Sam's Project Clubsport/OEM+
- Thread starter LemonConnoisseur
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LemonConnoisseur
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Joycey said:Yeah I do most tracks around the UK with the occasional trip to the Ring or Spa. I've had quite a few friends wanting to do track days for the first time, Brands is a nice track for beginners to learn on so often go there.
If your after a brake upgrade this kit is cracking value for money, I've been running this Brembo setup for a couple of weeks now looking forward to seeing how it performs on the track over my previous setup.
£760
Ah very nice. Love the ring, haven't been for a couple of years though.
Interesting you say Brands is beginner friendly, I'd say the opposite
Paddock and Clearways are 2 corners you could get it wrong big time.Good fun though, don't get me wrong!
I have seen the k-system setups to be fair, and I have a set of Meg RS Mk3 calipers in the shed that I need to refurb... At the moment though, I think they're a bit too rich for my blood. Given the weight of the car, I'm hoping some more aggressive pads will cope with the heat better, and should be fine for the occasional track day until I decide 4 pots are necessary.
LemonConnoisseur
Member
In other news, I have a new backbox 
This was made up by a local motorsport place, DT Motorsport Engineering. When I first saw it, I questioned the fitment because it was unlike anything I'd seen on a Zed before. Can't tell from this picture, but the tips stick out from the rear bumper about 2 inches.
Given time, however, I've actually grown to like it because of how different it is Sounds awesome too, deeper and louder than the Eisenmann.
Also, a long awaited package arrived yesterday... My wheels!
First impressions, I'm very happy. These are a wheel of choice on E36s at the Nurburgring because they're TUV approved and lightweight - 9kg per wheel
17x9 ET30, so an aggressive fitment for the Zed. It might require me to purchase adjustable top mounts to get some more camber out of the front, but need to find somewhere that will fit my tyres to them first. Annoyingly, a lot of places aren't interested in fitting tyres to wheels if they haven't been purchased through that business.
Not seen another set of these fitted to a Z4 in 17s
This was made up by a local motorsport place, DT Motorsport Engineering. When I first saw it, I questioned the fitment because it was unlike anything I'd seen on a Zed before. Can't tell from this picture, but the tips stick out from the rear bumper about 2 inches.
Given time, however, I've actually grown to like it because of how different it is
Sounds awesome too, deeper and louder than the Eisenmann.Also, a long awaited package arrived yesterday... My wheels!
First impressions, I'm very happy. These are a wheel of choice on E36s at the Nurburgring because they're TUV approved and lightweight - 9kg per wheel
17x9 ET30, so an aggressive fitment for the Zed. It might require me to purchase adjustable top mounts to get some more camber out of the front, but need to find somewhere that will fit my tyres to them first. Annoyingly, a lot of places aren't interested in fitting tyres to wheels if they haven't been purchased through that business. Not seen another set of these fitted to a Z4 in 17s
North West Surrey
Wow - your new wheels look great and I like your custom exhaust too. 
But I'd agree those sizes are aggressive for a Z4 - good luck getting them to fit!
Where are you buying your tyres from? If it's somewhere like Black Circles they have local fitters. If you struggle to find a tyre place who will fit them maybe a wheel refurbishing company would?
But I'd agree those sizes are aggressive for a Z4 - good luck getting them to fit!
Where are you buying your tyres from? If it's somewhere like Black Circles they have local fitters. If you struggle to find a tyre place who will fit them maybe a wheel refurbishing company would?
LemonConnoisseur
Member
Mr Tidy said:Wow - your new wheels look great and I like your custom exhaust too.
But I'd agree those sizes are aggressive for a Z4 - good luck getting them to fit!
Where are you buying your tyres from? If it's somewhere like Black Circles they have local fitters. If you struggle to find a tyre place who will fit them maybe a wheel refurbishing company would?
Cheers!
To be fair, I think the wheels will fit with the right alignment, as there are plenty of people I've seen with 17x9 ET30 - I think Wursle on here has some in Apex ARC8 form.
Unfortunately I've already got the tyres. There was an offer on where it was £60 per tyre for Accelera 651s, and I bought them there and then because I wanted to see what they're like. Good shout on the wheel refurb company though, I'll do some digging!
LemonConnoisseur
Member
An unfortunate update this time - MOT failure.
Took it in last week expecting it to fail on the brake pads (they're nearly at the point of being non-existent :roll, because I haven't fitted the new RP1s from EBC due to time constraints. Go to pick it up, and they tell me that it's got an advisory for the front pads, but it's failed on both seatbelts due to them not retracting properly 
I hadn't really noticed it, but went to look at the car, and I can understand why. The seatbelt retracts fine for the most part, but then it almost appears as though the buckle itself is too heavy for the mechanism's power, so it just leaves the latter part of the belt sagging down. Tried some silicone spray on the belt hoping it was gunk in the mechanism, but that didn't do a thing.
Has anyone else had this issue? Is it just the way the Z4 is designed (surely not)?
Either way, with BMW wanting £400 for a pair of belts, I've bought a couple of second hand ones off eBay to see if they sort the issue as it'll be a damn sight cheaper than new.
If anyone has any recommendations for the seatbelt removal jobby, that would be great. Having had a quick look, it seems as though a lot of trim is going to need to be removed which I am certainly not looking forward to.
Took it in last week expecting it to fail on the brake pads (they're nearly at the point of being non-existent :roll
, because I haven't fitted the new RP1s from EBC due to time constraints. Go to pick it up, and they tell me that it's got an advisory for the front pads, but it's failed on both seatbelts due to them not retracting properly I hadn't really noticed it, but went to look at the car, and I can understand why. The seatbelt retracts fine for the most part, but then it almost appears as though the buckle itself is too heavy for the mechanism's power, so it just leaves the latter part of the belt sagging down. Tried some silicone spray on the belt hoping it was gunk in the mechanism, but that didn't do a thing.Has anyone else had this issue? Is it just the way the Z4 is designed (surely not)?
Either way, with BMW wanting £400 for a pair of belts, I've bought a couple of second hand ones off eBay to see if they sort the issue as it'll be a damn sight cheaper than new.
If anyone has any recommendations for the seatbelt removal jobby, that would be great. Having had a quick look, it seems as though a lot of trim is going to need to be removed which I am certainly not looking forward to.
LemonConnoisseur said:An unfortunate update this time - MOT failure.
Took it in last week expecting it to fail on the brake pads (they're nearly at the point of being non-existent :roll
Has anyone else had this issue? Is it just the way the Z4 is designed (surely not)?
Either way, with BMW wanting £400 for a pair of belts, I've bought a couple of second hand ones off eBay to see if they sort the issue as it'll be a damn sight cheaper than new.
If anyone has any recommendations for the seatbelt removal jobby, that would be great. Having had a quick look, it seems as though a lot of trim is going to need to be removed which I am certainly not looking forward to.
My seat belts were slow to retract and in order to avoid dismantling a lot of plastic trim, here's what I attempted which worked okay:
Pull as much if the seat belt out as you can and place it inside a bucket full of hot/near boiling, soapy water and let it stew in there while you remove the trim on the top of the seat belts and clean a lot of dust and dirt that accumulates there. Replace the hot soapy water with soapy water and scrub as much of the seat belt as you can. Rinse and let it dry for a day.
If seems that the seat belt greats a bit greasy over the years and that just makes it very slow to retract. Should make it loads better but still no where close to as new. You can always get the mechanism rebuilt and new fabric for about £100/side. Just avoid going for a ///M stitching one haha
LemonConnoisseur
Member
lucasxdiniz said:
Cool, thanks mate. I'll give this technique a go this evening and hope for the best.
LemonConnoisseur
Member
Unfortunately, after soaking the seatbelts in a bucket of water for 30 mins then scrubbing them with a brush, it made no difference
Time to swap out the seatbelts. Can't really find any definitive guides online, so it's going to be a slight mission I think!
Time to swap out the seatbelts. Can't really find any definitive guides online, so it's going to be a slight mission I think!
Found this on Pelican Parts for the Z4M which might differ slightly, but could be a good starting point for figuring out what to remove:
https://www.pelicanparts.com/techar...t/153-INTERIOR-Seat_Belt_Reel_Replacement.htm
https://www.pelicanparts.com/techar...t/153-INTERIOR-Seat_Belt_Reel_Replacement.htm
LemonConnoisseur
Member
TheDan said:
Ah that's ideal! Thanks Dan.
I was limiting myself to YouTube
LemonConnoisseur
Member
An update on this saga...
Took a lot of trim off yesterday to gain access to the belts, half of which didn't actually need to be removed!
I'll do a write-up on this process at some point, because it's not difficult once you know what you're doing, but the first time can be a pain.
Refitted the second hand belts I'd got from a couple of breakers on eBay; lo and behold, they're as weak, if not weaker, than the 2 belts I'd taken off - a complete waste of money.
I'd been trying to avoid it, but I think I'm just going to have to bite the bullet and buy a new set of belts from BMW at considerable cost.
Gotta love cars, eh!
Took a lot of trim off yesterday to gain access to the belts, half of which didn't actually need to be removed!
I'll do a write-up on this process at some point, because it's not difficult once you know what you're doing, but the first time can be a pain.
Refitted the second hand belts I'd got from a couple of breakers on eBay; lo and behold, they're as weak, if not weaker, than the 2 belts I'd taken off - a complete waste of money.
I'd been trying to avoid it, but I think I'm just going to have to bite the bullet and buy a new set of belts from BMW at considerable cost.
Gotta love cars, eh!
LemonConnoisseur said:
Ask your local BMW if they will give you a discount . There are quite a few people that have used Soper in Lincoln for example even if they are miles away from where you live . I now have the same relationship with Rybrook in Shrewsbury which is my local dealer and they can normally give some discount if you ask ( mention you are a Z4 forum memeber ) .
Good luck
LemonConnoisseur
Member
1536Z4 said:Ask your local BMW if they will give you a discount . There are quite a few people that have used Soper in Lincoln for example even if they are miles away from where you live . I now have the same relationship with Rybrook in Shrewsbury which is my local dealer and they can normally give some discount if you ask ( mention you are a Z4 forum memeber ) .
Good luck
Cheers for the suggestion! In all fairness, my local dealer gave me 10% off without me even asking, which I was very pleased about.
2 new belts, a couple of bolts and the rocker cover bolts came to £391. Expensive, but it needs to be done.
LemonConnoisseur
Member
Another update, we now have a fresh MOT!
One of the more expensive MOTs I've endured, but at least it won't fail on the belts again.
Good to be driving it again!
One of the more expensive MOTs I've endured, but at least it won't fail on the belts again.
Good to be driving it again!