joenationwide's 2006 AW Z4MR

[joenationwide]

Hello everyone. I'm new to this forum, but not to BMW ///M cars.

I've owned 3 E36M3s, 1 E46M3, and now my 2006 Alpine White Z4M Roadster.

Long story short: I was looking for an S2000 to replace my 1999 Miatas I just sold. But I couldn't fall in love with the S2000. I was getting pretty discouraged to find a fun and fast roadster until my friend asked if I had looked at the Z4M roadster. Huh? I thought, it had never occurred to me, and I've been a BMW fan since I bought my first e36M3 in 2004. Once I started looking into Z4MRs a light went off. What an awesome car!

So I started my search and of course they are hard to find. Did a 1000 mile radius craigslist search and found exactly what I wanted. 82k mile AW Z4MR. I had the owner take it to a local independent BMW shop for a PPI, and the shop owner called me and said "This car is beautiful, no accidents, no issues, it looks brand new! In fact the owner was in a hurry to get home before it rained." I knew this was the one.

Here it is the day I bought it on May 28, 2017. I flew 500 miles from VA to Detroit to pick it up.






Here I am about 50 miles into my 500 mile top down road trip back home. Yes I do look like a dork. And yes I love BluBlocker sunglasses from the 1980s.





Here she is at home, I had to kick the race car out of the garage for her.








When I have more time I'll post the mods I've done in the past month since I got her exactly one month ago tomorrow.

Mods/Improvements I've done in last 4 weeks:
- TTFS tune
- K&N drop in filter
- all new fluids
- installed wheel studs
- replaced the shift knob and broken center compartment cover
- installed CarPro bluetooth device
- installed Bilstein PSS10s with Vorshlag Camber Plates
- purchased (but not yet received) APEX ARC-8s & Michelin PSS tires


Here she is next to some friends cars at GTPEACE AUTOMOTIVE. This is my GO TO shop where I take all my cars if I don't do the work myself, and sometimes if I need access to a lift or alignment rack. They are the best, and they keep my race car running strong and winning.

[DEG]

Originally Posted by joenationwide

Hello everyone. I'm new to this forum, but not to BMW ///M cars.

I've owned 3 E36M3s, 1 E46M3, and now my 2006 Alpine White Z4M Roadster.

Long story short: I was looking for an S2000 to replace my 1999 Miatas I just sold. But I couldn't fall in love with the S2000. I was getting pretty discouraged to find a fun and fast roadster until my friend asked if I had looked at the Z4M roadster. Huh? I thought, it had never occurred to me, and I've been a BMW fan since I bought my first e36M3 in 2004. Once I started looking into Z4MRs a light went off. What an awesome car!

So I started my search and of course they are hard to find. Did a 1000 mile radius craigslist search and found exactly what I wanted. 82k mile AW Z4MR. I had the owner take it to a local independent BMW shop for a PPI, and the shop owner called me and said "This car is beautiful, no accidents, no issues, it looks brand new! In fact the owner was in a hurry to get home before it rained." I knew this was the one.

Here it is the day I bought it on May 28, 2017. I flew 500 miles from VA to Detroit to pick it up.






Here I am about 50 miles into my 500 mile top down road trip back home. Yes I do look like a dork. And yes I love BluBlocker sunglasses from the 1980s.





Here she is at home, I had to kick the race car out of the garage for her.








When I have more time I'll post the mods I've done in the past month since I got her exactly one month ago tomorrow.

Mods/Improvements I've done in last 4 weeks:
- TTFS tune
- K&N drop in filter
- all new fluids
- installed wheel studs
- replaced the shift knob and broken center compartment cover
- installed CarPro bluetooth device
- installed Bilstein PSS10s with Vorshlag Camber Plates
- purchased (but not yet received) APEX ARC-8s & Michelin PSS tires


Here she is next to some friends cars at GTPEACE AUTOMOTIVE. This is my GO TO shop where I take all my cars if I don't do the work myself, and sometimes if I need access to a lift or alignment rack. They are the best, and they keep my race car running strong and winning.

Nice pick up! Looking forward to pics of your future mods. Welcome to the forum.

[kaybat]

Nice find!(and garage!)congrats.

[pungo]

Great looking car, like the brown leather. And you're local...

Check out my ///M track mode post

[unluky]

LOL - sounds like my story. I like to wrench, so after I kind got my 300 as done as I wanted it after 13 years, my eye started to wander. I loved the look of the S2000 and wanted a vert, so I started looking for them for about a year (6 months pretty hard). Drove a lot of total rags and a few that looked clean, but still did not feel as good and tight as my 300 that was 10 years older and WAY faster.

Then I went and looked at yet another rag S2000 (at a dealer so I figured it was) and on the way home I just happen to drive by a Z4 and liked the look of it. Went and drove one and forgot all about the S2000. Found one a few states away that checked all my want boxes and have never regretted it. Not an M, but I am older now and the need for speed is not as heavy as it used to be. The 3.0 is plenty....MOST of the time. lol

Nice ride and good find!

[joenationwide]

Originally Posted by DEG

Nice pick up! Looking forward to pics of your future mods. Welcome to the forum.

Thanks! I'll share the install and impressions on the mods soon.

Originally Posted by kaybat

Nice find!(and garage!)congrats.

Thank you!

Originally Posted by pungo

Great looking car, like the brown leather. And you're local...

Check out my ///M track mode post

Wow, I was looking for a way to engage the ///M track mode. Great write up. I may have some questions once I can spend more time reading over your post.

Originally Posted by unluky

LOL - sounds like my story. I like to wrench, so after I kind got my 300 as done as I wanted it after 13 years, my eye started to wander. I loved the look of the S2000 and wanted a vert, so I started looking for them for about a year (6 months pretty hard). Drove a lot of total rags and a few that looked clean, but still did not feel as good and tight as my 300 that was 10 years older and WAY faster.

Then I went and looked at yet another rag S2000 (at a dealer so I figured it was) and on the way home I just happen to drive by a Z4 and liked the look of it. Went and drove one and forgot all about the S2000. Found one a few states away that checked all my want boxes and have never regretted it. Not an M, but I am older now and the need for speed is not as heavy as it used to be. The 3.0 is plenty....MOST of the time. lol

Nice ride and good find!

These Z4 variants are great and yet so underrated and underappreciated.

While researching the S2000 I saw the Best Motoring track challenge of several roadsters: S2000, Z4, 350Z, Boxster, SLK AMG, and Crossfire. The 3.0 Z4 was only tenths behind the S2000.

[joenationwide]

Bilstein PSS10 Install w/Linear Springs, Vorshlag Camber Plates and Rouge RSMs

First let me say I love Bilstein PSS9/10 suspensions.
I've had them on my E36M3 and E46M3.
The damping range for the street is good, but for the track they're even better.
I always prefer to convert them to linear springs, wish they would come with these stock.
I usually like to run 525f/550r for a more street setup, and 525f/650r for more track oriented.
So I ordered a set for the Z4M pretty much the day after I bought the car.
I also ordered Vorshlag camber plates (the best) and some Rogue rear shock mounts (RSM) also a must for the hard to access Z4M rear shock mounts.

Here is the kit.
The bright blue progressive rate springs come with the PSS10 kit, I will be swapping these out for some Eibach ERS and Hypercoil springs I have.





Picture showing the Vorshlag camber plates installed.
This is also my 3rd set of Vorshlag camber plates, IMHO they are the best.
They have the lowest stack height (meaning they are the slimmest plates you can get), and the spherical bearing is both strong and very quiet.
The only downside is as a result of the low stack height, the nut sticks up high and can interfere with the strut tower flange.











Front Suspension Install

Getting started on the fronts




Pretty straightforward removing the OEM front struts.
I use vice grips to keep the back of the end link from spinning when removing the nut.
After that there's 2 bolts that hold the bottom of the strut and then 1 bolt a few inches above those that runs front to back.
Then remove the 3 top nuts from under the hood.





Old one out




Fronts set to level 1 of 10. Softest setting for now.





New Bilstein PSS10 assembly going in





Here's the three lower mounting points, top bolt running front to back, and the two bolts (not yet installed) at the bottom where the strut flange meets the knuckle.






The top of the strut tower has a flange that limits the movement of the top nut when the maximum caster setting is used.
This means I'll have limited camber unless I move the caster to medium setting, or modify my strut mounts to gain clearance.




So I clearanced the sheet metal a bit.
And the fronts are installed.






Rear Suspension Install

Now to the rears, this is slightly more difficult.
You've got to remove the battery cover, and access the rear upper shock mounts.





Three nuts on top hold the battery cover down. Remove these.





Next remove the plate/bracket that has the twist knob that moves the plastic shelf up and down.
Then you can pull back the carpet, and the foam padding.
Finally you can install the Rogue upper shock mounts and save yourself the hassle of ever having to remove this stuff again.





This is because the Rogue rear shock mounts have two parts.
The part on the right mounts from inside the car and the studs point downward into the wheel well.
The part on the left mounts to the shock.





Here is the part mounted on the shock.





Here's the view with the OEM shock removed, and before installing the Rouge rear shock mount plate from inside the car.
After installing you'll only need access from here.





Here it is installed.
So if you ever have to remove the rear shocks, you only need to loosen the nuts from here (in the wheel well) and remove them.
You no longer have to access these mounts from inside the car.
These Rogue plates are a must have, and for only $110 they are worth it.








Here's how easy they install now.






Rear shocks installed and set to level 1 of 10. Softest setting for now.





Here's the PSS10 spring and adjustable spring perch installed.
I planned on using the springs from the black car, which was going to use the springs from the race car.
But I didn't have time to swap 3 sets of springs so I temporarily installed the progressive springs that came with the PSS10s in the rear for now.








After adjusting the ride heights, here is the height I settled on.
This is about 3/4" lower than OEM I believe.






And to finish it off right, I went to GT Peace to do a nice alignment.





I am setting this car up somewhere between spirited street driving and track day. So I went for these settings:

Front
Camber: -2.8 deg
Caster: 7.5 deg
Toe: 0.10 total toe in

Rear
Camber: -1.8 deg
Toe: 0.10 total toe in




Impressions on the Bilstein PSS10 suspension

I have to say I was not at all dissapointed in this PSS10 kit for my Z4M roadster. In fact, so far I think it is the best of the Bilstein PSSX kits I've had. The ride quality has improved over OEM, with the only exception possibly being abrupt changes in road surface (like expansion joints on bridges, or pot holes). But otherwise the car is much less floaty and wallowy. The shocks feel smoother and body motions are much more controlled. There is less body roll of course, and the car feels more composed. There is much less lag time from making an input to the car responding. There is much more confidence in pushing the car harder into turns and at high speeds.

Of course the Vorshlag camber allowed me to maximize my alignment settings, which in turn maximize grip. The linear rate front springs also help to give a more consistent amount of body roll, and fortunately I haven't yet noticed any drawbacks to the PSS10 rear springs.

I have to say that I am completely happy with my Bilstein PSS10 suspension. I think it is the best suspension available for the money. The valving is great for the track and can handle high spring rates, yet it still feels good on the street. Bilstein dampers can last 100k miles or more which can't be said by any other dampers I'm aware of. And the adjustability range I expect will be very good.

One criticism of the PSS9s on my E36M3 is that the amount of damping force adjustment from 1-2 is the same as from 2-10. I know this from dynoing them. Also, 1 is the stiffest setting on the PSS9s and 10 is the stiffest setting on the PSS10s. Weird. Oh well, at least knowing this kind of makes the problem less significant. Point is I think the PSS10s may have resolved the shortcomings with the PSS9s. And short of getting Ohlins or MCS, I think the PSS10s is likely the best kit out there. I'll confirm or deny this statement once I get a chance to track this car.

[yousefnjr]

What a looker, that dark sepang is A+ welcome!

Something tells me this will be a good thread

[bananabun]

I've been looking into suspension options for my car, and this write-up was very insightful! Thanks for posting, and welcome to the community!

[KevinM]

Nice - congratulations!

[Reborn_]

Great thread. Congrats on the pickup and welcome to the club.

[Vanne]

Gday Joe.

Welcome to the forums mate. Nice car, I love AW.. just a quick question...
You've got the vorslag camber plates, but you've installed them as caster adjusters??
Or am I see-ing this incorrectly..

[W///]

Very nice car! I've got an E36 M3 as well as an AW Z4MR. I also looked at an AP2 S2k and I think I would have been happy with the choice, although I'm not sure I would have been in love. In contrast, my Z was actually $3k cheaper than those cars, which prompted me to pull the trigger right away and I have no regrets at all. No reason for this car to be so cheap

[pungo]

Originally Posted by Vanne

You've got the vorslag camber plates, but you've installed them as caster adjusters??
Or am I see-ing this incorrectly..

I wondered the same thing?

[joenationwide]

Originally Posted by yousefnjr

What a looker, that dark sepang is A+ welcome!

Something tells me this will be a good thread

Thanks! The pic of your AW Z4MR in your signature has always been my favorite.

Originally Posted by bananabun

I've been looking into suspension options for my car, and this write-up was very insightful! Thanks for posting, and welcome to the community!

Thank you, I'm glad my write up was helpful.

Originally Posted by KevinM

Nice - congratulations!

Thanks, I love this car!

Originally Posted by Reborn_

Great thread. Congrats on the pickup and welcome to the club.

Thank you!

Originally Posted by Vanne

Gday Joe.

Welcome to the forums mate. Nice car, I love AW.. just a quick question...
You've got the vorslag camber plates, but you've installed them as caster adjusters??
Or am I see-ing this incorrectly..

Originally Posted by pungo

I wondered the same thing?

The Vorshlag camber plates also have caster adjustability.
The camber can be adjusted to any position within the allowable range of the plates. See lower and upper right side of photo where the stud can slide in the slot?
The caster can be adjusted to one of two settings, min and max caster. See the two flush mount hex key bolts to the right of the center nut? In this position the caster is maxed out.
In the photo, you can see stamped on the red plate "E46 LF ↓ F", the ↓ is towards the front of the car.

Originally Posted by W///

Very nice car! I've got an E36 M3 as well as an AW Z4MR. I also looked at an AP2 S2k and I think I would have been happy with the choice, although I'm not sure I would have been in love. In contrast, my Z was actually $3k cheaper than those cars, which prompted me to pull the trigger right away and I have no regrets at all. No reason for this car to be so cheap

My thoughts exactly. I was frustrated with the high prices of the S2K, and coupled with the less-than-thrilled experiences from the test drives, the Z4MR was way more car than the S2K, and for less price. It was a no brainer for me.

[joenationwide]

So I just installed my new wheels and tires!!
Those are 275/35/18's all around.








I made a new thread on the wheel and tire forum, because I haven't seen anyone go this wide before.

But to keep this thread as the main build thread here is the story:


Here are my specs:

Wheels: 18x9.5 et 35 APEX ARC8
Tires: 275/35/18 Michelin PSS
Suspension: Bilstein PSS10 with 525# Eibach front springs
Ride Height: about 3/4" lower than OEM
Camber: -2.8deg front, -1.8deg rear


I wanted a square setup on my Z4M roadster, and I wanted to know how wide I could go in the front.
I didn't see anyone running 275s in the front, it looked like 265s were the widest anyone had gone.

After doing some research and looking at tire specs, I figured I'd be able to fit 275/35/18 Michelin PSS all around on 18x9.5" APEX ARC8s.

Here they are after being mounted and balanced. All of them balanced out with very few weights.






Here you can see the difference in the new vs old fronts.
Despite being much wider, the new wheels are noticeably lighter than the OEM fronts, and much lighter than the OEM rears.








Here is the clearance in the front.
There's about 3-4mm clearance between the tire and the strut body.
About 5-6mm clearance between the wheel and strut body.
Plenty of clearance to the spring perch.
I am not running spacers.





Here are a few shots showing the front fitment. No worries at all.








Here she as at the current ride height. I believe this is about 3/4" lower than stock. The PSS tires measure 25.6in tall, OEM is 26in tall.





A few more shots







Hope this helps others to know just how wide you can go, especially if you don't like the staggered wheel and tire route and want to go for maximum grip.

Next I think I might get some 12mm spacers for the rear since they are more inset than the fronts. No worries since I already have wheel stud conversion.

[Vanne]

Originally Posted by joenationwide

Thanks! The pic of your AW Z4MR in your signature has always been my favorite.

Thank you, I'm glad my write up was helpful.

Thanks, I love this car!

Thank you!



The Vorshlag camber plates also have caster adjustability.
The camber can be adjusted to any position within the allowable range of the plates. See lower and upper right side of photo where the stud can slide in the slot?
The caster can be adjusted to one of two settings, min and max caster. See the two flush mount hex key bolts to the right of the center nut? In this position the caster is maxed out.
In the photo, you can see stamped on the red plate "E46 LF ↓ F", the ↓ is towards the front of the car.




My thoughts exactly. I was frustrated with the high prices of the S2K, and coupled with the less-than-thrilled experiences from the test drives, the Z4MR was way more car than the S2K, and for less price. It was a no brainer for me.

Thx Joe, haven't seen that before, but yeah that makes sense and I can indeed see the camber adjustment on the right there. Thanks for setting me straight. I thought it would be a little strange, guy has 3 or 4 modded bimmers in his driveway, so of course he knows how to install camber plates.

Love the car man, what else do you have planned for her?

[joenationwide]

Originally Posted by Vanne

Thx Joe, haven't seen that before, but yeah that makes sense and I can indeed see the camber adjustment on the right there. Thanks for setting me straight. I thought it would be a little strange, guy has 3 or 4 modded bimmers in his driveway, so of course he knows how to install camber plates.

Love the car man, what else do you have planned for her?

No problem.

I think the only thing left is some headers and a custom single exhaust. I'm hoping to save about 80lbs of weight as a result, and hit 315-325whp with my TTFS tune.

[mad-dog]

Originally Posted by joenationwide

No problem.

I think the only thing left is some headers and a custom single exhaust. I'm hoping to save about 80lbs of weight as a result, and hit 315-325whp with my TTFS tune.

Hi there,

could you upload those to another hoster? I'm not able to see any of them

Very interesting build.

Bye.

[Andyh1]

Congratulations.... Love the color combo

[inTgr8r]

Originally Posted by mad-dog

Hi there,

could you upload those to another hoster? I'm not able to see any of them

Very interesting build.

Bye.

You can install the Photobucket 'Plugin' for your web browser and the pics will work.

[JimBob0047]

I take my car to Galin at GT Peace as well. Great shop! Would love to check out your Z sometime. I'm in Loudoun County.