Matt’s Road & Track Coupe

[Matt Scarbro]

Welcome Matt and congrats on the car! Stratus is quite a rare find I think. Looking forward to what you’ve got planned for it!

Cheers Bart, you were to blame for me nearly throwing my sensible pills out the window and buying an expensive tiefgruen Si! Yours is a beautiful car!!

[Matt Scarbro]

Superb, thank you, do you have a project thread for yours? Would be very intrigued to have a read!

I do viewtopic.php?t=143997

8 pages… oh yes…

Look forward to reading!! (My bank account braces itself!)

[Barty]

Cheers Bart, you were to blame for me nearly throwing my sensible pills out the window and buying an expensive tiefgruen Si! Yours is a beautiful car!!

Appreciate it Matt, thanks! The Tiefgruen choice is an appealing one, but then I’m biased. Still, Stratus is one of my favourites on the E86, Nice find!

[Mr Tidy]

Hi and welcome to the forum Matt from a serial Coupe owner.

I fell in love with the shape of the E86 the first time I saw one, and wished I had been collecting one when I picked up my pre-reg 123d in January 2008.

But I got there in the end!

Stratus Grey is a great colour, especially when the sun hits it right. Looking forward to seeing what you plan to do with yours. There are a few Coupe owners who have modified theirs for track days, as well as one who races his.

[Neens76]

Welcome.
Really enjoyed the video and look forward to seeing what comes next.

[Meds]

Nice!
I'm looking forward to the updates..

[Matt Scarbro]

Thank you very much for the warm welcome gents (and perhaps ladies)…

I’m in the process of making a vid or two to bring us up to date, but those will be a be a little while so here’s what I’ve done so far and the short and longer term plans…

First job, oil change and air and cabin filters:

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Gummi Pfleger on all the rubbers:

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Sound pipe foams removed for more intake noise :

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Needed Bluetooth connectivity for my music and podcasts, so this forum was useful in identifying a cheap BlueMusic solution. Very easy to fit and has worked faultlessly, importantly retaining the use of wheel controls:

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KW V2 Inox, replaced the front springs as they were corroded and painted them and helpers with a more durable and protective paint:

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Shuffled what little camber adjustment there is over to full negative, they weren’t ‘set up’ before.

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Whilst I was in there I identified a few non standard bits which a rummage through the history revealed as Meyle HD lollipop bushes at the front and RTALs at the rear, along with Powerflex ARB bushes at both ends.
It also revealed a rear outer upper bush that could do with replacement and I wasn’t happy with one of the front drop links when I refitted it so have ordered both of those for fitting soon.

Impressions of the KWs are that they feel a nice dual purpose coilover of good quality, very much like a Koni Sport shock with firmer springs. I’m very particular about suspension and live in rural Lincolnshire, with poor roads, so it’s very difficult to achieve a setup that excels on both road and track. I think the spring rates are a touch high for the road, with the rear in particular transmitting a little too much of secondary bumps and imperfections to the driver. I do like the roll stiffness though and suspect the current rates are a sensible compromise between road and track.
I’m tempted to contact KW and try a softer rear spring just to see how it feels.
Current tyres are Uniroyal Rainsports, as fitted to the car when I bought it, I will replace with a premium HP or UHP tyre, so will likely lose more comfort in doing so.

The damping feels a notch down in quality compared to the V3s I’ve had previously, which is as to be expected, and as I didn’t spend thousands of pounds on these perfectly acceptable. I must emphasise again that I’m particular and essentially striving for something very difficult, the V2s are perfectly good and I have no plans to replace them in the short term.

I’m not sure the Meyle HD lollipop bushes are helping much either, I have read that they can transmit more NVH without adding too much in the way of dynamism.

Very soon after I fitted a set of Sport seats, with the standard seats and what was a competent chassis it felt like you were sat in a bench clinging on to the wheel. I found the ideal set for me, half leather (less slidey on track) and manual adjustment (lighter) and they transformed the car. It immediately felt like I was sat down in the car and connected to it, I was taken aback by just how much these changed the feel.

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The brakes were fairly tired and being slotted discs grumbled under harder use, I replaced the discs with Brembo HC items and went for ATE Ceramic road pads. I’ve used the Brembos lots and in fairly extreme conditions they’ve held up very well, so they’re a go to; very reasonably priced for these too!
The ATEs I’m not too sure about, they scored very well in a comprehensive German test and promise very good durability and low dust, but in retrospect perhaps a more performance orientated pad delivering sharper bite and better feel should have been the priority.

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I’ve got some braided lines to go on along with new stainless bleed nipples and Castrol SRF fluid, so that might improve the feel somewhat and more importantly make it safe for the track.

Speaking of the track, I’ve got a set of EBC RP-1 front and Bluestuff rear pads ready to swap in for track use. I’m not historically a big fan of EBC pads, but the fairly new RP-1 and RP-X track pads are very highly regarded by regular track goers I know with high performance BMWs and a friend also uses Bluestuff successfully on his Cayman.

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Most recently (late November), and I should add in temps hovering around zero, having returned from 30* in Thailand 48hrs earlier (dedication no doubt!!), I cleaned down the four corners of the car and applied some Muc Off HCB-1 winter barrier. I chose this as it’s formulated for application as an aerosol, making for easier application than some of the trigger spray alternatives. It goes on nicely, is transparent with a slight purple hue and is apparently highlighted by an UV light. If I feel sufficiently motivated it would be interesting to put a UV light on it after winter to see how much has survived. For what it’s worth I used three cans for the four corners and a bit of rear subframe.
It might do something, it might not, but I’ve tried!!

So there we are, up to date!

Immediate plans are to get the brake lines fitted and fresh fluid in, gearbox oil change, replace the aforementioned bush and drop link and I’ve bought a stud and nut conversion to go on too.

I’ve also bought a replacement driver’s door card as the current one has a split and a stubby aerial to replace the whippy.

Then it needs to be LSD time, it’s absolutely crying out for one and I’m sure will transform the car.
I will likely go for a Quaife unit and would very much like to move to a 3.6-3.9 final drive at the same time if I can find one.

Whilst doing that I might well fit some poly rear subframe bush inserts and diff bushes, attempting to tighten things up a touch without adding too much NVH.

I have some very cheap track tyres, bought to try the car at the track without too much grip and without trashing the road tyres, I need to buy some wheels for them, likely some cheap style 194s.

I want to see where the balance is, find any weaknesses and learn to really drive the car at a lower pace, so won’t be going sticky and wide for a little while. The plan even in the long term will be to have an eye on consumables cost and usability rather than outright pace.

It would be nice to take some weight out of the car, so that’s a longer term plan and will be part of considerations, without wanting to strip and turn it into a pure track car.

I’d also like to smarten up the interior with some retrimmed and repainted bits, make it feel a bit nicer and more premium in there.

It will also get a rear cage eventually too as the plan is to take it to the ring for a trackday to celebrate my 40th in a couple of years. Despite being a regular trackdayer in the UK for years on end, I’ve never been to the ring because of the insurance / liability issue on touristenfahrten and hefty cost of trackday trips.

[Abbas]

Welcome to the coupe club mate! I got myself one in November too and really loving it. I wanted something that was comfortable and I’d be happy to drive anywhere, but also great fun for the occasional hoon. I think I saw your video before this post! Subscribed

If you have IG at all mine is @abbas2kk, would be great to follow your progress on there too.

[Matt Scarbro]

Welcome to the coupe club mate! I got myself one in November too and really loving it. I wanted something that was comfortable and I’d be happy to drive anywhere, but also great fun for the occasional hoon. I think I saw your video before this post! Subscribed

If you have IG at all mine is @abbas2kk, would be great to follow your progress on there too.

Hello mate, think I saw a comment from you over on YT, I don't tend to use IG much as it feels like there isn't as much interaction, but I've given yours a follow.. perhaps I ought to get in the routine of adding updates on there too.

[Matt Scarbro]

Short update...

The lovely Z4 has been completely without issue since I bought it in August, so I booked an MOT with a mate accompanied with the message, 'no problems at all, cat in place, no dash lights'...

Now that was true at the time, however, on the way to the garage I gave the car an Italian tune up to ensure the cat was warm and nice and efficient. By the time I got there I quite ironically had a cat efficiency error code, so I plugged in with my dongle and cleared it pre-test. Next problem, one of the brakes started binding literally at the test station, thankfully having already passed the braking efficiency test and then the cherry on top, the old girl wouldn't start... unbelievable!! And it's not even got an Alfa badge!...

Thankfully events transpired in an order that didn't preclude me from passing the MOT and my mate helped to get it started and checked the voltage at the battery, identifying the starter motor as the likely culprit for the starting issues.

He also had a good check around the car for me and gave it the seal of approval.. always good news!

So I had an unexpected Autodoc order to place, now with the following to fit / be fitted shortly:

2x TRW front calipers (ATE not available for immediate dispatch, but I have always had good experience with TRW too)
I've already got a set of braided lines and a few bottles of Castrol SRF so the will be done at the same time, I've already replaced all the pads and discs
Bosch starter motor

I can never just order the strict essentials so popped these in the basket too:
Lemforder tie rods and TRES, nothing wrong with the current parts, but fresh ones will make DIY toe adjustments easier
Meyle offset lollipop bushes - the car feels like it's crying out for caster so hopefully these will make a significant difference to the drive, I will definitely be adding some camber too, but these will be a good starting point. Hopefully they won't add any more NVH than the Meyle HD bushes currently fitted too.

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[1536Z4]

I can never just order the strict essentials so popped these in the basket too:

.....and so it begins Glad it got through the MOT sods law all those things happen on the day

[Matt Scarbro]

Time for a bit of an update here, there will be videos to follow on YouTube, however I'd like them to follow a good order and have some well-formed impressions and experiences, hence the delay.

Soon after the last update it went back into the garage for it's urgent repairs and some of the planned upgrades.

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New front calipers
Braided brakes lines all round
Castrol SRF fluid
Redline MTL gear oil
Replacement Lemforder rear upper outer bearing/bush
Bosch starter motor

Silly sausage here ordered the wrong lollipop bushes, so they along with the steering rods weren't done.

Starting issue solved immediately, in fact it's quite nice having such an eager starter motor and not something I'd really considered or noticed before.
Binding brakes solved, recently fitted well-reviewed ATE Ceramic pads take ages to mate to the dicss so feel crap for a ages, even then they're not very good. I will likely replace before long and keep as a set of spares.

Next problem to rear it's head was a rear ABS sensor issue, replaced it but no success, looks like the reluctor ring needs replacing, so one of those in hand now to replace it when the opportunity presents itself - details to follow.
I've had a few issues in quick succession which is frustrating, but to be expected with the majority of older cars, I will work through them, along with a bunch of preventative maintenance and upgrades and it will soon be in fine fettle with a great chance of being reliable.

Next little project was to replace the driver's door card which had a split in it on the armrest, I took the opportunity to splice in a door speaker as mine came without, which has enhanced the audio more than I expected. There's a fair chance this will come out again one day in search of weight loss, but for the car's current use it's a nice improvement, I just need to find some time to do the passenger side too.

Following that, an imperative upgrade for me, fitting a stud and nut conversion, I can't stand wheel bolts!! I took the opportunity to pop some 5mm front and 3mm rear spacers in there which have filled the arches out a touch. There's room for bigger spacers in there which would likely improve the looks of the car, I'm generally more interested in how the car drives than looks, but maybe one day...

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On the topic of purely aesthetic 'upgrades', I thought the front was lacking a lip, but I'm terrible at looking after them... parking kerbs, track kerbs, roadkill, you name it!! So I fitted a generic rubber 'lip' strip, which I'm actually really pleased with. It might be marmite, but I'm very happy with it.

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I've had the KW V2s for a little while now, which I like a lot, however as per previous thoughts I've shared, for the poor quality and undulating roads of Lincolnshire, I thought the rear spring rates were too high. I was running the dampers soft in order to improve the ride quality and help the car to absorb bumps, however, there were infrequent moments where I could feel a rear corner damper not able to control the spring properly. I'm not a chassis engineer, but a good while ago someone relatively informed told me to trust my instinct with car setup and so even without real expertise I try to follow my nose and diagnose and solve such problems.

I spoke to KW UK and found that there wasn't a softer spring available thorough them, the spring is specific to the chassis and is progressively wound, so there isn't a compatible part in their catalogue without going to a pure coil over shock conversion, something I didn't want ideally.
I suspect that being a true dual purpose road coilover that can also lap their testing ground of the ring, the springs needed to be firm enough to support the body well and under such heavy demands not bottom out repeatedly at the ring. Of course with exotic valving this is possible, but at relatively modest price points such as the V2s, not a realistic ask on this chassis perhaps.
I also found out that the rear springs are the same part that they fit to the Z4 Clubsport kit, so they are quite a track biased rate, validating my suspicions.

What to do then?.. My first instinct was to go for Eibach Pro-kit rear lowering springs, as they would likely be lower but still control the body well (this has always been my experience with Eibach), however I felt that I would rather retain my current very modestly lowered ride height and in turn damper stroke. The pictures of Eibachs I found looked tremendous, but also looked just a touch lower than my setup with the KWs.
This forum helped me to find the solution, both in theory and in practice... I read that Suplex springs came well-regarded, were reported to provide good ride quality and would you belive it I also found a rear pair for sale on here, that I bought from a gent called Martin (Enuff-zed I think).

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Compared to the KWs

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And a fitted comparison, just a smidge higher, perhaps the Suplex's will settle a touch more given they only went on yesterday.

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I'm thrilled with the improvement! They have achieved exactly what I hoped, greatly improving the ride quality and ability of the car to cope with bumps on a B road. I can run the dampers how I want to without going outside of their ability to control the springs and the car now just feels properly suited to road driving.
The car doesn't stay as flat or feel as direct as it did, perhaps even a tiny touch floaty at low damper settings, but there are other tools I can use to improve this and the improvements I've found far outweigh this characteristic.

Being a divorced spring I can also swap the stiffer KW springs and perches in for track use within an hour, which I can do at the same time as switching to track brake pads pre-trackday.
Having solved the ride quality for normal road use the right way through spring rate, I can also choose my next tyres without much thought for comfort, which should make for a better driver's car.

[Matt Scarbro]

To bring this up to date now, I've got a trip to Birds planned next week, for installation of a Quaife diff, in my opinion something sorely missing from non-//M Z4s and something that had made a huge difference to the driving enjoyment of other cars I've had.

In preparation I have bought and given a quick cosmetic refresh to a 3.64:1 ratio diff, in order to provide a modest shortening of the gearing (~5% shorter than the standard 3.46) and pep car up a bit without damaging the comfort and usability of the car too much.

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At the same time as the diff is being swapped I'm hoping to be able to install some goodies from Powerflex too, in the shape of some Purple Road Series diff bushes front and rear and some Black Track Series subframe void inserts. The latter were chosen over replacement bushes for speed of installation with me having just the day at Birds.
Again these are parts I have used before with success, helping the rear of the car to feel less vague and more connected, as well as a little more responsive to throttle inputs.
Also pictured are some Powerflex offset lollipop bushes for added caster and another pair of rear outer upper bearing bushes to replace the standard lower bushes per the //M, but they will have to wait for a later date to find their way onto the car.

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I've not had a great time of late having lost my cat Luther unexpectedly, who has been a wonderful companion to me and helped me though difficult periods in my life, so admittedly I'm struggling to get as excited as I would normally for such a transformation, but it's great to have something to look forward to and I plan on taking it to the track a bit in the summer too, which really will be fun.

Those of you with pets give them a special cuddle today.

[LawrenceW]

Great updates Matt, thanks for sharing and look forward to the future vids.

Sorry to hear about Luther, plenty of us will get it mate, they become far more than pets.

[MonsterZ4]

Morning Matt.
Loving the videos and content and the work you are doing on the Zed. I have a Phoenix Yellow coupe that I’m fixing up, yours looks much nicer though.
Where did you get the stud and nut conversion from?
Any close up pictures of how it looks close up with the wheels on?
Thanks, Mark.