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Interesting that they chose to go with the PSS instead of the PS4S. I am very happy with the PS4S on my BRZ, though I have no experience with the PSS to compare. From all accounts they are very similar.
RFTs are inferior in nearly every way other than convenience. Even then, that is debatable.
Not sure why the ID is PSS other than the star indicates a custom tire built to BMW specs.
New tires arrived today. NITTO NT01 in 275X45X17 & 315X35X17.
Will have them mounted & balanced tomorrow. New dash blank might not be available till May, FFR is mostly shut down but a skeleton crew is working. If one is there they will ship it.
Done with the tires, brakes, lubrication,changed differential oil & partial tear down of dashboard. Stopped work on the dash because of no word on the new dash pannel from FFR.
FWIW 275X40X17 have good clearance on the MK-IV. Noticeably wider than the 255X40X17 were. Gym is closed for the duration hope I will be able to turn the wheel.
Will start removing the TKO-600 transmission tomorrow to replace the clutch.
Last edited by BEAR-AvHistory; Apr 16, 2020 at 03:10 PM.
Starting to remove transmission to get to the clutch. Took pictures this morning so it all goes back together correctly. Not too dirty for a 5 year old almost daily driver, makes working a lot easier along with pneumatic ratchets.
There is a good sized group in the Charlotte area. We meet up with them to do Tail of the Dragon & some other events.
That's awesome! There are always quite a few Cobras at C&C. Let me know the next time you're heading this way Hopefully this virus doesn't hang around too much longer.
Removed the transmission A-frame, stripped & refinished it with Truck Bed liner.
Made four remove/install studs from 7/16 X 14 bolts. Cut off heads & cut a screwdriver slot into them. Trans is on a trans jack with the engine blocked up at the bell-housing. Still a few more things to clear away starter, J-pipe turnbuckles & sidepipe hangers etc & look into while I have the car up on stands.
Be a day or two before I drop the trans out. Got a delivery notice from FedEx the new dashboard sheet metal will be here Friday so I cam keep on going & get the car out in the sun.
Dash arrived today but the fabric stores are all closed for the virus so that effort is stopped except for making extra holes to match the current one I made.
Separated the transmission from engine & have enough room to change the clutch without taking the transmission down. Left it on the trans-jack & just pushed it back out of the way. Will change the oil while its on the jack.
Did not finish taking out the bell-housing, pool guys came to open it for the season. Will take a few days for it to heat up. Will hopefully have the old clutch out & all the reusable parts cleaned up tomorrow.
Last edited by BEAR-AvHistory; Apr 25, 2020 at 09:58 AM.
Clutch out. Pretty close to the rivets. Flywheel is OK just a cleanup. Replacing combo pan gasket windage tray. Slow leak contaminated clutch over time.
Cleaned up the reusable clutch section parts. The flywheel looks a bit heat scorched & think I will replace rather than resurface it. It sits pretty close to my knees & it would really suck if it came apart at 7,500 RPM. Combination pan gasket & windage tray came in. Will drop & clean the oil pan tomorrow.
Last things left to take out for the mechanical work.
Windage Tray/Pan gasket combo & oil pickup
All the rest is out. Waiting on new flywheel, flywheel bolts & 5QT jug of Mobile EP full syn 5W-20 that is delayed to reassemble the system. Should be here Thursday & Friday for the flywheel & bolts.
No ETA on the oil. Not a stopper COYOTE/MOROSO oil pan takes 8 qts so I can always get some single quarts if it does not show up when the dash is done.
Was able to push the TKO-600 back far enough to work so I did not have to take it out. Nice thing when you are working alone.
No work today. Rifle range is now open & want to try out some new parts I added to 3 of the rifles. Also will be 80*F here today, time to put some quality top down mileage on the Z4
If I add the main bearing caps are also cross bolted you have a big part of the reason they can rev like a euro. Six bolts holding the bottom end together instead of 2 or 4.
Last edited by BEAR-AvHistory; May 8, 2020 at 07:10 AM.
Starting dash & console. Waiting parts to finish clutch install, everything that needs to come out is out so its a clean stop point. Need to photograph & mark the wires (PIA). The gauge wires will get replaced with the new gauges. The new sensors are all two wire replacing the one wire leads on the current ones.
Am going to move a few things, horn button blinker switch, based on experience & will clean up the rats nest with better routing of the wires. The new gauge harness is much neater than the original. Will also use this panel when its stripped as a template for cutting the new holes in its replacement.
Last edited by BEAR-AvHistory; May 17, 2020 at 11:03 AM.
Did a quick 0-60 run with the Z4 today @ 650 miles without heating the tires first. Lost traction about 10 feet out as the boost came up but the car recovered quickly, Dragy said 4.1 seconds. A good run with hot tires will put it around 3.8 or about a full second slower than the new StingRay.
Stripped showing 5 years of dust. Lot of the RF harness is now redundant & will be pruned. Need to pull steering shaft & put in fresh Belleville washers to tighten it up. Got slightly oversized ones from McMaster.
Panel that the wires are laying on is the Everson under dash piece. Recommend it to stiffen the dash structure.
You can see the system I use to mount the dash by the heavy crease along the top. It eliminates a lot of the trying to guess the correct position in relation to the space frame dash hoop. I have it a press fit between the body & frame at the top. Bottom is supported by 4 screws into the under-dash panel & upward pressure from the console.
Will use this one to layout the holes I need to drill in the new one. Am ordering fresh all metal toggle switches.
Last edited by BEAR-AvHistory; May 19, 2020 at 04:18 AM.
Halfway point today when I get the steering post out.
Will start putting it back together tomorrow. Outside the toggle switches that are on the way have all the parts I need in-house.
Current status of rainy days & virus lock-down project. Shaft is the last thing to take out before I start putting it back together. new NITTO NT01 255 & 315X 17" tires on the car, brake pads changed HAWK HPS
TO DO - fresh oil, oil filter & coolant, new oil pan gasket windage tray, new flywheel, pressure plate, friction disk, throw-out bearing, pilot bearing, fresh transmission fluid, fresh rear end fluid, new dash panel & covering, new transmission covering, new console covering, plastic toggle switches replaced with metal ones, twin dual range USB ports added to transmission cover, new instruments, sensors & sensor wiring.
Trial fit after a few nips, tucks, bends & hammer whacks. Easy Peazy.
The metal Toggle switches are installed in the dash harness. Next cover it, install the gauges & wire them 👨🚒. Add the Snake & COBRA script & move on to putting the transmission back in.
Got up early & ran some Moonshine Roads with the Z4. Coming up on 1000 miles out of 1200 break-in miles so letting it run a bit harder. Great fun, the car is more than I expected. Nice road test by a pro driver
Got the dash and trans tunnel covered. All the gauges & lose switches are in. Will mount the 4 on the cars harness when I install the dash. Still have to stick the snake & Cobra scrip on it.
Agreed, I do the majority of my own maint, but not mount/balance tires.
Hopefully this virus doesn't hang around too much longer.
