My Fleet (M Coupe, Z4 & MX-5)
Discussion
I thought I'd share with you all my fleet of cars, however before I get to them I'll give you a bit of background on some of my (and wife's) previously owned cars;
1997 328i Sport
Wife's 318ti
Our e46 coupes (my one was the black 330ci Sport, Lynn's was the 318ci in red
...anyway, here we go;
First is my pride and joy - 2000 Z3M Coupe, its pretty standard apart from the BBS LM's in 18" and the full ProSpeed exhaust. I've done a handful of upgrades including rogue engineering top mounts, had the conrod bolts replaced with ARP ones with new shells and other that that it's just typical S50 maintenance (head gasket, clutch, AC overhaul, new brakes etc).
A couple of pics below (removed the comedy plate shortly after buying it);
after a couple of months of ownership
At a PistonHeads meet (topgear test track)
Old rod bolt - you can see how its stretched
Old shell
New wheels
Fitted (at Bimmerflex in Esher - comedy show but a mile from my house so I went for a mooch
Quick track day at Bedford in July
Oh and a flying visit to the 'ring at the end of July
Next up my the Z4 3.0 manual - This one my wife drives mostly, only owned it a couple of weeks. First impressions is that its a nice relaxed little roadster, completely different to drive from the Z3M
Finally is the Eunos Roadster which I own with my next door neighbour which we bought to do some trackdays in. It's got a Jackson Racing supercharger with a Megasquirt PnP, decat, TR Lane roll bar, 4 point harnesses, 300mm steering wheel, bucket seat, Axxis ultimate brake pads, braided hoses, brake booster brace, a host of underbody bracing and a set of Ohlins Coilovers
Early days
Rollbar going in
Brands Hatch
Errrmmm Rockingham?
before we fitted the Ohlins.... It needed them!
OEM lip fitted
Abortive Surrey RR session ( 154 bhp with a misfire... that'll be the AIT sensor... bugger)
Goodwood in August
Ring in July... overtaking a fiesta... doing well
thanks for looking.
andrew
1997 328i Sport
Wife's 318ti
Our e46 coupes (my one was the black 330ci Sport, Lynn's was the 318ci in red
...anyway, here we go;
First is my pride and joy - 2000 Z3M Coupe, its pretty standard apart from the BBS LM's in 18" and the full ProSpeed exhaust. I've done a handful of upgrades including rogue engineering top mounts, had the conrod bolts replaced with ARP ones with new shells and other that that it's just typical S50 maintenance (head gasket, clutch, AC overhaul, new brakes etc).
A couple of pics below (removed the comedy plate shortly after buying it);
after a couple of months of ownership
At a PistonHeads meet (topgear test track)
Old rod bolt - you can see how its stretched
Old shell
New wheels
Fitted (at Bimmerflex in Esher - comedy show but a mile from my house so I went for a mooch
Quick track day at Bedford in July
Oh and a flying visit to the 'ring at the end of July
Next up my the Z4 3.0 manual - This one my wife drives mostly, only owned it a couple of weeks. First impressions is that its a nice relaxed little roadster, completely different to drive from the Z3M
Finally is the Eunos Roadster which I own with my next door neighbour which we bought to do some trackdays in. It's got a Jackson Racing supercharger with a Megasquirt PnP, decat, TR Lane roll bar, 4 point harnesses, 300mm steering wheel, bucket seat, Axxis ultimate brake pads, braided hoses, brake booster brace, a host of underbody bracing and a set of Ohlins Coilovers
Early days
Rollbar going in
Brands Hatch
Errrmmm Rockingham?
before we fitted the Ohlins.... It needed them!
OEM lip fitted
Abortive Surrey RR session ( 154 bhp with a misfire... that'll be the AIT sensor... bugger)
Goodwood in August
Ring in July... overtaking a fiesta... doing well
thanks for looking.
andrew
Edited by andrewturner on Friday 28th January 08:34
Edited by andrewturner on Friday 28th January 08:36
toasty said:
Ooh, nice Z4. I hope it's working out well for you.
One thing I really miss is the more direct steering as the M3 seems to want an extra quarter turn for tight bends.
Lol.. 1 careful previous owner! Getting the wheels refurbed on the Z4 next week... going highly polished like the BBS LM's.One thing I really miss is the more direct steering as the M3 seems to want an extra quarter turn for tight bends.
The steering on the Z4 is direct, I agree... with the M3 you should use the rear to steer... plenty of power for that!
You need to post some pics Jason of the M3!
andrewturner said:
toasty said:
Ooh, nice Z4. I hope it's working out well for you.
One thing I really miss is the more direct steering as the M3 seems to want an extra quarter turn for tight bends.
Lol.. 1 careful previous owner! Getting the wheels refurbed on the Z4 next week... going highly polished like the BBS LM's.One thing I really miss is the more direct steering as the M3 seems to want an extra quarter turn for tight bends.
The steering on the Z4 is direct, I agree... with the M3 you should use the rear to steer... plenty of power for that!
You need to post some pics Jason of the M3!
I've only had the chance to get one pic up so far here http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&a...
I sent the Z4 BBS' away this week for a refurb so I fitted the BBS LM's off the Coupe;
I think they look better on the Z4m than they do on the Z3M...
decisions... the BBS Splits from the Z4 have a very high ofset (ET47 front ET50 Rear), so they wont fit the Z3MC (cant remember exactly however they are something like ET40 front ET9 Rear...big OEM dish).
Cheers
andrew
I think they look better on the Z4m than they do on the Z3M...
decisions... the BBS Splits from the Z4 have a very high ofset (ET47 front ET50 Rear), so they wont fit the Z3MC (cant remember exactly however they are something like ET40 front ET9 Rear...big OEM dish).
Cheers
andrew
Oh and an MX5 Update - We fitted a Track dog racing tensioner and a smaller nose pulley recently. Its certainly given it a bit more power, however at the Snetterton track day on the 8th Oct, the belt started slipping on the pulley which i guess is the trade off. I'll retension it at the weekend as belts do stretch a bit after install (according the the belt.. its written all over it).
Anyway, did a Donington track day in the wet in the mx5 which wasnt great.. the Ohlins are set up for a dry day and its beyond my skill level to adjust them (I have no idea which way and how many clicks to go from a dry to wet day), so predictabily it understeered and then oversteered all day!
Really Wet!
Anyway, did a Donington track day in the wet in the mx5 which wasnt great.. the Ohlins are set up for a dry day and its beyond my skill level to adjust them (I have no idea which way and how many clicks to go from a dry to wet day), so predictabily it understeered and then oversteered all day!
Really Wet!
Excellent collection you've got there, can't help thinking of http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zwCp_AgkFdM everytime I see one of the Z3M's!
Rather like the MX5, I've guessing it's sans intercooler at the moment, hence the lower power output? With a megasquirt you should see 200bhp or so with an intercooled setup and all the right bits on the s/c. Will hopefully see you on track in the new year!
Rather like the MX5, I've guessing it's sans intercooler at the moment, hence the lower power output? With a megasquirt you should see 200bhp or so with an intercooled setup and all the right bits on the s/c. Will hopefully see you on track in the new year!
The chap that did the wheels company is called wheelklass and they cover north Surrey. I opted to leave the rims in lacquered as that is where the water ingress' however that might prove the undoing of it. It means I have to wipe them down frequently to stop them going nasty. Pm me for his details.
Re the mx5. Thanks for the comments, no it's not intercooled at the moment, it could do with another 20 brake tho. Recently had a tdr tensioner and a smaller nose pulley fitted and it's gained a bit, however I agree it does need a fmic.
See you on track next year.
AT
Re the mx5. Thanks for the comments, no it's not intercooled at the moment, it could do with another 20 brake tho. Recently had a tdr tensioner and a smaller nose pulley fitted and it's gained a bit, however I agree it does need a fmic.
See you on track next year.
AT
CypherP said:
Great set of cars! Personally, think the BBS LM's do look better on the Z4.
Just out of curiosity, who did you use to get your Z4 alloys refurbed?
Going back to his earlier post, would it be possible to roll the rear arches on the Z3M to get the Z4 wheels under? I think they'd look tip top.Just out of curiosity, who did you use to get your Z4 alloys refurbed?
I think to get the z4 wheels to look right on the M coupe, it would need around a 35mm spacer, which is pretty big IMO, however as I've got a set of 15mm spacers for my LM's, I might offer one wheel up using both spacers together to get 30mm.
Quick update from today. The M Coupe has been in to Phil at CPC again as the exhaust flexi joint was blowing from a small crack at the top, so rather than shelling out £700 for a new manifold plus fitting, I asked Phil to get an updated joint welded in (the cracked flexi joint on M3 Evos is quite common, less common on the Z3M's, however they do tend to be lower milage from what I've seen and they tend to go between 60-100k, its apparently about the heat cycles degrading the joint, so I'm told).
Anyway, here is the new 'uprated' flexi - braided joint;
It was hammering it down tonight on the way round the M25 back home... I forgot how lively this one is in the wet
Oh, also bought a re-upholstered steering wheel which Phil fitted too with a new slip ring (squeaky old one). The new wheel is much thicker like the e46 ones, also went for a perforated /tri-stitched one to stay as close to OEM as possible;
Old vs new;
crappy mobile phone pic in dark (will take a better one in day light);
Oh and a gratuitous photo after a recent clean with Blackfire Sealant and Carnuba Wax ;
Cheers andrew
Quick update from today. The M Coupe has been in to Phil at CPC again as the exhaust flexi joint was blowing from a small crack at the top, so rather than shelling out £700 for a new manifold plus fitting, I asked Phil to get an updated joint welded in (the cracked flexi joint on M3 Evos is quite common, less common on the Z3M's, however they do tend to be lower milage from what I've seen and they tend to go between 60-100k, its apparently about the heat cycles degrading the joint, so I'm told).
Anyway, here is the new 'uprated' flexi - braided joint;
It was hammering it down tonight on the way round the M25 back home... I forgot how lively this one is in the wet
Oh, also bought a re-upholstered steering wheel which Phil fitted too with a new slip ring (squeaky old one). The new wheel is much thicker like the e46 ones, also went for a perforated /tri-stitched one to stay as close to OEM as possible;
Old vs new;
crappy mobile phone pic in dark (will take a better one in day light);
Oh and a gratuitous photo after a recent clean with Blackfire Sealant and Carnuba Wax ;
Cheers andrew
Here's a better one of the new steering wheel;
Update Jan 2011 - The whole car is being repainted this week, i noticed a spot of rot working its way through the front n/s wing, in addition to the stone chipped bumper and bonnet and when chatting to various body shops, no one would guarantee a perfect colour match, so the whole lot it is then.
I'll update the thread once its been painted with some new pics. quite excited about getting it done. I have a bit of OCD at times!
I can't wait until there is no more salt on the road, as its on the original wheels at the moment and I want to get the BBS' back on!
rgds
andrew
Update Jan 2011 - The whole car is being repainted this week, i noticed a spot of rot working its way through the front n/s wing, in addition to the stone chipped bumper and bonnet and when chatting to various body shops, no one would guarantee a perfect colour match, so the whole lot it is then.
I'll update the thread once its been painted with some new pics. quite excited about getting it done. I have a bit of OCD at times!
I can't wait until there is no more salt on the road, as its on the original wheels at the moment and I want to get the BBS' back on!
rgds
andrew
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