New owner

[jsebright]

Hi All.

Recently bought a Z3 and joined the forum. Been after something like it for a few years but only talked about it. Recently saw the Z on a local forecourt, wife said I could buy it (expecting me to dither and not bother), so I drove it and decided I wanted it. 1997 1.9 model in bright red (I think I saw Hellrot on a sticker under the bonnet). Very pleased so far as it's a great looking fun car for not too much cash.
It came with an MOT, but checkout by friendly local garage recommended new rear brake pipes which I've had done, and that the exhaust needs replacing soon (not sure whether to go for something cheap such as this, or a stainless steel affair).
With thanks to this forum I've managed to get my remote fob working again (was supplied but did nothing), and also put in some new speakers.
Have bought some seat bushes, but haven't fitted them yet (I'm fairly tall so moving the seat all the way back stops the rocking!).

Hope to get along to some meetings if there are any in the SW (I'm just south of Bristol), or something like Silverstone Classic.

Jon.

PS: Hi Tim Cullis - hope you're well!

[chrisp_1]

Hello - welcome to the forum.

I do love Hellrot red, great colour!

Regarding the exhaust then stainless is the way forward if you plan to keep the car - generally it doesn't cost much more to have one specifically made than all the replacement parts.

[Del]

Hi and welcome. I’m also in North Somerset.

By coincidence I’ve just arranged for a new stainless steel exhaust (including cat) to be fitted on my 1998 1.9 this weekend by Longlife.

My exhaust has been a little suspect for a while with a rusty section between the middle and tail silencers and a couple of rusty looking joints/seams. Added to that, about a week ago the cat started rattling like a bag of marbles in a tin can as the internal parts started to detach from the casing – particularly bad on overrun.

Longlife were pretty good and let me go under the ramp to verify that the slightest nudge to the cat made it rattle.

[jsebright]

Ah, been considering at longlife as they have a place in Bath and Taunton. Everywhere else seems a fairly long way away (and mostly motorway miles). They don't seem to advertise their prices like the other dealers do (making me think they're a bit more expensive) - think I've found all those that trade on ebay now.
Hopefully the cat's allright on mine - but mid and back box need replacing.
I'm quite taken with stainless for looks / longevity. Would like the performance boost, but don't want lots of noise - I find it too tiring. (Have done some trips to Le Mans with a mate who has a Cobra with twin sidepipes and have got over the noise novelty). There does seem to be a reasonable price difference if the system I identified on ebay (linked above) is appropriate.

Would be keen to know how you get on with Longlife Del (and which branch you used).

[Sp1key]

Welcome to the forum from another Somerset Zed owner (Bath) and mine is a 1.9 also!!

Perhaps we need to meet up once you have the exhaust sorted - I'm also interested in the end result of the long life job as mine is sounding just a little bit "sporty" at the moment lol

Regards

Mike

[Del]

There are a few Z3 owners on this forum in the Bristol and surrounding areas and a mini meet would be good to compare notes and exchange experiences etc.

I did a fair bit of research for 1.9 (M44 engine) exhausts and managed to negotiate a Longlife price which was a bit less than Kwik Fit.

If my cat had been fine, I would have gone for saving some cash by fitting my own rear section. Some sample prices for the rear part are (brackets extra):-

BMW £500+
GSF £258
Europarts £235 (premium quality)

Fairly expensive business these exhausts

[jsebright]

Yes, a mini meet would be good. Not sure what type of location to suggest (other than avoiding supermarket car parks!).
Still not sure what to do about the exhaust. Local garage quoted £180+vat for supply and fit of twin box exhaust. He was a little surprised at the cost. Must say I'm tempted by the cheap one I've linked to above - £130 + fitting charge makes it half the price of stainless - don't want to throw too much money at the car so soon after buying it when I don't know what other costs might be just around the corner.

[Brian H]

Hi jsebright,

Still not sure what to do about the exhaust. Local garage quoted £180+vat for supply and fit of twin box exhaust. He was a little surprised at the cost. Must say I'm tempted by the cheap one I've linked to above - £130 + fitting charge makes it half the price of stainless - don't want to throw too much money at the car so soon after buying it when I don't know what other costs might be just around the corner.

Be careful when you buy a pattern exhaust part, the OEM BMW 1.9 M44 rear section exhaust has a small flat spot manufactured in to the middle of the exhaust section that allows clearance underneath the rear beam, many pattern part exhausts do not have this. Without the small flat spot you can get a terrible knocking noise as the exhaust hits the rear beam. I changed the rear section on my 1.9 with one bought from euro car parts as the original one was looking rusty and past its best, the new part lasted 14 months, luckily I still had the old one lying around so I put it back on.

Brian

P.S. Welcome to the forum

[Robert T]

I changed the rear section on my 1.9 with one bought from euro car parts as the original one was looking rusty and past its best, the new part lasted 14 months...

Whilst the BMW parts may be expensive, the original rear section of my exhaust lasted 12 years, which is why I forked out and put BMW on again. I also liked the sound, as mine is a cruiser and SS can sound a bit harsh. I am still on the original front section after 13 amd a half years!

Cheers R.

[Del]

As you can see jsebright you are guaranteed a good range of views. On one hand those who are happy to buy after-market items and on the other those who are loyal to BMW parts.

BMW provide excellent quality parts (except seat bushes and plastic coolant circulation items) but in my case paying out around £1000 plus fitting labour plus new lambda sensors, just didn’t make economic sense.

I’m happy to risk a harsh sounding SS one (as used by Alpina) for a lot less money and a lifetime, transferable guarantee.

[jsebright]

Yes, some interesting views. Thanks to all who have contributed so far.
I'm not prepared to spend £1000 on an exhaust = just doesn't make economic sense compared with the cost of the car etc.
Will find out about the small flat spot on the cheapy I've found - presumably this could be added at fitting stage with careful use of an appropriate tool ?
Will put up with the blowing for a little while longer...

Jon.

[Sp1key]

Jon

Your logic appears sound to me, when mine nees doing there is no way I'm spending any more than £300 ish t replace it and for that I will be looking for a stainless jobby!

I suppose it's different if you have 4 -10k in your car, but when the car value is £2k ish (mine) it just doesn't make any sense whatsoever.

Very interested in how this turns out for you, sounds like a "special" tool is required - like a good hit with a ball end hammer to customise the cheaper exhaust lol

Good luck

[geminimustang]

i've just purchased a nearly new/used Cobra s/s exhaust from ebay for £110.The seller purchased it for £294,receipt provided,now selling for £355,put it on,thought it was loud and replaced it with his old one.He'd covered approx 200 miles with the Cobra.I'm with sp1key,del & jesbright,£300-£400 for an exhaust is a lot.The Cobra may be loud but with s/s,job done,it'll last a long time.Best of luck.

[Del]

I've enjoyed reading the few postings done by earthwormjim who is also Somerset based, here's one he did on an ebay exhaust he fitted http://www.zroadster.net/forum/viewtopi ... +9+exhaust

[Brian H]

I've enjoyed reading the few postings done by earthwormjim who is also Somerset based, here's one he did on an ebay exhaust he fitted http://www.zroadster.net/forum/viewtopi ... +9+exhaust

The thread that Del has found shows the flat spot I was talking about and explains the troubles of not having it, my euro car parts aftermarket exhaust only lasted 14 months due to me making a flat spot in the exhaust to suit, That was the area that failed!

I am am not implying that people should go out and buy OEM BMW parts, just buyer beware. If I still had the 1.9 I would have had a custom fitted S/S exhaust, this way the fitter would have taken into consideration the rear beam. In my experience, buy cheap,buy twice

[jsebright]

i've just purchased a nearly new/used Cobra s/s exhaust from ebay for £110.The seller purchased it for £294,receipt provided,put it on,thought it was loud and replaced it with his old one.He'd covered approx 200 miles with the Cobra.I'm with sp1key,del & jesbright,£300-£400 for an exhaust is a lot.The Cobra may be loud but with s/s,job done,it'll last a long time.Best of luck.

I'd be very happy with that sort of deal, and be prepared to put up with a bit more noise for a few quid remaining in my wallet.
If I can't get a similar deal then a cheap (£95 is the cheapest I've found so far) aftermarket exhaust with careful fitting will get my vote.
Thanks for the link to the earthwormjim post.

Jon.

[XVar]

*Mandatory Hellrot is the best colour post*

[Sp1key]

Brian- sound advice me think

[jsebright]

*Mandatory Hellrot is the best colour post*

Like!

[Del]

Had the Longlife exhaust & cat fitted by Interpro Automotive in Thornbury, Bristol who have the Bristol franchise. They also did my MOT at the same time for £33 to undercut the nearby Kwikfit.

As well as working on “normal” cars this place seems to specialise on tuning and restoration with several classic and rally type cars scattered around. My youngest son is an apprentice engineer in the local aero industry and has done some casual work at a local classic car restoration garage and he was very impressed with the perfect looking welding.

They do a quiet, mid-range and full sport “noise option” and I went for the quiet. This is still sportier than the one removed but it is by no means a daft boy racer one. It is a deeper hum at tick-over and a smooth, sportier noise under acceleration. My son loves it. I chose an oval tail pipe to mirror the original – the replacement being very slightly larger.

Fitted cost was around £180 Cat and £320 rear section. A lot of money and not something I would have wanted to spend if the original had been working perfectly OK. However, was less that the Kwikfit quote and obviously less than BMW parts.

[jsebright]

Very encouraging. Hope that you gave it a decent test drive to make sure it was all settled in and you felt nice and satisfied knowing that you won't have any exhaust problems for many years (fingers crossed!).
I managed to solve an annoying problem at the weekend with mine - it had been rattling horribly going over bumps, and I was worried there was something expensive amiss with the rear suspension. I had also wanted to adjust the handbrake as it was very slack. Quick search of the forum found this post and as luck would have it that solved the rattle as well. Had a lovely test drive with the car relatively quiet and feeling good.
Still got to sort out the exhaust sometime...