Newest addition to the garage

[Azulrium]

Just picked up a new-to-me 2007 Z4 3.0si 6-speed manual last week - 87K miles, previous owner provided all the maintenance records and has obviously taken great care of the car . Fresh tires, brakes in great condition, everything works, new coils and spark plugs. Looking forward to learning from the folks here!

First thing on my to-do list in the near future... replace the water pump. At 87K it seems to me it's just waiting to blow.

The little roadster is a blast to drive though, especially with the top down. The engine note, the abundance of torque in just about any RPM, and the little burble when you lift off the throttle... intoxicating.

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[4jacks]

Welcome to the family! That seems like a great find, just in time to really enjoy the raise in temperature. Can we ask how much you paid? Will you be daily driving or is this a weekend car? Classic color scheme, but I would really worry about cops with that bright red!

[BimmerBreaker]

Now time to get rid of the ugly Nissan...

[cdsweet]

It's so cleeeean!!!!! And the lower front bumper looks like it's never been pulled in to parking block!?
If you're going to swap out the water pump and this work is not documented, I'd suggest pulling and changing the oil filter housing and oil filter cooler gaskets. Wait for next oil change if coming up and kill three birds with one stone?

[Azulrium]

Welcome to the family! That seems like a great find, just in time to really enjoy the raise in temperature. Can we ask how much you paid? Will you be daily driving or is this a weekend car? Classic color scheme, but I would really worry about cops with that bright red!

Thanks! I paid 13.3k for it - red wasn't my first color choice (I wanted black, white or blue) but it's starting to grow on me. Besides, I was more concerned about the mechanical condition on a 10 year old car... and the previous owner definitely babied it. The fact it has all the options aside from Xenons is just a bonus. It'll be a sunny-day driver/weekend car. Trying my best not to draw too much cop attention on the road (although a red Z4 seems to have an automatic +10 mph in speed perception)

Now time to get rid of the ugly Nissan...

Man that "Nissan" felt like a palace after driving the Z4 - besides it's unstoppable on snow/ice with a set of Blizzaks . Though I didn't think the Z4's hood would be longer than the FX's...

It's so cleeeean!!!!! And the lower front bumper looks like it's never been pulled in to parking block!?
If you're going to swap out the water pump and this work is not documented, I'd suggest pulling and changing the oil filter housing and oil filter cooler gaskets. Wait for next oil change if coming up and kill three birds with one stone?

That's a good idea - I was actually thinking about lumping all of it in with the 90k service along with a MTF/diff flush. Hit the service 'reset' if you will. Definitely wish I had your mechanical know-how though.

[gmushial]

It's so cleeeean!!!!! And the lower front bumper looks like it's never been pulled in to parking block!?
If you're going to swap out the water pump and this work is not documented, I'd suggest pulling and changing the oil filter housing and oil filter cooler gaskets. Wait for next oil change if coming up and kill three birds with one stone?

The water pump I can see replacing (given the mileage)... but the oil filter housing? That's a block of aluminum - how is that a wear item? Or is there a track record for such being necessary/appropriate?

[BimmerBreaker]

Oil filter housing gasket

[gmushial]

Oil filter housing gasket

Leakier than those in the Z3's? ... though mine at 205k mi is still dry dry dry :-) M52TUB25

[montaillou]

Trying my best not to draw too much cop attention on the road.

I have not found the police in the PNW to be particularly ticket happy. I've owned my z4 for 10 years and driven it everywhere as my DD. I typically drive 7 over figuring that it's not fast enough to pique a cop's interest unless they're on an emphasis patrol (they'll get you for 1 mph over for those). Either I've been lucky or "intelligent speeding" works for me as I've never gotten a speeding ticket in 30 years of driving.

[gmushial]

I have not found the police in the PNW to be particularly ticket happy. I've owned my z4 for 10 years and driven it everywhere as my DD. I typically drive 7 over figuring that it's not fast enough to pique a cop's interest unless they're on an emphasis patrol (they'll get you for 1 mph over for those). Either I've been lucky or "intelligent speeding" works for me as I've never gotten a speeding ticket in 30 years of driving.

Though do remember that by German law, the speedo much read high by n%... where n is approx. 5-7%... or, I believe the actual law is that to four sigma, a speedo must not read low, ever. ... so, like you, I drive over, according to the speedo, but in fact am 3 or 4 mph over... I cheated: and checked my actual speedo based on time-distance, and them GPS, and came up with a ground-trothing factor - which is percentage, and not absolute mph.

[jman1975]

a red Zed... that is my dream color, I'd trade my black one tomorrow for a red one in a similar decent condition

[montaillou]

... and checked my actual speedo based on time-distance, and them GPS, and came up with a ground-trothing factor - which is percentage, and not absolute mph.

I check my speedometer by those signs telling us how fast we're going that are put on the sides of highways when they're trying to emphasize a speed limit change. Mine runs 2-3 mph high. I take this into account for my 7 mph over (which looks like 10 on the dial).

[BimmerBreaker]

Leakier than those in the Z3's? ... though mine at 205k mi is still dry dry dry :-) M52TUB25

No, not really a common leak point. Not really sure why that member recomended replacing then proactively tbh lol.

[Azulrium]

I have not found the police in the PNW to be particularly ticket happy. I've owned my z4 for 10 years and driven it everywhere as my DD. I typically drive 7 over figuring that it's not fast enough to pique a cop's interest unless they're on an emphasis patrol (they'll get you for 1 mph over for those). Either I've been lucky or "intelligent speeding" works for me as I've never gotten a speeding ticket in 30 years of driving.

I found it really depends on where you are - they tend to be a little more ticket happy out in the middle of nowhere it seems like. Both my tickets over half a decade ago have been in the middle of Washington and Idaho, going 10 over, in clear, sunny conditions with so few cars on the road if I were to hit anyone I'd have to be actively trying. One was an unmarked cruiser, the other was a cruiser in the other direction on the other side of a hill (we were the only 2 cars on the road... go figure). Both times I was in my old nondescript, fully stock family sedan.

Although since I've gotten a car that can actually do triple digits while making it feel like you're barely going 60 I haven't gotten any tickets (knock on wood). But I've become the driver that avoids the left lane unless I really need to pass someone *cough*Prius*cough* and on backroads I'll happily pull over and let someone following me pass so I can trail them 7-10 cars back and use them as a speed trap detector.

p.s. North Cascades Highway is completely snow-free on the roads now. Might have gotten a little sunburnt..

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[wdb]

I got two speeding tickets in 3 weeks in my STi; man that car jumped. And caught the attention of the constables! In the zed so far, knock wood, "intelligent speeding" has done the trick.

[cdsweet]

No, not really a common leak point. Not really sure why that member recomended replacing then proactively tbh lol.

Have you even wrenched on an N52? The gaskets for oil filter housing and oil cooler are rubber and harden over time and will not last forever. Leaks from these are documented all over the internet. I am not here to dispute what others say or suggest. I am just going by my personal experience with working on my kids e30's(m42), my e46's(m52) and now the e85(n52). Mine were leaking pretty badly and crumbled as I pulled them out with 92k on the engine. If it isn't leaking now means it was already replaced or will leak eventually. I am not trying to tell the guy to do it but the gaskets only cost like $30 for the pair and aren't that hard to replace so why not for preventative maintenance?

[BimmerBreaker]

I wrench on our 128i, it has not yet needed those gaskets - but its only at 50K. (Knock on wood) We haven't noticed any leaks on our N52 yet, and we live in one of the hottest (read: hell on gaskets) climates - so I had not yet researched, just talked to many other N52 owners who all corroborated that these engines have been very reliable. If they need OFH gaskets so be it... still one of the best engines BMW has made IMO.