Canadian winters and Z4M Coupe

L

laurent

New member
First post here !

I have been looking for some time to purchase a Cayman S. Fortunately, I was given the chance to drive a 2008 Z4M Coupe with barely 20k km on it and now I am seriously considering purchasing it.

Would you be able to answer a few questions for me ?

Are you guys driving the Z4MC in winter and how does it fare ? We do have some fairly harsh winters and I was wondering how much of a good idea it is to run this car 12 months a year. What tyres do you use for winter ?
Do most of you use it as a daily driver ? What makes it more difficult to run this car as a daily driver ?

Thanks !
 
Mine is purely a weekend toy that I intend to keep for a very long time.
DD & winter duties are handled by another vehicle.
 
It depends where you are, Vancouver or Fort MacMurray, the winters are totally different.
I park mine from November to April (usually). I got it out a little early this year.

You could try blizzaks and sandbags in the back, it will work but I wouldn't do it, driving in winter.....that's what pickups are for.
 
Not sure what your winters are like, where I am in Scotland when there is ice on the roads, or less frequently snow, the only place I drive my non M Z4 to is the garage. :)

I guess yours will be pretty severe, and I think you know as well as any of us, rear wheel drive mixed with ice or snow just don't work. on the other hand if I liked the car enough I'd get it anyway life's to short to be sensible all the time!.

Good luck whatever you choose.
 
Don't be put off by the rear wheel drive in the winter. On summer tyres you will definitely struggle in the cold, icy conditions and in snow the car struggles to move at all. Put a set of winter tyres on, however, and the car will cope well, much to the surprise of other drivers who are used to seeing BMW's and Mercs toiling to get any traction on a snow covered incline. As my car is my only vehicle, parking it up in the garage over the winter isn't an option.

I ran Vredestein Wintrac Xtreme in our unusually harsh winter this year and was impressed with how they performed, particularly in the snow and when there was standing water during heavy rain. They are available in the correct sizes for my 19's, 265/30 and 235/35, which is a bonus. Conversely when the weather is milder they don't come up to the standards of the PS2's I normally run but there has to be a trade off somewhere.

There is a general lack of understanding on the need for/benefits of winter tyres in the UK, particularly where high powered rear wheel drive vehicles are concerned which I don't think extends to other European countries where harsh winters are the norm. Before anyone gets offended by that I should say that I was generally ignorant of the positive effects of winter tyres until fairly recently.
 
No, you are quite right, and no offence taken.

I should know better having driven on studded tyres whilst working in Sweden only last year, they were amazingly efficient.

I am totally ignorant regarding non studded winter tyres, don't even know what they look like!.

Self reminder to be less glib in future sent. :)
 
A few basics: first, I'm 55 and we only had rear wheel drive unless you had a Toronado or other oddball, so sandbags, winter tires(sometimes studded although not legal a lot of places now) and rear wheel drive was the norm. We drove all year and learned all kinds of neat skills like "how to punch through drifts"," how to drive a controlled skid for more than a few seconds". AND how to dig a car out of a snowbank. Might sound like fun , sometimes it was but mostly NOT. :thumbsdown:

If you can avoid it, park the Zed. If not, sandbags over the back axle, the best winter tires you can get and drive slow with less torque and it will work. :( :D :( :D :(

Be aware that if the 1 ton 4x4 is having a hard time you may not want to try either.... :D

also, the Zed will get high-centered very easily...
 
Thank you for all the responses.

@mcbee: I live in Montreal, but I actually worked for about a year in Edmonton and Calgary. While I was there I had the opportunity to purchase an almost new E46 330 M Performance and drove the car in winter with good winter tires. The experience was overall positive, no sandbags, the car would be more of a problem because of its lower suspension and with snow accumulation the front fender would start working as a snow plough.
But I am a bit worried with the Z4M as during my brief drives of the car, the rear end seemed quite "lively", I am sure some of it relates to my lack of experience with the car but winter driving would certainly be a careful endeavor.

@dgm: I am in the same position. Normally I would have a winter beater and keep the Z4 for summer only, as a daily driver though. It would be the sensible thing to do, but having the opportunity to purchase this car now and considering that I had a big grin plastered on my face for most of the time I was test driving the car, well winter tires would be my only option for the short term. Have you had any major issues with driving the car this winter ? I have a garage both at home and work, but sometimes I might have to park it in the snow, how hard is the Z to get out of a snowed in street parking ?
 
Montreal, home of very deep, wet snow, . ( my 2nd wife was from there)

I drove my M3 a "little" on snow, with blizzaks and it does work but any kind of torque applied and you're done.

I think I'd be more afraid of all the other idiots bashing into the car than getting stuck....Good Luck mon ami :thumbsup: :thumbsup:
 
No problem driving the Z4MR in Calgary through the past 3 winters. Actually handles the snow better than our previous 325i or current 135i due to the ///M Diff. Shod with 225/45-18 Pirelli Sottozero 240s on 18x8 +40mm OZ Ultraleggera rims (20mm spacers needed on rear):
Z4_in_snow.JPG
 
aerobod said:
No problem driving the Z4MR in Calgary through the past 3 winters. Actually handles the snow better than our previous 325i or current 135i due to the ///M Diff. Shod with 225/45-18 Pirelli Sottozero 240s on 18x8 +40mm OZ Ultraleggera rims (20mm spacers needed on rear):
Click to expand...

I'll keep my eye out for your M, I'm in the Northwest.

lacroupade said:
mcbeee said:
Montreal, home of very deep, wet snow, . ( my 2nd wife was from there)
Click to expand...

not another 'Third Wives' club member? :rofl:
Click to expand...

Nope, "Fourth" Club. 3rd time wasn't lucky :rofl:
 
laurent said:
@dgm: I am in the same position. Normally I would have a winter beater and keep the Z4 for summer only, as a daily driver though. It would be the sensible thing to do, but having the opportunity to purchase this car now and considering that I had a big grin plastered on my face for most of the time I was test driving the car, well winter tires would be my only option for the short term. Have you had any major issues with driving the car this winter ? I have a garage both at home and work, but sometimes I might have to park it in the snow, how hard is the Z to get out of a snowed in street parking ?
Click to expand...

I park in my driveway or in an open car park at work and apart from sometimes having to dig a path to the road I haven't had any problems, however, that's in lowland Scotland where I don't imagine we have the same amount of snow as yourselves. As long as there are decent road clearing efforts going on then I don't think you'll find keeping the Z4M going in the snow that difficult with winter tyres.

I did have a second car with front wheel drive for the bad weather but, as you've found out, the Z4M is just too good to drive to leave it sitting on the drive. The second car ended up hardly turning a wheel so it went and was replaced with winter tyres. For me the car is really enjoyable to drive all year round and shouldn't be parked up for the winter, not where I live anyway.
 
I've been driving Z4's of one flavor or another for the past 7 winters. As long as you have winter tires on and the snow is not too deep no problem at all. This past winter was my first winter in the ///M Roadster. With a set of Blizzaks mounted and more snow that in recent memory I had no problem at all. In fact IMO the "M" get around much better that the previous Z4's I've had. I suspect that is due the the "M" Diff.... :driving:
 
Hey Laurent, I also live in Montreal. IMO, best to buy your Z4MC in the US (unless you want one with a balance of factory warranty) You'll have better choice, better price and lower mileage from our neighbors. I can help you with the ''how to buy and import'' if you choose to ask for help.

As for driving it in winter...please don't make my heart stop!
 
i lived in montreal for 2 winters and after what we call snow in uk i would say no dont do it although the porsche will be no better but as i said montreal roads werent like uk ones you boys over there clear your roads i never had a problem with a camaro z27 so it shouldnt be too different
 
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