1000 miles onto BMW Z4 35is

[maxbaybe]

1000 miles added driving my 2011 Z4 since last Tuesday and I’m loving every second. Downshifts in the DCT and the burbles are amazing, the sounds are just awesome. I also can’t get myself to not get out sport + in city driving and highway ramps! It’s been a blast of a few days.

Now, I have a few questions for the veteran e89 owners and new owners. As this is going to be my daily driver, I am hoping I can get some more insight on other owners opinions/views or advice on how they live with their Z4. I am driving pretty hard given it’s only been a few days since buying the car, do any of you guys continuously push the car to its limits since owning your Z4?

Also planning a lot of trips this year, one of them being 1,500miles from Missouri to Las Vegas and back. For those doing long distance traveling was there anything you changed internally just as a peace of mind, or anything that made the trip easier.

As of right now I am planning on replacing a lot of the OEM parts (charge pipe, coils, sparks plugs, intake, and FMIC) also wanting to replace wheels as they are scratched up and from what I know that the 326m wheels crack and Missouri roads are not forgiving.

Any help/advice will be greatly appreciated!

[Marcoose]

It’s a car that can be fun, indeed. Stock is awfully disappointing, but with the right mods, it’s really fun. See sig below.

[Belair62]

Very nice ! Is that Melbourne over extended white ? I looked at its twin last year in Palatine Illinois right down to the carbon mirror caps and newer style fender indicators. If you are still running run flats that would be a good upgrade to get rid of those.

[B21]

Welcome..I’ve done over 110 mods to my 35is..some ideas are in my build thread here..

https://z4-forum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=131886

[KennyP]

You dont have to get new wheels because of scratches... you could just send them off to get refurbished and they will look like new. These wheels dont look bad and do fit the car quite well dont they? i have refurbed my wheels twice... scatches are normal wear and tear if you use the car.

Yep sport + and manual with paddles is how i drive mine almost all the time... normal mode to warm it up before... Only in bad winter conditions i use regular sport to keep all the aids on... and maybe when im using cruise control on the highway... you have to use normal or sport with that. Cruise control doesnt work in sport+ mode...

no need to go crazy with mods..
If you think its not sharp enough handlingwise, there are a few mods that make it sharper and sporty. But it will come somewhat at the cost of comfort. If you have bad roads then really think what your goals are.

If you want some extra power.. also there are some easy to do and well established mods. you probably saw them already on the second z4 you were considering.

Main thing is good maintenance with these... and some of it is costly. Be prepared for that.
I like what Matt Farah from Smoking tire once said in a video about m3 vs isf... It was something along the lines of this: Always keep couple of grand on the side for when things go wrong... and they will go wrong in the bmw at some point.

Understand what things cost ahead of time. Recently there have been users who hadnt done that, drive around in ignorant bliss and then when their adaptive shocks fail they get a big suprise and start looking for shortcuts...
I knew how expensive those shocks were before i bought the car.. i did my research before... i was mentally prepared for it and knew that they were eventually at somepoint going to fail...

Anyway.. enjoy the car. Ivory interior is nice!

[Drummer$Dude]

Originally Posted by Belair62

Very nice ! Is that Melbourne over extended white ? I looked at its twin last year in Palatine Illinois right down to the carbon mirror caps and newer style fender indicators. If you are still running run flats that would be a good upgrade to get rid of those.

I concur with Belair62, ditch the run flats. That said, make sure you have a flat kit in the trunk. I'm on my second set of Firestone Firehawk Indy 500 tires (staggered) and have never had a flat tire. The first set lasted about 40,000 miles.

As for taking long trips, I've driven my Z4 from Michigan to Kansas and back 4-5 times. It's about 2000 miles round trip and my Z has never let me down. It currently has over 145,000 miles and still runs great! I think one reason is regular maintenance of course, but I also don't run a tune which adds additional stress to the drivetrain. I understand why Z4 enthusiasts do though so I'm not being critical.

It's a sweet ride, and a blast to drive as you know. Oh, and I've been to Palentine, IL. There is a drum shop there that's pretty cool.

[KennyP]

Originally Posted by Drummer$Dude

I'm on my second set of Firestone Firehawk Indy 500 tires (staggered) and have never had a flat tire. The first set lasted about 40,000 miles.

Yep im on my second set of Michelin non-runflats/ regular tires. First set was Supersports, second is newer 4S. Never had any punctures, never been stranded anywhere. And they do improve the ride and handling alot.
Simplecarguy had a video recently on youtube about putting 4s tires on his z4. He couldnt praise them enough.

[maxbaybe]

Originally Posted by Belair62

Very nice ! Is that Melbourne over extended white ? I looked at its twin last year in Palatine Illinois right down to the carbon mirror caps and newer style fender indicators. If you are still running run flats that would be a good upgrade to get rid of those.

Yea, this actually might be the vehicle you were looking at. I bought this Z4 from Palatine and drove back home to Missouri.

[Belair62]

Originally Posted by maxbaybe

Yea, this actually might be the vehicle you were looking at. I bought this Z4 from Palatine and drove back home to Missouri.

Well that was a nice car. Tough people to deal with. In the end my wife didnt want the white interior. I downloaded the window sticker . That car was 75k new ! Loaded. If you want me to send a copy PM me your email.

[maxbaybe]

Originally Posted by Belair62

Well that was a nice car. Tough people to deal with. In the end my wife didnt want the white interior. I downloaded the window sticker . That car was 75k new ! Loaded. If you want me to send a copy PM me your email.

Much appreciated, I actually had the dealer send me a copy of it before actually going to Chicago. The options is what got me to go purchase the car. It’s an awesome spec, usually I wouldn’t go for a white interior, but seeing it in person I couldn’t say no. Also I was really hoping I’d come across a Valencia Orange Z4, but I couldn’t find one, the Melbourne Red will do!

[Belair62]

Originally Posted by maxbaybe

Much appreciated, I actually had the dealer send me a copy of it before actually going to Chicago. The options is what got me to go purchase the car. It’s an awesome spec, usually I wouldn’t go for a white interior, but seeing it in person I couldn’t say no. Also I was really hoping I’d come across a Valencia Orange Z4, but I couldn’t find one, the Melbourne Red will do!

Melbourne over Valencia all day for me. Congrats.