Z3 Owner browsing E86 Z4 Coupe

[Scooblitz]

Good Evening Forum members

I have been a Z3 owner for the best part of 7 years and currently own a 97 2.8i which has had extensive mechanical restoration. Sadly, I crashed it in wet conditions last November. It was my fault. Ill-considered driving, bad tires and standing water made for a spin at 70mph on the motorway into the concrete central reservation. Walked away unscathed and all things considered, the car wasn't that bad either. The worst damage was done by the fork lifting at the recovery company (which I told them not to do). A mistake I wont be making again.
It was written off as a CAT N and bought back off the insurer to at worst remove the goodies I had lavished on it. I wasn't far away from having her complete. Paint correction, interior refurb and a shouty exhaust was all that was left to do. I never quite got there.

Its back on the road but she's ugly and the cost of trying to bring it back to her former glory is economically unviable. Popped in some photos of it in its better days. Some might know the car from zroadster.org.

So this bring me to why I am here. I am tempted with an E86. Prices seem pretty low at the moment and an SI has come up 3 miles from me. Its Sapphire black with black red leather. The black shades are my preference for exterior.

Dream land E86 would be ruby with cinnamon. I'll guess they will be rare as can be.

Is there anything to look out for when buying an E86?

There is a little rust bubbling on the rear drivers wing panel arch and also the front. Can these be sourced and replaced with relatively minimal fuss?

What are the limitations on wheel fitment in regards to offset x widths? Probably sticking with 18s.

Scooblitz

 

[Mr Tidy]

Hi and welcome to the forum from a serial E86 owner.

Here's a link to a detailed database a forum member compiled for 3.0Si and Ms that doesn't seem to mention Cinnamon, but it looks like 2 Ruby Coupes with Caramel were registered in the UK! http://perso.numericable.fr/tonyz4c/

My first Coupe was Ruby with Pearl Grey which looked great in the right light, but was impossible to keep clean. Carbon Black looks great in the sun too but like any shade of black it means loads of cleaning!

As for things to look out for there are the usual old BMW oil leak issues from cam-cover and oil filter housing gaskets and rear brake pipes are prone to corrosion at the back of the plastic cover that ends just in front of the passenger side rear wheel.

Wings are still available, but aren't cheap as I don't think there are any pattern parts. Some Coupes got new or repaired tailgates under the 12 year warranty so if you look at one open the tailgate and check around all the edges.

There are plenty of wheel options. OE staggered 18s were 8J ET47 fronts and 8.5J ET50 rears, but I fitted E89 staggered 18s to my second 3.0Si that were 8J ET29 front and 8.5J ET40 rear with no rubbing issues.

My current MC came with 19" CSL Reps that were 8.5J ET44 front and 9.5J ET27 rear as Ms have different offsets but it gives an indication of what might fit in the arches!

Finally check the spec as it was pretty miserly from new. Cruise, heated seats, Xenons, rear pdc and even cup-holders were options.

 

[raymond.harper]

Sorry to hear about your Z3. I have owned two in the past, a 2.2 and a Z3M. With the Z3 I always felt you were sitting on it rather than in it. The Z4 is far more complex from an electrical point of view so try to get a model-specific code reader and use it on any potential purchases to pick up on problems. The facelift version has the N52 engine. If you see a car you like, place the details up on this forum and the members will no doubt give you advice.

 

[RAYK47]

Welcome to the forum and sad to hear of the Z3 fate, however at least you were able to walk away unharmed.

Cant help you with your E86 search as i have an E89 but happy hunting.

 

[Zedebee]

E86 - great choice. A sublime design and quite practical for a two-seater.

They are all Si (3.0Si) but come in SE or Sport specification. Sport has nicer seats, lowered/stiffer suspension and some interior trim changes. Desirable options are extended leather, 10 speaker HiFi (the basic 6 speaker is woeful), xenon headlights, cruise control and cup holders, although the last two are easy retrofits.

There are not many weak points with the N52 engine, although replacing the electric water pump above 60k provides reassurance. If that fails, the engine will overheat very quickly.

A good service history is valued, especially as a lower mileage car may only have been service 2-3 times in 16 years if the owner has gone by the service indicator. Nevertheless, reports of problems arising due to irregular servicing seem to be quite rare.
Most examples have rust free panels. Although panels are available from breakers (and many are common to the E85), it’s best to stay away from rusty cars. The bottom of the window on the rear hatch acts as a water trap / bird bath, so check the underside of the hatch carefully. Suspension needs refreshing every so often (40k?) but is not prohibitively expensive, particularly if you can do it yourself. If the car has OEM (Bridgestone Potenza) run flats, ditch these at your earliest convenience for a step-change in ride quality.
The manual gearbox can be quite notchy in the lower gears, whereas the auto is well-rated by fans of automatics.

The standard wheel fitment (8J et47, 8.5J et50) is quite far inboard and can handle a 15mm spacer at the front and 20mm on the back, so down to about et35 is fine, with more leeway on the SE ride height. Many owners run 19” wheels.

Prices seem to be all over the place from £4k to £17k, mostly dependent on mileage, but there are bargains to be had. Dark colours are difficult to keep clean! Good luck with the search.

 

[Scooblitz]

Thanks for the replies.

Growing more tempted but know rust is always an issue.

The rear arch has some bubbling as well as the front arch. Are both panels able to be unbolted or are they welded? Iirc the fronts are swappable but not sure if the rear would be. Would it be most cost effective to cut and weld a rear panel arch? New ones looks around £850 from Lithuania.

Would 18x8 et20 fit in the front? Seems too much offset. Same issue with the z3.

Ill try and pop some photos of the car in consideration.

 

[Zedebee]

Thanks for the replies.

Growing more tempted but know rust is always an issue.

The rear arch has some bubbling as well as the front arch. Are both panels able to be unbolted or are they welded? Iirc the fronts are swappable but not sure if the rear would be. Would it be most cost effective to cut and weld a rear panel arch? New ones looks around £850 from Lithuania.

Would 18x8 et20 fit in the front?

Ill try and pop some photos of the car in consideration.

Both front and ear arches are bolted on, so (relatively) easy to swap. These cars do not tend to be rusty, so I would avoid a rusty one, there are plenty of non-rusty ones out there.

Et20 is likely to be too aggressive on the front. 8J et47 is standard and I know et34 works fine but I wouldn’t push it much further than that.