My money pit BMW E85 Z4
Discussion
Hi all, as a relative newbie I thought I'd share my German money pit, the BMW E85 Z4. It's a 2003 2.5se wthat I bought as a weekend toy about 6 years ago. It's remained fairly standard bar an M3 hydraulic steering conversion as the EPS has gotten so glitchy it felt like the car was trying to kill me, massive improvement and highly recommended for anyone who has one of these. I also fitted a set of OMP seats as the standard ones offer no lateral support at all.
Bucket seats in
NI BMW Summer Meet
Club run through the Mourne Mountains
Bucket seats in
NI BMW Summer Meet
Club run through the Mourne Mountains
roadie said:
Love it, what else has contributed to it being a money pit?
Mostly the Electronic PS, I spent a fair few quid trying to sort it before I ditched it and did the hydraulic conversion had some sooling system issues as well. Other than that mostly electrical gremlins causing faults that I dont think really existed.I do love it though, can't beat an open top roadster on a good road
mr2turbogts said:
Did you do the M3 hydraulic steering yourself?
Would like to do this also, but probs beyond my level of spannering
I did, quite handy to do really. The rack is a bolt in fit as is the pump, the only thing you need to fiddle with is the steering shaft, you have to split the lower UJ and fit the lower part from an M3. Sounds more complicated than it isWould like to do this also, but probs beyond my level of spannering
Original shaft
Modified shaft
You lose some of the assistance but it feels a lot better with none of the twitching from the old system
Court_S said:
That looks grand.
Are there mounting point in these for the fluid reservoir like there is in case such as the 1 series? Does it require any coding to tell the car?
Those seats look like a big improvement on the standard SE seats.
Yes, fluid reservoir bolts onto the oil filter housing, you do need to code out the EPS but there are a few good how to guides for that. I used the BMW Tools download which comes with the coding program.Are there mounting point in these for the fluid reservoir like there is in case such as the 1 series? Does it require any coding to tell the car?
Those seats look like a big improvement on the standard SE seats.
Seats are much better, nice middle ground between the SE seats and full buckets
I'm guessing your HPAS conversion swallowed a fair bit of the budget, but the end result was probably worth it!
I wasn't a fan of the EPAS on my first two Z4s but thankfully my current one has HPAS which is so much better.
The standard "Sport" seats are hopeless in a 2 seater, but M-Sport seats tend to sell for £600/700 or more and yours look even more purposeful!
I wasn't a fan of the EPAS on my first two Z4s but thankfully my current one has HPAS which is so much better.
The standard "Sport" seats are hopeless in a 2 seater, but M-Sport seats tend to sell for £600/700 or more and yours look even more purposeful!
Wursle said:
Seats look awesome and the Hydraulic Power Steering is on my bucket list of things to do!
How did you mount the seats you bought? what did you use for the runners and they look like they sit lower than the OEM ones.
I used E46 mounts from SW Motorsport, they bolt straight in and along with the low profile runners the seats do sit quite low. That suits me though because I'm long in the torso and short in the legs so the lower seat position is much better for meHow did you mount the seats you bought? what did you use for the runners and they look like they sit lower than the OEM ones.
Shout if you need any info on the steering conversion, happy to help with any info you need
Graeme_Bangor said:
Wursle said:
Seats look awesome and the Hydraulic Power Steering is on my bucket list of things to do!
How did you mount the seats you bought? what did you use for the runners and they look like they sit lower than the OEM ones.
I used E46 mounts from SW Motorsport, they bolt straight in and along with the low profile runners the seats do sit quite low. That suits me though because I'm long in the torso and short in the legs so the lower seat position is much better for meHow did you mount the seats you bought? what did you use for the runners and they look like they sit lower than the OEM ones.
Shout if you need any info on the steering conversion, happy to help with any info you need
Graeme_Bangor said:
Wursle said:
Seats look awesome and the Hydraulic Power Steering is on my bucket list of things to do!
How did you mount the seats you bought? what did you use for the runners and they look like they sit lower than the OEM ones.
I used E46 mounts from SW Motorsport, they bolt straight in and along with the low profile runners the seats do sit quite low. That suits me though because I'm long in the torso and short in the legs so the lower seat position is much better for meHow did you mount the seats you bought? what did you use for the runners and they look like they sit lower than the OEM ones.
Shout if you need any info on the steering conversion, happy to help with any info you need
Wursle said:
Yes very interested in how you disassembled the UJ's and made them into Z4/E46 Hybrid. how is the fitment is there any slack? also how much time did it take to do were you able to do it on the floor?
Send me a PM with your email address and I'll fire you the pictures and some pointers. I managed it no problem in the garage with the front of the car up on stands, only tools you needs are a decent socket set. Gassing Station | Readers' Cars | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff