Some More Little Mods - Racechip XLR Pedal Tuning Box

[Silverstar]

Thanks to Tintoverano I managed to change the cluster lighting from Orange to White. I didn't mind the orange but I changed it primarily because the white is easier to read at night for my ageing eyes! :lol: I think the white dials make a good contrast with the orange LCD which itself ties in nicely with the other orange interior lighting. For those of you who are wondering the cluster light intensity in this photo is set to half.

 

[jllyons10]

That looks great. Really like the mod but fearful of doing myself.

 

[Silverstar]

That looks great. Really like the mod but fearful of doing myself.

Thanks! I know what you mean, it was my first time working on an electronic board and it was bit nerve wracking. If we were not in lockdown I would probably have given the job to my local electronics repair store and paid them 20 or 30€ to do the job.

 

[Timmyboybunter]

Wow, that looks fantastic. It's one of the few things that bugs me about both the Zeds I've owned was the orange lit dashboard, just makes it look dated in my opinion.

How hard was this to do? I'm not sure my sausage fingers are to be trusted with soldering etc (but it may be something AnubisZed adds to his mod service menu perhaps?)

Edit: I've just found the guide, there's zero chance of me even thinking about doing this mod myself. May have to tempt someone with beer money.

 

[Big Bad Boris]

O lord, I’ve not even bought the car yet.... and I’m already making a list if things to do when it finally arrives!

I had a 2006 MR2, it had a orange dash lighting system, which just looked sooo dated.

 

[Silverstar]

Wow, that looks fantastic. It's one of the few things that bugs me about both the Zeds I've owned was the orange lit dashboard, just makes it look dated in my opinion.

How hard was this to do? I'm not sure my sausage fingers are to be trusted with soldering etc (but it may be something AnubisZed adds to his mod service menu perhaps?)

Edit: I've just found the guide, there's zero chance of me even thinking about doing this mod myself. May have to tempt someone with beer money.

It isn't that hard to do but you do need a little skill with soldering. My soldering skills aren't the best, I managed to get it done but I wouldn't feel comfortable doing this for someone else. As you say if you are not comfortable with soldering best to pay a little and farm the job out. The end result though is 100% worth it.

 

[Silverstar]

O lord, I’ve not even bought the car yet.... and I’m already making a list if things to do when it finally arrives!

I had a 2006 MR2, it had a orange dash lighting system, which just looked sooo dated.

I know what you mean, I did the same had a list of things even before I got the car and now more things have been added to the list! :rofl:

The orange dash lighting isn't half as bad as the red lighting in my dad's Mazda, that really is appalling.

 

[Timmyboybunter]

Agreed, it looks great.

I'm just about comfortable enough to solder a wire together, as long as the wire is quite thick and it's then covered by heat wrap so you can't see it so wouldn't have a go at these LED lights.

I'll perhaps give Mr Tanner a shout - he's clearly a soldering expert and likes to tinker.

 

[Silverstar]

This arrived today:

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It's quite a neat little gadget, you can adjust it to show various parameters such as revs, oil temp, coolant temp, voltage, turbo boost (for turbo cars) etc. plus you can get performance, braking data and error codes. It is just 3" diagonal so sits neatly in the corner of the dash and plugs into the OBD port. I managed to hide the cable behind the dash and the A pillar and then just lifted the door seal and hid it behind and tucked it behind the kick panel. Only issue is I can't close the flap for the OBD port now, so I am going to have to think about what to do there.

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I think I might have have found a way around the issue with the OBD port flap which is left open. Maybe something like this will work:



It looks like the bit that sticks out from the OBD port is much slimmer on that extension cable so hopefully meaning I can close the port flap and just connect the HUD unit further up the line.

 

[Silverstar]

This turned up the other day:



Finally managed to fit it today and wow what a difference it makes. Makes the throttle pedal so much more responsive! My first actual performance mod! :rofl:

I have been looking on eBay for one these to come up for a very long time, I don't think they are worth the retail price being charged (even after fitting it, I am still off that opinion) but for £70 it's well worth it. It was a very hard job trying to buy one though, the first one I bid on the vendor deleted the sale before auction end, the second one I won for £50 the buyer failed to send it and this one third time around I finally received it! This one has the bluetooth phone app so I don't need to mount the controller making for a very clean and stealth mod!

One other thing if someone is looking for one of these boxes it doesn't have to be specifically for a Z4, any XLR box for BMW models from 2002 will fit since they all use the same connectors at the throttle pedal. This one was advertised for F20 and F30 models.

 

[SV8Predator]

Serious question: how is that different to pressing the "sport" button, which also changes the throttle parameters?

 

[Silverstar]

Serious question: how is that different to pressing the "sport" button, which also changes the throttle parameters?

I have seen comments saying it's no different to pressing the Sport button before but that isn't entirely true. When you press sport button sure the throttle becomes more responsive but it also changes (at least in an automatic) the shift points in the gearbox which sometimes I feel it changes at far too late and it also makes the steering artificially heavier / weightier.

With this XLR, it does not change the gearbox shift points or the weightiness of the steering. It allows you to leave the car in comfort mode but have a responsive throttle. You can adjust the responsiveness off the throttle via the rotary controller or via the app on a smartphone. Also when you are in Sport mode with XLR the throttle becomes even more responsive.

So no not the same as pressing the sport button or just pressing the accelerator harder!

 

[Deepseaskateboard]

Here are the brake callipers:

What is this part of the wheel called, and how much was it to spray?

I don’t know why BMW don’t do this as standard. I have seen lots of new cars with this bit looking rusted. Mine included.

Looks much better like this!

 

[Smartbear]

Here are the brake callipers:

What is this part of the wheel called, and how much was it to spray?

I don’t know why BMW don’t do this as standard. I have seen lots of new cars with this bit looking rusted. Mine included.

Looks much better like this!

That’s not part of the wheel - it’s the disc centre/bell or carrier depending on what type of discs you have. It’s cheaper for bmw not to spray it
Rob

 

[Silverstar]

Here are the brake callipers:

What is this part of the wheel called, and how much was it to spray?

I don’t know why BMW don’t do this as standard. I have seen lots of new cars with this bit looking rusted. Mine included.

Looks much better like this!

It cost me 100€ to have that part of the discs and the brake callipers painted on all four corners.

 

[Deepseaskateboard]

Here are the brake callipers:

What is this part of the wheel called, and how much was it to spray?

I don’t know why BMW don’t do this as standard. I have seen lots of new cars with this bit looking rusted. Mine included.

Looks much better like this!

It cost me 100€ to have that part of the discs and the brake callipers painted on all four corners.

Great, it looks like a really good finish they put on it.
I will add it to the list!

 

[Silverstar]

So three years after I retrofitted the center wind deflector I finally managed to get hold of some deflectors that fit in the roll hoops. These are stupid money new and even second hand some breakers / sellers ask a fortune for them. I finally managed to pick up one side for £15 and the other for £17 off eBay, just goes to show patience pays off!

 

[Smartbear]

After waiting all that time did they make a noticeable difference to the turbulence?
Rob

 

[Silverstar]

After waiting all that time did they make a noticeable difference to the turbulence?
Rob

I haven't yet tried them with the central deflector, it is still too hot here to need it. I am not expecting them to make any difference to be honest, I just got them to complete the look rather than for functionality.