I just registered on this forum, so I though i'd make an acquaintance here.
A week or three ago I put my old '76 Triumph TR7 aside, to buy a decent car to replace it. The TR7 still runs, but did so ever more noisy and 'rattly'. Not that surprising after I put 140k km on it, and I didn't want to wait until it got me stranded somewhere. Not wanting to give up handling and experience, I thought the Z4 would give me my money's worth in that department, and I have to say it most certainly does!
It's a '04 2.5 (192hp) roadster with manual gearbox, sports package, electrical roof, Xenon and leather interior, and some other nice gadgets like the rain sensor, steering wheel nav/radio functionality etc. 18" 9.5/9J Röwhe rims are fitted with Pirelli P Zero's at the rear and Michelin Pilot Sports on the front, so that gets me through corners alright.
The car lives up to my expectations, I really like the sound and the handling.I live in the Netherlands and it's a UK imported RHD, so I needed a few hundred km to get used to that, but I must say it's been much less of an issue than I though. I'll post a picture when I have a decent one.
The only thing that disappoints me is the throttle response. I expected that since the E46's i've driven have the same engine and also have lousy throttles, but I was hoping the throttle would be less delayed and direct in a roadster, but alas. It gets marginally better when enabling sports mode, but not nearly direct as the carbureted TR7 i'm used to. Properly rev matching when downshifting is a real chore, and seemlingly even more so if the car sees you braking and entering a corner. But it's pretty much the only negative thing of the car that I can think of, I can live with that.
Anyways, nice meeting you and i'll see you around!
Edit: some pics I made just now. Not the best ones as it desperately needs to be washed, and the headlights need to be polished, but you get the idea.
On the background there's the TR7, which is about as dirty as it gets. I know the fender is dented, it's because I lost my wheel on the highway last october. Nothing happened besides snapped brake lines and a shaved suspension arm. my TR7 and I came safely to a screeching and sparkling halt on the shoulder with no further damage to me, someone else or the TR7, miraculously enough. I later put the wheel back on and problemlessly drove for another 20000km. I didn't want to fix it because I was already planning on a replacement and had just bought a house.
