Stefan Djuric's E86 Z4 M Coupe
Photography by Matt Petrie
Despite the influx of replica wheels and their remarkable resemblance to the originals, authentic three-piece wheels still have a strong presence and undoubtedly own their respective spot in the car community. The ability to build the wheel to a desired size is all part of the allure of spending the extra coin on that real set. The limit of aggressive fitting wheels is constantly being pushed and one of those people setting the benchmark is Stefan Djuric. As the owner of “SDW” his business just happens to be three-piece wheels.
If you’re a part of the BMW or stance community or have simply logged on to social media once in the last 12 months, then you have most definitely seen his previous car floating around the internet from various photographers. His car was the Alpine White on Cinnamon E46 M3 sitting on custom Alpine White Work VS-XX’s and then a set of original 5x120 Work Equips. His drop was equally as aggressive as his offsets, but unfortunately that car was wrecked on Valentine’s Day when a SUV ran a stop sign that totaled the M3 less than a mile from his house. Physically he was fine, but receiving that dreaded text message from him and seeing the car was painful. Indeed, it was a truly sad and abrupt way to end a legacy that the car was building. Although it was short lived, Stefan wasn’t about to let that set him back.
He began searching for a replacement car knowing that it wasn’t going to be anything but a BMW. He considered another E46 M3, but having felt that he had properly executed that body style already, he decided not to go that route. Instead he chose something a little different, yet still retaining the high-revving S54 under the hood. His choice was a 2007 Z4 M Coupe in Titanium Silver over black.
The Z4 M Coupe is a direct descendent of the Z3 M Coupe with roughly a four year gap in between generations from 2002 to 2006. What was once the “quirky, bubbly” clown shoe had now been redesigned into a more muscular and edgy coupe. At just under 2,000 units produced in coupe form in North America, the Z4M is not a car that you come across often, let alone see one tucking tire and this was exactly why Stefan chose it to be his new project.
He has wasted no time in modifying this car. From buying it completely stock only a few months ago the car is now sporting Supersprint stepped V2 headers with a custom Meisterschaft section 1 modified off of his E46 M3 because a catless section 1 is not offered on the market. His setup is completed with RPI muffler with staggered tips. The combination of piping gives this car a unique sound with little-to-no resemblance of the raspy S54. An Evolve tune has this car’s ECU mapped properly to accept the new exhaust setup which just screams literally from a mile away.
A BMW Performance strut bar and Cosmo Racing stress bars under the hood reduce the roll and flex in the car, but his suspension setup is what really dictates the ride height and quality. His car has a hovering appearance from all angles, sitting only inches above the ground, but he can comfortably daily drive at this height thanks to Broadway Static coilovers.
One thing that Stefan was not pleased about was the car’s surplus of Roundels and M badges. He wanted to clean up the car without being too plain. He consolidated both the roundel and M badge on the side of the car with his own custom designed M badge engraved into a circular piece of aluminum to cover the blinker. To continue the cleanliness around the car, he applied gloss black vinyl on his roof to integrate the windshield and rear window.
Lastly, we get to his custom BBS RS wheels. These are not your average RS’s, in fact they are actually RS302 faces originally 5x120 with the lowest backpad allowing for maximum lip. They are 18x10 et15 with a 225/40 tire while the rear is 18x11 et15 with a 265/35 tire. These wheels are special to Stefan because he had built them for his M3 before it was totaled. Despite the initial offers presented to him, he had to run them on this car in commemoration to the M3. Being the man behind SDW, of course he has another set of wheels on deck for this car even rarer than the RS’s.
Aside from having the patience to source rare faces and bolt patterns, Stefan’s ability to calculate widths and offsets is matched by a few.
Unless specified by his customer, he always has the wheels cleanly dialed in so that they are aggressive, but not too obtrusive.
This Z4M is evidence to the details he takes into consideration when putting together a vehicle that is truly personalized with a proper stance.
