A few bits and pieces and a trip to Spa - New Windscreen
- Thread starter Mikey_Boy
- Start date
Another quick update - I have fitted an Intravee. Disappointingly, the pictures don't show much, but I can vouch for two things:
1. It's a really impressive bit of kit - so good to be able to use an iPod in the car reliably and with OEM controls...
2. It's a bit of a pig to fit............!
Most of the work to install was from the back of the car, but don't underestimate how much trim needs to be removed inside the car to get the iPod cable though and disconnect the CD multi changer.
Here it is installed - lots of spare cable as the kit I bought from eBay came from an E39 M5...
And whilst I was there, I thought I might as well put in a bit of extra sound deadening:
More updates coming soon.........!
1. It's a really impressive bit of kit - so good to be able to use an iPod in the car reliably and with OEM controls...
2. It's a bit of a pig to fit............!
Most of the work to install was from the back of the car, but don't underestimate how much trim needs to be removed inside the car to get the iPod cable though and disconnect the CD multi changer.
Here it is installed - lots of spare cable as the kit I bought from eBay came from an E39 M5...
And whilst I was there, I thought I might as well put in a bit of extra sound deadening:
More updates coming soon.........!
Not seen this thread before, great read! Those Intrax are pure porn, lovely stuff!
Are you still doing trackdays I presume? Spa is on my list at some point, probably next year with all this COVID stuff still going on
Out of interest, how have the Bilstein PSS10's lasted? Purely for selfish reasons as I fitted some last year so be interested in a long term review!
Are you still doing trackdays I presume? Spa is on my list at some point, probably next year with all this COVID stuff still going on
Out of interest, how have the Bilstein PSS10's lasted? Purely for selfish reasons as I fitted some last year so be interested in a long term review!
Mikey_Boy said:Uh Oh - Look what the nice DHL man delivered this morning…
Oooh, :wub: top choice! I keep on persuading myself I don't need them and failing. The KW I have now aren't a patch on the 1k2 I had on the m3.
I see you went with ARC, supposed to be amazing, be keen to hear what you think of them. What did you have before? <edit> I remember now from spa, pss10. Both single adjusters for the bump/rebound, it's the way to go I think.
Did you weigh the car and all that jazz and send the info to Intrax?
TomK said:Mikey_Boy said:Uh Oh - Look what the nice DHL man delivered this morning…
Oooh, :wub: top choice! I keep on persuading myself I don't need them and failing. The KW I have now aren't a patch on the 1k2 I had on the m3.
I see you went with ARC, supposed to be amazing, be keen to hear what you think of them. What did you have before? <edit> I remember now from spa, pss10. Both single adjusters for the bump/rebound, it's the way to go I think.
Did you weigh the car and all that jazz and send the info to Intrax?
hey tom, always love to see your posts and feedback man,
Tell me what you don't like about the clubsports, i really get on with them, the car feels incredible with them on. i did however hit a jump , the car left the road landing slightly more one corner, the damper blew
id really like to try a pair like intrax , nitron etc for comparison .
One of my rear dampers started leaking at about 30-35k miles. I’m not sure if it was as a consequence of taking liberties over kerbs on track or from spending three months on a container ship potentially exposed to unusual forces in rough seas. Sourcing a replacement from a distance of 10000 miles during a pandemic was interesting (and expensive), but it was certainly quicker than shipping it to the UK, having it rebuilt in Germany, and then shipping it back to Aus.Beedub said:…i did however hit a jump , the car left the road landing slightly more one corner, the damper blew
Likewise. I wouldn't say I don't like them per se it's just that compared to the intrax they feel very much more a 1 trick pony, but then they are pretty much half the price so I'm not expecting them to be as good.Beedub said:hey tom, always love to see your posts and feedback man,
Tell me what you don't like about the clubsports, i really get on with them, the car feels incredible with them on. i did however hit a jump , the car left the road landing slightly more one corner, the damper blew
id really like to try a pair like intrax , nitron etc for comparison .
The intrax have a freakish ability to change from very compliant and controlled to something when wound up feels like the spring rate has changed, all the while being supple to impact strikes from curbs, pot holes etc. ARC (which I didn't have on my 1k2s) sounds amazing, have a read about it on their site. The KW in comparison can't (at least in my experience) match that level of damping, they always feel to me slightly 1 dimensional no matter how you adjust them.
Another big thing for me is that I am no chassis engineer and I find the separate bump and rebound adjustment just ultimately confusing (not to mention being far from easy to adjust). The intrax (like PSS10) have just one adjuster with preset bump/rebound settings, I've not tried the billies but with the intrax it always seemed to feel good throughout the 30 click range.
The build quality of intrax is also a big step up and they are also customised for your car and preference (so you can send them your usage profile, car weight, wheel weight and sizes and they will choose spring rates and valving accordingly for your shocks). Similarly the customer service with them is excellent, not what I would say about KW when one of my front's failed recently).
Nitron are supposed to be good, perhaps not as flexible as intrax from what I hear, but they are based in the Uk which makes it a bit easier perhaps for servicing.
I’ve got a bit of explaining to do…..! 
For some time I have been pondering selling the Z4M and getting a Porsche GT4. Issue being for me is that I don’t think the GT4 is actually worth the price, despite being a really excellent car. I’ve done my research, looked at some videos and read some threads on here too:
https://z4-forum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=9&t=111634&p=1611991&hilit=Porsche+GT4#p1611991
And then I had a bit of a breakthrough - if I can make the BMW about 85% as good as the Porsche for about 30% of the price, what’s not to like? I’ve done all the big ticket items like brakes and Recaro seats, carbon airbox (update to come) and gripper diff, plus, I *love* driving the Z4 both on track and road and it’s a rare car so I’m sticking with what I have.
So - why Intrax? Simply put, I’ve heard amazing things about their stuff and wanted to have the best suspension possible for the Z to have as much chance as possible to close the gap dynamically. Just to be clear, there is absolutely nothing wrong with the Bilstein suspension I have fitted - it’s one of the best improvements I’ve made to the car. It’s only fault being the low speed ride is a bit crashy, but once speed ramps up or on track, it has been excellent over the last 5 years.
Cost? With ARC, it’s the thick end of £4K….
And to answer Tom’s question - it’s fully bespoke. Gave the Intrax guys the vehicle weight, anti roll bar thickness, engine power, wheel diameter, tracks to be used, geometry, tyre type etc.
Really looking forward to getting this fitted….!!
For some time I have been pondering selling the Z4M and getting a Porsche GT4. Issue being for me is that I don’t think the GT4 is actually worth the price, despite being a really excellent car. I’ve done my research, looked at some videos and read some threads on here too:
https://z4-forum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=9&t=111634&p=1611991&hilit=Porsche+GT4#p1611991
And then I had a bit of a breakthrough - if I can make the BMW about 85% as good as the Porsche for about 30% of the price, what’s not to like? I’ve done all the big ticket items like brakes and Recaro seats, carbon airbox (update to come) and gripper diff, plus, I *love* driving the Z4 both on track and road and it’s a rare car so I’m sticking with what I have.
So - why Intrax? Simply put, I’ve heard amazing things about their stuff and wanted to have the best suspension possible for the Z to have as much chance as possible to close the gap dynamically. Just to be clear, there is absolutely nothing wrong with the Bilstein suspension I have fitted - it’s one of the best improvements I’ve made to the car. It’s only fault being the low speed ride is a bit crashy, but once speed ramps up or on track, it has been excellent over the last 5 years.
Cost? With ARC, it’s the thick end of £4K….
And to answer Tom’s question - it’s fully bespoke. Gave the Intrax guys the vehicle weight, anti roll bar thickness, engine power, wheel diameter, tracks to be used, geometry, tyre type etc.
Really looking forward to getting this fitted….!!
I’d love some intrax and got as far as exchanging a few mails with them a couple of years ago. Ultimately it was my job and potential relocation that put me off making any large suspension purchase. I also wondered if the pss10 wouldn’t be ‘almost’ as good for what I use the car for and save a nice chunk in the process. I’m still debating that!
Looking forward to seeing your upgrades (and the videos of you harassing gt4s) and how they improve the car. As much as I love the gt4, there’s something very satisfying about having a tweaked ‘underdog’ that’s as good or better than something 2-3 times the price.
Looking forward to seeing your upgrades (and the videos of you harassing gt4s) and how they improve the car. As much as I love the gt4, there’s something very satisfying about having a tweaked ‘underdog’ that’s as good or better than something 2-3 times the price.
TomK said:Likewise. I wouldn't say I don't like them per se it's just that compared to the intrax they feel very much more a 1 trick pony, but then they are pretty much half the price so I'm not expecting them to be as good.Beedub said:hey tom, always love to see your posts and feedback man,
Tell me what you don't like about the clubsports, i really get on with them, the car feels incredible with them on. i did however hit a jump , the car left the road landing slightly more one corner, the damper blew
id really like to try a pair like intrax , nitron etc for comparison .
The intrax have a freakish ability to change from very compliant and controlled to something when wound up feels like the spring rate has changed, all the while being supple to impact strikes from curbs, pot holes etc. ARC (which I didn't have on my 1k2s) sounds amazing, have a read about it on their site. The KW in comparison can't (at least in my experience) match that level of damping, they always feel to me slightly 1 dimensional no matter how you adjust them.
Another big thing for me is that I am no chassis engineer and I find the separate bump and rebound adjustment just ultimately confusing (not to mention being far from easy to adjust). The intrax (like PSS10) have just one adjuster with preset bump/rebound settings, I've not tried the billies but with the intrax it always seemed to feel good throughout the 30 click range.
The build quality of intrax is also a big step up and they are also customised for your car and preference (so you can send them your usage profile, car weight, wheel weight and sizes and they will choose spring rates and valving accordingly for your shocks). Similarly the customer service with them is excellent, not what I would say about KW when one of my front's failed recently).
Nitron are supposed to be good, perhaps not as flexible as intrax from what I hear, but they are based in the Uk which makes it a bit easier perhaps for servicing.
i concur with the adjustment its a real pain and abit of a put off... customer service i agree isn't the best and these aren't cheap stuff! 2.5k i believe in todays money.... now i find the damping pretty damn impressive and handling is so good, excellent feed back etc but then again i haven't had the luxury of comparing against the damper royalty like intrax . I would love to try a set... wonder if i can buy a set through work and claim it as wall art , lol! I need to do some research into the ARC but they clearly are a different class.
R.E the actual KW damper in hand they seem very good quality, and i loved the SS finish.
biggest complaint for me is defo the adjustment , total pita. They can get a little noisy once hot but that's to be expected with a track setup... the rear damper when it exploded made a mess that was unreal, never did i imagine those little external tanks could hold so much oil.... was cleaning it up for weeks :-(
Just found this thread (not surprising considering I don't come on here too often these days). Love the car Mikey! Whereabouts are you based?
I would be very curious to experience what the car rides like on track sometime with those Intrax fitted, as I'm a bit fed up with my KW Clubsports (I have to keep rebuilding the rears). Plus as Tom mentioned and hit the nail on the head above, I also find them a bit one-dimensional, and from what you say about the Intrax. I was happy 12 years ago, but as I've driven more modern cars with more modern suspension setups, I find what the Clubsports deliver now a bit limited. Without comparing specifics, it sounds similar to Ohlins Dual Flow Valve technology? But given Ohlins don't make Z4 M suspension....
I would be very curious to experience what the car rides like on track sometime with those Intrax fitted, as I'm a bit fed up with my KW Clubsports (I have to keep rebuilding the rears). Plus as Tom mentioned and hit the nail on the head above, I also find them a bit one-dimensional, and from what you say about the Intrax. I was happy 12 years ago, but as I've driven more modern cars with more modern suspension setups, I find what the Clubsports deliver now a bit limited. Without comparing specifics, it sounds similar to Ohlins Dual Flow Valve technology? But given Ohlins don't make Z4 M suspension....
