Meds 3.0si Coupe - Rear brake upgrade in progress.
- Thread starter Meds
- Start date
North West Surrey
Hi @Meds ,
Haven’t read all 15 pages, but have you tried E46 front strut mounts? They are 10 mm thicker than E85/6. I am using them with the Eibachs, as I do not like the slammed look and even more annoying was constantly scraping the undertray and front bumper.
Yes the top mounts are my next option if the spring pads compress too much. They're on my parts list.
Its 'good' to hear of another Z4 Eibach owner having the same issues as I did.
Many people run the Eibach Pro setup with no issues, but a few report problems, myself included.
Its 'good' to hear of another Z4 Eibach owner having the same issues as I did.
Many people run the Eibach Pro setup with no issues, but a few report problems, myself included.
Wow what a Zed!! I've just seen and read through this thread and it has given me some serious ideas and inspiration. Sadly my bank balance won't match my aspirations for my Z4.
I do rather fancy and exhaust like yours though and at some point front brake upgrade is defo on my list.
Anyway you have a real stunner of a car.
I do rather fancy and exhaust like yours though and at some point front brake upgrade is defo on my list.
Anyway you have a real stunner of a car.
Thanks...
The Eisennman system is really nice, 'Z4Pilot' installed it and had the rear bumper properly moulded so it looks factory, a proper job.
They do a single sided exit version, too.
Not antisocial (mine is the sport not the race version) but enough to really notice it. Gives a lovely burble on the overrun with an occasional muted pop once in a while.
Only a tiny amount of increased drone on motorway, but only when on a slight incline, nothing to worry about, and I'm over-sensitive to anything droney.
I recommend, and they still sell them.
Brakes, I was lucky to have them from a previous 130i, I removed them prior to sale.
I do still have a lightly longer pedal before bite, but otherwise, they're really, really nice.
I installed purely for aesthetic appeal, not for any performance gain.
If they wernt already in the garage I wouldnt have bothered with the upgrade as it's a whole load of faff and £££, also any refurbing required on an unknown set of eBay calipers. Mine needed LOADS of work as I got them cheap. They had a very hard life, swapped between numerous track cars for years, they were wrecked!
The guy selling pulled them from underneath a pile of old car parts by the hoses and then carried them swinging by the hoses.
2 threads needed helicoiling, 2 stuck pistons 1 of them needing serious surgery that no garage wanted to attempt, then a full proffesional refurb in factory BMW Pheonix Yellow with new decals, lurvly.
After all that work I was desperate to keep them and if I do change for a different car (most probably a Z4M or M3) they'll be moved to it.
Today I installed the BlueMusic Bluetooth adapter for the basic Business CD head unit.
I'm very impressed with its seamless intergration. It appears as the CD changer option under the 'MODE' button and allows full use of the MFSW buttons or the skip track buttons on the head unit to skip tracks.
As soon as you select the MODE, it connects to the phone, no prompts or faff.
I had mixed results ( = 100% fail) with three different 3.5mm aux cables. 2 failed after minimal use, crackling and mono audio if moved or twisted, the 3rd was better but suffered from high pitched squeeling noises and clicking interference sounds.
This is no longer a problem now I'm wireless.
A little awkward to get the extra cables back into the dash after install, but otherwise all good.
Then I had a mate round to splice in my 2 new rear 'subwoofers' .
I previously acquired 2 front footwell speakers, mounting plates, soft boxes and grills to occupy the cubby holes behind the seats, where the Hi-Fi subs would sit. Hi-fi subs wont run off the Business head unit but 2 extra footwell speakers should, that was the theory.
He already added the 2 door speakers for me last year, taking my setup from 6 to 8 speakers, adding 2 more was an unknown as I couldnt find anything solid online proving it could work, or not.
I'm a complete car audio noob with worries of them being too much for the head unit to drive, etc etc.. But he was confident all would be fine but we wanted to be sure before rippping the car apart.
They sound great plugged in laying on the boot floor, and will sound fantastic once inside the cubby holes. 2 mini subs, 10 speakers in total, NICE!
The system goes plenty loud enough for what I require.
Test complete, a productive day.
Spliced into the two existing mid range rear speakers, my mate did a proper, clean job. Enough wire to push through into the back of the cubby holes.
Once it gets warmer, I'll commit to pulling the interior out to install them properly.
I'm very impressed with its seamless intergration. It appears as the CD changer option under the 'MODE' button and allows full use of the MFSW buttons or the skip track buttons on the head unit to skip tracks.
As soon as you select the MODE, it connects to the phone, no prompts or faff.
I had mixed results ( = 100% fail) with three different 3.5mm aux cables. 2 failed after minimal use, crackling and mono audio if moved or twisted, the 3rd was better but suffered from high pitched squeeling noises and clicking interference sounds.
This is no longer a problem now I'm wireless.
A little awkward to get the extra cables back into the dash after install, but otherwise all good.
Then I had a mate round to splice in my 2 new rear 'subwoofers' .
I previously acquired 2 front footwell speakers, mounting plates, soft boxes and grills to occupy the cubby holes behind the seats, where the Hi-Fi subs would sit. Hi-fi subs wont run off the Business head unit but 2 extra footwell speakers should, that was the theory.
He already added the 2 door speakers for me last year, taking my setup from 6 to 8 speakers, adding 2 more was an unknown as I couldnt find anything solid online proving it could work, or not.
I'm a complete car audio noob with worries of them being too much for the head unit to drive, etc etc.. But he was confident all would be fine but we wanted to be sure before rippping the car apart.
They sound great plugged in laying on the boot floor, and will sound fantastic once inside the cubby holes. 2 mini subs, 10 speakers in total, NICE!
The system goes plenty loud enough for what I require.
Test complete, a productive day.
Spliced into the two existing mid range rear speakers, my mate did a proper, clean job. Enough wire to push through into the back of the cubby holes.
Once it gets warmer, I'll commit to pulling the interior out to install them properly.
There's no need to pull the entire interior out to install the new speakers, the cubby holes pull out with a little care to expose everything I need to get finished.
Softboxes pushed in, new cables pushed through.
BMW for the plastic expanding grommets and screws was over £40!
7x7mm square expanding plugs from VehicleClips.co.uk
Then some number plate screws with the little plastic washers (with the cap pulled off) that I had left over from years back. Perfect.
Grills installed nice and secure with some double sided sponge tape.
Eagle eyes will notice the grills are from a dark grey interior. I'm undecided if my DIY spray skills would be good enough, and as they're out of sight, I don't feel the need.
The installation of the two door speakers was an improvement, but the system was still lacking any kind of oomphf.
Installing the two extra front footwell speakers and softboxes as makeshift subwoofers has made a big difference, taking the stock system to 10 speakers.
Adding in the excellent BlueMusic module has also helped to transform the system for small overall cost and not too much faff.
An EQ tweak on the headunit and phone and it's now more than acceptable. A very worthwhile little project, I recommend.
Softboxes pushed in, new cables pushed through.
BMW for the plastic expanding grommets and screws was over £40!
7x7mm square expanding plugs from VehicleClips.co.uk
Then some number plate screws with the little plastic washers (with the cap pulled off) that I had left over from years back. Perfect.
Grills installed nice and secure with some double sided sponge tape.
Eagle eyes will notice the grills are from a dark grey interior. I'm undecided if my DIY spray skills would be good enough, and as they're out of sight, I don't feel the need.
The installation of the two door speakers was an improvement, but the system was still lacking any kind of oomphf.
Installing the two extra front footwell speakers and softboxes as makeshift subwoofers has made a big difference, taking the stock system to 10 speakers.
Adding in the excellent BlueMusic module has also helped to transform the system for small overall cost and not too much faff.
An EQ tweak on the headunit and phone and it's now more than acceptable. A very worthwhile little project, I recommend.
Last edited:
Yes, i had a mate who send me a video of his 10 speaker migration which included ripping his entire car apart to install the wiring loom..
Just adding a bluetooth dongle, door mids and rear lows was far less effort for a really good happy-medium upgrade.
(But obviously not as impressive as the full DSP/Hifi and amp setup)
1066 Country
What a stonkingly lovely colour
Dropped by to review the speaker mods as have some on order
Aye, Montego is a great colour. I wasn't a fan at first as I love silver, especially Stratus, it's really grown on me, though, with the Champagne and blue belts it's a real looker.
What audio changes are you planning, Jembo?
Thanks..This is superb, I love the time and effort you have put into this wonderful
Next up, pre-facelift bumper install and induction 'experiments'.
I started this conversation a while back:
Ebay £30 bumper including fogs and grills, and it was only 20 minutes away. Nice.
The bumper itself is fine, no damage but really tatty, the previous paint job was flaking and had a good few scuffs and scrapes to sort.
The paintshop will make good and also fill the holes where the number plate plinth was screwed.
We had a few sessions of colour matching.
1st attempt was 'standard' A51 Montego but it was too dark and purple.
2nd attempt was 'lighter' A51 Montego and it was very close.
3rd attempt was 'lighter' with an additional 'drop coat' which seems to be as close as we're going to get.
I'll find out in a few days if after installing it we need to blend it into the rest of the car, I hope not but we'll see.
[justifying the project to myself]
I dont like the facelift front bumper.
There's a few pics on the web of a silver coupe with the pre-FL bumper, damn it looks good.
My current bumper has road rash and needs a paint to look good again.
It's a good opportunity to remove the headlamp washers.
It's a good opportunity to install a magnetic plate for photos, shows, meets etc.
I bagged a bumper with bits for £30.
[that helped, I think]
Fog light strip and clean:
Tinted yellow, just because:
Ebay £30 bumper including fogs and grills, and it was only 20 minutes away. Nice.
The bumper itself is fine, no damage but really tatty, the previous paint job was flaking and had a good few scuffs and scrapes to sort.
The paintshop will make good and also fill the holes where the number plate plinth was screwed.
We had a few sessions of colour matching.
1st attempt was 'standard' A51 Montego but it was too dark and purple.
2nd attempt was 'lighter' A51 Montego and it was very close.
3rd attempt was 'lighter' with an additional 'drop coat' which seems to be as close as we're going to get.
I'll find out in a few days if after installing it we need to blend it into the rest of the car, I hope not but we'll see.
[justifying the project to myself]
I dont like the facelift front bumper.
There's a few pics on the web of a silver coupe with the pre-FL bumper, damn it looks good.
My current bumper has road rash and needs a paint to look good again.
It's a good opportunity to remove the headlamp washers.
It's a good opportunity to install a magnetic plate for photos, shows, meets etc.
I bagged a bumper with bits for £30.
[that helped, I think]
Fog light strip and clean:
Tinted yellow, just because:
I'm looking forward to seeing how this works out as I also much prefer the pre-facelift front bumper.
Other benefits IMHO are:-
Getting rid of those troublesome fog-lights.
Getting rid of the side reflectors.
The pre-facelift bumper project is complete.
I love it.
Such an improvment over the newer bumper, the design flows. I didn't get a side profile shot, but the way the lower part tucks under rather than forwards is a great design feature, shark like.
The quality of work from my paint guy is excellent, the state of the front bumper when I delivered it to him was FAR worse than I thought, he ended up taking it back to plastic and starting again. The end result is fantastic. I opted for a 'premium' lacquer based only on his recommendation and it's like glass. I'm very happy.
Before/after:
I installed a magnetic front plate for extra McDonalds car park kudos. I'm glad I did as it looks very smooth without it.
I love it.
Such an improvment over the newer bumper, the design flows. I didn't get a side profile shot, but the way the lower part tucks under rather than forwards is a great design feature, shark like.
The quality of work from my paint guy is excellent, the state of the front bumper when I delivered it to him was FAR worse than I thought, he ended up taking it back to plastic and starting again. The end result is fantastic. I opted for a 'premium' lacquer based only on his recommendation and it's like glass. I'm very happy.
Before/after:
I installed a magnetic front plate for extra McDonalds car park kudos. I'm glad I did as it looks very smooth without it.