Is this a normal bumper to bonnet gap?

[Babw]

Strange question considering I've owned the car for 7 years but it's been in the garage for best part of a year and just before it was put into storage I had a front end respray with ceramic coating.

I'm wondering whether the bonnet was removed as well as the bumper which needs a bit of realignment. I also had the bumper off some new headlight parts.

From what I understand the headlight position can be tweaked but can the bumper too?

 

[SiJar]

It looks pretty normal to me. I must say that the Z4 panel gaps are not the best I’ve seen and probably the worst of any BMW in my mind, however I still love the cars.

 

[Mr Tidy]

That didn't look excessive to me either.

But now I think mine might be. :roll:

I just went out and measured the gap and it's between 7 & 8mm all the way across.

 

[Cribert]

Yeah the front bumpers on them doesn’t sit well at all. I think it’s due to the length of the bonnet. Noticed it on a few

 

[1536Z4]

Yes I thought the same with mine and checked to see if anything was loose but then noticed on other photos that it seems to be how they are . Definitely not my favorite looking part of the car .

 

[2k35is]

Mines just over 4mm ( measured with a shank of a drill)and by same method a 4.5mm drill wont fit in anywhere along the opening, pretty good in my opinion but its not so good on the shutline behind the nearside wheel-offside looks ok.
However if I was lookin at original posters car it would be the finish that I would notice. What wax/polish have you used looks superb

 

[PDJ]

To see if you can improve it just open the bonnet and there are around 7 screws, loosen these a little and see if the bonnet will push back a bit tighten screws and check with the bonnet closed

 

[PDJ]

 

[1536Z4]

To see if you can improve it just open the bonnet and there are around 7 screws, loosen these a little and see if the bonnet will push back a bit tighten screws and check with the bonnet closed

Hi PDJ and thanks for the advice . I have just done this and there was some movement backwards but there is still a 8 mm gap across most of the front the same as Mr Tidy . The bonnet seems to line up properly elsewhere so don`t think it is a problem there . Have got to take front off later in the year so will see if anything changes when I refit it . It is one of those things that once you notice it you cant stop noticing it :x

 

[Babw]

Mine seems to be an even 6mm all around.

I've ordered some new arch liner clips so will give it a go at adjusting and making the headlights gaps nice and even the next bank holiday weekend.

 

[Beedub]

Mine has a cave like gap.

 

[Babw]

As normal I had to take it a step further and order the clips that attach to the wings and the bumper clips into.

Anyone have an easy way to remove the old ones? I don't fancy using a dremel, tin snips etc.

 

[XMetal]

As normal I had to take it a step further and order the clips that attach to the wings and the bumper clips into.

Anyone have an easy way to remove the old ones? I don't fancy using a dremel, tin snips etc.

Unfortunately, I have to resort to all types of tools to take these suckers out. Ended up coming out in pieces

 

[1536Z4]

Mine has a cave like gap.

and for good reason

 

[mr wilks]

Discussed so many times at drives / meets . You can have a car park full of E85 E86 , many have had bumpers off for various reasons , many haven't , the gap lines vary wildly not just bonnet to bumper , bonnet to wing can also be totally different between 2 cars that are totally original .
As "Sijar" points out panel fit on E85 E86 isn't that great muck improved on the E89s

 

[Babw]

As normal I had to take it a step further and order the clips that attach to the wings and the bumper clips into.

Anyone have an easy way to remove the old ones? I don't fancy using a dremel, tin snips etc.

Unfortunately, I have to resort to all types of tools to take these suckers out. Ended up coming out in pieces

Am I being dense or if you take the wheel off, remove some of the wheel arch fasteners, can you not just undo the clips in the back of the wing and remove the brackets this way?

 

[XMetal]

I did it about 10 years ago, so my memory doesn't serve me at the moment. Since I already had my bumper cover off at this point, I must have tried accessing the rear of the clip if it was possible. If you google this, you'll find that many others have tried and came to the same conclusion of the thing coming out in pieces.

 

[Argenta]

Everything is movable, so after 15 years most have been repainted etc and people just dont put the time&effort to align things the way BMW did.
The headlamps alone can be freely moved in ANY direction. No wonder people today may think all E86 had crazy panel gaps.

In your case, I wonder if the bonnet was off the car?
In that case a lazy mech would just put it in place and bolt it up, and the weight of it would place it at the rear end adjustment = big gap to bumper. That looks ok tho?

Also the bumper is not centered compared to the fenders/bonnet. Could be also the headlamps are skewed.

1 thing to do, loosen bolts, adjust.

 

[Babw]

Bumper is definitely centred but the headlamps need adjusting which is my fault as I changed the ballasts.

 

[Argenta]

Ah ok I measured to the bonnet, but it might be the camera angle.