Are these Z4C front wheel arch liners iffy?

I

ionofchios

Member
Hi guys,

I’m looking at buying a 2007 Z4 Coupe 3.0si, European model. However, both front wheel arch liners seem to be a bit weird, and it looks like 2 cutouts have been made around where the liner meets the wheel arch, at the front, where the side indicators/lights are. Also, some of the fixing lugs nearby are missing or not in place.

Any idea why this might be? I assume this is not normal, right? The bumper, arches and bodywork all look pretty straight, and panel gaps are good. Owner says he doesn’t know why it’s like that.

Any thoughts? Am worried this is evidence of an accident or other bigger issue.

Suppose it could be that it now has a different bumper, or that some other bumper was on there temporarily and now the old one is back again.
 
It looks like the area that rubs when people use spacers etc. I wouldn't worry about it meaning the car's had an accident etc. It's hard to say from the photos but it looks like someone has actual made cut outs where they normally catch, rather than the wearing away when they rub that you normal see

Do you have any pictures that aren't so close up so we can see if it looks like it's running spacers or wheels with a non standard offset
 
they've rubbed through and someone has cut that bit away.......which looks very naff. id guess alot of people do this with the bigger, wider and lower offset wheels being used / or spacers. i Wonder how many cars on the forum if were to take a snap in this exact area would see the same damage, which for me would be unacceptable.
 
Good replies - thanks guys. That would make sense.

I don’t have any better pics at the moment, but I do have one of the wheels that are on it at the moment. Looks like the are standard BMW, but I wouldn’t really know if they are meant for the car or not. Dunno if it is possible to tell from this if it has spacers or anything odd going on.
 
New Liners are about £105 each side.

As what everyone else said really, Usually the result of wide wheels/Wrong offset or even wrong tire choice...
 
Those wheels are not meant for this car and a BMW centre cap doesn't mean it's a BMW wheel. Most likely replica CSL wheels with too low an offset which causes the rubbing. Zero point replacing the liners unless you change the wheels (assuming there isn't just a spacer you can remove.
 
Thanks. Yes, would not change liners until I’ve sorted the wheels out.

So, all in all, this sounds like a fairly minor issue, that I can sort out as part of the deal. I can repalce the liners and wheels myself.

Anyone got any advice on what to check for when buying a used Z4 that’s done 110,000 miles? I’ve read that the springs snap, but I guess that is fairly obvious if it has happened? I assume the engine should be fine at this mileage, but what about gearbox and clutch?
 
Take a look at his to start

http://www.z4-forum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=21281&hilit=Buyers+
 
Can anyone tell me if it is always obvious from a test drive if the rear springs are broken? If not, what’s the best way to check this? Getting bit paranoid after reading this forum :wink:

After I replace the front arch liners, I am planning on replacing the wheels with 18” X 8.5 225/40 fronts and 18” X 8.5 255/35 rears. Will this be fine from a clearance perspective on the front, or will I be grinding new holes in my new liners? Also, what is the correct offset (or, what is the acceptable range of offset), for 18” 8.5 rims on a Z4 Coupe 2007 3.0si?

Any advice much appreciated.
 
You should see the car sitting a bit lower one side if one spring has broken. Best to remove the rear wheels, easy to spot then. They are easy to change too.
 
ionofchios said:
Can anyone tell me if it is always obvious from a test drive if the rear springs are broken? If not, what’s the best way to check this? Getting bit paranoid after reading this forum :wink:

After I replace the front arch liners, I am planning on replacing the wheels with 18” X 8.5 225/40 fronts and 18” X 8.5 255/35 rears. Will this be fine from a clearance perspective on the front, or will I be grinding new holes in my new liners? Also, what is the correct offset (or, what is the acceptable range of offset), for 18” 8.5 rims on a Z4 Coupe 2007 3.0si?

Any advice much appreciated.
Click to expand...

The standard 18 " wheels are 8" at the front not 8.5" but are 8.5" at the back. The standard offset is 47 front and 50 rear. The tyre sizes you mentioned are the correct z4 spec so will be fine.
As for the rear springs. I wouldnt worry too much on this front. Suplex replacements which are a like for like swap for OEM stuff are only £35-40 each. They are dead easy to fit at home too.
 
MACK said:
ionofchios said:
Can anyone tell me if it is always obvious from a test drive if the rear springs are broken? If not, what’s the best way to check this? Getting bit paranoid after reading this forum :wink:

After I replace the front arch liners, I am planning on replacing the wheels with 18” X 8.5 225/40 fronts and 18” X 8.5 255/35 rears. Will this be fine from a clearance perspective on the front, or will I be grinding new holes in my new liners? Also, what is the correct offset (or, what is the acceptable range of offset), for 18” 8.5 rims on a Z4 Coupe 2007 3.0si?

Any advice much appreciated.
Click to expand...


The standard 18 " wheels are 8" at the front not 8.5" but are 8.5" at the back. The standard offset is 47 front and 50 rear. The tyre sizes you mentioned are the correct z4 spec so will be fine.
As for the rear springs. I wouldnt worry too much on this front. Suplex replacements which are a like for like swap for OEM stuff are only £35-40 each. They are dead easy to fit at home too.
Click to expand...

Thanks, guys.

With offset, is it that the greater the offset, the further inwards the wheels are? So, I should try to find options around the 45-50 range.

Does anyone know if 8.5" rims on the front are likely to cause issues? Several wheel sites are offering them as 'compatible options' for this car, even 18" X 8.5 X 42 offset, which would stick out a fair amount more than stock wheels, if I understand right.
 
ionofchios said:
MACK said:
ionofchios said:
Can anyone tell me if it is always obvious from a test drive if the rear springs are broken? If not, what’s the best way to check this? Getting bit paranoid after reading this forum :wink:

After I replace the front arch liners, I am planning on replacing the wheels with 18” X 8.5 225/40 fronts and 18” X 8.5 255/35 rears. Will this be fine from a clearance perspective on the front, or will I be grinding new holes in my new liners? Also, what is the correct offset (or, what is the acceptable range of offset), for 18” 8.5 rims on a Z4 Coupe 2007 3.0si?

Any advice much appreciated.
Click to expand...


The standard 18 " wheels are 8" at the front not 8.5" but are 8.5" at the back. The standard offset is 47 front and 50 rear. The tyre sizes you mentioned are the correct z4 spec so will be fine.
As for the rear springs. I wouldnt worry too much on this front. Suplex replacements which are a like for like swap for OEM stuff are only £35-40 each. They are dead easy to fit at home too.
Click to expand...

Thanks, guys.

With offset, is it that the greater the offset, the further inwards the wheels are? So, I should try to find options around the 45-50 range.

Does anyone know if 8.5" rims on the front are likely to cause issues? Several wheel sites are offering them as 'compatible options' for this car, even 18" X 8.5 X 42 offset, which would stick out a fair amount more than stock wheels, if I understand right.
Click to expand...

Yes it will fit i think. There are a few wheel gurus on here who will hopefully confirm this. Have you used a site called will they fit.com it's very useful. According to that a 8.5"et42 would poke out 14.5mm. A lot of folks run anything upto about 15mm spacers on the front with standard wheels. Although some do report occasional rubbing but most seem to be fine.
 
I'm on the limit of rubbing with 10mm spacers with the standard ET47 wheels. My car is lowered on Eibach springs and has about 1.4 degrees of camber. I also have uprated anti-roll bars. On the stiffest setting there was no rub but one down on the bars and it rubbed ever so slightly but has now worn a fraction off the liners so no more rubbing. Also depends how hard you drive as it only happened on very hard cornering.
 
Cheers! So, it sounds like I should be alright.

I dialed in the following to Will They Fit:

Old: 225/40 8" 18" 47 offset (stock BMW fronts, according to a previous post)
New: 225/40 8.5" 42 offset

It says the new wheels will stick out 11.4 mm more and will be 1.3 mm closer to the strut.

MACK, these figures are a bit different to yours. Am I doing something wrong?
 
BTW, I have no particular desire to put 8.5" rims on the front - I would be happy with 8s - it Is just that the rim sites I'm familiar with don't seem to have any rims that come in both 8.5 (which I do want for the rear) and 8. They also don't seem to have any rims with more than 42 offset. Maybe there's better places out there.
 
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