A few questions from a Z4 newbie

[Smartbear]

My 2 cents:

Battery - if it's older than 5 years get it replaced regardless. You have a slight niggle now, but a whole pile of random strandings / alarms / seeminginly unrelated electrical issues are all on the horizon. It's a service part - get it changed.

Salmon relays - don;t check too hard, just assume they are original. get them changed - it's cheap & easy, just do it & thank me later. Change them again in 3 years time.

Tyres - don;t mess about with changing the sizes. Stick to orignal sizes, and I would strongly recommend any of the modern non-runflats. It will hugely improve the ride & grip levels. Join the AA or get a can of tyre gunk for the boot. Definitely dont go from 30 to 35 on the rears - that will throw out your speedo.

Service reset - no idea. Learn a lesson not to mess with things you don;t understand (we all have limits).

Enjoy it!

You’re right, changing from 30 to 35 profile on the rear tyres will alter the speedo - but it will make it more accurate
Rob

[Silverstar]

No, it's a 35is, the same as the OP's.

Ah that makes sense but as far I can see the OP’s is a 30i

[Busterboo]

No, it's a 35is, the same as the OP's.

Ah that makes sense but as far I can see the OP’s is a 30i

A few questions from a Z4 newbie
Post by blazej » Wed Feb 08, 2023 2:59 am

Hello folks. A new ‘11 E89 30is owner here ...

[Christopher72]

Just taking mine into the shop for just that on Friday... Ohio winter air is fairly damp this year.

[blazej]

Thanks all for your replies, lots of good info on here! I’m on my way back from Australia, I’ll post some pics and look over the replies in more detail once I’m back.
I didn’t even realise the car had start stop, it doesn’t work. Definitely need a new battery.
Btw I probably should have mentioned I’m planning on selling it on later this year so not looking to invest too much into it without good reason. (As anathema to an enthusiasts’ forum audience as that might sound!)

[Mr Tidy]

There's nothing wrong with planning for short ownership although you may view things differently to how you would for a keeper.

I've only had one car with stop/start, a BMW 123d. Stop/start hardly ever worked this time of year because the car monitors all sorts of criteria like engine and ambient temperatures, electrical draw (heater fan, HRW, etc.) and battery condition being just a few!

The AGM battery that was coded to the OBD didn't last 5 years, but I did get an amber warning light appear before it actually died. I didn't learn though - the starter motor didn't last 7 years so after that got replaced I turned stop/start off every time I used it!

[Pondrew]

I didn’t even realise the car had start stop, it doesn’t work. Definitely need a new battery.

Are you sure it has start/stop?
I am not sure which engine you have but the N54 (35i and 35is) and N52 (23i and 30i) doesn't have it as far as I am aware. I thought only the N20 4 pot (18i, 20i and 28i) and B48, B58 (G29 only) have s/s.

You can tell as there is a button next to the roof buttons if it is equipped.

[Silverstar]

I didn’t even realise the car had start stop, it doesn’t work. Definitely need a new battery.

Are you sure it has start/stop?
I am not sure which engine you have but the N54 (35i and 35is) and N52 (23i and 30i) doesn't have it as far as I am aware. I thought only the N20 4 pot (18i, 20i and 28i) and B48, B58 (G29 only) have s/s.

You can tell as there is a button next to the roof buttons if it is equipped.

I think this is correct, as far as I am aware the N52 30i and 23i does not have start stop.

[blazej]

A few photos as requested... The weather hasn't been very kind so it's "roof up and/or hats on" so far

bmw z4 4.jpg (241.39 KiB) Viewed 474 times

bmw z4 3.jpg (348.57 KiB) Viewed 474 times

bmw Z4 2.jpeg (334.1 KiB) Viewed 474 times

bmw Z4 1.jpg (316.04 KiB) Viewed 474 times

Really love the look of the car, it truly is a gorgeous shape.
A little bit of progress so far: ordered new salmon relays and some Koch Chemie Plast Star to refresh the seals.

Leaning towards Goodyears F1, starting with the rears (as soon as I can afford them ) I've had F1s on my FN2 for the last 8 years and they've been absolutely fantastic in the wet, at least on an FWD car.

[Chippie]

It must be difficult driving with the roof up with that Perspex box on your shoulders

[blazej]

Hello again, back with a couple of updates and a newest issue/advice request.
I replaced the salmon switches; upon inspecting the originals they showed some sign of wear
I also purchased two bolt covers for the door handles. They were a minor annoyance but the sight of bolts every time I looked at the handles did bother me.
Before:

F5497C4C-C8BC-4500-A90A-11B33EE269B5.jpeg (135.97 KiB) Viewed 381 times

After, much better.

92CD30B9-7061-410D-AD42-150E2209ED93.jpeg (127.21 KiB) Viewed 381 times

The battery keeps playing up - I’ve been waiting to replace it until I’ve had the chance to drive the car some more, and after 800 miles I’m satisfied that definitely needs a new one.

Now to my newest Q… I went to a hand car wash yesterday during the day. One of those places where you drive in and five blokes with pressure washers do the job quickly and cheaply. And to my surprise I got a light misting of soapy water on the back of my neck. Enough to make me flinch, and I noticed two drops where it dropped pooled underneath the wind deflector. Last night I’ve had the red roof icon appear on the computer and a “roof issue” message on the iDrive screen. Today a “roof not latched” popped up first thing, then no more messages or errors later on. I haven’t operated the roof since the wash - for one, it’s been snowing, plus I don’t want to get stuck with it open. (It’s parked in the street.)
Inspecting the roof today, I noticed there is a little gap where the seal meets the boot, kind of looks like the seal doesn’t make contact fully, it’s maybe 1in . I tried to take a photo to show it:

563CE721-0B6B-4008-A662-16AF5BF8E81B.jpeg (147.49 KiB) Viewed 381 times

The thoughts on my mind…. Potential water ingress into the roof mechanism? Should I go have it looked at by a specialist? Could the pressure washer have caused this? (Must I avoid car washes?) Any thoughts on how to proceed with this?

[Christopher72]

If your seal has failed, you'll have to replace it... Put the roof in maintenance mode and see if the seal is damaged.


https://www.realoem.com/bmw/enUS/showpa ... Id=54_0396
Looks like #3 54377192951. Unfortunately, seals aren't cheap -- but nothing really is on this car, so you'll get used to that.

[matsmith749]

Try opening & closing the roof before replacing the seal - doesn’t look closed to me.

A one inch gap is flipping massive! Never mind water ingress, small animals could get through that!!

[Pondrew]

Hopefully Robbi_Z4 will see the post, he will know the problem.
Might be worth searching for the issue, or starting a new thread, as this is not going to be easy to see being 'piggybacked' onto an unrelated thread!
Looks like an issue with the hydraulic rams not lowering far enough for whatever reason, rather than seals to me.

BTW pressure washers are not the best idea on an E89; there are only rubber seals everywhere to keep the water out. There is a lot of wiring, hydraulics and hinges inside those roof sections. Getting water in there is never going to help.

[Marcoose]

And I thought the Silver Shadow was finicky. The E89 takes the cake. What a snowflake.