2011 Atacama Yellow Build

[fmorelli]

Originally Posted by 35i-Nut

A few of the pics dont show of the 02 sensors , could you repair the links please thanks

Sorry ... Google Photos is not forum friendly. The links seems to go stale, when initially fresh. They settle after a couple days ... go figure.

Filippo

[ecasirhc]

Any update on this?? I want an exhaust and now I have to consider custom made

[fmorelli]

[fmorelli]

[fmorelli]

Carbon fiber rocker flats and front lip spoiler installed. I added black rocker trim to accent the bottom of the car some more. Next up, the roll hoops are being done in Tekarbon carbon fiber in the rear, and the front halves being painted in matching Atacama Yellow. Mirror shells are also being replaced in carbon fiber. As well, we are doing a bit of paintwork on the front and rear reflectors, as well as with the turn signal marker on the side. Stay tuned.

Filippo

[VailM3]

need more pics cant seem them in your previous posts

[cruisingdownthestreet]

i need to platidip my grille. glossy black is always better than chrome

[jts1981]

Originally Posted by cruisingdownthestreet

i need to platidip my grille. glossy black is always better than chrome

Just get the oem ones. I went with flat black after market at first, but recently with oem performance black. They aren't all over gloss black, more like gloss ring with satin slats which is a very nice combo.

[paris1]

So my wife's Z4 has the M front end and we find it almost impossibly low over speed bumps and steep driveways. Couple of weeks ago I entered a winery parking lot and failed to see some undulations in its gravel surface. Scraped the s*%t out of the L/F chin spoiler which had been replaced (entire front bumper) and repainted just recently. Really bummed me out! So my question is, how n the hell do you drive a lowered car like yours on the street without going crazy with clearance issues?

[cruisingdownthestreet]

Originally Posted by fmorelli

Can I get a side view of the rear end with the spoiler? Not sure if adding a spoiler will make the spoiler stick out more than I'd like. Not a big fan of my rear end from the side view as is

[fmorelli]

Originally Posted by paris1

So my question is, how n the hell do you drive a lowered car like yours on the street without going crazy with clearance issues?

Yes, it's a pain in the butt. It's not a daily driver, so I don't mind being careful when I drive it. That said, it's even having intersections with different grades. Takes a lot of care for sure.

Filippo

[fmorelli]

Originally Posted by cruisingdownthestreet

Can I get a side view of the rear end with the spoiler? Not sure if adding a spoiler will make the spoiler stick out more than I'd like. Not a big fan of my rear end from the side view as is

Not sure what you're asking for. What's the "side view of the rear end"? What does it mean - "adding a spoiler will make the spoiler stick out more?"

Filippo

[jts1981]

Originally Posted by cruisingdownthestreet

like this

Something like this? Image 7

http://www.bimmer-mag.com/issues/104...r#.WUnmyRjMyEI

[fmorelli]

All right, finally some more work underway, as I try to wrap up what I started. The car is on jack stands so I can install plastic rivets to support the 3M mount tape holding the side skirts in place.

I am in the middle of installing the Bavsound Stage 1 system in the car. Pretty straightforward. The drivers are clearly a few steps above what is in the car. In weighing the drivers, the stock ones are 111 grams while the Bavsound replacements are nearly 3 times heavier. I decided, while I have the door cards out, I would do some sound insulation work on the door metal and door card, hence the door being so torn apart in the photos below.

I have various parts out to be painted right now, and may return to me this weekend: the front of the roll hoops, the side turn signals (for a partial color match, and the side front reflectors (IND does not offer Atacama Yellow!)

I've added some carbon fiber to try and balance out the look of the car, now that it has all the lower carbon fiber body work. The roll hoop rears are from Tekcarbon, mocked up below. I'm waiting on mirror shell replacements, and I installed a few CF bits in the interior. We'll see if it all ties together.

Finally I replaced the faulty ambient temperature sensor. Never seen one go bad. First time for everything. Also, I'm install a Smart Top.

Since the car is sitting on stands, I gave it a good cleaning, along with claying the paint, so we are all happy now.

Once the car is back on the road, now with the ambient temp sender fixed, I'll hopefully wrap up the tuning work with BQ Tuning. I suspect some of our problems tuning were the result of a dying temperature sender. Well that, and we discovered that I needed to switch to Shell fuels.

Filippo

[paris1]

So, do you like...print money for a living?

[fmorelli]

Ha. If I printed money I wouldn't be driving a middle class pedestrian car.

Filippo

[paris1]

Originally Posted by fmorelli

Ha. If I printed money I wouldn't be driving a middle class pedestrian car.

Filippo

After all the $$ you've sunk into this Z4, you think of it as "middle class pedestrian"?!

[fmorelli]

Definitely. Alternative in the unique meets near supercar performance roadster would be an Italian car. BMW is pedestrian :-)

Filippo

[fmorelli]

Got a few more things done this weekend. The Bavsound kit is installed. Sound is improved, though I have to say the stock amplifier could use replacing. The Bavsound drivers weigh almost 3x from stock. Would love to find something that will plug and play with the factory harness. Reading around I've had moderate luck figuring out what's what. I have the 676 HIFI system (standard for the US market). I would think it would be identical to the E90, but don't know if that's the case. Anyway ... I'm asking around.

I pulled the roof headliner. Two rear clips at the arms, then a row of four clips at the front and at the rear, just like the door cards have. They pop off with a quick jerk. I not only sound insulated the doors, but added sound insulation to the roof. Basically I want to prevent the metal from vibrating and creating a drum, to which I'm inside. A noticeable difference now, when tapping the doors and roof. They have a dull thud as opposed to the previous mild ring. For those wondering, the 80mil material added about 2 lbs to each door and 20 oz to the roof.

Finally I pulled the rear right trunk compartment apart, and installed the smarTop, which works just as advertised. Now that I can open the top from the outside, I notice a fair bit of creaking from the rear when it is in the final stages of closing. Wonder if it has always done this? Everything is where it should be, the weatherstripping is fresh and in good shape. Hmmm ...

Painted parts are still being worked. With some luck I'll have the rest back this week, having the car back on the ground by mid-week.

Filippo

[fmorelli]

A small update. Carbon fiber mirror back replacements installed. Let me just say these don't get installed like the average BMW. Adjust the mirror so you can see inside from the bottom. There are two metal prongs. Push them up and then pull on the bottom of the mirror. The bottom will pull out, then to top pops. The mirror body backing (what gets replaced with the CF back) has 4 tabs which can be seen once the mirror is removed. There is a hole to stick a flat blade screwdriver and twist to pop the tabs. I used a plastic removal tool to apply pressure on the mirror edge (to black case, outside) while popping the tabs. Make sure the mirror back doesn't fly off and hit the ground. To reinstall, the new mirror back gets the four tabs aligned (or you'll break them!), and popped in. The mirror simply pops back in with a sharp hit (the metal wire momentarily expands as the mirror pops in place).

Secondly I finished up the turn signals and am pleased. The faces are color coded to the car, with about 10mm of the clear turn signal lens visible so the light flashes. The trailing side (to the rear) is shot in translucent yellow.

Filippo

[Vetracr]

Filippo
How did you hand wet sand the clear coat on the turn signals. I' m in the middle of painting mine now the same way you did it, with the lens at the back unpainted. I sanded off the text and logos on the lens, used plastic primer, filled the injection hole in the middle of the lens with filler, sanded smooth and applied more primer. I then laid down several color coats and applied several layers of clear coat. I'm waiting several days for clear coat to completely dry before I try to wet sand it. How did you wet sand these parts. I can't see how they can be sanded by machine. They must be done by hand. Any tricks you learned? What progression of sand paper did you use? How did you buff and polish parts after wet sanding?

[fmorelli]

There is no need to wet sand. After the color, you will need to spray a number of coats of clear, because an edge is created from where the paint stops and the clear part of the turn signal begins. Simply spray four or five coats of clear. Shoot the first two coats light then medium. Remaining coats heavy, but not so it runs. Make sure you do it in a clean environment. You're all set just install.

Filippo