zroadster.net

Timpsons told me recently that they don't/can't cut keys for BMWs.

We're going straight to Newby Hall from Harrogate (Steel Grey "Facelift" 2.8).

See you all there.

Talking of stupidity, we paid £156.75 + p&p for one on e-bay a year ago, just after buying our Zed. We were desperate at the time!!

It sounds like both our Zeds were subject to an earlier bodge job! If you can get rid of the existing Araldite and wood screw, you may be able to effect a sound repair. Worth a try, anyway, once the weather warms up! It might also be worth investing in a few card/door frame plastic clips, given how ...

My door handle was already detached from the card at the top when I bought the car, so I removed the card (easily done, as most of the plastic clips holding the card to the door frame were already broken)......and glued the handle back to the card from the inside using a liberal dose of carefully ap...

I paid £53.00 GBP for a pair of Mintex front discs/pads and £67.00 GBP for the rears, with free delivery.

I agree with jayson f's comments. I have Brembo discs on the front of my E60 (purchased from German and Swedish) and have absolutely no complaints. They seem just as effective as the BMW OEM discs they replaced. I have new Mintex discs and pads all round on the 2.8 Z3, at 2/3rds the cost of Pagid, e...

Thanks,Jonttt, and everyone else. It sounds as though I should try the clay bar. On the silver E60 I use the AG SRP probably once a year, topped-off with AG HD Wax every 4-6 months when it no longer beads, but last time I waxed it I could see the roof (particularly) was slightly discoloured under th...

Won't AG Resin Polish, with its micro abrasives, achieve the same results as a clay bar? I recently polished my "clean" (I thought) Titanium Silver E60 and the amount of dirt that came off onto the microfibre cloth surprised me. The paint surface was mirror-smooth afterwards-I can't imagin...

Good question-all depends on the definition of petrolhead, I suppose. I certainly wasn't intending to disparage MX-5 owners, having now owned a late MK1 for over 6 years and enjoyed over 40,000 miles in it, during which it has never missd a beat! As I've stated, before, IMO it's a true low cost spor...

Interesting comment, motco-we couldn't bring ourselves to join the MX-5 Owners' Club either, even though they are a very active bunch and appear just as enthusiastic as us.

I'm not sure too many of them would qualify as petrolheads, however!

The gear change on my 2.8 is definitely smoother if I press the pedal almost to the floor. The Getrag gearbox on the 4-cylinders and 2.0/2.2 sixes is supposedly smoother than with the stronger ZF boxes fitted to the 2.8/3.0 and Z3M sixes. Although the change on my 2.8 is smooth, it is a "delibe...

An excellent summary of the two, Mouldy-and that 2.8 six engine was one of the main reasons for me buying the Z3 too! In 14 years/70,000 miles the MX-5 hasn't had a spanner near the suspension, other than full 4-wheel alignment on two occasions. To refresh the Z3, (slightly fewer miles than the Mazd...

IMO the Z3 and MX-5 are different animals. We've had my wife's '97 1.8iS MX-5 for over 6 years/40,000 miles and it handles like a go-cart. With double wishbone suspension on all four corners it is a true sports car, and designed as such from the ground up. On the other hand, "my" facelift ...

It was certainly an "extra" cost option on pre-facelift models, according to Walker's book.

Going back to Z3cade's earlier post about his M52TU B28 engine with double VANOS, I have the same engine in my July '00 Zed. The main reason for going from single to double VANOS during the '99 facelift was that although power and torque were the same, at 193 BHP and 280 Nm, maximum torque was produ...

As you say, the M52 2.8 certainly was restricted-and when it was dropped and replaced by the more modern M54 engine, the 2.5 version gave 192 BHP for the same tax/insurance reasons, but obviously it was never fitted to the Z3, because it fell between the 2.2 and the 3.0 in terms of output.

According to Mick Walker's excellent book "BMW Z Series The Complete Story"- "Proclaimed by many, including the author, as the best of the Z3 series, the 2.8 arrived in the UK during August 1997, just in time for the new "R" registration prefix. It had gone on sale in the re...

I believe the M52 2.8 engine was restricted to 193 BHP in order to keep it in a lower tax or insurance group in Germany (can't remember which now).

"jason f"-thanks for the reminder about C3 BMW Specialist-I used them years ago (in my E30 M3 days) and had completely forgotten about them.

I must give them a try again.

Does anyone know when/what model year BMW switched from using the old type water pump with the plastic impellor? In other words, is my July 2000 2.8 Zed at risk? I had one fail a few years ago on a 1998 E 39 520i I owned at the time, and although the temperature guage went off scale, nothing else un...

Excellent! Welcome to THE Club-Which region are you in?

.......and with the Car Club there are lots of useful discounts to be had, including 10% on genuine parts at most main dealers, 15% at Euro Car Parts, etc, etc. If you can get hold of a copy of the excellent "Straight Six" Club magazine, all the discounts and offers are listed at the back,...

The BMW Drivers Club was absorbed into the BMW Car Club (Great Britain) in ~March 2004, following the bereavement of Graham Arnold, who ran the former organisation. Some of you may remember the excellent Drivers Club Show/Exhibition, held every October in the Donington Exhibition Halls, with lots of...

June 11th '43-'Looks like I've been topped by both "mwpe" and "walter05" Anyway, we're all still "nobbut lads", as they say in this part of the world!

June 1943-Top that!

An excellent, well organised day-good conversations with lots of like-minded owners. Having seen the high level of under-bonnet detailing, though, I decided to keep my (metallic Steel Grey 2.8) Zed bonnet firmly closed until another year!

Thank you Nick and Andy.

Thank you, Titan-see you there.

Hi Everyone, Just joined zroadster.net; got our 2 CITP tickets and bought our 2.8 2000 "Facelift" Zed this week (replacing much missed 1987 E30 M3 and stablemate for 1997 MX-5 1.8iS and '54 525i). Saw many of you at last year's Newby anf Harewood meets, but will see you there on 22nd, as w...