323TOZHP
03-31-2013, 09:31 PM
Hello all. I am new to the forum and I have introduced myself on the new member page. I have just aquired a ZHP and I am still in my initial honeymoon period. As my user name suggests I have previously owned a 323 as well as some Volkswagens and Audis in Europe.
I will do my best not to make this too long winded but I am completely in love with this car. I got the car from my brother who gave me a very good deal on it. He has maintained the car very well and has kept it in quite immaculate condition. The car is Silver with Alcantara interior. The car is auto and has 194,000 miles on it but drives like it has 50,000 miles on it. So there is hope for all of you low milage ZHP owners out there. It is a California car and most of the miles are highway miles as he commuted 150 miles a day to work each day. He is quite handy with a wrench so has replaced most of the obvious culprits such as cooling system at 120,000, control arms. The Vanos and Oil Separater were done about 1,000 miles ago. When he did the Vanos a screw broke off and left him without a car to go to work. So that prompted him to go out and buy a new car. He chose a Mazda :facepalm When he was able have time to work on the car again and get everything sorted he decided to sell the car to me. He had planned to get 300,000 out of the car and I have no doubt he would have succeeded. I had concerns about getting a car with such high milage on it but as I knew the history and I knew how rigid he was with the servicing.... He put shades in the windshield everyday and as a result the interior is not the least bit faded. Just a bit of wear on the drivers side seat from getting in and out of the car. I suppose my only concern would be if the GM auto transmission will last the duration. He did change the fluid and filter every 60,000 miles with Redline so I suppose there should not be a problem.
Coming from the 323 standard this car is in another world and another class. It is very hard not to want to drive fast. It is just so much fun and feels like a whole new level. The auto is taking a while to get used to as it seems like you just can't take it easy and drive at a leisurely pace from a stop position. I am not a fast driver but I just can't seem to resist the temptation of going from 0 to 35 quickly. Some of you may gasp but I had driven my sisters 2013 3 series with the turbo 4 and IMO I did not find it as exhilarating and satisfying as driving this ZHP. I was getting about 28 mpg in the 323 on the freeway and he claimed he was getting about 26 in the ZHP at 80 mph. It seems a bit thirstier than that to me so I will have to see. I do have the dreaded dim hid problem so that will have to be taken care of soon. I want to upgrade the stock Sat Nav and he is giving me a hard time about it but it is crucial that I have bluetooth in the car for phone and music streaming. It seems a shame to have to butcher the car (cut into the air duct for a 2U) and I am feeling a bit guilty as he has kept the car in such good stock condition for so long but I will be spending quite a bit of time in the car and the stock HK system is not doing it for me. I really want to start with the interior and I have ordered some Bimmian leds for the dome as well as leather boots to replace the shifter and parking brake Alcantara ones. I know some of you may frown on that but it is taking me a while to get used to the Alcantara. Some days I find it very elegant and others I scratch my head and wonder if I like it. I have also replaced the worn euro tray with the cup holder as I was used to the cup holder there from my 323. I guess I know if I don't do these things in the beginning I will never get around to it once the car becomes familiar and I also think it needs some tlc and appreciation that a new owner can supply. If you have made it this far thanks for humoring me. I suppose only other ZHP owners will know the feeling of how exciting it is to be new to the car. I look foward to sharing my experiences with you.
I will do my best not to make this too long winded but I am completely in love with this car. I got the car from my brother who gave me a very good deal on it. He has maintained the car very well and has kept it in quite immaculate condition. The car is Silver with Alcantara interior. The car is auto and has 194,000 miles on it but drives like it has 50,000 miles on it. So there is hope for all of you low milage ZHP owners out there. It is a California car and most of the miles are highway miles as he commuted 150 miles a day to work each day. He is quite handy with a wrench so has replaced most of the obvious culprits such as cooling system at 120,000, control arms. The Vanos and Oil Separater were done about 1,000 miles ago. When he did the Vanos a screw broke off and left him without a car to go to work. So that prompted him to go out and buy a new car. He chose a Mazda :facepalm When he was able have time to work on the car again and get everything sorted he decided to sell the car to me. He had planned to get 300,000 out of the car and I have no doubt he would have succeeded. I had concerns about getting a car with such high milage on it but as I knew the history and I knew how rigid he was with the servicing.... He put shades in the windshield everyday and as a result the interior is not the least bit faded. Just a bit of wear on the drivers side seat from getting in and out of the car. I suppose my only concern would be if the GM auto transmission will last the duration. He did change the fluid and filter every 60,000 miles with Redline so I suppose there should not be a problem.
Coming from the 323 standard this car is in another world and another class. It is very hard not to want to drive fast. It is just so much fun and feels like a whole new level. The auto is taking a while to get used to as it seems like you just can't take it easy and drive at a leisurely pace from a stop position. I am not a fast driver but I just can't seem to resist the temptation of going from 0 to 35 quickly. Some of you may gasp but I had driven my sisters 2013 3 series with the turbo 4 and IMO I did not find it as exhilarating and satisfying as driving this ZHP. I was getting about 28 mpg in the 323 on the freeway and he claimed he was getting about 26 in the ZHP at 80 mph. It seems a bit thirstier than that to me so I will have to see. I do have the dreaded dim hid problem so that will have to be taken care of soon. I want to upgrade the stock Sat Nav and he is giving me a hard time about it but it is crucial that I have bluetooth in the car for phone and music streaming. It seems a shame to have to butcher the car (cut into the air duct for a 2U) and I am feeling a bit guilty as he has kept the car in such good stock condition for so long but I will be spending quite a bit of time in the car and the stock HK system is not doing it for me. I really want to start with the interior and I have ordered some Bimmian leds for the dome as well as leather boots to replace the shifter and parking brake Alcantara ones. I know some of you may frown on that but it is taking me a while to get used to the Alcantara. Some days I find it very elegant and others I scratch my head and wonder if I like it. I have also replaced the worn euro tray with the cup holder as I was used to the cup holder there from my 323. I guess I know if I don't do these things in the beginning I will never get around to it once the car becomes familiar and I also think it needs some tlc and appreciation that a new owner can supply. If you have made it this far thanks for humoring me. I suppose only other ZHP owners will know the feeling of how exciting it is to be new to the car. I look foward to sharing my experiences with you.