Thought I'd start a new thread to stop the heartache in AndrewZ4MC's for sale thread. He is a top bloke and I was genuinely sorry to drive it away from his house, but it just goes to show how attached we all become to these stupid lumps of metal! I will miss my roadster when it goes too - it has been a perfect introduction to Z4 ownership - but the ///M is already feeling like a totally different proposition. 8)
Here are a few of my favourite pics from Andrew's excellent ad:
The spec is low on creature comforts and high on mechanical awesomeness. So no PDC, nav, upgraded hifi etc, but it has an Eventuri intake, PSS all round, OEM strut brace, KW v3s, Schrick top end bits and some very tasteful eye candy - an M5 illuminated short-shift gearknob and genuine CF carbon lip spoiler and front grilles. Mileage is about 54k and this engine recently had a fairly comprehensive couple of rebuilds (top and bottom - by CPC and BMW, respectively) due to cam follower failure. These are well documented on the forum, thanks to the previous owner's diligence and the amount of help from other forum members. The general condition of the car is superb, so I have no reason to believe that it was mistreated in a past life. It is silky at the moment... smoothest idling S54 I have ever heard, but I know that I am taking a measured risk here so will treat it well and, with additional mileage and routine servicing, I am hoping that confidence in this particular car will be completely restored.
Right... brain dump alert. DPG asked for some thoughts compared to the roadster, so here are some initial reactions before I over-think it:
* A little less cabin rattle and squeak than the roadster, although I've heard roadsters that are worse than mine in this respect
* Again, the coupe is a little better in terms of cabin wind/road noise but it's not a massive difference
* The 2.5si exhaust drones more at motorway speeds, even though the engine note is more subdued
* Combination of the above means that the ///M is a more refined cruiser - who would have thought?!
* I am missing cruise control, because 5mm of pedal travel is now about 10mph :evil:
* Ergonomically this car is basically identical to the other one - pedals, visibility, driving position etc
* This has the OEM sports aerial (stubby); mine has the crappy Citroen thing from eBay. This one is actually able to receive radio outside of a major city
* This ///M apparently has its CDV, but you wouldn't know - nothing like the impact on the 1st-to-2nd shift that the non-///M has
* The shift has more of a "bolt-action" from 1st-to-2nd. Still stiff but less rubbery. At high RPM or in higher gears, both feel similar
* A couple of times on the way home I got the urge to drop the roof - I will miss it a lot
* The Eventuri intake really adds to the character of the S54. Nice and subtle with the windows up and pretty wild with them cracked open. I could accelerate from 3k RPM in a tunnel all day long! It also gives the car a lovely induction warble at low speeds, which is completely absent in the N52 (I have the sound generator, but it only kicks in at about 3k)
* The ///M is clearly far louder from the outside of the vehicle relative to the inside, compared to the non-///M. Neither are offensively loud though, especially exhaust-wise. Why does the E46 M3 exhaust sound more lively? It doesn't make any sense given that the rest of it is more toned down!
* More on the engine... it is just f*cking unbelievable, really! This is the main reason why I bought the car and it is everything I expected and more. The pickup is ferocious - reminds me of the 3.8 in my friend's 997 - and the sound is utterly intoxicating, even at low revs. The N52 is also wonderful, but in a different way - it has a far smoother, more turbine-like tone and in some ways you get to enjoy it more because it takes a couple more seconds to get to illegal speeds
* You get far more enjoyment in the ///M from 0-60, just mashing the throttle in any gear and boosting it out of corners; that'll be the torque and the LSD. The joy of the 2.5si is keeping it singing high up in the rev band on a country B-road, because you can really push on and not worry too much about illegal speeds
* The sport button on the 2.5si is always on for me (mainly for ease of heel-toe and the weightier steering); initial thoughts are that I won't be using it on the ///M
* The steering has barely any more feel, even though it is hydraulically assisted, but the weighting is more natural than the non-///M
* The clutch is a little heavier than the non-///M but not much, the brakes bite harder, earlier and feel a lot more powerful, but are less progressive. The variability in the braking force vs pedal feel is a little weird and caught me out on the motorway when I just wanted to scrub off a little speed and ended up nearly nutting the steering wheel :?
* I have seen inside an ///M boot before, but had forgotten how much space the battery eats up. Having just completed a 2 week road trip in Scotland, I think we would have had to pack a lot more carefully had we been in the ///M
* The fast rack is great - it *is* very fast by most standards, but it suits the car and isn't a massive leap from the 2.5si
* Was getting 30mpg on the motorway on the way back at a steady 77 leptons. The 2.5si will do about 36mpg at this pace
* Nappa is nice step up from the standard leather in terms of look and feel, but both grades feel better than the crap you get in a 320d these days
* The coupe is STIFF. You can really feel it - particularly how instantaneously each corner tilts relative to the others. Again, I know that the roadster is pretty stiff too, so this surprised me
* Not played much with the rear end yet - need to get used to the car first - but the LSD already hints at a whole new world of fun. The best you can get out of the non-///M (without flooring it on full lock) is a cheeky shuffle, which is cool, but it's nothing like this. There is so much more grip under cornering that when it breaks traction you intuitively think it's going to snap suddenly, but it's actually nice and controllable
* Hard to say much about the PSSs, other than they have bags of grip and low road noise. The 2.5si is on Vreds, so pretty decent too. I had already bought OEM CSLs in preparation for the right ///M, so I am properly stuck now because these Michelins are a quality tyre and nearly brand new. Thinking about either ARC-8s and switching the tyres over immediately, or just getting the most out of these and switching them to the CSLs in the future (other people may have gotten their CSL phase out of their system already, but I want mine too!). Not hugely keen on 224s on a coupe - they look great on a roadster though
* All the reassuring mediocrity is still there - the factory paint job, the stereo, no front PDC despite the stupidly long bonnet, the crappy trim fasteners, the spongey handbrake... nice and familiar.
Lastly... the KWs feel EPIC. Beautifully composed in comparison to the 2.5si on OEM Sport suspension. They are a little more lively with small undulations in the road, but eat up bigger bumps with a well-damped "thud" and the car remains completely planted. Again, this reminds me of my friend's 997, which is utterly glued to the road in comparison to the Z4. Like the Porsche, this car doesn't lift its bonnet massively under hard acceleration, the back end doesn't randomly jolt sideways on bumpy roads and it is just an incredibly confidence-inspiring drive in comparison to the Zed (which of course could be looked at as being more "fun" - in a slightly scary way). I have not driven the standard ///M, just the non-///M E85 and E86, but I know that suspension-wise it is far from perfect. The KWs seem to make a huge difference and I'm already looking forward to further setup tweaks.
My 2p, so far...
Here are a few of my favourite pics from Andrew's excellent ad:
The spec is low on creature comforts and high on mechanical awesomeness. So no PDC, nav, upgraded hifi etc, but it has an Eventuri intake, PSS all round, OEM strut brace, KW v3s, Schrick top end bits and some very tasteful eye candy - an M5 illuminated short-shift gearknob and genuine CF carbon lip spoiler and front grilles. Mileage is about 54k and this engine recently had a fairly comprehensive couple of rebuilds (top and bottom - by CPC and BMW, respectively) due to cam follower failure. These are well documented on the forum, thanks to the previous owner's diligence and the amount of help from other forum members. The general condition of the car is superb, so I have no reason to believe that it was mistreated in a past life. It is silky at the moment... smoothest idling S54 I have ever heard, but I know that I am taking a measured risk here so will treat it well and, with additional mileage and routine servicing, I am hoping that confidence in this particular car will be completely restored.
Right... brain dump alert. DPG asked for some thoughts compared to the roadster, so here are some initial reactions before I over-think it:
* A little less cabin rattle and squeak than the roadster, although I've heard roadsters that are worse than mine in this respect
* Again, the coupe is a little better in terms of cabin wind/road noise but it's not a massive difference
* The 2.5si exhaust drones more at motorway speeds, even though the engine note is more subdued
* Combination of the above means that the ///M is a more refined cruiser - who would have thought?!
* I am missing cruise control, because 5mm of pedal travel is now about 10mph :evil:
* Ergonomically this car is basically identical to the other one - pedals, visibility, driving position etc
* This has the OEM sports aerial (stubby); mine has the crappy Citroen thing from eBay. This one is actually able to receive radio outside of a major city
* This ///M apparently has its CDV, but you wouldn't know - nothing like the impact on the 1st-to-2nd shift that the non-///M has
* The shift has more of a "bolt-action" from 1st-to-2nd. Still stiff but less rubbery. At high RPM or in higher gears, both feel similar
* A couple of times on the way home I got the urge to drop the roof - I will miss it a lot
* The Eventuri intake really adds to the character of the S54. Nice and subtle with the windows up and pretty wild with them cracked open. I could accelerate from 3k RPM in a tunnel all day long! It also gives the car a lovely induction warble at low speeds, which is completely absent in the N52 (I have the sound generator, but it only kicks in at about 3k)
* The ///M is clearly far louder from the outside of the vehicle relative to the inside, compared to the non-///M. Neither are offensively loud though, especially exhaust-wise. Why does the E46 M3 exhaust sound more lively? It doesn't make any sense given that the rest of it is more toned down!
* More on the engine... it is just f*cking unbelievable, really! This is the main reason why I bought the car and it is everything I expected and more. The pickup is ferocious - reminds me of the 3.8 in my friend's 997 - and the sound is utterly intoxicating, even at low revs. The N52 is also wonderful, but in a different way - it has a far smoother, more turbine-like tone and in some ways you get to enjoy it more because it takes a couple more seconds to get to illegal speeds
* You get far more enjoyment in the ///M from 0-60, just mashing the throttle in any gear and boosting it out of corners; that'll be the torque and the LSD. The joy of the 2.5si is keeping it singing high up in the rev band on a country B-road, because you can really push on and not worry too much about illegal speeds
* The sport button on the 2.5si is always on for me (mainly for ease of heel-toe and the weightier steering); initial thoughts are that I won't be using it on the ///M
* The steering has barely any more feel, even though it is hydraulically assisted, but the weighting is more natural than the non-///M
* The clutch is a little heavier than the non-///M but not much, the brakes bite harder, earlier and feel a lot more powerful, but are less progressive. The variability in the braking force vs pedal feel is a little weird and caught me out on the motorway when I just wanted to scrub off a little speed and ended up nearly nutting the steering wheel :?
* I have seen inside an ///M boot before, but had forgotten how much space the battery eats up. Having just completed a 2 week road trip in Scotland, I think we would have had to pack a lot more carefully had we been in the ///M
* The fast rack is great - it *is* very fast by most standards, but it suits the car and isn't a massive leap from the 2.5si
* Was getting 30mpg on the motorway on the way back at a steady 77 leptons. The 2.5si will do about 36mpg at this pace
* Nappa is nice step up from the standard leather in terms of look and feel, but both grades feel better than the crap you get in a 320d these days
* The coupe is STIFF. You can really feel it - particularly how instantaneously each corner tilts relative to the others. Again, I know that the roadster is pretty stiff too, so this surprised me
* Not played much with the rear end yet - need to get used to the car first - but the LSD already hints at a whole new world of fun. The best you can get out of the non-///M (without flooring it on full lock) is a cheeky shuffle, which is cool, but it's nothing like this. There is so much more grip under cornering that when it breaks traction you intuitively think it's going to snap suddenly, but it's actually nice and controllable
* Hard to say much about the PSSs, other than they have bags of grip and low road noise. The 2.5si is on Vreds, so pretty decent too. I had already bought OEM CSLs in preparation for the right ///M, so I am properly stuck now because these Michelins are a quality tyre and nearly brand new. Thinking about either ARC-8s and switching the tyres over immediately, or just getting the most out of these and switching them to the CSLs in the future (other people may have gotten their CSL phase out of their system already, but I want mine too!). Not hugely keen on 224s on a coupe - they look great on a roadster though
* All the reassuring mediocrity is still there - the factory paint job, the stereo, no front PDC despite the stupidly long bonnet, the crappy trim fasteners, the spongey handbrake... nice and familiar.
Lastly... the KWs feel EPIC. Beautifully composed in comparison to the 2.5si on OEM Sport suspension. They are a little more lively with small undulations in the road, but eat up bigger bumps with a well-damped "thud" and the car remains completely planted. Again, this reminds me of my friend's 997, which is utterly glued to the road in comparison to the Z4. Like the Porsche, this car doesn't lift its bonnet massively under hard acceleration, the back end doesn't randomly jolt sideways on bumpy roads and it is just an incredibly confidence-inspiring drive in comparison to the Zed (which of course could be looked at as being more "fun" - in a slightly scary way). I have not driven the standard ///M, just the non-///M E85 and E86, but I know that suspension-wise it is far from perfect. The KWs seem to make a huge difference and I'm already looking forward to further setup tweaks.
My 2p, so far...
:?
when i'm out ive never found the urge to raise mine