The early Z4s had a couple of problems that have been discussed at length in this forum. One is the harshness of the ride with the runflat tires and the second is a slow 1-2 upshift. Our '03 suffered from both of them.
This spring we replaced our stock runflats with non-runflat Michelin PS2's. As has been written many times before, the car was transformed. It is now much more comfortable to drive on our frost damaged northern roads. I carry a "mobility kit" in the trunk now.
The problem with the 1-2 upshift is that if you use light pressure on the shifter, the synchros take enough time to spin the gears up that the engine RPM drops down to the point that when you let the clutch out you get a jerky shift and your passenger looks like a bobble head doll. Removing the CDV helped this situation, because that additional delay was taken out of the equation. Last week I went further and dumped the "lifetime" transmission fluid and replaced it with Red Line D4 ATF. I don't know what color the "lifetime" fluid was when it went in, but it came out black at 30,000 miles. With the Red Line fluid in the transmission, gentle pressure with two fingers is enough to do the 1-2 upshift quickly enough to catch the engine after about a 1000 RPM drop so that when you let the clutch out, the engine and road speeds are pretty well matched. No more bobble head!
The combination of a less harsh ride (we have the performace package so I never expected it to be cushy) and an easier, faster shifting transmission have made the car much more pleasant to drive.
Enjoy,
Bill
2003 3.0 6spd perf prem xenon
This spring we replaced our stock runflats with non-runflat Michelin PS2's. As has been written many times before, the car was transformed. It is now much more comfortable to drive on our frost damaged northern roads. I carry a "mobility kit" in the trunk now.
The problem with the 1-2 upshift is that if you use light pressure on the shifter, the synchros take enough time to spin the gears up that the engine RPM drops down to the point that when you let the clutch out you get a jerky shift and your passenger looks like a bobble head doll. Removing the CDV helped this situation, because that additional delay was taken out of the equation. Last week I went further and dumped the "lifetime" transmission fluid and replaced it with Red Line D4 ATF. I don't know what color the "lifetime" fluid was when it went in, but it came out black at 30,000 miles. With the Red Line fluid in the transmission, gentle pressure with two fingers is enough to do the 1-2 upshift quickly enough to catch the engine after about a 1000 RPM drop so that when you let the clutch out, the engine and road speeds are pretty well matched. No more bobble head!
The combination of a less harsh ride (we have the performace package so I never expected it to be cushy) and an easier, faster shifting transmission have made the car much more pleasant to drive.
Enjoy,
Bill
2003 3.0 6spd perf prem xenon
