Greetings All,

Here's a nifty little mod that'll add a bit of light to your doors. A German Z4 owner posted a few pics of it a year or two back, so a nod to him for paving the way. However, after researching the process, I made some adjustments to his procedure, and have attempted to provide more detailed photos and explanations that should help reduce some of the guesswork.


As with any modification you see on the boards, standard disclaimers apply: I am not a BMW or automotive technician, and make no claims of official endorsement from, or affiliation with, BMW. The steps that follow are a record of my own work. Any work you undertake, or modifications you perform on your own car(s) is done at your own risk, and any damage or malfunction that results is entirely your responsibility. If you have any doubts whatsoever as to your ability to complete a given task, please seek out appropriate professional assistance before proceeding.


So now that the lawyers have duly noted their profession's effect on things...



Here are the Doc Wha notes on installing Door Handle LEDs! :)


Good luck, and enjoy! :wavey
DW


:cool


http://www.mindspring.com/~d0cwh/zdl3ds/zdled01.JPG

http://www.mindspring.com/~d0cwh/zdl3ds/zdled02.JPG

http://www.mindspring.com/~d0cwh/zdl3ds/zdled03.JPG

http://www.mindspring.com/~d0cwh/zdl3ds/zdled04.JPG

http://www.mindspring.com/~d0cwh/zdl3ds/zdled05.JPG

http://www.mindspring.com/~d0cwh/zdl3ds/zdled06.JPG

http://www.mindspring.com/~d0cwh/zdl3ds/zdled07.JPG

http://www.mindspring.com/~d0cwh/zdl3ds/zdled08.JPG

http://www.mindspring.com/~d0cwh/zdl3ds/zdled09.JPG

http://www.mindspring.com/~d0cwh/zdl3ds/zdled10.JPG

http://www.mindspring.com/~d0cwh/zdl3ds/zdled11.JPG

Continued...


http://www.mindspring.com/~d0cwh/zdl3ds/zdled12.JPG

http://www.mindspring.com/~d0cwh/zdl3ds/zdled13.JPG

http://www.mindspring.com/~d0cwh/zdl3ds/zdled14.JPG

http://www.mindspring.com/~d0cwh/zdl3ds/zdled15.JPG

http://www.mindspring.com/~d0cwh/zdl3ds/zdled16.JPG

http://www.mindspring.com/~d0cwh/zdl3ds/zdled17.JPG

http://www.mindspring.com/~d0cwh/zdl3ds/zdled18.JPG

http://www.mindspring.com/~d0cwh/zdl3ds/zdled19.JPG

http://www.mindspring.com/~d0cwh/zdl3ds/zdled20.JPG

http://www.mindspring.com/~d0cwh/zdl3ds/zdled21.JPG

http://www.mindspring.com/~d0cwh/zdl3ds/zdled22.JPG

http://www.mindspring.com/~d0cwh/zdl3ds/zdled23.JPG

http://www.mindspring.com/~d0cwh/zdl3ds/zdled24.JPG

http://www.mindspring.com/~d0cwh/zdl3ds/zdled25.JPG

Home Stretch...


http://www.mindspring.com/~d0cwh/zdl3ds/zdled26.JPG

http://www.mindspring.com/~d0cwh/zdl3ds/zdled27.JPG

http://www.mindspring.com/~d0cwh/zdl3ds/zdled28.JPG

http://www.mindspring.com/~d0cwh/zdl3ds/zdled29.JPG

http://www.mindspring.com/~d0cwh/zdl3ds/zdled30.JPG

http://www.mindspring.com/~d0cwh/zdl3ds/zdled31.JPG

http://www.mindspring.com/~d0cwh/zdl3ds/zdled32.JPG

http://www.mindspring.com/~d0cwh/zdl3ds/zdled33.JPG

http://www.mindspring.com/~d0cwh/zdl3ds/zdled34.JPG

http://www.mindspring.com/~d0cwh/zdl3ds/zdled35.JPG

So there you have it. Again, good luck! :thumbup:

DW


:cool

Great job, Doc. BTW, I might add that while one had the door off, you could pack in some sound deadener to reduce the tinny sound of the door closing. This is a DIY on this also, but I forget on which forum.

Here I might ask of those who read this thread, does your door closing sound less than solid and what year is your Z4? Maybe BMW fixed this after my year, '06?

Thanks, Flycaster, glad you liked the pics.

As for the door sound, there have been complaints about that from some folks almost from the day they brought the car out. While it really seems to bother some, others have never found it anything much to worry over.

I think it's just the nature of the beast. In a door one would find on an E36, E46, X3, X5, etc., with metal running all the way around it, and the job of supporting a much larger (and heavier) piece of glass for the window, one would naturally hear a deeper, heavier sound coming from the door when it closes.

On the other hand, a Z4 door is smaller than almost anything else in the line, with less material in it to begin with. If you consider that a coffee can falling over makes a higher-pitched, less heavy sound than a metal trash can would if it were tipped over, it makes sense that it wouldn't sound the same. That, and part of the whole "roadster" idea is to have a lighter-than-average car. As materials used in cars gets lighter overall, I think you can probably look for sounds to change across the board in the future.

I think it's a just a matter of people overcoming the conventions they're used to. The Z4 is the complete opposite of the larger cars and SUVs many are probably accustomed to, so when they hear the door, it sounds "wrong" to them. But I don't find it an issue of any real concern.


Similarly, some poeple move from large cars and SUVs into Z4s and MINIs, and then complain about the "harsh" ride. They seem to want a luxury-boat ride to cushion anything they get into, and are vexed when faced with the fact that such cars are different animals entirely! It's not a question of anything being "wrong" with the car, so much as it is one's frame of reference, and expectations.

But that's for another thread, and I don't want to hijack this one any further. ;)


.02
DW

:cool

Most excellent!

Yet another fabulous Diy!

Thanks gents! :wave

I figured Kevlar would be in here just to see what this thread was doing with 35 attachments, hogging all the bandwidth! :rofl


:D

If we get more DIYs like this, I have no problem making a DIY subsection to house them all.

If we get more DIYs like this, I have no problem making a DIY subsection to house them all.
Excellent! The DIY section on Z4um was a very popular and useful repository. They actually had a good policy for that section too: Instructions only, no discussion. Once the posts were complete from the OP, the thread was locked, making it essentially "read-only." Discussions took place in the general chatter section. Very smart, as it kept the DIY section nice and orderly.

:cool

This thread will come in handy for swapping out the MID RANGE SPEAKERS AS WELL for door panel removal.

I really like that idea.
Have you guys seen how the E9Xs have a led shining down when you hit unlock?

Agree, changing speakers can be more important.

Great job, Doc. BTW, I might add that while one had the door off, you could pack in some sound deadener to reduce the tinny sound of the door closing. This is a DIY on this also, but I forget on which forum.

Here I might ask of those who read this thread, does your door closing sound less than solid and what year is your Z4? Maybe BMW fixed this after my year, '06?

Reports are that the face-lifted models (2006+) do have insulation added to improve the sound of the doors.

Very nice DIY!