'Pebble-Dashing' in front of rear wheel - is this normal?

J

juicy

Member
Just got my black 3.0SE Z4, which I'm delighted with . Its a 2005, and only done 27,0000 miles..
Came from an s2000 which had a beautiful engine, but I have to say the Z4 engine is on another level!

Anyway, whilst detailing for the first time the other day, I found what I can only describe as a slight 'pebble-dash' effect on the very bottom of the panel in front of the rear wheels - just in front of the rear tyre flap.

Its not really obvious to glance at the car, but it only becomes clear when viewed close up. I'm pretty anal when it comes to little details, and was a little annoyed that I didnt spot this when I bought the car.

The bit in front of the rear wheels does jut out slightly, so perhaps I'm thinking the bottom of the panel is suscetible to stone chipping?
Can anyone tell me whether its normal to get this on a z4 or maybe this effect is more prominent on my car due to it being black?
 
Definitely know what you're talking about - I have the same thing albeit less noticible on titanium silver

Not sure what to do about it...at least that part is plastic and you don't have to worry about rust....

It bothers me as well though, and I guess I've just accepted that it's there and make sure to wax it and keep it as nice as possible.

I have mudflaps as well, and I wonder if that makes a difference??
 
Yep - worst area on my car.
You could have pieces of the 3m clear bonnet protector cut and fit. Buddy of mine has done this on a VX220 to great effect. Not a mark since he did it and they were even worse than the Zed
 
Like me, another previous S2000 owner, seems quite a few lately!

Welcome :thumbsup:

Dont really notice chips much on my sterling grey, but the clear panels of 3m would be a great move. Wonder how much they would be??
 
Funny you mention sterling grey - another guy's Z4 in my work parking lot doesn't really show these chips at all, even when I get up close. Mine shows them very clearly once you get up close.
 
Right!
... I've worked out how to add pictures:

...here is the pebble-dashing I was referring to:
IMG_0099.jpg

Not absolutely terrible, but on a relatively young car of 27000 miles, I wonder just how bad it gets as the car gets older.. (that is unless preventative measures are taken...).

Thanks Dreamer for the welcom - Hope you're enjoying the transition from the 'S'....!
 
Wow that looks bad! Not meaning to p#ss on your shoes but that doesn't look to good! :(

I do think they would polish out though and some protective film would do the trick. Mine doesn't look anything like that at 55000 mile.
 
It probably looks worse in the picture than in reality.....
It was shot in artifical light, close up with the flash on, in the garage (damn this british weather!!!)
As I mentioned, when looking at the car normally it is hard to notice.. its only when you stoop down and look directly at the area it becomes noticeable.
Being pretty anal with these things, it does irk me, but then if this happens to everybody else and therefore its normal to have this pebble-dashing, rather perversely this gives me a grain of comfort that this is 'par for the course' with the zed.

I suppose I have to bear in mind that I have the worse colour for showing up these imperfections...!

Also - As mentioned perhaps it may not be so prominent on a grey zed....

I will try to post a picture taken in natural light sometime- if the sun does ever come out....
 
Yikes, thats worse than any I've noticed on mine.

TBH. it's not an area I've noticed much pebble dashing, mine seems rather clear of problems there. I do have quite a few fine scratches on my bonnet though, along with a fair few tiny stone chips. I really want to get a paint repair guy round to go over the whole car, I just have no idea what it could cost though.

It's weird, I thought I looked over my car very closely when I bought it, noticed a few problems but each time I cleaned it over the next few weeks, I noticed more little defects. The list really started to add up, far more than I though I could possibly have missed. I think maybe all the polish the guy had applied for the sale had blinded me :oops:
 
Here's another image I took, a little bit further out - it might reflect how it looks in reality slightly better.........

IMG_0100.jpg
 
did the previous owner go rallying :o

Ive not noticed anything like that on mine @38k... but im sterling grey which does hide a lot...
 
I have some as well on my silver grey. Feels rough as well now ... (9k)
 
i have the same issue....some polish and wax masks the pebbledash for a while. im set on re spraying the skirts at some point and then putting clear stone chip guards / 3m etc over the areas
 
The best news is those skirts are relatively cheap, and if you choose to do so you can replace them every few years. I'm thinking of replacing mine with the aero side-skirts once they wear a little worse.
 
Can be a sign of a lot of motorway work. Not a bad thing that, but it does cause more stone chipping. I used to use motorways a lot but my journeys now consist of mainly A and B roads and so far, not a lot of chipping. :thumbsup:
 
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