BMW Z3 2.8 - OEM+ long term project

[5harp3y]

Started to refurb my new wheels yesterday as had the day off.

Genuine Style 24 LTW forged wheels .... these are the super rare 1995 only wheel



as you can see the lacquer has gone



starting point



this stuff is evil! paint on and leave for 10 minutes then start scraping off.



Lacquer bubbling up

[5harp3y]

So small weekend update and then i'll have a mega update in a few days as something very very exciting (to me) has just happened

Was replacing the radiator on my mum's mini this weekend as her local mechanic wanted £300 for what is 2 hours work!

Friday and Saturday i rectified and modified my carbon (fake) centre console.

As you may have seen i have swapped in a complete facelift console and then wrapped it in 4d carbon. i was never happy with the wrapping and bought some proper 3M dinoc carbon to do it in.

all i can say is i'm 1000000000% happier and the 3M stuff is so much easier to use.

here's a before with the 4D stuff



and then the 3M dinoc







and i also fitted this awesome dual USB port that also comes with a voltage meter in it. I've replaced the cig lighter with it. love it and shows a spot on 14v when driving and 11.8 when off.

it even lights up the correct orange!

[5harp3y]

so this is really exciting for me. I've finally got the Style 24 wheels refurbed and mounted and i'm completely over the moon with them.

I started the refurb myself but quickly realised that was going to take far too long. a quick trip to MyAlloys in Basingstoke and they are done.

New centre caps from our good friends [USER=688]@Soper Parts Lincoln[/USER] and some eBay bolt caps and we are good to go.

They are BMW OEM Style 24 which came from a 1995 BMW M3 LTW

These are the rarest style 24s available as they are 1995 only LTW wheels

Forged
Perfect Z3 fitment (Same as standard wheels)
They weigh 10kgs (as a set) less than the originals so some good unsprung weight savings

My tyres are still cheap cack but have loads of tread so not going to waste that






also treated the car to some snow foam




next jobs:

Rear beam bushes
Rear trailing arm bushes
Front ARB bushes
Front ball joints
gearbox oil

[OldSkoolRS]

That's looking great with the new improved carbon fibre trim and refurbed alloys, I like the USB volt meter too.

You mention gearbox oil: On my (now sold) Z3 3.0 I changed the oil due to a stiff change, especially when cold and it made a huge difference despite it supposedly being long life and my car was at 60k miles at the time. I didn't buy BMW's oil though, instead I searched for the equivalent version which was about 25% the cost for exactly the same oil. If you haven't sourced the oil yet, let me know and I'll try to retrace my steps to find the supplier (I gave the receipt to the new owner).

[5harp3y]

OldSkoolRS said:

That's looking great with the new improved carbon fibre trim and refurbed alloys, I like the USB volt meter too.

You mention gearbox oil: On my (now sold) Z3 3.0 I changed the oil due to a stiff change, especially when cold and it made a huge difference despite it supposedly being long life and my car was at 60k miles at the time. I didn't buy BMW's oil though, instead I searched for the equivalent version which was about 25% the cost for exactly the same oil. If you haven't sourced the oil yet, let me know and I'll try to retrace my steps to find the supplier (I gave the receipt to the new owner).

Thanks for your message, i've gone for Redline ATF as prescribed by Opie Oils which should improve the gearchange massively as when cold its very notchy

[dirtbiker]

Really like the dual USB cigarette lighter - where did you get that from? I fancy one for my Cayman!

Lovely looking car, always been a fan of those wheels and they look great on it! Nice job with the centre console as well. Keep it up!

[vsonix]

+1 like the volt meter - where did it come from?
Like the Style 24s too, I just bought a set... and then sold them again. I've gone over to Style 18s for the moment as I think they look great on a Z3. I'm holding out for some more interesting aftermarket 5-spokes with a bit more shape to them, either Brock B1, Azev A or Racing Dynamics if I see the right fitment set pop up for the right money...

Carbon fibre looks nice. The carbon fibre gear knob I just fitted would finish the look perfectly.

[OldSkoolRS]

5harp3y said:

Thanks for your message, i've gone for Redline ATF as prescribed by Opie Oils which should improve the gearchange massively as when cold its very notchy

Sounds like the one I went for, Opie oils rings a bell for sure.

[Podie]

Mwstewart found the cigar lighter thingy and put one on his Ferrari.

The revised carbon centre console and the later ASC and hood switches look much better - really nice job.

Alloys look good too - and 2.5kg lighter per corner is not to be sniffed at!

[5harp3y]

Podie said:

Mwstewart found the cigar lighter thingy and put one on his Ferrari.

The revised carbon centre console and the later ASC and hood switches look much better - really nice job.

Alloys look good too - and 2.5kg lighter per corner is not to be sniffed at!

Thanks, the car feels better with them on and the facelifted interior is so much nicer

[5harp3y]

vsonix said:

+1 like the volt meter - where did it come from?
Like the Style 24s too, I just bought a set... and then sold them again. I've gone over to Style 18s for the moment as I think they look great on a Z3. I'm holding out for some more interesting aftermarket 5-spokes with a bit more shape to them, either Brock B1, Azev A or Racing Dynamics if I see the right fitment set pop up for the right money...

Carbon fibre looks nice. The carbon fibre gear knob I just fitted would finish the look perfectly.

eBay and it came from Hong Kong in about 10 days. Was the only place i could find with orange illumination.

[5harp3y]

So my exhaust tips were always horrible and i didn't want to pay the money BMW wanted for some new ones.

So i made my own:

Start with this


Take some 304 stainless pipe



chop in half



protect with tape, mount in vice and mark three holes, then struggle like crazy to drill the 304 with cobalt drill bits



mount your drill and polishing mop





get your uncle to weld on some nuts (stainless)



attach to the car with stainless bolts and spring washers

[shalmaneser]

Exhaust tips look great!

Maybe would be cool to stagger them like the e36 M3:



I can measure the difference in length if you want?

[5harp3y]

shalmaneser said:

Exhaust tips look great!

Maybe would be cool to stagger them like the e36 M3:

I can measure the difference in length if you want?

Thanks for the offer, i tried them staggered but didnt like it

[HugoFastmann]

Lovely project you've got there. You've made some really nice modifications and upgrades, all of which work perfectly with the Z3 looks. Very nice indeed!!

[5harp3y]

HugoFastmann said:

Lovely project you've got there. You've made some really nice modifications and upgrades, all of which work perfectly with the Z3 looks. Very nice indeed!!

thank you, trying very hard to make it look relatively standard unless you know

[vsonix]

How did you wire in the self-dimming mirror? I think I have a spare one in my parts stash might be good to use it up...

[5harp3y]

vsonix said:

How did you wire in the self-dimming mirror? I think I have a spare one in my parts stash might be good to use it up...

tapped it into the interior light which is in the perfect location

[HugoFastmann]

5harp3y said:

thank you, trying very hard to make it look relatively standard unless you know

You've definitely pulled that off! I'm doing some similar mods with my 325ti, although some mods are blatantly non-OEM (like the aftermarket wheels I went for). Next I've got lined up in mind is a M135i brake upgrade...

Always liked the Z3, and kind of want one more now.

[5harp3y]

HugoFastmann said:

You've definitely pulled that off! I'm doing some similar mods with my 325ti, although some mods are blatantly non-OEM (like the aftermarket wheels I went for). Next I've got lined up in mind is a M135i brake upgrade...

Always liked the Z3, and kind of want one more now.

Tell me more about the brake upgrade? is that to go to monoblock style brakes?

if i needed a daily i'd be looking at 325ti, so much fun and massively underrated