A Mileage Question for ///M Owners

S

Shipkiller

Veteran
Most of you know me on this board and currently own a Z4 Roadster. Actually, it's my wife's car... I am going to get a 2008 Z4MC at the end of the year for myself.

My question is this: Given that the Z4M has such a limited production, how long will the S54 engine last?

I understand that the S54 in the Z4M is basically the same as the E46 ///M, but I am reluctant to extrapolate the longevity data of the S54 E46///M to the Z4. I may be wrong not to do this, but I have limited experience with BMW's. The Z4 was my first BMW.

The more I own, operate and maintain my wife's Zed, the more I love the brand and since I keep a car for a long time, I will have my ///M for five or more years.... It will also be my daily driver....
 
Ship, the S54 should meet your requirements just fine with the normal upkeep. I am in the same situation using mine as a DD, just too much fun not to. I am not aware of any major faults that would keep the engine from running over 100k miles.

Cheers!
 
You're pretty handy with the spanners - I'd say with regular oil changes and taking care with the revs until the oil is warmed through, it will be no problem at all.
 
You'd be unlucky to get problems really. The servicing schedule for the M cars is quite thorough and in reality 99% of the time your not really stressing the engine. I'd have no worries about seeing 100k+. I had a ride the other day in an M3 with 86k on the clock and it sounded sweet as a nut.
 
E46 ~M3 and Z4M are basically the same car, and on US Ebay a while back there was a 210k mile M3. I am sure it will be fine...
 
There is no reason the S54 engine cannot go 250K kms (150K+ miles) if the maintenance is done well and on schedule. If the car is driven like a madman then the life expectancy wil be reduced accordingly. :( From what I understand BMW has reached the end of the design life for the S54 and nothing else can be extracted from it and it's the best this enigne can be which is quite awesome. :)
 
ive done 26k in mine, all myself and it still feels every bit as tight as it did.

as much as it hurts me to imagine the residuals of it, I expect to see mine turn 60+ with no unexpected bills..

the only things that worry me are the little details - the headlamp washers seem prone to falling off / melting shut, the oxygen sensors seem to go all the time.. the engine and gearbox i think are pretty solid.
 
Andy said:
the only things that worry me are the little details - the headlamp washers seem prone to falling off / melting shut, the oxygen sensors seem to go all the time.. the engine and gearbox i think are pretty solid.
Click to expand...

I'm at 24k (23k by me) but not had any of those issues, something to look forward to LOL

Highest mileage Z4M I've seen in person was on 39k. As you would expect they don't seem to be the 'main car' quite as often as an M3 (see plenty of those over 100k miles). Had no issues with my M3 either (though sold at only 40k miles) so reliability on the S54 doesn't seem to be a problem when looked after properly
 
Mine is on 37k miles at present. The only warranty work has been replacing the trim around the thumb cut-outs on the steering wheel. I guess I have phat fingers :oops:
 
There's a fellow from NJ with > 100,000 miles on a Z4MC = all driven hard - very, very hard - stars on youtube!
 
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