Atacama Yellow 35is build thread

B21, thank you for placing this most interesting post which has alerted me to the fact that the-new-to-me 'Red-Devil' child of Vulcan the God of Fire may not have a spare wheel,... I am unable to recollect seeing one. This begs the question whether Z4's of any iteration are equipped with a spare wheel; no doubt you will be able to advise accordingly. Having mentioned this, the condition of the wheel which you have recently purchased is in quite splendid condition and the price has made it something of a real bargain. I am thinking that I should peruse Ebay or indeed anywhere else which you may be kind enough to recommend for which I thank you in anticipation of your response.
 
B21, thank you for placing this most interesting post which has alerted me to the fact that the-new-to-me 'Red-Devil' child of Vulcan the God of Fire may not have a spare wheel,... I am unable to recollect seeing one. This begs the question whether Z4's of any iteration are equipped with a spare wheel; no doubt you will be able to advise accordingly. Having mentioned this, the condition of the wheel which you have recently purchased is in quite splendid condition and the price has made it something of a real bargain. I am thinking that I should peruse Ebay or indeed anywhere else which you may be kind enough to recommend for which I thank you in anticipation of your response.
The issue of a spare wheel is driven by your desire for redundancy / back up vs probability of a puncture vs consequences of a puncture vs negative aspects of carry a spare wheel.

If you drive a stock E89 occasionally and locally probably the most cost effective solution is to have a premium recovery service.

If you range far and wide, on tight schedules, often in areas a long way from acceptable service and support AND you can square the circle of loss of storage capability then at the very least a simple space saver is your minimum choice. I have two space savers…a 17” and 18”…in my case my 380mm/Brembo Mustang 6 pot calipers forced me to contemplate more options as these space savers won’t fit over the very large disc brake pack.

I’ve experienced / seen many punctures that could not be fixed with plugs, gunk, foam so although I carry gunk, plugs as a placebo my hopes are not high of their effectiveness.

I’ve also driven twice cars fitted with space savers on open roads that need you to keep up with traffic and it’s a most unsettling and unpleasant experience…the loss of stability and possible control is very significant.

Therefore, for me, and many of my road charging / touring friends a full size spare wheel is the preferred solution.

For me given two different sets of alloys and both sets asymmetrical any full size wheel will not address completely compliance with all wheel sets.

However..a 235 wide premium rubber tyre that is very close to to the correct rolling radius is going to do a much much better job than a 120mm wide tyre on some very nasty rubber in a grossly dissimilar size.

I trust this addresses your question comprehensively …
 
B21, thank you for placing this most interesting post which has alerted me to the fact that the-new-to-me 'Red-Devil' child of Vulcan the God of Fire may not have a spare wheel,... I am unable to recollect seeing one. This begs the question whether Z4's of any iteration are equipped with a spare wheel; no doubt you will be able to advise accordingly. Having mentioned this, the condition of the wheel which you have recently purchased is in quite splendid condition and the price has made it something of a real bargain. I am thinking that I should peruse Ebay or indeed anywhere else which you may be kind enough to recommend for which I thank you in anticipation of your response.
No E86/86/89 were ever fitted with a spare wheel in any market…

The factory solution was run flat tyres allowing a limp home mode of a max of 50 miles at no more than 50 mph.
 
The issue of a spare wheel is driven by your desire for redundancy / back up vs probability of a puncture vs consequences of a puncture vs negative aspects of carry a spare wheel.

If you drive a stock E89 occasionally and locally probably the most cost effective solution is to have a premium recovery service.

If you range far and wide, on tight schedules, often in areas a long way from acceptable service and support AND you can square the circle of loss of storage capability then at the very least a simple space saver is your minimum choice. I have two space savers…a 17” and 18”…in my case my 380mm/Brembo Mustang 6 pot calipers forced me to contemplate more options as these space savers won’t fit over the very large disc brake pack.

I’ve experienced / seen many punctures that could not be fixed with plugs, gunk, foam so although I carry gunk, plugs as a placebo my hopes are not high of their effectiveness.

I’ve also driven twice cars fitted with space savers on open roads that need you to keep up with traffic and it’s a most unsettling and unpleasant experience…the loss of stability and possible control is very significant.

Therefore, for me, and many of my road charging / touring friends a full size spare wheel is the preferred solution.

For me given two different sets of alloys and both sets asymmetrical any full size wheel will not address completely compliance with all wheel sets.

However..a 235 wide premium rubber tyre that is very close to to the correct rolling radius is going to do a much much better job than a 120mm wide tyre on some very nasty rubber in a grossly dissimilar size.

I trust this addresses your question comprehensively …
B21, please accept my apology for the delay in reponding but would confirm that your most kind response has indeed addressed my question in your now customary and wholly comprehensive manner. Thank you. I would confirm that the arrival of the Melbourne Red - Child of Vulcan the God of Fire is immiment such that it is set to arrive betwixt a half past nine o'clock and ten o'clock this very morning.
 
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B21, please accept my apology for the delay in reponding but would confirm that your most kind response has indeed addressed my question in your now customary and wholly comprehensive manner. Thank you. I would confirm that the arrival of the Melbourne Red - Child of Vulcan the God of Fire is set to arrive betwixt a half past nine o'clock and ten o'clock this morning
Splendid…I’m sure some pictures of said Child of Vulcan will be most welcome ..🧐👍
 
The 370mm rear BBK final production brackets are back from the machine shop..

Everything bolts up perfectly and looks spot on.

Basic kit..just the brackets and relevant bolts and washers will be available as a kit for £200 plus p+p…the kit uses all standard BMW parts or you can use third party equivalents from Zimmerman, Ferodo, TRW etc etcIMG_0392.jpegIMG_0391.jpegIMG_0390.jpegIMG_0393.jpegIMG_0397.jpegIMG_0396.jpegIMG_0395.jpegIMG_0394.jpegIMG_0398.jpegIMG_0398.jpeg
 
Being a sad bunny..I’ve commandeered a couple of different bags for my big space saver compliant luggage …found a larger size of bag used by caravaners for their leccy cables and an 18” space saver bag …with these I can pack enough clothes for over a week into the available space..obviously not a solution for two up touring but a lot neater than just wedging stuff into the spare wheel well..OCD!
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The rear brake kit looks excellent, did I miss the 345mm rear kit being completed or did you decide to focus on the 370mm?
I did the 370mm first as I have some customers for that one…

I’m happy to finish off the 345mm version as it’s identical in design except for a slightly smaller offset on the bracket and a different rear disc.

Having tested both I’m not sure apart from a perception of balance whether many folks would go for the 345mm.

Compared to the 35is rear brake set up and especially the 18i/20i/23i/28i/30i/35i(some markets) rear brake it offers a lot more ‘capability’ in terms of size of pad, heat capability of the disc, wear on both disc and pads and of course more pure braking power.

But..if you’re going for a 370/380 front disc set up maybe the 370 rear is the better option as I don’t think there’s any real price differences..
 
I did the 370mm first as I have some customers for that one…

I’m happy to finish off the 345mm version as it’s identical in design except for a slightly smaller offset on the bracket and a different rear disc.

Having tested both I’m not sure apart from a perception of balance whether many folks would go for the 345mm.

Compared to the 35is rear brake set up and especially the 18i/20i/23i/28i/30i/35i(some markets) rear brake it offers a lot more ‘capability’ in terms of size of pad, heat capability of the disc, wear on both disc and pads and of course more pure braking power.

But..if you’re going for a 370/380 front disc set up maybe the 370 rear is the better option as I don’t think there’s any real price differences..
No worries, thanks for the explanation. I’ve got everything ready for the 345mm upgrade so I’m going to go down that route first. I may move to the 370mm at a later date if it feels necessary.
 
No worries, thanks for the explanation. I’ve got everything ready for the 345mm upgrade so I’m going to go down that route first. I may move to the 370mm at a later date if it feels necessary.
Oki doki..they will be a delay till I get the test rig checked and the brackets lasered and milled ..I’ll advise
 
I did the 370mm first as I have some customers for that one…

I’m happy to finish off the 345mm version as it’s identical in design except for a slightly smaller offset on the bracket and a different rear disc.

Having tested both I’m not sure apart from a perception of balance whether many folks would go for the 345mm.

Compared to the 35is rear brake set up and especially the 18i/20i/23i/28i/30i/35i(some markets) rear brake it offers a lot more ‘capability’ in terms of size of pad, heat capability of the disc, wear on both disc and pads and of course more pure braking power.

But..if you’re going for a 370/380 front disc set up maybe the 370 rear is the better option as I don’t think there’s any real price differences..
Whats needed outside of the adapter in relation to the calipers to fit 370 rear?
I am in progress to upgrade my 35i to the 35is rear brakes, from 300 to 324 (here in the us they use the different sizes) I had already shipped over the 35is caliper carriers. Just been waiting on getting the F&R disk and pad setups.
 
Whats needed outside of the adapter in relation to the calipers to fit 370 rear?
I am in progress to upgrade my 35i to the 35is rear brakes, from 300 to 324 (here in the us they use the different sizes) I had already shipped over the 35is caliper carriers. Just been waiting on getting the F&R disk and pad setups.
The 345 and 370 use the same F series 5 calipers and cradles..the differences are the 345 uses a E series 5 disc and the 370 uses a F series 7 disc ..the adapter brackets are different and the dust shield could be common ..the brake pipes are common ..so basically the bracket and the rear discs are the the two key differences
 
The 345 and 370 use the same F series 5 calipers and cradles..the differences are the 345 uses a E series 5 disc and the 370 uses a F series 7 disc ..the adapter brackets are different and the dust shield could be common ..the brake pipes are common ..so basically the bracket and the rear discs are the the two key differences
I didn’t realise it was the same caliper for the 345 and 370 conversions. I think you’ve just convinced me to go up to 370!
 
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My new rear 370mm rear brake kit has now gone into production…

I’ve listed it on eBay here


ebay.us

BMW Z4 E89 rear big brake kit adaptors 370mm version | eBay UK

The 345mm kit uses a E60 5 Series 345mm rear disc (345x 24) and the 370mm kit uses a F01 7 Series 370mm rear disc (370x24). No programming or coding required. The caliper cradle part numbers areBMW (34 21 6 793 053) BMW (6 793 053) and BMW (34 21 6 793 053) BMW (6 793 053).
ebay.us

It’s offered here postage free in UK for £200

I’m sure I’ll have lots of positive support…IMG_3700.jpegIMG_3698.jpegIMG_3699.jpegIMG_3707.jpegIMG_3708.jpeg
 
As reported elsewhere some of us now have a bug where if you are using the original BMW Bluetooth phone connection rather than the MMI Bluetooth phone connection, the unit dials yourself on boot up..switching to the MMI Bluetooth by disabling the BMW Bluetooth connection for the phone works..

Allegedly Mr 12 Volt are aware of a number of such bugs.

In seperate news…

There’s not much change apart from the new ‘liquid’ iOS26 look which I promptly disabled for the benefit of visual clarity…things can get tricky to see if the sun is in the wrong direction roof down..that stupid effect impairs things even more…

There’s a new ‘widget’ that gives you two BIG images of either info or to act as a launch button..

A side effect is that pressing the ‘Back’ button in the idrive controller now doesn’t get you back to the three way split screen with map/media/driving guidance ..in this case you have to scroll down to the 9 little squares on the side bar..

First world problems..

Still by a long long way the best media interface for a car..IMG_0544.jpegIMG_0545.jpegIMG_0546.jpegIMG_0547.jpegIMG_0548.jpegIMG_0549.jpeg
 
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