My Z4................... My way.

t-tony · Feb 13, 2017

Well now, more than a few bits done since last July, where to start?
The first major modification came in the shape of a set of Eibach Pro Springs, which, after seeing these fitted on other members car looked the way to go as these work well with the OE dampers and as my car had only done approx. 20,000 at this point some were bought. I begged a couple of hours on a ramp at work which made things quicker and easier.

I had a small problem when lowering the ramp, I had to place a 2" block of wood under each wheel to allow the ramp to go low enough to clear the jacking pads!
I did the fronts first in case I ran short of time, but managed ok for time. Next job was to get the tyre boys to check/adjust the tracking.

Last but not least just some admiring glances,

Next item on the agenda, I think, was a "new" steering wheel. After hearing all good comments about Jack at Royal Steering Wheels I decided that I would invest. However I added the option of audio controls on the steering wheel which required me to locate a S/H wheel with the switches but also with the "chrome line" interior finish on the spoke covers. After a while I found one at a breakers in S.Yorks for a very acceptable price. I had already done my homework on the Z4 Forum finding how to wire in the switches and the switch illumination from the light switch while the wheel was removed. Anyway after a phone conversation with Jack, the wheel was parcelled up and sent on it's way. 2 weeks later and this arrived.

A huge improvement from the original "thin" wheel below. A totally different driving experience.

While I was at it inside the car I decided to fit the items which I had bought from "Leatherz" while I was over in the USA.

The door armrest pads are a real godsend, I can't explain how much comfier they make the cabin, but added to the centre console armrest that just finished it off great.

In the 2nd to last picture you will see the Cruise Control switch I also bought over in Florida, at a bargain price I might add! Dead easy to fit and it's just plug and play.
Along side that was my short antenna, again a US purchase.

And here it is fitted.

Next mod came in the shape of some "eye brows" for my headlights, not everyone's cup of tea but I like them and it's my car so ................................................... till next time.

Tony.

Antm72 · Feb 13, 2017

Cars looking great Tony and i know more works been done its turning in to a very sorted Z4 :thumbsup:

t-tony · Feb 13, 2017

Where was I, .............................. Oh yes, eye brows. I sourced these from Latvia, IIRC. I bought some bonding agent from an eBay seller and one Saturday afternoon got down to work. My assistant held the parts steady while I applied a good bead of adhesive, then, when we had them in place we secured them till the adhesive cured with ordinary masking tape.

I was well pleased with those. After I got home from Florida in October I started to look into fitting my reverse parking sensor kit. The "display" part would normally be mounted with the curved surface upwards, my problem was that I needed to mount it "upside down" with the curved surface facing downwards so I hooked the system up to a battery to see if the I would need to connect the 4 sensors in a different fashion. It turned out that all I needed to do was swap the middle two and then the outer two and the system worked fine.

I just need to cover the L and R with a small piece of tape or paint them over. They were connected in to the fuse box in my usual way. Although I still have to remove the rear bumper and fit the sensors and wire up the back part of the system.

Soon after this I turned my attention to upgrading the brake and the first thing was some stainless steel braided brake hoses, these were a little bit fiddly to fit as they were not a straight swap for the old rubber hoses, anyway all obstacles overcome in the end and yet again very happy with this modification, while I was at it I changed the brake fluid too.

This was one problem I had to overcome, the new hose unions were too small and pushed straight through the brackets on the body, I had to find some large flat washers to fit over the hose ends to prevent this happening. Similar problems on the rear on the body bracket and also where the two hoses were joined too.

After picking everyone's brains I decided to go with some M-Tec drilled and Grooved discs in standard size as going up to the next size available would only give my an extra 10mm on the outside diameter of the disc and would entail new callipers and carriers which would need new seals and painting at a considerable extra cost. So parts were ordered and the waiting began....................... again..................

Tony.

t-tony · Feb 13, 2017

While the waiting was going on, on the brake upgrade I turned my mind to induction. I found a nice Ramair system on eBay which was on a Black Friday " Make me an offer" deal so I did, would've been rude not to, and then this arrived.

Another satisfactory Saturday afternoon's work.

So there we were waiting for the brakes bits and then ............................................ ,

These new discs were treated to a couple of coats of paint to hopefully keep them looking like the day they were fitted.

Pads were ordered and asked for as the rear ones were a Christmas present, these are what I used for front and rear brakes.

However they did look a little different by the time they were fitted.

The brakes discs and pads were eventually fitted along with some calliper decals. These are the finished articles. I was happy to see that the parking brake shoes were in good order.