One year anniversary....

[paulc_bkk]

So today is the one year anniversary of getting my E85...

I picked it up as a completely standard 2.2 auto, and here’s the first photo of it when I got it home



I was told to not modify anything on this car, but I didn’t listen

- iPod connectivity
- Audison 5 channel amp and 10” subwoofer
- Arqray exhaust back box
- BBS CH 19x8.5 ET35 and 19x9.5 ET40
- K&N panel filter
- Cruise control retrofit
- Z4 3.0 noise generator retrofit
- Porsche Boxster S calipers with E46 M3 CSL 345mm rotors
- Z4 3.0 rear calipers and 294mm vented rotors
- E46 coilovers
- Z4 cupholders retrofit
- Stubby ariel
- H7 4300k lights
- interior and rear license plate LEDs
- Power folding mirrors retrofit



And the mods aren’t finished there.... I’ve accumulated parts and the following upgrades are planned:

- Sport button retrofit
- Passenger Airbag deactivate retrofit
- OEM PDC retrofit

....and a bit of piano black and alcantara







Hopefully I won’t go so crazy during the next year.... although I’m already considering a hardtop and aero sideskirts

Anyway, during this 1st year of ownership this forum has been an incredible source of information, so I want to thank everyone who has ever contributed a ‘how to’, or posted photos of their upgrades which have served as an inspiration. Thank you!

 

[ARCS]

Nice

 

[Marlon]

What a transformation - the wheels alone make such a difference, lots of other tasteful mods too

 

[buzyg]

It's clearly been a good year. 8)

 

[kis]

I love this bit "I was told to not modify anything on this car"
Zed is looking good!

 

[Mr Tidy]

Looking good OP.

 

[SpenM]

Gorgeous. I would absolutely love to know more about the work on your steering wheel. Did you DIY this? Do you have good resources for the parts/knowledge?

My leather is starting to wear a fair bit, along with the trim. This sounds like a great project potentially for a newbie like myself.

Also, if you could expand on the caliper work as well, those looks absolutely fantastic.

Thanks!

 

[paulc_bkk]

Thank you all for your comments

SpenM - I sent my wheel to a local company here in Bangkok that specialises in real carbon fiber and alcantara. Work is good quality, but cost was only slightly lower than what I’ve seen on eBay

The brakes were left over from when I had an E36 convertible - the Porsche setup is a popular upgrade for E46 M3s - hence the use of the CSL spec disc.

Calipers were Porsche part numbers 996.351.425 and 996.351.426, and I used the Creation Motorsport brackets for non-m and they fit the E36/E46/E85 hub with only a very minor modification. I also brought the stainless brake line from Creation Motorosport. Brake discs are genuine BMW and were on special offer (£304)









I got all the parts from eBay and in total it was probably just under £1,000

I had the calipers rebuilt, new bleed nipples, repainted orange and EBC redstuff pads

The rear brake calipers were from an E46 328 and the disc rotors are standard spec Z4 3.0 Brembos with EBC pads. I could’ve gone larger on the rear but I didn’t want to deal with the fact that rotors over 300mm require handbrake shoe modification.

If you have any other questions about the brakes - or anything else, feel free to ask

Oh, and just so you know - I got most of these parts in the UK and carried them back to Thailand in my checked-luggage since many of the parts are two or three times as expensive in Thailand due to shipping and tax costs

 

[SpenM]

Fantastic, thank you!

Thanks for all of the photos and the note at the end, I'm in the US so I'm sure it'll take a while to find the parts and a place that can do the work at a good price. Hmm..

That caliper work is clever and sounds like a really great project. Actually, most of your items sound like something I should look into!

Something that I noticed the previous owner of my Z4 did was swap out the side markers with an OEM transparent set. I don't think it was a stock option on the 06' 3.0Si, but I definitely think it really improves the look and age of the car, you might, too. Here's a photo of mine. The part numbers are 51147057794 (Roundel badges) and 63137165734 (Actual markers). US Amazon Link that has decent info from a reviewer.

 

[IRD]

What a transformation - the wheels alone make such a difference, lots of other tasteful mods too

+1 for the impact the wheels make on the car’s appearance. Great choice. It looks really good.

 

[paulc_bkk]

SpenM - in the US I think a company called RallyRoad make the brackets and stainless hoses.... in fact from what I’ve read, Creation Motorsport have been accused of copying RallyRoad products

Anyway, there are loads of posts online on other forums - I’m not sure if forum etiquette means I can post links or not, but it you google Porsche Boxster s e46 m3 you should find plenty of links as it is a well documented upgrade

I’ve seen the clear side repeaters/turn signals - I believe they came as part of the facelift changes. The cleats look good on white - such as yours. I embraced the orange lights as I think it works well on the black - I chose to go with orange brake calipers instead of the standard red as a complement to the orange lights

 

[paulc_bkk]

So it’s been 6 months since my last post on this thread, and I figured an update is due

Steering wheel and interior bits fitted



Power folding mirrors retrofitted
- can’t seem to find pics of that, but I have loads somewhere on my computer as I plan on writing up the process

Ultraracing bars fitted


I have the rear under-body brace too but can’t find a pic of that fitted at the moment

I got hold of a hardtop and pulled out my old (home-made) hardtop stand. It has sagging headliner so I’ve pulled the panel out and I found some oem cloth to get it re-covered




Not sure when I’ll get around to re-covering it, but right now it’s on the car with no headliner

I have a few other parts either accumulated or on the way for the next round of upgrades, so there’ll be more updates on the way.... but here’s how it currently stands



And in a bit of a twist, my brother in the UK has just picked up a black E85 too

 

[paddy wright]

Very nice! And an exclusive 2.2 as well!

 

[davros]

Lovely looking Zed . You’ve certainly had a busy and productive year

 

[tomrdy]

Looks awesome Paul! Black with black hardtop looks so mint.

IIRC you had the rear brace as well from UltraRacing - any thoughts/opinions on it? I've only got the front atm.

 

[james28]

Very nice love the piano black and alcantara

 

[paulc_bkk]

Looks awesome Paul! Black with black hardtop looks so mint.

IIRC you had the rear brace as well from UltraRacing - any thoughts/opinions on it? I've only got the front atm.

Thanks - it’s hard to say exactly how much effect the rear brace has had since both braces were installed at the same time, but I can say the car feels very solid and well-planted

That said, now that there’s less flex there’s less absorption of imperfections in the road so there the interior now has more squeaks and rattles than before

 

[tomrdy]

Ah yeh I thought that might be the case as I suspected they may have gone on together.

I'm surprised you can tolerate the stiffness/lowness of your car on those BKK roads!

My wife and I usually go around in our Volvo v40 Cross Country when we are over there and it still gets a bit sketchy in some places!

 

[paulc_bkk]

It’s not always the roads that present problems...

Getting into or around multi-level car parks can sometimes be an issue depending how steep the gradients are.

The bottom of the car has scraped in car parks twice - in fact I assumed the rear brace was what was catching, but when the car was recently lifted I saw this


I’d noticed the car had recently began to sound a bit louder than usual at WOT

Good excuse to cut those resonators out altogether

Actually most roads here aren’t too bad but if I know I’m going anywhere that road surfaces might not be so good I’ll take my girlfriends mini

 

[tomrdy]

Good excuse to cut those resonators out altogether

I'll let you know how things sound/change without those in a week.

My SS straight pipes are being delivered in Monday

My secondary cats will also go with the new pipes but I think it will be a useful reference for others!