top of page

It’s taken a little longer than we thought it would, but as they say..."Perfection takes time" and we are happy to report the our BMW Z4 has finished the first part of the build journey with the guys over at Emerald M3D in Norfolk, who have finally finished doing what they need to do with the ECU Tuning, for now at least, so it’s on to the next phase and that involves heading to good friend Craig Taylor at Dynotorque so he can start working his magic, and the first bit of magic will be to remove the stock BMW 2.5ltr M54B heart and replace with a much larger one, in the form of a LS3 V8.

Whilst we have been waiting with eager anticipation, we decided to get with our buddies at AG Wheels factory and discuss designs, size and finish, and as per usual in any VAD build, we will be fitting 2 different designs, with 2 different finishes, its standard practise and its something we have always done and enjoy doing, let’s face it you never see that both sides at the same time, it works well and it's always a great talking point, so with the AG input from Tu and Yuya, the wheel designs were chosen, with the AGL 23 from the AG Luxury lineup, and the F422 from the AG Wheels lineup, we were looking to build the all new VAD LMS, at one point as it would really suit this build, but as this is a collaboration build with lots of various companies being involved, we wanted to show our appreciation to the Avant Garde factory, by running their two brands on this particular build, and looking at the 2 designs in all of their glory, were so glad we did.

AG Luxury AGL23

13X19 AG Luxury AGL23 Matte Black Centre, Gloss Black outer rim & Inner Barrel, Spec 2 Concave Profile, with exposed Black Hardware

The finish and profile we made the ultimate decision on, with a little help from Tu with one of the finishes, the AGL 23 we decided to play it a little safe, it’s a classic race look design and we were always going to run with a matte & gloss black finish, with black hardware, as the base car will be staying white, with black carbon details, this was always going to be the look we wanted on the one side of this build, so that particular design in black finish was cemented and put into production.

The AG F422 idea came about from seeing the design in F522 disguise on Rilbers Audi A4 wide body Avant, the build and the wheels really caught our eye as it’s a wheel design that was new and fresh and really stood out, especially in the concave specification 3 profile that was built for Rilbers A4, or as some call it the floating spoke, this design has been at the forefront of our mind since we decided to move forward with the build, but we knew the spec 3 was not possible with our wheel specification, so we had a choice of the spec 1 or the spec 2 concave profiles, with the later being chosen, especially with the race look we wanted to achieve, now it was time to decide on the finish.

AG Wheels F422

13X19 AG Wheels F422 Matte Brushed Monaco Bronze Centre, with Gloss brushed outer rim & Inner Barrel, Spec 2 Concave Profile, with exposed Bronze Hardware

A couple of weeks earlier Tu sent us a sample of the all new Monaco Bronze finish they had just introduced to the AG range and it took our breath away, this was just the colour we had in mind, it was first seen on the awesome McLaren that MC Customs built for one of their clients, it’s a real show stopping finish, so we hit the green light and decided on a brushed matt centre with gloss inner barrel and outer lip, with exposed bronze hardware, now to look at some decent rubber.

We will keep you posted on the developments over the next few weeks as the build takes shape, now its heading back to Dynotorque, things should progress very quickly.

For more details on the AG Wheels line up, or on the up and coming GT3 V8 build, email the team, they will be more than happy to assist.

 

Every now and again a car build comes along and takes your eye. As the European Importer for the (Avant Garde) AG wheels brand there are always builds dropping through our email box and this particular build deserved its own post.

Lamborghini Aventador AG Luxury ALG 31

AVANT GARDE AG LUXURY AGL 31 9.5X21 Front and 13x22 Rear Spec 3 concave profile

Most of the people around the automotive trade will of heard the name MC Customs, out of Miami Florida, the conversions and customers are straight out of the top draw, and they smashed this one straight out of the park, it really is a jaw dropper.

This is Lamborghini range topper the Aventador, this one comes with a whole list of mods, but the one mod we want to discuss is the wheel choice, which is what makes this car stand out from the norm.

The wheels are from the AG Luxury line up, and the are the AGL-31, in spec 3 configuration, in sizes 9.5x21 front and a 13x22 rear, finished in the all new Monaco Brushed Bronze with a polished outer rim section, to say we love this Aventador is an understatement.

Photography comes from the wonderful talents of William Stern.

For any European AG Wheel enquiry, email the sales team and we will be more than happy to assist you with your requirements.

 

With the quieter festive time upon us we thought it was a great time to get Project Z4 GT3 V8 to first base, and that meant a trip to the wizards at Emerald M3D so this week we took the drive over to Watton in Norfolk, and catch up with the ECU gurus and entrust them with their magic, it was also an excuse to stop over at the Bentley Hotel & Spa and unwind with a beer or two.

BMW Z4 GT3 V8

This is the most important stage of the build as we have to make sure all of the BMW Z4 electrics, work with the all new V8 engine, it’s imperative if you want it to run with the BMW idrive factory oem set up, this is the first process we have to go through, as well as building the engine loom and ECU upgrade, whilst it sounds like not much is going on, this is the main ingredient to make sure this car and conversion works correctly, so it’s a pretty important parts of the conversion.

With the car at its new home for the few couple of weeks, it will be mid to the end of January before we get to collect the car from the Emerald crew, that’s when phase two of the build will kick in, as its off to Dynotorque, Craig can then get creative with our install, and boy oh boy do we have some Great plans for the overall finished package, pure quality being added, brakes, engine, suspension, will all come in for some changes, he will leave no stone unturned in his quest for the ultimate Z4V8 build.

We are working with quite a few people on this build, well they do say “teamwork makes the dream work” and we are happy to welcome another company onboard the build, Reflex Auto Design from Daventry, who will be responsible for the painting this beast, these boys need no introduction they are extremely well known for their paint qualities across a wide spectrum, from restoring old classics, to custom one off body work modifications, their credentials speak for themselves, so we are happy a company with this much talent are involved with the task of painting our beauty.

We have now decided on the final wheel choice and finish, and it was such a hard decision to make, a lot harder than we ever thought it would be.

Our wheel partners on this build is AVANT GARDE (AG Wheels) as we have been the Exclusive European importer for the brand for the last two years it was a no brainer, so it was just a few weeks of backwards and forwards of what to build.

The front wheels is a 10x19, the rear wheel is 13x19, and we have decided again to run with a different design on each side of the car, we have done this a few years now, it’s a great talking point, but it also shows what two designs and finishes look like on the car.

The first design we decided on was the AG F422 we like this design a lot, plus the fact we have only seen the design in the spec 3 concave profile, and we decided on the Spec 2 with reverse lip, this will be finish in the all new Monaco Copper, with a brushed matte centre and gloss inner and outer barrels, with brushed silver hardware and logo. On the other side we will be fitting the AGL23, from the Luxury line up, finished in black, with matte centres and gloss barrels, with Monaco Copper hardware and logo, we chose this design, because it’s very reminiscent of the race wheel that is fitted to the Z4 GT3 Race car, tyres we are using Nitto in sizes 285/30r19 front and 345/30R19 rear.

This is going to be the long four months … roll on the spring.

 
  • VAD Facebook
  • VAD Twitter
  • VAD YouTube
  • VAD Instagram
  Website Design By VAD
  part of the Vad International Group
GT3RR-BMW-Z4-GT3_edited.png
Office Hours

Monday to Friday 9.00 am > 5.30 pm
Saturday                9.00 am > 1.00 pm
Sunday                   Closed

Unit 5
James Road
Tyseley
Birmingham
B11 2BA
Art...Some people collect it, We like to build it
bottom of page