Aaron MacQ
Zorg Guru (I)
Just waiting on some HEL brake lines and strut reinforcement plates from BMW, then the real fun can begin...
Looking for a Z (Now found & Built!)
- Thread starter Aaron MacQ
- Start date
Aaron MacQ
Zorg Guru (I)
Well, the final pieces of the pre-build puzzle are here.
Time to begin the FunZ....
Time to begin the FunZ....
Aaron MacQ
Zorg Guru (I)
Just a quick update as the wheels are back, and looking great front and back.
But then we spotted i slight bulge in the sidewall....
Bummer. Tread wasn't bad at all, but I don't fancy driving much on these, so new tyres will be added to the shopping list once we get the suspension setup at the weekend.
What to go for though.... Been a fan of Toyo T1R's for some time, but they seem to be phasing those out, so considering Pilot Sport 3/4's, Bridgestone 050's or a few others. Being fussy, all 4 corners need to match, but finding it hard to find a single supplier with the same model of tyre in stock for the staggered sizes....
Also thinking we may as well upsize to 235/45's and 255/40's and make better use of those big brakes! Anyone else gone this route? Any downsides?
I know the rear camber could be an issue, but will correct that soon enough.
But then we spotted i slight bulge in the sidewall....
Bummer. Tread wasn't bad at all, but I don't fancy driving much on these, so new tyres will be added to the shopping list once we get the suspension setup at the weekend.
What to go for though.... Been a fan of Toyo T1R's for some time, but they seem to be phasing those out, so considering Pilot Sport 3/4's, Bridgestone 050's or a few others. Being fussy, all 4 corners need to match, but finding it hard to find a single supplier with the same model of tyre in stock for the staggered sizes....
Also thinking we may as well upsize to 235/45's and 255/40's and make better use of those big brakes! Anyone else gone this route? Any downsides?
I know the rear camber could be an issue, but will correct that soon enough.
My car came with PS tyres from new and I have always been happy with them. Think they are now V3 or V4.
Aaron MacQ
Zorg Guru (I)
Quick update to say ..umm... there has been a lack of updates and the car still hasn't been driven or worked on.
But, I have been busy buying more stuff.
Got a set of Michelin Eagle F1's (same as on my 1er) on the way and these lovely additions just arrived...
Hoping to make a start on the car on Sunday.
But, I have been busy buying more stuff.
Got a set of Michelin Eagle F1's (same as on my 1er) on the way and these lovely additions just arrived...
Hoping to make a start on the car on Sunday.
- Joined
- Dec 5, 2011
- Points
- 175
Liking this thread great effort so far
Aaron MacQ
Zorg Guru (I)
It was a quiet afternoon in work, so the Z got a quick wash after sitting for the past few weeks..
These two got evicted from hibernation...
And the Z's in the garage!
So now the work begins...
Although, it'll be a tough choice in the morning...
These two got evicted from hibernation...
And the Z's in the garage!
So now the work begins...
Although, it'll be a tough choice in the morning...
Aaron MacQ
Zorg Guru (I)
So last night I checked the wheel alignment with my Trackace kit. 
Showing 0 toe up front and nearly 1 degree of toe-in at the rear.
It was only a quick look so could be wrong (and my spirit level fluid has leaked a bit so maybe i didn't have it quite level) but 1 degree of toe-in.... poor tyres!
Camber (with a Trackrite) seemed normal with about 1 degree each side up front and just over 2 degrees at the rear.
Anyway, off with the sills...
Woh, the chassis is near perfect. Hardly a sign of any corrosion anywhere.
However, the sills themselves were beyond saving (in my world anyway), so straight on the phone to BMW... should have new ones here and painted for next weekend.
Off with the front bumper...
Don't know why, but seemed like a good idea at the time...
So, next up I realigned the drivers side headlight which wasn't quite perfectly in line with the bonnet.... Now it is!
And gave them a first shot with a DA...
Only spent about 2 mins per side but they're looking great already.
Not quite perfect tho as I can still see some sanding marks, so i'll rub them down a bit more on Sunday and give them a decent go with polisher.
Showing 0 toe up front and nearly 1 degree of toe-in at the rear.
It was only a quick look so could be wrong (and my spirit level fluid has leaked a bit so maybe i didn't have it quite level) but 1 degree of toe-in.... poor tyres!
Camber (with a Trackrite) seemed normal with about 1 degree each side up front and just over 2 degrees at the rear.
Anyway, off with the sills...
Woh, the chassis is near perfect. Hardly a sign of any corrosion anywhere.
However, the sills themselves were beyond saving (in my world anyway), so straight on the phone to BMW... should have new ones here and painted for next weekend.
Off with the front bumper...
Don't know why, but seemed like a good idea at the time...
So, next up I realigned the drivers side headlight which wasn't quite perfectly in line with the bonnet.... Now it is!
And gave them a first shot with a DA...
Only spent about 2 mins per side but they're looking great already.
Not quite perfect tho as I can still see some sanding marks, so i'll rub them down a bit more on Sunday and give them a decent go with polisher.
Certainly looking good behind the sill covers Aaron.
Tony.
Tony.
Looks clean as a whistle that 
Aaron, your car looks in great nick mate. And I still love that colour. I think it will be a show stopper by the time you've finished with it.
Aaron MacQ
Zorg Guru (I)
Thanks all, certainly enjoying the car (statically) and looking forward to putting it on the road in pristine condition.
Anyway, as for those sills. 3 of the four corners were ok and just needed a quick rub and some Por15 to stop anything further going on. However, the back right was nasty.
It looked ok from the outside, but now we can see that internally, there's no metal left behind the the jack point.
All being held together by the paint....
Got the new sills on order and a painter lined up to do some colour samples later in the week.
Anyway, as for those sills. 3 of the four corners were ok and just needed a quick rub and some Por15 to stop anything further going on. However, the back right was nasty.
It looked ok from the outside, but now we can see that internally, there's no metal left behind the the jack point.
All being held together by the paint....
Got the new sills on order and a painter lined up to do some colour samples later in the week.
Aaron MacQ
Zorg Guru (I)
Not much to report other than the new sills arrived today and I dropped them straight round to the bodyshop along with one of the old sills for precise colour matching.
Only other thing I've done this week (aside from investigate a sticky caliper on my Rav4) was to decide that my K&N Apollo is going to make it's way on to the Z.
So, I checked the inlet diameter on the external side of the MAF, and it's 80mm. The K&N is only 70mm, so a 45 degree reducer elbow has just been ordered and that should allow me to mount it in the original airbox space and get some air flow straight from where I need it from.
I was wondering if the 70mm might be a bottle neck, but the throttle body itself is smaller than that, and I I haven't fitted a M50 manifold (yet), so I don't think i'll be doing any harm with the Apollo, and since I already bought ages ago and have since forgotten how much i paid, it's free! (well £10 for the elbow)
Only other thing I've done this week (aside from investigate a sticky caliper on my Rav4) was to decide that my K&N Apollo is going to make it's way on to the Z.
So, I checked the inlet diameter on the external side of the MAF, and it's 80mm. The K&N is only 70mm, so a 45 degree reducer elbow has just been ordered and that should allow me to mount it in the original airbox space and get some air flow straight from where I need it from.
I was wondering if the 70mm might be a bottle neck, but the throttle body itself is smaller than that, and I I haven't fitted a M50 manifold (yet), so I don't think i'll be doing any harm with the Apollo, and since I already bought ages ago and have since forgotten how much i paid, it's free! (well £10 for the elbow)
I fitted a filter to my 2.8 that was a smaller neck and had to remove it.
The car lost all get up and go at 80 normally pulled hard but fitting it left it trickling up.
I wouldn't if i was you never worked for me.
The car lost all get up and go at 80 normally pulled hard but fitting it left it trickling up.
I wouldn't if i was you never worked for me.
Aaron MacQ
Zorg Guru (I)
Oh, thanks for the heads up. I wasn't sure if it was a good idea but the reducers on order and I've already got the Apollo sitting here so I'll still give it a go. Just won't be binning the OEM air box straight away...Lol.
Out of interest, what sort of filter had you fitted? I know the reduced neck diameter isn't ideal, but could it be that the filter itself wasn't large enough to flow enough air as opposed to purely a neck restriction?
I know the throttle body, further upstream, is only 64mm (for now
) and the m52 manifold has it's own flow issues...I also know the standard engine map doesn't really know what to do with the air it already gets, but i've taken care of that.
I had a filter that was similer to this.
Its was about 5 inch across the back replaced it with a bigger version of the same filter and it worked fine.
Ended up with this from a 330 ci form and function
Its was about 5 inch across the back replaced it with a bigger version of the same filter and it worked fine.
Ended up with this from a 330 ci form and function
Aaron MacQ
Zorg Guru (I)
Nice!
I think you should be okay @Aaron MacQ as you aren't putting a smaller diameter on but rather a larger and bringing it down to the stock size if I''m reading your post correctly!! JMO JIM
Aaron MacQ
Zorg Guru (I)
You're sort of right...i think... maybe....errr...
Basically, as I see it, as the engine draws in air, in reverse order, it flows via the inlet manifold (restrictive), throttle body (64mm), inlet maf pipe (80mm) and airbox (with baffles) and intake snorkel (weird shape, but doubt it's got a greater cross section area than a 70mm diameter, although i'll try and figure that out shortly)
So, engine map aside, more air in should equate to more smiles per miles.
What i'll be doing is using a 70mm sealed cold air intake and free flowing filter to the 80mm inlet pipe, then hitting a 64mm throttle body and finally the restrictive m52 intake manifold.
My understanding of the M52B28 is that the manifold is the most restrictive section of the flow, followed by the throttle body itself. Only, if these were sorted should the 70mm intake become the issue, although possibly it's not a case of 'only as good at the worst part' but more the 'sum of it's weaknesses', and I don't honestly know if the Apollo is any better or worse than a standard airbox.
Then, there's the standard ECU map, which doesn't even try to get the most of the existing breathing by restricting the corresponding fuelling and i think that's why an M50 manifold conversion on it's own results in a loss of torque in the lower revs.
Anyway, we should have the car on the road next week so will run it in for a week or two then test a few combinations.
That's if I haven't found a keenly priced M50B25 manifold in the mean time.
In saying that, someone needs to remind me this isn't even my car.... lol
