2010: A year of mods! Eisenmann update P2

[Mr Whippy]

Personally I prefer the dashes of orange on my silver car, otherwise it'd look black and white

Nice work doing it though, very impressive to be able to just get your hands dirty and achieve these changes cheaply and effectively!


What wheels will you be going for... 107/108 or something different?


Dave

 

[Mafoo]

I'm on the fence with changing the front lights. Clear deffo does seem the way forward and yours do look the dogs. However on Amber does suit some colours (sterling grey for one).

Your rears are an excellent mod. Really cleans up the rear

 

[PawnSacrifice]

Personally I prefer the dashes of orange on my silver car, otherwise it'd look black and white

Nice work doing it though, very impressive to be able to just get your hands dirty and achieve these changes cheaply and effectively!

What wheels will you be going for... 107/108 or something different?

Dave

I like the B&W look But I know where exactly you're coming from. It's been great doing these bits myself!

Going with the standard M wheels. Only thing I'm not too sure about is how the offset will look on the car. Have seen pics which I like, but can be different the in real world, so that remains to be seen. Trying to decide whether to get them done in gunmetal; Beedub's gunmetal CSLs on a silver M look great IMO Not sure if the effect would be the same with 224s :?

I have a little time to make my mind up - due to differences in weight and grip I don't want to change wheels until I've finished collecting data... which actually hasn't properly started yet. I'll then do some acceleration / braking tests once I have swapped them. Not expecting any difference, but I am enjoying this :wink:

 

[PawnSacrifice]

A little later than anticipated, I am back with my next update.

I have always enjoyed the fact that the Z4 has a slight edge to it. I love the engine - the 2.5 is a peach. However sporty the exhaust note lacks an edge, well, for my taste. I like the sports car sound, it contributes to a more visceral experience. So, I want a sportier exhaust.

My prerequisites, more noise, obviously. Paradoxically, something quiet. At least, enough to use on motorways (spend altogether too much time on motorways) and have a trip to Europe this summer.

For the exhaust I had two options, a custom job, something like CJ has done and MrWhippy is planning, but I lack their skills. Option 2, a direct fit factory box. I did a lot of research, and looking through the forum I kept seeing one theme regarding exhausts… "manufacturers A, B and C are good. There's Eisenmann too, great but too expensive." I quickly wanted Eisenmann. Then I bought the Performance BMW magazine for the Z4M CSL article, there was a small piece in the front about A-L Tuning offering 20% of Eisenmann and labour. Hurrah

I then had a look at the Eisenmann web site, they offer an array of back boxes for Z4s, I was interested in two. A direct replacement twin box or a two box (standard and t-pipe) quad system. There are three sound levels; Standard (OEM equivalent), Sport and Race. I contacted Eisenmann directly and was told that the Sport is similar to OEM but becomes progressively louder than the OEM up the rev range. Race, is just loud. The guy in Germany told me to forget it if I ever wanted to use the car for a long motorway journey. For the twin box setup the second pipe adds a little to the sound, but nothing dramatically different from the single box. It is primarily a cosmetic addition. At no time did anyone mention or were there any discussion about performance gains :wink:

I spoke to Mike at A-L Tuning (he worked on the Z4M CSL in PBMW - good guy and very patient with all my questions), he without being led he said the same about the sound levels. After some discussion I ordered the quad Sport box. Eisenmann hand build to order so there is typically a 3-4 week delivery time. In early February I handed over a cheque and went home to wait.

 

[PawnSacrifice]

There were a few problems; a delay in manufacturing pushed the lead time back and then scheduling issues once it arrived, Mike being in Bahrain (tuning very flash cars) and my snowboarding holiday (got my mojo back BTW). On Wednesday, seven weeks after ordering (not 3 months as I stated incorrectly in another thread), my car went in to have the exhaust box fitted. I dropped the car off with a camera, so Mike could take some pics.

The car on the ramp after the exhausts was fitted:


The main, LHS box:


Where the LHS box joins the pipes:


The RHS section:


And off the ramp, the tips:

Personally I think they look pretty sweet!

They did a great job. The only thing I wasn't happy with was the RHS cutout, the bodyshop had cut it too square. I'm going to sort that out myself. Mostly because I'm too fussy and too impatient. Have got some of it sorted with my little RotoCraft tool.

When I took the back bumper off this morning I got the following shot of what was underneath:


The picture below shows the bumper back on the car, both tips this time:


I still need to do some work to the RHS, but that is a job for next weekend… and maybe longer. I want to get this right, I'm going to take my time.

 

[PawnSacrifice]

What does it sound like? Hard to describe. It is very like the OEM but loader. There are a couple of points in the rev range where it can become a little boomy, mostly under load at 2,000RPM, but I think this is just the system bedding in. The system is louder than the standard without being brash and it cracks a little more on over-run. It's OEM but more so and thus far I am loving it. That said, run it at the right revs and it is very quiet. I can't fully explain what the system adds, it enhances what's already there and blends well with the rest of the car.

Overall, this has expensive, and I'd prefer not to say how expensive. I had to wait for ages and it doesn't add any value or performance to the car. In economic terms it was a colossal a waste of money. Would I buy one again, Hell Yes! Next German car I own is going to get the Eisenmann treatment as soon as I can afford it. Many won't understand this expense for an exhaust, but I love it and I love how it does what it does.

I took a couple quick video clips, the quality video and audio is poor, but it'll give you people what you want for now! First one, the obligatory camera pointed at the tips with a few revs.
[youtube]<object width="480" height="385"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/cH9KsajKYks&hl=en_US&fs=1&"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/cH9KsajKYks&hl=en_US&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="480" height="385"></embed></object>[/youtube]
First time I tried this I forgot I masked the number plate and drove home.

Second clip I am including for fun, it didn't work at all! Just thought I'd share the lengths I've gone to to try and report on this. I taped my BlackBerry to the back bumper and went for a quick spin up the road. You'll head roar noise and wind.
[youtube]<object width="480" height="385"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/oJ-3hJ_7PSQ&hl=en_US&fs=1&"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/oJ-3hJ_7PSQ&hl=en_US&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="480" height="385"></embed></object>[/youtube]

The one thing that I don't know yet is the steam distribution between LHS and RHS as it has been too damn warm. I'll get that when I can.

 

[Dreamer]

Looks really nice. The tips are just right, and the sound is pretty much as loud as you can go without edging into max power territory.
The cut away in the bumper doesn't look perfect but im sure that can be sorted.
Overall

 

[daveg]

Pretty brave with your Blackberry! Love the tips too and going to quad obviously looks much better.

Can you PM me the cost - working out my options since exhaust is my next project

 

[PawnSacrifice]

Looks really nice. The tips are just right, and the sound is pretty much as loud as you can go without edging into max power territory.
The cut away in the bumper doesn't look perfect but im sure that can be sorted.
Overall

Cut away is poor. I have sorted the left side of it, but need to fill the right and then sort the roll in. This is not, by any means, finished.

Thanks, Dreamer, am very please right now

Pretty brave with your Blackberry! Love the tips too and going to quad obviously looks much better.

Can you PM me the cost - working out my options since exhaust is my next project

Brave / stupid :?

Will PM in a sec.

 

[cj10jeeper]

PawnSacrifice - I'm impressed. I like what you've done and the thought that has gone into it.

Getting the bumper cover sorted will of course complete the job and make it look perfect from any angle. That of course is the subject of a project in its own right.

 

[aquazi]

Very nice - i do like the quad effect... seeing this makes me want one - but then i seem to want to do every mod i see people have done on here :roll:

A tip with your rear indicators if they are too red then you can use green bulbs (can use a thin coat of light bulb paint to make them green if you can find any in the shops) to make them flash amber Several car makers have green indicators bulbs now due to the red rear lenses.

 

[a11y]

Those tips look superb - I VERY much like

I'd be interested to hear more sound clips if you get a chance - as high quality as possible, although I know noise doesn't translate very well in videos compared to hearing in person. I might start looking into exhausts for future as it's one thing I might change: I keep looking at you-tube clips of VX Monaro's with Wortec exhausts and thinking "I need one of them". An exhaust on my Z4 might help but nothing will compare to a V8 sound...

 

[sk93]

Looks really great mate!

Wish I had a winning lottery ticket, as I'd love that exhaust

 

[PawnSacrifice]

PawnSacrifice - I'm impressed. I like what you've done and the thought that has gone into it.

Getting the bumper cover sorted will of course complete the job and make it look perfect from any angle. That of course is the subject of a project in its own right.

Thanks! Spent a lot of time considering the options before I did anything.

Bumper is going to be a tricky one... I'm going to try something myself, consulting your notes and what you showed me at the Aebous meet. If it's not right then I'll get a spare on eBay and get something fabricated by people that know what they're doing!

Those tips look superb - I VERY much like

I'd be interested to hear more sound clips if you get a chance - as high quality as possible, although I know noise doesn't translate very well in videos compared to hearing in person. I might start looking into exhausts for future as it's one thing I might change: I keep looking at you-tube clips of VX Monaro's with Wortec exhausts and thinking "I need one of them". An exhaust on my Z4 might help but nothing will compare to a V8 sound...

Thanks. Wasn't sure how the tips would look on the car, but very happy

Am awaiting delivery of a Kodak PlaySport - ruggedised pocket HD camcorder. Hopefully that will give better results - I think the problem with the BlackBerry is the mic points down. But yes, better quality to follow, even if I need to borrow a traditional camcorder

sk93 cheers, my spare time is now going to be trying to decode the lottery... I'm backing the golden ratio.

 

[Z4 Beemer]

Ooohhh - it sounds nice, a real throaty sound and love that crackle/burble.

I would also be keen to know whether the amounts of steam coming from both sides is the same

 

[peddy]

Looks great! I've been dying on finding out the outcome and it looks good. Just sort out that bumper and you've got yourself a sexy quad!

re steam... It's cold today!

 

[Andy]

Awesome, sounds and looks fab, great work

 

[PawnSacrifice]

Awesome, sounds and looks fab, great work

Thanks, it's been a long process. In many ways it was yours that started all this


Z4 Beemer, peddy, sadly (because of what has become of me) I was on the web first thing this morning looking at the weather forecast. Still mild here at the moment... plus I cycled to work. Tomorrow should do it, if not Wednesday is down to 1°C. As long as the steam's entirely 1 sided I should be happy... it would take a lot to spoil my good car mood right now

 

[a11y]

"not entirely 1 sided" ???

 

[PawnSacrifice]

"not entirely 1 sided" ???

Yeah, something like that.