My (new to me) Z4M Roadster

[JPWEraser]

So I decided that my highly modified S2000, while it was a really beautiful and fun car, was just too impractical from a maintenance standpoint - I am engaged now and will be getting married and buying a house sooner rather than later and funds will be routed more to that instead of modifying and maintaining a highly modified car. My future father in law has a BMW Z4 and at first I didn't really like it at first. Granted, I had never driven a BMW before at all so I had nothing for them or against them. Since I started dating his daughter last year, I've taken care of his car for him keeping it clean and all. I probably averaged washing it at least once and sometimes twice a week so it was very clean. This meant he was really open to lending me the keys to take it for a ride if I wanted. After having driven the car a lot, I came to several conclusions: I now really liked the car. I wish it had more power, better seats, bigger brakes, and a more sporty feel overall. Then a client of mine sets up a detailing appointment up with his new Z4M - cool. After working on his car, I saw that there was in fact a M version of the car that had more power, bigger brakes, better seats, and a much more sporty feel but... it was a coupe. Great looking car but I am in love with having a convertible. So I thought to myself... hmm, if only the Z4M came in roadster form... I have been kinda eyeballing M3s for a while. The new E92 is killer expensive and the older E46 just wasn't what I was really looking for in terms of style and appearance. After doing some research, there is a Z4M Roadster after all. Perfect! M3 power in a Z4 style roadster. After getting the S2000 to a new happy owner, I went on the lookout for a Z4M to call my own. After a few months of being on the lookout, I ran across a 2006 in white with red interior. The car had just over 14k miles and from what I could tell on Autocheck, Carfax, amd from the pictures I had available, the car was pretty much nearly perfect. After some negociations, the dealer and I came to agreement on price and conditions. I got a friend of mine to roadtrip with me from extreme north east TN where we both live all the way to Memphis... basically just about as far as you can drive in the state of Tennessee. After a smooth transaction, the car was now mine and I couldn't be happier. I love nearly everything about it which is great - maybe the mod bug won't bite quite as bad this time around. Anyhow - on to pics...

Here are some from the dealer:










And a couple when I finally saw the car at the dealership:



On 450 mile road trip home:



And finally, at home getting its first detail - the wheels were dusted quite heavily:
Before:



During the Sonax soak:


And after:



Also polished the exhaust tips up:



The only things that I have plans to do relatively soon are to get some wheels - I am trying to decide between some VMR CSL reps (19x8.5/19x10), some OEM ZCPs, or some Forgestar F14s. I also would like to swap to OEM aero skirts and add a wind screen of some sort. Anyhow, I look forward to lots of fun times with this car and on this board. Cheers!

[dekaliber]

Nice find, and welcome! Good to see another guy who knows how to take care of his ride.

[JPWEraser]

Originally Posted by dekaliber

Nice find, and welcome! Good to see another guy who knows how to take care of his ride.

Thanks! I detail cars in my spare time for extra cheese so my cars stay pretty clean for the most part.

[chickdr]

Originally Posted by JPWEraser

Thanks! I detail cars in my spare time for extra cheese so my cars stay pretty clean for the most part.

Too funny. I contacted the dealer about this car last week. Asked about trading my red/blk car for this one as mine has less miles and the same options. The sales guy started looking into it then came back and said the car was likely sold. Glad to see it is a person on the forums and that it got a good home. White/red/carbon is my dream combo. Have fun!

[crfine88]

Congrats, great color combo!

The road trip part is very cool. All the built up anticipation on the way there, and then the victory lap all the way home.

[AWM3]

Congratulations - you got a great car and one of the best color combinations. (I'm not biased of course although I do have AW/IR also). I hope you don't drive that thing in the driveway with the carbon fiber hood though.

Recommend the OEM ZCP wheels even if they are more expensive. The VMR wheels are cheap, heavy, and bend very easily. Use a hub centric 10 mm spacer in the front with the ZCP wheels because the front offset is not correct for the Z4M.

[Blind32]

Sweet looking car. Has the future Father In Law driven it yet? He might be joining the M side after a spin in yours!

Welcome!

[onebluemcm]

Nice find - I'm jealous of the long road trip to get it home, was probably fun. Great color combo - definitely prefer the carbon leather dash trim to the aluminum with the red seats. We saw a couple with the red and aluminum, just too busy for such a small passenger compartment.

What you need for that wheel dust is some Axxis Ultimate pads - the guy I bought mine from put them on just a few hundred miles after he bought the car. Until we bought this car, I have been a skeptic of dust free or low dust pads - in my experience, they either performed suboptimally or they still dusted a bunch, or both. These pads made me a convert - the car brakes very, very well - at least as good as my E46 M3 did with stock pads (can't compare to stock on the Z4M for obvious reasons), and the dust level is truly next to none - it's pretty amazing.

[ARISIN]

Nice find!! Congratulations on the car. The bmw wheel does accumulate alot of break dust, not sure why though.

Mods - Good choices on the wheels. I kinda like my M rims, so will wait a bit.
You should also think about changing the antenna and get a stubby

[JPWEraser]

Originally Posted by chickdr

Too funny. I contacted the dealer about this car last week. Asked about trading my red/blk car for this one as mine has less miles and the same options. The sales guy started looking into it then came back and said the car was likely sold. Glad to see it is a person on the forums and that it got a good home. White/red/carbon is my dream combo. Have fun!

That is funny!! I had been scouring Autotrader and other various sources for one for a while and... well let's be honest here - I'm anal so I made a spreadsheet with all the Z4Ms I found within my price range and once it was all compiled, I highlighted the ones that fit my specs: AW, red interior, leather/carbon dash, power seats, no nav, clean car fax, relatively low mileage, good auto check. This was one of 3 (out of about 40) Z4Ms that met all of those criterion but it had the highest asking price. So, I called up the dealership and was pleasantly surprised with what Tom (the salesman) had to say. Thanks for the well wishes!

Originally Posted by crfine88

Congrats, great color combo!

The road trip part is very cool. All the built up anticipation on the way there, and then the victory lap all the way home.

Thank you, and may I say that your Z4M is amazing! It was quite the build up of anticipation. I was jonesing bad - I sold my S2000 and was really missing having a fun convertible. I put more miles on it in the first week of owning it (~800) than the previous owner did in 3 months but it was well worth it!

Originally Posted by car62

Congratulations - you got a great car and one of the best color combinations. (I'm not biased of course although I do have AW/IR also). I hope you don't drive that thing in the driveway with the carbon fiber hood though.

That is my STi and I love that car so don't go knocking it

Originally Posted by car62

Recommend the OEM ZCP wheels even if they are more expensive. The VMR wheels are cheap, heavy, and bend very easily. Use a hub centric 10 mm spacer in the front with the ZCP wheels because the front offset is not correct for the Z4M.

I am leaning toward the ZCPs because there isn't that much of a price gap between them and the VMRs - I am considering the VMRs simply because sizing is more in line with what I want. Thanks for the advice and info.

Originally Posted by Blind32

Sweet looking car. Has the future Father In Law driven it yet? He might be joining the M side after a spin in yours!

Welcome!

Thank you! He wants to drive it but he hasn't had the chance yet. I have a feeling he will be at least tempted to join the M crowd once he feels the power difference. He has a 3.0i which was the most power offered in a Z4 in 2004, but it feels limp compared to the M (but don't tell him I said that).

[JPWEraser]

Originally Posted by onebluemcm

Nice find - I'm jealous of the long road trip to get it home, was probably fun. Great color combo - definitely prefer the carbon leather dash trim to the aluminum with the red seats. We saw a couple with the red and aluminum, just too busy for such a small passenger compartment.

What you need for that wheel dust is some Axxis Ultimate pads - the guy I bought mine from put them on just a few hundred miles after he bought the car. Until we bought this car, I have been a skeptic of dust free or low dust pads - in my experience, they either performed suboptimally or they still dusted a bunch, or both. These pads made me a convert - the car brakes very, very well - at least as good as my E46 M3 did with stock pads (can't compare to stock on the Z4M for obvious reasons), and the dust level is truly next to none - it's pretty amazing.

Good info on the Axxis pads. I have never run them in any of my cars but I have had lots of experience when it comes to other pad combos. I have had great luck with:

EBC Blue Stuff - noisy and dusty but very fade resistant for track use on my STi, not reccommended for street use
Project Mu B Force - great street pad, less dusting, but more fade on the track
Project Mu NS - really great street pad, low dust, not reccommended for track use
Brembo - good street pad, heavy dust, mediocre fade resistance, wear out really fast though
Hawk HPS - great street pad, a little noisy, but otherwise an overall good street/track pad
Stoptech Centric Posiquiet - awesome street pad, very low dusting, quiet, have not run on the track

All of those have been used with DBA 5000 slotted rotors with SS lines and Brembo calipers. I will have to do some research on the Axxis pads and see what I come up with - my Z4M is CPO for quite some time so I will let the dealership replace my pads for free for a while at least.

Originally Posted by ARISIN

Nice find!! Congratulations on the car. The bmw wheel does accumulate alot of break dust, not sure why though.

Mods - Good choices on the wheels. I kinda like my M rims, so will wait a bit.
You should also think about changing the antenna and get a stubby

Thank you! I haven't thought about swapping the antenna for a stubby yet but that's a good idea. I keep the car covered so maybe I wouldn't have to take the antenna off every time then?! The wheels accumulate dust because of the properties of the stock brake pads. In my experience, typically anyway, more dust means more stopping power so it doesn't break my heart - gives me something to clean.

[Z4Murder]

very awesome car! i love the color combo, was my first choice if available. congrats!

[JPWEraser]

Originally Posted by Z4Murder

very awesome car! i love the color combo, was my first choice if available. congrats!

Thank you!

[rich337]

very nice color combo.

i also had a s2000 prior to the Z4M

[JPWEraser]

Originally Posted by rich337

very nice color combo.

i also had a s2000 prior to the Z4M

Thanks. I really enjoyed my S2000... a lot. But, it was really needy, had to change plugs every other oil change (sometimes more), had to cleak out my Krank Vents all the time because of the extra pressure in the crank case, tires wore out quick because it was running about -3.5* camber in the rear and -2.5* in the front, and the list goes on.

Here is a picture of my S2000... gone but certainly not forgotten:

[Ubermensch]

Nice buy on the Roadster! Oh and I'm with you on the STI, I traded my STI in on the Z4MC

[rich337]

Originally Posted by JPWEraser

Thanks. I really enjoyed my S2000... a lot. But, it was really needy, had to change plugs every other oil change (sometimes more), had to cleak out my Krank Vents all the time because of the extra pressure in the crank case, tires wore out quick because it was running about -3.5* camber in the rear and -2.5* in the front, and the list goes on.

Here is a picture of my S2000... gone but certainly not forgotten:
http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y21...k%20Andy/2.jpg

your S2000 is bonkers! i think i remember it from S2KI. here's mine, although not as fast as yours haha

[crfine88]

Originally Posted by JPWEraser

Thanks. I really enjoyed my S2000... a lot. But, it was really needy, had to change plugs every other oil change (sometimes more), had to cleak out my Krank Vents all the time because of the extra pressure in the crank case, tires wore out quick because it was running about -3.5* camber in the rear and -2.5* in the front, and the list goes on.

Here is a picture of my S2000... gone but certainly not forgotten:

Beautiful S2K man

The first car I heavily modded was a 98 Honda Prelude. It was nowhere near the caliber of your S2K, but I loved the litte monster.

[Thisisdudewhoru]

I'm a good influence on you john. We're gonna have to go terrorize all the kids on the mountain before summer is up.

[DanMcoupe]

Congrats.Very Nice color combo.
I too came from S2ki.
Sold the heavy mods FI S2000 in April and Up grade to an 06 Mcoupe in May.

[nmulax]

Congrats on the Z4M!

Insane S2k as well; can't wait to see what you do with the M!

[JPWEraser]

Originally Posted by Thisisdudewhoru

I'm a good influence on you john. We're gonna have to go terrorize all the kids on the mountain before summer is up.

Heck yeah Brian, I love this car. I don't find myself laying into it as much as I did on my S2000 or the STi, just kinda want to chill when I am in it (which is a good thing!). A mountain run definately sounds good though.

Originally Posted by DanMcoupe

Congrats.Very Nice color combo.
I too came from S2ki.
Sold the heavy mods FI S2000 in April and Up grade to an 06 Mcoupe in May.

Awesome - S2000 was an awesome car but as much as I thought I would be left wanting more power wise when I went to the M, I am surprisingly satisfied (for now ).

Originally Posted by nmulax

Congrats on the Z4M!

Insane S2k as well; can't wait to see what you do with the M!

Thanks! I'm not planning a lot of mods for this car, but that's how my last 3 cars started out and they all ended up being heavily modified by the time it was all over haha. This car is still under warranty which will make me think twice before making changes though.