nfbr's 2007 Ruby Black Z4 Coupé! Blog/Build-Thread

Interested to see what it looks like on Eibach springs with spacers. I have a sapphire black coupe with the same wheels and wish to do the same in the summer.

I debadged mine with dental floss also ha. Tip for anyone else if you spray WD40 on them before hand it comes off the paint very easy with no harm done. Quick clean and polish needed afterwards.

Have noticed two great looking black coupes on here recently. I fear by the summer we may have three identical cars.

Funny I also know a valeting guy his name is " Dave the hose " :roll:

Weird..

Keep posting pics :)
 
Nice! I'm looking forward to finding a black sapphire one to park next to so I can see the difference in colour!

Springs and spacers should land Monday, probably get them on the car Tuesday or Wednesday evening after work.
I'm gonna hold off on fitting the spacers until a later date. I was being awkward and demanded black bolts when we only stock chrome ones at work, so have to wait for the next stock order for them. :roll:

I've heard that about wd40 but never tried it myself. Good shout!

I can't believe I've posted over 100 photos in this thread now. Must be a pain for people with slow internet.

We call the valeting guy Jetwash Jimmy sometimes! Haha.
 
Normally - I don't like Mondays... But today has been a good day :)

A delivery has arrived!!!
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A set of Eibach E10-20-010-05-22 Pro-Kit Springs!
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and some of the brand new black anodized finish Eibach hub-centric wheel spacers! (12mm Front, 15mm Rear)
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The springs should be going on one evening this week. The spacers are likely to be next week once the bolts arrive!
Can't bloomin' wait!
 
BradleyB said:
What are your thoughts on the K&N filter? Debating getting one myself
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It's good. The quality of it was better than what I expected. I've used Pipercross, ITG, Green Cotton and JR filters on my cars in the past and I must say the K&N has the best feel to it.

Car feels more responsive but that could be due to the old filter being so old and dirty. There's a slight change to the tone of the intake too which is nice.

John002 said:
Nice one. Looking forward to seeing it all fitted. :thumbsup:
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Springs went on tonight! Too dark to get any photos of how it sits though. Took some measurements from wheel centre to arch before and after, it's lost 12mm up front and 10mm at the rear so far, so we will see how it settles! Looks good though and feels comfortable still on the road!

Rear springs were a doddle to change, front damper units were easy to remove and get the spring off, but getting the spring on was a total ball ache due to how short the travel is on the front dampers! Had to use professional spring compressors and a vice to get the new spring compressed enough to even have a chance of getting the top nut on.

Should hopefully get some install pics up tomorrow night but not a huge amount as my battery died half way through doing the job.
 
Maybe stupid question, but there is some talking about K&N filters + oil + maf.

You know that when you wash filter and put some oil it. That oil, do you know is that safe for MAF?
Personally, i would stick with standard OEM air filter, or for example MANN filter. OEM Housing and filter would flow more than enough. So when we are talking about power, oem filter will provide maximux power. I am sure K&N panel will work fine too, but i am little worried about that oil and how maf can take it.

Ps. pretty amazing that car has original air filter if i understood correctly. There is strict change interval in service. Personally i change it every year even i drive so few thousands / year. It is so cheap item and protects your engine. :)

Nice looking Z, have you done full polishing / correction for paintwork? Fk1000p sticks even better for perfect surface :thumbsup:
 
AnttiO said:
Maybe stupid question, but there is some talking about K&N filters + oil + maf.

You know that when you wash filter and put some oil it. That oil, do you know is that safe for MAF?
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K&N Did a huge amount of research into the claims and there findings are reported here online:
http://www.knfilters.com/MAF/massair.htm

Working for a tuner, we've only really found serious contamination issues after customers have 'Re-oiled' their filter and gone way over the top.
For example the filter I've fitted to mine only requires 2.25 table spoons of the oil to cover its entire surface during the re-oiling procedure.

We've seen people use half a bottle on one filter, then complain that their air mass meter has failed. It's no surprise really when they've absolutely saturated the filter.
There's also the fact that the majority of 'forum rumours' about these filters are started and upheld by people who've never actually owned or used a K&N filter.

AnttiO said:
Ps. pretty amazing that car has original air filter if i understood correctly. There is strict change interval in service. Personally i change it every year even i drive so few thousands / year. It is so cheap item and protects your engine. :)
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I'm not too sure how it's happened to be fair as the service history is complete and all done at the dealer. I sent the 'Batch Code' and Part number of my plugs to the NGK Representitive and got good news back that they were manufactured just a matter of months before the 'Inspection 2' service was done on my car, so at least they've been change.

AnttiO said:
Nice looking Z, have you done full polishing / correction for paintwork? Fk1000p sticks even better for perfect surface :thumbsup:
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I've not done a machine polish on it and it's not something I'm brave enough to try myself, but I do have a good detailing contact (Kowalski Details) in Manchester and am hoping to get him to put his touch on the car some time before the Summer this year. :)
 
Okay, .. Dont afraid to do it yourself. It is not so difficult and it is quite safe to do with da21e machine for example. Microfibre pads with correct compound do wonders and you dont have to worry about holograms.

There is lot of good guides available in internet . All depends how much you are planning to spend money. My polishing gear (machines, compounds, lights, accessories) was about something like 1500£ but i sort of loose control when purchasing better and better stuff. Now i have stock that i can run little detailing company. I still do polishing for hobby. But i think you can get proper gear under 300£. Da21E, 2-3 microfibre pads, 2-3 different compounds++ some microfibre clothes and some fluids, twin halogens. Thats really all you need.

You can think it like you spend 300£ and do 2-3 for yourself. It is great saving compared if you take car to professional detailer who takes.. xxx£ ?

Next time you buy another car, your have polishing gear ready..
 
Good info! Thanks Antti :) I'm not usually afraid to do any job myself (well, maybe timing chains would be a bit out of my depth). I may invest in the kit and try it out on a few other peoples cars first that they aren't so bothered about.
 
I have this machine, even with finishing pad it can take some swirls off and leaves good finish for wax:

http://www.autobritedirect.co.uk/index.php/polishing-prep-waxing/machine-polishers-polishing-kits/the-da-21mm-dual-action-polishing-machine-microfibre-pads.html
 
Tuesday night was Spring time! Not so much the season, but more the upgrade/lowering kind of spring!
Armed with a workshop, a metric mega f**k ton of speciality tools and several mugs of hot Vimto, Myself and colleague Mike set about getting the springs on the car!

First up - Got the car on the ramp and whipped the wheels off. First up, The rear springs!
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These were dead straight forward. We used an axle jack to hold each corner whilst removing the main lower damper bolt
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Once the bolt is out lower and remove the axle jack allowing the spring pan to lower enough to pull the spring out
** Apologies for Mike's creepy pose, This unfortunately is the result of too much hot Vimto... **
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A quick comparison of the rear springs: (OEM left, Eibach Right)
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Re-using the original upper and lower rubber spring caps, insert the new spring, use the axle jack to raise the spring pan up until you can get the lower shock bolt back in.
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Next up was the front springs! Here's a quick comparison photo.
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The front struts are held on by the three nuts at the top of the strut tower and slid into the hub carrier gripped from behind with a pinch bolt.
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Unfortunately at this point, despite wishing to take more photos, the battery on my iPhone went flat, so I have no more pics :(
The removal and refitting of the complete strut unit were relatively easy, but even with the most up to date heavy duty spring compressors, the M-Sport dampers being such short travel made it a bit of a pain in the ass to get the original springs off and the new ones on.
I'll not go into details about the procedure we chose to use to finally get the springs on as it was neither safe, nor recommended.

Before and After measurements as follows - Measured from the centre of the Wheel Centre Cap, directly up to the tip of the wheel arch.
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Front Left: 355mm before, 340mm After
Front Right: 353mm before, 340mm After
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Rear Left: 365mm before, 353mm After
Rear Right: 364mm before, 353mm After
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At this point, they have not really been given a chance to settle, so I will report back after a month or so once they've been used and settled a little.

Anyway - The after-photos show it pretty well, Bare in mind that this still has no wheel spacers installed!
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Front:
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Rear:
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Thanks Dale!

Love your Alpine White! Wish I'd have been able to find one in that colour when I was buying.

Spacers will be on as soon as I've worked out what colour to paint the damn calipers.
Fog light restoration at well then too!
 
That looks way better. I'm going to bite the bullet on this also. Fronts look tricky to do so may wimp out and have a garage do it.

What's next after spacers?
 
John002 said:
That looks way better. I'm going to bite the bullet on this also. Fronts look tricky to do so may wimp out and have a garage do it.

What's next after spacers?
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Transmission: Diff oil
Suspension: Rear trailing arm bushes, M3 Front ARB, Geometry Reset, Rear top mount reinforcement plates
Brakes: Paint Calipers, Drilled Discs and Slightly uprated pads, Braided Hoses, brake fluid upgrade
Exterior: Recondition Fog lamp units, Possible wheel refurb if I can find a set of loaner wheels

Be ready to enjoy in summer then :)
 
I asked for the diff oil to be replaced at last service and was told they couldn't as its sealed. Had a feeling they had just forgot to do it :headbang: :thumbsdown: ?????

Might be worth while asking your wheel refurb place if they can swap/loan you a set temporary. Some prefer this than you leaving the car with them.

Good luck :driving:
 
John002 said:
I asked for the diff oil to be replaced at last service and was told they couldn't as its sealed. Had a feeling they had just forgot to do it :headbang: :thumbsdown: ?????

Might be worth while asking your wheel refurb place if they can swap/loan you a set temporary. Some prefer this than you leaving the car with them.

Good luck :driving:
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I am my wheel refurb place... Or more so the co-ordinator of my own refurb. I can remove and refit tyres myself. I have a guy for media blasting, there are no bits of damage to the rim, so then it'll be off to someone else as I have a guy for powder coating.

If you were more local I'd have been happy to do a diff oil change for you as it's real easy to do!
I've got my oil in order from eBay for £27.00 (2-litres - 1.2-litres required)
 
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