US to EU Conversion

[Mad Scientist]

Good day guys,

To introduce, i took the leap of faith and brought over my beloved Z4 2.8SDrive from US to France (re-location... no Tax ). Recently drove it from Le Havre to Ile de France...I had done some research earlier and was convinced that it can be converted. (we shall see )

I like to work around engines, controls etc on all sorts of engines, including boats. This is going to be some experience. I will keep you all posted as it goes....

To start with, i visited a local dealer who specialize in US to EU conversions..I have previously understood that major items needing conversion will be;

1-Headlights
2-Rearlights
3-Coding...it appears BMW dealership can coded per 'EU' specs. I gather that given the software and necessary cables and the requisite code...it a'nt a NASA job.

I plan to give it a shot myself first...

Any one experienced with similar self imposed challenge? Any inputs/offers (including negative comments , EU compatible item offers..) are welcome!

coming soon

[NoQuarter]

Sounds like a fun project.

Are you sure the headlights need replaced? My first thought is the coding will tell the headlights which way to aim. But... only if they were adaptive headlights I suppose? Or physically just re-aiming them?

[BBriner]

I have a US 2009 Z4 3.0i sDrive in Switzerland. In my case nothing had to be done but I guess this depends on the country.

Headlight: I don't know why you would have to change it. The only difference is that the US has the led corner lights, that AFAIK can be coded off.

Rearlights: The difference is that the US has red cornering lights and the EU has amber ones. If red is not acceptable by the French legislation it is just a matter of buying the EU ones and swap them, plug and play without a problem. I had to change both sides of mine as I had a problem with one of the cornering lights (water ingress), I ended up buying both sides in the ebay.co.uk and replaced them myself. (I do prefer the red ones though). I can give you the seller if you want.

Fog Lights: The US version does not have the rear fog lights and AFAIK does not have also the wiring to retrofit. This can be a problem if fog light is mandatory in France.

Coding: °F to °C and Miles to km can be done via iDrive but the cruise control will still remain in mph but it can be changed by coding. The same can be done to change the radio frequency. I don't remember what else I changed, I will check and let you know.

[dblaron30i]

Just a thought... I know that other countries are not as strict on emissions as the US. So I know that a lot of cars are coded to hold back power in the US for that reason. Can't remember if I read anywhere that BMW did that with the Z4. But you do have the naturally aspirated model. So I'm betting there is something you can do that opens it up getting it away from the US emissions.

[dblaron30i]

Originally Posted by dblaron30i

Just a thought... I know that other countries are not as strict on emissions as the US. So I know that a lot of cars are coded to hold back power in the US for that reason. Can't remember if I read anywhere that BMW did that with the Z4. But you do have the naturally aspirated model. So I'm betting there is something you can do that opens it up getting it away from the US emissions.

Oh wait. Sorry I just noticed the OP has a 2.8 which is a turbo. Only the 30i is that way and some pre-e89