2006 Z4 M Roadster - feedback wanted

[SD ///M4]

Well I was browsing through the Z4 Interlagos Blue Color Thread on Zpost this morning. The thread was started by ronn888 and he had this beautiful Interlagos Blue Z4 M Roadster with an Extended Black Nappa Leather interior and Carbon Leather trim with Nav. I noticed that his location was NorCal.

Then, in the same thread less than six weeks later, he posted that he had installed 19" wheels and tires and H&R springs. This was too much of a coincidence, so I started looking at all of his posts since there only a little over a hundred. He mentioned that his rotors were warped shortly after his 1200 mile break-in service and were replaced under warranty, check! He installed a ZHP shift knob, check! Five years later, he traded it in to an East Bay BMW dealer this past June, check!. This had to be my car! I PMed him and sure enough, it was!

I bought ronn888's car!

He graciously provided me with some history on the car. The car was originally a demo car at Long Beach BMW for about a year. He went down and bought the car off the lot in July 2007. He was the first titled owner, followed the 1200 mile break-in requirements, and had the 1200 mile M service done. Per his original posts, he put 4 coats of Zaino on it when it was new and he took good care of it.

He put five different sets of 19" wheels and tires on the car while he owned it and said that the last set were too aggressive and that rubbed the fender wells. He admitted that he had hit a parking lot curb and dented the right muffler. The car was never autocrossed or tracked and was driven mostly highway miles. He verified that he had the Zeckhausen CDV installed as mentioned in one of his posts (that saved me $85!). He put the original wheels and tires back on the car when he traded it in which explains why they're all in perfect shape.

Unfortunately, the original springs and illuminated shift knob were lost during his various moves. He said that the M Mobility kit was in the car when he traded it in for a 135i in June, so apparently the dealer removed it for some reason.

I'm relieved that car car really is the cream puff that it appeared to be! It was great to see pictures of the car when it was brand new and pics of all of the different wheels he had on the car. Closure for Volume I and Volume II begins!

[Finnegan]

Wow, that's quite a story! Nice detective work as well!

Looks like you got a really great car, and having the car's full history from the prior owner is amazing!

Nice find, and enjoy! Stock springs come up for sale from time to time should you want to swap back, otherwise there are some really nice street coilover and/or damper spring combos out there that don't cost an arm and a leg.

[dcun201]

Gratz on the car! I know it's a few months late but I did test drive the car back in jan/Feb. They actually had two Interlagos m roadster for sale . The one you bought and the other had no nav and a little bit more miles.

Just so you know they put a new motor for the top. When I test drove the car the top wouldn't go all the way down. The car was definitely lowered. I wonder if they replaced the rear b.umper because the passenger side where the exhaust tips are there was a part of the bumper that melted off. The steering felt a little loose compared to the other Z that was there. The exhaust wasn't totally aligned straight Not trying to bash but I had to give you my input on my experience with it.

Maybe I'll post pics up too. Still got the East Bay BMW plates lol.
Wow I guess I bought the car in June not in Feb. Just checked my receipt.

Heres the link to my thread.
http://www.zpost.com/forums/showthre...hlight=dcun201

[SD ///M4]

Originally Posted by dcun201

Gratz on the car! I know it's a few months late but I did test drive the car back in June/July. They actually had two Interlagos m roadster for sale . The one you bought and the other had no nav and a little bit more miles.

Just so you know they put a new motor for the top. When I test drove the car the top wouldn't go all the way down. The car was definitely lowered. I wonder if they replaced the rear bumper because the passenger side where the exhaust tips are there was a part of the bumper that melted off. The steering felt a little loose compared to the other Z that was there. The exhaust wasn't totally aligned straight Not trying to bash but I had to give you my input on my experience with it.

Maybe I'll post pics up too. Still got the East Bay BMW plates lol.
Wow I guess I bought the car in June not in Feb. Just checked my receipt.

Heres the link to my thread.
http://www.zpost.com/forums/showthre...hlight=dcun201

Thanks for the feedback! Always nice to get more feedback about the history of the car.

The top is controlled by a hydraulic pump, not a motor. Replacing it is pretty involved, and if they did replace it that would be great, but they pulled the service history for me and there is no entry for anything related to the top. I haven't had any problem with the top.

I went back and looked at your original post. Kind of funny that you recommended not flying up to check it out because that's exactly what I did. Also your speculation about an aftermarket exhaust was incorrect. The exhaust outlet on the right side of the bumper is slightly melted in the upper right corner from contact by the exhaust when the original owner hit the parking lot curb which dented the right muffler which was original. I didn't even notice it until it was put on a lift during the PPI. The heat shield was also slightly bent. I've since replaced the mufflers with a Stromung exhaust. At the same time I replaced the bent heat shield and I also discovered that the rear muffler bracket was broken on that side, although it wasn't obvious, so I also replaced that. I'll probably repair the slight cosmetic damage to the bumper at some point, but it's barely noticeable so i'ts no big deal. Ironically, the same thing happened to my S2000 when I put on an aftermarket exhaust that was still in beta testing. As a result of the mufflers swaying during an autocross they redesigned the standard "donut" rubber hanger and added an additional bracket on the muffler so that the rubber hanger had three holes in a triangular shape. The guy who bought my S2000 didn't seem to mind.

The dealer did repair the front "fangs" and resprayed the front bumper because in the pictures they posted on their website the fangs had curb rash but when I looked at the car the front end looked perfect. The PPI did reveal a slight amount of overspray, so unfortunately they didn't remove the bumper when they did the respray.

Maybe in a back-to-back test drive the steering may have felt looser, but the steering felt fine to me. I drove other Z4 M Roadsters and a Coupe, but not back-to-back, and there wasn't a noticeable difference to me. Maybe it felt that way because the car had the original six-year old tires on it. I replaced them with Michelin Pilot Super Sports last month. I didn't think that the suspension "felt like crap", just firmer because of the H&R springs. It felt pretty damn good when I've autocrossed it! The H&R springs are not my preference but I plan on replacing them with some KW V3 coilovers eventually. I also found a set of original springs if I want to return it to stock.

Bottom line, the only mods the original owner made were the H&R springs, and the 19" wheels and tires, which were removed. Other than that the car is completely stock, and well cared for with the only problem being the slight cosmetic damage around the right rear exhaust outlet. Everyone from the local BMW club seems to think it's in great shape and was a pretty good find. I guess that I should thank you for bashing it so badly in your other post that other people got steered away!

I also switched from an S2000! You need to post pics of your IB!

[dcun201]

That's great to hear you are enjoying the car. Yeah your car was originally the one I was eyeing. It had navi and lower miles. It must be the springs that made me the ride different. I test drove yours first then afterward the one I bought and it was very different. I can guarantee you they repaired the motor. They probably didn't document it. Thanks for correcting the motor part. Didn't know it was running on hydraulics. Congrats again!

[beta]

H&Rs drop the car about 1", which increases negative camber by at least 1 degree.

With stock wheels your scrub radius becomes more negative than stock, making the steering kick more, and pull to one side when the grip is different between the front wheels. This could explain the difference in the test drive.

The top is a tricky one. The only thing I thought possible was something similar to this thread. Maybe the microswitch was bypassed and the shelf was up. The shelf microswitch is always causing problems, and could be repaired without replacing any parts.

In any case: extended leather + carbon leather dash + IB == awesome