Suspension Overhaul and ipod issue, 3.0i SE roadster

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ibasniper

Member
 Derbyshire
Hi All, My first post so take it easy on me lol. But I need to plunge the font of all knowledge.

I recently became a proud owner of a 2004 3.0i se roadster...which I must say has all the toys fitted and receipts going back to 2004 when it was £40k. The Car is in Great condition but as expected for a 14 year old car some things need doing.

I'm looking to get the suspension refreshed and wondered on general opinions on types of setup. I need to point out that the car will be a summer weekend play thing only, with no track days planned.
The car is currently sitting on original M sport shocks & springs but they look tired (113k). From reading through the forum the Bilstein B8's with Eibach springs seem to be a favourite but not cheap. Alternatively I have seen the HSD coil overs https://www.hsdcoilovers.com/hsd-coilovers-for-bmw-z4-e85-02-08.html which seem a lot more reasonable??

Has anyone had fitted HSD coil overs, or is there a better alternative to the above or BMW's quote @ £1440 for shocks, springs & mounts.!

Also there seems to be some confusing info on IPod / Bluetooth connection.!!

Mine was fitted with the Carver DSP Hifi with Bluetooth prep and pro sat nav, with no AUX socket that I can find ( seems odd considering all the extra's he paid for) I need to connect my iPod, so is there a conclusive way to do this with the Carver DSP??
Also I have a Samsung S7 which connects to the Bluetooth then moments later drops the connection. So does anyone know a work around on this? I believe you cannot upgrade the cars Bluetooth firmware/software and I’ve drawn a blank on making the Samsung connect with older versions of Bluetooth...so is there something I’ve missed.
 
Welcome, sounds like you've found yourself a nice little example.
Suspension wise you could consider Bilstein B4's coupled to either Eibachs, your existing M Sport or even SE spec springs. B4 shocks give a more comfortable ride than the B6/8's however all of these are a tried and tested route on here by many members, including myself. Its also worth replacing your front and rear top mounts while your at it and getting the front lollipop bushes and rear trailing arm bushes done before any wheel alignment after the suspension work etc.
 
[ref]MACK[/ref],

I thought the B4/B6 shocks were for non M-sport suspension only? but thanks for the heads up on the bushes etc...
 
Get some pics up mate!

You have same audio/bt setup as me.
Forget pairing ur android phone to the cars bt phone module. I only ever got it to work with an old iphone 4s and even then it was crap.

If you have the ipod prep you can plug on a voltage dongle then a bt dongle on top of that in order to stream music.

Good tip would be to waterproof or relocate the carver amp from the battery bay as they can die from water ingress.

Photo 08-09-2016 20 57 09.jpg
Photo 08-09-2016 20 57 17.jpg
 
ibasniper said:
[ref]MACK[/ref],

I thought the B4/B6 shocks were for non M-sport suspension only? but thanks for the heads up on the bushes etc...
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Yes and No. Bilstein's own advice/info on this is contradictory. For example on one hand they tell the B4s are for SE springs, but then on the other they then tell you they are also suitable for use with lowering springs up to 40mm. Which brings M Sport, Eibachs and even H&R's etc into play.
For what its worth I've personally tried the B4's paired with both Eibachs and SE springs with no ill effects. The ride is obviously comfier with the SE springs and they're also the better of the two on country roads I frequent due to the extra clearance resulting in less bottoming out etc.
 
I'm still on the fence about this one. I'm erring on the side of the B12 kit currently. Reading this place it seems the crap ride comes from poor OE dampers & poor OE mtech springs.

I considered HSDs for a while, but honestly I think they'll just be too intense for the rutted roads we have to put up with. Particularly if you're not planning on throwing the car on track. At the end of the day they're relatively generic Korean coilovers, and the dualtechs are twintube ones at that. For £660 though you could acquire yourself a set of Bilstein B8s & eibach springs, though admittedly - they won't be adjustable.
 
With regard to BT you could find a newer ULF module, the older ones will struggle with some of the newer phones.

You could fit an intravee for full iPod intergration. You may need a dsp adapter if your cd changer lead (fitted to all uk cars as standard) is digital ie optical.
 
Thanks for all the advice Guys, :thumbsup: i think the intravee seems the way to go as i'm told a ULF module will not work (coding apparently). As for the suspension, i'm swaying towards Bilstein but mainly due to quality of the name and comments above.

I will post some pics when all done as i have drilled Brembo's on their way along with refurbed Calipers. But here a few https://photos.app.goo.gl/mza64Gasr4Qbgn1C6

sorry for photo link but not sure how to insert into body of email. :headbang:

If theres anything else you think a newbie owner should know, please feel free to say.

I hoping to get this all done for some 2019 meets :driving:
 
Welcome along. Here's 4 pages of discussion about suspension you may find interesting:
https://z4-forum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=110817
 
[ref=#006600]srhutch[/ref], do you know much about the ULF modules? is it plug n play, as i'm told there would be coding issues.
 
Late reply on this thread - I’m just getting HSD fitted to my Z4 for track day use - anybody anyth8ng to add/ comments!?
 
ibasniper said:
[ref=#006600]srhutch[/ref], do you know much about the ULF modules? is it plug n play, as i'm told there would be coding issues.
Click to expand...

I’m not aware of any coding issues. Only thing will be the pairing code will change with the new unit.
 
I’m running B6s with m springs and no issues. The ride is firm but that’s down to the dampers. I had the SE springs on initially as I thought that would be better on tough roads but the sport springs seem better matched to the B6s - more controlled ride and less wallow as the springs are sharing the work. I think the set up works really well for someone wanting to bash bumpy B roads - it just eats bumps at speed but no issues with grounding out etc

One thing I’d recommend you look at is spacers. Putting 15mm and then latterly 20mm spacers on the car has made a big difference to the steering in that it’s much less twitchy. Lots of different views on this but it worked wonders for my car. Suggest you give it a go.
 
spazmochad said:
mjennings23 said:
To add to the above I’m running B4 with M Sport springs and no ill effects
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+1, I did mine last weekend
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I have this on mine too, overall I thnk it's a great setup. On the crap roads round here it's bumpy, but in a controlled firm way. On better roads at higher speeds the B4's feel great. I also had my top mounts & RTAB's done. Alignment due soon...
 
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