I am new to this forum.

R

R.E.O. Speedwagon

Member
Hi. I have just bought myself a Z4. Love it. What a great car. My girlfriend and I went splits on it. She also has a work van and I have a VW Polo which I use for work (driving into London). We went to the BMW show at the Heritage museum yesterday. It was a great day out. It was a shame we did not see more Z4's but hey ho. I bought a Storm V1 gear knob. What an excellent upgrade. The other one looked a bit understated and underweight. The car shifts much better now, especially in 1st and 2nd. I have also bought a stubby aerial. The wheels on it are cool 18's and for stock wheels are cool. I like the factory look on car and will not be doing any Fast and Furious type stuff. Saying this I am concerned about how it drives on the motorway / at higher speeds. I have got some reservations about the feel of run flats. These might have to come off the car very soon. Also I have a question for you guys... Can anyone tell me if the have just upgraded the Business CD player to a Kenwood / Alpine and still used the speakers that come with the car. I did this with my Polo and it improved the sound probably by double. Better clarity, bass response and loudness. Does this work on the Z4 or do I have to rip out the speakers too, to improve the system. I have had a look online and I can live with changing the look in the cabin from stock with the stereo as long as it is colour coded and does not look like the main strip at Vegas. I have read other posts but would really appreciate some feedback on this specific question, if possible. Thanks in advance.
 
Welcome!!
I got rid of the run-flats the first chance I had, the standard RFTs are completely terrible and ruin the driving experience IMHO. But some members here say that newer generation of RFTs are much better.

Anyways, enjoy your new car! :driving:
 
Hi and welcome.

A few have changed the head unit, the only thing I would say is keep the original one for when you come to sell as it will always look better than after market (in the Z4 anyway)
 
srhutch said:
Hi and welcome.

A few have changed the head unit, the only thing I would say is keep the original one for when you come to sell as it will always look better than after market (in the Z4 anyway)
Click to expand...
Yes that is a good idea. My old gear knob is going in the bin though. Thanks for your reply
I got rid of the run-flats the first chance I had, the standard RFTs are completely terrible and ruin the driving experience IMHO.
Click to expand...

Thanks. I had a feeling about this. It seems a bit to jerky under speed and a little bumpy. I was talking to a tyre manufacturer at the weekend car show and he says BMW put RFT's on it to save money. I am not sure that is true but I suppose it could be. It def detracts from the Ultimate Driving Machine moto?

Apart from this has anyone got speakers fitted in the space behind the seats? I saw a Aplina at the weekend with a Clarion 3 way speaker fitted into that area.

BTW it is good to get replies so quick. Great forum :D :ilz4f:
 
Can't imagine it was a cost saving initiative unless it was about a spare. RFTs are more expensive than non-RFTs.

But...and its a big but cos I'm about to shoot myself down LOL..... then we underestimate what manufacturers do.

An uncle of mine used to be (I'm embarrassed to admit) senior management at British Leyland and he told me that during the 1970s, if they managed to re-frig a design to save just a 2BA nut and bolt, they saved around half a million quid a year across the group. Put that in 2011 money and factor in the cost of a skinny tyre and space-saver rim and it starts to make sense......
 
Welcome- before u go after Market have a search in here of how to upgrade with oem radio parts- behind seat speakers hidden by grills, BMW amp etc
 
paddy wright said:
Welcome- before u go after Market have a search in here of how to upgrade with oem radio parts- behind seat speakers hidden by grills, BMW amp etc
Click to expand...

Deffo agree with this, as the CD multichanger / Amp upgrade option that came with mine can really kick out some quality volume
 
R.E.O. Speedwagon said:
Can anyone tell me if the have just upgraded the Business CD player to a Kenwood / Alpine and still used the speakers that come with the car.
Click to expand...

If your goal is better sound quality, the opposite is usually much more cost effective: keep the head unit and upgrade the speakers. BSW sells a set of drop-in replacements, as well as additions, http://www.bavariansoundwerks.com/ although they are expensive. Most audio experts say to spend the most money on the speakers. A head unit change is usually only recommended if you want different functionality. If you go that route, be sure to get an adapter to use the steering wheel buttons (if you have those).
 
Welcome- before u go after Market have a search in here of how to upgrade with oem radio parts- behind seat speakers hidden by grills, BMW amp etc
Click to expand...
This might have to be the route I will take with this. I like the classy look. The thing is I am a sound engineer and quality does bother me. Maybe I should speak to a local stealer. I just like my wages staying in my pocket and they seem to disappear when I walk through a main dealers doors.

Thanks Edgreen http://www.bavariansoundwerks.com/looks like a cool company but they are based in America. I could do with speaking to a UK based BMW Audio expert. BTW I dont want booming bass just balanced clarity with a decent amount of volume so when the hood is down I can hear my fav Justin bieber tracks (sorry joke I mean Britney Spears).

You might think that being a sound engineer i would have the answers myself but without testing the speakers with a new head or the original head with new speakers it is very hard for me to tell what could be my cheapest route to getting better sound. Also I do like the stock look as much as possible.

I will get some pictures of my car up when we have a sunny day. I took some at the weekend but black cars look not so cool in bad light on camera. Maybe I am a fussy proud dad and only want to show her in the best light :-))

Thanks for the replies peeps
 
here she is...
dsc0283f.jpg


Thanks for the greetings :-)
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom