A few bits and pieces and a trip to Spa - New Windscreen
Posted: Wed May 27, 2015 11:04 pm
Hi folks,
Just thought I'd share my journey with the Z4M now that I've bonded with the car for a little bit. A lot of credit has to go to Exdos on here as he's been a bit of an inspiration for my mods so a public thanks for him, even if my bank manager doesn't think the same way...
I've had my coupe for nearly 2 years now - here's my newbie thread:
viewtopic.php?f=11&t=52796&p=779114#p779114
The only mod I'd managed up until recently was a stubby!!
Having used this forum for a good bit of advice, I took the plunge and started on a raft of mods - first up, ZHP gear knob - my only rationale for fitting it was because my original knob was looking a bit tired and I'd seen other threads on here and elsewhere saying they were good!
Here's the knob as bought from the dealer:
After stripping down the old knob and having a bit of trim here and there - I ended up with this:
Like most others, I've ended up with a bit too much material here and there, but overall, it's FAB compared to the old knob...
Next up - strut brace:
Again, having read the threads on here, I decided on a Strongstrut kit:
The company is real pleasure to deal with and got the parts out to me very quickly - it's also a doddle to fit and it makes a LOT of difference - stability under braking and lift under acceleration is MUCH improved.. Now of course, I have a taste for the mods!!!
So.... onto suspension. Having driven the car for a while and read Exdos excellent thread on the topic, I had to agree that the OEM set up is basically pants - big frilly ones at that. Given the car is primarily for road use with the odd track day thrown in, I took the plunge and bought a Bilstein PSS10 kit with new OEM bushes for the rear trailing arms, bush limiter kit, new OEM front bushes and new anti roll bar drop links at the front and rear:
The eagle eyed amongst you will have seen I have also converted to studs and put 8mm spacers on as well - another worthwhile mod - the car looks nicer with the spacers AND it feels more 'planted'
Bush limiter:
Whilst the wheels were off, I thought it would be rude not to refresh them!!
New tyres, (Michelin super sports, OEM sizes), new centre caps and new 'M' badges courtesy of ebay:
(I won't bore you with all 4!!!)
Finally, I also fitted a new throttle pedal so that I could heel and toe easier:
And last but by no means least, I've always thought that the grills on the car are a bit exposed:
So I made up some mesh grills for inside to stop the stones - I figured it might protect my air con condenser on track days with lots of debris flying about:
And a 'yes, I've just been washed' shot after all the mods were fitted:
And so, off to Spa we go - Javelin trackdays did a CRACKING deal for 2 days at Spa in March - it could have snowed but it was worth the risk as the weather was SUPERB - I've driven there before and it's awesome...
Here she is in the garage:
Badge trophies:
And out on track in case you don't believe me...
Eau Rouge:
La Source:
What can I say - the car is TRANSFORMED!! A much better ride, more compliant and better in pitch and roll - the grip from the Michelins both wet and dry is superb.
However, I did have issues with brakes - I detailed that in a separate thread here:
viewtopic.php?f=9&t=75517&p=1114394#p1114394
So I've now got an AP BBK on order - like I said, me and the bank manager aren't speaking much these days!! More to come soon....
Just thought I'd share my journey with the Z4M now that I've bonded with the car for a little bit. A lot of credit has to go to Exdos on here as he's been a bit of an inspiration for my mods so a public thanks for him, even if my bank manager doesn't think the same way...
I've had my coupe for nearly 2 years now - here's my newbie thread:
viewtopic.php?f=11&t=52796&p=779114#p779114
The only mod I'd managed up until recently was a stubby!!
Having used this forum for a good bit of advice, I took the plunge and started on a raft of mods - first up, ZHP gear knob - my only rationale for fitting it was because my original knob was looking a bit tired and I'd seen other threads on here and elsewhere saying they were good!
Here's the knob as bought from the dealer:
After stripping down the old knob and having a bit of trim here and there - I ended up with this:
Like most others, I've ended up with a bit too much material here and there, but overall, it's FAB compared to the old knob...
Next up - strut brace:
Again, having read the threads on here, I decided on a Strongstrut kit:
The company is real pleasure to deal with and got the parts out to me very quickly - it's also a doddle to fit and it makes a LOT of difference - stability under braking and lift under acceleration is MUCH improved.. Now of course, I have a taste for the mods!!!
So.... onto suspension. Having driven the car for a while and read Exdos excellent thread on the topic, I had to agree that the OEM set up is basically pants - big frilly ones at that. Given the car is primarily for road use with the odd track day thrown in, I took the plunge and bought a Bilstein PSS10 kit with new OEM bushes for the rear trailing arms, bush limiter kit, new OEM front bushes and new anti roll bar drop links at the front and rear:
The eagle eyed amongst you will have seen I have also converted to studs and put 8mm spacers on as well - another worthwhile mod - the car looks nicer with the spacers AND it feels more 'planted'
Bush limiter:
Whilst the wheels were off, I thought it would be rude not to refresh them!!
New tyres, (Michelin super sports, OEM sizes), new centre caps and new 'M' badges courtesy of ebay:
(I won't bore you with all 4!!!)
Finally, I also fitted a new throttle pedal so that I could heel and toe easier:
And last but by no means least, I've always thought that the grills on the car are a bit exposed:
So I made up some mesh grills for inside to stop the stones - I figured it might protect my air con condenser on track days with lots of debris flying about:
And a 'yes, I've just been washed' shot after all the mods were fitted:
And so, off to Spa we go - Javelin trackdays did a CRACKING deal for 2 days at Spa in March - it could have snowed but it was worth the risk as the weather was SUPERB - I've driven there before and it's awesome...
Here she is in the garage:
Badge trophies:
And out on track in case you don't believe me...
Eau Rouge:
La Source:
What can I say - the car is TRANSFORMED!! A much better ride, more compliant and better in pitch and roll - the grip from the Michelins both wet and dry is superb.
However, I did have issues with brakes - I detailed that in a separate thread here:
viewtopic.php?f=9&t=75517&p=1114394#p1114394
So I've now got an AP BBK on order - like I said, me and the bank manager aren't speaking much these days!! More to come soon....