NZ00Z3

In the Z3 community, it is normal to fit standard Z3 shocks to the Z3 sport suspension.  The difference in ride height is only 15mm.

It mounts under the seat. One each side.

Remove the seat, separate the carpet at the split and find it mounted to the floor.

They usually die due to water leaks, so if the foam under the carpet is wet, then you can expect the new one to die over time.

You were lucky with the spare throttle body in the boot.  They are expensive to buy.

The attached PDF gives you the rear ride heights.

You are correct with the F0 airbag module internal fault, call Pramod to see if he can reset the module.  

Hope the repairs go smoothly and your daughter likes the car.

BMW Z3 rear ride heght measurements.pdf

Have you checked the operation of your electric radiator fan.  It should start for a second or 2 every time you start the engine.  The DME records the success of the start and uses it as a pre-condition to starting the A/C compressor.  If the fan is faulty, then no A/C.

For the No DME communications problem

• The E46, 323 still has the 20 pin Pacman diagnostic port under the bonnet.  The lid has to be on that port for the OBD2 port in the cabin to work.
• OBD2 port is only for the DME and EGS.  The rest of the modules get accessed via the Pacman port.  You need pins 7 and 8 joined in the OBD2 end of the K-Dcan lead to read all the other modules.

For the no rev problem:

• Clean the Idle control valve.  It controls the first 12% of throttle opening.
• With the engine running, floor the accelerator.  It no rev's then the DME is holding the engine at idle due to a fault somewhere.  Either Throttle body or ASC\DSC throttle control
• Check that you don't have an ABS light up.  I've had one case on a E46 328 where the ABS module had failed and was changed but not coded.  The engine would start and idle but not rev.  Coded the ABS module and all was good again.

An interesting read:  https://www.autocar.co.nz/nzs-classic-car-sector-is-worth-11-billion-new-survey-suggests/

And it only covers people who belong to car clubs that are members of the Federation of motor clubs, so, it's only a sample of the whole car enthusiast market.

It will help to know the model of the car.  Is it a E46?

The Z3 has a weak ass end.  The amount of power you are talking about will eventually break the rear sub frame out and drop the diff on the ground.  Read up about the Randy Forbes sub frame fix.  It's a kit of metal parts that gets welded into the subframe and stops the problem.

There are both cast iron and aluminium block M52's.  The cast iron will be better for boost and it can withstand more PSI.  Not sure how common the cast iron block is in N.Z.  Have seen people import them from the USA. 

The M52 family can get a little confusing:

- M52B28 = 2.8L single VANOS engine

- M52TUB28 = technical upgrades 2.8L dual VANOS engine.  Basically a M54

You are getting some great advice from @Eagle.   

Better to buy a cheap 2.0L 6 cylinder (M52TU20) powered Z3 and swap in a 2.8L (M52TU28).  Bolt for bolt swap and an easy DME (ECU) update for the larger engine.  Just a Diff ratio change may be needed.

Feel free to send me a PM to swap phone numbers and we can chat.  I've down to 2 Z3's and have done lots of work on them.

Only seen one Z4 coupe manual over the last few years.  Trademe auction with $29k start price.  Don't know what the reserve was.

I've seen 2 or 3 manual Z4's over the last couple of years on TradeMe.

There is one on there now:  https://www.trademe.co.nz/a/motors/cars/bmw/z4/search?transmission=1&auto_category_jump=false

41 minutes ago, Lukey.d said:

How much are you wanting? Whats the best way to contact you? 

The set is for one seat, $30 plus postage (if any)

Send me a PM for contact details

I have an element set already removed from an E36/7 (Z3) standard seat.

That sounds like normal operation.

The heater circuit needs to be operational to get the O2 sensor hot enough to work.  The voltage switching you are seeing is normal.

What are your fuel trims at hot idle?  See my earlier post on what to check for both banks.

12 hours ago, Arata said:

So I unplugged each sensors one at the time, checked for resistance value apparently between 2-3 Ohms is standard, then no resistance shown on BOTH sensors!!!

2-3 ohms is for the heater circuit.  The sensor circuit will be kilo-ohms when cold.

INPA can be used to check the O2 sensors.  There is the heating %, usually > 80% and  the lambda reading, which should switch between 0.1 to 0.8V at hot idle.

Mixture problems are reflected in the fuel trims, so check the 4 fuel trims with your scanner.  If any are > 8% at hot idle then you likely have a vacuum leak.

Short term fuel trim = INPA integrator

Long term fuel trim = INPA Multipicative

That looks like the rear wheel.

The reluctor ring comes with the half shaft.  There is a place in the states that sells just the reluctor ring so you don't have to go to the expense of a new half shaft. https://www.reluctorrings.com/

Try to work out how the damage occured, so it doesn't happen again with the new ring.

I have a Foxwell NT530 and it's good.  Use the EOBD side for engine problems and the BMW side for all other diagnostics.  While it has 2 way communication, it will run tests but not code modules or code options.

People seem to use Carly for coding options in the later model BMW's.

That would really go fast and be a blast to drive, except in the wet.

The late model E46 (M54 with MS43 DME) has a 6 pin MAF connector.  It includes the MAF and Inlet air temp sensor.

Check the wires colour coding and work back to the DME to see what the extra wires are for.  Here is the DME pinout:  http://www.fekzen.se/StandAlone/

A good set of Z3 (E36/7) seats are getting really hard to find.  I have the opportunity to get a set of standard Z3 seats that need recovering.

The cost to recover them with real leather, fit new seat belt guides and seat bushings comes out at $1,500.

Is that too expensive for people to buy them?

How does that compare with recovered seats for other BMW's?

Welcome to the forum.

Nice Z3.  Not many that colour around.

Here's mine.

I'll take it.  Will sent you a PM to arrange pickup.

Dig through the E46 wiring diagrams from here: https://bmwteka.com/wds

Remember to switch it from Russian to English.

I've read a bit about the "Right to Repair" legislation in the USA.  Wondered if we had anything similar for in service cars in New Zealand?

Best I could find after several hours or searching were:

• Land Transport Rule Vehicle Repair 1998  https://www.nzta.govt.nz/assets/resources/rules/docs/vehicle-repair-1998-as-at-1-april-2021.pdf
• LVV Certification Threshold Schedule  https://www.lvvta.org.nz/documents.html#thresholds

Are there any other gems of legislation that a driver can quote to an over vellos "Boy in Blue" who thinks that everything you have done to your car is a modification and needs to be cert'ed