One last rodeo.... FAIL

[Beedub]

and its a whopper!!

two main things have happened this year .. entertain me.

1) diagnosed with cancer in march 21... my world literally turned upside down. so far its been a year of some of the most traumatic events i wish on no-one. horrendous... more on this in the general chit chat section if anyones interested. When u go through something like this.... you really see what matters an that FAMILY. Nothing else. but moving forward im living for right now. im nearing the end of this chapter and thankfully mercifully, my cancer was removed with zero spread. i'm just about to have my last month of chemo sessions to "make sure".....

2) the yaris GR4 i ordered got cancelled. After i ordered the car during lockdown i wasn't able to test drive, when i did, it just didn't feel that special to me, for 35k it needed to feel special. The HUGE praise given to this car in the press i couldn't wait to drive this thing, and when i did....... mehhhhhh . the 3 pot to me was painful to endure, slow revving and just mehhhh. Money returned.

The result...

ive decided to do another dream thing and to my beloved z4. Weve been together for many years, i adore the thing and it even became the "shop" car that helped me win some seriously lucrative jobs at work. Enough blithering whats next?

An air shifted sequential box :evil: :evil: :evil:

currently in talks with drenth and quaife, it will be one of these options. Heres what it needs to be for me to give this the final yes.

* s54 bellhousing kit
* needs to be able to have air actuated paddle shifters. the stock steering wheel will be adapted
* no modification to the stock transmission tunnel or the sheet metal of the car
* im thinking helical cut gears to keep the noise down.
* must be an oem like install otherwise i'll U turn.
*hoping to find a solution that can i can adapt / reuse the stock location GB mounts, the fab work will need to the to the gearbox rather than the car.

This may or may not be a quick road as ive got lots of research to do, i need to understand gear ratios etc and also how this is going to actually fit in the car. From what im seeing, this is very doable. i'm leaning towards quaife but they don't ever answer the damn emails, which is really frustrating. i like the fact they are UK based so i can troubleshoot where needed. i'd like to get the gearbox asap and look to install spring 2022. When it comes to this side of things, i have NO IDEA, so im literally starting at the bottom asking all the questions, speaking to different shops that can help me make this a reality. Don't even get me started on ratios etc.

 

[Smartbear]

Not sure about this, you’re planning on changing one of the things that enthusiasts lament the passing of, the 6 speed manual transmission gearbox. It would lower the value of the car imho
Rob

 

[Beedub]

Not sure about this, you’re planning on changing one of the things that enthusiasts lament the passing of, the 6 speed manual transmission gearbox. It would lower the value of the car imho
Rob

I appreciate the input ..... And I agree somewhat .... The 6 speed manual is a thing of beauty and I actually think the gearbox in this car is pretty good , and I like the ratio's. It's not an area I'm unhappy with it. But..... A proper sequential racing box is just a thing of sheer beauty. Combined with my engine setup I think it would make for a frankly insane package . Clutch is still in the car for low speed manoeuvres , but on full power I can just bang the gears home . I've got alot of stuff to work out as mentioned above. I can't imagine such a high end setup would devalue the car ... Limit its market maybe but I want to create my own piece of special .

 

[Mr Tidy]

Seeing as your car is far from standard anyway a sequential gearbox may not make much difference.

And if it's what you want then why not?

 

[Beedub]

Seeing as your car is far from standard anyway a sequential gearbox may not make much difference.

And if it's what you want then why not?

again, i agree, to be honest it may look standard but a huge amount of this car is not stock way more than meets the eye. im very excited about it or at least the idea.

 

[enuff_zed]

My first wife sadly didn't beat her cancer at the age of 45. It made me reassess my life and decide that not a single minute should be wasted.
I may be wrong but if your recent experience has made you feel the same way then yes, do it. Do everything you want to do without fear of the consequences, and sod the rest of the world.
Life, as they say, is not a rehearsal!
Crack on and get it done and the very best of luck with it too.

 

[1536Z4]

I say go for it . You may have seen my post about something similar which includes a discussion about fitting a sequential gearbox :evil:

https://z4-forum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=130841

 

[Beedub]

this may even be a non starter..... i didn't realise this would need a complete stand alone ECU..... im not sure such a product is available for the z4m and its a huge additional cost i wasn't planning for :-( .

spoke with drenth today and they can provide everything i need.... this is fine. Then they said youd need a specific standalone ecu like motec, spoke to motec and apparenly this car is pretty tricky to get right with an aftermarket standalone setup...

i have no idea why i didn't even consider that it needs the engine to cut the fuel with the changes hence the management....

 

[enuff_zed]

Ah damn!
Well just make a 'pssst' noise every time you change gear.

 

[B21]

Maybe the idea has come and gone..FWIW if you want to do it then you should, assuming you can afford it taking into account that these R&D projects never go smoothly.

Again FWIW I’m now into my second Quaife LSD and I’m a big fan of their engineering and quality.

The computerisation of everything is probably the single biggest issue to these sort of projects.

It’s very difficult to access/ modify these systems so you find that it’s the electronics that scupper many of these plans.

Good luck with whatever you choose to do with your car..

 

[RedUn]

this may even be a non starter..... i didn't realise this would need a complete stand alone ECU..... im not sure such a product is available for the z4m and its a huge additional cost i wasn't planning for :-( .

spoke with drenth today and they can provide everything i need.... this is fine. Then they said youd need a specific standalone ecu like motec, spoke to motec and apparenly this car is pretty tricky to get right with an aftermarket standalone setup...

i have no idea why i didn't even consider that it needs the engine to cut the fuel with the changes hence the management....

You just need to create this...

https://racecarsdirect.com/Advert/Details/95785/bmw-z4-gtr-s54

I reckon it'll be worth talking to the company that built the car

 

[Beedub]

this may even be a non starter..... i didn't realise this would need a complete stand alone ECU..... im not sure such a product is available for the z4m and its a huge additional cost i wasn't planning for :-( .

spoke with drenth today and they can provide everything i need.... this is fine. Then they said youd need a specific standalone ecu like motec, spoke to motec and apparenly this car is pretty tricky to get right with an aftermarket standalone setup...

i have no idea why i didn't even consider that it needs the engine to cut the fuel with the changes hence the management....

You just need to create this...

https://racecarsdirect.com/Advert/Details/95785/bmw-z4-gtr-s54

I reckon it'll be worth talking to the company that built the car

spoken to quaife, simpson and i think this is a non starter :-( the tuning side basically seems like its not going to work properly with the vanos etc .... and the costs are insane... i mean the GB itself is big money but throw in this unepxected cost your litterally at another z4m which is silly....

shortest thread ever. i'm definitely having a mid life crisis.

 

[buzyg]

Great that you put it out there and that your enthusiasm for your amazing Z4 is stronger than ever. Pop that one to the back of the cooker and on to the next.

 

[ga41]

spoken to quaife, simpson and i think this is a non starter :-( the tuning side basically seems like its not going to work properly with the vanos etc .... and the costs are insane... i mean the GB itself is big money but throw in this unepxected cost your litterally at another z4m which is silly....

shortest thread ever. i'm definitely having a mid life crisis.

Have you considered a CAE shifter as something racier than stock but without all those mods?

 

[sars]

Oh that's a shame, nothing like a sequential box on a track, not that I've used one, but I have seen it in lots of films :lol:

It's good to dream though

 

[Argyll Andy]

having a mid life crisis.

Glad to hear it’s only a mid life crisis, mine is a whole life crisis

Ah well, no sequential box means I’ve got a fraction more of a chance of keeping up with you on your visit :wink:

 

[Beedub]

Great that you put it out there and that your enthusiasm for your amazing Z4 is stronger than ever. Pop that one to the back of the cooker and on to the next.

i love this car more than ever! Its been my uplift during a very tough time.

 

[Beedub]

spoken to quaife, simpson and i think this is a non starter :-( the tuning side basically seems like its not going to work properly with the vanos etc .... and the costs are insane... i mean the GB itself is big money but throw in this unepxected cost your litterally at another z4m which is silly....

shortest thread ever. i'm definitely having a mid life crisis.

Have you considered a CAE shifter as something racier than stock but without all those mods?

ive tried one on an e36 and it was so notchy and hard to shift.....

hows the UUC SSK , whas good, what bad?

 

[Beedub]

having a mid life crisis.

Glad to hear it’s only a mid life crisis, mine is a whole life crisis

Ah well, no sequential box means I’ve got a fraction more of a chance of keeping up with you on your visit :wink:

Friendly banter incoming....
andy youve got a serious car their, but if it can keep up with this old girl, ill be suprised but i may be wrong.... 527hp, 1410kg and i can hussle this sucker around. scalped GT3s with ease in this one on the track against the clock and was top of the modified sprint class for 1 year , true supercar levels of performance, and the handling and stopping are top tier.

 

[john-e89]

having a mid life crisis.

Glad to hear it’s only a mid life crisis, mine is a whole life crisis

Ah well, no sequential box means I’ve got a fraction more of a chance of keeping up with you on your visit :wink:

Friendly banter incoming....
andy youve got a serious car their, but if it can keep up with this old girl, ill be suprised but i may be wrong.... 527hp, 1410kg and i can hussle this sucker around. scalped GT3s with ease in this one on the track against the clock and was top of the modified sprint class for 1 year , true supercar levels of performance, and the handling and stopping are top tier.

Even quicker now without the dreads reducing the wind drag to Scania truck levels...... :wink: