NEW owner - E86

P

Phippy

Member
Hello from Hampshire!

Recently joined the Z4 forum after getting my hands on an E86 3.0SI Sport! Absolutely love it!!

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Bit of background as to how i ended up here -
I was looking for a second vehicle to keep the miles off the T5 (which is nearing 100k miles faster than i'd hoped, but all well enjoyed trips) and after seeing a Mazda MX5 in the local spray shop decided i'd try and get something fun and sporty. I quickly found that most mx-5s are rusting to pieces so started looking at other 2 seaters and came across the Z3 (which i thought looked awful when it first came out but has actually aged rather well) trouble is they are rare and to find a good one on low miles with the wide body pushed the price up from my initial budget and put it in the range of the Z4 roadster, which by all reviews was just a better car to dive and live with in almost all respects.

My research then threw up a curve ball... the coupe... how can you resist those curves! This blew my budget out the water....... but i couldn't care in the slightest as once i'd seen it there was just no way i could settle for a roadster! (sorry not sorry) :fuelfire:

So far i have:
- Stripped out the last owners USB/AUX interface (which was stopping my bluetooth phone and stock aux from working) no idea why they put that in as it didn't even work properly!
- replaced the aftermarket front control arms for OEM ones and upgraded bushings to Powerflex bushings
- had dent in passenger door removed

Next on the list:
- new wheels to go on, photos to follow (massive thanks to Mark at BM autosport for these)
- ditching run-flat tyres
- suspension refresh (Bilstein B4 & Suplex springs)
- refurbish the 108's (project for the year)

Finally, and probably most importantly........... add me to TEAM WHIPPY!! :rofl:
 
Nice car and write up :thumbsup: I’ve had 4 mk1 MX5’s in the past and your right, most are rusting away now so good choice with the E86 and well done for keeping the whippy :D
 
Very nice. Looks like a tidy example. Where in Hampshire are you? Farnham, Surrey here.
 
I'm based down in Totton, not too far from you, but far enough we probably wont pass each other on the rounds... so far have only seen 3 Z4's on the road (2 roadsters and a coupe, the coupe drove past my road but yet to see it again).

Thanks all, I got it back in January, 58k on the clock and just a few scratches and chips on the front bumper. I'm keen to get it back to as good condition as possible without deviating too far from stock look/feel

Have been creeping around here for a month now and finally got round to doing the newbie post, so grateful for all the knowledge shared! Been invaluable so far and learnt a lot from you all already!
 
Nice z,the lines of the Coupes are nice. Good choice, enjoy it when things allow more freedom :driving: :thumbsup:
 
Hi and welcome to the forum, and Coupe ownership. :thumbsup:

But then I am a bit of a Coupe fan. :roll:

I love the blow the budget comment - thart's what I did in 2019 when I bought my current one! But then YOLO. :lol:
 
Hi and welcome from another Hampshire E86 owner.

That’s a lovely looking coupe you have and a good decision IMO, although there doesn’t seem too much difference in price between a 3.0Si roadster and a coupe just at the moment.

A couple of minor things to consider adding to your list - paint the callipers and change the wheel nuts. They rather let the car down if the rest of it is tip top nice and shiny.
 
Thanks for the tips Zedebee, I will keep an eye out for you!
Will add the callipers to the list for when i overhaul the suspension, although now raises the question of what colour?
...My logical side is saying black, but yellow might be quite eye catching.
The front engine struts have flacked badly too so will match them to the callipers... opinions welcome!

Wheel nuts already been done, had a full service with complete oil change etc and they noticed there were two different sets on the car, think one of the rear wheels has been replaced as it looks less haggard and had a different se of nuts to the rest! but having said that, the wheel nuts do look rather rust in that photo :oops:

Mr Tidy, the budget ended up being 6 x higher :lol:
 
Welcome!
Nice car!
I've got a roadster but will one day own a Coupe. They are absolutely gorgeous. There's really nothing else like them on the road.
They remind me of the old Triumph GT6 (not that many on here will be able to remember back that far lol!)
 
Welcome to the Z4 family. Nice looking car, the coupe certainly look the business and the 3.0is is a joy to drive you will have many admiring looks. I remember the Triumph GT6 but in my opinion is nowhere as stylish as a Z4 Coupe but I am biased. I passed my test in a Humber Sceptre and my first car was an Austin Cambridge so I have seen quite a few styles of cars on the road.
 
It's great to be part of such an exclusive group! And I may be showing my age here.... but i had to google the Triumph GT6 - would happily have owned one of them in the day though, see what you mean about the styling.

The engine is a DREAM! Every time i put my foot down i feel like it's saying 'UNLEASH ME!!'

Never had a rear wheel drive car before so it's been a fun experience so far! have duly noted some comments on here about progression being key! Absolutely do not want to end up in a ditch!
 
Phippy said:
Mr Tidy, the budget ended up being 6 x higher :lol:
Click to expand...

That's serious Man Maths in action - mine only doubled!

I'm old so knew about the GT6, but for me an E86 is the E-Type FHC I always wanted since I was a kid that I'll never afford, and the Z4 is quicker anyway. :D

I know what you mean about the engine - it just loves to chase the red-line. Must be quite exciting if you've never had RWD before - because I'm old I grew up with RWD. :roll:

Carbon Black is a fantastic colour when the sun catches it just right, so now all you need to do is enjoy your Coupe. :driving:
 
Phippy said:
Thanks for the tips Zedebee, I will keep an eye out for you!
Will add the callipers to the list for when i overhaul the suspension, although now raises the question of what colour?
...My logical side is saying black, but yellow might be quite eye catching.
Click to expand...

Yellow on black would certainly be eye catching; whatever floats your boat. Personally I did mine black, but I prefer low key. I did try a copper/bronze colour but it looked awful. I think a classic red calliper on a black car looks good, there are several examples on here.
 
It sounds more dramatic than it really is... my start point was a cheap MX5 i could mess about in, no regrets though as i know a Mazda would never put the same smile on my face!

E type is also stunning, did you ever get a chance to drive one? Tbh anything with a long bonnet and a cab over the rear wheels is going to be a head turner!

I didn't realise the carbon black was duel tone until i went to see it and it looked completely different to the photos - thought i was buying a black car and turned up to see a blue car :rofl:

I think i will end up going black Zedebee, the idea of yellow is nice.... just think it might be a bit taccy.
 
No I've never driven an E-Type, but maybe that is a good thing going by the age-old phrase "never meet your heroes"!

I was glad my car came with red brakes calipers, and the struts behind the kidney grilles had been painted to match.
 
It’s probably the epitome of that phrase as well!

How are you enjoying the M? Assume it’s not your daily driver? I’d like to try one one day but hard to justify the extra cost when (as far as I read on here) the E86 is 90% of the car anyway...
 
I'm loving the M but you're right it isn't my daily! I've had a 330i for daily duty for a couple of years that has the same N52 engine as a 3.0Si.

I always reckoned the 3.0Si was about 80% of the M for 50% of the money, and even now I've had the M over a year I still think that.

But I went to look at an M in June 2019 that I talked myself out of buying. Then a few months later I went to look at one a mile from home for a forum member who was over 150 mles away. The trader stuck the trade plates on fired it up and said he'd see me later, so I did 15 miles unaccompanied and just loved it. But it had done about 100K miles and was black with black, my least favourite colour combination.

Anyway mine was advertised for a tempting price that December because it had to be gone before Christmas and after 5+ years of 3.0Sis I just couldn't resist. :lol:

I know paying double for about another 20% of the ownership experience seems extravagant, especially as the M is much higher maintenance, but at my age I figured if I was ever going to have one I'd better get on with it.

So if you want to avoid more budget creep I'd suggest avoiding driving an M. :lol:
 
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