My Car Journal: 2000 M Coupe

[Nijapo]

I've been on this forum for several years now and have benefited greatly from the wealth of knowledge here. So, I've decided to add something to the community by documenting the maintenance and evolution of my 2000 M Coupe.

I previously owned a 2001 Z3 3.0 Coupe that was unfortunately lost during an icy Christmas Eve night. After a few tumultuous years in an Audi Allroad 4.2, I decided that life is too short to live with a somewhat reliable wagon with a persnickety V8, a multitude of issues, and a seemingly endless onslaught of comments such as "How's the family like that wagon?" or "Wife sent you out for groceries, too?" (I'm single in my late twenties); I can still hear the snickering now.

I had brief interest in a W210 AMG E55, and test drove a few, but decided I'd be happier back in a shoe.

After a relatively short search, I located a 2000 M Coupe in Titanium Silver over Dark Gray and Black Nappa. The car had higher mileage than I had initially wanted (132,000 at time of purchase), and was listed at a high price, but it was well-maintained by a very nice older couple; it was actually the wife's car and she said she had always owned small sports cars. Really cool woman.

Knowing what I knew from my previous Z3 ownership, I visually inspected all the known problem areas and discovered the rear subframe looked beautiful despite its age and mileage. I made an offer, and we agreed on a price pending a PPI which I had performed at Curry's in Ashburn. The PPI revealed a few typical maintenance items such as a leaky shaft seal and power steering hose, but nothing of real consequence.

A week later I was the proud new owner. And so, I began to tear down the car to see what's what. The previous owners had provided all maintenance records, and had admitted the car had some aftermarket parts. To this day, I'm still discovering new things.

Vehicle Summary:

2000 BMW Z3 M Coupe in Titanium Silver Metallic over Dark Gray and Black Nappa leather
S52 3.2l I-6 w/ 5-speed manual transmission
Rarity: 1 of 59
VIN: WBSCM9340YLC61493

M Coupe Buyers Guide Listing: http://www.mcoupebuyersguide.com/listing?ListingID=3690

[EBlue540]

Welcome! I'm about 8 months ahead of you with an identical looking S52 M Coupe - my first after years of lustful ownership denial. Over those months, my Coupe has been slowly benefitting from various small repairs, replacements and upgrades. Like they say elsewhere on this forum, these cars are an utter treat to own, drive and just look at. Best of luck, and I'll follow your progress with interest.

[dudabubba]

Hey.
Welcome to your dream come true. Mine did too recently as I just brought down a blue 1999 M Coupe from Connecticut. Saw your MD tags. I live in Silver Spring. I've seen a couple other locals post in the forums. Hopefully we can all see each other on the street one day.

[Terry F.]

Really nice, thanks for the pictures. It looks like you have fun roads, too!

Terry

[MrDangles]

Congrats. Another local coupe.

[Nijapo]

Thanks guys! I actually used to live in Silver Spring; we should organize a Cars & Coffee meetup at the event in Great Falls or Hunt Valley.

Terry - Yes! Maryland has some great winding country roads.

[19Spec3]

Thanks guys! I actually used to live in Silver Spring; we should organize a Cars & Coffee meetup at the event in Great Falls or Hunt Valley.

Agreement! I'm in!

[Nijapo]

My goal for this car is to create (in my mind) the ideal street version of the Z3 M Coupe. My initial process will entail reviving the car using OEM parts and then improve on what I can while still maintaining it as a street car that may see some track use down the road. First things first, I needed to figure out what aftermarket parts were installed on the car by the previous owners.



I discovered that the car was equipped with a Jim Conforti Intake, Shark Injector, Bilstein Shocks on what appear to be OEM springs, and slotted rotors (Powerslot?) with some noisy, dusty, and aggressive pads.





These are recent images, but the original ITG foam filter was destroyed, dirty, and separating from its base. I've not been a fan of oiled air filters, so I opted for a AFE Dry Filter. Maintenance has included oil change packages from ECS Tuning that used OEM BMW filters and 5w30 Castrol synthetic oil and NGK spark plugs. Thankfully the S52 oil pan is large enough to accommodate more oil, and this usually remedies noisy lifters that are common with the S52, but I opted to also replace the lower timing chain tensioner.

I had an issue with the clutch not engaging one day and had the Brake Master Cylinder and Clutch Slave Cylinder replaced by Road and Track Motorsports in Silver Spring, MD. The owner and operator, Sunny, is a car guy, big into the older Inline-5 turbocharged Audis, and truly cares about providing quality service. He was able to perform the work in 24 hours and charged much less than what I expected.

[BimmerBreaker]

Looking forward to seeing some pics with the amber tails installed... (still on the hunt to get some for myself)

[Nijapo]

Looking forward to seeing some pics with the amber tails installed... (still on the hunt to get some for myself)

Did that eBay vendor never come through?

[BimmerBreaker]

Did that eBay vendor never come through?

They told me they did not have a passengar side after I called them. The passengar euro amber tail is now NLA, so now I'm stuck with a driver's side I can't find a matching opposite for. It's a nice looking paperweight though.

[Nijapo]

Sorry to hear man; I'll keep a look out for you.

[Nijapo]

I've always liked the contrast that amber lenses provide to dark and light cars alike. My coupe was originally fitted with clear lenses all around (as most do), so I set out to acquire all the necessary parts to make the transition. I was able to somewhat easily source the sidemarkers, the front corner lenses from a fellow forum member, and lastly, the early amber tail lights that were in excellent condition from an eBay vendor. I ordered new tail light gaskets from ECS Tuning and went to town.

During a four-day process of performing a lot of maintenance, I tackled the headlights. The sidemarkers and tail lights had been installed a few months prior; for the headlights I wanted to fully restore them, as well as replace the clear turn signal lenses with the ambers.



I used a Meguiar's Headlight Restoration kit that came with drill-bit attachments to really polish the headlight lenses. I then installed 'Smoke' Lamin-X to protect the restored lenses. To separate the headlight, I put the headlights one at a time into the oven at about 350 degrees for 15-20 mins. They both came apart easily and re-assembly was fairly easy as well. Unfortunately, I broke a few tabs but was able to JB Weld them well enough.





I really like the new look for the rear.

[Nijapo]

While I was working on the car in August, I discovered that the front strut mounts have not only been swapped (right to left, left to right), but they've also been rotated.



Can anyone tell me the purpose of this specific position? I understand that the swapped strut mounts increase negative camber, and have read that rotating them can provide provide an increase in positive/negative caster and camber depending on orientation.

In August, I performed a lot of work to the car which I'll cover in a series of posts. I started with cleaning the underbody of surface rust, which is when I decided to retrofit the extended underbody cladding from S54 models. The surface rust on the underbody irked me and I'd like to protect the underbody as I plan to drive the car this winter; the retrofit will provide the additional protection I wanted, and as an added benefit, it will clean up the underbody aerodynamics a bit.







Here's a view of the full underbody cladding:



After inspecting the part and inspecting the underbody, I discovered that the mounting points use factory openings, the problem was I didn't have the installation hardware.



I hopped over to Pep Boys to try out a few different fasteners.



Fortunately, two of these packs worked; I believe they were generic Ford fasteners. Whatever they were, they did their job as the underbody was mounted and has remained secure.



While underneath the car, I discovered the front undertray had done its job well, too...



Decided it was a good time to order an aluminum undertray from Motion Motorsports.



Planning to paint the undertray to protect the finish and install during the next weekend-long maintenance service that may include the installation of the HID retrofit using Sky's brackets.

[robb1887]

Planning to paint the undertray to protect the finish and install during the next weekend-long maintenance service that may include the installation of the HID retrofit using Sky's brackets.

Pro tip: The frame supports for the MM undertray make an excellent mounting location for you ballasts/relays for the HID retrofit

[Nijapo]

Pro tip: The frame supports for the MM undertray make an excellent mounting location for you ballasts/relays for the HID retrofit

Yea, I think I saw that in one of your posts on the retrofit. Great location for it, I'm definitely going to do that. Thanks!

[robb1887]

Yup, pg 6 of my build thread:

[Nijapo]

Yep, that's it. Great thread btw.

[Eurospec]

The ambers are looking real sharp!

What exhaust is that? Must sound amazing paired with the intake.

[Nijapo]

The ambers are looking real sharp!

What exhaust is that? Must sound amazing paired with the intake.

Thanks! It's a Stromung exhaust that I picked up from a fellow forum member. The exhaust was used and had its fair share of road grime. As a small winter project I decided to grind it down to bare metal using wire brush drill attachments and then coat it with VHT black header paint to protect the finish. Kept the backs of the mufflers stainless steel and polished that area along with the tips.



Out with the old.



In with the new.





Here's how it sounds:

[robb1887]

Exhaust sounds great!

Hawks HP+ pads?! Sound like Ed did at Schuh, like a school bus was about to rear end me! Ha.

[Nijapo]

They might be. The previous owner had a few aftermarket parts added (outlined in the second update). The car has slotted rotors and some sort of noisy, dusty pads. I don't drive much during the week, but this past weekend I went for a romp and noticed the pads perform much better when heated up. This leads me to suspect they may be track pads; the level of dust my wheels accumulate over a week is a lot.

[robb1887]

Sounds like HP+ pads... and yes they require some heat, but then you can stop on half a dime from what I've heard. I've never wanted to deal with the noise/dust to get the added bite over my Axxiss pads

[Nijapo]

Yea, these very well could be HP+. I've heard good things about Axxis pads from a lot of folks.

I'm in the process of acquiring all the necessary parts to completely redo my braking system. Bought a rebuilt set of rear calipers that have been powdercoated, and have a front set I'm going to rebuild. I'm probably going with Centric high carbon rotors f/r mated to Akebono ceramic pads.

If these turn out to be HP+ pads, I'll probably keep the pads/rotors for track use.

[Nijapo]

Over the Spring I wanted to address the stereo system. Mostly I just wanted an auxiliary input. I wanted a headunit that wouldn't too far a departure from the interior styling, so I settled on the Blaupunkt Cupertino 220.



Unbeknownst to me at the time, the OEM CD43 was manufactured by Blaupunkt as well.



I've lived with the Cupertino for about six months now. I've got no complaints, but after reading up on the GROM input, I think I may switch back to the CD43. The Cupertino wiggles around, and I'd prefer the OEM style anyway.

A little after the headunit install, one of the rear roof speakers started to rattle. I picked up Infinity Reference speakers to replace the rear roof speakers and the front kick panel speakers.





OEM for comparison:





The rear speaker holes should have no problem accommodating the replacements.



The OEM speakers use this tiny connector; I cut them off and soldered them onto the posts on the new speakers so that I didn't have to hack up any of the OEM wiring.



Sound is much better, but the real improvements will come in the next stages when I replace the amp and sub. At that time I'll probably switch back to the OEM CD43 with the GROM input.