Ap bbk

[TomK]

oooh an s2k race car, now that WILL be fun!

I so very nearly bought an s2k instead of my first Zed Coupe. Undoubtedly the S2k was the better drivers car, a big part of me still wants one now. Race report once you're done please Tom!

I enjoyed it a lot I have to say, still rather drive mine but it's a good car for sure. We didn't fiddle around with anything since it raced last year with the previous owner. It felt a bit soft but since neither had driven it on track at all we were happy with this...
I'll post a race report (most likely copied from Dave) when I get it in the 'other marques' section of the forum I guess.
It was a great buzz and I can see myself diverting more funds from trackdays to this tbh. I'm sure the M is thankful of a breather

 

[insider]

Very nice, congrats!

 

[Ed Doe]

Great effort Tom!!

Did you get any in-car videos of the racing? Twist Dave's arm to bung them up too!

Have you managed to get any closer to diagnosing the ?electrical? issue you had with the M of late?

 

[TomK]

Cheers Ed, yeah we were pretty chuffed even if the result was buoyed by quite some attrition of the field. There's a vid coming I'm sure but it was a relatively lonely race so not that exciting I suspect.
Haven't looked at the electrical issue at all as my focus has been on diagnosing what is most likely a head gasket failure, but there are some straws I'm still clutching toI'm back with the car next week so will know more then...

 

[Ed Doe]

Haven't looked at the electrical issue at all as my focus has been on diagnosing what is most likely a head gasket failure, but there are some straws I'm still clutching toI'm back with the car next week so will know more then...

Nooo!! Oh I'll keep my fingers crossed too then! Strange if it was HG, I'd not heard of that being much of an issue on the Z4 with the S54 - speaking to Mr Vanos, he said the main issue was the Mapping on the E46M3 coupled with the cowling over the back-end of the engine that resulted in more frequent HG failure - neither of which the Zed has.

Keep us posted!

 

[TomK]

Nooo!! Oh I'll keep my fingers crossed too then! Strange if it was HG, I'd not heard of that being much of an issue on the Z4 with the S54 - speaking to Mr Vanos, he said the main issue was the Mapping on the E46M3 coupled with the cowling over the back-end of the engine that resulted in more frequent HG failure - neither of which the Zed has.

Keep us posted!

Thanks! It's an odd one as if it has failed it has failed in a very uncommon way for an S54 which would normally go between cylinders (usually 5-6 for the cowling reason you mention). Mine appears to have gone into a coolant passage, we shall see :roll:

 

[Ed Doe]

That does sound odd. Presumably the symptoms you're getting then are overpressurised coolant? Was the issue present at Donny the other day? (I hope it wasn't as your car disappeared down the road from mine at a rate of knots - if it had a poorly engine then it'll make me feel even worse :lol: )

 

[TomK]

Exactly that. All was fine at Donington, drove back to west London, no issues at all. Drive to clerkenwell the next day and it started overheating in traffic after about 15 mins. Fan's definitely working. Got it back OK after letting it cool for 5mins. Opened the expansion tank next day and coolant came straight out. Started the engine and drove 10 mins coolant light came on and top rad hose felt pretty pumped. Engine seems absolutely fine, no pinking or signs of smoke/steam. Opened expansion tank a week later and it's pretty much empty which may or may not be a good sign as it has always had a tiny loss and I haven't checked it for a good 6 months or so.
Having spoken with a few specialists a stuck thermostat is a distinct possibility, but I dunno, feel like HG more likely...

 

[Ed Doe]

Exactly that. All was fine at Donington, drove back to west London, no issues at all. Drive to clerkenwell the next day and it started overheating in traffic after about 15 mins. Fan's definitely working. Got it back OK after letting it cool for 5mins. Opened the expansion tank next day and coolant came straight out. Started the engine and drove 10 mins coolant light came on and top rad hose felt pretty pumped. Engine seems absolutely fine, no pinking or signs of smoke/steam. Opened expansion tank a week later and it's pretty much empty which may or may not be a good sign as it has always had a tiny loss and I haven't checked it for a good 6 months or so.
Having spoken with a few specialists a stuck thermostat is a distinct possibility, but I dunno, feel like HG more likely...

I mean it's certainly an odd one - you'd have expected a head gasket to present itself when roasting hot on track, or at the very least on the way home. Very odd for it to have started to cause issues the next day!

Best of luck with it, I do hope it's something cheap like the thermostat!

 

[TomK]

Exactly that. All was fine at Donington, drove back to west London, no issues at all. Drive to clerkenwell the next day and it started overheating in traffic after about 15 mins. Fan's definitely working. Got it back OK after letting it cool for 5mins. Opened the expansion tank next day and coolant came straight out. Started the engine and drove 10 mins coolant light came on and top rad hose felt pretty pumped. Engine seems absolutely fine, no pinking or signs of smoke/steam. Opened expansion tank a week later and it's pretty much empty which may or may not be a good sign as it has always had a tiny loss and I haven't checked it for a good 6 months or so.
Having spoken with a few specialists a stuck thermostat is a distinct possibility, but I dunno, feel like HG more likely...

I mean it's certainly an odd one - you'd have expected a head gasket to present itself when roasting hot on track, or at the very least on the way home. Very odd for it to have started to cause issues the next day!

Best of luck with it, I do hope it's something cheap like the thermostat!

I'm going to chuck a stat on it next week and check the water pump impellar is still in the game. I'm not one for throwing parts on something to try fix, but it's not the easiest to diagnose and I figure I would probably do all that anyway when my wallet takes a beating and the head comes off

 

[BMWZ4MC]

Sorry to hear that Tom. Interestingly, mine has started to overheat in traffic too. The first time was at the top of a slip road after a long, constant 70mph on the motorway. The amber temperature light came on until I moved off again. The next time was a few weeks later in heavy traffic and that time I briefly saw the red temperature warning light. Driving in little or no traffic, it behaves completely normally but the cooling fan seems to be working earlier and harder. In retrospect, the cooling fan might have been kicking in earlier than usual for several months now.
I’ve had one episode of very low coolant, but I too have had a slow leak for years and I assumed I simply forgot to top it up. Most concerning, the oil level is slightly high on the dipstick. However, the last oil change was done by a garage as a part of an Inspection service, so I cannot be sure that they didn’t overfill it.
I’ve been too busy with work to start investigating, but my thoughts are head gasket (unlikely since it was replaced 40k miles ago), thermostat (probable), water pump, or a damaged radiator from debris being thrown up on track days. I’ll probably start with a new thermostat and expansion tank and see if that fixes it.
I remember mmm-five writing that he’d had a ‘complete refresh of the cooling system’ during one of the many rounds of Trigger’s Broom work on his car, but I didn’t ask him at the time what precipitated that decision or what he replaced.

 

[TomK]

I’ve been too busy with work to start investigating, but my thoughts are head gasket (unlikely since it was replaced 40k miles ago), thermostat (probable), water pump, or a damaged radiator from debris being thrown up on track days. I’ll probably start with a new thermostat and expansion tank and see if that fixes it.

Well I appear to have dodged a bullet. I refilled the coolant and replaced the expansion tank cap, all seems resolved. No over pressurisation and I logged water temps at constant ~80c for half an hour or so. Working theory is that the reservoir got so low that I created an airlock. Of course the underlying issue of where the coolant is going is a concern but it's been like that for 7 years at least, I just need to check the level more often :headbang:
I hope your issue is something as simple as this Richard. I've just booked a trackday for monday to prove/disprove my theory, wish me luck

S2000 race here. I left a lot on the table compared to dave, but it is his car. Will try man up a bit for snetterton in a few weeks time![youtube]seZe3sRfX1I[/youtube]
And seeing as this thread is completely derailed by now a link to my rear interior. Any advice on trimming/fabrication welcome thanks.
https://z4-forum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=93757&p=2004113#p2004113

 

[TomK]

Well I'd call that a success! 300 miles completed, lots of 8k revs obtained and no sign of the poor s54 which must have got very hot being bothered at all Now my rod bearings will probably s**t their pants
Lesson learnt.. check your fluids
Here's some celebratory s54 goodness, the new 4.44 FD is hilarious, I'm not sure it is faster but it sure feels it.
[youtube]ZXyqAJjmlAI[/youtube]

 

[BMWZ4MC]

Excellent news, Tom. It’s great when a potential disaster turns out to be a simple and cheap problem to fix.
It’s winter here, and mine seems to have stopped overheating (for now). Interestingly, an Indy checked for error codes when I had it serviced recently and they found that the cooling fan is not working. They left the car running for a while and couldn’t provoke overheating or get the fan to activate (the ambient temperature was around 10C at the time).
I’ve bought an E60 cooling fan and shroud assembly for considerably less than the Z4-specific complete assembly and I’ll swap the new motor into my existing shroud when I have time. The motor is not available as a separate item, so this is the most cost effective way. This thread gave me the idea: https://z4-forum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=127626

Fingers crossed that will solve my problem. However, I have a clear memory of hearing the fan running whilst the car was overheating, so I’m suspicious the problem is as simple as a faulty fan.

Very entertaining videos, as always

 

[Rickmitch93]

I was close to pulling the trigger on some ap racing that came off a e46 m3. Will they not bolt striaght on to my car then?

 

[BMWZ4MC]

I was close to pulling the trigger on some ap racing that came off a e46 m3. Will they not bolt striaght on to my car then?

Shimming it with washers will make it fit (as above). Don't assume that will be the case for all E46 M3 BBKs though - the Alcon set up intended for the M3 and M3 CSL will not fit our cars.

 

[BMWZ4MC]

Excellent news, Tom. It’s great when a potential disaster turns out to be a simple and cheap problem to fix.
It’s winter here, and mine seems to have stopped overheating (for now). Interestingly, an Indy checked for error codes when I had it serviced recently and they found that the cooling fan is not working. They left the car running for a while and couldn’t provoke overheating or get the fan to activate (the ambient temperature was around 10C at the time).
I’ve bought an E60 cooling fan and shroud assembly for considerably less than the Z4-specific complete assembly and I’ll swap the new motor into my existing shroud when I have time. The motor is not available as a separate item, so this is the most cost effective way. This thread gave me the idea: https://z4-forum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=127626

Fingers crossed that will solve my problem. However, I have a clear memory of hearing the fan running whilst the car was overheating, so I’m suspicious the problem is as simple as a faulty fan.

Very entertaining videos, as always

Swapping the E60 cooling fan motor into the E86 ///M shroud was extremely easy and it's fixed my overheating issues. Having fixed my SRS warning light too recently, my Zed is unusually trouble free at present (except for the huge stone chip in the windscreen that will necessitate a replacement before the next registration safety check).

 

[Rickmitch93]

I was close to pulling the trigger on some ap racing that came off a e46 m3. Will they not bolt striaght on to my car then?

Shimming it with washers will make it fit (as above). Don't assume that will be the case for all E46 M3 BBKs though - the Alcon set up intended for the M3 and M3 CSL will not fit our cars.

Ah right I had no idea. I just assumed it would fit due to running e46 m3 front callipers, csl discs. Learn something new every day lol. Is it safe to use washers?

 

[BMWZ4MC]

Mine have survived lots of heavy track use in ambient temps of up to 35C without any problems.

 

[Mr Tidy]

I’ve bought an E60 cooling fan and shroud assembly for considerably less than the Z4-specific complete assembly and I’ll swap the new motor into my existing shroud when I have time. The motor is not available as a separate item, so this is the most cost effective way. This thread gave me the idea: viewtopic.php?t=127626

I wish I had read that before I had a new fan fitted to my car last year!