Z3 Specifc questions
Discussion
Have you seen about the Zed fest at Silverstone 20 to 22nd July? They are going to have a procession on the track for a photo at 6pm on the Saturday. I'm just waiting for confirmation of a stag do date before I commit to going myself. Silverstone is only about an hour away for me (went to the SS there last week).
This is the link to buy tickets:
http://www.silverstoneclassic.com/buytickets
Link to a thread on Zroadster.net:
http://www.zroadster.net/forum/viewtopic.php?f=1&a...
This is the link to buy tickets:
http://www.silverstoneclassic.com/buytickets
Link to a thread on Zroadster.net:
http://www.zroadster.net/forum/viewtopic.php?f=1&a...
Well, a very satisfying weekend spent polishing in the sun 
I used the Farecla G3 products and was very impressed for the price. Full wash with 'paint detox' shampoo, then used their scratch remover on every panel (hard work!) but the paintwork is gleaming. Then the ever-patient OH filled every nick and scratch with primer and today paint.
Will need a rub down, lacquer and another wash tomorrow, ready for waxing. I cleaned all the alloys although they need a refurb at some point, and the next plan is hood restorer (I've heard Renovo is excellent unless anyone knows anything better?).
Most important is driving though. Ironically I've never been a fan of convertibles, but, well, with this sunshine it would be rude not to. I love the bark and roar of the engine when you shove your foot down - very addictive!
I feel like I've got my 'mojo' back and it's joyous
I used the Farecla G3 products and was very impressed for the price. Full wash with 'paint detox' shampoo, then used their scratch remover on every panel (hard work!) but the paintwork is gleaming. Then the ever-patient OH filled every nick and scratch with primer and today paint.
Will need a rub down, lacquer and another wash tomorrow, ready for waxing. I cleaned all the alloys although they need a refurb at some point, and the next plan is hood restorer (I've heard Renovo is excellent unless anyone knows anything better?).
Most important is driving though. Ironically I've never been a fan of convertibles, but, well, with this sunshine it would be rude not to. I love the bark and roar of the engine when you shove your foot down - very addictive!
I feel like I've got my 'mojo' back and it's joyous
That's what it's all about I reckon, getting out and about with the roof down in the sun. Had a run or two out in mine this weekend and even pulled out behind another blue Z3 and went in convoy for a few miles on one trip. I still find it surprising all the sounds and smells that you notice with the roof off, plus the exhaust sounds better too, especially through tunnels.
Like you it seems to have revived my interest in cars greatly too. Just having something to tinker about with and clean up without major work needed.
@DinoD that's a nice list of mods you've done to your 2.8 and I love the wheels too.
Had a run or two out in mine this weekend and even pulled out behind another blue Z3 and went in convoy for a few miles on one trip. I still find it surprising all the sounds and smells that you notice with the roof off, plus the exhaust sounds better too, especially through tunnels. Like you it seems to have revived my interest in cars greatly too. Just having something to tinker about with and clean up without major work needed.
@DinoD that's a nice list of mods you've done to your 2.8 and I love the wheels too.
I've had squeaky brakes on our zed for a while. Having a roof off motor makes it all the more annoying, so post bacon buttie yesterday morning, I decided to service all four corners. Two bolts & two allen keys & the calipers are off. Ten minutes to clean & adjust the drum handbrake & copaslip the pads & job jobbed. You do have to love BMW engineering, really good where it counts.
OldSkoolRS said:
That's what it's all about I reckon, getting out and about with the roof down in the sun. Had a run or two out in mine this weekend and even pulled out behind another blue Z3 and went in convoy for a few miles on one trip. I still find it surprising all the sounds and smells that you notice with the roof off, plus the exhaust sounds better too, especially through tunnels.
Like you it seems to have revived my interest in cars greatly too. Just having something to tinker about with and clean up without major work needed.
Yep, that's exactly it Had a run or two out in mine this weekend and even pulled out behind another blue Z3 and went in convoy for a few miles on one trip. I still find it surprising all the sounds and smells that you notice with the roof off, plus the exhaust sounds better too, especially through tunnels. Like you it seems to have revived my interest in cars greatly too. Just having something to tinker about with and clean up without major work needed.
It's cheap and cheerful but still huge amounts more rewarding to drive than I ever expected. Perfect timing too, as the lighter evenings and sudden burst of sunshine means my commute home is fun, and when I get there more tinkering can occur. Seat bushes have arrived, many thanks to the person who posted the link. We (that's Royal 'we', of course
) are currently painting, buffing, painting, buffing... Lacquer can go on Weds then she's ready for the full wax treatment I've promised. The paintwork is already looking fantastic, so I can't wait for that bit. I need to find a roof down hair solution though! My commute includes motorways which is not kind to my hairdo! I could go all HRH and have a natty headscarf I guess.
Don't want to go too far down the line regarding hair cuts, etc. given the car's rep regarding hairdressers I don't have your issue though as a number 3 trim does for me.
If you haven't got a wind deflector already, then I highly recommend getting one as it makes a big difference. I tried a couple that didn't have them and there was much more buffeting compared to with.
I'm lucky with my job in that I often get back mid afternoon...I have computer work to do, but that can left until the sun has gone down, so I have the chance to get out for a drive in the sun as I can't use my Z3 for business use (it wouldn't carry all my tools/parts anyway!). The lighter nights mean I have more time to drive and to tinker as well.
I don't have your issue though as a number 3 trim does for me. If you haven't got a wind deflector already, then I highly recommend getting one as it makes a big difference. I tried a couple that didn't have them and there was much more buffeting compared to with.
I'm lucky with my job in that I often get back mid afternoon...I have computer work to do, but that can left until the sun has gone down, so I have the chance to get out for a drive in the sun as I can't use my Z3 for business use (it wouldn't carry all my tools/parts anyway!). The lighter nights mean I have more time to drive and to tinker as well.
Something I just had done on mine was the throttle cable. I found the throttle very stiff and thought it was normal being a cable but when my mechanic tried it it said it needed a new cable - £20.00 from BMW and I think about half hour labour and complete change- now the throttle is a light as any modern car. Does remove a bit of the modern classic feel but much easier on the right leg when trying to maintain 50 or 70 on the motorway.
Another thing I can reccomend checking is the viscous coupling of the big fan on the front of the block. They wear with time and the fan stops kicking in like it should causing it to run hot. I noticed that my temp would go over the half mark sometimes instead of staying steady and this was the cause.
Mine already has the metal water pump impeller done which is also a common issue on older cars.
OldskoolVRS-I can't take full credit for the mods as I actually bought the car as is from another forum member. First car I ever bought unseen in fact!
Another thing I can reccomend checking is the viscous coupling of the big fan on the front of the block. They wear with time and the fan stops kicking in like it should causing it to run hot. I noticed that my temp would go over the half mark sometimes instead of staying steady and this was the cause.
Mine already has the metal water pump impeller done which is also a common issue on older cars.
OldskoolVRS-I can't take full credit for the mods as I actually bought the car as is from another forum member. First car I ever bought unseen in fact!
Just wondering how others are getting on? I take it 'roof down' has been cancelled for most of us recently. Still have a bloody hosepipe ban though, and I really want to give it a good wash, though I did get in the full wax treatment just before the ban! New list of jobs is to change the rear bushes (knackered!) and will do brake pads while we're at it. I picked up the OEM bushes from ebay as they're cheap, but I'm debating doing a full set of polybushes in the future. I've read up a lot about the Strongflex ones, which get good reviews and are much cheaper than Powerflex - a full kit is £100. I just don't want to end up with too hard a ride, as although I appreciate it will greatly improve the rather soft handling there's only so much 'stiff ride' my back can take on our rubbish roads! Anyone got any experience of the polybushes and ride quality?
Other than that, I definitely want the M50 manifold upgrade, front strut brace and a hardtop. Restoring the hood with Renovo made it immaculate however, if anyone needs a recommendation.
It's definitely a keeper
I can see me tinkering with and running it for ages. I'll probably pick up a second car at some point this year but the Z3 has sated my lust for RWD, chuckable fun. Once I get the bushes sorted it probably needs thrashing round a track. I'll also be fitting in a visit to someone localish who is doing a full race conversion on theirs to pick up a part, will be very interesting to see what he's achieved. Actually had the roof down a few times lately, last Sunday for the PH Sunday service and yesterday for a local car show and had a bit of a drive afterwards with a couple of TVRs. The lead car (a Tuscan) was being run in, so not using all the power, but the little Z3 did a good job keeping up and I got to hear the best soundtrack being behind them. 
I've replaced my front wishbone rear bushes with Powerflex ones last weekend: Sharpened up the steering a bit and doesn't seem to have made the ride any worse than before from what I can tell. I also replaced the ARB drop links (half hour job if that) with standard ones. Combined with the exhaust camshaft sensor I did a few weeks ago has the car running spot on with no more error codes coming up on INPA. MPG has improved too (apart from dropping to 25mpg following the TVRs yesterday).
I will be changing the front pads for red stuff soon (slight improvement over standard and much less dust on the wheels is a bonus), I'll give it a bleed too for piece of mind. I may replace the wishbones themselves also just to know that it's all fresh at the front. Not sure about the rear end though. I might buy a few Powerflex bits, but some of the bushes look a bit more involved to change and the Z3 is meant to be a 'tinker, polish and drive' car not a major project (like my RS2000), so don't want to get too sidetracked taking it to bits. Basically I have a two hour rule: If I think it'll take longer than 2 hours I don't want to do it just now. Many of the jobs I've done are started when I get home early from work and finished before teatime, so I kind of feel that they are 'labour free' as they are done while I'm still 'on the clock'. Perks of being a Field Engineer where working quickly and skipping lunch means I get home early.
I fancy doing some sort of driver training in it, both on track and on road as recommended by a friend. Hence I wanted to sort out the few issues with the above repairs. It's only meant to be a stop gap on route to a TVR, but as that will mean selling the RS2000 as well, I could see me keeping the Z3 for quite a while yet.
I've replaced my front wishbone rear bushes with Powerflex ones last weekend: Sharpened up the steering a bit and doesn't seem to have made the ride any worse than before from what I can tell. I also replaced the ARB drop links (half hour job if that) with standard ones. Combined with the exhaust camshaft sensor I did a few weeks ago has the car running spot on with no more error codes coming up on INPA. MPG has improved too (apart from dropping to 25mpg following the TVRs yesterday
).I will be changing the front pads for red stuff soon (slight improvement over standard and much less dust on the wheels is a bonus), I'll give it a bleed too for piece of mind. I may replace the wishbones themselves also just to know that it's all fresh at the front. Not sure about the rear end though. I might buy a few Powerflex bits, but some of the bushes look a bit more involved to change and the Z3 is meant to be a 'tinker, polish and drive' car not a major project (like my RS2000), so don't want to get too sidetracked taking it to bits. Basically I have a two hour rule: If I think it'll take longer than 2 hours I don't want to do it just now. Many of the jobs I've done are started when I get home early from work and finished before teatime, so I kind of feel that they are 'labour free' as they are done while I'm still 'on the clock'. Perks of being a Field Engineer where working quickly and skipping lunch means I get home early.
I fancy doing some sort of driver training in it, both on track and on road as recommended by a friend. Hence I wanted to sort out the few issues with the above repairs. It's only meant to be a stop gap on route to a TVR, but as that will mean selling the RS2000 as well, I could see me keeping the Z3 for quite a while yet.
Edited by OldSkoolRS on Sunday 20th May 11:40
Hello
Ah, that's good to know about polybushes, so thanks for that! As you say, changing them can be quite involved so I'm laying off doing the lot for now, but the OEM rears are on order as they are badly needed. Where did you source the droplinks please? Since it's simple job that might be worth looking into. The rear is very squeaky!
Ironically we drove just to Halfrauds for a lifting kit, and had to take the roof down for OH to have it on his lap
But it's warm here today, plus the London to Brighton vintage Mini run are here, so lots of nice sights and sounds to be had.
You may have already discovered them from your description, but I did the advanced road driving plus limit handling day with Ride Drive when I had my 996, and I can't recommend them highly enough. The instructor was phenomenal (ex class 1 police driver and rider) and I learnt a vast amount.
I did buy it as a stop gap as well, but actually I love the fact it's cheap to run and so easy to live with. It may be very un-PH of me but I'm actually not lusting after anything else really. Having lived with the daily worry of expensive parts going bang on my 911, it's very refreshing to just jump in and hit 'go'. If bits need doing I can just source them and they can be fixed. I will treat it to a proper service though, it has full BMWSH up till now, though I will use a good indy, but apart from that it's just like owning a carefree go kart!
I'm itching to go on track. Don't know how 'south' you are but I love Goodwood and they have well organised track days which I'll make an effort to get to this year once we've sorted a few more bits.
Ah, that's good to know about polybushes, so thanks for that! As you say, changing them can be quite involved so I'm laying off doing the lot for now, but the OEM rears are on order as they are badly needed. Where did you source the droplinks please? Since it's simple job that might be worth looking into. The rear is very squeaky!
Ironically we drove just to Halfrauds for a lifting kit, and had to take the roof down for OH to have it on his lap
But it's warm here today, plus the London to Brighton vintage Mini run are here, so lots of nice sights and sounds to be had.You may have already discovered them from your description, but I did the advanced road driving plus limit handling day with Ride Drive when I had my 996, and I can't recommend them highly enough. The instructor was phenomenal (ex class 1 police driver and rider) and I learnt a vast amount.
I did buy it as a stop gap as well, but actually I love the fact it's cheap to run and so easy to live with. It may be very un-PH of me but I'm actually not lusting after anything else really. Having lived with the daily worry of expensive parts going bang on my 911, it's very refreshing to just jump in and hit 'go'. If bits need doing I can just source them and they can be fixed. I will treat it to a proper service though, it has full BMWSH up till now, though I will use a good indy, but apart from that it's just like owning a carefree go kart!
I'm itching to go on track. Don't know how 'south' you are but I love Goodwood and they have well organised track days which I'll make an effort to get to this year once we've sorted a few more bits.
Hate to say it, but I just bought the drop links on eBay, a set of the front ones plus the rears for £18 more to see if it sorted a slight 'clunk' when swerving hard to the right. It didn't solve the issue (I think it's just the strut mount). I'll fit the rear ones at some point, but too busy getting out and driving it the last few dry days (even if the sun wasn't really out). The Powerflex bushes also came from eBay. I kind of cheated as I also bought some bush carriers (the metal 'lollypop' parts) so that I didn't have the hassle of getting the old bushes out, the powerflex ones just push in with your fingers: OEM ones require a tool to press them back in. If I replace the wishbones I'll be able to reuse the powerflex bushes as they won't be damaged swopping them over.
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/360325780024?ssPageName=...
Or item number 360325780024 if the link doesn't work.
Bush carriers:
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/170509680782?ssPageName=...
Item number: 170509680782
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/160452854986?ssPageName=...
Item number: 160452854986
It was ride drive that my friend used for his training, so that's another positive recommendation. I'm in Berkshire near Wokingham so Goodwood isn't too far away as I've been a few times to Sunday Service meets. I've driven at Anglesey track in a friend's VX220 so I'd like to see how the Z3 makes out on a track as it's heavier and more of a cruiser, but I'd be more relaxed in my own car I think. I thought you had to be a club member to drive on Goodwood, so if you know of any events that I would be able to drive at please let me know, especially if other Z3s are going.
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/360325780024?ssPageName=...
Or item number 360325780024 if the link doesn't work.
Bush carriers:
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/170509680782?ssPageName=...
Item number: 170509680782
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/160452854986?ssPageName=...
Item number: 160452854986
It was ride drive that my friend used for his training, so that's another positive recommendation. I'm in Berkshire near Wokingham so Goodwood isn't too far away as I've been a few times to Sunday Service meets. I've driven at Anglesey track in a friend's VX220 so I'd like to see how the Z3 makes out on a track as it's heavier and more of a cruiser, but I'd be more relaxed in my own car I think. I thought you had to be a club member to drive on Goodwood, so if you know of any events that I would be able to drive at please let me know, especially if other Z3s are going.
Nowt wrong with ebay, I got my bushes there
Thanks for the links, we'll have the car up this week doing said bushes at some point and see what else needs doing.
You don't have to be a member to drive at Goodwood: http://www.goodwood.co.uk/motorsport/track-day-exp...
Maybe some Zroadster members would be interested in a group day out, there or elsewhere in the south east? I'm not a member on there yet but read it fairly regularly. I'll have a browse through. I'm sure PH organise something, somewhere, too? (Helpfully vague?!)
I'll definitely be up for something once the car is more sorted, so summer really, if we get one
Given your location you may well get my instructor at Ride Drive, or you could ask for him - Andy Smith. He is Surrey based and we met up in Box Hill although they will travel within reason. Can't recommend him and Ride Drive highly enough.
Well, it was too nice not to so have just given the car a good wash and wax. Need to jet wash the undersides as well having driven through one too many deeply flooded roads recently!
Now on to the important part of Sunday, relaxing and eating lots
Thanks for the links, we'll have the car up this week doing said bushes at some point and see what else needs doing.
You don't have to be a member to drive at Goodwood: http://www.goodwood.co.uk/motorsport/track-day-exp...
Maybe some Zroadster members would be interested in a group day out, there or elsewhere in the south east? I'm not a member on there yet but read it fairly regularly. I'll have a browse through. I'm sure PH organise something, somewhere, too? (Helpfully vague?!)
I'll definitely be up for something once the car is more sorted, so summer really, if we get one
Given your location you may well get my instructor at Ride Drive, or you could ask for him - Andy Smith. He is Surrey based and we met up in Box Hill although they will travel within reason. Can't recommend him and Ride Drive highly enough.
Well, it was too nice not to so have just given the car a good wash and wax. Need to jet wash the undersides as well having driven through one too many deeply flooded roads recently!
Now on to the important part of Sunday, relaxing and eating lots
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