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A tale of two coupes

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  • A tale of two coupes

    Nearly 10 years of ownership and many forum posts since, plus being spurred on by Dave P’s request for more journals (and Fat Tony beating me to it!), I thought it was about time that I put a few words down in text myself. Here is my story of M Couple ownership to date…

    I first remember seeing a M Coupe in the flesh at my local dealers back when they first came out, all curves and haunches and looking splendid in Estoril Blue with blue/black leather. I will have arrived at my local dealers as an 18 year old lad, probably driving my white, 1.0L Polo Coupe, gaining no respect from the sales guys but, like now, more than happy to slip under the radar of their ‘assistance’ as I just wanted to sit it in! Wind the clock forward 7 years and after sending the Polo to an early grave via a combination of hitting a kamikaze dog and one too many trips to the redline (resorting in a blown head gasket), a Mk2 Golf GTi 16v, a Mk3 Golf GTi 8v and a Westfield (still have this) I decided that I needed a M Coupe.

    After viewing several M Coupes either by travelling many miles or viewing at shows, I bought my 1st M Coupe on the 25th October 2005. I had viewed the car a week or so prior, ignoring all publicised advice by meeting at a garden centre halfway, to have a good look over the car and take it for a drive, the actual driving being done by my Dad. A price was agreed so I booked my train tickets from Derby to Bristol, accompanied by my then girlfriend (now wife).
    Once the deal was done I can remember heading back up the M5, the section where the two carriageways are some height apart, and flooring it past some slow moving traffic….now the Westfield is quick around a corner but the M Couple shifted in a straight line like I had never felt before, accompanied by an intoxicating howl!

    Roughly 9 weeks later the car wasn’t quite the shining example of a S50 that I bought. The week before I had visited by Brother in Manchester for the weekend and upon heading back down to Derby watched as the roads got whiter and deeper with snow. Only a few miles from home I had to move out of the channels that had been cleared by the cars onto the fresh snow of the outside lane in order for me to take the exit off the approaching roundabout. It felt like the MC could smell my fear and, with the first hint of me trying to slow down to negotiate the island, instantly decided to throw me at 90 degrees to my intended direction, nearly collecting several cars in the process! After managing to limp/slide/slew the car home I parked it up on the drive and left it parked, completely unscathed, on the drive for several days until the snow had gone.
    With the bottom-clenching moment still firmly in my mind I ventured back out again, finding myself needing to join the A52 from a standing start junction with the traffic all passing by at 70+mph. A gap appeared in the traffic by people moving to the outside lane so I was off, power needed to get up to the speed of the traffic but not too much...change to second, back on the power, snick it into third and a bit more power……WHOOSH, SCREACH, BUMP, BANG, CRASH, WALLOP, SMASH, silenceeee………am I still alive….am I injured….OH MY GOD, WHAT HAVE I DONE TO THE CAR?!?! I had almost completed a 360 degree spin but had come to a rest down the side of the road but due to the damage and angle I was at I couldn’t open the door to clamber out, instead having to climb out of the seat, over the transmission tunnel (have you actually tried doing this on the flat, never mind on an angle?!) and out through the passenger door. As always I had put my phone in the storage section behind the gear lever but with the impact it had flung itself off and I couldn’t find it amongst the broken glass and exploded side airbag. In order to call the Police I had to cross the 4 lanes of the A52 to reach the petrol station on the other side (risking my life again!), as despite there being lots of witnesses to what happened, not one single person stopped. Upon review with the attending Police Officer, once he had coned the inside lane off, he had done a walk back down the road and found a large section of black ice, which is what I must have hit as I got on the power as it instantly just flung me sideways, up and over the old, angled, kerbstone of the exit of a former petrol station before I went down the 3/4ft deep grass bank and hitting a former telegraph pole. One advantage of having an instantly recognisable car is that a colleague spotted my car on the back of the recovery truck and pulled over, giving me a lift home as my pride and joy was taken away looking a real mess.
    Despite several cuts from clambering out through all the broken glass and some bruised ribs from the side airbag going off, I walked away OK, a very lucky escape indeed.





    The quote from the beginning of 2006 estimated the repair costs at £13.5k.

    Several months later, I was contacted by a guy who had bought the car from salvage and was planning on putting it back on the road, so I sent him the service history and manuals that I had for the car. So if you’re now the owner of X*** THH it would be nice to hear that it was actually put back on the road again…!

    Not to be deterred, I didn’t think my time was quite done with the M Coupe so started trawling the for sale ads, again. After receiving my cheque through from the insurance company (plus some extra £), I was ready to roll. I spotted an ad posted by former member PDJ in March 2006 for his 2002/’52 Titanium Silver S54 with 51k (higher mileage for what was a 3 ½ year old 2 seater) on the clock, the majority put on it by its 1st owner. After some negotiation and holding my nerve on price, I got the original price down from £24k to <£20K and my train tickets from Derby to London were booked. I still remember the excitement of getting my hands on the keys, so much so that I forgot which button actually opened the car, but once in, it was only fair to light the tyres up one last time for PDJ as I headed slightly sideways down Ealing high street!



    In Feb 2006 I took a punt and contacted a previous owner of a M Coupe that what was for sale at the time I bought my S54, recalling that he was selling his private registration plate separately. Luckily he hadn’t sold it and, again, after a brief bit of negotiation I bought title to M20 UPE and promptly spaced it as M 20UPE (and getting the inevitable ‘mobile wig salesmen’ comments from my mates/colleagues!). I have always thought a private plate sets a car off and it still puts a smile on my face now.




    I have never managed to find the time for a true ‘road trip’ but I have taken the car on some great week/weekend outings to Devon, Dartmoor, the Lake District, the North Yorkshire Moors (as well as a few forum trips to Silverstone and Gaydon) and when the road/traffic conditions have allowed, had some brilliant drives.

    In October 2012 I replaced the standard rubber brakes lines for braided versions, swapped the standard pads for Yellowstuff and changed the fluid to ATE Super Blue, coupled with a new discs all round, this made a huge difference to the braking performance with it now being far less susceptible to brake fade. I also had the gearbox oil changed to Amsoil synthetic MTF to try and eradicate the sticky lever when coming back from fifth, a problem at times that really caused problems when wanting to quickly change down through the box. Many forum members state this cured the problem almost instantly but it took a fair few hundred miles for me to feel the difference fully, with the box now shifting and springing back across the gate as I imagine it did when it was new.

    After putting ~40k miles on it myself, the suspension was starting to feel very unstable around higher speed bends with the general speedboat lurching and bobbing getting noticeably worse and not fitting of a car with 300+ BHP. I was ‘umming and ‘arring over whether I wanted a fully adjustable setup or just something to lower the car with pros and cons of each. The car voted with its feet though after having the O/S/F spring break on me so it was time to bite the bullet and make a decision. After much deliberation I decided that since I was going to be keeping the car forever I’ll treat it to the ‘best’ and bought some KW v3, H&R anti roll bars, H&R 10mm spacers & longer bolts, new front and rear top mounts etc. Always an exciting day when the boxes arrive…



    After fitting these with the help of my Dad, the first drive was a revelation. It was pointy and flat, providing a far more responsive and encouraging drive than ever before. Along with the lowering, the 10mm spacers all round added a far more modern and aggressive stance.

    In July 2013 I picked up the following set of BBS LM’s (via a buyer in-between), a wheel that I have always loved…
    http://www.z3mcoupe.com/forum/showth...ghlight=wheels
    I fitted these on the eve of Silverstone 2013 and frantically tried to adjust the KW v3 from the ride height set to match the standard Roadstars. KW v3 has a reputation for being the best but the ability to actually adjust the rear is pretty ill-thought through. The fronts are easy but the rear has no mechanism to lock out the threaded cup section so when trying to adjust the ring to alter the ride height the whole thing just spins…very, very frustrating! Queue old screwdriver covered in Duck tape to try and relieve the pressure off the spring.

    I need to spend some time to get the front spacing correct as, for me, they protrude a little too far but they cannot go much further back due to the clearance of the rim vs. the upright.

    One point that slightly spoilt the BMW parade lap around Silverstone in 2013 was my ability to change gear, something that was diagnosed through the knowledge on this site as highly likely being the clutch hose. On a hot day combined and once the car had warmed through it was very difficult to change gear. Having tried on a couple of occasions (due to either the wrong part or the existing part just wanting to spin/snap the fixed sections) I finally had the Earls upgraded part fitted. This cured the problem completely but has brought about a slightly annoying <whoosing> noise upon gear changes.

    I have also fitted a Storm Motorworks stainless steel V1 gear knob, which along with the fluid change above, making a huge difference to the clarity and ease of gear shifting. Probably one of the best £ vs. benefit mods you can do.

    Along the way I’ve had to replace the following (excluding general service items) out of necessity rather than choice:

    · Constant Pressure Valve
    · Power Steering cooling line (this is rusting again)
    · Throttle position sensor
    · Several coil packs
    · New battery (can’t complain, it lasted 10 years!)
    · All poly belts
    · Centre console bulb for gauges
    · Plastic scuttle to windscreen panel (not fitted yet, really must get around to that!)

    <Touch wood> but a pretty small list for a car that is now 12 years old.

    After a couple of incidents of idiots hitting my car in car parks and some it being keyed, I have had several panels of the car re-sprayed. I also had the annoying bubbling of the wind mirror bases corrected, which quite frustratingly is starting to show signs of bubbling again a couple of years after the re-spray.

    I have managed to keep the M Coupe despite now having a 3 year old and a 4 month old boys, unfortunately just getting less of an opportunity to drive it other than the commute to work. However, due to the need to support the odd nursery/Grandparents run and the fact I don’t want to expose my KW v3 and BBS’s (and the car in general) to the ravages of any more snow, ice and salt the winter of 2014 is the first where I have parked the car up. To ensure my commute was still a bit of fun but without costing a fortune, I bought this…




    …this will enable me to leave the BBS’s on, hence remove the need to fit my Roadstars for the winter and mess about with spacers and the ride height for the KWs again. The Golf suffers hugely from understeer; the combination of a heavy lump out front, four wheel drive and not too polished a chassis…you can almost get the front end out into an arch like you can the rear of the M Coupe! But for a winter hack it’s a nice place to be plus it sounds good.

    Things I have planned for the future…..well I still want to do something with the exhaust; its sounds good but I know there is a whole lot more that can come from changing the standard back boxes. I also keep considering a carbon airbox or supercharger, the former being more ‘BMW’ but expensive for the BHP increase (but done correctly a beautiful piece of motoring art with a great sound) and the latter being far more beneficial on the power front but maybe slightly at odds with the high revving nature of the ///M engine. I also still have a hankering to change to a BBK on the front with lingering thoughts of changing the diff ratio and, less so, a change to a 6-speed box.

    With the summer approaching I now want to get the KW v3 set to a better height now that the BBSs will be on all year, as well as correcting the slight BBS offset issue. Hopefully these are both just the case of finding a few hours to adjust to get it right.

    I hope you’ve found these few words mildly interesting
    Ian
    Last edited by Spooks; 25-05-2015, 06:47 AM.
    2002 '52 S54 - Titanium Silver with 18" BBS LMs, AP Racing BBK, KW V3, H&R anti roll bars & ACS flippers (previously 2000 'X' S50 - Arctic Silver)

  • #2
    Nice story, I've enjoyed reading it very much!

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    • #3
      Great read

      Comment


      • #4
        Haha, shamed you in to getting a journal started

        (and you've shamed me by almost completing yours straight away - git)
        Not actually in the least bit fat

        2000 S50 Titanium Silver / Black
        ACS Suspension, Exhaust & Type III Wheels
        Simota carbon air intake | Strong Strut Front Brace

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        • #5
          Nice read Spooks !!! sometime we must meet for a beer

          Comment


          • #6
            Glad you'll all sleep better tonight after reading all of that

            Beers, sounds like a good idea
            2002 '52 S54 - Titanium Silver with 18" BBS LMs, AP Racing BBK, KW V3, H&R anti roll bars & ACS flippers (previously 2000 'X' S50 - Arctic Silver)

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            • #7
              Thanks for posting I still have some butyl seal in the garage if you still need some.
              Last edited by Dave P; 26-02-2020, 04:49 PM.

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              • #8
                Originally posted by Dave P View Post
                Thanks for posting I still have some butyl seal in the garage if you still nee some.
                PM on it's way!
                2002 '52 S54 - Titanium Silver with 18" BBS LMs, AP Racing BBK, KW V3, H&R anti roll bars & ACS flippers (previously 2000 'X' S50 - Arctic Silver)

                Comment


                • #9
                  Good read !

                  Comment


                  • #10
                    A quick update..... As mentioned above, I've always wanted a BBK and after noticing the price of standard discs creeping up more and more, plus less people willing to spend £1800 on a new setup, I thought it was time to grab myself a set of APs . So I bought these...

                    http://z3mcoupe.com/forum/showthread.php?t=17667

                    I thought it would only take a few hours but ran into a couple of problems, particularly the fact I had to remove some material off of the brake back plate as the AP mounting bracket fouled. Has anyone else had the same problem?

                    Not the best of photos but you get the idea (my wife claims she can't tell any difference )

                    2002 '52 S54 - Titanium Silver with 18" BBS LMs, AP Racing BBK, KW V3, H&R anti roll bars & ACS flippers (previously 2000 'X' S50 - Arctic Silver)

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                    • #11
                      Really good read Spooks. You definitely have had some highs and lows with the MCs. Loving the new BBK by the way
                      S50 M Coupe

                      sigpic

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                      • #12
                        I had to remove some material off of the brake back plate as the AP mounting bracket fouled. Has anyone else had the same problem?
                        Yep, had the same issue when fitting mine.

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                        • #13
                          Originally posted by inkey$ View Post
                          Really good read Spooks. You definitely have had some highs and lows with the MCs. Loving the new BBK by the way
                          Partly self inflicted
                          Originally posted by pdwarren View Post
                          Yep, had the same issue when fitting mine.
                          OK, thanks. Not heard of it before so you get that slight worry something might not quite be right
                          2002 '52 S54 - Titanium Silver with 18" BBS LMs, AP Racing BBK, KW V3, H&R anti roll bars & ACS flippers (previously 2000 'X' S50 - Arctic Silver)

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                          • #14
                            Has it really been nearly a year since I updated this....!!

                            Well, a few jobs in the pipeline but this was the cheapest (£6) and quickest (2 mins) so thought id start here. I've been considering this for a while, I did it to my Golf and it freshened it up no end.

                            Before...



                            After...





                            ...lets hope the radio still works in the morning
                            2002 '52 S54 - Titanium Silver with 18" BBS LMs, AP Racing BBK, KW V3, H&R anti roll bars & ACS flippers (previously 2000 'X' S50 - Arctic Silver)

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                            • #15
                              An enjoyable read and a prize example you have there Ian.


                              My BSL. Breadvan Sport Lightweight.

                              S54 - 18" BBS RS GT/KW V3/H&R/Rogue TM/AC Schnitzer Flippers/Brembo Calipers/CSL Discs/PFC Pads/20mm Spacers/Carbon Fibre Roof/Fibreglass Bonnet/Fibreglass Boot/Lexan Window/Custom Cages Roll Cage/Lithium Battery/Recaro Pole Positions/Schroth Harness/Randy Forbes Braced Floor/Airbags Delete/Lightweight Door Cards/UUC EVO3 Short Shift Kit/E34 M5 Clutch/UUC Single Mass Flywheel/Vibra Technics Competition Engine Mounts/3.46 Diff/Prospeed Exhaust/200 Cell Cats/Strong Strut Brace/ESS+ASA Supercharger Kit/Alpha N/497bhp - 1315KG

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