project SiC's consolidated moderns - 2004 BMW Z4 2.2, 2005 BMW 330i and (borrowed) 2007 Porsche Cayman

[SiC]

12 hours ago, IronStar said:

Yeah, this looks like a knockoff of mr12volt system. It’s Linux under the hood with the proper one, not Android. Really nice and properly instantaneous, unlike Android units that take ages to boot.

Only complaint is it’s wrong aspect ratio for Carplay so it looks stretched, but that’s really minor and is fully usable and looking right. Oh and cabling, at least on e92, was TIGHT but we made it in the end.

The ones I listed have been around longer than mr12volt units. I think the older mr12volt units started out as above but with time they've improved them. One nice thing about the Mr12volt units is that they put their audio over the MOST fibre optic system (emulate as a cd changer). The cheaper units just plug into the aux connection of the original iDrive system. While it works, you've got a DAC and amplifier on the box to go through and they aren't supposed to be the best quality. Where as the Mr12volt can use the cars existing DAC and is much better quality.

However they are also twice the price! Maybe I'll plunk out for the more expensive one and why I've kinda held off buying just yet. 

[SiC]

4 minutes ago, JakeT said:

Nice stuff. You’d probably know by now if the oil filter cap was broken. I don’t know why it happens, as the centre cage is installed quite well. Mines never shown signs of coming off snd I’ve done the oil 8 or 9 times now.

The CarPlay/android auto boxes are cool. BMW apps still works on mine, but when they stop I’ll be getting one.

 

I did look at what it'd take to go CIC like yours, but the cost is going to be much more than those boxes. But then the CIC I don't think does Carplay/android auto? So I'd need one of those boxes anyway. Main thing for me is to have Google Maps on the centre screen so I don't have to fanny about with windscreen mounts. 

My wife and I have very different tastes in music. So usually the compromise is to not have anything on at all 😅

(Or something like Greatest Hits on the radio)

[JakeT]

You’re right, it’s a lot. My car was retrofitted before I bought it when the CCC unit died. Also if you want the unit to be more infotainment then a combox is needed. It gives a proper USB port, and Bluetooth streaming and the ability to read SMS messages on the screen. They’re also more expense and complexity in fitting. If I was doing it now, get a CarPlay box. Only issue is the low res screen, but it’s not the end of the world.

[SiC]

The 3-series being a dick again. 😔

Pulled out of here with quite a lot of angle to cross the road and floored it as busy.

Except it lost all power again. Usually it's for a second or two absolute maximum but this time it chugged chugged chugged itself along. I straightened up on the road and the hazards while it slowly pulled itself along. 

My foot was about three quarters down on the accelerator pedal but the engine sat at 800rpm thereabouts. Felt like it was missing but no engine light flashing. 

It was doing this for what felt like an eternity. I scanned my chances for where I could bail out and if I could get it back into the petrol station again. There was cars backing up so it wouldn't be easy. 

Massive bonus is behind the petrol station is a BMW indie specialists. So kinda the perfect place to breakdown.

Then as quickly as it lost power, it came all back at once. My floored (but not quite kickdown) accelerator pedal gave me all the power and we shot off like a scolded rat.

Absolutely fine again after that. These scenarios is when you really need it to give you the power right now and not fanny about. Doesn't help confidence in a car.

Feels like it's missing and why I've bought the coils. However I don't think it's actually them. The one commonality is if you take a sharp turn from slow speed and accelerate hard. I don't think it's the traction control as I'd expect some sort of flashing ESP light - which it normally does in such scenarios.

I really don't know what the issue is. No codes are stored. Given it's sharp turns, I can't but help think it's fluid related somehow. Maybe Vanos solenoids getting starved of oil from screens being partially blocked? The transmission service that was supposedly done last year maybe didn't have the fluid levels set correctly? Valvetronic eccentric cam sensor failed, full of oil that goes into the wrong part and causing incorrect readings?

 

In other news, a garage find.

I have become the temporary custodian of this for a while, with the view of acquiring it in the future.

One owner from new and 64k or so on the clock. 2.7 but 6spd gearbox option was ticked. Very few miles in recent years as my parents have had building work and blocked it in. Plus my mum's lost a bit of confidence driving recently with eyesight troubles and such (getting old! 😬). 

She always intended to replace it with a newer model but every time ended up having other stuff more important (like moving house, paying for my sisters+me to go through uni, etc) and so never got around to it. Also while newer ones are new and shiny, didn't really bring much more than what she had in this. I've had my eye on it for years and actually hopefully to had it sooner (why I sold my MGB GT earlier this year). However she intended to keep it a bit longer. 

Anyway the plan is to use it a bit and get some miles back into it. I think I've done as many miles driving it home as was driven last year. My mum was worried that it hadn't had its annual oil change yet this year. However Porsche I think only require bi-annual services and the oil in this sump has done less than 100 miles since it was changed last year... Tbh given it a good run first and then an oil change when I give it back, will probably be the best timing for it.

It feels very special to be sat in and drive. Handles tight as a drum. Power doesn't feel very punchy and I remember this last time I drove it back to back with my Boxster (also a 2.7 but older and less power). My suspicion/hope is simply that it needs a good few fresh tanks of fuel running through it and a good run.

I'm looking back at Z4 coupé again. Would be awesome to have the pair on the drive together given they were direct competitors at the time. Both I can see be big money cars in a decade or twos time.

[Cookiesouwest]

And its in the very best colour

 

[Dan29]

Very nice - I loved my 2.7 Boxster. I also enjoyed a visit to Clevedon this week - first time since I was a kid in the 80s 🙂

[Split_Pin]

I'd get that e90 hunted and focus on that lovely Cayman.

But you were already thinking that anyway 😉

[dome]

I costed up doing my e60 530d transmission service and in the end farmed it out to a tame mechanic. The thought of trying to do it without a ramp, especially when it comes to the refill and getting the level right, put me off. I now have a ramp but no e60

[SiC]

Life's been busy but some moderns automotive updates.

Firstly the Cayman is fantastic and feels so special. I have forgotten how great it is to drive a top notch pampered car that has had everything sorted, always garaged, lowish miles, single owner that hasn't made the car stinky.

I even jizzed over it washed and hoovered it. (It really needed it)

However I have had to get used to parking it in the middle of absolutely nowhere to make sure no prick dents the doors.

Or parking next to fellow Porsche bros. This cars brake discs probably are as much as the Cayman is worth now.

Also parked there was this nice Bristol.

Also on the way over I spotted this old slightly shonky Merc doing daily driver duty for someone. Those black and white plates really suit it I think.

Finally to bring things back to earth, I spotted this impressive heap literally zip tied together.

 

What else has happened? Well I replaced the front pads and discs on the Civic. Not very exciting tbh and easy enough job apart from one retaining screw had  to be drilled out (soft as butter they are). Probably should outsource this sort of stuff to a garage as I cba to do this usually. However it's better to be outside doing something constructive than watching some wank on TV in an evening. 

I put APEC Red discs on this. Really impressed with the quality feel of the parts. Hopefully they'll last as long as what was on there. We've had this 2.75 years and put on 35k in that time. The stuff that came off was genuine Honda parts, so definitely I've not had them done as I wouldn't have paid out for that. Previous 2 owners both kept it as Honda main dealer serviced up at the same Conwy garage.

Still had 4mm pad on them so probably could have lasted a bit longer. However I rather did this job when it wasn't below zero and/or raining which it will be soon.

I forgot to take a finished photo on the left side, so have one on the right....

Again nothing exciting about this. Apart from these Aldi screw removers actually finally was useful for once in removing the drilled out screw remains.

 

Even less exciting is that I put four new tyres on it. Goodyear All-Seasons as on offer and cheaper than the Michelin CrossClimates I was going to get. Fronts lasted 26k. Rears at least 35k and going by the date code, probably over 50k miles. 

So spent nearly £500 all in on the Civic this month. Still need to do the rear pads and discs but I think they can wait a bit longer. By far the biggest bill it's had in our ownership apart from insurance. In that 2.75yrs/35k it's had 2 tyres, 3 oil change services, plugs, air filter and a single coil pack. I'd say that's really good going but then it's a Honda that's "only" done 112k.

 

Onto 3 series news, I finally bought a set of NGK plugs to go with the new coil packs I bought. It's far more of a faff to work on than the Civic. Stupid shelf above the engine needs removing and obligatory beauty cover over the engine too. Managed to loose two of the bolts holding that cover on in the process. Left it off for now as I don't care for it being there.

Old coils are all mismatched. 3 are original (back bank) and 3 were all different (front bank). This is why I changed them to keep them all the same. The far right coil (coil 6 on the engine) had lost some of its rubber protective coating too. I won't throw these coils and keep them as backup spares.

Plugs weren't awful but these have only done 10k miles if the service indicator on the dashboard is to be believed. Some scorched marks on the insulation. Denso branded.

I actually torqued up the new plugs as these early N52 engines have a magnesium block and I really didn't want to damage anything. I'm not being paid per job or hour so the extra time to do it doesn't bother me. 23nm +/- 3nm is the spec apparently. You can see that the access isn't exactly amazing even with the covers all off. Certainly not like the Civic.

Also checked the eccentric shaft sensor connector that is used for the Valvetronic system to vary valve lift and what acts as a throttle. These fail internally and get oil from the engine into them up through the connector. I cleaned off a small amount of oil about 1k miles ago and its stayed bone dry since then. This is good as I don't really want to change this sensor. Like a hundred quid plus replacement rocker cover gaskets as the top has to come off.

I also removed the oil filter cap in the expectation of replacing it from the centre basket being missing. Apparently these usually get lost on an oil change and cause unfiltered oil to circulate around the engine. Just turns out mine is absolutely fine so I put the new one back in the box again for now...

Started it up and ran absolutely fine. Well almost, it still had the slight rough running for a bit that it occasionally does and a reason why I changed those coils and plugs in the first place. Along with not needing to do the filter cap, I basically spent an hour or so not fixing a single thing on it but spending money on parts.

Go me.

 

In Z4 news that's still in storage. It'll come back out at the end of the month when I'll put the Cayman into storage and out of the approaching gritted roads. One of our new starter grads is looking to get a new car. He really wants a E46 330ci or a MX5 MK3. I convinced him that a Z4 makes far more sense than the MX5. I love MX5s but the Zed is cheaper, quicker, nicer interior and better spec while being much cheaper to buy. Being over a decade and half older than him, I completely forget that insurance is a bugger at that age. So the Z4 is probably going to be cheaper than the E46 to insure too. 

I've offered to lend it to him for the weekend to give him a good idea if he likes them or not. So might be disappearing off soon. I don't intend to sell it yet though (despite his interest) as I kinda like it and wouldn't get another fully sorted on for what it owes me. That said there is always something that catches my eye to change to. (Maybe MG TF? But slower and less refined than my Z4)