Hello everyone, I bought an 06 Z4 3.0si as my 1st BMW in November. I love most things about it, except for a few that seem cheap & even archaic. The sun visors don't seem to swing to the sides. I can't remember ever owning a car that had fixed visors; not even my '65 Triumph TR4. The passenger cup holder is broken. How do you replace it? Do you have to remove the dash? If it wasn't for my wife wanting it, I'd ignore it. I don't work on cars, I just drive them. I have a couple of other questions I need help with. 1. Are there any inexpensive($300 or less) software mods that will give me a significant acceleration/hp boost? It's hard to believe the claims; 60+ hp increase for $69, for 1 example. My mechanic is sceptical of those claims & suggested changing the differential gears instead. My concern is that's probably expensive & fairly permanent, as well as increased noise & gas consumption. 2. If I want to 86 the run flats, is there a small jack/spare available, or would you go with a compressor & a can of goo? I did get to the track for the 1st time at Thunder Hill in Willows, Ca with Trackmasters. What a blast! The run flats were ok, but what do I know? I had to let a stock Honda Accord with a more experienced driver pass me! Embarassing.
For starters, welcome. Hope you stick around and enjoy the ride. Hmmm. Beats me. They swing on my E28. But then, it IS archaic. Doubtful it's much of a job. Probably a snap-in part or, at most, a screw or three. I don't work on Z4s. No. At least not at that level of cost or performance. A chip might add a small handful of horsepowers and it might well add it at rpms you never use - like above the current redline. It may also require you to use a higher octane fuel. I'd drive the car as it is for awhile before doing something like this. Your concerns are well grounded. I wouldn't mess with that right now, either. The greater question is, if you got a flat and replaced it with a small spare, where would you put the wheel and tire you took off? This shifts the argument in favor of the goo. Something else you might consider is adding a peremptory goo to the tire. I have it in my BMW bike tires and it works great on small punctures that you'd typically see. Be aware that your tire guys will hate it because it's quite messy inside the tire (although water soluble before it cures). Mine is inside inner tubes, which I can throw away for a few bucks each, leaving the tire and rim clean. You don't have that option. Another option is a well-charged cell phone and a good motor club. Sadly, without either borrowing a car or installing a full roll cage, you can't go to our schools. [Hey, I tried - many years ago - to get cabrios and roadsters allowed in 'CCA schools. The conservatives won that argument.] Still, there's no embarrassment in giving way to a more accomplished driver. In fact, I commend you for recognizing that. As an instructor, I'd rather see a considerate and observant driver yielding on the track than an egotist who insists that, because his car is theoretically faster, no theoretically slower car should be allowed to pass him. We like to black flag those guys ...
Welcome to the asylum! I see you've already met one of our warders, Bruddah Krieger! Having driven across This Great Land Of Ours several times in a roadster, I agree with him regarding the spare-versus-goo debate. Of course, the M roadster comes with the compressor-and-goo kit already---which means you can buy it from BMW. However, run-flats are getting better and better (see the June issue of Roundel for an update). You have something like 260 horses in a 3.0si, the most coveted of the Z4s (with the possible exception of the ones with the little M). That's twenty more ponies than the E36 M3! But as with all BMW's non-pressurized engines, there's not much torque below 4,000 rpm (ask me how I know). That's why you have six gears: Learn to use the damn things. As CR says, you will find that more and more experience on the track will make you more skilled and confident at finding the limits of this car. When you get there, that's the time to decide whether you need more horsepower (doubtful) or more torque (definitely)---and in that department, a slightly lower diffy will definitely change your outlook. Both Dinan and Koala Motorsports offer limited-slip diffies for this car, I believe (but I am not absolutely certain). Overall, I think you have acquired a car with as much joy factor as anything out there! (Not to mention a whole slew of neurotic, opinionated friends. . . .)
I'm not alone! That was pretty vexing the one time I had to make use of it. Thankfully the need doesn't come up often.
Heh: the Visor Police! I never noticed the lack of side visors. . . when I need them, I just wear a hat turned sideways like some urban lout. But at least my visors don't have those @#$!! AIRBAG WARNINGS!
