TheDan's Z4R

[TheDan]

I have owned my 2004 E85 Z4 3.0i SE Roadster for a month now. The Z4 is my first sports car and first convertible and what an absolutely fantastic car it is! I bought it at 73,000 miles on the clock and will be using as my daily driver, fun weekend car and will be doing a few track days here and there.

It has been appreciated and well driven over the years, but I wouldn't say it has been given the level of care it deserves. Previous owners have only done what is really necessary: oil changes, tyres and brake pads, neglecting the more annoying and expensive jobs.

So, I thought I'd create a thread for my Zed where I can share photos, mods and other bits and pieces about my (new to me) car.



Things I have done so far (in order):

• Roof motor relocation (luckily a previous owner did this)

• Fitted a stubby (sorry y'all whippy enthusiasts)

• ZHP knob installed

• Replaced H+R rear springs with stock OEM M-Sport springs (H+R were only on the rear and the ride was too low)

• Left and right cupholders fitted

• Cruise control retrofit

• Fit new Philips H7s to dipped beam and main beam

• Black grilles

• 18" set of MV2s in gloss black

• Bilstein B4s on fronts, including new bump stops, cowls and top mounts

• Suplex M-Sports springs on fronts

• Meyle HD front lower control arms, including lollipop bushes

• Meyle HD drop links

• Meyle HD track rod arms

• Bilstein B4s on rear, including new bump stops, cowls and top mounts

• New OEM Suplex springs on rear (M-Sport height)

• Remove CDV

• Flush brake fluid with ATE TYP200 Dot4

• Renew gearbox oil to Redline MTL

• Upgrade front calipers to 4 pot Brembo from Megane 3 RS

• New 325mm MTEC grooved coated front discs

• New Carbotech XP8 front pads

• Upgrade to HEL front braided lines

• 12mm front and rear wheel spacers

• Quaife LSD (in 3.46 diff)

• Vanos refurb

• DISA valve refurb

• Front headlights with black background

To do list:

• Wiper motor de-grease

• Re-align front bumper (new wing bracket on driver's side required)

• Renew RTABs

• Renew front and rear ARB bushes

• Fit adjustable rear camber arms

• Replace belts

• New CCV system

Dream list:

• Black wing mirror covers

• 3 point strut brace

• H&R front and rear ARBs

• Coilovers (BC Racing or KW V2)

• Clubsport clutch (not full race)

• Apex ARC-8/EC-7R/SM-10 wheels

Current picture of the car:

 

[buzyg]

Welcome to the board Dan.

 

[Mr Tidy]

Your car looks great, but Z4s can be addictive! :roll:

Some good mods done and some good ones planned, as well as some on the dream list!

If it hasn't been done already you might want to add getting the roof motor relocated into the boot away from the roof drains.

 

[Chris_D]

Welcome. Looks good so far!

How about some 15 or 20mm spacers on the rears to get rid of that 'inboard' look and give it a more purposeful stance?

And assuming it hasn't been addressed yet, check for oil leaks around the cam cover gasket and oil filter housing gasket. They all go eventually.

 

[TheDan]

Your car looks great, but Z4s can be addictive! :roll:

Some good mods done and some good ones planned, as well as some on the dream list!

If it hasn't been done already you might want to add getting the roof motor relocated into the boot away from the roof drains.

Already done by a previous owner fortunately! Motor looks in good nick too. Will add it to the done list.

Welcome. Looks good so far!

How about some 15 or 20mm spacers on the rears to get rid of that 'inboard' look and give it a more purposeful stance?

And assuming it hasn't been addressed yet, check for oil leaks around the cam cover gasket and oil filter housing gasket. They all go eventually.

Potentially going to add some spacers, but don't see the point with this style of wheel since I don't really like them. When I (eventually) get some new wheels I will probably get some spacers at the same time.

Thanks for the suggestion

 

[TheDan]

Here's the new cruise control I retrofit the other day. Was a really easy job as its pre-Oct 2004 and the wiring loom is already present.

The hardest part was cutting a nice neat slot in the steering column cowl to house the new cruise control stalk. After attacking it with a dremel and melting a squarish hole, I did the rest with a flat file and it came out pretty well. Overall a very easy job that only took 10-15 minutes.

Stalk cost £89 when I bought it from LLLParts. Took a while to arrive though.

 

[yipikayee]

White side indicators (no more amber - notice a theme?)

Hi

Very nice car u have here
im in the same mode as you, getting rid of amber on my Z 8)

Here's the new cruise control I retrofit the other day. Was a really easy job as its pre-Oct 2004 and the wiring loom is already present.

this is on my To Do list as well. will probably try to get it done next month.

Looking forward to see more projects ticked off the list

 

[markplant]

Full areo kit , nice

 

[brillomaster]

is it just me, or was anyone hoping the R stood for Race, and someone had swapped in a S65 V8 engine from an M3? Still, full aero kit and turbines is pretty cool.

 

[TheDan]

Full areo kit , nice

Thanks, it was already fitted when I bought the car and I don't hate it. The only issue is the front scrapes a little bit when reversing onto the drive... Hopefully the front will sit slightly higher when I do the front suspension refresh.

is it just me, or was anyone hoping the R stood for Race, and someone had swapped in a S65 V8 engine from an M3? Still, full aero kit and turbines is pretty cool.

Maybe I should add it to the Dream list?

 

[steveanders0n]

Nice car, I bought mine the same time as you but I had to check the roof drains, (thank god I did it was blocked)
then upgraded all the lights to clear ones and fitted 313 wheels which totally transformed the car.

 

[TheDan]

Done a few aesthetic ones this week (one from my dream list!!!):

• Bought some refurbed black powder coated MV2s and fitted to the car.

• Wrapped them in Goodyear Eagle F1 Asymmetric 5 tyres yesterday.

• Fitted some matte black grilles this morn (but unfortunately my front left headlight has gone misty).

Starting to look more like how I want it. Next step is to get some front + rear spacers. I am thinking either 12mm front + 15mm rear or 15mm front + 20mm rear.

 

[Commando_Rob]

Car looks lovely, much better with the bigger wheels as think the aero kit really needs to have at least 18” wheels to look right. Hey if you want to swap I’ll take the aero kit of your hands

 

[TheDan]

Car looks lovely, much better with the bigger wheels as think the aero kit really needs to have at least 18” wheels to look right. Hey if you want to swap I’ll take the aero kit of your hands

Haha, after having the car for a few months now, I have actually begun to love the aero kit, sorry!

 

[agrimes1989]

I must be in the minority for liking for orange flashes on these . Need some sort of contrast.

 

[TheDan]

Front suspension jobs done, including:

• Front lower control arms with lollipop bushes - Meyle HD

• Front shock absorbers - Bilstein B4

• Front springs - Suplex M-Sport

• Front drop link - Meyle HD

• Front track rod arms - Meyle HD

Just got the rear to do next and then a 4 wheel alignment.

 

[Swampy1982]

Anyone else get excited when they see parts laid out like that, love looking forward to fixing them and the results, such a sense of satisfaction

 

[TheDan]

Anyone else get excited when they see parts laid out like that, love looking forward to fixing them and the results, such a sense of satisfaction

Yeah I enjoy laying them out like that before beginning, it makes the job feel like giant Meccano!

 

[TheDan]

Today, I fitted new rear shock absorbers (Bilstein B4s), including new bump stops, protection tube and top mounts. Old shocks were dead with no "springback", I think they were original parts that were on the car when new.

I also fitted new rear springs (Suplex M-Sport) with new upper and lower spring seats while I was there.

Happy days!

 

[Swampy1982]

How does it sit now? Get some pics up!