Convince me to upgrade from 3.0i to the M!

[Beedub]

and.... heres my "I'm special s54 inside T-shirt pic"



Thats a T-shirt ill wear any day

Well that's hardly a standard S54.

I'm guessing you're going to tell me boosting an S54 just enhances the character of it? Is this character something we can put in a quantifiable way or do you have to read lots of motoring journals + spend time on forums to know when you have it?

Do you think when the BMW engineers go to make an engine on the top of their list is - add character? There's no arguing compared to an M54 the S54 revs better has a better throttle response, produces more HP + TQ etc so there we go it's better. It's just when you start comparing it to obviously better engines such as the S65, S55 the S54 owners start bringing in these non verifiable, non standardised ways of claiming superiority.

I can understand if say "You know what I just like the way the S54 sounds compared to most other engines." Just don't start making sweeping statements like "S54 is special, everyone knows that. It's legendary." Maybe to you but not to everyone else. Again I understand I might be in the minority on this forum but I have no doubt there have been 100's probably 1000's of S54 engined owners who just regard it as an engine and have moved onto other cars which have engines coupled to a better car (in their eyes) which have left them with longer lasting impressions.

By the way regarding your keyboard warrior gesture - I'm a surgeon and lecture regularly, maybe I'm just used to speaking of fact more than you are as I'm no salesman. If I start offering procedures to patient on how it might make them feel and not on facts/success rates I'd be on the end of many lawsuits so don't make stupid assumptions.

Lol at you keeping adding bits on further edits.... damn..... babw seriously step away from the keyboard and go and spend some time with your family.

 

[Babw]

Nothing personal here Beedub, your car is a credit to you and I bet it's a hooligan. What's it pushing 570/500? I'm heading down to Litchfield when the GTR arrives for some goodies, 620/600 for a road car seems to a sweet spot on the GTR.

Do you own any other fast cars just out of curiosity?

Also I'm not on call this weekend so have nothing better to do while watching Andy Murray.

 

[Beedub]

Nothing personal here Beedub, your car is a credit to you and I bet it's a hooligan. What's it pushing 570/500? I'm heading down to Litchfield when the GTR arrives for some goodies, 620/600 for a road car seems to a sweet spot on the GTR.

Do you own any other fast cars just out of curiosity?

Also I'm not on call this weekend so have nothing better to do while watching Andy Murray.

it makes around 530hp ( from a further enhanced ESS stage 2 kit) with 100+ octane mix, its boosting around 8.5-9lbs , and its pretty much modded extensively in every department from brakes, to suspension, engine, even down the drive-shafts, additional cooling, its been done properly. Being a centrifugal s/c you don't really get a slog of boost or power it simply just feels like a bigger engine, the power and Tq curve remain pretty much the same just move up the graph. The car has had quite decent amount of weight shed out of it and in a competitive environment does very well. I tend to run it my local sprint series where we are divided into classes, on its current road spec nankang budget semi slicks ( just couldnt do my usual and go all out at the time) it was posting times well into the big boy territory (matching GT3 CSs for example) , I'm just about to re-sign up for this season and i plan to keep the top spot of the class and get the time down further, however I'm pretty certain I'm at the limit of what i can do with these tyres, i REALLY want the trofeo R. I was literally ecstatic with its performance, a vey proud owner. What was even more impressive what a near 2 tonne GTR with 600/600 came and did a 1.24.9.... 3 seconds faster than me, such an impressive machine. He had 888s and an additional cooler/ tune, the car was moving around like a friggin caterham, teamed with that incredible Dct was just a sight to behold. If i an get down to 1.26 i'll be a very happy man.

Again i won't BS i pretend my car is by any stretch a normal z4m but with some time and effort spent they can be devastatingly good!! i Will be playing alittle more with my 2 way kw clubsport shocks to see if i can grab alittle more time on the current setup.

Currently don't own anything other than this and my everyday compnay car + a shed runabout. Business hit a rough patch a few years ago and sadly we haven't recovered enough for me to feel comfortable moving to where i thought id be at this point (991 GT3) , however at 1 point i had 3-4 performance/classic cars in my ownership... The good old days.

 

[jimmybell]

Glad we helped progress the point of this thread with all this dribble chat...

OP - If still in doubt, thoroughly recommend a test drive. As this thread highlights people have strong and random opinions that really won't help YOU buy a car, but luckily the car is great and can easily persuade you itself. I'd actually say ignore all threads, posts and opinion until you test drive, and don't buy without a test

If it means anything, whether people's opinions are right or not - you can clearly see people get very passionate about their M's - to the extent there's an entire forum here for us to circle jerk each other about how good they are compared to everyone but something 2X the price.

 

[Babw]

Nothing personal here Beedub, your car is a credit to you and I bet it's a hooligan. What's it pushing 570/500? I'm heading down to Litchfield when the GTR arrives for some goodies, 620/600 for a road car seems to a sweet spot on the GTR.

Do you own any other fast cars just out of curiosity?

Also I'm not on call this weekend so have nothing better to do while watching Andy Murray.

it makes around 530hp ( from a further enhanced ESS stage 2 kit) with 100+ octane mix, its boosting around 8.5-9lbs , and its pretty much modded extensively in every department from brakes, to suspension, engine, even down the drive-shafts, additional cooling, its been done properly. Being a centrifugal s/c you don't really get a slog of boost or power it simply just feels like a bigger engine, the power and Tq curve remain pretty much the same just move up the graph. The car has had quite decent amount of weight shed out of it and in a competitive environment does very well. I tend to run it my local sprint series where we are divided into classes, on its current road spec nankang budget semi slicks ( just couldnt do my usual and go all out at the time) it was posting times well into the big boy territory (matching GT3 CSs for example) , I'm just about to re-sign up for this season and i plan to keep the top spot of the class and get the time down further, however I'm pretty certain I'm at the limit of what i can do with these tyres, i REALLY want the trofeo R. I was literally ecstatic with its performance, a vey proud owner. What was even more impressive what a near 2 tonne GTR with 600/600 came and did a 1.24.9.... 3 seconds faster than me, such an impressive machine. He had 888s and an additional cooler/ tune, the car was moving around like a friggin caterham, teamed with that incredible Dct was just a sight to behold. If i an get down to 1.26 i'll be a very happy man.

Again i won't BS i pretend my car is by any stretch a normal z4m but with some time and effort spent they can be devastatingly good!! i Will be playing alittle more with my 2 way kw clubsport shocks to see if i can grab alittle more time on the current setup.

Currently don't own anything other than this and my everyday compnay car + a shed runabout. Business hit a rough patch a few years ago and sadly we haven't recovered enough for me to feel comfortable moving to where i thought id be at this point (991 GT3) , however at 1 point i had 3-4 performance/classic cars in my ownership... The good old days.

Excellent work on the motor, I bet she flies.

If you haven't already take an M4/M3 for a test drive, if you like booster high revving motors the S55 is a masterpiece. Try not to compare it to your beloved S54 :wink: but go with an open mind and pretend you've never driven an S54 before. It was a real eye opener for me.

 

[Mad Professor]

The S54 is a nice modern NA engine but I don't believe it will ever achieve the same legendary status as for example the Ford Cosworth BDA or BDR or for that matter even the Honda F20C .

 

[Babw]

S54 is only a legend amongst some current owners which is to be expected. Also it's the single biggest selling N/A inline 6 M car engine so it will have had the most users = plenty of car enthusiasts to sing it's praises.

It has a good reputation amongst BMW owners as the final version of the M20 which was nothing but a road engine. If BMW had used an S54 to race in GT3, touring cars etc and been successful like Porsche was with the Mezger I wouldn't be doubting it's status but they didn't. They used the P60, the S54 was just a road engine designed with all the limitations of a road engine.

I don't know enough about the Cosworth but the F20 is derived from racing engines so maybe it will become a legend.

 

[Anonymous]

Perhaps a little back on the topic of this thread, I'll add in my own musings.

When looking for a new car, I wanted soft top, more noise, looks and go (speed, handling, braking). Coupled with a £13-17k budget, there were a few that appeared in my searches;

Z4M
Boxster S 3.2 987
Boxster S 3.4 987
S2000
350 and 370Z cabriolet
SLK55
TVRs

Both boxsters appear to have engine issues. A lot of those closer to the scene than I (few who race caymans with the same engines) say the problems are more Internet scare mongering... That's all well and good however it appears very wide spread in comparison to Vanos issues for example. The boxsters are also very benign looking in my eyes - living in SW London they are also ten a penny... Sure their handling appears to be on another level but I am not a roundabout yahoo so didn't see that affecting my choice.

The s2000 is a very interesting car to drive. You really have to work the engine gears. Handling also appeared to be quite trigger happy unless absolutely setup 100% and checked often. It's looks also didn't do much for me, again looking quite sedate in my eyes (until you spend ££££ on kit). Interior was also very very poor.

350Z just looks awkward with the top up. 370Z felt fantastic to drive and sounded great. But again, the interior let it down and there were some lines I couldn't get on with.

Every SLK55 was at the top of my budget and had something not quite right... Body condition, noises, dodgey pushy dealers etc... Plus I couldn't get on with the auto.

TVRs - when I have more money, a second car and a garage to treat it the way it should be treated... Delicately!

So that really left me with a Z4. And being the showy prick I am, it had to be the best of the breed.

So that's how I arrived at my decision. Horses for courses and all that, but I feel this and the "where to go from an ///M thread go hand in hand - what's in the same price range that can beat it for looks, feel and go.



Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Mad Professor]

That's an excellent synthesis and kind of sums up what i was thinking prior to buying the Zed

 

[Anonymous]

That's an excellent synthesis and kind of sums up what i was thinking prior to buying the Zed

A buddy of mine has a 3l 120k miler Z4 - he and I were on exactly the same thought patterns while looking to upgrade (budgets and therefore list of cars). He's holding out for a 3.4 S 987 that's had bore score and IMS checked and/or corrected, so should be an interesting comparison if and when he bites the bullet.

Both of us have a "what if" fund. As has been said before the thread went wayward, most cars of this type were once £45k so come with the bills as such, should they need for anything.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[JayEmm]

Poor OP, I think if this thread doesn't scare him off nothing will!

Regarding the old boxsters, I find it hilarious that people who won't dare consider one will happily consider a Tuscan. Madness.

ANY car can go pop.

The new Boxster is quite a thing, I was loans just one when my 996 went in for service. At first I was shocked a non S Boxster was 50k second hand and had less power than a 15 year old 911 but within a quarter of a mile I was hooked. It is an incredible machine and with the sports exhaust it sounds plain rude too.

 

[abar121]

The Boxster S is a great car and I for one wouldn't argue against anyone who said it's a more complete car overall.

I do find them boring and lacking in excitement, particularly as even the 987 3.4S is nobbled by Porsche in the low / mid range. It feels gutless compared a Z4M, or even an early 3.4 996.

I've come from a 911 background and prefer the older aircooled stuff (my 993 C2 was enchanting). All of our expectations are different. I think this review is spot on for me, or Plato's review from fith gear.

http://www.evo.co.uk/tvr/tuscan/14195/bmw-z4-m-v-boxster-s-v-tvr-tuscan-v-alpina-m-power-strikes-back

As for the S54 only being halo'ed by owners, lol, that certainly made me smile

 

[GreyZed]

Poor OP, I think if this thread doesn't scare him off nothing will!

Regarding the old boxsters, I find it hilarious that people who won't dare consider one will happily consider a Tuscan. Madness.

ANY car can go pop.

It's not the pop that's the problem it's how far the weasel goes after said pop. Porsche parts are uncomfortably pricey compared to TVRs and BMWs of the same vintage (approaching 10 years old).

 

[Beedub]

The Boxster S is a great car and I for one wouldn't argue against anyone who said it's a more complete car overall.

I do find them boring and lacking in excitement, particularly as even the 987 3.4S is nobbled by Porsche in the low / mid range. It feels gutless compared a Z4M, or even an early 3.4 996.

I've come from a 911 background and prefer the older aircooled stuff (my 993 C2 was enchanting). All of our expectations are different. I think this review is spot on for me, or Plato's review from fith gear.

http://www.evo.co.uk/tvr/tuscan/14195/bmw-z4-m-v-boxster-s-v-tvr-tuscan-v-alpina-m-power-strikes-back

As for the S54 only being halo'ed by owners, lol, that certainly made me smile

i love that article, 5 star rating too..... they even like the god awful gearbox everyone bangs on about.... the same gearbox i find a nothing but a joy, short throw, lovely feel to it.

 

[abar121]

i love that article, 5 star rating too..... they even like the god awful gearbox everyone bangs on about.... the same gearbox i find a nothing but a joy, short throw, lovely feel to it.

Yeah, me too. It has a lovely shift, even 1-2 is a joy. Sure it's not a sloppy Audi style box and you need to have a little precision, but it's superb.

 

[StevenH72]

i love that article, 5 star rating too..... they even like the god awful gearbox everyone bangs on about.... the same gearbox i find a nothing but a joy, short throw, lovely feel to it.

Yeah, me too. It has a lovely shift, even 1-2 is a joy. Sure it's not a sloppy Audi style box and you need to have a little precision, but it's superb.

For me, it just makes it all the more enoyable when you nail a downshift or a smooth snap from 1 - 2nd #longlivetheclutch

 

[Beats]

The S54 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BbNacresHow

 

[Beats]

Great article, thanks..

The Boxster S is a great car and I for one wouldn't argue against anyone who said it's a more complete car overall.

I do find them boring and lacking in excitement, particularly as even the 987 3.4S is nobbled by Porsche in the low / mid range. It feels gutless compared a Z4M, or even an early 3.4 996.

I've come from a 911 background and prefer the older aircooled stuff (my 993 C2 was enchanting). All of our expectations are different. I think this review is spot on for me, or Plato's review from fith gear.

http://www.evo.co.uk/tvr/tuscan/14195/bmw-z4-m-v-boxster-s-v-tvr-tuscan-v-alpina-m-power-strikes-back

As for the S54 only being halo'ed by owners, lol, that certainly made me smile