenfahrten laps - unless you have a front cage that is. In an ideal world I'd have taken my helmet, but after a weeks roadtrip, there just wasn't enough room for two helmets.

[Mr Tidy]

skelters wrote: ↑Tue Aug 13, 2019 8:40 pm
Nicely captures the condensation in the fog lights.

I've been meaning to do something about those for a while now... time for some of the BMW blanks!

Well it's either that or drill some holes in them!

Mine had lovely clear lenses when I bought the car, but in less than a year they were misted up!

I wanted to do something with them before the reflectors started to deteriorate, and though drilling holes in the lenses did feel like a bit of a bodge I decided it couldn't make them any worse, so I went for it.

A couple of years on and the lenses are still clear.

[tee.gilding]

Incredible car that, love it! Some damn fine pics too!!