Just bought my Z3! Would love advice!

[Cory Johnson]

My name is Cory, I guess I will start with a little about myself. I am 23, married with 4 kids, and my family is the most important thing in the world to me. I was in the army for 4 years as Military Police, and I am now in my ARR (active ready reserve) portion of my contract, which means I am technically in the Army if they need me, but I don't really do anything other than check in once a year. I am not a gun nut, but I like guns and have a very modest collection. I am a computer technician, and I own my own small business fixing residential and business computers (think geek squad but more knowledgeable and less commercial). I was in a motorcycle accident 1 month ago (negligent driver was at fault) that almost killed me, and so I decided to hang up the helmet (picture of my accident is attached). I figure it's best not to push my luck. So to replace my 07 zx6r, I just picked up a 1998 BMW Z3 Roadster, 2.8 v6 with 78,000 VERY well maintained miles. I hope I am not sounding conceited but it is BEAUTIFUL! I just got it today so I guess I have a week or so of bragging and then I have to be humble again . It is completely stock other than an aftermarket open air filter. I am not planning on anything very soon, considering I just bought it and my piggy banks a bit low, but I would like to do some tasteful mods to it at some point. I already feel like it is FAST but would like to do some performance mods that would give me some extra juice without reducing reliability or being too hard on the engine. This is my daily driver, not just my weekender, so an extra bonus would be better MPG if anyone knows any mods that will do anything like that. I am excited to hear from everyone, and thanks for taking the time to read my post!

 

[GazHyde]

Welcome Cory ,

That's a pretty scary looking end to your 2 wheeled career . Would be great to see some pictures of the Z3 as well.

Don't ever be worried about being proud of your Z3 on here, we are all hardcore when it comes to pride

Oh, and all the bigger Z3 engines are a straight six, rather than a V6.

Cheers, Gary

 

[jonco]

Ouch - glad you're Ok.
- you made the right choice.

 

[reddyzeddygo]

Hi Cory, and big welcome to the Forum
Looking forward to a few pics of your new Zed

 

[Aceman]

Hi Cory,

Welcome to the forum and a great car you have chosen considerring all the cars you could have gone for the Z3 is the right choice.

With regard to your poll I think you will have survived as you are or were a responsible biker and had full protective clothing on at the time which saved you bacon. However your last option of "Hit the truck and went OVER it , landing on the other side in pain, but alive." is exactly what happened to me back in '88 when I was biking !!

The car that pulled out on me was a hell of alot worse off that than truck you hit though as I hit it around 30mph as I had no time to hit the brakes and practically ripped the front end of the car off catapulting me 50yds up the road somersaulting end over end until I landed on my feet consequently breaking my right foot. Only had 3 days off work though but could have been so much worse though if I had hit the car a foot further over.

Pics, pics, pics please of your new pride and joy as we love pictures on here.

 

[FRANKIE]

My name is Cory, I guess I will start with a little about myself. I am 23, married with 4 kids, and my family is the most important thing in the world to me. I was in the army for 4 years as Military Police, and I am now in my ARR (active ready reserve) portion of my contract, which means I am technically in the Army if they need me, but I don't really do anything other than check in once a year. I am not a gun nut, but I like guns and have a very modest collection. I am a computer technician, and I own my own small business fixing residential and business computers (think geek squad but more knowledgeable and less commercial). I was in a motorcycle accident 1 month ago (negligent driver was at fault) that almost killed me, and so I decided to hang up the helmet (picture of my accident is attached). I figure it's best not to push my luck. So to replace my 07 zx6r, I just picked up a 1998 BMW Z3 Roadster, 2.8 v6 with 78,000 VERY well maintained miles. I hope I am not sounding conceited but it is BEAUTIFUL! I just got it today so I guess I have a week or so of bragging and then I have to be humble again . It is completely stock other than an aftermarket open air filter. I am not planning on anything very soon, considering I just bought it and my piggy banks a bit low, but I would like to do some tasteful mods to it at some point. I already feel like it is FAST but would like to do some performance mods that would give me some extra juice without reducing reliability or being too hard on the engine. This is my daily driver, not just my weekender, so an extra bonus would be better MPG if anyone knows any mods that will do anything like that. I am excited to hear from everyone, and thanks for taking the time to read my post!

View attachment 4090

Hi Cory and welcome to the forum. You've come to the right place for information and help on your z. If you post pictures of it, you'll find that there are several members that have the same model and are very knowledgable about most aspects of your car. I noticed the photo that you posted and hope that you weren't seriously injured. I'm on this side of the pond in south Jersey. I noticed that there are palm trees in your picture so I suppose you're from Florida, the Gulf coast or California. Good country to run around with the top down. Had an accident when I was on a cycle when I was 18. Hit the back of a stopped car who didn't have break lights the first week I owned the bike. Flew over the car and landed in front of it. Played Superman for a few seconds. It was in October and was dressed heavily and a helmet. Thought I was going to die. Looked back at the bike and thought my father was going to kill me but then thought, I'll never see him again. But got up and walked away. At work now, Must go back . Frankie

 

[Shelly]

Hi Cory welcome to the forum ,

 

[bruce&kim]

hi Cory and welcome..i have a 2.8 and the fan delete mod did improve mpg and performance for me...as did a remap

 

[hard top]

Welcome from me too.
A mate of mine crashed his HD when he hit a gravel patch and ended up in a front garden.
His buddy went back to look for him and did the exact same thing and landed on top of him in the same place.
Two wrecked bikes but luck was on their side, as they had the proper kit on
An amazing accident (we laugh about it now)

 

[Cory Johnson]

Well to answer the poll I posted, I was in the left lane going northbound around 45mph. There was a gas station on the northeast corner of the intersection I had just entered, when I saw a guy in a blue Tacoma fly out of the gas station, turning left. He of course didn't even look and so I had about 2 car lengths between him and I, and I was going 45 mph. The idiot decided to then STOP in the middle of the road instead of continuing his murderous move, and so I tilted left and kicked off my bike. I hit the ground at 45 mph, but instead of going end over end I did a homerun slide just under his front bumper, and about 2 inches from his front tire. My bike obviously collided with the truck, but thankfully I skidded to relative safety. So the answer is I went under the truck to avoid death. I will take some nice pictures of me Z when I have a chance, and to answer the question of location, I actually live in Arizona, so great top down weather here as well And I will look into the Fan delete and remap, thanks for the tip! Thank you all so much for the warm welcome, its good to be part of the forum!

 

[zedonist]

Its a welcome from the M44 Massive as well..........

 

[joey]

Hi Corey,

welcome sir!

I too am or "was" a biker, I had a speed triple, a 996 ,and a hornet, came of at 60mph on a country road and not a scratch..(summer time and I went over a hedge and bounced on my behind across a grassy field !) bike was totalled as was the rabbit that took me out!..

glad you are OK and fully agree with your decision to hang up your helmet boots and leathers...what did for me was not the thought of being killed but being injured in some way that would change my life, with 4 kids and a wife you have made a sensible choice...I sometimes miss my bikes but wouldn't go back on one now..

I can relate to your choice of the Z3 its a lovely car and from a bikers point of view will "almost" give you the same thrill you got from riding your bike but with an added comfort factor...I love mine and would never go back to bikes now..and its nice to have the mrs riding shotgun with out worrying that she might be hurt..

enjoy the forum ,really nice knowledgable bunch on here..

 

[t-tony]

Hi Cory, a big welcome from me in Lincoln, UK. I never had a bike, only a moped(don't ask) I never had the liking for one although I did enjoy riding them off road there were too many idiots on the roads over here and on a bike you have little protection in a crash. I'm glad you're ok now. Please post pictures when you can.

 

[Mint]

Hi Cory, from me too. Pleased you're ok after your accident. As others have said we would love to see some photos of your Zed - forum rules you know

 

[Cory Johnson]

I will be taking some nice pictures today. I am going to be using my wife's phone since my phone camera was cracked in my wreck. I apologize for not posting earlier but I have been out of work since the accident and I own and operate a small computer repair company (by small I mean it's just me lol) and I have had a lot of catching up to do, but I will make up for it with some nice pictures I promise! The one posted is actually the one the guy I bought it from sent me, I hope that's not cheating lol, but my profile pic IS my car. And I am sure I can find this in the mod section which I will peruse shortly or make a posting in, but I was just curious is anyone, while they were here was interested in sharing a post they now that might help me figure out how to get a USB or 12v outlet in the center console. I have only one 12v outlet and it is currently being used for my Radar detector. I do NOT want one of those huge bulky splitter things, because lets face it, they're kinda ugly. If I could just plug my phone in so it doesn't die while I'm working and it be in the center console, that would be INCREDIBLE.

 

[GazHyde]

This is the wiring diagram for the Z3 which covers pretty much everything electrical.

http://wedophones.com/Manuals/BMW/1998 BMW Z3 - M Roadster Electrical Troubleshooting Manual.pdf

 

[t-tony]

One possibility is an adapter to plug into the cigar lighter which has 2 USB outlets. I use one of these in my car to power my hands free phone kit and my mp3 music player.

 

[DivideBYZero]

I just bought a Griffin twin USB unit that fits flush into the cigarette lighter socket and provides 2x 1amp feeds from ebay for £3 delivered (about $5).

 

[oldcarman]

Hello from Canada, just jumped on board myself but I'm impressed with these people already. They've helped me more in a couple of hours than I couldn't get done in over a month. So, have a problem, you'll find a friend here that can help!
Been biking for 54 yrs never a major of any kind. Lucky genes I guess. Glad you're on the mend and I want to see a picture of your car with all those kids in car seats, strapped in safely!! Drop by some time. JIM