Coupe Sport vs SE

S

scoobs001

New member
Hey,

I'm new to the forum and looking at buying a Z4 Coupe sometime before Xmas.

Obviously attracted to the sport model due to the seats, wheels, steering wheel and resale value. It's a better looking car and what my brain says I should buy.

But, I don't want a race car which is rock solid on little bumps and a nightmare to drive on our less than average roads.

Which leads me to an SE model, with non sport suspension and larger profile tyres may be better for me,(also usually a lot cheaper ).

Can someone who has owned / driven both advise on the ride difference / suspension between the both ?
 
Hi, a lot of the harshness the sport models suffer from can be alleviated by swapping out the standard fit runflat tyres for normal ones, this brings much improved ride quality. Buying an se would increase this further still.
Regarding the interior trim spec, occasionally you’ll find an se that’s been specced with most of the sport bits such as seats/wheels/steering wheel/suspension etc.
The engines are the same.
Rob
 
Hi and welcome to the forum. :thumbsup:

Both my 3.0Si Coupes were Sport models so I can't comment on they compare to the SE, but if I was looking again I'd happily consider an SE with the M-Sport seats.

And by all accounts getting rid of the run-flats seems to help no end!
 
The sport suspension is downright terrible, the springs are way too stiff and unforgiving, I drove 2 cars (2.0 and 2.5) it completely put me off buying a zed! I went to look at an mx5 at a garage, another fella was also looking at it for his daughter, had a chat about zeds and how I was put off by the suspension being harder than a maths exam which resulted in him taking me out in his SE 3.0. I went out and bought an SE! Trouble with the SE is the wheel arch to wheel gap is a bit too much, which a solved with eibach progressive springs which still have a good ride.
 
scoobs001 said:
Which leads me to an SE model, with non sport suspension and larger profile tyres may be better for me,(also usually a lot cheaper ).
Click to expand...
I thought the 3.0si models all had larger front calipers, meaning 18" wheels are required. So there'd be no benefit with the SE of having higher profile tyres. Or am I mistaken, and the 3.0si SEs are different from the Sports and available with 17" rims?
 
Sidewaze Samm said:
I thought the 3.0si models all had larger front calipers, meaning 18" wheels are required. So there'd be no benefit with the SE of having higher profile tyres. Or am I mistaken, and the 3.0si SEs are different from the Sports and available with 17" rims?
Click to expand...

The 3.0Si does have bigger front discs, but 17s were standard on the SE models.

On standard brakes any other non-M can run 16s.
 
Sidewaze Samm said:
Ah OK.
Do you know which style of 17" wheel was standard?
Click to expand...

Yes, the standard wheels for the SE were Style 200s - 8Jx17 all round.
 
Mr Tidy said:
Sidewaze Samm said:
I thought the 3.0si models all had larger front calipers, meaning 18" wheels are required. So there'd be no benefit with the SE of having higher profile tyres. Or am I mistaken, and the 3.0si SEs are different from the Sports and available with 17" rims?
Click to expand...

The 3.0Si does have bigger front discs, but 17s were standard on the SE models.
Click to expand...

Slightly fuzzy there Mr T so for clarity to those unsure the E86 3.0Si was avaliable in either Sport or Se spec , both having identical engines (N52) & power output (262bhp)
Both have identical running gear + brakes.
17 inch wheels can fit either Si Sport or Si Se models :thumbsup:
 
mr wilks said:
Slightly fuzzy there Mr T so for clarity to those unsure the E86 3.0Si was avaliable in either Sport or Se spec , both having identical engines (N52) & power output (262bhp)
Both have identical running gear + brakes.
17 inch wheels can fit either Si Sport or Si Se models
Click to expand...

Thanks Mr Wilks. :thumbsup:

The Si part seems to cause some confusion!

In case it helps anyone Si Sport models had staggered 18" wheels as standard, MV2s, but plenty were sold with the 108s that were a cost option.
 
I have an SE but the important (to me!) sport options were ticked incl seats and headlining. However much prefer the thinner SE wheel - still multifunction etc just thinner. Rest of the car is as Mr W says, the same. I have moved to sport springs as I found they work better with the B6 dampers than the SE springs. I do also think the car works better on smaller wheels but does not looks as smart. I run a square 225/45/18 set up and it looks a bit weedy at the rear compared to a 255 set up - but the car is overtyred for the road in my opinion on the wider rubber. I’ve never tried a z on square 17s but I bet it works really well. Lots of options but you can find what works best for you :thumbsup:
 
I'd have to agree with you about the SE steering wheel DaveD. :thumbsup:

The M-Sport one just feels fat for the sake of it, to me anyway. :roll:

And my 3.0SI Sports did feel over-tyred with 255s on the rear. Which they probably were given that BMW fitted 245/40s on the rear of the Ms!

My daily is an E90 330i with the same engine as the Sis and being an SE it has 225/45x17s all round, but never feels like it is struggling for grip.

You could always get some spacers for the rear if you wanted to fill the arches a bit better.
 
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