E89 3DM Motorsport E89 Z4 Atacama Yellow Build

fmorelli

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In moving to the Vorshlag camber/caster plates, a previous post shows how Barry Battle and I converted the shock towers to E90 strut mount orientation, which is with the leading top strut bolt being oriented forward-most on the tower. As a consequence the previous Luxon bar no longer fit, and its design precluded modification.

It turns out the strut tower spacing on the E90 and E89 is identical. So I purchased an E90 carbon fiber strut tower bar from ECS Tuning, which was a straight bolt-on, or so one might have thought. Turns out the Z4 hood is lower than the E90, so the bar would hit Z4 hood.

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I used a borescope to help determine what was going on, thankfully not closing the hood all the way the first time! With some experimentation, taping the bar in different backset locations, I determined setting the bar rearward would both clear the hood and make room to access the oil cap. The E89 motor is set further back from the strut towers than the E90 (E90 guys, this is where you get to be a bit jealous).

To install the bar further rearward, two aluminum shims are needed to mate the bar to the strut bar base. The bar would then mount in line with the leading strut tower top bolt. The bar was currently held to the base with an M8 hex button bolt with lock nut underneath. The new location would bolt straight into the base which would be threaded to accept the M8. So in summary two shims, the base drilled at an angle, and a Heli-Coil installed in the aluminum base to take the M8 button bolt.

We cut the front mount on the strut bar base leaving about a 1/4" shoulder, which the shim could index against.

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Needing two shims, we began with a piece of 1/4" 6061 bar stock.

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The shims were cut on a table saw at 8 degrees, then sliced to 40mm x 40mm. Finish work with files and PSA adhesive sandpaper on a granite block, all edges chamfered.

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The complete assembly was dry fit, then taped in place. A pilot hole was drilled to locate the hole in both the shim and the base. Note when drilling, observe that the strut bar mount hole is drilled at an angle relative to the top of the mount - one wants to drill perpendicular to the bolt shoulder.

One the pilot holes are drilled through the shim and strut mount base, the assembly was taken back apart. The shim was then oversize drilled.

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The base was drilled appropriately to be tapped with an M8 Heli-Coil. The initial pilot hole established the angle of drill entry, since the cross bar to the strut bar mount is not a square orientation.

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Finally with all the cuts sanded and chamfered, a few coats of VHT (Gloss Black - SP650) epoxy chassis paint covered the bare aluminum. The color was a perfect match to the existing finish.

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The installation came out pretty good. The oil cap has clearance (shown here with an E46 cap, not the taller Z4 cap), and the hood clearance is great.

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Filippo
 
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Lurcher

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Posted originally on 07-23-2017:

I'm posting all this detail on the Z4 footwell woofers as I've found nothing elsewhere, and hopes this helps someone. The Hertz 165.1 speakers are installed, and I just need to put the panels back in place.

Speaker installed:
FaoCvBRjAWSHVl7DKPvqUHCRrwm1s2P9IUbYu0sUfuMAu1fVJ_6evEYv_rEAp_Fzr6x9wAI1VCW7A=w2468-h1850-no-tmp.jpg
Digging this up up as I need to just get these done after Memorial day. How much space exist between the speaker and the plastic panel in front of it now? Wondering if I need to get some foam weatherstripping to seal it off.

Or I can measure myself next week ;-)
 

fmorelli

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Digging this up up as I need to just get these done after Memorial day. How much space exist between the speaker and the plastic panel in front of it now? Wondering if I need to get some foam weatherstripping to seal it off.

Or I can measure myself next week ;-)
There was a fair bit of room behind the speaker. I simply put some sound deadening on the back metal panel. I believe there are photos in my build you can look at.

Filippo
 
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fmorelli

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Digging this up up as I need to just get these done after Memorial day. How much space exist between the speaker and the plastic panel in front of it now? Wondering if I need to get some foam weatherstripping to seal it off.

Or I can measure myself next week ;-)
Sorry I thought you were asking space BEHIND the speaker. I don't think there is much room in the front, from the speaker frame to the plastic cover. Why would that need to be sealed? I'm curious!

Filippo
 

fmorelli

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The stereo system is complete, minus DSP programming. I'm just starting to button up the myriad of panels that had to come apart. Here's a quick couple drawings of the system before and after. The car goes back to 3DMMotorsport in a week or so to change out rear Ohlins springs, and finish up corner weighting and ride height.

Filippo

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fmorelli

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Alright, so I'm rounding the bend on the stereo. I'll cover some of the install in this post. For the amp/dsp I installed the Audiotec Fischer bimmertech PP82DSP. The install for the amp/dsp was pretty straightforward, though on the E89 it required modifying the bracket to clear the amp. I decided to mount it upside-down so I can access the configuration side of the panel.

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The DSP is configurable through a USB cable, using Audiotec Fischer's DSP Tool. I decided to run the cable through the center storage area (which is where the ski access would be). This will allow plugging in the laptop with calibration mic inside the passenger compartment.

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Filippo
 
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fmorelli

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The car now having returned to my place from 3DM Motorsport, I decided to go ahead and install two subwoofers to finish off the sound system. I chose Alpine PWE-S8 subs. These are 8" sealed boxes which include a 120W RMS amp. Compact in size, I can install them laterally on the rear bulkhead by the floor. With the seats in their regular position, these units will be invisible.

I've been trying to keep the complete stereo install stealth, fully integrated with BMW factory harness wiring, with nothing externally visible. To wire in the subs, I decided to tie in to the rear power distribution block. I had one slot that was both free and had a powered spade installed. Ironically realoem does not show the connector and socket available, but they are identically to the E90 - lo and behold I could find those part numbers. I decided to run 10 gauge wire, which would support 240W RMS.

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Each amp has a 15A fuse at power input. I placed a 30A breaker fuse at the power distribution block for some added insurance on the wiring. A single power wire and remote on wire were run to the subs, then the lines "t" to provide power and remote on to the second sub. Initially I mounted the 30A fuse with 3M VHB tape by the power distribution blcok, as the photo below shows. But this turned out not to work as the carpet panel pressed on the breaker switch. I changed the location to inside the battery well. Here's a photo of what DIDN'T work!

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Wiring was a bit tedious. I ran the cabling through the existing power troughs, keeping power cables separate from signal cables. Wires to "t", soldered, shrink-wrapped, and cable-tied to make sure the connections were relieved of any stress.

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The subs receive signals through RCA wires. The DSP supports two RCA outs (L & R). I placed RCA 1->2 splitters on the DSP RCA out to feed to two 6-foot cable sets. Since both subs are identical, they will take the same DSP profile on the RCA out channel.

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The amps are wired in and set loosely on the rear bulkhead so I can do some preliminary testing before everything gets bolted down. Eventually they will be set horizontal and bolted in place.

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With everything installed and working, we'll start the slow process of getting all the paneling back in place, which on the E89 Z4 is a very very convoluted affair!

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Filippo
 
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doublespaces

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Hopefully you get it all sorted. I've had tons of wires hanging around when doing my PDC retrofit, so I feel your pain a bit.
 

fmorelli

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Hopefully you get it all sorted. I've had tons of wires hanging around when doing my PDC retrofit, so I feel your pain a bit.
Yeah. Really the pain is how some of the panels are made. For example, the push-pin installed panels are great. Or the panels which have metal barb tabs attached. BTW if you don't have trim panel tools like this, buy them - they are awesome. But lots of plastic has "tabs" and they are easy to break - certainly not designed to come apart and go back together repeatedly. I have bought a lot of plastic parts because 1 or 2 tabs will break. I can deal with the wiring, comparatively speaking.

Filippo
 
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Lurcher

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The DSP is configurable through a USB cable, using Audiotec Fischer's DSP Tool. I decided to run the cable through the center storage area (which is where the ski access would be). This will allow plugging in the laptop with calibration mic inside the passenger compartment.

I'd put a service loop in the cable by the amp and zip-tie it off. That cord is not that well secured in the USB plug. Ask me how I know....
 
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fmorelli

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So actually I'm beating my head against how to feed it signal. I have a 2011.5 which has the Combox 6VC but no bluetooth A2DP. I cannot get a straight answer on whether it is possible to program the car so a 676A HiFi Professional HU can get the signal from the Combox.

I'm looking at Bluetooth 4.2 with aptx HD, feeding a box that can do SPDIF out and then feed the DSP SPDIF .... my guess is sound quality is going to be much better than about any other way ... and I can probably get that to work.

Filippo
 

fmorelli

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Actually not quite Post #11 is 2011.5, Combox and iDrive but no Bluetooth. I'm 2011.5 Combox, no iDrive, Bluetooth phone only.

I have the 6VC Combox which has BT (my phone does BT with the car), but the Combox and head unit do not provide an A2DP streaming capability. So my phone pairs, and can do "phone" but can't do "media".

Supposedly the 6VC Combox has the capability built-in. With iDrive my car would do A2DP configured by BMW. So there are two questions: did BMW NA have BT audio turned off as it is a "feature" to upsell iDrive, and can it thus be made to work with the HU only?

Filippo
 

fmorelli

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What exactly are you trying to accomplish here? Because this certainly isn't going to work LOL. The Motiv ECA must be hooked directly to the ethanol sensor.
Thanks,@jyamona. This is a Continental ECA sold by Fuel-It, which has an inline bluetooth dongle (which provides E data to a phone app). Are you saying the output of the Fuel-It Continental sensor is wrong for the Motiv Flexfuel module?

Filippo
 
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NoQuarter

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Thanks,@jyamona. This is a Continental ECA sold by Fuel-It, which has an inline bluetooth dongle (which provides E data to a phone app). Are you saying the output of the Fuel-It Continental sensor is wrong for the Motiv Flexfuel module?

Filippo

I think he is wondering if the output of the Bluetooth device is passing the ECA signal through to the flexfuel module.