BMW Z4 E85

Appearance

The idea of the Z4 convertible design belongs to K. Bangle. Let’s do a little review. Since this is a sports car, it must have excellent maneuverability. And for that, it needs to be lightweight. Therefore, lightweight components were used in the creation of the roadster. Externally, the BMW Z4 soft-roof convertible looks a little sad thanks to narrow angel eyes. However, the streamlined silhouette is not only elegant but also powerful. The front bumper looks great. It has good aerodynamics, and at the bottom it is completed with “fog lights”. Air intakes are located under fog lamps of Z4 E85. Finally, there is no signature radiator grille. These “nostrils” tell even distant people that we have another model of BMW concern.

From the side, you immediately notice the embossed body shapes. They look beautiful. The hood of the sports car is very long, the wheel arches are swollen. The disks are steel, R17. True, the size of the wheels can be changed. In the options can be wheels 19. At the stern, there is an unusual connection at the headlights. You can’t tell which one it is. On the one hand – round, on the other – rectangular. Most likely, we can say this: rectangular-circular.

The trunk has a lid. Its shape allows it to act as a spoiler, which improves aerodynamics of the sports car. Here the German designers have placed a brake light repeater. The aft bumper is massive and simple. At the bottom left there is a twin exhaust pipes.

In length, the BMW Z4 E85 sports car stretched by 4.9 meters. The width of the car is 1.78, height – 1.3 meters. Wheelbase of the sports car is 2.5 meters. Ground clearance of the car is 110 mm, weight of the two-door – up to 1.49 tons.

Interior

The interior of the BMW Z4 2003 convertible looks unusual. Materials of interior finishing are simply gorgeous. This is a two-seater model, so there is not much space inside. However, leather seats with side bolsters (providing excellent support on tight turns) are extremely comfortable, and they have electric adjustments as an option.

The car’s sport steering wheel is a three-spoke steering wheel. It has 6 buttons for multimedia control. On the dashboard you can notice familiar wells, where analog gauges are placed. The on-board computer of BMW Z4 2005, according to the owners’ reviews, is quite informative.

The multimedia monitor is small and foldable. Therefore, it can be easily folded down when not needed. Under the display there are air deflectors. Buttons located just below are intended for their control. But the climate control unit, in our opinion, is unsuccessfully located in a not too convenient place.

On the tunnel you can see the “emergency” button, brake handbrake, gearbox selector. Everything is as usual, nothing new and curious. The music system is gorgeous, and the quality of the interior assembly is excellent.

The trunk volume of the two-seat sports car is surprising, 340 liters. For cars of a similar class, this figure is large.

Electronics and security

The sports car has a good safety record. The Z4 is equipped with 4 airbags as standard. Moreover, thanks to the ASE system, each of them can work independently. Everything depends on a specific emergency situation.

In the 2004 Euro NCAP crash test, the car received 4/2 stars for occupant/pedestrian safety. The scores were 31/13.

Technical specifications

Engines for the car were taken mainly from the BMW 3 and 5-series.

Now let’s break down the technical specifications of the roadster. On BMW Z4 cars, the engine is only gasoline. Before the restyling, i.e., there were three power units on the cabriolet.

The weakest was a 150-horsepower, two-liter, in-line, four-cylinder, 16-valve unboosted motor with multi-point fuel injection and 200 Nm of torque. It required AI-98 gasoline. Its consumption per 100 km was 10.8/5.6/7.4 liters in the city/on the highway/mixed cycle. The car could reach the “hundred” in 8.2 sec. The maximum speed reached 220 km/h. The second motor had a volume of 2.5, power – 177 “horses”, torque – 230 Nm. It already had 6 cylinders and 24 valves. There was no supercharger. It required AI-98 gasoline. Its consumption per 100 km was 11.8/6.1/8.2 liters in the city/on the highway/mixed cycle. The car could reach the “hundred” in 7.1 sec. The top speed reached 229 km/h.

The strongest engine had a volume of 3.0, power – 265 “horses”, torque – 315 Nm. It already had 6 cylinders and 24 valves. Supercharging was absent. Hence the excellent dynamics of the motor in 3 liters. The 3.0i 265 sports car had an acceleration of 5.7 seconds. The maximum speed reached 250 km/h. Gasoline consumption AI-98 per 100 km – in the city / on the highway / mixed cycle – 12.6/6.3/8.5 liters.

Engine oil is required with tolerances LL-04/01 and viscosity 0W30/40 or 5W30/40. Castrol, Mobile, Shell, RedLine or Liqui Molly are recommended. Filling volumes range from 4.25-6.5 liters (depends on the engine brand). The oil change interval is in the range of 7-10 thousand kilometers. To check it, a special tool is required. Therefore, many motorists are interested in where the oil dipstick is located?  BMW simply does not have it. An electronic sensor is used. You need to find the dipstick in the settings. In the service menu/oil level. As soon as the engine runs for 10 minutes, a tank showing the oil level will appear on the screen.

All listed engines were combined with 5/6-speed “manual” or similar “automatic”. After restyling, only 6-speed gearboxes were available.

Both suspensions are independent and spring-loaded. The brakes are disc brakes, and the front brakes are ventilated. These are the characteristics of the BMW Z4 before the update.

Curiously, only the last motor remained after restyling. Specialists of the concern saw that sports convertibles with weak engines were poorly sold. Therefore, after the restyling, roadsters and BMW Z4 coupes were equipped only with a three-liter powerplant.

Difference between restyling and prerestyling

In 2006, a restyling of BMW took place. “Bavarian” experienced external/internal renewal and changed technically. In the exterior of the BMW Z4 2006 bumpers with wheels were updated, there were new optics. The body of the sports car received new coloring. The number of chrome parts has increased in the interior.

There were several technical innovations. The engine oil level was controlled electronically, and the car received a system to help it overcome steep climbs. The suspension of the sports car was slightly changed, and there were new motors. The roadster 2.5i has gone into history. Instead of it began to produce the model E85 2.5si, which was equipped with a power unit N52B25. A similar situation with the 3.0i car. It was replaced by a sports car E85 3.0si with N52B30 engine.

2006 was marked by the appearance of BMW Z4 coupe 3.0si E86. German engineers have not changed the power plant. It is the same as on the convertible BMW Z4 2007. These cars were produced until the end of 2008. However, sales of BMW Z4 sports cars continued in the winter of 2009. They ended with the onset of spring. The BMW Z4 i E85 E86 replaced the next generation cars, the Z4 E89, on the assembly line. In these cars, the soft folding roof was replaced by a metal roof.

Problems

These cars are rarely used in winter. Therefore, there are almost no complaints about corrosion. But accidents for sports cars are not a surprise. And here various problems arise:

• Painting;
• Cracks in the shock absorber cups;
• Skewed doors;
• Cracked plastic covers.

Roadsters will have problems with the roof. It is soft, so it will crack over time, and the material of construction will lose its marketability. The motor that drives the sliding roof is located in a niche, and water is drained through it. Let’s face it, the Germans have chosen an extremely unfortunate place. Of course, there is a waterproof cover, which is obliged to protect the motor. However, if the drains are clogged with dirt and water does not flow freely, this element will rust.

If the photochromic compound leaks from the side mirrors, the side mirrors will stain. Door locks often break. There is no repair kit, you will have to replace the lock assembly.

Sandblasting will make the optics very cloudy. Replacement only as a complete assembly. If you saw, the seal will be lost and the headlights will start to “sweat”. Roadster wipers have a weak trapezoid, so the joints will eventually break. The main problem is overheating of motors. Because the operating temperature reaches 97 degrees. This allows you to save gasoline when the sports car works at low speeds. But gaskets, oil seals, VANOS rings fail. Up to 200 thousand mileage the rings lodge and oil caps become faulty. Oil consumption increases.

The timing chain will last 200 thousand kilometers. After restyling, the operating temperature rose another 8 degrees and powertrain problems worsened.

“Mechanics” can usually do without major repairs up to 200 thousand kilometers. For automatic transmission this period is lower by 50 thousand kilometers.

Generations and configurations

Convertible 1 generation – restyling

01.2006 – 08.2008

Coupe 1st generation – restyled

01.2006 – 08.2008

Convertible 1st generation

10.2002 – 12.2005