new to the Z3

[43bullet]

So ive been working on rebuilding a wrecked '98 Z3. Its now essentially on the road, and there are some questions I have for the collective. Now that Ive got the cooling issues worked out, time to start thinking of the other stuff.

1) the seats move forward and back a little under braking and accel. is the the "woes" that people describe on the forums? Fixed with the little nylon "spacers" that I saw somewhere for about 20$??

2) wheel fitment. the wheels are stock for the year I gather, and Id really like wider rears before I splurge on a new set of tires. In general, whats a good set up on these cars as far as size and offset? square or staggered? obviously much would be personal preference, but the stock is a square set up and there seems to be too much space in the rear wheel wells for my likely. I assume Z3M are staggered.

3) common failure points? this car is in good shape, in and out, but I'll likely make a list of items to address over time. for sure Ill put all new bushings under the car. Re-inforcements?

4) suspension - decent ride. going to mostly be driven by the wife, so Im not interested in anything too stiff, but lowering it a little, especially the front, I think would make it look a little better. If there is a popular suspension upgrade, Im all ears.

5) for anyone with a Z3M, if you've ever removed the door cards, - I am swapping in M door cards into my car. there appears to be a screw that goes into the card (different from the typical clips) towards the rear of the card. this corresponds, I think, to a square type of panel clip, but I cannot find a picture or the part. looking for the panel clip and the cover that goes over the screw hole.

TIA

Dan

[potxoli]

I just got a 97 Z3 in June and have been working on fixing some things.

(1) on the seats, yes, replace the seat bushings, these little $20 delron inserts. I did it on the driver seat and it is very easy if you follow the youtube videos. http://www.whalenshiftmachine.com/_p.../seat-bushings

(2) On wheels, check out http://www.bmwstylewheels.com/. They tell you all the specs for the various BMW Wheels. Personally, I find that the best wheels on the Z3 are other BMW wheels and I managed to find a set of style 68 to replace the style 18 on craigslist. If you have the style 18, they are HEAVY. As the tire guy put it, the Style 68s with tires seem to weigh about the same as the Style 18 without tires. I never really bought into the whole unsprung weight losses can be felt, but on the Z with relatively low power, it made a big difference in get up and go, especially out of turns. However, I will need spacers in the back since the style 68s tuck in a bit in the rear compared to the style 18. Here is a pic:

2017-08-17 17.24.39.jpg

(4) I replaced the shocks with KYB shocks. No lowering, but infinitely better ride and handling and not at all harsh.

Hope this helps.

[Watch Carefully]

Agreed on Nos. 1 and 2...I replaced the stock 16"ers with staggered 17" Style 68s also and used 20mm spacers (in the rear only) to push things outward a bit--looks much better, IMO.

I just got a 97 Z3 in June and have been working on fixing some things.

(1) on the seats, yes, replace the seat bushings, these little $20 delron inserts. I did it on the driver seat and it is very easy if you follow the youtube videos. http://www.whalenshiftmachine.com/_p.../seat-bushings

(2) On wheels, check out http://www.bmwstylewheels.com/. They tell you all the specs for the various BMW Wheels. Personally, I find that the best wheels on the Z3 are other BMW wheels and I managed to find a set of style 68 to replace the style 18 on craigslist. If you have the style 18, they are HEAVY. As the tire guy put it, the Style 68s with tires seem to weigh about the same as the Style 18 without tires. I never really bought into the whole unsprung weight losses can be felt, but on the Z with relatively low power, it made a big difference in get up and go, especially out of turns. However, I will need spacers in the back since the style 68s tuck in a bit in the rear compared to the style 18. Here is a pic:

2017-08-17 17.24.39.jpg

(4) I replaced the shocks with KYB shocks. No lowering, but infinitely better ride and handling and not at all harsh.

Hope this helps.

[43bullet]

awesome thanks. I am thinking of staggered set of apex, 17". had not thought of 68s, but they do look good.

I currently have 18s on the car. I also have a set of style 42, but they are 16 inch. wanted to go with 17 inch, but I like the 42s better.