Start of a new series with a new project car .. this time my BMW Z3 2.8 .. lets take a look at the Z3 and have a chat about whether or not this car is a hairdressers dream or a motoring hero!
They're made in South carolina/Georgia right on the savanna river... I own one of the 150 remaining black on black 99 z3 2.8... they only made 1500 that year and only 250 in black on black and only 150 exist today, got mine for 1200 bucks American and put about 2k into it
I did a m50 intake manifold, straight pipe exhaust, welded different, front splitter roll bar wing racing steering wheel 4 pt harnesses, cold air intake could over suspension (stock z3 is garbage especially the rear, cross drilled and slotted rotors, and stage 2 clutch with lightened single mass flywheel, rear 1.5" spacers Hamann 17inch rims with Hankook tires, uro control arms, bushings ,and lollipop bushing with moog tie rods and anti sway bar, front strut tower brace. And ofcourse a killer sound system
All of the 297.087 BMW Z3's ever built came from BMW's (at that time) new Spartanburg plant in South Carolina. In the first few months they were producing the 3-series, but with the introduction of the Z3 a few months later, they switched to only producing the Z3. Great video by the way, so thanks for taking the time to make it and sharing it with us :o)
Thank you very much for the information and for the kind words it's genuinely appreciated! I'll be doing some more videos on the project Z3. The next video I think we'll be coilovers and some suspension refresh :-)
@@AllTorque If you haven't bought new suspension yet, I can strongly recommend the Lowtec H9.3 kit that I run myself. Before that my heart was always up in my throat when I was going fast on small, curvy and hilly roads, because I never trusted 100%, that it would go in the direction I pointed the steering wheel. I also had the problem, that my 19" wheels often made contact with the underside of the bonnet when driving over speed bumps. Now all of these worries are gone, it goes exactly where I point the steering wheel, and no matter how hard I try, there is no contact over speed bumps. And the stance is way lower now than stock. Watching your video I also noticed that you (of course) have the original M52 intake manifold. The one from the M50 engine allows much more air through, and gives you more torque. It is not bolt-on but needs modification, but I just bought a set that was already modified. This is the best money spent if you want a bit more performance.
@@AllTorque hahaha , I'm still battling with my 197 alot of money thrown at it . Whole new sub frame ball joint hubs and arms top mounts shockies , brakes it's gonna be one clean example I'll post something about it on the Clio page soon
Finally, someone who is building a Z3 currently! Subbed. I recently got an 01' bmw z3, looking to lower it (mainly for asthetics, the rear wheel gap is atrocious). Im a broke medical student though, please let me know if you hear of any affordable set up less than 1k that wont sacrifice too much ride quality!
As far as suggestions for your z3 go, I got a magnaflow 14815 (just a little extra growl, nothing like those ricer hondas) and it made the pickup more smooth and actually made the car noticeably faster. Got a suede steering wheel wrap (changed the driving experience). Installed halo rings which made the car look alot more modern. Debaged the '3.0i' engine badge from the back and placed it above the subwoofer (inbetween the seats). Re-upholdstered the seats, got z3 embroidered car mats, got a wood grain M sport shifter knob to match my wood grain trim. Replaced the old BMW emblems on the car. Replaced the big-ass radio antenna with a shorter one. Last but not least, got my convertible rear window changed (huge difference). My baby only has 57k on it, planning on holding on to it till I can afford an m4 someday! Hope this gives some ideas
Coilovers matched with rear subframe spacers (to fix the camber after lowering) electric fan conversion, old style looking VDO bluetooth headunit, a lot of aftermarket for these cars! Have fun! Subed! Just bought mine as a daily project car!
Yes I'm taking a good look at the best coilover. a lot of guys just go with shocks and springs on these for fast road use and opt for the Koni's ... But at the moment I'm not tempted towards something harder than can be used on track too. The retro headunits are particularly cool. Esp the Blaupunkt
All Torque Id actually recommend you go with BC Racing, cheap and you can get some soft 6KG springs in them, just a bit tighter than stock with all the adjustment you might want.
All Torque I have no experience with that brand! Here in California, BC Racing is the go to source for value shocks. I feel going too hardcore on such a light and underpowered car is going to ruin the usability. The front suspension is pretty good on these (e36 M front offset bushing will improve caster too), the biggest fail is in the rear end. You’ve got to stiffen up the rear diff mount (famous for cracking spot welds) and rear trailing arms. You could look into retrofitting e34 M5 rear trailing arms, they come with spherical bearings instead of rubber bushings. That would really improve the car more than the coil overs. Being a light car, coilovers have less of an effect on the handling as you’d expect. Also would be a huge plus in the BMW world I haven’t seen it done too much, could bring in some traffic to your channel!
Good review for a true Beauty, gives you that old school feeling..and wide body preface lifted is the bombshell. Can you please trim that downward pointing hair mass you have on the bottom of your lower lip! It’s scary my kids. Lol.
Haha unfortunately the hair weapon stays lol. I've literally just been and picked up my old 1.9 this morning which is coming back to me for a paint correction and protection detail. She's still only on 35k! I do love a good Z3
That is one nice looking car Dan, I still reckon the mx5 is more fun. Go for a bit extra bhp, coilovers and poly bushes all round BTW I wound up getting a pug last week
MX5 is a better driver's car but doesn't do it for me personally anywhere near as much. I think we will squeeze some more power with the 2.5 inlet ... But do we go the whole hog and Supercharge it lol
