Looking for a Z (Now found & Built!)
- Thread starter Aaron MacQ
- Start date
Aaron MacQ
Zorg Guru (I)
Result, the correct hoop has arrived. No offer of a postage refund, but I'm past caring....
Time to insert it where it belongs...
Looks great
(i know I have some of the base rubbers wrong, I fixed that before bolting them up)
Quick trial fit of the Tanneau cover....
And the wind deflector...
Time to sort these wheels...
15mm off...
Clean up the face...
30mm on...
And bolted up...
And pop the wheel on...
Oh, that's flush...
Roll it out of the garage...
After doing the same at the front and swapping my 3mm spacers for 10mm, that looks equally flush...
Right, needed some garage space, so asked my dad to take it away for a while...
So, the wheels are on. They do look great, but I think I still prefer the Style 18's.
Think I might have to raise the rear or drop the front a few mm to get the rake just right, but will let the new springs settle in for a few weeks first...
At christmas I bought some seat heaters and 2 OEM switches. Going to put them up front and either relocate the Alarm flasher to the rear panel, or just hide it behind the dash if it's too much effort. Any tips???
When poking around in the rear switch panel area, I already have the rear winodw demister button, but also found a small 2 pin connector sitting loose. Anyone got an idea what that's for?
And, with spring approaching, it's almost time to flog some of the old stuff that's no longer required...
Any idea what the old wind deflector and mounts (below) go for?
Time to insert it where it belongs...
Looks great
(i know I have some of the base rubbers wrong, I fixed that before bolting them up)
Quick trial fit of the Tanneau cover....
And the wind deflector...
Time to sort these wheels...
15mm off...
Clean up the face...
30mm on...
And bolted up...
And pop the wheel on...
Oh, that's flush...
Roll it out of the garage...
After doing the same at the front and swapping my 3mm spacers for 10mm, that looks equally flush...
Right, needed some garage space, so asked my dad to take it away for a while...
So, the wheels are on. They do look great, but I think I still prefer the Style 18's.
Think I might have to raise the rear or drop the front a few mm to get the rake just right, but will let the new springs settle in for a few weeks first...
At christmas I bought some seat heaters and 2 OEM switches. Going to put them up front and either relocate the Alarm flasher to the rear panel, or just hide it behind the dash if it's too much effort. Any tips???
When poking around in the rear switch panel area, I already have the rear winodw demister button, but also found a small 2 pin connector sitting loose. Anyone got an idea what that's for?
And, with spring approaching, it's almost time to flog some of the old stuff that's no longer required...
Any idea what the old wind deflector and mounts (below) go for?
The two pin connector is for the illuminated gear knob option
Nice additionsResult, the correct hoop has arrived. No offer of a postage refund, but I'm past caring....
View attachment 73285
Time to insert it where it belongs...
View attachment 73270
Looks great
(i know I have some of the base rubbers wrong, I fixed that before bolting them up)
View attachment 73271
Quick trial fit of the Tanneau cover....
View attachment 73272
And the wind deflector...
View attachment 73273
Time to sort these wheels...
View attachment 73274
15mm off...
View attachment 73275
Clean up the face...
View attachment 73276
30mm on...
View attachment 73277
And bolted up...
View attachment 73278
And pop the wheel on...
Oh, that's flush...
View attachment 73279
Roll it out of the garage...
View attachment 73281
After doing the same at the front and swapping my 3mm spacers for 10mm, that looks equally flush...View attachment 73282
Right, needed some garage space, so asked my dad to take it away for a while...
So, the wheels are on. They do look great, but I think I still prefer the Style 18's.
View attachment 73283
Think I might have to raise the rear or drop the front a few mm to get the rake just right, but will let the new springs settle in for a few weeks first...
View attachment 73284
At christmas I bought some seat heaters and 2 OEM switches. Going to put them up front and either relocate the Alarm flasher to the rear panel, or just hide it behind the dash if it's too much effort. Any tips???
When poking around in the rear switch panel area, I already have the rear winodw demister button, but also found a small 2 pin connector sitting loose. Anyone got an idea what that's for?
View attachment 73280
And, with spring approaching, it's almost time to flog some of the old stuff that's no longer required...
Any idea what the old wind deflector and mounts (below) go for?
View attachment 73288
I put the alarm flasher (and Clifford pin code thing) in the rear panel. You might have extend the wire but very easy.
Will look nice with alll the switches in use in the dash, the blanks drive me mad reminding me of an option that’s not there!!
Will look nice with alll the switches in use in the dash, the blanks drive me mad reminding me of an option that’s not there!!
Aaron MacQ
Zorg Guru (I)
Well, it's been a few months since I last posted, but not much has happened.
After fitting the new coilovers, I left the car with my dad to hibernate over the winter, but in early March he needed the space so dropped it back off at mine.
The weather has been miserable so neither of us had much interest in taking it out so it's done a total of a bout 20 miles and still not had a setup done.
Anyway, about a month ago the sun popped out briefly and I had an excuse to go to the local shops so jumped in for a blast.
Awesome. This car is such fun, looks and sounds great and turns heads and grabs attention everywhere it goes.
Anyway, after the drive, I felt the rake angle was slightly off, and the rear left slightly imbalanced height wise so wanted to sort that. I also feel the 30mm spacers are too much for the Style 261's (49mm offset) when running so low. I reckon the tyre would rub if I rode a large bump so, some 25mm spacers were ordered. The 30mm would be fine with the 52mm offset 386M's. but I'm coming down with unused spacers and 25mm version will work fine with both sets.
I also took the chance on the sunny day to give the Style 18's and 386M's a good clean.
My only other tweak was to replace the bonnet catch which has always looked horrible.
Anyway, using photos for reference, I aligned the new catches in the same location and set the drop height roughly the same as what had come off. I also took some brake cleaner and used that to degrease the surrounding area before using some AutoGlym AquaWax to add some protection.
Btw, if anyone's looking to tidy up their current catches, leaving them overnight in Iron Fallout Remover works wonders, before giving them a dusting in paint to protect, but to be fair it was only a few quid for new ones.
On first close I could feel the catch was a little tight, so a quick adjustment sorted that and job done.
The new H&R 25mm spacers arrived a few days back, so next chance I get, I'll swap out the 30mm for a refund, unless anyone's looking a set?
So that's us up to date.
I've still to tackle the heated seats and rear axle bushes and keep dreaming of M50 manifolds and superchargers... Lets see what the summer brings....
After fitting the new coilovers, I left the car with my dad to hibernate over the winter, but in early March he needed the space so dropped it back off at mine.
The weather has been miserable so neither of us had much interest in taking it out so it's done a total of a bout 20 miles and still not had a setup done.
Anyway, about a month ago the sun popped out briefly and I had an excuse to go to the local shops so jumped in for a blast.
Awesome. This car is such fun, looks and sounds great and turns heads and grabs attention everywhere it goes.
Anyway, after the drive, I felt the rake angle was slightly off, and the rear left slightly imbalanced height wise so wanted to sort that. I also feel the 30mm spacers are too much for the Style 261's (49mm offset) when running so low. I reckon the tyre would rub if I rode a large bump so, some 25mm spacers were ordered. The 30mm would be fine with the 52mm offset 386M's. but I'm coming down with unused spacers and 25mm version will work fine with both sets.
I also took the chance on the sunny day to give the Style 18's and 386M's a good clean.
My only other tweak was to replace the bonnet catch which has always looked horrible.
Anyway, using photos for reference, I aligned the new catches in the same location and set the drop height roughly the same as what had come off. I also took some brake cleaner and used that to degrease the surrounding area before using some AutoGlym AquaWax to add some protection.
Btw, if anyone's looking to tidy up their current catches, leaving them overnight in Iron Fallout Remover works wonders, before giving them a dusting in paint to protect, but to be fair it was only a few quid for new ones.
On first close I could feel the catch was a little tight, so a quick adjustment sorted that and job done.
The new H&R 25mm spacers arrived a few days back, so next chance I get, I'll swap out the 30mm for a refund, unless anyone's looking a set?
So that's us up to date.
I've still to tackle the heated seats and rear axle bushes and keep dreaming of M50 manifolds and superchargers... Lets see what the summer brings....
Small but important details make all the difference.
Aaron MacQ
Zorg Guru (I)
Dirty thoughts....
Are 330 Sport brakes really big enough???
I guess they'll have to do.... when on 17's!
But on 18's.... there's room for some thing.
Oh, what are these get on my garage floor?
In all likelihood they'll end up on the 1er, but I'm wondering if anyone's fitted M Sport 4 pots up front on a Z3?
Are 330 Sport brakes really big enough???
I guess they'll have to do.... when on 17's!
But on 18's.... there's room for some thing.
Oh, what are these get on my garage floor?
In all likelihood they'll end up on the 1er, but I'm wondering if anyone's fitted M Sport 4 pots up front on a Z3?
Aaron MacQ
Zorg Guru (I)
Last week I got a few minutes so swapped the rear 30mm spacers for a 25mm version.
Not the most demanding of tasks.
5mm really isn't much....
But it makes all the difference!
The wheel still looks flush, with a very aggressive stance, but now, there's no chance of rubbing as with the arc of suspension travel the tyre will slide sweetly behind the metalwork on any serious suspension compression.
Perfect!
Whilst the rear was in the air I took the chance to lift the coilovers, add a bit more overall rake angle and balance out the rear as the drivers side sat a little lower.
For some reason I don't appear to have taken a photo after, and now the cars out with my dad for the summer, but I'll get a few shots next time.
Not the most demanding of tasks.
5mm really isn't much....
But it makes all the difference!
The wheel still looks flush, with a very aggressive stance, but now, there's no chance of rubbing as with the arc of suspension travel the tyre will slide sweetly behind the metalwork on any serious suspension compression.
Perfect!
Whilst the rear was in the air I took the chance to lift the coilovers, add a bit more overall rake angle and balance out the rear as the drivers side sat a little lower.
For some reason I don't appear to have taken a photo after, and now the cars out with my dad for the summer, but I'll get a few shots next time.
they've got to be too big surely, what size disc can they work with? if you could get brackets to work with 300mm disc i'd be super interested!
Aaron MacQ
Zorg Guru (I)
Most of the OEM+ upgrades I know of where these are used use either E46 M3 CSL 345mm disks, E92 M3 360mm disks (after milling a few mm off the circumference), or F2x 340mm. All require 18's.
With a custom spacer (or getting the 370/380mm version of the Brembo caliper), the Fxx x35/x40 370mm can be used or M2/M3/M4 380mm, but those need 19's.
But that's all to go to M series cars. The mounting points are different on non-M's (and the Z3 M's) so i've no idea, and our Z's not here for me to tinker with.
Actually, just thinking about it, I've the original Z calipers somewhere in the garage, and the original M3 ones too, and since I know they'll go on the M3, I should be able to guess....
Back in 5...
345mm on the z3 is waaaay too big
Aaron MacQ
Zorg Guru (I)
Mmm, ok, took a quick look and compared the alignment of the Fxx M Sport calipers to the original Z3 calipers. Looks fairly similar so I don't think there should be any issue with the calipers.
However, the Fxx 340mm disks have a far bigger hat. Looks about 20mm difference, so those would sit too far in, and nowhere near the center of the pads. Prob foul all the back plates and steering arms too, so that's a no go.
Then I looked at the 325mm e46 M3 disks. They're much closer to what would be required, but I reckon they're probably too small in diameter for the outer pad swept area, but I know the CSL disks can work (on other models) but will need the lower pad sweep reduced, but that's an easy mod, but again that would be for 18's only.
I think the caliper itself requires an 18" rim to clear it, so I don't think there's much change of getting them to work with any disks under 17's or 16's.
However, the Fxx 340mm disks have a far bigger hat. Looks about 20mm difference, so those would sit too far in, and nowhere near the center of the pads. Prob foul all the back plates and steering arms too, so that's a no go.
Then I looked at the 325mm e46 M3 disks. They're much closer to what would be required, but I reckon they're probably too small in diameter for the outer pad swept area, but I know the CSL disks can work (on other models) but will need the lower pad sweep reduced, but that's an easy mod, but again that would be for 18's only.
I think the caliper itself requires an 18" rim to clear it, so I don't think there's much change of getting them to work with any disks under 17's or 16's.
Aaron MacQ
Zorg Guru (I)
Got a few pics on Friday night of its latest stance.
Parked slightly downhill it doesn't look it but when level, the rear has about 5mm more arch gap than the fronts.
The new 25mm spacers have the rear wheels sitting perfectly.
So, back to my garage... Oh, more treats have appeared on the floor!!!
I haven't assembled any of the other bits to fit it yet but know I'll need a few hoses, brackets and a plate for the M52 throttle body.
Any one assembled the parts recently without going for one of the eBay or USA sourced kits?
On a side note, looks like the M Sport calipers would fit the Z3 fine using M3 CSL disks, but they're destined for the 1er.
I got some disks thrown in as part of the purchase. The fronts are fine, but check out this rear?
Looks like the previous owner ran out of outer brake pad but just kept going for several thousand miles....lol.
Think I'llI sell the fronts and now have new disks and pads all round on order!
Parked slightly downhill it doesn't look it but when level, the rear has about 5mm more arch gap than the fronts.
The new 25mm spacers have the rear wheels sitting perfectly.
So, back to my garage... Oh, more treats have appeared on the floor!!!
I haven't assembled any of the other bits to fit it yet but know I'll need a few hoses, brackets and a plate for the M52 throttle body.
Any one assembled the parts recently without going for one of the eBay or USA sourced kits?
On a side note, looks like the M Sport calipers would fit the Z3 fine using M3 CSL disks, but they're destined for the 1er.
I got some disks thrown in as part of the purchase. The fronts are fine, but check out this rear?
Looks like the previous owner ran out of outer brake pad but just kept going for several thousand miles....lol.
Think I'llI sell the fronts and now have new disks and pads all round on order!
Last edited:
Aaron MacQ
Zorg Guru (I)
Aaron MacQ
Zorg Guru (I)
Woh, this really hasn't gone the way I thought it would!
Aaron MacQ
Zorg Guru (I)
Well, it's that time of year where my dad clears off for a few months and I get the Z back.
Since the weathers been good, I've been mostly driving the M3 recently which is quick and solid. It's fully polybushed, coilovers, upgraded anti-roll bars, modified shifter and aside from some corrosion on the front wing, it's otherwise perfect. However, jumping into the Z for the first time in a while, it didn't feel quite as nippy, so I'll need to get that M50 manifold fitted up soon.
Anyway, before I get round to that I felt I needed a bit of housekeeping to the garage, so I've cleaned it out and swapped the old up-and-over door for a fancy electric roller.
The big advantage is that it'll add 8 inches to the opening width as I removed the old wooden mounting posts and it won't obscure my roof lights internally when open.
As for the old door, out with the biggest hammer I could find and batter it until it fits in the back of the Rav4!
Result.
Hope to get cracking on more Z upgrades shortly...
Since the weathers been good, I've been mostly driving the M3 recently which is quick and solid. It's fully polybushed, coilovers, upgraded anti-roll bars, modified shifter and aside from some corrosion on the front wing, it's otherwise perfect. However, jumping into the Z for the first time in a while, it didn't feel quite as nippy, so I'll need to get that M50 manifold fitted up soon.
Anyway, before I get round to that I felt I needed a bit of housekeeping to the garage, so I've cleaned it out and swapped the old up-and-over door for a fancy electric roller.
The big advantage is that it'll add 8 inches to the opening width as I removed the old wooden mounting posts and it won't obscure my roof lights internally when open.
As for the old door, out with the biggest hammer I could find and batter it until it fits in the back of the Rav4!
Result.
Hope to get cracking on more Z upgrades shortly...
Well, it's that time of year where my dad clears off for a few months and I get the Z back.
Since the weathers been good, I've been mostly driving the M3 recently which is quick and solid. It's fully polybushed, coilovers, upgraded anti-roll bars, modified shifter and aside from some corrosion on the front wing, it's otherwise perfect. However, jumping into the Z for the first time in a while, it didn't feel quite as nippy, so I'll need to get that M50 manifold fitted up soon.
Anyway, before I get round to that I felt I needed a bit of housekeeping to the garage, so I've cleaned it out and swapped the old up-and-over door for a fancy electric roller.
View attachment 82995
View attachment 82998
The big advantage is that it'll add 8 inches to the opening width as I removed the old wooden mounting posts and it won't obscure my roof lights internally when open.
As for the old door, out with the biggest hammer I could find and batter it until it fits in the back of the Rav4!
View attachment 82996 View attachment 82997
Result.
Hope to get cracking on more Z upgrades shortly...
I might do some garage door redecorating too only my redecor job would be more like this............
Well, you see, last night I had backed into the driveway in front of the garage. This morning I asked my wife to move my car out to the street so she got in and put it in reverse thinking it was in first and................well..................here's the old garage door...............