Modifying and taking things off.

UK forum for general and technical discussion about the Z3 roadster
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lightning
Joined: Tue 27 Nov, 2007 08:15
Posts: 818

  Z3 roadster 3.0i
Location: Stockport

Modifying and taking things off.

Post by lightning »

Most cars seem to have parts that people claim you are "better off without"
On the Z3 it's the CDV.
On my Land Rover there are a few "take off" items....the CAT, the EGR valve, the centre pipe. On my Honda Hornet 900 it was the flap valve in the air intake.
On my Transit Connect the advice was remove the DPF.
And so on.
l have never had any success with this. Removing the Z3 CDV made the clutch more abrupt which was harder to drive smoothly, taking off the EGR made no difference on my Landy and removing the CAT caused a slight improvement in pickup but the trade off was an annoying drone at 65 mph.
Removing the centre pipe made it sound like a Lancaster Bomber and got me a VRN from the rozzers.
I took the flap valve out of my Honda and it only caused the exhaust to backfire on the over run.
Removing my Transit DPF generated more smoke and a pungent smell that was not there before.
l think manufacturers fit these parts for a reason and spend millions developing the technology, only for people to bin it because the vehicle will be "better".

Maybe somebody on here has found a benefit from ditching some part, if so please describe how the vehicle was improved.
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BladeRunner919
Joined: Fri 17 Feb, 2012 20:18
Posts: 2225

  Z3 roadster 1.9

Re: Modifying and taking things off.

Post by BladeRunner919 »

Viscous fan. I took one off my Range Rover diesel, and many people remove them from BMWs (mine never had one). Avoids the fan exploding and destroying everything in it's path, plus puits less pressure on the water pump bearing. Z3s have an aux fan that is more than capable of doing the job.
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lightning
Joined: Tue 27 Nov, 2007 08:15
Posts: 818

  Z3 roadster 3.0i
Location: Stockport

Re: Modifying and taking things off.

Post by lightning »

Yes another Land Rover "take off" which l was tempted to do.

But the jury is still out over whether it's a good idea on the TD5 (as fitted to Discovery/Defender from 1999-2006)
gookah
Z Register member
Joined: Thu 07 Aug, 2008 09:51
Posts: 2737

  Z3 roadster 2.8

Re: Modifying and taking things off.

Post by gookah »

BladeRunner919 wrote:Viscous fan. I took one off my Range Rover diesel, and many people remove them from BMWs (mine never had one). Avoids the fan exploding and destroying everything in it's path, plus puits less pressure on the water pump bearing. Z3s have an aux fan that is more than capable of doing the job.
only on air con models?
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Z3 2.8 Progress Journal (Mine)
Z3 1.9 Sport Progress Journal (Wifey's)

I have an element of 'M-styling' on my car, If that's a good enough reason for the manufacturers to adorn a 320 with the M badge, then its certainly a good enough reason for me..
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g8jka
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Joined: Sun 18 Apr, 2010 21:16
Posts: 1149

  Z3 roadster 2.8
Location: Telford

Re: Modifying and taking things off.

Post by g8jka »

Removed the CDV valve on my 2.0 and fitted a braided hose which made quite a difference. Just removed the standard hose on my 2.8 and fitted a braided hose (there was no CDV, don't know if it had been removed or came like that as standard) and not really found any noticeable difference.

One thing that should be taken off that is simply not needed is the secondary air pump. On both my zeds they have become noisy on start up, we blanked the one off on the 2.0 and left it in place but on the 2.8 I have blanked it off and removed the whole system. Both have been fine without.

Another decent mod to do is the 'golf tee' mod to blank of the valve that opens in the exhaust to give it more noise, making it sound throaty all the time.

And get rid of the spare wheel and carrier, for those that have fitted bigger wheels it is useless as there is nowhere to put the bigger wheel you have taken of in the event of a flat to swap for the spare wheel. Most are that rusted anyway you wouldn't really be safe to use it.
2000 BMW Z3 2.8 Titanium Silver Roadster with too many mods to list :-D :drive
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lightning
Joined: Tue 27 Nov, 2007 08:15
Posts: 818

  Z3 roadster 3.0i
Location: Stockport

Re: Modifying and taking things off.

Post by lightning »

Yes l found the spare wheel in my 2.8 was shockingly rusted. But the one in my 3.0 still looked new. The underside parts generally on the 3.0 are free from surface rust so it's clearly been a Summer car.

But l did realise you'd nowhere to put the full size wheel that you took off!
So l've packed a compressor with puncture sealant. But l left the spare wheel in place under the boot floor as there seemed no advantage in removing it.
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pingu
Joined: Fri 30 Apr, 2004 16:01
Posts: 3412

  M roadster S50

Re: Modifying and taking things off.

Post by pingu »

Removing weight is the cheapest and one of the best mods that you can do to anything that you want to go faster, or handle better.

The amount of weight that you want to remove will depend on how much luxury you want to retain.

The following is free to remove...
Minimum fuel. A full tank is around 39kg.
CD unit in boot.
Radio.
Electric seat motors.
Roof motor and pump.
Spare wheel.
Carpets.
Unused sections of the wiring loom.
Unused brackets for components that aren't fitted to your car.
Unused (or unnecessary) parts of your car (e.g. front fog lights and all the associated wiring and switches)
Valve caps :shock: :D .

There's a 1% improvement in the power-to-weight ratio for every 12-14kg that you remove.

There's a lot of improvement to be made if you start lightening components, but you need to know what you are doing as you will be weakening them as well.
Pingu
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motco
Joined: Tue 18 Aug, 2009 18:12
Posts: 728

  Z3 roadster 2.2i

Re: Modifying and taking things off.

Post by motco »

I'm sure that in some cases it's the driver who should slim down! I, for one, am no longer the 9st skinny blighter I was as a teenager. :oops:
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lightning
Joined: Tue 27 Nov, 2007 08:15
Posts: 818

  Z3 roadster 3.0i
Location: Stockport

Re: Modifying and taking things off.

Post by lightning »

My Ferrari had a space saver spare wheel in the front, which was a waste of time as there was again nowhere to put the wheel that you took off.
But the extra weight from the spare wheel improved handling due to it being over the front wheels.
l would suggest that on a Z3 3.0 or M you need all the weight over the back wheels that you can get, within reason.
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pingu
Joined: Fri 30 Apr, 2004 16:01
Posts: 3412

  M roadster S50

Re: Modifying and taking things off.

Post by pingu »

lightning wrote:My Ferrari had a space saver spare wheel in the front, which was a waste of time as there was again nowhere to put the wheel that you took off.
But the extra weight from the spare wheel improved handling due to it being over the front wheels.
l would suggest that on a Z3 3.0 or M you need all the weight over the back wheels that you can get, within reason.
You get the "weight" over the back wheels by applying the power :twisted:
Pingu
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lightning
Joined: Tue 27 Nov, 2007 08:15
Posts: 818

  Z3 roadster 3.0i
Location: Stockport

Re: Modifying and taking things off.

Post by lightning »

Doesn't help going into a corner on a trailing throttle though
gookah
Z Register member
Joined: Thu 07 Aug, 2008 09:51
Posts: 2737

  Z3 roadster 2.8

Re: Modifying and taking things off.

Post by gookah »

pingu wrote:Removing weight is the cheapest and one of the best mods that you can do to anything that you want to go faster, or handle better.

The amount of weight that you want to remove will depend on how much luxury you want to retain.

The following is free to remove...
Minimum fuel. A full tank is around 39kg.
CD unit in boot.
Radio.
Electric seat motors.
Roof motor and pump.
Spare wheel.
Carpets.
Unused sections of the wiring loom.
Unused brackets for components that aren't fitted to your car.
Unused (or unnecessary) parts of your car (e.g. front fog lights and all the associated wiring and switches)
Valve caps :shock: :D .

There's a 1% improvement in the power-to-weight ratio for every 12-14kg that you remove.

There's a lot of improvement to be made if you start lightening components, but you need to know what you are doing as you will be weakening them as well.

or just go on a diet.... :D
Image

Z3 2.8 Progress Journal (Mine)
Z3 1.9 Sport Progress Journal (Wifey's)

I have an element of 'M-styling' on my car, If that's a good enough reason for the manufacturers to adorn a 320 with the M badge, then its certainly a good enough reason for me..
deni2s
Joined: Mon 25 Mar, 2013 22:02
Posts: 761

  Z3 roadster 2.8

Re: Modifying and taking things off.

Post by deni2s »

If removing weight, you should start with lighter wheels - that's rotating mass which will be 2x as efficient as removing weight everywhere else.
deni2s
Joined: Mon 25 Mar, 2013 22:02
Posts: 761

  Z3 roadster 2.8

Re: Modifying and taking things off.

Post by deni2s »

g8jka wrote:Just removed the standard hose on my 2.8 and fitted a braided hose (there was no CDV, don't know if it had been removed or came like that as standard) and not really found any noticeable difference.
AFAIK for 2.8 CDV is part of the hose, not separate part.

Part 21521159714 (PRESSURE HOSE ASSY.CLUTCH — restricted) was found on the following Z3 vehicles:

Z3 1.9 Roadster, M44 (CH73) : CLUTCH CONTROL
Z3 2.5 Roadster, M52 (CH93) : CLUTCH CONTROL
Z3 2.8 Coupe, M52 (CK53) : CLUTCH CONTROL
Z3 2.8 Roadster, M52 (CJ33) : CLUTCH CONTROL
Z3 2.8 Roadster, M52 (CH33) : CLUTCH CONTROL
Z3 M Roadster, S52 (CK93) : CLUTCH CONTROL

Part 21526753766 (PRESSURE HOSE ASSY.CLUTCH — non-restricted) was found on the following Z3 vehicles:

Z3 2.5i Roadster, M54 (CN33) : CLUTCH CONTROL
Z3 3.0i Coupe, M54 (CK73) : CLUTCH CONTROL
Z3 3.0i Roadster, M54 (CN53) : CLUTCH CONTROL

Part 21521163910 (LOCK VALVE) was found on the following Z3 vehicles:

Z3 2.5i Roadster, M54 (CN33) : CLUTCH CONTROL
Z3 3.0i Coupe, M54 (CK73) : CLUTCH CONTROL
Z3 3.0i Roadster, M54 (CN53) : CLUTCH CONTROL
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g8jka
Z Register member
Joined: Sun 18 Apr, 2010 21:16
Posts: 1149

  Z3 roadster 2.8
Location: Telford

Re: Modifying and taking things off.

Post by g8jka »

If it's fitted to the hose I couldn't see anything that resembled it, just looked like a standard hose to me. If it was in the hose and has now been removed to fit the braided hose in it's place, I have noticed no difference at all hence the reason I thought there is not one fitted on the standard hose.
2000 BMW Z3 2.8 Titanium Silver Roadster with too many mods to list :-D :drive
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Click For 2.0 Progress Journal
Click For 2.8 Progress Journal
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