Hi all! I just picked up a lovely Bright Red 2004 3.0i manual roadster from Ohio, drove it back home, and I'm really starting to delve into the car to assess everything that is "wrong" with it. I've been a Ford guy for the past 20 years, this is my first BMW! It handled the 860mile trip home like a champ!
I've read some interesting info about the CDV being a part that many people remove. I think I would like to remove it eventually, but as my boyfriend is also driving the car and he is not as experienced with manual transmissions as I am, I believe it best to keep it intact for now.
The car has aftermarket wheels, DRAG brand (I don't know her) 17x7.5 with the oe spec 225/45r17 tires (Waterfall brand?? We're getting Contis asap) Some aftermarket audio (see more below), some kind of aftermarket shifter. Maybe a short shifter kit? I'm not well-versed enough in the Z4, let alone BMW to know what's what, but it definitely is not stock, and a plethora of cracked and broken plastic bits. The top works though! Which was a major factor in my decision to buy this one.
My first priority is the audio in the car. I knew going into the sale that it had an aftermarket head unit installed and an aftermarket amplifier. What I did NOT know was that a previous owner really hacked the OEM amp harness up to pieces wiring in their 1100w Walmart amp and Pioneer head unit. Only the right channel audio plays, but it plays through all 10 speakers... There was NO INLINE FUSE between the amp and the power source so I immediately pulled the fuse from the amp and currently have no audio at all. I haven't had the courage to check the head unit wiring situation, but my assumptions are that it will be an entirely new mess to deal with.
My goal with the car is to get it as close to OEM as possible while also taking into consideration the modifications and quality of life improvements that owners have done over the last two decades. So, while I see plenty of threads and posts about aftermarket audio solutions, I'm curious if anyone can point me in the direction of information about "repairing" my audio system to get back to OEM spec? I'd appreciate any guidance!
Other than that, I'm thrilled to be a Z4 owner and I'm looking forward to reading up on what everyone else is doing with their cars
I've read some interesting info about the CDV being a part that many people remove. I think I would like to remove it eventually, but as my boyfriend is also driving the car and he is not as experienced with manual transmissions as I am, I believe it best to keep it intact for now.
The car has aftermarket wheels, DRAG brand (I don't know her) 17x7.5 with the oe spec 225/45r17 tires (Waterfall brand?? We're getting Contis asap) Some aftermarket audio (see more below), some kind of aftermarket shifter. Maybe a short shifter kit? I'm not well-versed enough in the Z4, let alone BMW to know what's what, but it definitely is not stock, and a plethora of cracked and broken plastic bits. The top works though! Which was a major factor in my decision to buy this one.
My first priority is the audio in the car. I knew going into the sale that it had an aftermarket head unit installed and an aftermarket amplifier. What I did NOT know was that a previous owner really hacked the OEM amp harness up to pieces wiring in their 1100w Walmart amp and Pioneer head unit. Only the right channel audio plays, but it plays through all 10 speakers... There was NO INLINE FUSE between the amp and the power source so I immediately pulled the fuse from the amp and currently have no audio at all. I haven't had the courage to check the head unit wiring situation, but my assumptions are that it will be an entirely new mess to deal with.
My goal with the car is to get it as close to OEM as possible while also taking into consideration the modifications and quality of life improvements that owners have done over the last two decades. So, while I see plenty of threads and posts about aftermarket audio solutions, I'm curious if anyone can point me in the direction of information about "repairing" my audio system to get back to OEM spec? I'd appreciate any guidance!
Other than that, I'm thrilled to be a Z4 owner and I'm looking forward to reading up on what everyone else is doing with their cars
Welcome to the board. 
Scottish Borders
keep the nice stumpy, makes the car look years younger. 
