Quote:
Originally Posted by distinctperson
I think Filippo is a retired rich ol' white guy with a little bit too much free time lol
OR, he is going through a mid-life crisis.
(I hope he doesn't go nuts over this benign comment.)
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Hahaha I could only hope. Retirement and riches sound good, though!
I like to build cars. Have done it for a long time. I just finished restoring an E46, rebuilt an E39 not long ago, started a 318ti (m-tech califormnia roof) which we are now about to dig back in and do in the Fall.
The E89 Z4 is a superb platform - light, low center of gravity, great drivetrain. If it wasn't for all the ever-so-slight differences with the E46 and E9x parts bin pieces, it would be a lot easier to modify. The fact that a mere 10,000 were imported into the USA means there are really few people in the USA doing the wisdom of crowds thing - we simply have too small a group digging into this car and sorting it out. Thanks to our friends in the rest of the world, or information would be really really thin. Though I have to say, I don't read German so that slows me down! Furthermore, I think most all of the cars were sold to non-enthusiasts or non-BMW owners. It amazed me that BMW never made an Motorsport version of the car. I waited until the car I wanted (citrus package, m-sport, stick) showed up at a reasonable price, bought it and had it shipped to me, and began working on making it what I thought it should be. I set the limit of stock turbochargers to frame the project. That may seem benign, but the moment you change those the sky is the limit, design and build wise, so it is a useful constraint for framing the project.
With the final tuning working remaining with BQ Tuning, the first phase of this car (which was extensive), will finally be finished. I have other things I'd like to do in the next phase, but in good time - Ohlin coil-overs, PB brakes all around, and a Gruppe M intake. For now, all I really need to do is finish the tuning work and finalize the stereo "fixes". I've been at it for about 15 months and would like to call this section of the book "finished". While others have been helpful,
jts1981 has been materially invaluable in his sharing. I don't think this project would be where it is at without his input.
Just for the record, unfortunately very few (if any) people are posting what they are doing with their cars. The Z4 has just entered the price range where a much broader group can consider buying and modifying (those that did it with new cars needed to spend way more total dollars, starting with the base price of the car). It's unfortunate that we don't have lots of other people sharing what they are doing - that has been the hallmark of BMW communities, especially with the very engineer-heavy owners. Sadly this forum has become a ghost town and one can a) leave, b) complain, c) contribute.
Filippo