Materials to Maintain Your ZHP IIIII Hand Protection IIIII Tools to Maintain Your ZHP
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  1. #1
    Join Date
    Feb 2012
    Location
    Gainesville, FL
    Posts
    70

    New ZHP owner in N. Fla

    Hi folks,

    As of last week, I'm the proud new owner of a ZHP sedan. I did a lot of fact finding on this forum before purchasing it and am thrilled to join as a member.

    Short bio on me: I'm 42, married, with 2 kids, and live in Gainesville, FL. This is my 6th BMW (in order: e36 M3, e30 M3, e36 M3, e46 325iT, e39 M5 - all purchased used) and I love it so far. When not driving the ZHP, I have a gutted '91 Miata (Hard Dog roll bar, harnesses, etc) that I turbo'd for light track/auto-x duty. I'm in sales for a real estate software company.

    As for the ZHP, I started shopping, having sold my M5 after only owning it for 8 months. It was gorgeous, but not terribly practical to use as a DD in my opinion. And reading many of the terrifying repair stories online didn't help. Once I sold it, I started shopping for a replacement in earnest (while driving a rental car for ~2 weeks, much to my wife's chagrin). I looked outside the BMW brand briefly but mainly focused on ZHPs and the 335i. I've always liked the former while the latter was appealing because of the forced induction. In the end, I decided on the ZHP, based on lower cost of buy in and how much I loved my e46 wagon.

    I found my car on bimmerforums and bought it based on pictures and a PPI. I was focused on Imola cars (both of my e36 M3s were red - one was Mugello and the other Imola) and fell for this one once I realized it had the Natural color leather interior. 78k miles on the clock. It was in northern Virginia, so I ended a business trip there and drove it home. The drive was uneventful, for the most part, and gave me a chance to get acquainted with the car. It's been fun to drive and looks great.

    Since I picked it up, I've noticed a few issues. The first was during the long ride home. In 5th or 6th gear, when applying WOT, the car clearly stumbles around 70 mph. From what I've read, this is not the first ZHP to suffer from this and it seems to be a DME issue. I'd love additional feedback on it before engaging in hand-to-hand combat with the local dealer to get it fixed. It seems like some folks have gotten reprogramming done for free, while others have paid mightily for it.

    Another issue is the sketchy taillight recall. The car suffers from that, but luckily the PO included the recall paperwork for me, so that shouldn't be a fight.

    The exterior was described as "slight road rash", though I would term what this car has as "serious" road rash. Maybe it's because I've never lived in a place with snow, salt, sand, rocks, etc but this car's front end has seen better days. I may end up having the front air bumper repainted as a result.

    The interior is pretty good. Leather is in good shape but pretty hard (suggestions?). Carpets are clean. The only issues are within the center console. The hazard/central locking switch is cracked and depressed within it's position, so I need a new switch. The cup holders are marred up and the console itself (housing those items) is pretty torn up. Luckily none of them are terribly expensive, so I'm going to replace all three.

    There is also a stereo issue. The PO replaced some components, as he stated in his FS thread:

    "Upgraded stereo from Myer Emco, Boston Acoustics Z series components with JL 4 channel amp, factory head, steering wheel controls intact"

    What I'm experiencing is really 2 issues. First, with the car on or at least the key to acc on, but the stereo off, there is discernible white noise. I guess I would call it static. Not loud, but certainly annoying. The second issue is, with the radio on, there is a high pitch whine that goes higher or lower coincident with vehicle speed. I know zero about stereo set up, so please offer any suggestions you can think of on this front. My guess is some wiring is picking up interference but it really is just a guess.

    Like most BMW enthusiasts, I plan a few upgrades, though nothing terribly serious. It came with black kidneys, which I like and will keep and factory calipers painted red, which I don't and won't. My first upgrade has already been accomplished, which was a new shift knob (thanks to UdubBadger!). The old one was really worn. Next will be clear corners, as I'm not a fan of the amber on red look. The front headlight lenses will be replaced, as they've suffered the same road rash the car has. I will replace the front moulding with the license plate delete strip, given that FL doesn't require front plates. After that will most likely be different wheels. I had BBS RCs on my wagon and loved the look. Not sure what to go with on this car.

    That's certainly long winded enough, so I'll stop there. I look forward to learning a great deal about this neat model and hope to contribute meaningful content when possible. The picture below is from the PO's FS thread, so we'll consider it the "before" picture.


  2. #2
    Join Date
    Jan 1970
    Location
    Liberty Township, OH
    Posts
    37,935
    Welcome.

    HTC Thunderbolt+TT
    Call Me Dane l 2/2004 330i ZHP l 18x8 ET45 BBS CK's wrapped with Michelin Pilot Sport AS3+ @ 245-40-18 l KW V1 Coilovers in front l KW V1 springs w/ Bilstein B8 dampeners in rear l BMW Performance Rotors l UUC StrutBarbarian l Racing Dynamics Rear Strut Bar l Jim Conforti Shark Injector l Light Birch Interior Trim l Bimmian Celly Mount l M3 Trunk Mat l l e90 Performance E-Brake & Shift Knob l M3 Tri-Stitched Boots l AL Headlight Retrofit with ZKW Lenses l CobyWheel Wrap w/M3 Stitching l LCM sw 4.5 triple blink and rear fogs l Maple Interior Trim

  3. #3
    Welcome! Rock-on with the Imola sedan! LOVE IT!
    ------
    A Venza just isn't the same as a ZHP.

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Jan 1970
    Location
    32.8 N, 117.3 W
    Posts
    7,640
    Congratulations on the new ZHP and membership to the best forum around. I would love to see pics of your other BMW's (since I'm now on my 3rd and 4th)

  5. #5
    Join Date
    Aug 2011
    Location
    The Windy City
    Posts
    9,155
    Hey buddy, good to see ya posting finally. How bout a caliper swap (I was gonna paint mine anyway)?
    Call me Seth
    CURRENT: 2016 Long Beach Blue BMW /// M2
    RETIRED: ‘15 F22 M235i | '08 E90 M3 DCT "GoinHAM3" | '04 E46 M3 6MT "WEGOHAM"
    '04 330i ZHP | '11 E82 135i | '08 E90 328xi | 07 E91 328xi SportWagon

    Quote Originally Posted by danewilson77 View Post
    If I wore panties, I'd be dropping them right now.

  6. #6
    Join Date
    May 2011
    Location
    A,GA
    Posts
    994
    Based on that picture that thing is pretty cherry, but I guess pics can hide rash. Imola on natural is legendary. Congrats on an excellent color combo.

    For your leather: leatherique. /discussion

    For your stereo: do you mean varies with speed, or engine RPM? if it is RPM, that sounds like it is picking up some alternator whine. This is usually pretty hard to do with BMWs since the battery is in the trunk and as a result the amp power wire doesn't usually run alongside other stuff. I'd check the wire routing, make sure any runs aren't parallel with any factory lines, and also see where your RCAs are routed - they should ideally be totally by themselves, but most folks take the easy way out, run them along the door, and as a result alongside more factory wiring.

    The white noise may be from some line level converters or something - I'd have to know more details about every component in the system to help trace it. You're unfortunately probably going to have to spend a fair bit of time pulling the interior apart and tracing components.

    Beyond all that, welcome! I look forward to a good project thread.

    Paul

  7. #7
    Join Date
    Feb 2012
    Location
    Melbourne, FL
    Posts
    2,099
    YAY!!! Another Imola Sedan!

    Welcome to the family.

    Also if you want to save some cash don't replace the console but give it a light sanding and give it a coat of plastidip. I am doing this to mine next week.

  8. #8
    Join Date
    Jan 1970
    Location
    Southern California
    Posts
    18,064
    Welcome. As far as stereo, what Paul said. I also 2nd Leatherique. GL!
    Randeaux/Rando/John/jr - '06 Cic ZHP; Southern California
    "ZHP or not, I still like you"


    ZHP Performance Package, Cold Weather Package, Leather, Jet Black/Black/BlackCube, NAV, Anthracite Black "my individual" interior trim
    ESS Stage 1 Twin Screw Supercharger, Sprint Booster, BMW Perf Intake, Magnaflow Exhaust, Dinan TB & STEP S/W, UCC Sway Bars, Apex EC-7 18x8.5 ET38
    Suspension: AST 44100 dampers, Bimmerworld front adjustable end links, Swift springs (8K front, 10K rear), Vorshlag camber plates
    Dynavin D99+, Hardwire V1 (w/V1 Connection), BSW Stage 1 Speakers, Kicker Amp/Subwoofer
    BMW Performance Strut Brace, Orion V2 Angel Eyes, No-holes License Plate, SMG Paddle Shift Mod, Besian VANOS, Gold DISA, Fan Delete, M3 Side Mirrors
    Note: Actual car no longer resembles signature picture

  9. #9
    Join Date
    Feb 2012
    Location
    Gainesville, FL
    Posts
    70
    Thanks for the warm welcome folks! I've heard great things about this group and it is certainly living up to the billing! In response to some specific questions, here are responses.

    @hermes - A quick pic search turned up one of my M3s, my wagon and the M5 (see below). The M5 was GORGEOUS. Lemans over caramel. Simply stunning. A great car just scary when it comes to possible expenses.

    @UdubBadger - Thanks for the shift knob and for the invite to the forum. I feel like a member already!

    @zj96sc - I'll check out Leatherique. Thanks for the tip. On the stereo front, the noise does vary with RPM. Given how little I know about stereo, I may hunt down a competent local shop and ask for their help. And I'll start a project thread shortly!

    @328ioc - I'm all about saving money, but the issue is that the switch and the console are both broken and/or chipped. Given that, they need replacement, and I might as well replace the cup holder at the same time.




  10. #10
    Join Date
    Jan 1970
    Location
    Liberty Township, OH
    Posts
    37,935
    Call Me Dane l 2/2004 330i ZHP l 18x8 ET45 BBS CK's wrapped with Michelin Pilot Sport AS3+ @ 245-40-18 l KW V1 Coilovers in front l KW V1 springs w/ Bilstein B8 dampeners in rear l BMW Performance Rotors l UUC StrutBarbarian l Racing Dynamics Rear Strut Bar l Jim Conforti Shark Injector l Light Birch Interior Trim l Bimmian Celly Mount l M3 Trunk Mat l l e90 Performance E-Brake & Shift Knob l M3 Tri-Stitched Boots l AL Headlight Retrofit with ZKW Lenses l CobyWheel Wrap w/M3 Stitching l LCM sw 4.5 triple blink and rear fogs l Maple Interior Trim

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