Herbmiester

Thanks Brent, funny this is exactly where I ended up last night. Taking the part numbers out of Real OEM.

Thanks Brent, I am struggling to find struts. I have found some Sachs Z3 OEM shocks but they dont state they are for M Sport suspension, any thoughts?

I have been looking to replace the front struts on my Budget Z3. I found some struts for an E36, but the website says they are not compatible with a Z3. I have sport suspension so that may well be part of the issue, but I am wondering can anyone confirm if there are any differences between an E36 sport strut, and a Z3 Sport strut. I am assuming there may be some valving differences. Has anyone been down this path before? BTW, I am actually enjoying a Sunday drive in the Z3, it's not fast, being a 2l M52, but with the top down its a pleasant experience.

I went and bought a new unit. It uses Linux instead of android. It still allows you to use android Auto or Apple Carplay. It allows a connection to the original BMW software so you can use this set the temp, playe the radio, check the oil etc. It hasn't arrived yet but I will do a review when it does.

I am still chasing down issues with the side impact sensor on the Z3. It was out of the car when i got it, and even after trawling through the internet and Real Oem, I can't work out where it actually sits in the car. The unit looks like this. Can anyone advise where it sits in the Z3?

Pads are easy, FCP Euro, Amazon or another online shop. Rotors can be tricky but sometimes Repco can be ok.

I have had a number of average dealings with Gazeley, my wife likes Skodas. It's just a lack of interest as they just change the oil and dont even check for any other faults. The Superb is dues a timing belt and has a faulty reverse sensor. It has a sticker on the window that says it had a DSG service a few months back. All they say when I get it back is. It needs a transmission service. Complete and utter muppets. In the past I have tried. Vogel Motors, apparently they have a Euro specialist. Only in there for Tyre fitting ex Hper Drive, but excellent service and the front person couldn't be more helpful. Hutt City European, pretty good used them a few years back, seemed to care about their work, more VAG oriented than BMW from what I could gather. Mendoza Mechanical, super helpful and really honest in what they were doing. Pricing was really fair. I dont think their Euro guy is that experienced on BMW. Star Moto, charged me $200 more than I was quoted for a DSG service. Jon at Auto 38, the best. Brendon Foot for my Mitsi ute. $700 for new brake pads, rotors were fine. Powehaus, did a precheck on a 911 for me. Glad I took it into them. Again not BMW experts. Mike Page in Kapiti. Really good but just a bit too far way.

Who are the chosen independent garages in Wellington worth using?

Does anyone have recommendations', for one of the head units that replace the I Drive in an e87? I need Android Auto capability. If anyone has one they want to sell or know of a good deal I am all ears. FYI my 130i already has an Xtrons system that sort of works, but I cannot find the proprietary USB cables to use android Auto. If anyone can help me with cables that may be a solution. I am aware that many of the units are similar but are just sold with different brand names.

The bump stops are well and truly dead, The front end, when bounced up and down settles very quickly, so there appears to be quite a bit of damping still there. But yes I should just replace them for piece of mind.

Ok time to checks a few things with the Bimmersport experts. 👨‍💻 My car is fitted with a set of style 18s, 7.5 x 17 and 8.5 x 17. They are fitted with 235 45 17 tyres all round. Now I know the square vs staggered argument, and I am not keen to dredge it up here, however because I have rubbing on the front guards I am curious to know if going back to 225s up front and the installation of new bump stops might fix the rubbing. While I will probably replace the struts as well, I am curious if this might fix the rubbing issue? If you look at the image you can see the edge is where the contact is taking place.

A couple of weeks ago I bought a 1999 Z3 of FB Marketplace for a ridiculously cheap price. FB Marketplace is in my mind, the Wild West of Car buying and in this case I was first to contact him, first to get to him and paid on the spot after a quick carjam. The spec is not too bad, 2l M52, Auto GM 4 speed , but it is an LCI with the fat bum, has an LSD and a reasonably nice interior with Heated 2 tone seats. Body wise its pretty tidy with a few scratches here and there. It has 179k on it and has clearly been looked after, for part of its life. I will admit I have always loved the Z3 look, and convincing Mrs Herbmiester, was actually easier than I thought. She did state of course that 6 cars may be overkill. Pfffft. She didn't mention the 7 motorbikes, so all good I guess. As mentioned the car did not run, well technically it did but would not rev past 2500 rpm-ish. So I figured it was the throttle body, and as such I took a punt and paid the princely sum of $2300 for it. After trailering it home, I looked in the box of spares and found a spare throttle body. After taking the old one off I could see that it had corrosion holding the blade shut, very firmly shut in fact. For those in the know this TB was used for a few years and uses a cable but also has a servo motor that is what actually opens the blade. The throttle body rubber manifold was split, but a quick visit to Pick a Part sorted that. With the new bits installed it fired right up. Just like on TV. Haha. Next are the issues that need to be addressed. While I dont want to skimp on important fixes, this will be a budget restoration with money spent where it . and I will state for the record I am not into M539 levels of fixing things. The ABS light is on, with the dreaded F0 code. Once I get the unit out from under the dash, Pramod says he can reprogram the unit. There is an intermittent transmission warning light, so a trans service is probably required. There is a rocker cover leak. No surprises there. Drivers door card is loose (Fixed) Radio is a crappy old Sony with no BT (Fixed). New front marker lights. Cut and Polish. The suspension is tired, shocks are not leaking but bump-stops are gone. Front lollipops feel worn. The suspension rubs on the inner guards especially at the front. New bump stops and a thicker spring perch should sort this. At the rear I will raise it 10-15mm with some thicker spring pads. I will pull the shocks before I commit to replacing them, but they look pretty old so if anyone has some Z3 shocks I am all ears.

Just to be clear the Laufen tyres still had between 3 and 4mm of tread when they were removed. As mentioned earlier, they were ok in the dry, but not so in the wet. I also believe that because of it being a FWD with high torque, this probably influenced the behaviour. The Skoda is no performance car. And yes a UHP will out perform an all season tyre, but in the wet I would have thought the advantage would have swung back to the Laufen, but the Laufen in the wet, was so poor it bordered on unbelievable. Also I have a 130i on KW coil-overs and it runs some cheap Crosswinds on the front. Surprisingly they seem ok, a bit vague, but ok in the wet. I suspect the excellent chassis helps here.

It looks fantastic!

Thanks Murray. it looks like I am 10 to 13 mm lower at the rear than the M Roadster suspension, and my gas tank is empty. I will look at spring options or maybe spring pads/spacers. I will pull the wheels off this weekend and have a look at what's under there.