First day with my Z

[bigbacon]

So after 1 and half days of ownership this is my first impressions sort of.

Car seems to handle very similar to my 87 MR2 in terms of how it feels on the road. Like the 2, it seems to conform to every little road change often bump steering itself. I have no problem with this but I bet my wife will. Definitely not as jarring of a ride as either my RX8 or my wife's mini with the suspension package. Steering does feel really floaty but that might be the electic steering thingie and me not being used to it.

I suck at hill starts in this car as well and my shifting technique seems rather poor. Not sure if it is the clutch delay thing or not but it often feels like it is locking me out of a gear which might be me not pushing the pedal in far enough. It seems to like quick movements.

Hoping today is nice to I can finally drive around with the top down, I think tomorrow is suppose to be very nice.

So far I love it, have very few complaints.

I do hate that there is absolutely no indication that the cruise control is on or being used. Never seen that in that in a car, plus that I keep turning my bright lights on instead of using the cruise control. My hidiously bad posture doesn't seem to like the lumbar part of the seat but not a huge deal, make me force myself to sit upright better.

Probably going to do some basic maintenace stuff in a week or so, like a oil change, clean the drain holes, probably throw in a K&N filter, change the cabin filter, and maybe just take a look at the plugs for the fun of it.

First major add-on I have to do is some kind of ipod attachment and get a wind deflector.

also can someone point me to the difinitive guide for tweaking the Navigation system? I got navtweak from xoutpost but can't seem to find the how to guide.

[gcochard]

Regarding the clutch delay, it only delays on release of the pedal, not when you press it. This is to buffer any shock to the driveline due to releasing too quickly.

Make sure you are pressing in all the way and if it still feels bad, look to see if there's a clutch stop you can screw in further or toss out. Not sure if the z has one, I never checked.

[G80indy]

3 suggestions for you my friend (assuming you haven't yet) :
1 Do the CDV mod
2 flush the clutch line/slave cylinder
3 put Redline MTL in your gearbox


then get back to us with the feel.

[bigbacon]

Yea I do want to drain/fill the trans just because, pedal feel is fine it seems. I really think I just have to get used to driving the car.

[DroZee4]

I traded my p.o.s. Rx-8 for my Z4 and I couldn't have made a better choice. I'm on a very limited budget and I lost a few grand getting rid of that nightmare of a car. I know how to maintain rotary engines as my 91 Rx-7 lasted me over 200k miles but my Rx-8 was on its 3rd engine at 66k. I will never give Mazda another penny of my money. The savings in gas mileage alone are enough but there is nothing like driving a drop top BMW. Congrats and show us some pics!

[bigbacon]

I never really had any major issues with my RX8 other than flooding it once but I felt like it was going to get there sometime and I didn't want to deal with it. and my abysmal like 19mpg (which used to be a solid 22) was just not cutting it.

is draining/filling the trans on one of these pretty easy like any other MT? (open drain bolt, drian, close drain bolt, open fill, fill, close fill?)

[DroZee4]

I bought my Rx-8 with 34k miles on it and thought I was one of the lucky ones. When the engine went at 66k I took it to a Mazda dealer that pulled up the vehicle history and found out that I had been given a false car fax when I purchased the car. When I picked up my Rx from the dealer there were 6 others getting engine replacements as well.

[CJW2OO4]

Bigbacon - Get a Stubby antenna, and a pair of ultimate cupholders. I would also replace the shift knob with a zhp weighted shift knob

https://www.trademotion.com/partloca...catalogid=4462

These were a few of the little things I bought when I just got the car.

[bigbacon]

did spend like 2 hours at work this morning hacking the nav stuff...good times.

[Aries326]

Enjoy the car! I just got mine as well this late summer. I also hate the bump steer and the floaty feel of the electric steering. I've gotten used to it. Supposedly, if you get rid of the run flats, the ride improves. I'll have to wait and see this spring.

The cruise control is pretty awkward to use. Like you, I also have a tendency to flick the highbeams when trying to turn on cruise control.

For ipod integration, I'm looking at the Dice II Mediabridge from www.bavsound.com

For a winddeflector, I'm going with an acrylic one from www.roadstersolutions.com The OEM mesh deflector which is supposed to be slightly better is a bit pricey for my taste.

[porshah]

Enjoy your new ride. As for wind deflector, I have this one: http://www.windrestrictor.com/BMW-Z4/BMW-Z4.htm

It is fantastic.

I have Nav also. I upgraded to latest disc. Haven't had any issues.

[bigbacon]

Originally Posted by Aries326

Enjoy the car! I just got mine as well this late summer. I also hate the bump steer and the floaty feel of the electric steering. I've gotten used to it. Supposedly, if you get rid of the run flats, the ride improves. I'll have to wait and see this spring.

The cruise control is pretty awkward to use. Like you, I also have a tendency to flick the highbeams when trying to turn on cruise control.

For ipod integration, I'm looking at the Dice II Mediabridge from www.bavsound.com

For a winddeflector, I'm going with an acrylic one from www.roadstersolutions.com The OEM mesh deflector which is supposed to be slightly better is a bit pricey for my taste.

there is a bunch of stuff from roadster soluition that I want to get already. I think i solved (mostly) my shifting issues. I just shifting way to early and it seems like I just have to be smoother with the clutch engagement. I was shifting between 2200 and 2500 at first but when I bump up and shift later 2700-3000 it is alot smoother.

[WAMz4]

Turn ignition off
Turn key to "on" position
Wait 15 seconds
Turn ignition off
Wait another 15 seconds
Start the car

What this does is reset the adaptive throttle response to factory settings, basicaly erasing from memory the previous owner and starting anew. If the previous owner drove just like you, you may not feel a difference, But what the heck, its yours now. Out with the old I always say.

[blender]

Tires & alignment will vastly improve the ride.... ditch the runflats and get a quality sport tire. Keep a decent sidewall if you want to cushion the bumps a bit.

[bigbacon]

Originally Posted by rclem05

Tires & alignment will vastly improve the ride.... ditch the runflats and get a quality sport tire. Keep a decent sidewall if you want to cushion the bumps a bit.

I want to do this, but it isn't going to happen until the run flats are dead or one gets a hole in it.

I would just swap and sell them, but I am pretty sure I would have a hard time selling them because of the different sizes.

When you guys do an oil change do you get the whole front end off the ground or just one side? I have jacks and jack stands but no ramps. I assume you can just get a corner off the ground and do it?

[Ovaltine]

Regarding the oil change, I jack the whole front. If you do decide to jack only one side, make sure its the driver side that's off the ground. The position of the oil drain plug will flood the underbody tray if you lift from the passenger side.

[Jmanscotch]

Originally Posted by bigbacon

I want to do this, but it isn't going to happen until the run flats are dead or one gets a hole in it.

I would just swap and sell them, but I am pretty sure I would have a hard time selling them because of the different sizes.

When you guys do an oil change do you get the whole front end off the ground or just one side? I have jacks and jack stands but no ramps. I assume you can just get a corner off the ground and do it?

Look into a topside oil extractor. Can be had for $100 or so. With the oil filter being located up top, it makes for a VERY easy oil change.

[bigbacon]

Originally Posted by Ovaltine

Regarding the oil change, I jack the whole front. If you do decide to jack only one side, make sure its the driver side that's off the ground. The position of the oil drain plug will flood the underbody tray if you lift from the passenger side.

thanks, this is what I needed, i do not want an environmental disaster in my garage again, did that once with my MR2 during a trans fluid drain. Looked away for a split second and it was no longer going into the pan, but all over the floor.

[gcochard]

Same thing just happened to me during my first oil change on the z...