Am I going to end up in a hedge

[Mr Sideways]

Evening, first post here so be gentle with me.

I am thinking of buying a M coupe. In so many ways it's the car I want. I have come to terms with the road tax (don't tell the Mrs) and the other ownership chalenges.

What I am struggling with is the reputation for tricky handling. I do like to me able to provoke a little bit of tail out on a wet (And QUIET) roundabout. So, am I dicing with death and 'through the hedge backwards' if I get an M coupe?
I think even the most tolerant seller is going to be nervous if I start exploring these limits.

It'll be a different to my more recent choices, big low reving V8s and live axles - but variety is a err, different.

My last M car was many years ago, although I would have to hang up my anorak if I didn't point out it was the last of the hand built Ms.

 

[PDJ]

I think you could put any car in a hedge/ditch if you was reckless enough

The M comes with a LSD and traction control most will say it tames it just fine, some would say it stops the fun I think those owners are used to the M and I would say it takes a bit to get used to it. I use mine 6 to 8 months a year and it takes a few weekends to start to feel at home each year in the spring.

Mine is set up with CSL like geo and fully polly bushed so not the standard handling so some of the traits or the M are missing from my car that other's report

I would say a well set up car is very neutral and then goes to oversteer after which the traction control tames it but it can still go wrong

Some turn off the TC on track days as it over uses the brakes to keep everything in line therefore heating the brakes too much and there follows another set of problems

Good tyres help as always

 

[Mr Tidy]

Welcome to the forum.

As a former M5 owner I wouldn't have thought you'd be likely to put an M Coupe into a hedge!

I've had mine almost 5 years and haven't got close to doing that, although like PDJ mine has also been aligned to M3 CSL settings, and I've had more than 20 other RWD cars in the past.

Although I haven't turned the TC off yet.

 

[mmm-five]

The Z4MC is MUCH stiffer and twitchier than the e34 and is much quicker to go from fast cornering to brown stain moment.

But you will get used to it, and I'd recommend a few sessions on a skid pan and/or drift circuit to get used to it.

However, you really have to be a numpty to provoke in normal conditions with all the aids on.

This is some grainy VHS converted video of my old 3.8...
[youtube]QhyK_P7x4aA[/youtube]
[youtube]wHKLQ-aVTn0[/youtube]

 

[Gwest44]

I bought my first Zed back in 2018 and that was a Z4MC.

It probably didn't help that it was the first 2 seater sports car I'd ever owned but I was convinced it was trying to kill me whenever I went out in it. I ended up fitting BC racing coilovers which to me seemed to make little to no difference.

I kept the car for about 2 years and subsequently had multiple Zed's before returning to the ///M fold last month but this time with a Z4MR.

For me the Z4MR is a much more compliant drive - not sure it it's because it's done half the miles the coupe had done but it it just feels a much better drive. Not as fidgety and a little more comfortable but still as dramatic with the S54 up front dictating proceedings.

I vowed I wouldn't go back to an ///M but after over 20 other Zed's and over 4 years I guess I just couldn't resist the drama - in short if you're buying the car as a toy rather than a necessity the ///M experience really is a tough act to follow :driving:

 

[buzyg]

I can't speak for the coupe. I gather it's a tiny bit stiffer than the roadster. But the basic setup in the roadster used to have me with the rear end out around roundabouts in the wet. In ten years never lost the rear end once. It was just fun and got threw lots of rear tyres and front brake disks. I routinely switched the TC off when I got in the car. :driving:

Alas I'm getting a bit slow these days and seldom get the back out in my current mx5.

 

[Mr Tidy]

According to this the Coupe shell is twice as stiff, not a "tiny bit":- https://zroadster.org/threads/torsional-stiffness-or-lack-thereof-some-numbers.12474/

 

[buzyg]

According to this the Coupe shell is twice as stiff, not a "tiny bit":- https://zroadster.org/threads/torsional-stiffness-or-lack-thereof-some-numbers.12474/

Every one knows that Mr T. I was talking about the set up and how it feels relative to the roadster. Hence I don't know that. :wink:

 

[taz1966]

Just driven mine 2500 miles around Europe and never thought i was going to get into any more trouble than i would in my well sorted M140I
which also has an LSD.
Like many have said above, if you drive like an absolute tool then yes it will bite you but no more than any other rear wheel driven car.
Just buy one
At the minute they are an absolute bargain.
And bang for book there is nothing else like it out there.

 

[brillomaster]

Hmm... I'd say it depends on how adept you are with oversteering... I used to track various ropey old 3 series's, and they were very, very easy to slide around on a wet track, really predictable when they went, easy to catch slides and hold massive skids if you wanted.

Switched to an e85 z4 and they're a lot twitchier... far shorter wheelbase, weight further back in the chassis, and you sit practically over the rear wheels. A lot grippier, but when it goes it snaps sideways. No where near as driftable as a 3 series.

So yes, if you're used to old 5 series and expect to be able to drift a z4m around in the same way, id be quite wary to start with.

 

[abar121]

The Z4M is predictable in the wet. You prod it and it goes sideways, always!

Fit excellent wet weather tyres, always balance the car and they are great fun.

I though they were lairy, but then I had a C63 which runs smaller tyres. Also great fun and very predictable in the wet.

Unlike a much lower powered Elise, or even MR2 Roadster. They really can snap if you don't have a feel for the balance. I also found older aircooled 911s much harder to correct and on the flip side, more rewarding to learn.

As above, it really depends on your expectations and previous experiences. RWD cars with longer wheelbases usually give more notice.

 

[Simon 3.2M]

It’s quite simple really, learn the car and how it drives, you’ll then have an idea of when it will “let go” or not do what you expect. You have to push them to really feel out of control - as others have said, drive like a tool then expect to be in a hedge.

As for stiffness, having owned both, I have to concede that the Coupe is much stiffer and a far better “drivers” car.

 

[paddy wright]

That’s E34 is beautiful! Welcome along

 

[BMWZ4MC]

With OEM suspension, above about 120mph the front of my Z4M coupe became very floaty and there was no communication through the steering wheel. The car felt very vague and unpredictable - although it would respond to steering inputs, there was no feedback whatsoever and it moved around over bumps in the road.
That handling trait made me far more nervous than any oversteer moments, provoked or unprovoked. Thankfully, it’s easily fixed with aftermarket suspension components and a well-set up Z4M Coupe is a predictable, well-planted car that is readily controllable at the limit.