2011 Atacama Yellow Build

[fmorelli]

Okay finally got the parts back and installed for the roll hoop covers. A few photos.

Filippo

[cruisingdownthestreet]

how much force do you need to use to pop off the roll bar covers? i feel like any harder either my trim tool breaks (it's broken before) or i chip/engrave some plastic away

[fmorelli]

Start from the bottom, pulling backward, wedge in with a flat trim tool (wider one helps - I prefer having a kit like this.) The pieces will not break - they are not clips but rather a ball and socket, so it will come apart. Starting from the bottom will have you fight just the bottom-most ball socket. Once it starts spreading, pull on the back.

Filippo

[fmorelli]

Ok discussions with a variety of folks finally yielded some useful information. It turns out the E89 676 HIFI sound system is pretty on par with the F30 676 HIFI. I've purchased a plug and play amp solution from bimmertech, and spoke with Nelson there on the details. An unexpected advantage of this amplifier is the ability to use tuning software to configure how the amp is configured. There are folks trading configuration files for various cars with various speaker setups. Of course the E89 Z4 has this forum (near dead) with not much of this kind of activity. But Nelson told me they've done a number of Z4's so they'll provide me something to start with, and I'll work it from there.

Best as I can tell, talking with friends, the footwell speaker is a 16.5cm (6.5-inch) woofer. I'm going to pull a panel and measure it. If that's correct, I plan to install a pair of Hertz 165.1 speakers. Combined with the remaining speakers being Bavsound Stage 1, I believe the complete setup should be quite adequate. I'll report as I make progress.

Filippo

[cruisingdownthestreet]

Originally Posted by fmorelli

Start from the bottom, pulling backward, wedge in with a flat trim tool (wider one helps - I prefer having a kit like this.) The pieces will not break - they are not clips but rather a ball and socket, so it will come apart. Starting from the bottom will have you fight just the bottom-most ball socket. Once it starts spreading, pull on the back.

Filippo

Is there anything where the windscreen shield latches onto on the roll bar cover in the way?

[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.)

[fmorelli]

Originally Posted by cruisingdownthestreet

Is there anything where the windscreen shield latches onto on the roll bar cover in the way?

No. Let me show you a photo of the rear cover, from the inside. This will help.



If you have the convertible windscreen, you will need to unscrew the black convertible rail that is held to the outside of the silver hoops - two torx screws. But if you do not have it, there is nothing in the way.

From the photo, you can see that there are eight balls that simply slide in (with friction) to eight sockets. By starting at the bottom outside, you start to pry the lower one loose. This gives you leverage to pull apart the rest of them. Don't be afraid to use force, just don't use metal.

Hope this helps,

Filippo

[fmorelli]

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.)

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

[Lurcher]

FYI on the amp software: even after a RTA session when mine got installed - it still took a few days of tweaking to get it to sound good to me. Take measurements from your ears to the front speakers - that will help with initial set-up (time delays). I ended up dropping my center channel from the amp as it was making things muddy.

I did my set-up first with top up, then top down, as that's the way it is most of the time. This helped with the base set-up config.

Remember, fresh ears first thing in the morning, don't tune for too long. You will be upgrading the subs after the amp, as they are frustratingly sucky....

[fmorelli]

Lurcher thanks. So I ordered Hertz 165.1's for the footwell's, which are 6.5" mid-bass speakers. I understood that the majority of bass comes from there. I also understand that this amp drives all these speaker locations. Along with the Bavsound Stage 1's covering the remaining mids/tweets, I expect I should be in the zip code with some tuning?

May I aks what your speaker config is? Thanks!

Filippo

[fmorelli]

Well with most things being replaced while maintaining stock harness / location / etc, I decided I'd take a look at the rear firewall woofers while stuff is coming in and I'm taking the car apart.

First of all, for those that haven't found it, a very good tutorial on how to get to the rear firewall speakers. According to this guy, just going in and doing some sound deadening work improved the sound of the stock speakers. Combined with this Bavsound tutorial, one can pretty much get to most of the speakers (just note that driver door is slightly different, with screws under the armrest).

I'm using Noico 80 mil material, which seems to be cost effective and work well. There is sufficient material in the 18 sq ft package to do much of the car.

That said, if I'm going to go to the effort of pulling all that rear packaging apart (and I have to pull the trunk apart as well, for the amp that is going in), I want to look at woofer replacement options. There are a couple stock-fit solutions. The tricky part is cross-compatibility as often the E89 Z4 is not listed as a fitment, though it may work. Such is the case here, as I understand it. We share the same speaker as the F30 (and maybe E90) under seat woofers. Rockford Fosgate has a direct bolt-in replacement, T3-BMW-SUB, but it is a bit more than i had in mind. Digging around some more, I found that the Jehnert XE200R with BMW bracket that is a direct bolt-in. Lots of very positive reviews, both for this brand and this particular woofer. Also positive reviews when using the bimmertech amp I plan to install. In the USA, the importer is Unexpected Creations, whose owner has a good rep in the BMW community. So I have a note in to get a price on a pair of woofers. I think the pair may come in around $300, but we'll see. FWIW, the Hertz 165.1's were $225 shipped to the USA from Germany, which is a good price. The bimmertech amp was $850 with a coupon. I got a steal on the Bav Sound Stage 1 pre-order. Figure about $1600 all in and some reasonable elbow grease, the car should not only sound great, but all the sound deadening should drop the NVH and just make life better all around.

I'll post more info as things come apart and go back together. It has been a bit of a bear to find information out about these cars. I will add, for those looking to spend little money, I suspect just buying the sound deadening and spending some time doing that, will improve sound quality and reduce the general resonance in the various panels. I'm expecting easier conversations in the car, and clearer sounds from the actual car (exhaust, engine). We'll see ...

Filippo

[Xpuzzle]

Originally Posted by fmorelli

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.
Filippo

What has been your experience with Ohlin's? Most of the coil over upgrades I've read here have been to KWs and the feedback have been positive. Are there aspects of Ohlin that you feel is different/better?

[fmorelli]

I'm the wrong guy to answer, that, but jts1981 and jake169 are local to one another, may make some comparisons (since one has KW3 and the other Ohlins).

The Ohlins have a great reputation, and as much as the KW3's are definitely great, the Ohlins may get a slightly bigger thumbs up. But the above guys will hopefully provide some direct feedback.

Filippo

[jts1981]

Originally Posted by Xpuzzle

What has been your experience with Ohlin's? Most of the coil over upgrades I've read here have been to KWs and the feedback have been positive. Are there aspects of Ohlin that you feel is different/better?

Ohlins and KW are both excellent options. KWV3 vs Ohlins are both top notch quality and performance. Ohlins has a slight edge due to their patented valving system. But honestly its like comparing a 911 Turbo, to a 911 Turbo S. Can't go wrong either way.

I daily drive my car in Long Island and around NYC with spirited drives in Bear Mountain. My car is comfortable at all speeds, and confidence building. If you read my previous posts you can see my car is always evolving. At one point there was more power than the chassis could handle. High speed runs would feel a bit floaty and scary with stock struts and h&r springs.

The way my car sits today I feel confident at high speed runs. My commute has a few areas where I can cruise at 100, pass at 120. It feels like I'm doing 80. The other day I pulled away from an e92 M3 around 120-30. Yes, you read that right. Bq's e60 tune makes that very very easy, but thats another topic all together.

I love my suspension set up and highly recommend to everyone to, regardless of which coilover, follow through with the complimentary components. This combo will give you more stability and car control.

For anyone starting to mod just think of it this way...
More car control = more fun
More cooling = longer fun
More braking = safer fun
More breathing = more efficient fun
More power = is more giggles, but with out the above its all in vain.

[Xpuzzle]

Thank you jts1981 and Filippo, for keeping this forum alive!

[jake169]

Originally Posted by jts1981

Ohlins and KW are both excellent options. KWV3 vs Ohlins are both top notch quality and performance. Ohlins has a slight edge due to their patented valving system. But honestly its like comparing a 911 Turbo, to a 911 Turbo S. Can't go wrong either way.

I daily drive my car in Long Island and around NYC with spirited drives in Bear Mountain. My car is comfortable at all speeds, and confidence building. If you read my previous posts you can see my car is always evolving. At one point there was more power than the chassis could handle. High speed runs would feel a bit floaty and scary with stock struts and h&r springs.

The way my car sits today I feel confident at high speed runs. My commute has a few areas where I can cruise at 100, pass at 120. It feels like I'm doing 80. The other day I pulled away from an e92 M3 around 120-30. Yes, you read that right. Bq's e60 tune makes that very very easy, but thats another topic all together.

I love my suspension set up and highly recommend to everyone to, regardless of which coilover, follow through with the complimentary components. This combo will give you more stability and car control.

For anyone starting to mod just think of it this way...
More car control = more fun
More cooling = longer fun
More braking = safer fun
More breathing = more efficient fun
More power = is more giggles, but with out the above its all in vain.

I have the Ohlins and I can honestly say, it is a game changer. The car drives like a true sports car and is actually quite comfortable.

[Xpuzzle]

jake169, glad to hear you are happy with the Ohlins. Did you stick with the factory settings for rebound and height, or did you have to do further adjustments?

[fmorelli]

Back to speakers. As I had mentioned, in the USA it is very hard to figure out what to do with these cars. I've been speaking to German retailers (gotta love Facebook messaging) and thankfully their English is way better than my German. In discussing my system (and specifically the Audiotech Fischer amplification that is a plug-n-play with the 676HIFI harness), the audio specialist recommended "Rainbow IL-S8F BMW" ... they came to about $300 for the pair, which anyone that has been in the market for woofer replacements in the rear knows prices range from $450-600 for Jehnert, Rockford Fosgate, Bavsound replacements. Anyway they ship tomorrow. I'll report as the Hertz footwell 6.5" get installed, as well as the Rainbow 8" in the rear.

Filippo

[Lurcher]

Originally Posted by fmorelli

May I aks what your speaker config is? Thanks!

Filippo

Right now I'm running everything stock, as the performance upgrades took center stage last year. Now with the X3 getting some upgrades (amp installed this morning, 30 minutes....), it's probably time to do speakers on both.


With the z, it's a matter of whats good enough. Top down driving is going to dominate a good sounding stereo regardless... I still hate the tweeters though..

Will be interested to see the 6.5 install and the results, as most people don't bother

[Lurcher]

Originally Posted by fmorelli

Jehnert XE200R [/URL]with BMW bracket that is a direct bolt-in. Lots of very positive reviews, both for this brand and this particular woofer. Also positive reviews when using the bimmertech amp I plan to install. In the USA, the importer is Unexpected Creations, whose owner has a good rep in the BMW community. So I have a note in to get a price on a pair of woofers. I think the pair may come in around $300, but we'll see.
Filippo

I got ~$450 quote for a pair from them...

[fmorelli]

Originally Posted by Lurcher

Will be interested to see the 6.5 install and the results, as most people don't bother

Most people don't bother, yet what I understand is the majority of the bass comes from the footwell speakers. Bavsound told me they don't because only the Z4 uses that and the economics isn't worth it. In other words, its not that changing it wasn't worth it ... We'll see.

What I have discovered, after two weeks of research, is that there are a number of German audio manufacturers that are making sound system components just for our cars (F30 compatibility). So Bavsound is a choice, but there are also other choices. Also, some times those items are well-priced from a German vendor that ships to you DHL/FedEx. For $300 shipped for a pair of Rainbow woofers for the rear (versus the Jehnert's for $450), for example, I don't know why I'd spend 50% more. The Rainbow's have been around a long time, made in Germany quality. BTW, Rainbow has complete component systems for BMW, as does a number of other players - Jehnert, Hertz, Vibe, Rainbox, Rockford Fosgate, ... this stuff is just not well documented, as I'm discovering.

Another issue, I believe ... the USA being a big country, many of our retailers do eCommerce. It seems that not many German audio retailers have web storefronts, so it is a bit hard to find stuff if you are American (and don't speak German, though thank God for Google Translate). I worked with a guy from more-db.de, and we communicated over Facebook messenger. I spoke with him about what I was doing, my components. He made recommendations, priced, sent me a Paypal invoice, he sent me photos, and in an hour had DHL number for me. Just food for thought for those exploring.

BTW I agree on the top-down observation. But I enjoy a good drive with the top down, and my tunes blaring from time to time. I don't doubt these improvements will be significant, open air driving or not.

Filippo

[fmorelli]

I'm adding this from another thread, since it relates to my car. This relates to mounting the headlight leveling apparatus on the E9x M3 passenger side control arm. The M3 has it mounted on the driver side, so this is something that needs to be rigged up. They even use a different mounting system (25 years of doing headlight levelers on BMW's, one might think they would have settled on a way to mount this ...)

In the photos you can see I have two wire ties being used: one tie is just on the arm, but prevents the mount from walking down the arm. The second photo shows a wire tie acting as a clasp. When you pop the mount off the regular arm, it is not big enough to clasp the M3 arm. I just ran the wire tie through the two slots and tugged.

Note that the headlight leveling clasp is yet another cheap BMW product. There is basically no meat on the clasp and it is easy to break. You'll find this to be slightly tricky since the clasp needs to be contorted some to wrap around the bigger E9x M3 control arm.

Filippo