neil-h

Figured i'd ask here to see what i get. I'm toying with the idea of trading my hawk WRX in against a 07 plate Z4M, has anyone done a similar swap and/or had any experience with the Z4M? If so, how did you find it?

Ta,

lozgti1

You are going to get the childish hairdresser comments.....

In my view 'sports cars' should have 2 seats.

Sure it will be a hoot.i like them....

neil-h

The irony of course being that with 340bhp going to the rear wheels, it's about as far from hair dresserish as you can get.

ditchmyster

iTrader: (7)

I like them, I did an MSA training day at Curbourgh and a bloke on the course had one, it was quite quick but the track was a bit damp in the morning so he was struggling a little bit, but once it dried out his times were very close to my 330bhp Type R around 1 second a lap in my favour only other guy close to us was in a Westfield with a 2.L pinto, so they definitely have pace, bearing in mind I have 4wd and dccd and it's a twisty track with not much in the way of a straight, my advantage was definitely getting off the line quicker, would be interesting to see what one could do around somewhere like Donnington, probably be a great scrap.

He was planing to race in some BMW series after a few sprints.

Matteeboy

They (especially the coupe) are quite revered on piston heads - Normally aspirated, screaming six pot, RWD, pretty stylish - what's not to like?!

InTurbo

iTrader: (3)

My last car was a Z coupe. The best looking car I've ever had. Awesome sounding engine and interior.
Only problem is I enjoyed looking at it more then driving it.

This was my one.

fatscoobfella1

iTrader: (1)

I dare say you are thinking of the coupe,or maybe the roadster ?

I have had both and they are real weapons.....Under 5 secs to 60 and 11 secs to 100mph isnt shabby in standard form...

Prices have now started to rise for the coupe as the rarity value is kicking in,the roadster price is on the up as spring approaches...


Here is my current one.....

H&R suspension and Hayward and Scott exhaust with X pipe..

shytorque

They certainly look the part.....

scoobyboy1

iTrader: (16)

Both those Z4 M's look great.

ditchmyster

iTrader: (7)

just had a look on AutoTrader at these, 3.0L sport coupe with 50k for £8k.

265 bhp has got to be a hoot with RWD, I imagine it's not too difficult to get 300bhp out of one.

The M is nice but it's double the money.

InTurbo

iTrader: (3)

When I looked into tuning during my ownership the 3.0si is difficult to tune. Exhaust filter and a remap can get around 280bhp

Can't even go the supercharger route due to the magnesium alloy engine block not being strong enough.

Best to go with the M model if you want to tune.

Suspension mods and rear lsd make the most of the car.

ditchmyster

iTrader: (7)

That's a shame, still think the 3.0L would be a decent car though, got to admit the red M looks stunning, the one that was with me at Curborough was Gunmetal Gray also looked stunning in the morning, not so by the afternoon caked in dirt.

Edit to add; actually they're both gorgeous, and I'm not a fan of silver cars.

neil-h

There's one just up the M4 from me for £12k that looks quite nice but it does seem a bit cheap in comparison.

Matteeboy

Best looking modern BMW I reckon but the wheels on the grey one are too big.
The red one looks awesome.

ditchmyster

iTrader: (7)

Maybe milage related, rag tops start from about £3.5k but there's a fair few over 100k or very close, not that it would bother me for £3/4k but if I was getting ish £15k out I'd want to be seeing sub 50k miles really.

What are they like on reliability?

InTurbo

iTrader: (3)

Both the cars have 19'' wheels.
Must be the camera angle

scoobyboy1

iTrader: (16)

Are the ones on your car replicas??? as they look slightly different to the red cars wheels!!!

InTurbo

iTrader: (3)

No the red one has m3 csl wheels.
And the gray one has ispari isr10 wheels.

scoobyboy1

iTrader: (16)

That would explain why the grey one looks like the wheels look bigger as the spokes are more concave, Both stunning cars either way!!!

mikejenkins

The styling and engine are marmite but I quite liked it as a whole, it is a much better car than the standard 3.0 which I hated.

They may feel slow coming from a Subaru but they make good progress when you rev them. I am in a very small minority who wonder what all the fuss is about with the 3.2 I6 in them.

fatscoobfella1

iTrader: (1)

There was a bit of a Z meet up with coffee and pastries this morning over Rishworth moor..

Some nice Z's turned up....... The Z4M is a quick car when blatting down a swift A road..




Not exhaust smoke BTW...

ditchmyster

iTrader: (7)

Fatscoobfella.

I'm really liking yours in the red, what's it like compered to a Subaru and are there any common problems they suffer from?

lozgti1

Bugger.This thread has got me looking at them on pistonheads now

shytorque

Had many a blast on that road past the Turnpike back towards the M62....
Nice....

fatscoobfella1

iTrader: (1)

Hard to say comparisons really..

I have only had classics (both with 300bhp-ish)...So maybe not fair to compare them,by the way i did adore my Subaru's..


The Z4M is a bit old school....Its like driving a 350bhp Mk2 Escort....lol..

They can be a handful like any powerful car with RWD and an LSD,and the standard suspension is a bit crap...But a set of Eibachs or H&Rs makes them a lot more compliant.

The big service about every 40k is about £700-£800 at an indy or £1000 at a dealer...
Brakes inc discs are about a grand a set inc fitting..

The S54 engine is pretty bombproof...They can get Vanos probs,but its quite rare..
Gearbox is a bit agricultural and can take some getting used to..


Residuals are good,as they only sold them for a couple of years and about 500 are on the UK roads..

Black is the most common,followed by blue...There are 49 Imola red ones i think...

Prices are between £13k for a rough high miler to £25k for the well specced,low miles stuff..

fatscoobfella1

iTrader: (1)

Never been on that road before funnily enough...

The Turnpike was a great location though and they sorted us out with loads of Coffee any piles of Danish pastries...

Not a Diesel!!!

I had the previous Z3M Coupe but prices are on the rise & probably higher than the Z4M now despite being 6-7 years older.

When I was buying that there were a few comments about the Z4M standard suspension set up being a bit harsh also a lot of multi-owner cars meaning people were turning them over.

The bodywork changer over 3.0 are minimal just bumpers so no wider rear arches.

Also had a 130i and that N52 engine is a cracker in the std 3.0. I'd be temped into 3.0 and keep the Scooby!!!!

fatscoobfella1

iTrader: (1)

^^^^^^^
M has different bonnet too...

Very different under the skin though than the 3.0 litre..


I have had a Z3M coupe too about 5 years ago i think...

Not a Diesel!!!

All about the bread van. Here is mine ( actually my wife's)

fatscoobfella1

iTrader: (1)

Clown shoe is still an excellent shape..