I want to do all of this to my 2002 BMW Z3 M roadster. Love the mods! The radio is so awesome, the square sub fits like a glove and new steering wheel is a perfect fit. My door panels like most of the interior is showing it's age. I had mine since late 2003 and love it but those mods make me want to do more to it.
Thank you, and I wish I had a Z3 M, on my list of cars to own but values just keep going higher on them, it sound like you must have a well kept car owning it for so long. One challenge I will say is that trying to fit a double din radio is quite hard and needs to be a low profile unit depth-wise since the air duct is behind there. The custom sub box was not too hard to create, the challenge was getting enough volume for the Solo Baric as it sits right across the behind-the-seat crossmember and this cuts into the box profile, hope that make sense. I did try a sub in the trunk but these verts just have too much metal blocking the sound. Anyways best of luck on your mods and appreciate your comment!
@@BaldManMotors I wish I could say it was in great shape but she's had a hard life and some door digs like one in the rear fender above the center of the tire when a kid kicked to door open on his moms Tahoe. I just got out of my car and she seen it happen, it hurt me... she looked at it saying that sucks and walks away. Have some many digs like that. But my drive train and used side is great unlike my leather seats which the leather has shrunk ripping some and the gear shifter worn from me rowing gears just like the steering wheel from where I hold it. Many little things but a great car that needs love. My wife of 11 years now isn't a fan and Jeep parts are what we get for her Jeep lol. But someday my Z will get some love
@fryrear technology I am so sorry that that happened to your Z do that, a shame that people bear little responsibility for their of their children's actions nowadays. Sounds like your z has some great patina in the interior department, if anything some great memories were created making them. I am blessed that my wife likes our cars nearly as much as I do, her dream is to restore a E30 vert someday. Thanks for the comment!
@@BaldManMotors patina and memories indeed. My wife pulled up in a mustang for our first blind date meeting a Fuji Japanese Hibachi. I was standing next to my car and she didn't know it was me. As she walked up I say high and she loved that little car. My car I complimented her mustang saying thank you then she said wait that's yours. It was funny because she told me years later she though she was hot stuff pulling up in a mustang then here I was looking sharp with a BMW sport car. It was funny 12 years together she's not a fan of riding in my car still but she's all about her Jeep now. The e30's are so awesome I miss my '86 318is my first BMW.
Cool fixes and mods. I have a 2.3 as well (which is actually a 2.5 liter engine). I wouldn't exactly describe it as a "screaming" engine. They are fairly long legged and lazy if you ask me. Nice torque that is comfortable in any gear yet it is fun to run through the gears at higher rpms when you like. But then, I guess it is all relative. Happy motoring.☺☺☺
Do you have a video of the Getrag transmission fluid replacement? I have a manual transmission and BMW told me to replace the fluid with ATF and the filter. The transmission doesnt have a filter so I dont even know if I can trust them anymore. What type or brand of transmission fluid did you use and how much fluid did it take to replace it?
All good, love the exhaust, did it breath noticably better with a tubular manifold, and are you improving the wheel offset using spacers ? Thanks for all your input, it certainly helps.
Hey I have i friend selling one, the front of the engine bag by the radiator is making a rattling sound. I have a video of it. Can you help me figure out what it is? It’s a 2000 z3 2.3
Good, informative, to the point video. I stumbled across your great UA-cam video and very much enjoy it. I am owning the same car (make, model, year, engine, etc.) since brand new. Only has 57,000km, approx. 36,000miles. Yep, I reside in Vancouver, British Columbia of Canada. I put the Z3 in storage 11moths out of a year for a variety of reasons. There have been multiple issues which prevented me using the vehicle on a more regular basis. Your video contents identified you as a smart and resourceful fellow who is definitely capable to provide some genuine assistance and advices. Would you kindly take a few of your valuable moments to entertain a retired bimmer lover with hints, advices, tips, tricks, technical information, suggestions, etc.?
@ Steve Chan First of all welcome and thank you for your encouraging comment and secondly wow, so low miles and truly one owner Z3 :) While I am no expert I will gladly try my best to help. What issues are you encountering?
@@BaldManMotors Here are my issues: 1. The vehicle is in stock condition with the only modifications: “front tower struts” and “butt strut” by a company called “Strong-Strut”. It didn’t cause any ride clearance issue until a few years later as the vehicle bottomed out easily when going through parkade humps. I believe the struts/shocks, or spring, or both had worn out due to aging? Also, the vehicle overall height had shrunk or my old age finally set in and told me I am to old for climbing in and out of the roadster? I am considering to replace the strut/shock and spring in an effort to restore the original ride height and keep it from bottoms out. Any suggestions of make and model? I have been told it’s impossible to raise the ride height while lowering is possible? 2. Potentiality I want to change the vehicle to my daily drive vehicle in the near future. What modifications are considered good for improving reliability? For e.g. a few years back an article described the water pump has some plastic plastic parts can fail and causing expansive damages? Any advices/suggestions will be greatly appreciated!
@@stevechan5569 As far as getting it back to stock ride height I would suggest replacing the rear shock and front strut rubber mounts, these are relatively inexpensive and tend to compress a little over time, lowering height. I am not 100% sure but you may be able to find thicker rear spring lower pads but that would only help the rear lift up. As far as replacing struts and shocks, I will be doing a video soon as I just received my replacements. I first went with a cheap set a year or so ago and they did not last very long so this time I spent a bit of coin and got the Bilstein B8 series yellow set. These would be a little firmer than stock so you could go with the Bilstein HD B6 series which should be close to factory ride stiffness. Are you able to see if the factory struts leak at all? Often they are Bilstein and last awhile but I am unsure if the seals would have held up over time. What year is your Z3 and which engine/transmission? I currently live in Florida and with the heat here cooling systems are the Achilles heal of the older BMW drivetrain. If you have a factory plastic engine cooling fan I would recommend replacing that as they get brittle over time and then grenade into the radiator. I did an electric conversion on mine but you could always just get a replacement fan blade for around $30-45 USD. Factory water pumps often have plastic impellers and the thermostat housing on the M52 6 Cyl are often plastic and prone to cracking. $15 USD gets you a aluminum housing and a metal impeller pump runs $30-$60 depending on quality. As long as you don't ever overheat your BMW you should be fine. For other thing I would recommend checking the rubber seals around the top corner of the A-pillar as this is usually the first place they leak. Later on in your cars life I would also recommend keeping an eye on your subframe. I would think you should be fine for now with such low miles. Other things that often fail are the usual suspects, sagging glovebox, upper seat seatbelt retainers, interior door card handles are weak, exterior door handle seals crack prematurely and the window motors often get slow and lethargic over time. In my experience my Z3 has been far more reliable than my E36s I used to own and I don't mean to make these wonderful cars sound like junk because as long as they get the right amount of care they hold up ok and are a joy to drive. I hope this helps and if any other owners out there make it this far in this comment, chime in with your experience! :)
@@BaldManMotors WOW, you have provided me with loads of valuable information which I will keep and use it as the basis to help reactivate and maintain the vehicle to the reliable manner. I would need some time to digest the information and perhaps discussing with a knowledgeable mechanic. By the way, the Z3 roadster is year 2000 with the M52 (2.5L) engine, 5 speed stick shift. Thanks again and I will keep an eye on your channel and look forward to see more of your videos.
It had a hole when I bought it, no clock etc so I moved the HVAC down and then made brackets out of aluminum to hold radio then made the faceplate surround out of leather wrapped metal.
I want to do all of this to my 2002 BMW Z3 M roadster. Love the mods! The radio is so awesome, the square sub fits like a glove and new steering wheel is a perfect fit. My door panels like most of the interior is showing it's age. I had mine since late 2003 and love it but those mods make me want to do more to it.
Thank you, and I wish I had a Z3 M, on my list of cars to own but values just keep going higher on them, it sound like you must have a well kept car owning it for so long. One challenge I will say is that trying to fit a double din radio is quite hard and needs to be a low profile unit depth-wise since the air duct is behind there. The custom sub box was not too hard to create, the challenge was getting enough volume for the Solo Baric as it sits right across the behind-the-seat crossmember and this cuts into the box profile, hope that make sense. I did try a sub in the trunk but these verts just have too much metal blocking the sound. Anyways best of luck on your mods and appreciate your comment!
@@BaldManMotors I wish I could say it was in great shape but she's had a hard life and some door digs like one in the rear fender above the center of the tire when a kid kicked to door open on his moms Tahoe. I just got out of my car and she seen it happen, it hurt me... she looked at it saying that sucks and walks away. Have some many digs like that. But my drive train and used side is great unlike my leather seats which the leather has shrunk ripping some and the gear shifter worn from me rowing gears just like the steering wheel from where I hold it. Many little things but a great car that needs love. My wife of 11 years now isn't a fan and Jeep parts are what we get for her Jeep lol. But someday my Z will get some love
@fryrear technology I am so sorry that that happened to your Z do that, a shame that people bear little responsibility for their of their children's actions nowadays. Sounds like your z has some great patina in the interior department, if anything some great memories were created making them. I am blessed that my wife likes our cars nearly as much as I do, her dream is to restore a E30 vert someday. Thanks for the comment!
@@BaldManMotors patina and memories indeed. My wife pulled up in a mustang for our first blind date meeting a Fuji Japanese Hibachi. I was standing next to my car and she didn't know it was me. As she walked up I say high and she loved that little car. My car I complimented her mustang saying thank you then she said wait that's yours. It was funny because she told me years later she though she was hot stuff pulling up in a mustang then here I was looking sharp with a BMW sport car. It was funny 12 years together she's not a fan of riding in my car still but she's all about her Jeep now. The e30's are so awesome I miss my '86 318is my first BMW.
Nice video; brief, action packed, well-shot, great audio. Love the car! Sounds like great mods fairly on the cheap. Look forward to more!
Thank you, much appreciated!
Cool fixes and mods. I have a 2.3 as well (which is actually a 2.5 liter engine). I wouldn't exactly describe it as a "screaming" engine. They are fairly long legged and lazy if you ask me. Nice torque that is comfortable in any gear yet it is fun to run through the gears at higher rpms when you like. But then, I guess it is all relative. Happy motoring.☺☺☺
More video on the z please!
Definitely will have more soon! Thanks for watching!
Do you have a video of the Getrag transmission fluid replacement?
I have a manual transmission and BMW told me to replace the fluid with ATF and the filter. The transmission doesnt have a filter so I dont even know if I can trust them anymore.
What type or brand of transmission fluid did you use and how much fluid did it take to replace it?
You should do a video as to how to get to the speakers. I have to do mine.
Could you post the air intake kit link plz 🙏🏼
Are those inserts to prevent the window switch pushing through? Where did you get them?
All good, love the exhaust, did it breath noticably better with a tubular manifold, and are you improving the wheel offset using spacers ?
Thanks for all your input, it certainly helps.
im buying the same tuned dme but i still have my cats... little worried about the pop tune melting them
Love the video I have the same car, What size is your double din Android head unit & sub speaker I would to apply same feature
Hi there and thanks! It is a 7" screen, I think Pumpkin brand on amazon is the make of it. The sub is an 8" square Kicker Solo Baric L7S84.
Bald Man Motors “ awesome ! thanks a lot (:
Hey I have i friend selling one, the front of the engine bag by the radiator is making a rattling sound. I have a video of it. Can you help me figure out what it is? It’s a 2000 z3 2.3
Good, informative, to the point video. I stumbled across your great UA-cam video and very much enjoy it. I am owning the same car (make, model, year, engine, etc.) since brand new. Only has 57,000km, approx. 36,000miles. Yep, I reside in Vancouver, British Columbia of Canada. I put the Z3 in storage 11moths out of a year for a variety of reasons. There have been multiple issues which prevented me using the vehicle on a more regular basis. Your video contents identified you as a smart and resourceful fellow who is definitely capable to provide some genuine assistance and advices. Would you kindly take a few of your valuable moments to entertain a retired bimmer lover with hints, advices, tips, tricks, technical information, suggestions, etc.?
@ Steve Chan First of all welcome and thank you for your encouraging comment and secondly wow, so low miles and truly one owner Z3 :) While I am no expert I will gladly try my best to help. What issues are you encountering?
@@BaldManMotors
Here are my issues:
1. The vehicle is in stock condition with the only modifications: “front tower struts” and “butt strut” by a company called “Strong-Strut”. It didn’t cause any ride clearance issue until a few years later as the vehicle bottomed out easily when going through parkade humps. I believe the struts/shocks, or spring, or both had worn out due to aging? Also, the vehicle overall height had shrunk or my old age finally set in and told me I am to old for climbing in and out of the roadster? I am considering to replace the strut/shock and spring in an effort to restore the original ride height and keep it from bottoms out. Any suggestions of make and model? I have been told it’s impossible to raise the ride height while lowering is possible?
2. Potentiality I want to change the vehicle to my daily drive vehicle in the near future. What modifications are considered good for improving reliability? For e.g. a few years back an article described the water pump has some plastic plastic parts can fail and causing expansive damages?
Any advices/suggestions will be greatly appreciated!
@@stevechan5569 As far as getting it back to stock ride height I would suggest replacing the rear shock and front strut rubber mounts, these are relatively inexpensive and tend to compress a little over time, lowering height. I am not 100% sure but you may be able to find thicker rear spring lower pads but that would only help the rear lift up. As far as replacing struts and shocks, I will be doing a video soon as I just received my replacements. I first went with a cheap set a year or so ago and they did not last very long so this time I spent a bit of coin and got the Bilstein B8 series yellow set. These would be a little firmer than stock so you could go with the Bilstein HD B6 series which should be close to factory ride stiffness. Are you able to see if the factory struts leak at all? Often they are Bilstein and last awhile but I am unsure if the seals would have held up over time.
What year is your Z3 and which engine/transmission? I currently live in Florida and with the heat here cooling systems are the Achilles heal of the older BMW drivetrain. If you have a factory plastic engine cooling fan I would recommend replacing that as they get brittle over time and then grenade into the radiator. I did an electric conversion on mine but you could always just get a replacement fan blade for around $30-45 USD. Factory water pumps often have plastic impellers and the thermostat housing on the M52 6 Cyl are often plastic and prone to cracking. $15 USD gets you a aluminum housing and a metal impeller pump runs $30-$60 depending on quality. As long as you don't ever overheat your BMW you should be fine.
For other thing I would recommend checking the rubber seals around the top corner of the A-pillar as this is usually the first place they leak. Later on in your cars life I would also recommend keeping an eye on your subframe. I would think you should be fine for now with such low miles. Other things that often fail are the usual suspects, sagging glovebox, upper seat seatbelt retainers, interior door card handles are weak, exterior door handle seals crack prematurely and the window motors often get slow and lethargic over time.
In my experience my Z3 has been far more reliable than my E36s I used to own and I don't mean to make these wonderful cars sound like junk because as long as they get the right amount of care they hold up ok and are a joy to drive.
I hope this helps and if any other owners out there make it this far in this comment, chime in with your experience! :)
@@BaldManMotors WOW, you have provided me with loads of valuable information which I will keep and use it as the basis to help reactivate and maintain the vehicle to the reliable manner. I would need some time to digest the information and perhaps discussing with a knowledgeable mechanic. By the way, the Z3 roadster is year 2000 with the M52 (2.5L) engine, 5 speed stick shift. Thanks again and I will keep an eye on your channel and look forward to see more of your videos.
How did you installed the two din stereo?
It had a hole when I bought it, no clock etc so I moved the HVAC down and then made brackets out of aluminum to hold radio then made the faceplate surround out of leather wrapped metal.
How many miles did the car have when you purchased it?
I am buying a 2000 Z3 myself. I have tons of questions for you. Is there an email I could pick your brain through?