Many simple questions

[New2Zed]

As my username will tell you I am new to the Z4 and even BMW. Furthermore, I am guilty of not letting you out at junctions, :lol: a sin for which I profoundly apologise as I may well be about to see the light as I am looking for a roadster and the Z4 is now the top of my list.

The model I am looking at is the sDrive 20i M Sport, probably with the auto box and it will be mainly driven by my wife who is more interested in looking good rather than driving fast, hence the smaller engine.

I have studied the official BMW website as well as the various motor mag reviews, have not yet had a test drive but I do have a few questions.

Does the designation 'i Drive' actually have any meaning or refer to anything?

The mag reviewers all seem to shy away from the M Sport configuration on the grounds of a compromised ride, is this really such an issue?

The auto box on this model I believe is not a double clutch arrangement but a seven speed 'sport' box. Anyone any experiences of this gearbox?

And the biggy, run flat tyres. Are they a blessing or a curse. If a curse, can the existing rims take normal tubeless tyres. As I am looking at something around a year old a tyre change might be imminent so the opportunity to switch could be there.

I apologise if any or all of these points are covered already on this forum.

 

[Stark]

Well I think the M Sport looks the nuts especially with the 326 M Sport wheels. I use the runflats in London, and they have been fine. I probably don't have the nuts to risk being at warranty dilemma if anything happened suspension or wheel related, as it have been warned that cover may be at risk.

I have driven the standard auto, and it's a good unit. I use a DCT with mine, and I would have been just as happy with the standard auto. But the DCT is very very good

 

[zztop]

With the standard 18 inch wheels and adaptive suspension, the m sport ride does not seem compromised to me at all, in fact it's pretty compliant. Having said that, most of the second hand cars I've seen all have the 19 inch wheels (and m sport as well) which I did not like at all, I felt the bigger wheels tramlined a bit too much, plus the ride was firmer.

The standard auto on the 2.0i is an 8 speed and is fabulous, love it to bits, it's more than quick enough for road driving and smooth enough when you're feeling laid back.

I wouldn't risk leaving someone I cared about with non-run flats and no spare, I'm not sure about the efficacy of a can of tyreweld, others may chip in here.

 

[Stark]

My 35i doesn't tramline at all.......it must be on a case by case basis.....mine is very compliant.mi must admit I am always tempted with normal tyres, but I have heard some people say the ride is vastly different in sometimes a bad way. The cars were not designed, so they say, to be run on non run flats....

 

[R.E92]

iDrive is the build in computer system. The main function is navigation but it offers all sorts of other goodies. It's not worth adding on a new purchase due to the price buy nice on a used car.
If you actually meant S Drive then that means the car is rear wheel drive. BMW have two terms. X Drive for 4WD and S Drive for RWD. I don't think you can actually get the Z4 with X Drive so it's a rather pointless label.

Adaptive M-Sport suspension is a brilliant option. On the normal setting it's more comfortable than the standard suspension and on Sport or Sport+ it firms up for cornering ability.

Ditch the runflats. They are the cause of the wheel cracking issue across the BMW range and terrible for both ride and handling. They also seem to puncture easily.

 

[New2Zed]

iDrive is the build in computer system. The main function is navigation but it offers all sorts of other goodies. It's not worth adding on a new purchase due to the price buy nice on a used car.
If you actually meant S Drive then that means the car is rear wheel drive. BMW have two terms. X Drive for 4WD and S Drive for RWD. I don't think you can actually get the Z4 with X Drive so it's a rather pointless label.

Adaptive M-Sport suspension is a brilliant option. On the normal setting it's more comfortable than the standard suspension and on Sport or Sport+ it firms up for cornering ability.

Ditch the runflats. They are the cause of the wheel cracking issue across the BMW range and terrible for both ride and handling. They also seem to puncture easily.

Sorry, yes, I meant sDrive.

I am looking for a nice used car and there seems to be a reasonable selection although most seem to be white, not a colour I would choose personally as I like to see a nice glossy shine.

You refer to 'adaptive' M-Sport suspension. Is all M-Sport suspension 'adaptive' or is that an added option with standard M-Sport suspension just being lowered and stiffened?

I have a friend who was stranded on the M1 as he had exceeded the safe distance on his punctured run flat and he was advised by BMW assist not to travel any further. He now has normal tyres fitted and carries two cans of tyre weld in his 335i. I presume then that 'normal' tyres will fit run flat rims.

Thanks everyone for their advice so far.

 

[envy]

I have the very spec the OP is talking about. Having done 18k miles in mine. I would say the m sport with 19 inch wheels does not tramline in the slightest. i did find that my old e86 tramlined like a bugger though

the auto is great, especially in sport mode which gives it a crisper, sharper throttle response. its great on motorway cruising too doing only 2k revs at 80mph

 

[New2Zed]

I have the very spec the OP is talking about. Having done 18k miles in mine. I would say the m sport with 19 inch wheels does not tramline in the slightest. i did find that my old e86 tramlined like a bugger though

the auto is great, especially in sport mode which gives it a crisper, sharper throttle response. its great on motorway cruising too doing only 2k revs at 80mph

So am I safe to assume that you're pretty happy with your choice of spec Envy? including the 19" run flats.

I only live 12 miles north of you in Wirksworth so we will probably use the same roads which can be less than well maintained to say the least.

 

[Simon20VT]

I've got a 20i msport, although manual, with the 19" wheels. I don't find the ride horrific and don't think it's particularly worse than the 18" ones tbh. I don't find it tramlines either. While I find the concept of run flats fairly pointless, I will most likely stick with them mainly due to the cracking issue, as I'd imagine BMW would wash their hands of the problem if a wheel cracks on non run flat tyres.

I did drive a pre LCI auto, which is eminently better than the Mercedes equivalent but never really got on with the PDK style push and pull wheel shifters.

 

[New2Zed]

I did drive a pre LCI auto, which is eminently better than the Mercedes equivalent but never really got on with the PDK style push and pull wheel shifters.

Thanks Simon20VT but I am afraid your last statement (above) is lost on a newbie like me.

Any chance you could explain what an LCI auto is? I don't know what PDK stands for but when you say "push and pull", I presume you mean that you can change both up and down with either paddle rather than up with one and down with the other.

I only started looking seriously at the Z4 today so this turning out to be quite a steep learning curve.

 

[Wondermike]

He's referring to the old auto 'box which is a 6 speed. All 20i autos are the 8 speed with left/right pull/pull paddles. The adaptive suspension is an option and as you are looking for a year old car I think you my struggle to find an auto with adaptive in the colour/spec you want.

You can fit non run-flats if you want to.

 

[envy]

So am I safe to assume that you're pretty happy with your choice of spec Envy? including the 19" run flats.

I only live 12 miles north of you in Wirksworth so we will probably use the same roads which can be less than well maintained to say the least.

yes, i wouldnt have it any other way..... maybe in red but otherwise no regrets whatsoever

i do have to deal with some horrendous roads but dont think the run flats are that bad and they did save me when i had a nail through them once, drove back 60 miles on them and they only lost 3psi of pressure so they did really well there and i was able to repair it as the tyre pressure never dropped less than 30psi

i think the 326m wheels on mine are the best looking ones around for the z4 and you wont regret having them or the m sport kit which is very nice

 

[zztop]

Well, I hate to disagree with everyone, but I definitely detected some pull through the steering on the car I test dove with 19s, maybe not a massive amount but it was there. Is it possible there was something wrong with it?

 

[TitanTim]

Think tramlining depends alot on the road surface camber etc although I've never experienced it on the Zed with either 18 or 19s with runflats.

Regarding ride and runflats theres no real difference between 18s and 19s. Only you will know whether you like the ride quality with runflats as for some its not a problem and others hate them with a vengeance, so you will just have try it.

I'm in the former camp and have no issues with runflats and the safety and convienience advantages for me personally far outweighs swapping to standard tyres. Remember also the suspension is tuned for runflat tyres.

Tim.

 

[Paul c]

+1 on the above no issues with tramlining on the 19ins had a lot more on the3series and 1coupe on the 18ins don't find the ride to hard at all and I'm an old boy of 60yrs
growing old disgracefully. :lol:

 

[dr_john]

I've never noticed tramlining in either of the e89's that I've owned. I did have a Honda Civic once that tramlined horribly, so I know what it feels like!

As regards the Msport suspension, yes it's a bit firmer but not ridiculously so. The Msport option makes the car look and feel much more like a sports car, which is the whole point of a zed for me.

 

[R.E92]

I don't buy into the advice on the car being made for runflats.

For ride comfort I would say 18" runflats are the same as 19" normal tyres.

In my personal experience with runflat tyres I found the following downsides:
-Uneven wear (quite common on the bridgestones even with proper tracking adjustments)
-Tramlining
-Poor traction
-Noisy
-Seemed to attract punctures - also noticed by many others on the E90post forums.
-Experienced three cracked wheels within 10k miles (having changed to normal tyres on my E92 and covering 80k miles I'm still yet to see another crack) - Plenty of people attributing the cracking issues to runflat tyres.

I would actually go as far as to say they are unsafe. Even purely on a traction basis they are unsafe but given their affinity to puncture, their uneven wear which if not checked could cause a blowout (not many people actually check inside edge of tyres) and you have a pretty unreliable tyre.

Any fitter will tell you they are a nightmare to remove and a fair amount of tyre shops will not repair them.


Personally I'm much happier and feel safer with a 12v compressor and a can of tyre weld.
You really need to ask yourself why BMW chose to fit runflats on all their standard cars and not their M cars. If they were not compromised then surely M cars would come with them fitted.

 

[TitanTim]

I don't buy into the advice on the car being made for runflats.

For ride comfort I would say 18" runflats are the same as 19" normal tyres.

In my personal experience with runflat tyres I found the following downsides:
-Uneven wear (quite common on the bridgestones even with proper tracking adjustments)
-Tramlining
-Poor traction
-Noisy
-Seemed to attract punctures - also noticed by many others on the E90post forums.
-Experienced three cracked wheels within 10k miles (having changed to normal tyres on my E92 and covering 80k miles I'm still yet to see another crack) - Plenty of people attributing the cracking issues to runflat tyres.

I would actually go as far as to say they are unsafe. Even purely on a traction basis they are unsafe but given their affinity to puncture, their uneven wear which if not checked could cause a blowout (not many people actually check inside edge of tyres) and you have a pretty unreliable tyre.

Any fitter will tell you they are a nightmare to remove and a fair amount of tyre shops will not repair them.


Personally I'm much happier and feel safer with a 12v compressor and a can of tyre weld.
You really need to ask yourself why BMW chose to fit runflats on all their standard cars and not their M cars. If they were not compromised then surely M cars would come with them fitted.

Quote from BMW

"All of our vehicles that use Run-flat technology have their suspension and braking components set up to accommodate Run-flat tyres. Should you decide to change to non Run-flats, it may alter the driving and handling characteristics of your vehicle. It is for this reason that this modification is not recommended by BMW as a manufacturer"

Its down to the indivudual whether they prefer the comfort of standard tyres over runflats. I guess for me I much prefer the safety advantages over relying on a can of foam at the side of the road.

Tim.

 

[shotbybothsides]

I too have no problem with the runflats on the E89.
I think, and I'll get lots of flack for saying this... but a lot of the perceived issues about run flats on the E89 come from how the E85/86 behaves with them, ie not at all well.

 

[bluespit]

I have an e89 with 19 runflats and m sport setup. A couple of months ago I was lucky enough to drive a similar car with adaptive suspension and found it to be excellent and something I would consider paying extra for in the future. If you find a car with adaptive then I would recommend considering paying a premium for it.

Cheers