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| Z3 (E36/7, E36/8) (1996 - 2002) In 1996 BMW added the Z3 to the lineup. First available only with the 1.9 liter engine, the Z3 went on to carry every 6 cylinder produced between 1996 and 2002. A fun, sporty little 2 seater came both in convertible and coupe form. Being a bit of a “parts bin” car, the Z3 is part E30, part E36, but all original. |
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#1
10-27-2009, 03:39 PM
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Back With a Few Changes to the Coupe (Pics)
Winter has arrived in Colorado and it's time to than catch up on Bimmerforums and post some pics from the summer. This summer has been filled with adventure. A few hightlights were a 7 day mountain biking hut trip in the San Yuan Mountains from Durango to Moab and flying my hang glider off of Glacier Point in Yosemite NP.
After getting scammed out of some BBS RGR's in May I decided to powdercoat my stock wheels as they were curbrashed by the previous owner. The chrome I ended up with was pretty boring, not nearly as brilliant as BMW's black chrome. I took them back and decided to go with bronze which ended up looking like Army Olive Drab. It was horrible! I took them back again and did steel gray metallic. I was going to use Morton's Black Chrome, but my guy would have to special order it and said it would UV fade much quicker at altitude in Colorado. You would have thought I would have done one wheel at a time, but no, I did all four at $500 a pop. Fortunately, my guy was super cool and didn't charge me for the bronze. Steel Gray Metallic  I also had my front and rear bumpers repainted and my rear spoiler to match my paint. I got tapped in the rear bumper at a traffic light the first day I got the M Coupe and the insuing gap has been driving me nuts ever since. I had them install my Motion Motorsports splitters too. I had heard about the splitters deforming so I had them wrap each splitter in 3M clear bra. It seemed to help, although I do have a slight deformity in the right one. I finished off the front bumper with a full clear bra and clear corners from leather Z. Front Bumper Removed  Front Bumper Before Paint and Splitters  Rear Bumper Removed  Rear Bumper Before Paint  Front Bumper and Clear Corners Installed (no splitters)  Rear Bumper Installed  Rear Spoiler  Proper Photo Shoot with Splitters Installed. The wheels seem to photograph more blusih than they are in real lift, but it depends on the light.      Different Light and Location with my New 2 Wheel Ride     Next on the list are a pair of Projector Z II's, euro rotors and race pads for the track and new stock rotors and pads for the street. I'm also getting new low profile Rocky Mount trays and finishing my aero crossbar project. It's an airfoil similar to a hang gliding base tube with a negative angle of attack so it doesn't induce lift. It should reduce the crossbar's drag profile to that of a 1/4" wooden dowl. I'll start a propper post when I get close to finishing it.
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Last edited by Cloudbase; 10-27-2009 at 03:47 PM.. 
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#2
10-27-2009, 04:12 PM
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Looks nice, I like the rims, are they able to polish out dings and what not when they do that as well? I am seriously thinking of doing that Mtn Bike trip as well, any tips or good info? Oh yeah, I've got a newbie question as well, what are splitters
 Thanks, Mitch...
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#3
10-27-2009, 04:24 PM
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Imola is sexy.
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#4
10-27-2009, 04:29 PM
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They were able to get all of the curb rash out. I'm not sure about dings. The wheel guy in Denver did a great job.
If you click on the BLOG link in my sig and look under the label San Juan Hut Trip you can see pics and read all about it. The scenery was amazing, but I wasn't all that impressed with the riding. It was mostly double track. I guess it just depends on what type of rider your are and the type of trail you enjoy. It would be cheaper to just do the Colorado Trail unsupported stopping along the way for food and shelter if you got tired of sleeping out. It's all single track and epic single track at that! I'm thinking about doing the Colorado Trail Race next year if my knee can handle it. Splitters are the extentions off the front bumper. They are ACS replicas from a group buy two years ago.
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#5
10-27-2009, 05:13 PM
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Very nice! I wanted to get Imola so bad! Couldn't find one for sale when I was looking....
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E36/8 2000 M Coupe Cosmos Black/Black
Shark, Conforti CAI, B&B Exhaust, H&R, Bilstein, IE Green, UUC TME Red/Caps, WSM, Swapped Front Hats, Ice>Link. ================================================== ======================= 
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#7
10-27-2009, 05:47 PM
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what color code is your car? Very unique. Imola??? Doesnt seem! Very cool color
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#8
10-27-2009, 05:48 PM
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Quote:
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  "Whoa? How Coupe is not a Z?" - TexaZ3
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#10
10-27-2009, 09:14 PM
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Was wondering what you were up to these days. Car looks great but you know it's time for a drop!
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If you put your mind to it, you can accomplish anything.
-Dr. Emmett L. Brown 
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#12
10-27-2009, 09:22 PM
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I was in search for imola coupe also, since it was the first coupe iv ever seen. Nice wheels, mine are getting done black chrome. Im waiting for the powder to come in on order
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#13
10-27-2009, 09:37 PM
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Thanks everyone. The color just stock Imola Red. The lighting was super harsh in the parking garage. The white concrete acted like a huge reflector, I think that's why the color looks so pure. That and obsessive waxing!
Z3R0 post some pics of your wheels when you get em done. Black chrome on black will look sinister!
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#14
10-28-2009, 01:35 AM
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Oh Yeah!
 It's so red! Looks clean! BTW, those hang gliding vids are awesome! -OG
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#15
10-28-2009, 02:39 AM
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What suspension are you on?
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#16
10-28-2009, 03:11 AM
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Stock Supsension. I think it looks so high because of the sizing of the Dunlops. Look at it here:
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#18
10-28-2009, 10:51 AM
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I need me some splitters.... but I already catch the bottom of the bumper at a lot of places as it is already.
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 ~Ken~ 99 Estoril Blue M Coupe: Rep 19" BBS LM, Curved badges, IE&VM spacers, OEM clears, FX-600, PZII 50w 6000k, Randy Forbes Kit (Installed by MAX PSI), RE Dual Ear, 14815 Magnaflows, Intake Horn Mod, Turner Pulleys, TCK S/A 450f/500r, RE RSMs, Urethane everywhere, Whalen, Blacked out kidneys/gills, MisterX box & 1000w rms of stereo stuff...(M50 manifold still needs to be installed)
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#19
10-28-2009, 11:58 AM
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I think you nailed the right color on the last go-around. Looks great.
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#20
10-28-2009, 12:35 PM
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Quote:
 Looks good!
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2002 Alpine White w/ Black 368 (<OO \(||][||)/ OO>)
Power: UUC Exhaust w/ custom midsection & High Flow cats, CSL headers, and a fully built, low-compression Supercharged and aftercooled S-54 Driveline: Rogue Octane SSK, UUC Red TME kit, UUC Stage 3 LTW Flywheel/M5 Clutch, SS Shift Knob, Euro 6 speed, 3.64 diff w/ 40% LU Suspension & Brakes: TC Kline True Match Coilovers 500f/500r w/ adjustable camber plates, Racing Dynamics sways, Custom front sway endlinks, ATE brake fluid, UUC/Willwood BBK 6f/4r piston, Slotted E46M3 Rotors, Stainless Lines, Strong Strut, IE Subframe Bushings, Racelogic Traction Control ICE & Misc: Projector Z's w/DDE & 5k HID, 19'' Gold HRE C20's, Custom Aux pwr outlet, footwell lighting, ACS Splitters, Areo Sideskirts, Custom gauge pods, Z8 Start, Pioneer AVIC Z3, Clarus Components, 10" RE Sub in a Mister-X Enclosure, Alpine PDX 4X150 + 1X600 Amps Coming soon:  Randy Forbes and then ?
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#21
10-28-2009, 01:17 PM
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Quote:
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#22
10-28-2009, 01:34 PM
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Quote:
At the track the guy checking everyone's lug nuts bashed a 1/2" drive torque wrench into the left front and it didn't even scratch it. I couldn't believe it. I'm curious how they'll hold up long term. I want to get another pair of RGR's, but it's low on the list right now.
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#23
10-28-2009, 03:08 PM
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Any issues with the splitters? I think a few did with oozing etc.
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#24
10-29-2009, 06:03 PM
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I wrapped the splitters in 3M Clear Bra in hopes that it would hold them together better than just paint. I haven't noticed anyting major, but the right one has a slight bump on the underside. I'll try to take a pic of it sometime.
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