New member - Carbonschwarz

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Carbonschwarz

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Very happy to have stumbled upon this forum. Great source of data and very active community

Two weeks ago I bought a 2004 Z4 3.0i manual, in Saphirschwarz. Technically the car is in very good condition although it has done 200K KM. Big stack of invoices shows that no money was saved on maintenance. For some reason the previous owner never got the sticky steering fixed however, so that is planned to be done next week.

Currently the car is on the style 103 wheels, but I also got a set of 108's that need quite a bit of love first. Anyone with experience on fixing them up DIY style?

Interior is a bit more exciting than the exterior, with the Traumrot M-sport seats. I'm not a big fan of the grey (rest of the plastics) and red combo, but the M-seats are really superb. I notice that the red colour of the leather in pictures is really bright where in reality it seems a bit more cherry like red (which I like better). Do you have the same experience or have mine been dyed with the incorrect products?

For now the plan is to do a few minor tweaks:

1 ) Stubby
2 ) ZHP gear knob.
3 ) repainting of the wind screen wipers (a bit of surface rust)
4 ) Steering wheel: New upholstery + additional padding or upgrade to MFSW M sport (let me know if one is available somewhere for decent price!).
5 ) Deep cleaning of the seats - maybe having the foam done on the drivers side.
6 ) Fixing the sticky steering
7 ) Might change the Xenons for new ones. My daily is a car with full LED headlights, so I'm afraid that the current Xenons might be a bit disappointing. Will see after the first night drive. Any advice is very welcome.
8 ) DIY refreshing the 108 wheels. Probably winter project.
9 ) Squeaky cup holders. Not sure how to fix this, but its a bit annoying. Might stick some kind of padding in there.
10 ) Phone holder + integrated charger. - Will probably open a separate thread for this at a later stage as I will need some help from the experts here. Goal would be wireless charging and no cables visible
 
Welcome to the forum, sounds like a really nice zed you have acquired. But as a prerequisite, the forum members request pictures, and lots of them :thumbsup:
 
Welcome to the forum from even sunnier Devon :D Nice to see you want a stubby :thumbsup: As has been said we love pictures of cars on here. :thumbsup:
 
Will share some pics of the car later. It needs a bit of a cleaning first!

I read online that I could fit a PSA stubby (part number 6561N3) for a few Euro's. Size and price are closer to French fries for this one than the original BMW stubby (65202296761), so figured to try the French one first. Ordered it in China last week and tried fitting it to my German car today.

It does not seem to fit as both the antenna and the base on my car seem to be "males". I believe the original BMW should fit as that one has the option to go from external to internal threading. Anyone who ran into same issue?
 
The base should be female so it sounds like the thread may have come out of your whippy.
 
Cheaper and classier option is not to fit a stubby at all.

PS Welcome and Pics?
 
Welcome along and look forward to seeing the pictures when uploaded.

With wireless charging, I've added bluetooth and routed a MagSafe charger to my car. Wiring currently hidden behind the dash and panels routed to a USB charger, but I'm planning to hardwire into the fusebox and piggyback off of something ignition hot, this summer.
https://z4-forum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=139298&start=45
 
Was able to fit the stubby today after removing the thread that was stuck in the base.

Great mod, inkey$! Exactly what I had in mind. Will source the parts online this week for the hardwired option.

Sun was shining this evening, so took the Z4 for a drive after dinner:

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Spent some time on the interior today, which was very much needed. Vacuumed the interior and cleaned all the plastics. Then I started on the seats, which show the experience of the car. I love the M-seats but don't like how the wear shows on them. Its the first time I'm cleaning leather, but figured that I cannot make the drivers side worse than it is, so gave it a go.

Started using the Gliptone intensive leather cleaner. I applied it using a pad and then gently gave the leather a brush with a bit of water. Repeated these steps a few times. Result is a nicer and cleaner feel of the leather (more like new leather feel) and significant reduction in the shine. More of a matte finish now. Although the feel and freshness of the leather has significantly improved, it still shows the wear.

Previous owner gave me some Traumrot specific leather dye, so stopped after the cleaning step and did not yet apply the Gliptone conditioner. I also bought a heat gun for a tenner today to see if I can get the leather a bit tighter on the seats.

Is the below sequence the right sequence to refresh the seats?

1) Intensive clean
2) Dye / colour
3) Leather conditioner
4) Heat gun

Below quick pic after cleaning the driver seat. Passenger seat is in much better condition, but will clean that one tomorrow too.

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Two more to do's on the list after today's clean.

1) Luggage net on the passenger side has a broken clip (see pic above). Does anyone have the part number or an alternative fix? I'm afraid that I cannot just take it off without leaving the marks in the carpet.
2) The instrument cluster is dirty..... on the inside. What should have been an simple wipe down, has turned into a new challenge. It looks rather awful now. I hope I don't have to take out much of the dash.
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Today I visited a BMW specialist to get the sticky steering fixed. At least thats what I was hoping for. Unfortunately it turned out that the eccentric rings in my car already had been maximally adjusted, so nothing to gain here anymore.

Reading online I see I have two options:

1) Getting my steering column overhauled by Steering expert in the Netherlands. 500 Euros for the overhaul + labour for building in and out of the column. Total about 800-900 I guess. Not sure what they change technically , but they claim large experience and commit to resolving it.
2) Getting the bearings changed in the steering column in Monchengladbach , Germany. These guys have huge experience in fixing sticky steering, but I read online about long waiting lists. Will contact them tomorrow. I read it will costs about 600 Euro too.

Not the result I was hoping for today, but these are the perks that come along with driving an 20 year old roadster :driving:

Will make up my mind in the coming days, but any advice is appreciated.
 
Carbonschwarz said:
10 ) Phone holder + integrated charger. - Will probably open a separate thread for this at a later stage as I will need some help from the experts here. Goal would be wireless charging and no cables visible
Click to expand...

Welcome to the forum!

Just to chime in: i sorted this out with a Xiomi wireless chargin phone holder. it automatically opens up to accept your phone by using a proximity sensor. funny gadget, get my friends amazed haha. I routed the USB C able from the phone holder via the air vent (holder is mounted above it). have it all plugged up to a triple cigarette lighter hidden under the passenger footwell. just spotted it a year later after owning the car, was definitely from the previous owner but its perfect, since the OEM cigarette lighter is always on, which bothers most of us
 
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