Jono's Z4 Coupe

[JDavis21]

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.

These were too far gone when I bought the car, the aluminium from the reflectors has corroded and it looks like there's now a bucket of sand inside there. So colour matched blanks for me soon!

[JDavis21]

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

Cheers! Saw your comment on my insta post, to answer... I love it, but my Dad thinks I've ruined the looks with black wheels

He's owned his Z4C for 7 years now and has kept everything immaculate and standard - so each to their own!

[JDavis21]

Realised I haven't updated this in a while...

Enjoyed the track evening at Donington despite being over subscribed, not usual for Opentrack. Although the water pump failed part way into the evening, cutting my track time short! Luckily my mate in his 130i had brought along his spare (he hadn't gotten round to replacing his yet) so a few hours later I was back up and running on my way home. Lucky break!



Work has been ridiculously busy the past few months, so I haven't had chance to do anything other than an oil change and coolant flush since Donington in early September. So no real updates on the car, just a few pictures.





It's been almost a year, and I still absolutely love the car. Not usual for me!

Whilst working at Snetterton I spotted a Coupe track car, shared it on Liams Race Car build thread at the time - I'm sure it's not to everyone's taste. But I'm happy to see a few more race/track builds around as it's a great platform to build from.



I'd like to eventually work mine towards a similar spec to the Schmickler VLN cars, so this may end up as quite a lengthy project.



I've got a couple of parts to fit during the winter however, the standard seats aren't up to the job on track (obviously) so I sourced a clean pair of Recaro SPG's to fit - should be quite the weight saving too! This means my standard seats will be up for sale shortly, M Sport black heated leather with electronic adjustment, I'll post pictures with a price in the for sale section once removed from the car (probably early January).



A little side project is some E46 M3 front hubs, I'll be cleaning these up and fitting new wheel bearings along with a ducted backing plate and probably a set of the 380mmx30mm 4 Pot M2/M3/M4 brakes. The matching rears are 2 Pot 370mmx24mm, so will require some more fiddling to fit than the fronts. The reason for the brake upgrade is that I had mild fade on the mountain descents in Switzerland and also at Old Hairpin at Donington despite the upgrades to the stock system, so I'm just future proofing ready for more track time. Many people are opting for the AP racing kits with 380mmx36mm on their E46 M3's, but this is excessive for the current power and weight for my car.

[baconJazz]

if you don't mind me asking , how much ?

[JDavis21]

if you don't mind me asking , how much ?

viewtopic.php?f=7&t=119273&sid=6d444ab8 ... 611e4284ba

For sale now, will add pictures of them out the car also.

[MrPT]

What mounting hardware did you go for for the the SPGs and do they foul the door cards like Pole Positions do?

Car is looking great, btw.

[JDavis21]

What mounting hardware did you go for for the the SPGs and do they foul the door cards like Pole Positions do?

Car is looking great, btw.

Thanks!

I went for the Macht Schnell copy bases, but the seats came used with side mounts and runners (not sure on brand). Plus Burkhart Engineering seatbelt brackets to make my life easy!

On first install the door cards rubbed slightly, but I've had a play and managed to get the seats as close to the gearbox tunnel as possible giving about 5mm clearance to the door card at the worst point (far back on the runners). The seat sits perfectly in line with the steering wheel now without rubbing, just means the central cupboard between the two seats won't open far.

I'm surprised to hear Pole Positions rubbed the doors, as I measured up a friend's at around 40mm narrower on the shoulder pads than my SPG's - so I was going to look for a set of I couldn't shuffle the SPG's around to fit better.

Photo was of my first attempt to install them:

IMG_20191227_115202.jpg (225.06 KiB) Viewed 1656 times

[MrPT]

Looking good. Yeah, the PPs are widely reported to rub - the non-ABEs less so - but people have had luck doing similar to what you’re doing, e.g. elongating mounting holes to move the seat closer to the trans tunnel. In combination with the slight lift provided by runners, it seems to be enough to eliminate or remove the rub.

I’m hoping to do something similar in the future and have been looking at the PP ABE and Cobra Nogaro (which looks like a great fit but is a little heavier). What are the “Macht Schnell copies”? The genuine MS stuff looks great, but if the standard hole pattern isn’t quite right then it’s hard to justify their cost and the amount of redundant metal.

[JDavis21]

Looking good. Yeah, the PPs are widely reported to rub - the non-ABEs less so - but people have had luck doing similar to what you’re doing, e.g. elongating mounting holes to move the seat closer to the trans tunnel. In combination with the slight lift provided by runners, it seems to be enough to eliminate or remove the rub.

I’m hoping to do something similar in the future and have been looking at the PP ABE and Cobra Nogaro (which looks like a great fit but is a little heavier). What are the “Macht Schnell copies”? The genuine MS stuff looks great, but if the standard hole pattern isn’t quite right then it’s hard to justify their cost and the amount of redundant metal.

I hadn't read that prior to fitting, in fact I could only really find pictures of people with Sparco Evo's or Pole Positions fitted with door cards when doing research.

First drive to work today with the adjusted position felt great with no rubbing. I didn't actually have to take a drill to anything when fitting.

The below link is the copies:

https://rover.ebay.com/rover/0/0/0?mpre ... 4052209597

I do agree, now fitted and in a position I'm happy with there's a lot of redundant material - but they made fitting very easy.

[JDavis21]

Hoping to complete some jobs on the Z4 over the next few weeks.

- Fit CSF Radiator and flush coolant
- Tidy up crusty fog lights and colour match blanks
- Interior clean, steam clean all carpets etc.
- Detail exterior following months of winter grime

I've been meaning to fit the CSF rad for a while now, it arrived in January as an upgrade following my coolant system failure at Donington in September. This is a job I've been putting off for a while due to the weather as I currently have to do everything on my drive. I'll try take some pictures during the install as the rad is rather nice, seems a shame to have to hide it away!



I also unfortunately missed out on the 6 month MOT extension as it was due today (extension is as of 30th March). But did pass with only one advisory about a chip on the passenger side of the windscreen that I had gained over winter. I did have a replacement screen due to be fitted this weekend whilst I was working at Donington Park but that's now more likely to happen in July.

On the MOT ramp:



I hope everyone is staying safe in these difficult times, and making the most of having some time to self isolate under your cars.

[JDavis21]

CSF Radiator successfully installed today, along with fresh coolant. I always hate coolant jobs, but this was surprisingly easy. Took a little while to drain all the original coolant from the system, but the self bleed mechanism worked well for refilling to the correct level.

Seems such a shame that something so shiny gets tucked away though.

IMG_20200327_100538.jpg (297.62 KiB) Viewed 1459 times

IMG_20200328_174854.jpg (334.13 KiB) Viewed 1459 times

Fitted the last few bits of trim after taking this.

Job for tomorrow is to take all four wheels off to degrime the wheel arches after daily duties this winter. Then wishing to give the outside a full polish and coating of wax. If time permits I also have the steam cleaner ready for action on the carpets, but I might save this one to keep myself busy next weekend...

[JDavis21]

Got a little carried away when cleaning the interior a few weeks ago and ended up removing the three brushed aluminium trim pieces for a change. Luckily a friend had some Alcantara kicking around from a project so he posted some offcuts down for me to try use.

Ended up working very well after a lot of hours.

Before:

IMG_20190128_133610.jpg (188.1 KiB) Viewed 1368 times

After:

IMG_20200508_160841.jpg (266.18 KiB) Viewed 1368 times

Really happy with the interior, but I'm currently torn between fitting a momo wheel or getting the OEM one retrimmed, so I'll stick with the leather for now.

[jock156]

[where.is.lee]

The alcantara looks really good! did you have fitment issues due to the added thickness of the material? Or was the process relatively straight forward.

[Z4C_er]

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.

IMG_20190406_135849.jpg

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

IMG_20190406_135237.jpg

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!

Love reading the updates, thanks.

But an off-centre question; where are the axle stands placed in the disc/spring picture? What are they supporting?