Well well well.. guess I've finally gibbered on enough to earn my fifth star!
I first got "Winston" back in October 2009.
I actually had my heart set on a S2000, but when I went to pay for and pick up the Honda, it was parked up next to a very shiny looking Z4.
Initially, I had ruled out the Zed, putting it down in the same category as the z3 (Girly hairdressers car, with no real soul - just my opinion, not really backed up by anything). But after speaking to the dealer about it, she convinced me to at least give it a test drive. It was priced the same as the s2000, so it wasn't as if she was trying to up-sell me, so I gave it a go.
Within ten minutes I was sold on the way the car drove and handled. It seemed to me to be a better experience than the S2000, and although it's basically the same on paper, the Zed seemed faster and had better power delivery.
We then talked about the car in more detail and I learned that it was pretty much fully loaded:
I luckily changed my mind on the S2000 and went home to find out more on the Z4 (which lead me to here).
A few weeks later, I bought the Zed and my journey to five stars began!
Now I've always been a bit of a tinkerer when it comes to cars.
I've modified pretty much every one I've owned (some to a ridiculous level!)... Winston wasn't going to be the exception!
The very first thing I did to my car was install Cruise Control.
A very simple mod, that required just the stalk to be purchased
Next up was a modification to the rain sensor.
I often left the roof down whilst parked up at work, which could cause a problem in this UK climate...
I'd have to come running out to put the roof up when it started to rain!
So, with a bit of experimentation, I managed to get the roof to close whenever the car was off and the rain sensor detected rain.
It wasn't an ideal solution, as the rain sensor appears to use quite a bit of battery usage, so I ended up removing it again a few months later, but when it was in, it was great
I also got lucky and managed to get an //M tri-colour stitched MFSW wheel from here for a really decent price - so that beauty went straight on!
I then started to play around with the sound system!
I really wanted to connect up my iPod to the car, but didn't have bluetooth and didn't want to loose the CD changer either, so I looked into adding an aux cable.
After seeing the stupid prices these were being sold for, I decided to make my own.. and thus make my first "HOWTO" thread here
Next was addressing the lack of satnav in the car. I really don't like having to use a windscreen mounted phone for navigation - it just looks wrong in my opinion.
So I started looking for ways to retrofit the OEM satnav system, but DanMiddle2 posted up his Tablet integration project, and I had to jump straight onto that idea!
Whilst it's still not 100% complete, I've got it all installed, working and looking completely OEM (enough to fool BMW technicians into thinking it was standard!)
After that, the next task was to allow me to use both the DICE MediaBridge AND the CD Changer at the same time.
This turned out to be a very easy task - by simply adding a switch to the IBus wire feeding both units, I was able to switch between the two on the fly!
The harder task was to code a Raspberry Pi to listen in on the IBus, listening for a specific button press to enable me to switch between the two devices without actually having to add a new, non-oem button!
This took quite a while to work out, but once I cracked the ibus magic code, it was fairly straightforward and extremely satisfying!
More recently, I've finally upgraded to the facelift front bumper, //M rear bumper, MM Quad Exhaust & facelift rear lights.
I've also got a set of Eibach Pro springs arriving at some point this week, and a Seat Leon Cupra R front splitter that's getting attached tonight.
Also, with the recent death of my soft-top motor, I got hold of a carbon-wrapped hard top that I'm very pleased with.
which goes nicely with the carbon roundels:
Finally, last weekend I ripped out the DSP amplifier and wiring, as the original amp had suffered from water ingress and I was getting very frustrated with trying to get a replacement amp to work properly:
However, my journey hasn't exactly been smooth sailing with Winston :thumbsdown:
Some of the major issues I've had were:
In regards to meets, I've been on a couple of the welsh drives, and also took part in the very first National meet up in the Lake District.
I've also driven around the country to meet individual members, most of which grew into good friends.
This forum is now the only forum I use, and I find it enjoyable and definitely invaluable.
The wealth of knowledge and experience on here is second to none and I know for sure it's helped me out time and time again.
I do try and contribute back where I can, and will continue to do so.
so, wrapping up, I bought the car with just under 18k on the clock, and this is today:
Here's to another 3000 posts, five years, and another 100,000 miles
I first got "Winston" back in October 2009.
I actually had my heart set on a S2000, but when I went to pay for and pick up the Honda, it was parked up next to a very shiny looking Z4.
Initially, I had ruled out the Zed, putting it down in the same category as the z3 (Girly hairdressers car, with no real soul - just my opinion, not really backed up by anything). But after speaking to the dealer about it, she convinced me to at least give it a test drive. It was priced the same as the s2000, so it wasn't as if she was trying to up-sell me, so I gave it a go.
Within ten minutes I was sold on the way the car drove and handled. It seemed to me to be a better experience than the S2000, and although it's basically the same on paper, the Zed seemed faster and had better power delivery.
We then talked about the car in more detail and I learned that it was pretty much fully loaded:
- Xenons
- Auto-dimming, heated mirrors
- Electric, heated, memory seats
- 18" alloys
- CD changer
- Carver TOP-Hifi
- Additional Storage
- Cup holders
- Fog Lights
- Proper wind deflector
- Sports Pack
- Automatic Air-Con
- Chrome Line interior
- Rain Sensor
- Automatic Lights
- Alarm
I luckily changed my mind on the S2000 and went home to find out more on the Z4 (which lead me to here).
A few weeks later, I bought the Zed and my journey to five stars began!
Now I've always been a bit of a tinkerer when it comes to cars.
I've modified pretty much every one I've owned (some to a ridiculous level!)... Winston wasn't going to be the exception!
The very first thing I did to my car was install Cruise Control.
A very simple mod, that required just the stalk to be purchased
Next up was a modification to the rain sensor.
I often left the roof down whilst parked up at work, which could cause a problem in this UK climate...
I'd have to come running out to put the roof up when it started to rain!
So, with a bit of experimentation, I managed to get the roof to close whenever the car was off and the rain sensor detected rain.
It wasn't an ideal solution, as the rain sensor appears to use quite a bit of battery usage, so I ended up removing it again a few months later, but when it was in, it was great
I also got lucky and managed to get an //M tri-colour stitched MFSW wheel from here for a really decent price - so that beauty went straight on!
I then started to play around with the sound system!
I really wanted to connect up my iPod to the car, but didn't have bluetooth and didn't want to loose the CD changer either, so I looked into adding an aux cable.
After seeing the stupid prices these were being sold for, I decided to make my own.. and thus make my first "HOWTO" thread here
Next was addressing the lack of satnav in the car. I really don't like having to use a windscreen mounted phone for navigation - it just looks wrong in my opinion.
So I started looking for ways to retrofit the OEM satnav system, but DanMiddle2 posted up his Tablet integration project, and I had to jump straight onto that idea!
Whilst it's still not 100% complete, I've got it all installed, working and looking completely OEM (enough to fool BMW technicians into thinking it was standard!)
After that, the next task was to allow me to use both the DICE MediaBridge AND the CD Changer at the same time.
This turned out to be a very easy task - by simply adding a switch to the IBus wire feeding both units, I was able to switch between the two on the fly!
The harder task was to code a Raspberry Pi to listen in on the IBus, listening for a specific button press to enable me to switch between the two devices without actually having to add a new, non-oem button!
This took quite a while to work out, but once I cracked the ibus magic code, it was fairly straightforward and extremely satisfying!
More recently, I've finally upgraded to the facelift front bumper, //M rear bumper, MM Quad Exhaust & facelift rear lights.
I've also got a set of Eibach Pro springs arriving at some point this week, and a Seat Leon Cupra R front splitter that's getting attached tonight.
Also, with the recent death of my soft-top motor, I got hold of a carbon-wrapped hard top that I'm very pleased with.
which goes nicely with the carbon roundels:
Finally, last weekend I ripped out the DSP amplifier and wiring, as the original amp had suffered from water ingress and I was getting very frustrated with trying to get a replacement amp to work properly:
However, my journey hasn't exactly been smooth sailing with Winston :thumbsdown:
Some of the major issues I've had were:
- Driving over an unmarked, hidden trench across the road, literally destroying the suspension on all four corners
- Having the car drop off a workshop ramp, damaging various parts
- Waking up and finding the car stolen and the house broken into
- Roof motor dieing
- Very persistent airbag warning light
In regards to meets, I've been on a couple of the welsh drives, and also took part in the very first National meet up in the Lake District.
I've also driven around the country to meet individual members, most of which grew into good friends.
This forum is now the only forum I use, and I find it enjoyable and definitely invaluable.
The wealth of knowledge and experience on here is second to none and I know for sure it's helped me out time and time again.
I do try and contribute back where I can, and will continue to do so.
so, wrapping up, I bought the car with just under 18k on the clock, and this is today:
Here's to another 3000 posts, five years, and another 100,000 miles
Usa