I've read a lot of threads here since purchasing my Z3 I really appreciate the information shared by this great group of folks; so I decided to finally join the discussions.
About my Z I feel I got pretty lucky finding and purchasing a well maintained roadster from original owners a nice couple with a cottage in Wisconsin that put majority of the miles driving up to their summer home on nice days. All maintenance done timely and recorded. I purchased with 52k miles and just recently rolling over the 69k miles so averaging about 2,500 miles per year.
Step one took her in for general inspection plus compression check, diagnostic scan, radiator flushed, fresh hydraulic brake and clutch fluids, new air filter and fresh oil. Fortunately she received a clean bill of health along with a nice compliment from the technician sharing that this was one of the nicest Z3's he's seen in a long time. That was a bit of a relief as there is always a bit of concern when buying a used anything and after looking for a long time glad I waited for this particular Z.
I found myself taking the long way especially if I could find a route that had some nice curves along the path as you all already know these are fun to drive and eat up challenging roads. I was initially satisfied with everything about her with one exception the stock sound system.... which I pretty much blew-up a few speakers cranking a combination of rock music.
So first upgrade was to replace the speakers I wanted to keep the OEM equipment and not go hacking up my new ride so I did some research and went with BAV Sound. https://www.bavsound.com/Stage-One/ This is when I first got in touch with my inner Z purchased all new speakers and started the process of installation with the help of my buddy Chris. This is a nice kit as it is all plug and play and made a real difference much higher quality speakers. Unfortunately the stock subwoofer was also toasted and couldn't find a plug and play option thought about rebuilding the speaker but ended up instead replacing the sub-speaker. System was much improved and I kept the stock look so this was a nice first step. Now I'm wanting to improve further and considering a new amplifier. Any suggestions on adding a new amp and keeping the business CD to retain the stock look and feel?
I've also noticed recently that putting the hammer down that the speedometer seems to be slipping. Basically it takes it awhile to catch-up to actual speed of car and no I'm not talking about the 5 miles per hour minus at 55 miles per hour that seems to be BMW's OEM design. If I push her off the line hard when I'm doing 60+ speedometer is reading 25-35 then for about 2-4 seconds before it eventually catches up once speed is maintained for a while. I'm thinking logical starting point is to replace the speed sensor at the rear differential. Any similar experience with suggested fix?
A little about myself I'm living west of Chicago in the country with my wife and two daughters. I've been working for a leading steel wire company for a little over 10 years as a global marketing manager and can be found frequently traveling around the world.
I've done a few more modifications to my Z and plan on doing more including getting a hardtop hopefully in Oxford green, however, I realize this is already a pretty long into.... all the best and thanks for your feedback.
About my Z I feel I got pretty lucky finding and purchasing a well maintained roadster from original owners a nice couple with a cottage in Wisconsin that put majority of the miles driving up to their summer home on nice days. All maintenance done timely and recorded. I purchased with 52k miles and just recently rolling over the 69k miles so averaging about 2,500 miles per year.
Step one took her in for general inspection plus compression check, diagnostic scan, radiator flushed, fresh hydraulic brake and clutch fluids, new air filter and fresh oil. Fortunately she received a clean bill of health along with a nice compliment from the technician sharing that this was one of the nicest Z3's he's seen in a long time. That was a bit of a relief as there is always a bit of concern when buying a used anything and after looking for a long time glad I waited for this particular Z.
I found myself taking the long way especially if I could find a route that had some nice curves along the path as you all already know these are fun to drive and eat up challenging roads. I was initially satisfied with everything about her with one exception the stock sound system.... which I pretty much blew-up a few speakers cranking a combination of rock music.
So first upgrade was to replace the speakers I wanted to keep the OEM equipment and not go hacking up my new ride so I did some research and went with BAV Sound. https://www.bavsound.com/Stage-One/ This is when I first got in touch with my inner Z purchased all new speakers and started the process of installation with the help of my buddy Chris. This is a nice kit as it is all plug and play and made a real difference much higher quality speakers. Unfortunately the stock subwoofer was also toasted and couldn't find a plug and play option thought about rebuilding the speaker but ended up instead replacing the sub-speaker. System was much improved and I kept the stock look so this was a nice first step. Now I'm wanting to improve further and considering a new amplifier. Any suggestions on adding a new amp and keeping the business CD to retain the stock look and feel?
I've also noticed recently that putting the hammer down that the speedometer seems to be slipping. Basically it takes it awhile to catch-up to actual speed of car and no I'm not talking about the 5 miles per hour minus at 55 miles per hour that seems to be BMW's OEM design. If I push her off the line hard when I'm doing 60+ speedometer is reading 25-35 then for about 2-4 seconds before it eventually catches up once speed is maintained for a while. I'm thinking logical starting point is to replace the speed sensor at the rear differential. Any similar experience with suggested fix?
A little about myself I'm living west of Chicago in the country with my wife and two daughters. I've been working for a leading steel wire company for a little over 10 years as a global marketing manager and can be found frequently traveling around the world.
I've done a few more modifications to my Z and plan on doing more including getting a hardtop hopefully in Oxford green, however, I realize this is already a pretty long into.... all the best and thanks for your feedback.
