ZPOST
BMW Garage BMW Meets Register Search Today's Posts Mark Forums Read


Go Back   ZPOST > BMW Z4 Roadster and Coupe > General BMW Z4 Forum
  TireRack

SUPPORT ZPOST BY DOING YOUR TIRERACK SHOPPING FROM THIS BANNER, THANKS!
Post Reply
 
Thread Tools Search this Thread
      09-16-2017, 05:57 AM   #1
FD3S
Private First Class
70
Rep
188
Posts

Drives: BMW Z4M
Join Date: Oct 2016
Location: Dreamland

iTrader: (0)

My BMW Z4M Roadster with some mods

Hello guys,

It has been two years since I purchased my Z4 M Roadster so I thought it was time to renew our relationship by changing some things. Here are some things I would like to share them with you.

After a lot of research on the forum here and the zpost, I have seen all the possible modifications the car can have and decided to go slowly on the following list:

1) OEM New rod bearings.
Since I am the second owner and I wanted to have piece of mind, so I decided to change them at around 89.000 km.

Pros: Piece of mind - Priceless

Cons: None.

2) Bmw Stubby antenna.
I never could imagine that a so small piece could make such a beautiful difference.

Pros: The car looks better.

Cons: I think while driving in not urban areas it is more difficult to find good reception but nothing tragic.

3) Vibra Techniques engine mounts.
I selected the street version since I have read many good comments about them, so I thought they are the best solution for our car. To be honest the car feels more robust after installing them, but if I had the opportunity I would go to stock again, since the have small vibrations when the car starting and at gear change. Nothing loud but you can notice it.
While changing them I discovered that it was a good move since one of the OEM engine mounts have been cracked seriously.

Pros: Car I think feels more robust.

Cons: Vibration sound due to the metal nature of them.



4) Clutch Stop .
Makes the shifting sorter and you can have more aggressive shifting.

Pros: Feels better the shifting.

Cons: My mechanic told me that maybe it will make the clutch to fail faster, but I do not feel something that could lead that way.

5) RPi skid pads.
The Rpi skid pads have been bought an a group buy through zpost. I hated haring my bumper making scratches on our crappy roads.

Pros: On a big hit the bumper will not brake easily

Cons: The skid pad doesn't cover exactly the front of the bumper so you will still get some scratches on the face of the bumper.



6) CSL Style Airbox from Karbonius.
I wanted something that would make the sound of this beatiful engine a little bit louder. However since I travel often with my car I didn't want something that would make a long trip undoable due of the loud sound. With CSL Airbox I think I made the right choice. The car has the same stock sound when you want, but if you kick the pedal then a monster comes out of it. Now about the sound of the Airbox I have heard good and bad things from different people. Personally for me it is perfect and I wish I could have the same sound with a SC kit as I think the SC as a future change.

The Karbonius airbox for me the way it is fabricated it is perfect. I am not a Carbon Fiber Specialist but also the my mechanic who owns a OE CSL airbox told me that it is the best quality non OE airbox he has seen.

Pros: Sound, sound and yes sound. Power.

Cons: Cost - Alpha N tuning required.



7) Epic Motorsports Tune
Well before going this way I have talked with private messages with a lot of forum members, who I have to thank them all for their time and their help on a newbie. I would like to thank Vanne, ga41, Bedub, asirvr4 and especially Nikitas_Z4mcoupe for their help.

Randy the owner of Epic, is a very helpful guy and it was the only one who answered my questions promptly and within a timely manner. This won my trust and I decided to go this way. Other tuning companies never answered me, so I prefer my money to go to someone who cares about them. I have not regret it since the car with the Alpha N tuning and the airbox is working like a charm. It is stronger than stock. You can feel the difference right away.
I haven't noticed any problems yet. I have tried my car ever on 43.5 Celsius and it was working fine with some small heat soaks as expected.

Here are some photos:
Back up stage - The coffee is needed while waiting for an hour :



The king naked



New clothes of the king




The tuning procedure is easy to do it since you buy all the necessary parts from Epic. I have done it myself. Tbh we had some issues with the driver to install the program on the PC but after changing a laptop it worked fine. Randy can give you maps for 93,95,98,100 octane maps. I have choose the 95. In the future I think I will go for the 100 octane since he told me that there is no problem if you put 95 octane gas and you have the 100 maps. Because the procedure to back up your ECU and uploading the next file takes around 2.5 hours, be sure that you have some battery charger plug in while you doing the procedure.
Vanne has build a very detailed post about the CSL Airbox installation that it was really helpful for me.

Before the tune and the CSL airbox I took my car on a dyno. You can see the before and after results here.

Before the tune:



After the tune MAHA Dyno - power at engine:



After the tune Dynoject Dyno - power on the wheels with AFR Ratio:



It was really cool that while waiting for my dyno, some guys from the local corvette club were doing live tuning to their beasts.
Those cars were able to take 50-55 hp, only with a software tune...
After hearing my tiny car on the dyno with the Airbox they were like :drinking: .



It worths to mention the following things:
My car except those changes is completely stock with Euro Headers. After the first dyno, before the modification, my tuner told me that the car had probably another program since the logs he have seen it was not the BMW Original files. All the runs have been done with 95 octane gas. All the runs made with powen button off, except the second run on the dynojet. The runs after the tune and the airbox have been done twice, since the MAHA dyno measures the power of the motor and the dynojet on wheels and could give me also Air Fuel Ratio that the tuner needed to see to tell me why the car drops after 7200 rpm.

The guys from both dyno's have told me that this is the strongest S54 car they have seen even from guys who have headers (except the guys who have SC). Also the one guy told me that the program is really good and the mechanic told me the same.

Randy expects that the car can go above 310-320 km/h now the speed limit is removed after seeing the dyno. I haven't tested this assumption, since my car rarely seen more than 5500 rpms, but I hope some day to verify it

Tbh I thought that I could get higher numbers from the dyno's but it is what it is.

My next steps is to find a way to correct the 7200 rpm drop. Randy says this is a heat soak and is happening due luck of air in the dynos and on the street it will be ok. I think this is happening because I have not bought the CSL snorkel extension and the airbox is not having enough air. What are your thoughts?

My thought was to scan the CSL Airbox and 3D Print an extension. After to provide it to a carbon fiber company to create a replica for that. I am talking with Karbonius to build a custom made snorkel for our cars, but I am not quite sure how this conversation will end.

I apologise if I have done any mistakes, since my English is not my native language.

I would like close with a video that gives a slight taste of the CSL Airbox:

Last edited by FD3S; 09-16-2017 at 01:35 PM..
Appreciate 3
      09-16-2017, 10:57 AM   #2
XMetal
Colonel
XMetal's Avatar
United_States
1097
Rep
2,846
Posts

Drives: Anything
Join Date: Apr 2010
Location: SoCal

iTrader: (0)

Garage List
2008 Z4M Coupe  [10.00]
2018 Audi S3  [0.00]
2004 X5  [8.50]
Nice build That air box - so jealous
Appreciate 1
FD3S69.50
      09-16-2017, 07:05 PM   #3
Redacre
6 Cylinders 3 Ways
Redacre's Avatar
364
Rep
453
Posts

Drives: M5, 911, Macan
Join Date: Sep 2014
Location: FL

iTrader: (10)

Garage List
Great post and great build!
Appreciate 1
FD3S69.50
      09-16-2017, 08:50 PM   #4
SaltyNC
Captain
SaltyNC's Avatar
368
Rep
870
Posts

Drives: 2006 BMW Z4M Roadster
Join Date: Oct 2015
Location: NC

iTrader: (2)

Garage List
FD3S, nice build. Did you get to see the condition of the rod bearings you pulled? I'm curious if they were worn or if they were OK. It seems like a real crap shoot on whether the bearings will be bad or not.

And yeah, like XMetal, I'm jealous of your airbox. Those CSL's sound awesome. I have a Gruppe-M and love the sound, but it can't compare to the CSL.

Salty
__________________
2006 BMW Z4M Interlagos Blue/Black
Aux Port|LED Interior|LED Strip Trunk|Underseat First Aid Box|Stubby Antenna|Intravee II|BMW Oil Change Kit|Top Down Side Panels|Vibra Technics Engine Mounts|Rogue Trans Mounts|Engine Mount Bolts Upgrade|RS Windblocker|Euro Front Plate|M5 Illum Shift Knob|Supersprint Powerloop Exhaust|Gruppe-M Intake|RPI Scoop|Black Grills|19x8.5 ET35 F 19x9.5 ET22 R Sportline 8s PSS| Besian Vanos|CDV Delete
Appreciate 1
FD3S69.50
      09-17-2017, 04:36 AM   #5
FD3S
Private First Class
70
Rep
188
Posts

Drives: BMW Z4M
Join Date: Oct 2016
Location: Dreamland

iTrader: (0)

Thank you guys. I am glad that you like it. Hopefully a lot new things will come within the next 6 months.

Salty yes I have seen the condition of the rod bearings. They had no issues I believe. From the forums I have seen some photos of worn rod bearings and mine had nothing to do with them. I will take a photo of them today so you can see them.
Appreciate 1
SaltyNC367.50
      09-18-2017, 11:58 AM   #6
FD3S
Private First Class
70
Rep
188
Posts

Drives: BMW Z4M
Join Date: Oct 2016
Location: Dreamland

iTrader: (0)

Quote:
Originally Posted by SaltyNC View Post
FD3S, nice build. Did you get to see the condition of the rod bearings you pulled? I'm curious if they were worn or if they were OK. It seems like a real crap shoot on whether the bearings will be bad or not.

And yeah, like XMetal, I'm jealous of your airbox. Those CSL's sound awesome. I have a Gruppe-M and love the sound, but it can't compare to the CSL.

Salty
I took two photos of the bearings, so you can have a look:



Appreciate 0
      09-18-2017, 04:00 PM   #7
SaltyNC
Captain
SaltyNC's Avatar
368
Rep
870
Posts

Drives: 2006 BMW Z4M Roadster
Join Date: Oct 2015
Location: NC

iTrader: (2)

Garage List
Thanks for posting the photos. It looks like with the copper showing, you definitely made the right decision to replace them.

Salty
__________________
2006 BMW Z4M Interlagos Blue/Black
Aux Port|LED Interior|LED Strip Trunk|Underseat First Aid Box|Stubby Antenna|Intravee II|BMW Oil Change Kit|Top Down Side Panels|Vibra Technics Engine Mounts|Rogue Trans Mounts|Engine Mount Bolts Upgrade|RS Windblocker|Euro Front Plate|M5 Illum Shift Knob|Supersprint Powerloop Exhaust|Gruppe-M Intake|RPI Scoop|Black Grills|19x8.5 ET35 F 19x9.5 ET22 R Sportline 8s PSS| Besian Vanos|CDV Delete
Appreciate 1
FD3S69.50
      10-18-2017, 09:11 PM   #8
OrganpaD
Registered
0
Rep
2
Posts

Drives: Z4M Roadster Interlagos Blau
Join Date: Oct 2017
Location: France

iTrader: (0)

Nice car!
I have some questions about the carbon airbox.
Is the carbon airbox the same as M3 e46 or is it different?
How did you move the oil gauge?
Do you have to buy the M3 vaccum control?

Thx a lot
Appreciate 0
      10-23-2017, 05:47 PM   #9
FD3S
Private First Class
70
Rep
188
Posts

Drives: BMW Z4M
Join Date: Oct 2016
Location: Dreamland

iTrader: (0)

Quote:
Originally Posted by OrganpaD View Post
Nice car!
I have some questions about the carbon airbox.
Is the carbon airbox the same as M3 e46 or is it different?
How did you move the oil gauge?
Do you have to buy the M3 vaccum control?

Thx a lot
Hello Organpad. Glad that you liked my car.
It is exactly the same airbox of the M3 E46.
The parts that you will need to have are the following (copied from Vanne's post on z4-forum):


CSL Crank Case Vent Hose (11157833649) - £21.20
CSL Airbox Air Shut Off Valve (11617833647) - £62.27 (fabbed this together myself with fuel line. Perfect)
6 x Clamps (59 - 66mm) (07129952125) £6.98

Karbonius Snorkel - £300

OEM CSL filter - £93 or so...

CSL IAT Sensor (13621739510) - £31.84 - Purchasefrom BMW

You can find more here:

http://www.z4-forum.com/forum/viewto...irbox&start=15

About the relocation of the oil gauge I will try to find some photos about it to show you within the next days.
Appreciate 0
Post Reply

Bookmarks

Tags
bmw, csl airbox, epic motorsports, rpi, z4m

Thread Tools Search this Thread
Search this Thread:

Advanced Search

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off



All times are GMT -5. The time now is 10:42 AM.




zpost
Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.11
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions Inc.
1Addicts.com, BIMMERPOST.com, E90Post.com, F30Post.com, M3Post.com, ZPost.com, 5Post.com, 6Post.com, 7Post.com, XBimmers.com logo and trademark are properties of BIMMERPOST