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      09-28-2011, 12:11 AM   #1
runnerx
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Z4M roadster coilover and rear adjustment

Hi all,

I am planning to upgrade my stock suspension for track use. I do about 5~7 trackday events. I would like to know how easy to access the rear shock setting knob. Last time I looked, it looks like the soft-top sits right on the rear shock mount making it pain in the butt to change the shock setting. If you know an easy way, please let me know. Thank you.
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      09-28-2011, 01:12 AM   #2
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hey Chun! Get Rogue Engineering RSMs. They invert the rear shock towers so you can access from the bottom side. Also, get coilovers that have adjustment elsewhere
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      09-28-2011, 04:01 PM   #3
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Most likely I will get the TC Kline DA system that comes with inverted RSM. My main concern is being able to adjust the rear shock without removing the soft-top everytime. I see a lot roadster ppl with coilovers, I would like see if they have any trick to do it without spending hours taking soft-top components out.
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      09-28-2011, 05:55 PM   #4
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I wasn't aware that the TCK D/As came inverted? Or is this only for their newer designs?

I don't recall if mine were inverted. Totally forget lol. I don't tweak mine as you can obviously tell
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      09-28-2011, 06:47 PM   #5
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YOu are right.. it isn't inverted...
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      10-02-2011, 01:01 PM   #6
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i just left all the stuff i took out during the install out of there...having it exposed doesnt really bother me
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      10-03-2011, 03:03 PM   #7
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Thanks l4zy.. I think that is what I will have to do as well. I really don't care how my trunk looks. Thanks a bunch! you saved my Z4M!
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      10-03-2011, 05:05 PM   #8
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no problem

by the way where in cali are you and who do you track with? chances are i'll run into you on a track day if you are in socal...lol
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      10-03-2011, 09:19 PM   #9
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Quote:
Originally Posted by l4zy View Post
no problem

by the way where in cali are you and who do you track with? chances are i'll run into you on a track day if you are in socal...lol
He lives in the South SF Bay Area up in NorCal. He tracks with me
In the SF Bay Area, we've got a good small group of Z4Ms:
myself (Lon) - titanium silver coupe
runnerx (Chun) - imola red roadster
me & Chun's friend Andy - alpine white coupe
me & Chun's friend Shawn - silver gray coupe
dorifto88 (Mike) - interlagos blue coupe
gferil (Gernard) - silver gray coupe
jd1plt (John) - interlagos blue coupe
iPhoneEngineer (Scott) - silver gray coupe

and others that I can't think of off the top of my head at the moment (perhaps because we haven't met in person, or they're not as active of forum members/buddies ).

Only a handful of us track our cars, but more and more want to join in eventually
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      10-05-2011, 02:41 AM   #10
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awesome! you guys have a decent group!

hey what organization do you go with when you go to laguna seca and about how much are the track days? i want to go there eventually as a driver rather than a spectator so im gathering info. maybe i'll see you there one day
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      10-05-2011, 11:37 AM   #11
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Quote:
Originally Posted by l4zy View Post
awesome! you guys have a decent group!

hey what organization do you go with when you go to laguna seca and about how much are the track days? i want to go there eventually as a driver rather than a spectator so im gathering info. maybe i'll see you there one day
We are with NCRC (ncracing.org).

Thunderhill - $125
Laguna Seca - $175
BW - $99

Looking forward to meet you at Laguna Seca.
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      10-05-2011, 01:09 PM   #12
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Trick is to do like above, except only cut a Slit in the shock cover carpet and remove a bit of the foam so you can get to the knobs.

[ <--- something like this, so that it folds over, when you're adjustment is made the carpet flops back over in place and isn't as unsightly.
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      10-05-2011, 01:34 PM   #13
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Quote:
Originally Posted by runnerx View Post
We are with NCRC (ncracing.org).

Thunderhill - $125
Laguna Seca - $175
BW - $99

Looking forward to meet you at Laguna Seca.
Wow that's a lot cheaper than I expected. I hear prices ranging from 400-800 a day. This is good news I look forward to meeting you guys there too!

Quote:
Originally Posted by onelove View Post
Trick is to do like above, except only cut a Slit in the shock cover carpet and remove a bit of the foam so you can get to the knobs.

[ <--- something like this, so that it folds over, when you're adjustment is made the carpet flops back over in place and isn't as unsightly.
The carpet on roadsters come that way. There are plastic covers that you gotta remove to expose the shock towers. It's a pain in the ass to remove so it's not something you will want to do every time. I tried to cut a "C" so that it can be folded out of the way but it ended up kinda jagged. I blame the blade
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      10-05-2011, 03:43 PM   #14
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Quote:
Originally Posted by l4zy View Post
I hear prices ranging from 400-800 a day.
Yeah I say FUCK THAT!!!

It's expensive enough to maintain our cars lol!

NCRC is the absolute best group I've been with. NASA puts on good events too, but they charge a lot so they can hire a bunch of instructors etc.
I'd go with NASA if I were a beginner and wanted to get up to speed as soon as possible.
But for just open track days with no hassle, and good people? NCRC all the way!

Trackmasters is kinda like NCRC, but @ NASA prices

Last edited by mfanatic325; 10-05-2011 at 08:16 PM..
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      10-05-2011, 06:13 PM   #15
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^^ he does not lie...
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      09-30-2013, 12:54 PM   #16
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Quote:
Originally Posted by l4zy View Post
i just left all the stuff i took out during the install out of there...having it exposed doesnt really bother me
Bumping this thread because I need to know how to remove those two things with the bag adjustment knobs that cover the rear shock towers.... Any help?
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      10-25-2013, 03:28 PM   #17
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At the bottom of each knob there is a small strut which runs to the side of the knob and is connected with a push pin rivet.
Pull pin out of rivet and remove. This frees the strut.
Now pull straight back on the knob. It is connected to a thin rod which attaches the bottom of the shelf hinge to the plastic piece which sits atop the rear shock mount. The bottom of the hinge is now free.
The top of the hinge clips into the bottom sides of the shelf. Carefully "pop" the hinge out of these clips.
The hinge carrier(plastic piece which sits atop shock mount) has a 10mm bolt at it's front(by front I mean towards the front of car). It is held at rear by a torx bolt(27 or 30?) and a push pin rivet on top.
Once all fasteners have been removed hinge carrier can be removed by pulling in and back and up. It's kind of a pain and needs to be finnaggled up over the shock mount and the other plastic dome that caps it.

I ended up removing both plastic "domes" with a dremel and snips so I am able to access the adjustment knobs on my new shocks from the interior with top up and the shelf reassembled.
Just took my time, lots of light, try not to break anything, and make sure front tab on shelf is in it's slot so it hits the micro switch.

HTH's
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      04-10-2019, 04:10 PM   #18
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Hey there... I realize this is an ancient thread, but I am researching coilover options for my Z4M Roadster. It seems as though adjustment on the rears is a pain in the arse given that the soft top has parts of it that sit on top of the shock mounts / adjustment points.

What is the impact of leaving those parts out? Does the soft top still function without issue?

Thanks in advance... hopefully someone sees this thread rise from the ashes

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      04-19-2019, 09:58 AM   #19
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Quote:
Originally Posted by eggman51 View Post
Hey there... I realize this is an ancient thread, but I am researching coilover options for my Z4M Roadster. It seems as though adjustment on the rears is a pain in the arse given that the soft top has parts of it that sit on top of the shock mounts / adjustment points.

What is the impact of leaving those parts out? Does the soft top still function without issue?

Thanks in advance... hopefully someone sees this thread rise from the ashes

Cheers,
Eamonn aka eggman
The impact of removing the parcel shelf is you will have to manually bypass the sensor to put the top down.

I wanted to keep as much of the trim as possible and retain the shelf, so what I ended up doing (since I had a spare set) was to drill out a hole in the rigid plastic hinge mechanisms and pliable rubber/plastic covering exposing the top adjustment knob at the raised, curved section. This allows me to make adjustments without needing to remove anything, though the top does need to go up to make these adjustments.

Obviously, this is a more permanent modification, so the decision is up to you. I figured if I ever go back to stock I would swap in my spare hinge mechanisms and put rubber bungs in the pliable stuff.
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      04-19-2019, 10:29 AM   #20
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Thanks very much for the reply. I think I will make that same modification as you did. I might try run extenders through the hole. Different brands of suspension seem to have different methods of adjustment, but your mod seems to make the most sense. If returning back to stock those plastic parts can likely be found cheaply.

Do you think extenders run through those would interfere with top operation?

Thanks again for the reply.
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      04-19-2019, 12:02 PM   #21
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Quote:
Originally Posted by eggman51 View Post
Thanks very much for the reply. I think I will make that same modification as you did. I might try run extenders through the hole. Different brands of suspension seem to have different methods of adjustment, but your mod seems to make the most sense. If returning back to stock those plastic parts can likely be found cheaply.

Do you think extenders run through those would interfere with top operation?

Thanks again for the reply.
Eamonn aka eggman
I have Fortune Auto 500s on my car and did utilize their 9" extenders. They didn't hamper top operation. I tucked them in between the top and parcel shelf, however every once in a while they would come untucked and rattle against the rear window or something else. I did remove them for this year (mostly because I was an idiot and stripped one of the set screws) and just use the standard adjustment knobs now.
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      04-19-2019, 12:50 PM   #22
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Great to know - thanks again for the info.

I'm going to track my car "as is" on stock suspension. While that will give me a decent baseline, the dampers seem to show their 50k miles age, so I think within the year I will do a suspension upgrade if I find tracking the car as much fun as I used to.

Cheers,
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