Hi from a Newbie also.. What Mods??

C

coupedan

Member
 West Berkshire
Evening all,

I've had my Zed for nearly a year now but I'm a newbie to this forum.

I own a Z4 Coupe 3.0si, I use it as my daily probably around 350 to 400 miles a week in it!

As it stands, it's still in warranty with BMW - only purchased it last April but still has another year (Purchased with 2yrs).

I want to make a few subtle changes to the way the Zed sounds, rides and looks.. these are what I had in mind:

1. Suspension Upgrade
2. Wheel Upgrade
3. Brake Upgrade - Although this is not that important as I do very, very few track days, mainly fast road and commuting.
4. Exhaust Upgrade
5. Bush / Mount Upgrade.

So my questions are these:

1. Where do I stand with these modifications and BMW Warranty? (AUE.. is that the correct term?)
2. What suspension do you guys recommend for the Zed (I had a E36 previously running H&R Cup kit - which I felt was a bit too firm for a daily)
3. Brake upgrade - Is the M conversion worth the money for the type of use?
4. What Exhaust - I love the way it sounds now, I just want to somehow amplify it, but not change it.. also note I don't want the quad set up.
5. I was thinking about polybushing all round (Powerflex) also doing something with the transmission / driveline mounts as I feel the Gbox moves around a bit too much for my liking - What do you guys reckon, has there been any improvements on this?

I will be most grateful for any advise you give and I look forward to hearing from you.

Sorry if a similar thread has been started but I could only find what people are doing, not what they recommend :?

Cheers guys!! :thumbsup:
 
Hi and welcome from a fellow newbie!

Glad to hear you use it daily! I can't help with your mods either but very keen to see the advice too.

Looking at some of the mods I suspect they would invalidate the warranty? I'm no expert but any variation from factory spec would give BMW an excuse not to pay! I have had good experiences with the AUC warranty but my cars have always been stock.

Paul
 
Hi and welcome,

I have a 3.0si too... I modified the standard backbox as an exhaust upgrade. Very pleased with the results, OE look, a bit more growl... and the OE exhaust is good quality - hard to beat with an aftermarket I would have thought.

Aside from that, I think fitting an LSD is next for me.... I believe that will make more difference than a suspension updgrade. Interested to see how you get on though.

Dan
 
Hi coupedan

Welcome! I'm new with a z4c too.

I had the front control arm rear bushes changed under AUC (approved used car) last year. I considered paying myself for Powerflex, but read that they can be very harsh on the m sport suspension vs the hydraulic filled OEM bushes, esp on the potholes where I am. How much of that is down to the rft potenzas I'm not sure, but plenty of people went down the Powerflex route. Hopefully they have experience of bush and tyre combos.

As far as the Dealer experience goes, it seems to vary based on how good the Dealer is. 60000 miles seems to be a magic number for getting warranty work done over wear and tear, and the dealer will look for any excuse to charge for work. I nearly got stung on a new xenon until I read this forum! I have no mods, so not sure what the view is. Maybe call a dealer and have an open chat, with no reg details divulged.

Enjoy the coupe!
 
Welcome to the forum Dan
Sorry can't help with your questions :( but remember we do love to see some pics :thumbsup:
 
Thanks for the replies, is appreciated!

Danmiddle2 - What did you do to your standard back box? did you just take out some of the baffling that's in there?

I was playing with the LSD idea also, were you thinking M diff of aftermarket?

I had no idea that the bushes were hydraulically filled, I presumed they were of a similar design to my E36 which are pretty sh***y rubber ones which tore after a year!!

Yeah I noticed that the dealer is starting to try and charge for things (hit 60,000 last week), it was in for a winter check recently to which they said they couldn't get the bonnet latch to release, so said I'd book it in under warranty, they said it's not covered due to corrosion, I took the car home and got in there with a bit of a pull.. put some grease on and jobs a good'un, will keep an eye and probably source one myself if it gets too bad.

I need to upload some pics, haven't got any handy as on a new laptop and the weather has been S**t recently :headbang:

Again, thanks for the replies :thumbsup:
 
1. Where do I stand with these modifications and BMW Warranty? (AUE.. is that the correct term?)

Mods void warranty as far as I know, if however you're savvy with a spanner, you can put everything back to factory spec before it goes to them (for any warranty work)

2. What suspension do you guys recommend for the Zed (I had a E36 previously running H&R Cup kit - which I felt was a bit too firm for a daily)

I'm running the kw v2's. Down to your budget I guess, most just opt for springs. Ride is firm, but after several months of tweaking, got it to where I'm really happy with it)

3. Brake upgrade - Is the M conversion worth the money for the type of use?

I personally think the current setup for fast road is sufficient, perhaps a disc/pad upgrade first and go from there?

4. What Exhaust - I love the way it sounds now, I just want to somehow amplify it, but not change it.. also note I don't want the quad set up.

Consider a custom backbox? probably your cheapest option. Some have bypass pipes on their oem backbox, others have deleted it completely, I'm yet to do an exhaust mod (and probably won't now given I've picked up a new project car)

5. I was thinking about polybushing all round (Powerflex) also doing something with the transmission / driveline mounts as I feel the Gbox moves around a bit too much for my liking - What do you guys reckon, has there been any improvements on this?

Most that cite improvements after switching to polybushes compare their worn rubber ones to brand new bushes, having spoken at great length with some hardcore bmw nuts, they all only swear by OEM rubber bushes, especially for daily driving.


Lastly, welcome, and I hope it was of some help to you!
 
coupedan said:
Thanks for the replies, is appreciated!

Danmiddle2 - What did you do to your standard back box? did you just take out some of the baffling that's in there?
Click to expand...

A friend of mine did it for me - basically, he cut open the backbox, and re-routed the internal pipes to provide a straight-through inside the original backbox, if that makes sense?

http://www.z4-forum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=56358

coupedan said:
I was playing with the LSD idea also, were you thinking M diff of aftermarket?
Click to expand...

I am undecided at the moment - originally thinking of aftermarket, but there is a good thread on here about fitting one from an M3. TBH, it's a moot point until I've saved some pennies anyway.

coupedan said:
I had no idea that the bushes were hydraulically filled, I presumed they were of a similar design to my E36 which are pretty sh***y rubber ones which tore after a year!!
Click to expand...

I have read a few people have been disappointed with changing this on the Z. Can't really remember the details (helpful, I know!)
 
danmiddle2 said:
coupedan said:
Thanks for the replies, is appreciated!

Danmiddle2 - What did you do to your standard back box? did you just take out some of the baffling that's in there?
Click to expand...
Click to expand...

A friend of mine did it for me - basically, he cut open the backbox, and re-routed the internal pipes to provide a straight-through inside the original backbox, if that makes sense?

http://www.z4-forum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=56358

Read through your thread.. I suppose finding someone that's going to be a good at welding is the issue.
Do you have any sound clips of what it sounded like after? Does it crackle and bang on over-run?
 
coupedan said:
danmiddle2 said:
coupedan said:
Thanks for the replies, is appreciated!

Danmiddle2 - What did you do to your standard back box? did you just take out some of the baffling that's in there?
Click to expand...
Click to expand...

A friend of mine did it for me - basically, he cut open the backbox, and re-routed the internal pipes to provide a straight-through inside the original backbox, if that makes sense?

http://www.z4-forum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=56358

Read through your thread.. I suppose finding someone that's going to be a good at welding is the issue.
Do you have any sound clips of what it sounded like after? Does it crackle and bang on over-run?
Click to expand...

Yes good welding (i.e. not mine...) is key - you wouldn't want it to leak. I've since gone through a fresh MOT and the tester was extremely complimentary about it.

It does crackle and pop a little on the over-run, but not like a WRC car....

No sound clips, I'm afraid - but I'll see if I can do one soon.
 
Hi and welcome. Warranty would only be void if the mods can be proved to have caused the issue. If you replace the brakes with a BBK then of course they aren't going to help if you have an issue relating pads and discs etc.
 
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