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Joined the E89 club

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huytonman
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Joined: Sun Nov 02, 2008 10:24 pm

Joined the E89 club

Post by huytonman » Fri Jun 02, 2017 4:09 pm

Hi guys, I recently acquired a 2010 sDrive35i in arctic silver with black leather and 55k miles on the clock. In the past I had bought the missus a couple of Z3's and then 2.5 E85's both all of which she enjoyed but golf put paid to her having a small convertible and the last one went in 2010. Back to the E89, I came about owning this for myself this time after being a serial Porsche owner for a long time and having just sold my 981S which was a cracking car but the nice dealer offered me a handful of cash to buy it off me which I let him do. I pocketed the cash with the intention of doing something serious with it only to then get itchy feet within days..I always liked the look of the E89 and when considering a lower cost replacement for the 981 there really isnt a lot of choice outside of the Porsche world and the E89 became the plan. 300BHP is a nice round figure and that quickly narrowed the choice and together with my budget it got even narrower with the 35i being the target. I was fortunate to come across a very tidy example, the only downsides are scuffed wheels (not a big deal and Lepsons will sort them for for less than £300) and the usual bolster wear on the drivers seat which has been worked on in the past and isnt too bad - otherwise the interior is excellent and no way looks like a seven year old car. The battery was shot (the original fromt he date code) and Halfords sorted that out at a reasonable price including coding and finally I negotiated away the warranty cost to then use the money saved on a BMW warranty which is great value and comprehensive.

The car is on 18" Bridgestown RFT's and is lacking adaptive suspension...brings back memories of my wifes R56 mini...harsh ride, wooden steering, high noise levels. Offset against that is the engine which is a joy, I hadnt expected the second breath of wind as revs rise and despite the car being heavier and a bit down on power, the torque compensates and it doesnt feel much slower than the 981S in a straight line. The seating position is MUCH better for me than the Porsche which always gave me back ache after more than an hours drive, not so the E89. The DCT box is excellent but the paddles are horrible, just like my old 987 Boxster. The lack of luggage space is a bit of a shock after the Boxster too! The Nav maps were way out of date but they are now up to 2017 spec and work fine.

Overall, I love the look, the comfort and cabin size, the engine and gearbox are great which delivers strong straight line performance. BUT the ride and handling are way below what I want in a car. So after some digging on here and speaking to a Z4 guru I decided that the RFT's had to go and as the wheels need to be refurbed found a set of 18" split rims with hardly worn none RFT's and these are now on the car - with new centre caps. That is a story by itself though as whoever fitted the last tyres clearly used a pneumatic wrench without bothering to set the torque. I eventually ended up hanging off the end of a 4 foot pipe attached to my 17mm socket and the wheel nuts would not budge. Thankfully my mates down at Thames View Tyres in Henley came to the rescue and loosened all of the bolts after I had seeped the hubs in penetrating oil for the night and they admitted that they were the tightest they had even come across. I've ordered a new set of bolts, I dont like to think how much stress the originals have been under. The tyres arent fantastic (Nexen N8000) but as an experiment they have proved the point - a different experience now in terms of the drive and a change well worth making. I've sorted out a puncture repair kit etc and that is now tucked away in the boot.

The final thing at this stage to look at is the gear selector paddles. I spent a lot of time looking around to find a used set of face lift -/+ paddles with no luck so bit the bullet and ordered some from BMW in Ascot. These are now in their box sitting on my desk..a Sunday job!

Apologies for the long intro and thanks to all of those members who's advice I used when selecting the E89.

Cheers Keith
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buzyg
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Joined the E89 club

Post by buzyg » Fri Jun 02, 2017 4:16 pm

Like the wheels. :thumbsup:
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Wrs
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Joined: Fri Apr 01, 2016 6:48 pm
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Joined the E89 club

Post by Wrs » Fri Jun 02, 2017 8:14 pm

Welcome :driving:
Gone - Black Sapphire Z4 E89 35is
Gone - Midnight Blue Z4 E85 3.0si

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Mr Tidy
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Joined: Wed Jul 02, 2014 12:18 pm
Location: North West Surrey

Joined the E89 club

Post by Mr Tidy » Fri Jun 02, 2017 10:51 pm

No problem having a long intro OP - it's good to get first impressions, especially from those who have owned other similar cars.

It sounds like you are getting it how you want it, so you can just keep enjoying it. :thumbsup:
Coupes because stunning!
Current - Silver Grey MC, Imola Red heated Nappa & carbon trim. Aeros, H & R Coil-overs, 224s, OE Strut brace, Nav, cup-holders, DSP Hi-Fi, pdc, cruise, MFSW, no CDV! E90 330i daily
Gone - Montego Blue
Gone - Ruby Black

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Marlon
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Joined: Mon Jan 05, 2015 11:13 am
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Joined the E89 club

Post by Marlon » Fri Jun 02, 2017 11:07 pm

Welcome along - another very tasty E89 joining the forum :thumbsup:
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Gone: 3.0si 2008 E85
911 997 Carrera S

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