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Matt’s Road & Track Coupe - Jun-25 update: bushes, brakes, air intake, oil cooler, lithium battery

M

Matt Scarbro

Member
Lincolnshire
First post to be updated with current spec:

'07 Z4 Coupe 3.0si SE
Stratus Grey
87k miles at purchase (now 93k)

Modifications

Drivetrain:
Engine -
BDS Air Intake
M2 oil filter housing
Front mounted oil cooler
Gearbox -
Powerflex gearbox mounts
Powerflex rear shifter bush
Diff -
Quaife ATB LSD
3.64 final drive
Powerflex diff bushes
New driveshafts

Chassis:
KW V2 coilovers w/ 8kg linear front, progressive 11.5kg max rear
Stud and nut conversion
Braided brake hoses
Brass caliper bushes
Motul RBF 660 brake fluid

Front
IF stage 2 camber plates
Hotchkis 30mm hollow anti-roll bar w/ poly bushes and reinforcement plates
Powerflex offset lollipop bushes
Meyle HD front control arms and bushes
Adjustable drop links
Lemforder track rods and TREs
Ultra Racing strut brace
Reconditioned brake calipers
EBC Bluestuff pads (road) / RP-X (track)
Brembo HC discs
Fog light brake ducts
441m 18x8 et34 wheels +5mm spacer
Michelin Pilot Sport 5 225/40/18

Rear
Refurbished subframe w/ Powerflex bushes
Powerflex Black RTA bushes
Lemforder upper outer control arm bearings
Powerflex upper inner control arm bushes
Lemforder Z4M lower outer control arm bearings
Powerflex adjustable lower control arms
EBC Bluestuff pads
Brembo HC discs
441m 18x8.5 et47 wheels +18mm spacer
Michelin Pilot Sport 5 225/40/18

Interior

Half leather Sport seats
Leather door cards w/ speakers spliced in
ZHP gear knob
Blue Music Bluetooth adapter
Noco NLP30 lithium battery

Exterior
Stubby
Rubber cheapy Amazon front lip
Matte black kidney grilles

__________________________


Hi Folks,

Well, after many years of admiring the E86, I finally have one!

In 2006 when they were first produced I was at Uni, avidly reading and living vicariously via Evo magazine, driving an (at the time pretty pimping) B5 Passat 1.8t and tinkering away on my classic Mini Clubman when back home. Man, it feels a lifetime ago!.. Anyhow, the E46 M3 CS was the dream, of course joined by the Z4 M Coupe upon its release and the love for both has stayed with me. 😊

So 17 years on, I have retained the love for BMW and never been able to get that Coupe shape out of my mind as a must-own one day, so happily that one day has arrived.

We can’t always have what we wish for though, so in times of relatively high interest rates, I’ve been taking my twice-daily sensible pills and opted for a less pricey 3.0 Si over the Z4MC dream.

I searched for a little while and was close to buying a couple of other cars before this one, finally doing a deal and getting it bought in early-August.

With this car I was really keen to find value, not buy something museum worthy that I would be overly precious about and something that could be used on the road and steadily prepared to work on the track too.

So here’s what I’ve bought, a 57 plate Stratus Grey 3.0 Si:

IMG_4306.jpeg

IMG_4307.jpeg

I will do my best to update this thread with progress, although time might not always be on my side. Most importantly it serves as an introduction for myself and the car, as I will be seeking guidance elsewhere on the forum.

I run a YouTube channel so will be documenting some of my experiences and development of the car there, so this thread will likely be part written updates and part video. 👍
 
Good choice bought mine last month - it's my 17th Zed and I started with a Z4MC. As you said the looks are compelling and for me the 3.0si offers enough in the way of performance.

Assume you've found the link that provides the production details for all the 3 0si's that were manufactured?

Look forward to seeing your YouTube updates.
20231218_123351.jpg
 
Welcome to the forum Matt, I enjoyed your You Tube post, full of real world dilemma’s.

Loving the stratus grey, when I started to get serious in my search for a Z4 that was my preferred colour.

Look forward to seeing your updates.
 
R17SKO said:
Welcome! The car looks lovely!
What plans do you have?
Click to expand...

Thank you!

I have a daily driver that absorbs the majority of my road miles, but is boring as sin to drive and also gets pinched by my other half, so the Z4 needs to remain usable, somewhat comfortable and most importantly enjoyable on the road.

However, I love driving on track and whilst I have a track car, I enjoy driving all my cars at the track and like to learn to drive things at and beyond the limits.

So I would like to develop it to excel on road and be competent on track… I must not ruin it!! 😅
 
Gwest44 said:
Good choice bought mine last month - it's my 17th Zed and I started with a Z4MC. As you said the looks are compelling and for me the 3.0si offers enough in the way of performance.

Assume you've found the link that provides the production details for all the 3 0si's that were manufactured?

Look forward to seeing your YouTube updates.
20231218_123351.jpg
Click to expand...

Wow, 17 is amazing!! Far more impressive than all the MX5s I’ve owned!! :oops:

I’ve followed a couple of link that might be the one you mean… one provides the full spec of the car as purchased and another the number sold in each spec by country. 👍

Here’s the first video I uploaded about the Z4:
[youtube]kYNzjZZRbPk[/youtube]
 
LawrenceW said:
Welcome to the forum Matt, I enjoyed your You Tube post, full of real world dilemma’s.

Loving the stratus grey, when I started to get serious in my search for a Z4 that was my preferred colour.

Look forward to seeing your updates.
Click to expand...

Thank you Lawrence, will do my best to keep both YouTube and this thread updated 👍
 
Welcome Matt,

Watched your You Tube video and subscribed before reading your post on here . Looking forward to see the project updates :thumbsup:
 
Matt Scarbro said:
Gwest44 said:
Good choice bought mine last month - it's my 17th Zed and I started with a Z4MC. As you said the looks are compelling and for me the 3.0si offers enough in the way of performance.

Assume you've found the link that provides the production details for all the 3 0si's that were manufactured?

Look forward to seeing your YouTube updates.
20231218_123351.jpg
Click to expand...

Wow, 17 is amazing!! Far more impressive than all the MX5s I’ve owned!! :oops:

I’ve followed a couple of link that might be the one you mean… one provides the full spec of the car as purchased and another the number sold in each spec by country. 👍

Here’s the first video I uploaded about the Z4:
https://youtu.be/kYNzjZZRbPk?si=LLdAycxMKNbFlVn8
Click to expand...
Sounds like you've found it - but just in case:

http://perso.numericable.fr/tonyz4c/

Watched the video and subscribed - totally agree with your comments re the E89 and the front profile of the E86 :thumbsup:
 
Matt Scarbro said:
R17SKO said:
Welcome! The car looks lovely!
What plans do you have?
Click to expand...

Thank you!

I have a daily driver that absorbs the majority of my road miles, but is boring as sin to drive and also gets pinched by my other half, so the Z4 needs to remain usable, somewhat comfortable and most importantly enjoyable on the road.

However, I love driving on track and whilst I have a track car, I enjoy driving all my cars at the track and like to learn to drive things at and beyond the limits.

So I would like to develop it to excel on road and be competent on track… I must not ruin it!! 😅
Click to expand...

Sounds very similar to my situation and plans! I’ve owned a lot of cars over the years, some a lot newer and expensive but the Z beats the lot for emotion and smiles per mile!!
 
1536Z4 said:
Welcome Matt,

Watched your You Tube video and subscribed before reading your post on here . Looking forward to see the project updates :thumbsup:
Click to expand...

Superb, thank you, do you have a project thread for yours? Would be very intrigued to have a read!
 
Gwest44 said:
Matt Scarbro said:
Gwest44 said:
Good choice bought mine last month - it's my 17th Zed and I started with a Z4MC. As you said the looks are compelling and for me the 3.0si offers enough in the way of performance.

Assume you've found the link that provides the production details for all the 3 0si's that were manufactured?

Look forward to seeing your YouTube updates.
20231218_123351.jpg
Click to expand...

Wow, 17 is amazing!! Far more impressive than all the MX5s I’ve owned!! :oops:

I’ve followed a couple of link that might be the one you mean… one provides the full spec of the car as purchased and another the number sold in each spec by country. 👍

Here’s the first video I uploaded about the Z4:
https://youtu.be/kYNzjZZRbPk?si=LLdAycxMKNbFlVn8
Click to expand...
Sounds like you've found it - but just in case:

http://perso.numericable.fr/tonyz4c/

Watched the video and subscribed - totally agree with your comments re the E89 and the front profile of the E86 :thumbsup:
Click to expand...

Thank you Sir, looks like 10 of the same spec, not that it really matter once you get down to interior specs. Seems a slightly less common colour though which is nice, albeit they’re all relatively rare cars nowadays, part of the appeal! 😊
 
R17SKO said:
Matt Scarbro said:
R17SKO said:
Welcome! The car looks lovely!
What plans do you have?
Click to expand...

Thank you!

I have a daily driver that absorbs the majority of my road miles, but is boring as sin to drive and also gets pinched by my other half, so the Z4 needs to remain usable, somewhat comfortable and most importantly enjoyable on the road.

However, I love driving on track and whilst I have a track car, I enjoy driving all my cars at the track and like to learn to drive things at and beyond the limits.

So I would like to develop it to excel on road and be competent on track… I must not ruin it!! 😅
Click to expand...

Sounds very similar to my situation and plans! I’ve owned a lot of cars over the years, some a lot newer and expensive but the Z beats the lot for emotion and smiles per mile!!
Click to expand...

Much the same boat here with previous cars, but I got to the point where there was no longer a justification for the level of cost. Even since then cars have gotten more expensive, no idea how anyone justifies it now outside of EVs and hybrids via salary sacrifice…

Oh well, thankfully it leaves plenty of older and very enjoyable cars for us!!

Do you have a project thread for yours?
 
Matt Scarbro said:
Superb, thank you, do you have a project thread for yours? Would be very intrigued to have a read!
Click to expand...

I do :) https://z4-forum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=143997
 
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! :thumbsup:
 
Barty said:
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! :thumbsup:
Click to expand...

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!! 😍
 
1536Z4 said:
Matt Scarbro said:
Superb, thank you, do you have a project thread for yours? Would be very intrigued to have a read!
Click to expand...

I do :) https://z4-forum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=143997
Click to expand...

8 pages… oh yes… 😬

Look forward to reading!! (My bank account braces itself!)
 
Matt Scarbro said:
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!!
Click to expand...

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

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.
 
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