New member with a new to me Z4MC

[07ImolaRot]

Hey guys. My name is Mike. I've been a lurker on this forum for a bit reading about the Z4M and looking for one for sale. I looked for an Imola coupe on and off for about 1.5-2 years and finally was able to pick one up two weeks ago.

The car is an 07 coupe with Imola interior and 61k when I picked it up. It is completely stock and in great condition for its age. It comes with a clean title, fresh rod bearing job, new battery, new alternator, brand new Michelin P4s and recent valve adjustment/Inspection 2.

I am pretty happy with the pick up and will be doing some maintenance and refurbishing to bring it up to my liking. I will be documenting the process here.

Here are some pictures from the FS ad. The Imola interior seems a bit too much in photos but in person it is actually very nice as the seats are a little more orangish than the exterior. In photos the seats appear bright red and kinda clash.

I must say that the no navi was a huge plus for me as well as the stainless steel dash trim.

[RvsBmw]

Originally Posted by 07ImolaRot

Hey guys. My name is Mike. I've been a lurker on this forum for a bit reading about the Z4M and looking for one for sale. I looked for an Imola coupe on and off for about 1.5-2 years and finally was able to pick one up two weeks ago.

I am pretty happy with the pick up and will be doing some maintenance and refurbishing to bring it up to my liking. I will be documenting the process here.

I must say that the no navi was a huge plus for me as well as the stainless steel dash trim.

Welcome Mike, your z4 looks good! Congrats. Love the red! I agree to the look of an no-nav dash.

Good to know we will see future updates here .

Cheers from Europe.

[TRiCC]

Saw it for sale in NorCal. Was going to ask the previous owner if he would possibly want to trade for my alpine/imola/carbon/nav 07 mcoupe with rodbearings and vanos complete with 65k. Very nice imola/imola mcoupe! Welcome!

[XMetal]

Welcome Mike! Glad to see you've made it over here from NAM3. Looking forward to seeing your future updates!

[07ImolaRot]

Originally Posted by RvsBmw

Welcome Mike, your z4 looks good! Congrats. Love the red! I agree to the look of an no-nav dash.

Good to know we will see future updates here .

Cheers from Europe.

Thank you. I'm starting to gather some refurb/maintenance parts. updates should be coming soon

Originally Posted by TRiCC

Saw it for sale in NorCal. Was going to ask the previous owner if he would possibly want to trade for my alpine/imola/carbon/nav 07 mcoupe with rodbearings and vanos complete with 65k. Very nice imola/imola mcoupe! Welcome!

Yeah it was in NORCAL. The previous owner was really set on selling it as he had a few other projects going on.

I almost bought this exact same car about 1.5 years ago but the person I bought it from beat me to it as he was closer to the car. In the end it worked out.

Originally Posted by XMetal

Welcome Mike! Glad to see you've made it over here from NAM3. Looking forward to seeing your future updates!

Thanks ! good to be here. This forum seems quiet but that is expected as these cars are super uber rare !

[07ImolaRot]

Car has been sitting on jack stands for a couple of weeks and I haven't really been enjoying it much.

Anyways I decided to use some fluid system cleaner on the long drive home when I bought the car as well as the following couple fill ups.

I used Liqui Moly complete fuel system cleaner + Costco 91 octane.
Next tank I filled up with Redline SI-1 fuel system cleaner and chevron 91 octane.
Next tank I filled up with Techron + Shell 91 octane.




The link that goes on the gas cap was torn so I replaced it with one from eBay for $6






Then I put her on jack stands and decided to flush the engine with LM engine flush. Per instructions, I poured it in when the oil was warm and let it idle for 20 minutes.



Drained the oil and put on a new drain plug and copper washer. Thank god the plug wasn't stripped. Future oil changes will be done from the top using Schwaben fluid extractor. It is just much faster and easier.




I used LM 10W-60 with Mahle filter




Added a can of LM MoS2 as well




then OCD got the best of me. Car had a recent valve adjustment and inspection 2. Per receipts, all the fluid is fresh too but I wasn't sure what was used or if they were filled to spec. So I decided to flush everything just for a peace of mind.

Poured in a can of LM radiator cleaner with when the coolant was warm, then let it idle for 30 minutes.




Drained the coolant through the drain plug on the bottom. Thankfully it was not dirty at all.




I proceeded to dilute the system with 4 gallons of distilled water and multiple drains to get most of the radiator cleaner out. On the last drain, I also took the block drain bolt out and got almost all of the coolant out.

Replaced the crush washer on the block drain bolt. Also put in a new radiator drain plug to make sure the gasket is new just to be safe.




Used 50/50 BMW coolant and distilled water. The first fill took 2 full gallons and then I turned on the car to get rid of the air and topped it off as needed.




Drained the Power steering fluid from the bottom. Turned the wheel left and right several times to squirt more of it out.




Then cleaned the reservoir with a shop towel. The bottom is a little discolored but dirt free.




I had CHF-11s on hand which realoem recommends but I chickened out last minute and went with ATF since that's what the reservoir cap recommended. I think 11s is for colder climates? I did not want to mix the two




Drained the transmission fluid.




I know the trans takes MTF-LT2 but I filled it up with FFL-4 which is DCT fluid but LT2 compatible.




To my surprise, the diff was filled with purple fluid.. royal purple maybe? At this point I was glad I decided to flush everything.




Filled up with SAF XJ with FM booster and used new plugs. This stuff is pretty damn expensive but prevents diff noise.




Took about 1250 mL



and the the CPV valve I probably spent about 4 hours trying to take this damn thing off. At one point I almost gave up.

I also own an E46 M3 which had catless headers on when I swapped the CPV on it and it was MUCH MUCH MUCH easier on the E46.




I ended up taking the EGT sensor out of the header which gave me more room to work with and was able to get that sucker out. Swapped the gasket with a new one from Rogue Engineering.




Took the airbox off, washed it completely. Put in a fresh Mahle filter




cleaned the Bosch MAF sensor with MAF cleaner




Time for motor and trans mounts. I decided to go with OEM. I have Rogue Engineering trans mounts on my E46 and can't say I really noticed a difference. So I decided to go with OEM Corteo trans mounts as well since they were dirt cheap.




New motor mount on the R, old one on the L. The old ones were actually in good shape but what the heck, they're cheap to replace and fairly an easy DIY. the heatshield was probably the most difficult part.




new passenger side mount




Took the transmission bracket out




Cleaned it up as best as I could and put new mounts on.

[grannyknot]

You are certainly going about it the right way, nice to have a baseline to start from so there is no guessing.
Next you might consider a new set of spark plugs and a valve shim adjustment, at 61k your ignition coils will be good for another 20-30k.

[07ImolaRot]

Originally Posted by grannyknot

You are certainly going about it the right way, nice to have a baseline to start from so there is no guessing.
Next you might consider a new set of spark plugs and a valve shim adjustment, at 61k your ignition coils will be good for another 20-30k.

Thank you.

Yes new coils and spark plugs are on the to do list. I am going to do those when I overhaul the vanos. Car just had a valve adjustment a few thousand miles ago so I should be ok for now.

[07ImolaRot]

Front rotors were completely shot. They must have been the original rotors with 61k on them because they had a thick lip on the edge where it wasn't worn down. Pads were even worse ! Decided to get new OEM BMW rotors and Akebono Euro pads. The mod bug bit and I added Powerstop SS bake lines as well.




New rotors and pads on




New pads left, old ones on right




Front SS lines. I also thoroughly scrubbed all wheel wells. You can actually see the red paint on the body behind the shock/strut now.




Rear SS lines. They're two piece but well made with fittings that fit into the OEM brackets.




Decided to delete the clutch delay valve as well while I was in there




Bled with my motive bleeder and 64 oz of Pentosin DOT4 LV.




I also took off all the panels under the car to thoroughly degrease them as they were dirty and oily




Before




after




Got 6 new clips for this panel where the screws mount. Some of the old ones were broken.




Then I thoroughly degreased the under carriage from front to back and washed the differential as well. Control arms came out nice.


Right




Left

[Texaz3]

Dang, that looks nice! Proper start to the ownership.
I know its a labor of love for you, and knowing you that coupe will be driven hard, but pampered!

[07ImolaRot]

Originally Posted by Texaz3

Dang, that looks nice! Proper start to the ownership.
I know its a labor of love for you, and knowing you that coupe will be driven hard, but pampered!

Thanks ! love revving her up here and there for sure !

[07ImolaRot]

Some more updates on the car !

The starter was taking a bit longer than usual to start the car. I figured it was on its way out sooner or later so I decided to replace it with a new Valeo unit. I have to admit that it was 10x easier to change than on the E46 because the two torx bolts are MUCHHH easier to access !

Old vs new.





New one installed




As you can tell, the throttle bodies are super dirty ! I decided to clean them thoroughly with Berryman B12 throttle body cleaner and a cheap $5 electric tooth brush. In the back you can see my E46 and E92





TBs came out really great





Also cleaned the IACV thoroughly






Cleaned inside the airbox thoroughly too





Used some new made in Germany quality hose clamps I got form FCP





Time for some cosmetic stuff and interior refurbish

Replaced the faded BMW emblem with a new one





New Mahle cabin filter





Was missing the passenger floor mat so I got a brand new set





Nothing like new mats. I tell ya




The trim piece for the Aux input was hanging low due to a couple broken tabs. I got a new one which is more sturdy. And that is the Anker bluetooth receiver I use, works great !





New trim




Old coin holder was super scratched !




New one in






Both cup holders broken sadly.





Got a replacement set from amazong for $50. Really had good reviews and most people said they lasted much longer than BMW OE ones




Old worn out shift knob had to go ! Also thoroughly cleaned under the center console and took the seats out and cleaned under them as well !




Brand new ZHP Knob !

[maupineda]

Exactly what I did to my Coupe,l sams the starter (mine is still solid) and I went with the weighted broom stick ILO ZHP. Since I have a SSK, the ZHP would make shifting more difficult. I did stick with OE cup holders with new caps as they were peeling.

I renewed all switch bezels too.

[lanoipat]

Where did you get the floor mat ?
I need to replace mine .

[maupineda]

Thebmwministore.com had them. Bought mine there back in October

[07ImolaRot]

Originally Posted by lanoipat

Where did you get the floor mat ?
I need to replace mine .

I bought them from FCP a few months ago. They were widely available back then. They seem to be on backorder now but chances are a batch will be produced. probably supplier issues.

[07ImolaRot]

Been a while since I have done much to the car. Been slowly gathering some parts for some OEM+ mods.


Decided to refresh the suspension to enjoy the car at its full potential. Did not want to go with Coilovers and slam it. Just wanted a minor drop and increased performance. I had my eyes on the Bilstein B12 pro kit which suddenly went on backorder and I think it has actually been discontinued since 4 months ago. I picked up the last kit in the country from tirerack.




Got all OEM new shock mounts, spring pads and endlinks. I ordered Z4M specific front shock mounts but they sent me the E60 M5 ones which is exactly the same except the little pin on top is in a different spot so I had to take it out to make them fit. Was really upset about that part !





fronts installed... been raining here a lot and my brand new rotors already have surface rust




rears installed too. the shorter Eibach springs went in effortlessly. taking the factory springs out was a PITA



Bilstein + Eibach + PS4S = Weapon





and she is lowered ! On brand new CSL reps in 19x8.5 and 19 x 9.5 with brand new center caps and huff TPMS. I need to put 5mm spacers in the front but I am verryyy happy with the way the car looks. For tires I went with 275/30 and 245/35. Had to wait about 3 months before I could order a set as they were on backorder for the longest time.





I am absolutely in love with her. Such a huge transformation and it looks very sporty and mean now sitting low with an even drop and meaty tires.



The rear end with the low offest and 275 looks super mean ! I have to take a back shot but it gives it a 911 turbo look with fat tires and fat fenders



Just perfect !




And here are my other toys. But I think the Z4M is currently my favorite. I just love driving the thing !

[maupineda]

You should have cut the bump stops inside the front struts. The ride gets too busy and harsh. Maybe you like it as is, but if not, that mods makes the ride much, much better. As is you are pretty much riding on them.

[07ImolaRot]

Originally Posted by maupineda

You should have cut the bump stops inside the front struts. The ride gets too busy and harsh. Maybe you like it as is, but if not, that mods makes the ride much, much better. As is you are pretty much riding on them.

Ill see how it rides. Did not want to modify anything just yet.

[Willy Sea]

Nice work, nearly finished which brand are the CSL reps?

[07ImolaRot]

Originally Posted by Willy Sea

Nice work, nearly finished which brand are the CSL reps?

They are the VMR V03s !

Yes I'm 75% through with my plans for the car. Just a few more things to do. Mainly an exhaust project, vanos overhaul and then its time to pull a few dents and fully paint correct her.

[robblr]

This is a very inspiring how-to for a new Z4MC owner. Thank you!