Long-Term Maintenance Plan for Z4 M Coupes

[mvestor]

Has anyone come up with a long term maintenance plan for our cars? I'm thinking more along the lines of time frames for replacing wear items, suspension, etc. vs. the usual oil services and VANOS adjustments. I suspect mine needs a suspension overhaul based on the 85k miles and some off noises/clunking while turning.

[pungo]

Way too many variables here. Maintenance on time alone is not a good measure since a vehicle sitting in the garage will not have the wear and tear as daily driver. Road conditions play a huge role on suspension components. A car from the north east with pot hole ridden crappy roads will wear the suspension components way more than the smooth roads in the south. Therefore a lot of the maintenance should be determined by inspection, not by time

[inTgr8r]

^WHS
Maintenance isn't a one size fits all thing.
Basics are covered in the owners manuals and you get in car notifications on startup for several things such as Inspection1 & 2 etc.

I used to track my car, so everything was driven by that.
The car is now a weekender with less than 5k KMs per year so my maintenance schedule is now vastly different.

[bwright657]

Originally Posted by pungo

Way too many variables here. Maintenance on time alone is not a good measure since a vehicle sitting in the garage will not have the wear and tear as daily driver. Road conditions play a huge role on suspension components. A car from the north east with pot hole ridden crappy roads will wear the suspension components way more than the smooth roads in the south. Therefore a lot of the maintenance should be determined by inspection, not by time

Another vote for this. The key word is wear, so inspect the suspension, bushings and mounts on a regular basis.

Some fluids should be on a schedule. Engine Oil should be done annually. Brake fluid every 2 years. Transmission, differential, coolant and power steering can go longer based on use.

One thing that's often overlooked are the seals for the hood, doors and trunk. I apply Nextzett Gummi Pflege every 6 months to keep the rubber in good shape.

I would also run the heat on a regular basis. Fair weather "weekend" cars where only the air conditioning is run can have mold buildup inside the air vents from condensation. Blasting the heat every month or so can help prevent this.

Also make sure the car sees regular use. Engine seals and other drivetrain parts will dry out and leak if you don't get the car up to temperature and drive the car on a regular basis. I would consider this the most important. It's good for the car and you!

[racerbruce]

Originally Posted by bwright657

Another vote for this. The key word is wear, so inspect the suspension, bushings and mounts on a regular basis.

Some fluids should be on a schedule. Engine Oil should be done annually. Brake fluid every 2 years. Transmission, differential, coolant and power steering can go longer based on use.

One thing that's often overlooked are the seals for the hood, doors and trunk. I apply Nextzett Gummi Pflege every 6 months to keep the rubber in good shape.

I would also run the heat on a regular basis. Fair weather "weekend" cars where only the air conditioning is run can have mold buildup inside the air vents from condensation. Blasting the heat every month or so can help prevent this.

Also make sure the car sees regular use. Engine seals and other drivetrain parts will dry out and leak if you don't get the car up to temperature and drive the car on a regular basis. I would consider this the most important. It's good for the car and you!

What is the maximum interval between driving the car and bringing it up to operating temperature??

I drive my beloved Z4M Red Roadster every 1.5-2.0 weeks....is this too long? On track?

Is there empirical data on this topic? Something besides my opinion.

[bwright657]

Originally Posted by racerbruce

What is the maximum interval between driving the car and bringing it up to operating temperature??

I drive my beloved Z4M Red Roadster every 1.5-2.0 weeks....is this too long? On track?

Is there empirical data on this topic? Something besides my opinion.

That interval should be fine. I don't have anything empirical, but I'd say minimum once a month. The tires will flat spot before the engine seals start to dry out.

[1stw0rldpr0blems]

Lol am I the only one with a high mileage z4m around here? I've got 162k+ miles at the moment.

[chickdr]

There are many high mileage examples. Mine isn't one of them with a little over 20k. I also wonder about what I should be doing since the car isn't regularly driven. One of my biggest issues is the battery. I run a charger once a month or so.

[mziggy16]

Originally Posted by 1stw0rldpr0blems

Lol am I the only one with a high mileage z4m around here? I've got 162k+ miles at the moment.

134k miles here. Most of them highway miles by the PO.

I agree that it varies, but driving consistently helps and so does staying on top of fluid changes and fixing things as they become apparent or past their expected use (IE: I really need to do my original water pump). I did suspension last year - it was okay but tired.

Mine naps from the first snow through mid-March under a cover with the negative battery cable removed. No issues for 3 years.

My experience has been to always meet or exceed recommended intervals and then just pay attention to the car and address things as they start to emerge.

[MBan]

I bought a low mileage (26,000km) Z4M around ~3 years ago and only drive it every second week or so. Obviously, with that mileage over 14 years, it has spent some time sitting around. I'm seeing on my oil analyses that I have fuel dilution at a 'warning' level with annual oil changes. I'll be checking a few things (injectors, spark plugs, coil packs) to see if there is an external cause but will also be going to 6-monthly oil changes AND try to drive the car more. So, two lessons for me: give your car what it needs, rather than a set schedule; and drive it as much as possible.

[Lucky1]

Originally Posted by MBan

I bought a low mileage (26,000km) Z4M around ~3 years ago and only drive it every second week or so. Obviously, with that mileage over 14 years, it has spent some time sitting around. I'm seeing on my oil analyses that I have fuel dilution at a 'warning' level with annual oil changes. I'll be checking a few things (injectors, spark plugs, coil packs) to see if there is an external cause but will also be going to 6-monthly oil changes AND try to drive the car more. So, two lessons for me: give your car what it needs, rather than a set schedule; and drive it as much as possible.

Fuel dilution? What does this mean.

[elerner61]

Originally Posted by 1stw0rldpr0blems

Lol am I the only one with a high mileage z4m around here? I've got 162k+ miles at the moment.

Please don't tell us you're on the original rod bearings.

[bwright657]

Originally Posted by Lucky1

Fuel dilution? What does this mean.

Fuel dilution is how much fuel is diluting your oil. It could indicate an issue like blow by or bad injectors. But it's likely caused by when the oil was sampled or how the car is used. Typically a bit fuel gets into the oil when you first start the car and burns off once the engine is up to temperature. If you start the car and quickly pull it onto a lift or ramps, then shut it off, you'll have some fuel dilution present. Blackstone recommends running the car for 15 minutes before taking an oil sample. They also have some good information about fuel dilution here.

[MadGus]

Originally Posted by mvestor

Has anyone come up with a long term maintenance plan for our cars? I'm thinking more along the lines of time frames for replacing wear items, suspension, etc. vs. the usual oil services and VANOS adjustments. I suspect mine needs a suspension overhaul based on the 85k miles and some off noises/clunking while turning.

mvestor - '06 Z4MR with 61k miles on her. I just upgraded the suspension to Bilstein B6s all around and dropped new OEM rear springs in (a common break/fail point on our cars). All four of the old shocks were able to be compressed by hand with ease and had virtually zero rebound... yikes! The handling is significantly improved since doing this (and realigning everything).

[MBan]

Originally Posted by bwright657

Fuel dilution is how much fuel is diluting your oil. It could indicate an issue like blow by or bad injectors. But it's likely caused by when the oil was sampled or how the car is used. Typically a bit fuel gets into the oil when you first start the car and burns off once the engine is up to temperature. If you start the car and quickly pull it onto a lift or ramps, then shut it off, you'll have some fuel dilution present. Blackstone recommends running the car for 15 minutes before taking an oil sample. They also have some good information about fuel dilution here.

Thanks, bwright657 - good explanation and thanks also for the link. While I don't drive the car often, I do tend to run it for more than 30min when I do drive it, so the car pretty much always spends a decent amount of time at full operating temperature. I will ask my service shop what their procedure is before taking the oil sample but I have one short interval (3 months) oil sample analysis that showed no fuel contamination (although I'm not sure what their lower detection threshold is), so I don't think that could be the only contributing factor? I'm interested to see what the first 6-monthly oil analysis says.

[jhm5]

Originally Posted by MadGus

mvestor - '06 Z4MR with 61k miles on her. I just upgraded the suspension to Bilstein B6s all around and dropped new OEM rear springs in (a common break/fail point on our cars). All four of the old shocks were able to be compressed by hand with ease and had virtually zero rebound... yikes! The handling is significantly improved since doing this (and realigning everything).

Rear shocks no rebound at 28k miles and these were replaced early in the car's life under warranty. I removed them to replace the rubber bump stops which notoriously crumble on BMWs. When I removed the shocks I discovered the lack of rebound. Installed B6s. Improved ride and handling. I suppose I should do the same to the front struts.