Bought an old BMW M3, filled with regret...

[badgeruk]

Your old Z4M is someone's garage queen now Badger, such a shame

Seems that way. Not even like the paint work was in good condition, so was a car you could drive and not worry about knocking a few k of the value if you happen to mark the paint while blasting around some lanes. Even said as much to him when I sold it.

 

[mrk]

Seems that way. Not even like the paint work was in good condition, so was a car you could drive and not worry about knocking a few k of the value if you happen to mark the paint while blasting around some lanes. Even said as much to him when I sold it.

Damn shame, ah well what's done is done I guess.

Did you ever find your Eventuri's heat shield brackets start to flake paint off or get weak at the mounting side where the Xenon ballast sits on top of above the screw nut? The soft neoprene material on the inside had also gone hard, I suspect this was in conjunction with heat cycles and water exposure as rain etc kicks in through the intakes and grilles.

I recently checked my filter as Evolve recommend cleaning it every 5000 miles so was getting it all off to wash the filter and noticed my heat-shield brackets were flaking, it's the kind of paint flake/bubble you typically see from high heat cycles over long periods of time, and I've had this since they came out so it's been a while.

Anyways, I ordered replacement primary and secondary shields from Evolve at £80 for the pair, they came with revised push clips too that attach the secondary shield onto the primary (shown below) with a more secure fit. I also noticed 2x silver hex screws missing so am assuming they worked themselves loose from engine vibrations over time, the others were slightly loose too so when I get replacements I'll re-do them with thread lock.

Repositioned the fitment a bit neater this time round, no touching either component on either side now

 

[badgeruk]

I noticed the same thing you did when I ordered a replacement filter. Didn't know you could order a replacement bracket at the time so left that. Dont remember losing any screws but wouldn't surprise me if they did work lose over time due to vibrations.

 

[mrk]

It does seem that the S54 generates so much heat it peels certain paint off. Will see how the replacement padding goes over time. Even just keeping the car on the driveway in this summer heat is enough to bake the inside of the engine bay it seems, the aluminium bonnet transfers heat in both directions.

 

[Antipasti]

Have you ever had the racp/boot floor re-enforced on your car?

I traded my Z4M for an E46 M3. I just couldn't get on with the Z4. It's had rod bearings, and a 'sub frame' check a couple of years ago. I'm under the impression that if it's gonna go, it would have gone by now.

 

[mrk]

Mine is checked annually, no probs so haven't thought to pre-empt it as a result. My thinking goes back to the time I visited ETA Motorsport as they are located near my sister's house so convenient to pop in. They said they have had track built E46 M3s with no subframe cracks, yet normal road ones do get cracks, later model year examples fare better, and convertibles have a stronger support back there anyway so less affected still. I think I may have flipped the head on the coin in this area, although tails in other areas (rod bearing failure and the other maintenance items I've addressed over the years etc).

But yeah general consensus is that all boot floors will crack, with a few exceptions that boils down to luck of the draw.

 

[mrk]

Bad news... Driver side fastening cord that holds the inner roof lining in place when roof is up has snapped: At this age the strength of the cords will no doubt have weakened with repeated roof up/down.

Good news... It's gonna cost about up to £100 to fix. Found a local trimmer and spent some time popping over for a chat. Needs a new cord and then looping internally the correct way with the correct tension.