anm3itbe
07-31-2011, 09:53 AM
After owning my ZHP for about a week now, I'm finally becoming familiar with the car. This is presenting issues that I'm assuming are commonplace among these vehicles and I was hoping you could help me sort them out. I did a few hours of searching and found a great deal of helpful information, but I'd really like to get specific with my car.
1. Dead spot in steering wheel
Put frankly the steering feels slightly loose in that there is a good deal of play in the turning before the vehicle responds. At higher speeds, it is much more apparent and I would even describe it as a dead spot in the steering where there is ZERO response from the vehicle when turning the wheel 8 degrees left or right. Makes it difficult to keep the car perfectly straight even on new roads. This is my main concern at the moment and I'd like to fix this issue first.
2. Slight suspension clunking (seems like front and rear)
It's not nearly terrible as it was with my e36 M before completely refreshing, but I was told by the PO that the FCABs were changed in 2009 with OEM bushings along with OEM struts. Can't be completely certain on that although the bushings looked new in the pictures. If I replace, I'd like to upgrade. I would love to get some feedback from you on coilover systems for these vehicles as well as THE BEST bushings (FCABS & RTABS) for a daily driven street car.
3. Vanos
Surprisingly, at 116,xxx miles, vanos noise is pretty much non-existant! PO did not mention doing the besian system, but I know how fast these vanos units begin to fail from the factory so I'm assuming it may have been done before he owned it. I am experiencing a stutter from 2500 - 3000 rpms and after some searching on here I've found a few culprits that seem to be consistent across the board. I'm not sure if the car has been reflashed or if the pre-cat 02's have been replaced. What's the smartest route to go here and just for reference, when you realized your vanos was on it's way out, how harsh was the noise?
4. License plate lights
All windows and doors are locked. Trunk is closed...but my license plate lights remain on 100% of the time. The PO replaced them with LED bulbs. Is there an issue with the trunk latching system and it's communication with the lights?
Thanks everyone in advance!
-Tom
1. Dead spot in steering wheel
Put frankly the steering feels slightly loose in that there is a good deal of play in the turning before the vehicle responds. At higher speeds, it is much more apparent and I would even describe it as a dead spot in the steering where there is ZERO response from the vehicle when turning the wheel 8 degrees left or right. Makes it difficult to keep the car perfectly straight even on new roads. This is my main concern at the moment and I'd like to fix this issue first.
2. Slight suspension clunking (seems like front and rear)
It's not nearly terrible as it was with my e36 M before completely refreshing, but I was told by the PO that the FCABs were changed in 2009 with OEM bushings along with OEM struts. Can't be completely certain on that although the bushings looked new in the pictures. If I replace, I'd like to upgrade. I would love to get some feedback from you on coilover systems for these vehicles as well as THE BEST bushings (FCABS & RTABS) for a daily driven street car.
3. Vanos
Surprisingly, at 116,xxx miles, vanos noise is pretty much non-existant! PO did not mention doing the besian system, but I know how fast these vanos units begin to fail from the factory so I'm assuming it may have been done before he owned it. I am experiencing a stutter from 2500 - 3000 rpms and after some searching on here I've found a few culprits that seem to be consistent across the board. I'm not sure if the car has been reflashed or if the pre-cat 02's have been replaced. What's the smartest route to go here and just for reference, when you realized your vanos was on it's way out, how harsh was the noise?
4. License plate lights
All windows and doors are locked. Trunk is closed...but my license plate lights remain on 100% of the time. The PO replaced them with LED bulbs. Is there an issue with the trunk latching system and it's communication with the lights?
Thanks everyone in advance!
-Tom