Z3 purchased recently - advice needed

zeup · Post by **zeup** » Tue 01 Jun, 2010 07:36

It's a 1997 1.9cc and a beauty.
Needs new clutch thrust bearing as it has been standing along time.
I noted the previous thread/comments regarding sourcing a new clutch locally to T Wells, Re Kwick Fit use of recon parts, if this is so I will investigate further, quoted £300 by Kwick Fit, thought this was good?
Enthused by the Forum and had a look underneath, rear of the car examined only. Shocks are not standard (Excel-G) no upper body (is this related to being Gas Filled and not oil filled) and different off sets at lower fixing? See pics, is this ok?
Damp staining at top of nearside shock, as gas filled do I need to replace them?
How do I tell by inspection what the springs are. ie standard lowered etc.
ARB fixing to drop link on nearside is not fully embedded into drop link rubber, see pic.
I Removed the drop link, but not able to press by hand back into position.
The ARB is only 3mm away from spring!!, any/all advice welcome.
If its to be removed to be able to reach the drop link, is an upgrade to a new drop link and Powerflex mounts the best solution?
Wheels, are these BMW's (see pic) or after markets? BMW stamped inside/rear of the spoke.
The 4 tyres are Goodyear Excellence are these up the F1's /Falken's? The rears need replacing, fronts are very good 5mm of tread. Advice appreciated again.
Drives well, turn in is good, tends to tram line and a little unnerved on bends with poor surface. Is this normal.

Tori · Post by **Tori** » Tue 01 Jun, 2010 11:42

Hello and welcome

Your post seems a bit edited, are you posting from a mobile phone ? If you could make paragraph could be a bit more descriptive I think people maybe able to understand your problems a little easier NOI

KYB excel G's are gas shocks as apposed to oil filled units

P.S. there is no picture attached.

Post by **Robert T** » Tue 01 Jun, 2010 14:39

Wheels are BMW Z-Stars - they were standard on the 2.8 and an option on the 1.9 - I know I specced them as extras on mine.

Welcome to the forum BTW.

Cheers R.

estocks · Post by **estocks** » Tue 01 Jun, 2010 15:39

zeup wrote:tends to tram line and a little unnerved on bends with poor surface. Is this normal.

Yes. Strut brace will sort that. Etech (~£115), StrongStrut (~£300), Cosmo (~£115) are all tried and tested.

Tori · Post by **Tori** » Tue 01 Jun, 2010 22:46

Those springs look like standard ones to me.

zeup · Post by **zeup** » Wed 02 Jun, 2010 05:34

Tori,
The springs have a red dot on them, do you know if this is original.

The only other way to know if the springs are short or standard, I assume, is to measure the car, does anyone know the original heights and where this is measured from.

Regarding the ARB and its position on the drop link. I have read
REPLACING REAR ANTI-ROLL BAR DROP LINKS ON A Z3
by Mike Fishwick in the knowledge base. Thanks Mike, obviously one side has 'walked' down the ARB end.
All I need to know is where to buy the new droplinks and is it worth rep-lacing the rubber mounts with Powerflex ones. Powerflex give 3 sizes of bush, is an upgraded ARB likely to cause a harsher ride? Is the standard ARB good enough. ie I read some upgrades can be detrimental to ride and handling.

Zedbedee · Post by **Zedbedee** » Wed 02 Jun, 2010 11:11

Interesting to see Estocks advocating a strut brace to cure tramlining. My V reg 2 litre tramlined like crazy when I bought it but I knew it needed tyres. One set of tyres and new (standard) rear swing arm bushes later and all trace of tramlining was gone.
However the car does not feel as 'planted' as I would like and I was wondering if a strut brace would make a noticable difference.
Anyone like to comment??

domross · Post by **domross** » Wed 02 Jun, 2010 12:15

In answer to zebedee...assuming tracking/shockers are ok ,tramlining and handling problems can be improved by tyres ,bushes ,front strut brace ,butt strut with body brace ,everything improves things incrementally and I think that is the accepted 'value for money' order of doing things...I've got the lot and the car is a completely different beastie handling wise now....handles more like a sports car than a cruiser and feels more part of the road than skating across the top of it!!!

Tori · Post by **Tori** » Wed 02 Jun, 2010 17:35

zeup wrote:Tori,
The springs have a red dot on them, do you know if this is original.

I believe so, other cars I have owned have had paint 'blob' markings on them.

Most aftermarket lowering springs tend to be brightly coloured these days. If you are after a set of lowering springs I spotted these on e bay.

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/BMW-Z3-40mm-Lower ... 2ead6ac97f

estocks · Post by **estocks** » Wed 02 Jun, 2010 17:48

Zedbedee wrote:Interesting to see Estocks advocating a strut brace to cure tramlining. My V reg 2 litre tramlined like crazy when I bought it but I knew it needed tyres. One set of tyres and new (standard) rear swing arm bushes later and all trace of tramlining was gone.
However the car does not feel as 'planted' as I would like and I was wondering if a strut brace would make a noticable difference.
Anyone like to comment??

Fitting a strut brace to mine was a night and day improvement. The was one particular fast roundabout on my commute that had an undulation which if taken at 50MPH would cause the traction control light to come on. Also a speedbump on the inroad to my building complex which when crept over would cause the dash to creak. Both of these things were eliminated after fitting the strut brace.

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