Z3 Specifc questions
Discussion
Thanks for all the kind words...was half expecting to be told I'd been ripped off in usual PH style. 
I've recently come back to RWD with my company car which arrived last month, a 320d Touring, so that's gently getting me used to RWD handling again. I'll try not to stuff the Z3 on the first roundabout. 
Edit to add a few more photos. These are just the dealer ones, so I'll have to take some more 'arty' ones myself once I pick it up.
I've recently come back to RWD with my company car which arrived last month, a 320d Touring, so that's gently getting me used to RWD handling again. I'll try not to stuff the Z3 on the first roundabout. Edit to add a few more photos. These are just the dealer ones, so I'll have to take some more 'arty' ones myself once I pick it up.
Edited by OldSkoolRS on Wednesday 29th February 17:42
Looks nice. Has it got wobbly seats? After a while, the seats develop some free play in the runners, and rock back and forth a couple of CM. It's a bit disconcerting, and there are kits available to replace the rubber blocks in the runners - they fall apart when they get brittle (or something like that). I'll be doing the OH's in a couple of weeks time.
Just managed to sort out the insurance...what a bundle of fun that was as it's my OH's policy that has been 'mirrored' so help me if I make a claim and lose her no claims bonus. Maybe by next year my poxy HR dept will have provided me with written proof of my company car no claims, so I can start my own policy.
[EDIT: It ended up just under £300 fully comp, £300XS and upto 8,000 miles a year. Plus it's insured for commuting, so in theory I could drive it to the office on a rare day that I'm not out and about in my company car.]
All I've heard on the news today is how the price of petrol is the highest ever; just as I buy my biggest engined car so far. The weather than followed looks like I'll not be putting the roof down much either. Ah well, you have to laugh...
Can't wait to pick it up in the morning.
[EDIT: It ended up just under £300 fully comp, £300XS and upto 8,000 miles a year. Plus it's insured for commuting, so in theory I could drive it to the office on a rare day that I'm not out and about in my company car.]
All I've heard on the news today is how the price of petrol is the highest ever; just as I buy my biggest engined car so far. The weather than followed looks like I'll not be putting the roof down much either.
Ah well, you have to laugh...Can't wait to pick it up in the morning.
Grinning like a fool! Just picked up my Z3 2.8 (1998 reg), I read this topic last night while waiting for today and found it really informative, so thought I'd shove my update in here.
Like someone else said here I think, when I first saw Z3s, I wasn't impressed at all by them and they had never been a car I lusted after (thought they were fugly!).
I bought an E46 328i as a stopgap replacement after I sold my 996. It has been the most terminally dull car I've driven, I honestly hated it, it felt so sterile with really lazy throttle response and no real shove lower down the rev range, and I was desperate to replace it but I didn't want to run another expensive car (yet!
) and other offerings in the lower price brackets didn't inspire me much.
I noticed Z3s had come down in price though, and the only redeeming feature of the E46 is that lovely inline 6, they're RWD, I quite liked the balance of front engined having only driven rear or mid before, so they played on my mind but I wasn't really convinced.
Then my OH texted to say a director at his work (engineering consultancy - relevant as the car is so well maintained by someone with knoweldge) needed shot of a 2.8 Z3 as he'd bought a Z4. The price was too tempting. I drove it and bought it that evening (Mon).
Today I collected it, and am just back from a 2 hour hoon. I LOVE it! In fact, I enjoyed it more than I did my 996, which was fantastically competent but also a bit 'dull', almost too good, if that makes sense.
Although refined, comfortable and with all the gizmos - heated seats, mirrors etc - the Z3 feels much more raw, much more planted, extremely rev-happy with plenty of grunt. I love the direct feel of the steering and the feedback, it's a point and shoot car. I turned in too quickly to a corner and expected a 'moment' at one point, but the car just followed its nose and flew round and out again. The gearchange is great too (unlike the crappy E46 one), which is important to me, hate rubbish gears!
It's put a huge grin on my face, we'll be having a lot of fun this summer Cosmetically it needs some love (scratches to sort), and there's a couple of electrical quirks (passenger door motor, small stuff) but mechanically it's brilliant with a folder full of stuff and all the major bits done.
One very happy bunny! Couple of pics - it needs a serious clean so I'll be polishing then driving this weekend, lots and lots of driving
Sounds like the OP has already made up their mind, but my advice: do it!
Like someone else said here I think, when I first saw Z3s, I wasn't impressed at all by them and they had never been a car I lusted after (thought they were fugly!).
I bought an E46 328i as a stopgap replacement after I sold my 996. It has been the most terminally dull car I've driven, I honestly hated it, it felt so sterile with really lazy throttle response and no real shove lower down the rev range, and I was desperate to replace it but I didn't want to run another expensive car (yet!
) and other offerings in the lower price brackets didn't inspire me much.I noticed Z3s had come down in price though, and the only redeeming feature of the E46 is that lovely inline 6, they're RWD, I quite liked the balance of front engined having only driven rear or mid before, so they played on my mind but I wasn't really convinced.
Then my OH texted to say a director at his work (engineering consultancy - relevant as the car is so well maintained by someone with knoweldge) needed shot of a 2.8 Z3 as he'd bought a Z4. The price was too tempting. I drove it and bought it that evening (Mon).
Today I collected it, and am just back from a 2 hour hoon. I LOVE it! In fact, I enjoyed it more than I did my 996, which was fantastically competent but also a bit 'dull', almost too good, if that makes sense.
Although refined, comfortable and with all the gizmos - heated seats, mirrors etc - the Z3 feels much more raw, much more planted, extremely rev-happy with plenty of grunt. I love the direct feel of the steering and the feedback, it's a point and shoot car. I turned in too quickly to a corner and expected a 'moment' at one point, but the car just followed its nose and flew round and out again. The gearchange is great too (unlike the crappy E46 one), which is important to me, hate rubbish gears!
It's put a huge grin on my face, we'll be having a lot of fun this summer
Cosmetically it needs some love (scratches to sort), and there's a couple of electrical quirks (passenger door motor, small stuff) but mechanically it's brilliant with a folder full of stuff and all the major bits done.One very happy bunny! Couple of pics - it needs a serious clean so I'll be polishing then driving this weekend, lots and lots of driving
Sounds like the OP has already made up their mind, but my advice: do it!
StuB said:
Congrats on the purchase. Lots of things you can do to improve the car too.
I find the chassis actually behaves similar to my 996TT of all things.
I find the chassis actually behaves similar to my 996TT of all things.
Interesting. I drove a tweaked 996TT (521bhp) and it is definitely 'up there' in terms of cars-I-lust-after, just loved the power delivery combined with the ease of use.
Whatever I buy is a daily driver, so key is finding thing with reasonable clutches, as I am quite little and heavy clutches = bad on the daily commute. Hard to combine a genuine sports car with something you can use every day, but so far the Z3 seems like it will be easy to live with as well as heaps of fun
Plan is to keep it, tart it up, do bits and maybe eventually strip for track sometime time in the longer term. Out of interest, what sort of things would you recommend for improvements? It needs rear shocks at some points so I guess I could start there? (And then get into a whole world of trouble adding extras
)Looks a good example FLGirl. I like the style of your wheels too as they look easier to keep clean than my later ones. I seem to have spent every spare minute since getting mine, either driving it, polishing it, tinkering with it and reading up on the web about it. Considering that I'd really 'fallen out' with cars until recently (years of not very interesting company cars didn't help), I really feel it's brought back my obsession with cars from my younger years. I haven't tried pushing it too much in corners as you have, but in a straightline it's quite rapid compared to other cars I've owned.
I've just bled the clutch on mine today as it was a bit hard getting into reverse when cold and 1st to 2nd change wasn't great. This has greatly improved it, but for good measure I'm going to replace the 'lifetime' gearbox oil this weekend too for just over £20 inc delivery. I highly recommend the clutch bled if it hasn't been done for some time. If you have an 'easybleed' type kit it takes all of 15 minutes to do. It uses the same reservoir as the brakes, but for some reason doesn't seem to get done even though my brake fluid has been changed and the fluid looked clean in the reservoir.
While your sorting out the door motor I'd recommend cleaning and lubing the window runners. There is a very cheap part that you may as well replace while the trim is off, I'll post back when I find the part number again. I'm going to do this for good measure as I'm going to take the door cards off to try to push out a couple of shallow dings in the door skins.
I haven't tried pushing it too much in corners as you have, but in a straightline it's quite rapid compared to other cars I've owned.I've just bled the clutch on mine today as it was a bit hard getting into reverse when cold and 1st to 2nd change wasn't great. This has greatly improved it, but for good measure I'm going to replace the 'lifetime' gearbox oil this weekend too for just over £20 inc delivery. I highly recommend the clutch bled if it hasn't been done for some time. If you have an 'easybleed' type kit it takes all of 15 minutes to do. It uses the same reservoir as the brakes, but for some reason doesn't seem to get done even though my brake fluid has been changed and the fluid looked clean in the reservoir.
While your sorting out the door motor I'd recommend cleaning and lubing the window runners. There is a very cheap part that you may as well replace while the trim is off, I'll post back when I find the part number again. I'm going to do this for good measure as I'm going to take the door cards off to try to push out a couple of shallow dings in the door skins.
OldSkoolRS said:
Looks a good example FLGirl. I like the style of your wheels too as they look easier to keep clean than my later ones. I seem to have spent every spare minute since getting mine, either driving it, polishing it, tinkering with it and reading up on the web about it. Considering that I'd really 'fallen out' with cars until recently (years of not very interesting company cars didn't help), I really feel it's brought back my obsession with cars from my younger years. I haven't tried pushing it too much in corners as you have, but in a straightline it's quite rapid compared to other cars I've owned.
Thank you I haven't tried pushing it too much in corners as you have, but in a straightline it's quite rapid compared to other cars I've owned. I *think* they are just the standard wheels, but they really suit the car. I'm also not a fan of scrubbing fiddly alloys with a toothbrush I know what you mean about falling out with cars. I began to feel that way towards the end of my 996 ownership. Although having a 911 was a bit of a dream come true, it was expensive to run and didn't deliver enough enjoyment to justify the costs. Once it was gone and the E46 was here, I lost all enthusiasm and begun to question even having another PHesque car, kind of feeling "what's the point" in a way. The Z3 has totally reinvigorated that. I've also spent hours online and am stupidly excited (a) about my drive to work this morning and (b) about spending all weekend polishing it and sorting things out.
The hopefully fairly low cost of running it compared with how much fun it is was exactly what I needed
OldSkoolRS said:
I've just bled the clutch on mine today as it was a bit hard getting into reverse when cold and 1st to 2nd change wasn't great. This has greatly improved it, but for good measure I'm going to replace the 'lifetime' gearbox oil this weekend too for just over £20 inc delivery. I highly recommend the clutch bled if it hasn't been done for some time. If you have an 'easybleed' type kit it takes all of 15 minutes to do. It uses the same reservoir as the brakes, but for some reason doesn't seem to get done even though my brake fluid has been changed and the fluid looked clean in the reservoir.
While your sorting out the door motor I'd recommend cleaning and lubing the window runners. There is a very cheap part that you may as well replace while the trim is off, I'll post back when I find the part number again. I'm going to do this for good measure as I'm going to take the door cards off to try to push out a couple of shallow dings in the door skins.
I was lucky as one thing I picked up from this thread was the gear change. The E46 has exactly what you describe - really stiff from cold and felt clunky and sloppy. Funnily enough the 996 was like that too and it was an aspect I really hated. Luckily the Z3 has had new clutch and flywheel recently, plus the gears feel really slick which adds to the pleasure. While your sorting out the door motor I'd recommend cleaning and lubing the window runners. There is a very cheap part that you may as well replace while the trim is off, I'll post back when I find the part number again. I'm going to do this for good measure as I'm going to take the door cards off to try to push out a couple of shallow dings in the door skins.
Thanks for the tip re the windows, shall definitely do that and would definitely like the part number if you can dig it out.
The alloys look like original 17" soft line wheels.
Loads of tweeks to consider like front strut brace, rear brace, body brace, clutch hose replacement, m3 lower tca bushes (solid rather than the stock half hollow ones), rear trailing arm bushes, suspension/brakes, m52 manifold change (worth quite a few ponies), plus tons of other stuff.
Loads of tweeks to consider like front strut brace, rear brace, body brace, clutch hose replacement, m3 lower tca bushes (solid rather than the stock half hollow ones), rear trailing arm bushes, suspension/brakes, m52 manifold change (worth quite a few ponies), plus tons of other stuff.
dmitsi said:
Do you have any recommendations for bush suppliers? Also the anti roll bushes come in 4 different sizes. Which is relevant to the z3?
Er, my local indy supplied & fitted. Any of the usual, GSF, Eurocar parts, even BMW, quoting their 4 plus/BMW Car Club discount. It's the E36 M3 bush you need I recall.StuB said:
Er, my local indy supplied & fitted. Any of the usual, GSF, Eurocar parts, even BMW, quoting their 4 plus/BMW Car Club discount. It's the E36 M3 bush you need I recall.
Thanks, I'll have a nose around. Bushes a priority as you can hear them going at the rear; seller mentioned them. Seats need to stop rocking (though the fairground experience is fun). Couple of electrical niggles and a few touch ups to do this weekend.
Like the chrome side grills on your red Zed. When I've done the other jobs on my Zed I might treat myself to a pair of them.
My gearbox oil is on it's way, so hope to be able to drain and refill the 'box this weekend, to see how that improves (or not) the shift. It's better already with the clutch bleed, so can't really grumble now, just the shift on my work car (320d) is so light it puts the Z3 in a bad light.
I'm looking at polybushes on the front wishbone and maybe M3 type wishbones too. I found a nice strut brace on eBay that I fancy getting too, but noticed it's no longer available. If anyone finds a similar one that's no more expensive, then please post back on here:
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/360352928002?ssPageName=...
When I've done the other jobs on my Zed I might treat myself to a pair of them.My gearbox oil is on it's way, so hope to be able to drain and refill the 'box this weekend, to see how that improves (or not) the shift. It's better already with the clutch bleed, so can't really grumble now, just the shift on my work car (320d) is so light it puts the Z3 in a bad light.
I'm looking at polybushes on the front wishbone and maybe M3 type wishbones too. I found a nice strut brace on eBay that I fancy getting too, but noticed it's no longer available. If anyone finds a similar one that's no more expensive, then please post back on here:
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/360352928002?ssPageName=...
Thanks - it's got the small rear boot spoiler as well, and I think the combination of the big alloys, gills and RBS makes it look a little different from most Z3s. You don't see too many red ones either, it took a while to find a decent red 2.8 - I had strict instructions from SWMBO as to her requirements, as it's her car.
StuB said:
Loads of tweeks to consider like front strut brace, rear brace, body brace, clutch hose replacement, m3 lower tca bushes (solid rather than the stock half hollow ones), rear trailing arm bushes, suspension/brakes, m52 manifold change (worth quite a few ponies), plus tons of other stuff.
Have to agree with that. Mines had allot of these tweaks and feels great. I would reccomend a Supersprint or similar back box as the first mod though! Lovely and bassy with an m3 like howl at higher revs and some pops an bangs on the overrun. Like a mini tvr!
Rollcage said:
Its a very easy job to do, get the new blocks from here. Watch the tutorials on YouTube and it all becomes clear! I did RedZed's the other day, and it makes a huge difference.
Thanks for that link. I got mine for $20 from Doug Whalen but these are cheaper and local. Still need to fit them. Jonathan Thayer on bimmerforums does a seat recline kit which I fitted to mine and made the seat a bit more comforatable and more supportive under braking. Can reccomend that.
Is anyone from going on the Kent run Being organised for the 15th April over zroadster.org? Think I'll sign up on there and meet some like minded owners. All the ph runs are full of z4s....
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