Newbie wanting engine choice advice!

E

EdButler

Senior member
 Sheffield
Hey all - please allow me to introduce myself. I'm Ed, from Sheffield, England and its great to see such an international forum for the Zed.

I recently sold a 180bhp 830kg Vauxhall VX220 which recently died due to me loosing her on the crest of a hill. :cry: The 44/66 weight distribution didn't help as the car rapidly tank slapped an place me firmly into a dry-stone wall at 45mph. So here's me looking for another beautiful, but more refined and less 'snappy' car so I can get some of my confidence back! For the benefit of the Americans, here she is before the wall attacked me:
IMG_0711a.jpg

Anyway, as i'm scouring the market, I was just wanting some input from you guys about the actual duifferences between the 2.5 and the 3.0i. I know the low down acceleration of either wont be much of a match for the VX, but i'd just like some cruising torque for a change with some overtaking grunt. Have any 2.5 owners been disappointed with performance? Is one more reliable than the other? I'm aware from previous posts (yes i've searched!) that the fuel economy is very similar. Are there any vast differences over the 40bhp? Do they respond well, for an NA of course, to remaps and other such work?

I ask this as I'm not wanting to spend a huge amount (upto £10k?) and I prefer the ellipsoid wheels of the 2.5i's that I'm seeing! :oops: I know I can modify from OEM, but I'm wanting to get out of this habbit (mostly!).

Thanks for listening and
 
I have just got the 2.5 - I probably would have gone for the 3.0 if insurance hadnt have been a problem for me. The 2.5 certainly isn't disappointing, lots of grunt, more than enough for overtaking. But I'm sure that the 3.0 will feel that bit quicker, however, what I havent experienced, I cant miss.

Id suggest that £10k will probably be a limiting factor anyhow?
 
alex85 said:
I have just got the 2.5 - I probably would have gone for the 3.0 if insurance hadnt have been a problem for me. The 2.5 certainly isn't disappointing, lots of grunt, more than enough for overtaking. But I'm sure that the 3.0 will feel that bit quicker, however, what I havent experienced, I cant miss.

Id suggest that £10k will probably be a limiting factor anyhow?
Click to expand...

was there much difference in insurance price?
 
Yes, £300 p.a. I couldn't justify it - and didnt try to either, as i got a good deal on the 2.5
 
You couldn't justify another 300 a year :? I dont get it, after the cost of the car thats just a p1ss in the wind!
The 3.0 is easily worth, what equates to, a few extra fill ups at the pumps :D

Its a no brainer 3.0 all the way :evil:
 
Do you fellas across the pond have the option of 3.0 vs 3.0Si? If so, and the insurance won't break you, get the Si! It really scoots and gets the same mileage as my 2003 325Ci did.
 
Well as a lucky driver of both the VX220 (turbo) that my buddy owns and a 3.0i Z4 I can tell you that there is no way you can compare the 2. Mid engined 4 cylinder 'basic' composite car Vs 6 cylinder front engined 'luxury' roadster. You really need to be sure of what your leaving and moving to.

I think you will be pretty surprised by the A to B speed of a Zed and if you can cover the extra costs to buy and perhaps insure then the 3.0 is likely to be the closest shy of an ///M to what you expect in performance. Either will be a hike in fule bills and massive improvement in comfort.

Incedentally my buddies is just back after a 6 month rebuild following a similar 'falling off the road' incident
 
IMO the difference between the 2.5 & 3.0 is in the 60+ range. To me it seemed like the 2.5 was much slower to accelerate past 60 than the 3.0 is. Maybe it was part of the difference between a 5 speed/6 speed, I dunno. Just my $0.02
 
Thanks for all the replies guys, i'm keeping my eyes peeled.

Nice to see a few ex-VX owners on here too, kinda makes me feel a little more at home! Im hoping the ladies will like the Z4 a little more than the VX - they didnt seem to like getting hypothermia in winter! :lol:

Can i just ask how many people have had the VANOS treatment done? Just been reading a little into this and although id be happy to have a go at this myself, its somewhat frustrating that its such a promenant problem in ALL of the M54's :|
 
Neither engine will be the same rush as the VX - but as you said the ladies will like the Zed more - its classier and less of a anorakky blokey car.

So, as your giving up VX the performance your after something something else and both engines will deliver - my experience on Z4's is its down to spec - I'd rather have a properly spec'd 2.5 than a crap spec 3.0...........the key extra's are 18" wheels (108's for me are the business), Carver HiFi (100 mph roof down - still great sound), leather, heated seats and good colour (Merlot Red, Black, Grey) - 108's and carver would swing a 2.5 vs 3.0 deal for me.

Cheers

Marc
 
rabman5, UK got the 108s on the coupe and we didn't. They also got the 2-tone seats and piano black option. :(
 
Smokin said:
rabman5, UK got the 108s on the coupe and we didn't. They also got the 2-tone seats and piano black option. :(
Click to expand...

What's that got to do with ellipsoids on a 2.5? :scratchhead:
 
You asked if it was different in the UK. I was pointing out that even on the coupe (which I have personal experience with) the wheels were different. The coupe with sport package in the UK got the 108s while here in the US, we got the "other" 5 spoke wheels (don't know the number).So, it IS possible that those wheels came with that engine in the UK.
 
I know there are different options in US and UK, but I've never even seen a pic of a Z4 with ellipsoids that was not a 3.0. The ellipsoids only came in 18" wheels and the US 2.5 came standard with 17" wheels. I was trying to clarify a specific issue of whether or not the UK 2.5 got ellipsoids (107's) as a option. My question was partly to check if the OP used the term ellipsoid when he intended turbine. :thumbsup:

Example of a UK 2.5 with TURBINE style 17" wheels
582492738403_0_BG.jpg


Our leader's (sp3ctre) 3.0 with ellipsoid wheels
jimz4_2.jpg


Still no answer. Anyone?
 
Yep the pre-facelift 2.5 came with 16" 104 as standard - even the turbines were an option. The 107 ellipsoids were an option on both the 2.5 and the 3.0 (the 3.0 came with 17" 103s).

At launch the ellipsoids cost £710 on a 3.0 and £1220 on the 2.5 :thumbsup:
 
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