The new arrival

UK forum for general and technical discussion about the Z3 roadster
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dennisedlin
Joined: Sat 24 Oct, 2009 06:39
Posts: 140

  Z3 roadster 2.2i
Location: Nottingham

The new arrival

Post by dennisedlin »

I have posted on the forum since 2009 when we acquired our 1999 2.8 Auto. Along with many of you time and money and effort was lavished upon her. We had a lot of good times, one rather bad time when the water pump let go but on the whole our 6 years and 12,000 miles was great.
In 2015 we decided to let her go and immediately regretted it. There were valid reasons to do so, but my wife, who's daily driver she was missed her.
These are a few of the pictures fro the ad when we sold her with just 72,000 miles from new.

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I'm sure the new owner is still enjoying the way she drives.

The good news is we have a new arrival. We had to search hard for the spec we wanted. My wife didn't want a 3 litre so a search began for a 2.8 or a 2.2. It had to be a 6 cylinder car for me, but we needed an automatic with power hood and as will become apparent, air conditioning. That combination is very rare when the 3 litre is ruled out. However we have found a 93000 mile 2.2 sport.

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Titanium Silver, Black roof and a (Blue) Hard Top for the summer. Yes the summer. We picked up the car in the UK and drove her all the way to Southern Spain. Over 1500 miles and she didn't miss a beat. Cruising at 70mph she delivered almost 38 to the gallon!! The 2.8 could never manage that.
She is mechanically very good but lots to do and hopefully I can update as and when the updates happen.
Z3 2.2 Sport, everyone loves a Z3

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Gazza
Joined: Tue 04 Oct, 2005 20:58
Posts: 9521

  M roadster S54
Location: Romford Essex

Re: The new arrival

Post by Gazza »

Looks to be a nice car, I must ask, why not a 3.0 ?
Gazza

"Understeer is when you hit the wall with the front of the car, oversteer is when you hit the wall with the rear of the car. Horsepower is how fast you hit the wall and torque is how far you take the wall with you"

Z3 S54 M roadster Image, BMW Z1, BMW M3 CSL, Z4M Coupe
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dennisedlin
Joined: Sat 24 Oct, 2009 06:39
Posts: 140

  Z3 roadster 2.2i
Location: Nottingham

Re: The new arrival

Post by dennisedlin »

My wife has a very heavy right foot :shock:
Z3 2.2 Sport, everyone loves a Z3

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lightning
Joined: Tue 27 Nov, 2007 08:15
Posts: 818

  Z3 roadster 3.0i
Location: Stockport

Re: The new arrival

Post by lightning »

There's not that much difference between the 2.8 and the 3.0.
The 3.0 pulls better through the gears but in real terms both are very fast if pushed.

My 3.0 will approach 40mpg if driven carefully....the same as my wife's 2012 Polo 1.2 did.
I don't know how BMW do it. The 2.8 always managed over 30mpg.
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dennisedlin
Joined: Sat 24 Oct, 2009 06:39
Posts: 140

  Z3 roadster 2.2i
Location: Nottingham

Re: The new arrival

Post by dennisedlin »

I'm surprised at the economy of these 6 pot engines. It's not the fuel consumption that bothers me though......when I say heavy right foot, I mean she floors it far too often. Luckily the Z is far more forgiving than seems possible so no real trouble in the 2.8. Give her an extra 50 bhp and she might not be so lucky :)

We have lots of small cosmetic issues with this one but nothing major. A new soft top will be on the agenda as the original seems quite worn around the window seam. Perhaps a blue one this time. Anyone fitted a blue top on the silver car?
Z3 2.2 Sport, everyone loves a Z3

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Gazza
Joined: Tue 04 Oct, 2005 20:58
Posts: 9521

  M roadster S54
Location: Romford Essex

Re: The new arrival

Post by Gazza »

Red on Silver looks stunning 8-) 8-) 8-)
Gazza

"Understeer is when you hit the wall with the front of the car, oversteer is when you hit the wall with the rear of the car. Horsepower is how fast you hit the wall and torque is how far you take the wall with you"

Z3 S54 M roadster Image, BMW Z1, BMW M3 CSL, Z4M Coupe
ImageImage
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dennisedlin
Joined: Sat 24 Oct, 2009 06:39
Posts: 140

  Z3 roadster 2.2i
Location: Nottingham

Re: The new arrival

Post by dennisedlin »

Gazza wrote:Red on Silver looks stunning 8-) 8-) 8-)
It does, we picked red for our first Z after we saw another in Croatia. We loved the look and it worked with the extended red interior.
This latest car has an all black extended leather interior, so we thought maybe blue for the new soft top this time. Seen the combo on an M and also on some blue Z3's.
Z3 2.2 Sport, everyone loves a Z3

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lightning
Joined: Tue 27 Nov, 2007 08:15
Posts: 818

  Z3 roadster 3.0i
Location: Stockport

Re: The new arrival

Post by lightning »

The red soft top looks superb on that silver Z.

I never thought the 3.0 had as much as 50bhp over the 2.8.
Looking at it, the 3.0 is 231bhp and the 2.8 is 193bhp. So 38bhp...l guess near enough.
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Brian H
Joined: Tue 16 Dec, 2008 19:55
Posts: 2505

  Z3 roadster 3.0i

Re: The new arrival

Post by Brian H »

Looks like a great replacement, enjoy :drive
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dennisedlin
Joined: Sat 24 Oct, 2009 06:39
Posts: 140

  Z3 roadster 2.2i
Location: Nottingham

Re: The new arrival

Post by dennisedlin »

Just ordered the parts to retrofit cruise control; here in Spain the motorways are quiet and cruise is very useful. I've bought a new interface and a used column stalk. Double checked the part numbers and all in for £80 so not bad.
New brakes going on this week as the car had been sat for 3 months in the UK and the fronts especially have suffered. I'll do a clean up and check everything on each corner as I go.
Love working on these cars.
Z3 2.2 Sport, everyone loves a Z3

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lightning
Joined: Tue 27 Nov, 2007 08:15
Posts: 818

  Z3 roadster 3.0i
Location: Stockport

Re: The new arrival

Post by lightning »

I fitted cruise control to my 3.0
It's a great feature, l use it every time l go on the motorway.
Rafolian
Joined: Wed 27 Feb, 2013 08:41
Posts: 547

  Z3 roadster 2.8

Re: The new arrival

Post by Rafolian »

Arboleas, a few hours south of me near Denia/Javea! Quite a few Z3's up round this area, what about down your way?
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dennisedlin
Joined: Sat 24 Oct, 2009 06:39
Posts: 140

  Z3 roadster 2.2i
Location: Nottingham

Re: The new arrival

Post by dennisedlin »

On the trip down we saw one on the M25 near Reigate, very friendly, and another on the AP7 between Barcelona and Valencia. That was Dakar Yellow.
There is only one around here that I know about. A LHD 1.9 in black. It's currently for sale but is so rough I haven't asked the price. Funny thing is in Spain that most cars for sale have no price on them. I think the price varies according to the customer :!:
Z3 2.2 Sport, everyone loves a Z3

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dennisedlin
Joined: Sat 24 Oct, 2009 06:39
Posts: 140

  Z3 roadster 2.2i
Location: Nottingham

Re: The new arrival

Post by dennisedlin »

Quick update;
The new arrival is settled into her new home (I think all Z's are she), pictured here under the obligatory car port to protect from the blazing Sun. Alongside is the daily driver; Mazda CX3 Auto Sport Nav. Lovely little crossover and much cheaper here in Spain than in the UK. I saved about 6K on the UK list.

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Still waiting for some of the upgrade parts to come, but so far have fitted Brembo Brakes and given her a clean and tidied up the spare wheel. The rest of the parts should arrive within the next 2 weeks and I will start the list....
Seat Bushes
Cruise Control
Heated Rear Window switch and Loom (missing from the Hard Top kit I bought
Complete refurbishment of the seats
Roof refurbishment
Addition of a USB charging device to complement the 12V.
Replacement of the Radiator Fan shroud...it's cracked

Currently the car has a Topaz Blue hard Top which will come off in a couple of weeks. What do you think of the combo?

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I think the new soft top will match it when we renew it in the spring. Had Red and am still tempted to go Red again but the blue......
Z3 2.2 Sport, everyone loves a Z3

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bentley-boy
Joined: Mon 28 Oct, 2013 19:35
Posts: 261

  blank

Re: The new arrival

Post by bentley-boy »

Deep red hood is the safe option but I think blue is a refreshing change and works well with silver :)
Rafolian
Joined: Wed 27 Feb, 2013 08:41
Posts: 547

  Z3 roadster 2.8

Re: The new arrival

Post by Rafolian »

Very rare reg number!
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