Pistonheads - M Roadster - The Brave Pill

[Ed Doe]

https://www.pistonheads.com/news/ph-spo ... pill/46529

If anyone's interested Not sure if this has been posted before - I hadn't spotted it anywhere!

[flimper]

Of course, those who have previously been expecting the Z4M to soar in value have had plenty of time to grow long, grey beards as prices have stayed as flat as the less topographically interesting parts of Norfolk

[pvr]

Of course, those who have previously been expecting the Z4M to soar in value have had plenty of time to grow long, grey beards as prices have stayed as flat as the less topographically interesting parts of Norfolk

And that is just the women

[Ed Doe]

Lot of long grey beards on this forum eh?

[tomscott]

Lots of people saying they are sh*te in the comments

[Ed Doe]

Lots of people saying they are sh*te in the comments

I mean in stock form they are a bit of a dogs dinner in the handling department. Even well sorted they are 'spiky' I'd say. Makes them exciting and a bit of a challenge to drive which I enjoy personally, but that's just me!

[Angelus666]

From a handling POV, let's be honest, they are terrible compared to pretty much any other performance car option. An M compared to a 981 is a different world in ride and handling. The engine, looks and rarity are the real plus points that shouldn't ever be ignored.

[maupineda]

I have to say I have a biased opinion as my fun car is a Z4MC, but after having driven an E92 M3, the Z4M feels by far a more special thing, even getting in is an event, not to mention the driving position, and the feeling is not just another normal car with some extra power, but something rather special. the M3 feels like normal 3 series with extra shove.

Also, the E46, though brilliant, I just don't see it being that much more special in terms of driving experience.

[Mr Tidy]

I think we are all probably biased on here!

Love my MC too, it just feels special as soon as I get in it with the low seating position just in front of the rear axle. Like you say an M3 is only going to feel like a 3 Series with a special engine, rather than a totally different car. And seeing as I've had E46 and E90 dailies I like having something that instantly feels different.

[Ed Doe]

I'm also biased, I love the challenge of pedalling the MC quickly precisely because it's quite tricky. Anecdotally I'm aware that with an identical driver the E46 chassis is more forgiving and transparent on the limit, so is easier to go quicker in but I'm not racing the car so it doesn't reallly matter. I drive mine on sunny days and on trackdays for pure fun. and for me it delivers fun and a proper challenge every time - never gets boring!

I also love how they look, how rare they are, and how incongruous they look on a trackday - no one tracks them because everyone uses M3s.

[Beedub]

i always felt they were decent stock but with the right dampers ( admittedly not cheap) they really feel pretty damn sorted........ Fantastic platform. With the world of the resto-mod, i think a well modded z4m offers a fantastic ownership experience. i remember reading the mags back in the day and i still flick back to them from time and time and despite whats said, these car often got 5 star ratings and did from evo beating the boxster, the TVR and the Alpina.

Honestly i get into my car and it feels pretty damn special and i get to drive some very tasty metal on a daily basis. It feels like a resto mod to me, it feels adorned with jewel like parts to make an overall uber special thing that to be quite frank, i cant afford to better. I still believe at some point they will go up in value significantly.

[Putter Whore]

I had a beautiful carbon black ///M for 4 years, selling to accommodate a growing family back in 2016. I recently happened across another low mileage ///M so am now back as a proud owner.

I’m not skilled at undertaking anything but the most basic mod. But am interested what you think are the most experience adding (or top) mods that can be done?

[AndyBeech]

I had a beautiful carbon black ///M for 4 years, selling to accommodate a growing family back in 2016. I recently happened across another low mileage ///M so am now back as a proud owner.

I’m not skilled at undertaking anything but the most basic mod. But am interested what you think are the most experience adding (or top) mods that can be done?

Probably an air intake of some decription, Gruppe M or a full CSL spec carbon intake if you feel flush. Depending on age of the current suspension, probably something uprated in this department to give you a better ride and handling. Exhaust mods if that's your cup of tea though never felt the need personally with a good intake.
Otherwise your looking at preference mods which may or may not benefit you depending on the usage!

[Putter Whore]

Thanks Andy. That’s good to know. It came with a hardtop, carbon intake and ceramic coating. So the air box has been covered off. Like you, I’m not one for exhaust mods.

I put H&R (?) springs on my previous ///M so will look at that again. Is there a current favourite brand that people opt for nowadays?

Failing that, I need to get a Bluetooth solution for phone / music streaming that works with the MFSW. I’ve currently got one plugged into the Aux port and cigarette lighter, but I don’t like having the wires visible.

[Justino]

Failing that, I need to get a Bluetooth solution for phone / music streaming that works with the MFSW. I’ve currently got one plugged into the Aux port and cigarette lighter, but I don’t like having the wires visible.

I am using Alexa Car, and have hidden it in the ashtray, and run the wire to the back of the panel with the aux socket. I removed the Aux socket and put it behind the panel so the cable can plug in without being seen. I then got a none aux cable panel, and swapped that so there is no hole. I tapped into a power supply behind the glovebox and ran it through a marine filter to try and avoid any whine.

The Alexa would probably also sit behind this panel, but I wasn't sure if I would need to access it, but so far not needed, so may move it, and replace the ashtray insert which I had to remove for space.

This sort of works, but an ideal solution would be to get Apple Carplay, replace the screen for the factory satnav, but thats probably a big job, lots of headaches and costly etc. My solution cost £50.

It does weird stuff though on occasion. Some voice alerts will go through Alexa, hence perfect audio quality, but then some sat nav apps/speed camera alerts will go through the phone module/bluetooth, so poorer quality. I cant remember which app did that, I was using a combination on my Italy trip in the Summer.

You have to have the radio set to Aux in to get sat nav alerts, I then use the phone as the audio input, eg iplayer, Amazon music etc. When a satnav instruction is played, it reduces the volume of the music. It effectively renders the car radio superfluous. Iplayer was good for listening to UK radio when in Europe using the phone data connection.