Axel's Coupé - Trying to to ruin it...

[axelleveau]

As I was wondering how to do a proper introduction now that I have moved from “looking for a Zed” to “owner of a Zed”, I got inspired by Barty’s thread (which is awesome BTW) and decided to do a kind of story/blog. It will likely be the best way for me to ask questions that come up as I discover the car and for interested people to follow the build if interested. I am not very much into writing and forums, but I’ll try to keep this running to have a recording of what I do with the car.

A bit of introduction
As my forum name suggests, I am Axel. 26 years old French guy living in the UK, working as an engineer on future powertrains for Jaguar Land Rover, married to a lovely wife, no kids. I discovered and fell in love with the Z4 Coupé as an colleague of mine owned one. The reason is simple: I am attracted to light, sporty, driver first cars. As it was time to replace my trusty 1.0L turbo Fiesta which I brought from France and drove in the UK for way too long, the Coupé seemed perfect for a daily driver. I found the one in a forum ad a couple of weeks ago and it is now on my drive!

About the car
It’s a 2007 Z4 3.0Si Sport Coupé, Manual, Montego Blue.
She currently has 103k miles with a good service history. She is sitting on 19inch BBS CH003 Wheels. The tires are Michelin Pilot Super Sport with 265/35R19 rear and 235/35R19 fronts, I like the meaty look of the oversized rears and the ride still is smooth on stock sport suspension.
She has a two tone black/white interior which I had never seen before, with leather dash, not the full extended leather option. I like that it gives a sportier/modern look over the beige/black interiors.




Other options: 10 speakers audio system, Blacked out rear windows, Sports seats with memory and Sport Multi-Functional Steering Wheel, Aux in., Cruise Control, Alarm, Auto AC, Bi-Xenon, Cup Holders in working order, Stubby Aerial, CDV delete, De-badged, Sound Generator Foam Delete, ZHP Gear Lever (a bit tuff for a first right hand drive experience but nice once used to it)

 

[axelleveau]

Early feedback:
It took me some time to find a good seat position (and still have some work to do) so I can see over the bonnet, not have my face in the roof or view blocked by the mirror while also not having my knees in the steering. I think I need to lower the seat but have a more upright position. Other than that, it is hard not to be in love. The engine behavior and sound are brilliant, car is very comfortable but gives a lot of fedback and is dynamic. I did not have a chance to push it yet but that will come eventually. My wife is also happy with it, her life is easier for getting in/out as her seat is all the way back and she is pretty small. She has to be warned before I get the rear end sliding though

 

[TheDan]

Welcome Axel!

I am also an engineer at Jaguar Land Rover and am based in Warwick if you ever need any Z4 help and are local.

The car looks fantastic! I love the colour as well as the rather unique black and white interior (not seen one in that combination before).

Keep us updated as we love to hear all things Z4

 

[Mr Tidy]

Welcome to Coupe ownership.

They are great cars, and I really like your interior although wrapping the silver door handles sounds like a good idea.

Hopefully using your car will put some charge back into your keys, although I have read that sitting them next to a toothbrush charger can rstore some life to them.

Good luck getting your car exactly as you want it.

 

[Ed Doe]

Welcome! Your friend didn't happen to work for JLR also? French chap called Kevin?

 

[Barty]

Welcome Axel, what a lovely Zed you’ve got! 8)
The two-tone leather is really nice, something I quite liked in my first white coupe. The leather dash especially is a nice touch! The blue just pops on the coupe as well.

You say you’re not into writing but it’s a joy to read. Thanks for the kind words in your opening by the way! Looking forward to your experiences, changes and modifications

 

[axelleveau]

Welcome Axel!

I am also an engineer at Jaguar Land Rover and am based in Warwick if you ever need any Z4 help and are local.

The car looks fantastic! I love the colour as well as the rather unique black and white interior (not seen one in that combination before).

Keep us updated as we love to hear all things Z4

Thanks for the support! I have seen another Coupe looking almost exactly like mine (even same aftermarket wheels) while in Gaydon recently. I'll probably try to park next to it one day :rofl:

Welcome to Coupe ownership.

They are great cars, and I really like your interior although wrapping the silver door handles sounds like a good idea.

Hopefully using your car will put some charge back into your keys, although I have read that sitting them next to a toothbrush charger can rstore some life to them.

Good luck getting your car exactly as you want it.

It is mainly the mix of piano black, rough black and silver which triggers me. It will also be a good opportunity to refresh the steering wheel as it shows usual signs of age around the button.

I tried the tootbrush charger but I am afraid the one I have either don't activate or not at the proper frequency or something. But yes using them helps, the weakest one now gets locking for one or two uses after a short drive.

Welcome! Your friend didn't happen to work for JLR also? French chap called Kevin?

Sorry, I do not know a french Kevin currently in JLR. Unfortunately my colleague who introduced me to Zeds had to sell his and has since had to leave the company in the early Covid days...

Welcome Axel, what a lovely Zed you’ve got! 8)
The two-tone leather is really nice, something I quite liked in my first white coupe. The leather dash especially is a nice touch! The blue just pops on the coupe as well.

You say you’re not into writing but it’s a joy to read. Thanks for the kind words in your opening by the way! Looking forward to your experiences, changes and modifications

I agree about the blue. I like all colors but feel like the blue gives the most details... Well, ignoring green but it sounds like you found the only one ever made I guess I would probably also go into a "classier" rather than "sporty" look with a green one like you do with the dark brown interior

 

[Mr Tidy]

I agree about the blue.

So do I! My 2nd E86 was Montego Blue with Pearl Grey leather and Cirrus Aluminium trim which just worked so well.

Although Barty's green one looks stunning too!

 

[DaveD]

Another Warwick coupe owner here. Will look out for you!

 

[Calps]

Welcome Alex!

Sounds like you've got yourself and nice project to work on. I'll echo what others have said, I really like the blue exterior colour, it's fab. The interior is great as well, although I'm just as triggered as you are about the silver/piano/leather combo! I'm considering whether to wrap some of my interior trim, so will be watching your progress closely :wink:

 

[Z450]

Lovely looking car Axel look forward to seeing the updates

 

[axelleveau]

Thanks all for the warm welcome!

I ordered the vinyl for the interior wrap yesterday. I got 3M 2080 CFS12, a 152*50cm piece was just under £50 with shipping so pretty happy with that. I picked this one as I expect it should be the best balance between a stylish matt carbon weave and a realistic glossy resin carbon. I will definitely do a report on how things go with that once I get to it. I expect most small pieces to be easy and the gearbox surround to be a pain. Not sure about the steering wheel yet, it might be possible to do it without taking it appart.

I also just ran the VIN into Bimmer.Work and have the full list of options, it is pretty much aligned with what I knew already but it is always good to have it written down:

 

[Roberltd2]

What is "8SP Cop Control"? Sounds like a useful option

 

[Vanne]

i love those seats they look flash!

 

[axelleveau]

Here is a bit of an update after almost two weeks with the car:
-Keys seem to have life back in them. One still does not always lock but it is improving
-I did my first longer drive with the car going from Coventry to Leicester yesterday, the first 3rd gear pull from 2000 to red line was so good! Also, I really like the speed regulator.
-I received boot struts and carbon vinyl today, here are a few pictures:

Took a few minutes to replace, I did clean the ball joints but did not add any grease as the new struts had some pre-applied and I red online it was sufficient. It does not make the boot lift a little more as soon as unlocked, which I was hoping it would do, but it does at least make lifting it really easy and picks it all the way up in one go which is convenient when holding bags or else.



I am happy with the carbon vinyl looks. I am slightly surprised as it is not as glossy as I thought and it has some texture to it instead of being "smooth" but I think that for interior application it will be better this way. I do not think I will have time to apply it before the end of the holiday though as I started some work on the bike while waiting for this to arrive and will have to finish first.

What is "8SP Cop Control"? Sounds like a useful option

You got me curious and after some research it appears it is likely "Conformity of Produciton" which means the car meets laws of the country it is sold into... not as interesting as a way to dodge speed cameras I guess... :thumbsdown:

 

[Roberltd2]

I did some digging around on the interweb as well and a couple of googles suggested "Coils On Plugs" which kind of makes sense except I thought the coil on plugs was an integral part of the engine design rather than a customers package option. So Conformity of Production does make more sense for sure.
Thanks, and a Happy New Year to you.
Robert

 

[axelleveau]

I am getting familiar with the car again after having her parked for a few weeks while doing pump, thermostat and expansion tank: And I'l still in love :driving:

Also done this week:
-Replaced the spring loaded hood bumpers
-Replaced one of the adjustable trunk bumpers, especially as it was letting water in as it acts as a plug in the water gutter than runs on each side of the trunk lid on E86s
-Took battery out and did a bit of a clean at the bottom of the box as an old battery had leaked
-Used NCS Expert + Dummy to code L/100km unit on consumption, automatic door lock when moving and mirror tilt in reverse: not happy about the door lock as I need to pull handles twices to get out and it does not reopen all doors at once. Also mirror tilt not working, will investigate more tomorrow
-Cleared all the tools and things stored under the trunk as I ordered a tyre repair kit and a compressor for peace of mind and will need storage space

 

[axelleveau]

Mixed feelings...

Painted my foglights black as they had the dreaded condensation issue and it feels like the cheapest and cleanest option right now as new ones would fail eventually and I am never using them.



Then noticed a front wheel did not like its encounter with a pot hole last week... Luckily I cannot feel any vibration or steering movement so I'll wait until it is convenient for me to get it fixed :thumbsdown:

 

[Mr Tidy]

Mixed feelings...

Painted my foglights black as they had the dreaded condensation issue and it feels like the cheapest and cleanest option right now as new ones would fail eventually and I am never using them.

Those foglights are one of the less successful features of the facelift. :thumbsdown:

I think you can buy blanking plates for them - but thankfully the M doesn't have them!

That's a b*mmer about your wheel - I hope you can get it straightened.

 

[Barty]

Blanking plates should fix that, though the black works nicely too. Have them painted to match and you’ll never have to look at those failed foglights again