Little button

[Kyle auty]

Hi all just looking at a 3.0i sport on eBay, few questions, it’s definitely a sport edition, but I’ve never seen a sport with wood trim, did they do them with a wood trim or do you think they have replaced the original aluminium console? Secondly what is this little button in the picture?

 

[t-tony]

That looks like the adhesive wood grain kit you can/could buy for the Z3. I think @Grumps fitted such a kit, or it had been fitted in Reggie. No idea what that little button switch is for, definitely not OEM, a better/clearer picture of the button might help.

Tony.

 

[Mint]

I think the button is the ejector seat mod

 

[Kyle auty]

I asked the current owner about the wood, and they said to there knowledge its original, but to my knowledge they didn't do a sport edition with wood trim. cant get a better picture of the little button, but maybe it brings out the big guns.

 

[DomiMik]

I would take into consideration that it could be an non-sport-edition Z3 after all. Found the car on ebay and according to the pictures, there are a couple of things that aren't quite original in my opinion, for example the plastic covers next to the fog lights have been painted as well as the 'sport edition bumper mesh' ( I have no idea how it's called ), or at least it looks like it has been painted, pictures are of poor quality. Chrome side vents weren't part of the sport edition as far as I know, eventually the wood trim looks original to me so it's not a part of the sport edition either. Could be a sport edition Z3 with a different center console, but as well might be a regular Z3 with some retrofitted parts. The VIN of the car would definitely be helpful.

 

[Kyle auty]

Check it on auto trader and Parker’s sale sites and it comes up with sport. So it is very odd.

 

[Mint]

If you can get the last 7 digits of the VIN from the seller you can check for code S719, which is the Sport edition.

This is part of my 2.2 Sport:

 

[Nodzed]

If you can get the last 7 digits of the VIN from the seller you can check for code S719, which is the Sport edition.

This is part of my 2.2 Sport:
View attachment 177809

Show off

 

[Mark Parrish]

The button in the pic is called Traffic Master I have one in mine, I think they used to operate on a subscription no longer in use tho.

 

[137699]

Strangely on another car forum (totally different brand) I have seen 3 posts recently of people asking what the same button does....

In 20 years of using car forums on t'interweb I've barely seen any mention of the TrafficMaster system and now 4 in about 2 weeks... Has someone just started retrofitting them or something?!?!

 

[Kyle auty]

Strangely on another car forum (totally different brand) I have seen 3 posts recently of people asking what the same button does....

In 20 years of using car forums on t'interweb I've barely seen any mention of the TrafficMaster system and now 4 in about 2 weeks... Has someone just started retrofitting them or something?!?!

You could be right, it might be a new/old trend, i have never even heard of a traffic master until now. so how did it work?
Did you press the button and all the traffic moved out of the way?? if so i want one

 

[hard top]

Just had a quick look online and found this :-

Link :-

Trafficmaster Trackstar - BMW Approved - Vehicle Accessories Ltd

Trackstar by Trafficmaster (BMW approved): Endorsed by all police authorities Protects against unauthorised movement Thatcham CAT6 accredited - insurance approved Leading edge GPS tracking New Stolen Vehicle Tracking App for Android and IOS

www.vehicle-accessories.net

 

[Kyle auty]

Just had a quick look online and found this :-

Link :-

Trafficmaster Trackstar - BMW Approved - Vehicle Accessories Ltd

Trackstar by Trafficmaster (BMW approved): Endorsed by all police authorities Protects against unauthorised movement Thatcham CAT6 accredited - insurance approved Leading edge GPS tracking New Stolen Vehicle Tracking App for Android and IOS

www.vehicle-accessories.net

Trafficmaster Trackstar - reading the info, this is a GPS tracker, with Vehicle Tracking App to your mobile.
Forget that, i don't want one. Before i know it the wife will know my location.

 

[137699]

TrafficMaster was originally a system that told you about traffic issues in your area & general direction of travel.
You may have seen little blue boxes hung off bridges and on roadside poles on motorways and trunk A roads - these are the old TM transmitters.

If you had the TM system in your car it would pick up data from these poles and then the system would "talk" to you (in a synthesized voice) to tell you of traffic issues ahead. Or you could press the button in the car at any time and it would talk to you and tell you what it knew. For a while in the 90s Vauxhall were fitting the system to various specs of their models.

Obviously the advent of google maps, apple maps and better sat nav systems usurped the TM platform and it looks like they have tried to repurpose their infrastructure as means of vehicle tracking instead.