New owner

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davidwilson

Member
 London
Hi all, i have never been on a forum before so i am not sure what to expect.
I have recently picked up a 2010 Z4 which I am delighted with, only one thing, Road noise and hard ride, is this caused by 18"wheels with runflats?

My old car was a one series with runflats and 17" wheels and drove fine with little road noise, any thoughts please?

Thanks
 
Hi Mikey

Thank you for your reply.

It is not the M Sport, I deliberately avoided that model because of this.

It does have 18" wheels that where fitted as an option when the can was new.

I'm a ride over looks guy so I'm considering changing to 17' wheels and non runflats.

Hopefully to improve ride and noise quality.

Any thoughts please
 
Hi David and welcome to your first forum 😊.
As far as these go (and i have been on a fair few over the years) this one is excellent and very well run, so good choice!

Now the difference changing to "normal" tyres makes is significant!
I am a recent owner of a Z4 (30i MSport with 19" wheels) and found that the tyre change alone changed the ride from crashy and twitchy to composed and very grippy.

Do remember that this is still a sporty car, so ride will be firm.
Oh and 17" wheels may look a little lost in the arches - but that is just my thoughts.

Be prepared for the requests for pictures of your car 🙂
 
FWIW 18” wheels will be very very much better on non runflats

If you really are pre occupied with ride comfort you can go 225/45 18 and 255/40 18 ratter than 225/40 18 and 255/35 18

17” waste of time imho
 
davidwilson said:
Than you for your reply, very interesting, did you find the non runflats quieter?
Click to expand...

Yes, very noticeably quieter (Michelin Cross Climate 3 Sports).
B21 has a good point on sidewall increase. That will also help with ride (at the expense of grip).

Ultimately though, this is not a 1 series(had one of those in the past).
That is a small family hatchback designed to accommodate that purpose.

This a sports tourer - and a seriously good one at that. It has a firmer ride because it is designed to be sporty.

It may take you a little time to appreciate what the Z4 does so well.
Find a quiet country road, open her up and don't ever go above 3rd gear!
When you have done that for an hour or so, come back and tell us how you feel about the ride! 😊
 
Welcome to the forum David. :thumbsup:

TBF Cross Climate non run-flats might reduce road noise it be at the expense of handling/grip in the summer, but probably as much as a higher profile tyre!

I've had a 1 Series and a couple of 3 Series on 17" run-flats, then a couple of E86s on 18" run-flats but never expected (or got) the same level of refinement in the Z4s. But they would have romped away from the 1s and 3s on a twisty road which was the whole point of the Z4 IMHO!
 
davidwilson said:
Hi Mikey

Thank you for your reply.

It is not the M Sport, I deliberately avoided that model because of this.

It does have 18" wheels that where fitted as an option when the can was new.

I'm a ride over looks guy so I'm considering changing to 17' wheels and non runflats.

Hopefully to improve ride and noise quality.

Any thoughts please
Click to expand...
My E85 has 18” wheels and the ride can be a bit crashy over pot holes, I can always feel the road surface through the seat. I don’t mind it too much as it is a roadster my wife complains though.:)
 
Welcome aboard David.
I don't know what others would say but I would junk the run flats & buy one of Halfords mini compressors which plug into the fag lighter.
It'll get you home if you get a slow (ish) puncture.
My Zed has 18" rims with ordinary tyres which make the drive just about bearable on our ever detiorating roads here in the UK.
I don't think I would like to run it on run flats with 18" rims.
Robert.
 
MikeyH said:
My E85 has 18” wheels and the ride can be a bit crashy over pot holes, I can always feel the road surface through the seat. I don’t mind it too much as it is a roadster my wife complains though.:)
Click to expand...
E85 suspension completely different especially on the front so E85 vs E89 ride comparison not valid..imho
 
Thank you all for your comments and suggestions, I think i will stick with the 18" wheels and will change the tyres to non run flats with a slightly higher profile, by how much, I'm not sure?
 
Everyone has focused on the tyres, but I would also ask what mileage it is on and whether the suspension is still original?
 
On and note, i have looked at several Z4's and noticed that the gap between the bumper and wing can vary quite a lot, not sure why, has anyone else come across this?
This is mine, it's not bad but I'd like to make it a bit tighter as if possible, but I'm not sure how to?
 

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The front bumper is held on with a few torx screws on the top ..a few 10mm bolts underneath , a few screws in the wheel wells and two plastic outrigger brackets at the top of the wheel wells / engine bay…

By loosening all / most of them you can move the bumper / bonnet to be closer / parallel…

Most squint bumpers are caused by parking knocks usually on kerbs that rocks the bumper around open in the top gap.

Often the outrigger brackets get broken ..
 
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