What have you done to your car today?

This is all good information. I should sit down at some point when I'm bored/meant to be working and compile a list of wheels that might fit based on the information from that site, and then I can hunt eBay for good candidates. It's become pretty clear that there's plenty of choice on the secondhand market for 1 and 3 series wheels from the 2000s, which bodes well.
 
Mr Tidy said:
E46 3 Series wheels had the same sizes and offsets as E85/86s, and E8* 1 Series seemed to as well.

As x-driver said E9* 3 Series wheels had different offsets that would push them further out in the arches but still fit. I ran my previous E86 with E89 wheels that sat even further out but didn't rub on standard Sport suspension.
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I edited my post, thanks for noting :thumbsup:
 
Zed no.5 was a little “road weary” on acquisition.

First up, changed the grilles and polished up the headlights.

Before:
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After:
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**Today’s adventure: AUX belt tensioner and pulley...**
As usual, nothing went to plan. The pin I used to hold the spring tension bent (of course), which meant I couldn’t get the thing out. After a bit of a battle, I finally got it free – only to discover the parts they sent were completely different to what I’d taken off. Classic.

So... back on went the old tensioner, this time with a beefier pin that *didn’t* decide to fold under pressure.

To be fair, the old belt and tensioner were still in decent nick – so no harm done.
Just another day of swearing at bolts and pretending I know what “should be straightforward.”

**Hey ho – that’s life with cars.**
 
Not today but within the last few weeks. BLU turned 100,000 miles at the tail end of last year and I'd already made my mind up to refresh the suspension. I'd bought new Sachs dampers last year but was having difficulty finding a set of springs. To be fair, the car felt great so I wasn't in any hurry until the MOT came up, and it failed! One brake caliper, which had overheated previously, and a leaking front shock. This fail forced my hand. I ended up going to BMW and got the to print off the spec sheet for the car. Turns out my car was spec'd with M Sport Suspension when originally ordered from factory! No wonder it had handled so well (that's why the larger Z's couldn't get away from me on the twisties lol) .. I decided against going down the Sachs route and, after some good advice and price from Bilstein UK, I ordered a set of Bilstein B8 Performance Plus M Sport dampers. Coupled with new H&R springs and new mounts etc, the car feels amazing. It's only a couple of mm lower than what it was with the old suspension at the front but around 10mm lower at the back, which means it's now sitting completely level, whereas before it was slightly higher at the rear. I was scraping the front every time I went over a speed hump. I've done a good 500 miles since the MOT and not once have i scraped the underside, even on some of more severe bumps around the village, but it's when I get out on the country roads that the difference is truly felt. Going to have to fit a set of Michelin pilot sports for more serious driving as the Rainsport 5's, I highly rate for wet weather, damp autumn, winter days, are not up to the job for the summer. Another set of wheels maybe on the next shopping list.



I'll be putting an add up for the new unused and boxed Sachs dampers in the next few days if anyone is interested in buying them.

Have to go, sun is still out and the roof is wanting down.
 
My Zed got some new exhaust tips, custom made. They are just a little shorter than original, I'll see if I'll leave it that way...
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Took mine to a different garage , this fella loves Z4s. The low coolant level light continually comes on even though everything is fine , going to replace a sensor . Also , when I backed it out of my garage after not moving all winter , I found two oil spots , about the size of an M & M , Im not to concerned about it though. Im going to have him take a look at everything , see if anything jumps out at him . Ill probably be replacing the battery too , oh well .
 
Disassembled the EvoX-R 2.0 xenon projectors to modify the shield, replaced both xenon and main beam bulbs, both for Osram CBIs. And during the job I discovered my front brakes are due to replacement and that my radiator probably leaks. The undertray was wet on top and some drops fell on the ground while I was working. There are no other wet marks anywhere to be seen so I assume the leak is at the very bottom and in the front where the radiator is.

With the brakes I was thinking about going with 3.0Si front rotors, I already have the calipers for this. I'll use Ate Ceramic brake pads, they will suffice for my driving and I really like having clean wheels.
But I'm not sure yet which rotors to go with. I was thinking about some perforated Brembos Xtra. I already have experience with perforated Zimmermanns, I wonder if Brembos are any better in terms of noise, braking power and rust proof. Can anyone recommend or not the Brembos?
If not, which rotors would you recommend then? I don't need racing stuff however. And about standard Ate discs I have second thoughts, they tend to warp quickly.
 
Gave the shed a good clean after it got all sort of stuff on it while the parking garage I use was being cleaned on Friday :poke: After that filled the tank as it was empty, was happy to have made it to the station. Here’s a crappy pic.
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Micke said:
Gave the shed a good clean after it got all sort of stuff on it while the parking garage I use was being cleaned on Friday :poke: After that filled the tank as it was empty, was happy to have made it to the station. Here’s a crappy pic.
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Looks great and certainly not helping me considering going back to CSLs :D
 
[ref]PedroSouth[/ref], sorry for that :wink: I must say the wheels have grown on me inmensly. Was not a fan when I installed them, now I really like how they look. Can’t wait to get the aero sills on, hopefully next month.
 
I personally didn't do anything, but visited Martin ([ref]enuff_zed[/ref]) again, the idea was to pick up some steering wheel bits. Turned into a 'drive each other's cars and compare', followed by Martin adjusting my steering (was heavy, notchy, and twitchy) now approximately a million times better. Then Martin guided me through the wonders of the 'scanner 1.4' system, and now I have (trying to remember) indicator flash on lock, roof goes up with the key, and the headlights are always on as 'driving lights'. Also I need one of these diag/coding tools in my life, it appeals to my computer nerd tendencies. Shall be ordering one shortly.

Once again, thanks to Martin for hosting me and putting up with my endless questions and the fact that the morning did scope creep quite a bit.
 
I had my car coded for 3 flash indicators and "beep" on locking as I don't always notice the indicator flash. :roll:

You'll be able to play about with all that stuff when you get your coding tool!
 
SOhioZ4 said:
Took mine to a different garage , this fella loves Z4s. The low coolant level light continually comes on even though everything is fine , going to replace a sensor . Also , when I backed it out of my garage after not moving all winter , I found two oil spots , about the size of an M & M , Im not to concerned about it though. Im going to have him take a look at everything , see if anything jumps out at him . Ill probably be replacing the battery too , oh well .
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I’d bet the low level light is due to the low level float sticking inside the expansion tank. It is a separate float to the one you can see at the top
 
Usel asked me to code his to beep on lock and unlock, forgetting his garage is built into the front of his house. With his early morning starts this didn’t last long before his better half suggested he’d better turn it off again 🤣
 
Mr Tidy said:
You'll be able to play about with all that stuff when you get your coding tool!
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I absolutely will. Also I can be a Backup Martin in this regard when he's on one of his international jaunts and the people of Norfolk need diagnostic help.
 
I was notified on a service that the headlight washer connector wasnt connected and so was leaking a while back so last week I topped up the windscreen reservoir and marked with some masking tape on the side of the reservoir the level. Checked it today after its been sitting on the drive all week and the level hasnt changed which was good as it meant it wasnt continuously emptying.

Then had a poke around and found that the connector from the washer pump did not have the hose connected but did have some sort of yellow sealed end terminal connected sealing it off. So although the pipe isnt connected I dont have a leak which is a load off my mind :thumbsup:

I'm guessing a previous owner had a leaking headlight washer and just removed the piping and added the plug to the pump to solve the problem. So now I have no leak but also no headlight washers. Next thing to do is decide whether I want to try reinstating the headlight washers
 
Gebbly said:
I was notified on a service that the headlight washer connector wasnt connected and so was leaking a while back so last week I topped up the windscreen reservoir and marked with some masking tape on the side of the reservoir the level. Checked it today after its been sitting on the drive all week and the level hasnt changed which was good as it meant it wasnt continuously emptying.

Then had a poke around and found that the connector from the washer pump did not have the hose connected but did have some sort of yellow sealed end terminal connected sealing it off. So although the pipe isnt connected I dont have a leak which is a load off my mind :thumbsup:

I'm guessing a previous owner had a leaking headlight washer and just removed the piping and added the plug to the pump to solve the problem. So now I have no leak but also no headlight washers. Next thing to do is decide whether I want to try reinstating the headlight washers
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Don’t bother. They make more of a mess. I removed the hoses entirely.
 
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