Found it......!

dva99999

Zorg Guru (I)
Supporter
British Zeds
Joined
Feb 14, 2016
Points
85
Location
Wirral
Model of Z
Unfortunately gone
Over the years I've owned many cars. My excuse was that if I couldn't change my girlfriend I would change my car instead. I've had some excellent cars and some howlers....in order of the previous best first they were;
Subaru Forester (with PPP)
Alfa Romeo GTV 3.0 V6
Mazda Mx5 Auto mk1
Honda Civic ESi (helped with the delivery of my second son)
Saab 900 convertible (my labour of love)
Mercedes 230 SLK
1991 BMW 525i (in white)
Toyota Starlet 1.3

And the howlers
Peugeot 306 DT (blown turbo)
Peugeot 306 HDi (blown turbo)
BMW 328 (98) (no power)
Honda CRV (boring)
Vauxhall Cavalier (broken into X 3)

There are more cars but these are ones I remember off the top of my head within the last 12 years. There is a point to all this.....

The Z3 2.8 came after I had sold my V6 Alfa and was looking for a VR6 Corrado. The Z3 cropped up and after reading a comparison between the V6 Alfa and the Z3 decided I would buy the Z3 instead of a Corrado as a stop gap.....and I do t think I'll ever sell it. It has it's faults. It's a bit crashy handlingwise, so could probably do with some suspension work. But other than that it's a brilliant car. The design is just what was needed in comparison to the boxy SLK, and the handling on the twisty roads is just as good as the mx5. It has the power of the V6 Alfa, but whereas the Alfa's power was like...wham(!), the Z3 is smoother all the way up. It is the only other car I will consider working on and adding modifications (on a budget) with a view to keeping it for a very,very long time. But the clincher is this......my second son who is now 11, loves it. He has witnessed first hand my car history and has been a little bemused by my choices. But this is the only one he has wanted me to pick him up from school in. Having seen it in one of the James Bond films, he is now a James Bond fan.

As for me....if it's not raining, the top (and the foot) comes down!

So as for modifications, I will be doing them slowly but surely so any advice on my first (suspension) project will be extremely helpful.....this is (finally) a keeper!
 

Antm72

Zorg Expert (II)
Supporter
British Zeds
Joined
May 4, 2015
Points
246
Location
South Yorkshire
Model of Z
2.8
A good choice in a zed. They are an underestimated little car and as you can tell on here alot feel the same way about them.
There are lots of options on suspension just try and avoid the cheaper coilover kits as they don't last long at all and if lowering they tend not too lower at all in the rear.
Anti roll bar links wear and are cheap to replace and they make a vast difference to the handling so always worth replacing them for what they cost.
 

t-tony

The Legend
Deceased
Supporter
#ZedShed
Joined
Dec 31, 2013
Points
226
Location
Torksey Lock,Lincoln, England
Model of Z
E89 Z4 23i Auto
A lot of motoring history there. As so many on ere have said they finally found their "keeper" whether it be a Z3 or Z4. Where are you located?.:)

Tony.
 

dva99999

Zorg Guru (I)
Supporter
British Zeds
Joined
Feb 14, 2016
Points
85
Location
Wirral
Model of Z
Unfortunately gone
Am based on the Wirral....some nice driving roads just south of me in north wales, east of me along the peaks and north in the lakes!
I'm planning on getting polyurethane bushes for the rear and have been looking closely at whether there's a subframe problem. I had the cars tracking done and the mechanic said that the struts may well be damaged hence the handling issue. But these problems will be dealt with as my experience increases.
 

t-tony

The Legend
Deceased
Supporter
#ZedShed
Joined
Dec 31, 2013
Points
226
Location
Torksey Lock,Lincoln, England
Model of Z
E89 Z4 23i Auto
Good luck with what you need to do, and enjoy it in the mean time.:)

Tony.
 

Shelly

Zorg Expert (I)
Supporter
British Zeds
East Anglian Crew
Joined
Jul 9, 2013
Points
201
Location
Norfolk
Model of Z
Z4 2.0 20i M Sport sDrive
Hope you enjoy your Z :p
Lovely write up ;)
 

bertiejaffa

Zorg Guru (IV)
Supporter
British Zeds
Joined
Mar 15, 2014
Points
155
Location
Manchester
Model of Z
Z3M
Tyres..Tyres.. Tyres.. Any tramlining / poor handling always consider the tyres on these cars. Loads of people look at the tyres and - with the car usually being a part time toy the tyres have shed loads of tread - they assume they can't be the issue so they spend ££££s doing stuff to the suspension without any major impact.

Get the car to a garage, jack it up and check the bushes, drop links, suspension coils etc.. anything bad will be obvious.. the rest you can judge yourself I assume as you obviously have car experience.

However the Z does suffer from unused, neglected tyres (even when they have plenty of tread) The amount of people that change the tyres and then are amazed by the difference is phenomenal
 

t-tony

The Legend
Deceased
Supporter
#ZedShed
Joined
Dec 31, 2013
Points
226
Location
Torksey Lock,Lincoln, England
Model of Z
E89 Z4 23i Auto
Totally transformed my Z3 fitting new tyres. A different car.:thumbsup:

Tony.
 

5harp3y

Zorg Guru (IV)
British Zeds
Joined
Jul 10, 2015
Points
168
Location
Basingstoke
Model of Z
2.8
Good post but disagree with the handling being better than a mx5

My mk1 would outhandle the z3 all day long.

On the straights it'd all get evened out though ;)
 
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