Opinion from people who know their Z4's

A

alex85

Active member
 Wirral
I appreciate that those with 3.0 will be quick to say how much better they are than 2.5's and I appreciate those with 2.5's will be quick to defend their 2.5, however, conflicting thoughts over on Pistonheads and would be quite interested to hear some unbiased opinions, if such a thing exists...

http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&f=72&t=968304&i=999999&nmt=Which%20Z4%20and%20general%20info
 
I had a 2.5se and took a 3.0si out on a test drive and was expecting a big difference, I hardly noticed, so bought an M instead. :D
 
I have a 2.5 and enjoy it for what it is, finding it quick enough for my needs and plenty torquey enough. This is of course helped by the lack of weight. Done a Ring trip in it and a track day and was not left wanting.

A 3.0 will of course be a little quicker all round and the smaller ones a little slower, but for me, at least for now, the 2.5 is ample.

Not bothered about being faster or slower than other cars.
 
I have the 2.5 and love it. The engine is really sweet - the 3.0 basically has a slightly longer stroke. I saw on PH talk about the 0-62 times - the 2.5 is slower, but 2nd is geared to 58 mph, the 3.0 will handle the 0-62 test in second, while will impede the 2.5 figures. I was out with Playalistic and JonnyFive last Sunday. When we stopped JonnyFive's immediate observation was the minimal difference in performance between my 2.5 and his 3.0. While others will disagree, I feel there is little between the 2.5 and the 3.0 in terms of performance (certainly at legal speeds - I'd expect the gap to widen above 90mph), the real jump in the range is to the M, which is a different beast altogether.

However, with all of that said, I tend to steer people toward 3.0 at first, mainly for spec - the sport suspension (-15mm), minimum of 17" alloys, bigger brakes, auto lights, more likely to have xenons and the 6 speed box - the 5 speed box on the 2.5 is really well suited to the engine, but the extra gear would be nice on the motorway sometimes. So you get that extra at very little price premium on the used market. There is very little in the running costs as well.

Another factor, the sort of person who may buy a car with your head, say a mint 2.5 with the right spec and mileage at a great price, but then end up spending their ownership longing for the bigger engine should buy the 3.0 or it may ruin the ownership experience.

With regards to my car, I actually wouldn't swap it (cash free) for a 3.0, thanks to this forum... "there are many like it, but this one is mine."

All of the above is based on manual gearboxes, auto sap a bit of power and skew the results more in favour of the 3.0.
 
Lance said:
I have a 2.5 and enjoy it for what it is, finding it quick enough for my needs and plenty torquey enough. This is of course helped by the lack of weight. Done a Ring trip in it and a track day and was not left wanting.

A 3.0 will of course be a little quicker all round and the smaller ones a little slower, but for me, at least for now, the 2.5 is ample.

Not bothered about being faster or slower than other cars.
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X2 EXCEPT TE RING TRIP AND TRACK DAY :D
 
I think What Car mentioned that they preferred the 2.5 because the car was better balanced. Basically the 3.0 didn't make up for in power what it lost in handling/balance.
 
Boogle said:
I think What Car mentioned that they preferred the 2.5 because the car was better balanced. Basically the 3.0 didn't make up for in power what it lost in handling/balance.
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Aren't they effectively the same car?

How does that work?
 
Totally agree with pawn, we was having a little drive on sunday and i was following him for quite a few periods and in real world motoring and certainly at normal speeds :roll: there isnt much difference if any at all may be at higher speeds but of coarse we didnt get anywhere near that.I think the 3.0 is better spec-ed as standard.
 
I test drove 2 x 2.5 and 2x 3.0 and felt the 3.0 was a more accomplished car, I also felt if I didn't buy a 3.0 I'd feel shortchanged.


So I did and love it. All the toys and bells and whistles fitted too. Nav,Xenons,Parking sensors, Heated Memory Seats, etc etc.
 
The choice is dependant on what u are looking for when buying,imho.
I test drove the 2.5 when i bought my 3.0i se,and found the 2.5 was only on a par with my then previous car(a 3yr old seat leon cupra/210bhp,that i had since new),ie 0-60 in around 7secs,wheras i felt a noticable diference when driving the 3.0,with its sub 6sec 0-60. just my own opinion though :D

For some ppl tho,they find the 2.5 more than enough in performance stakes,so each to their own i guess :driving:
 
I guess everyone will have a different opinion and for some the differences may be considered smaller by others which probably all depends on other cars they have driven.

here's my two cents worth - I use to own a 2.5se (192 hp) I thought it was a great car with amazing balance (I also read the balance was beter 50/50 than the 3.0). It was fairly torquey for a NA car and it really picked up at the top of the rev range. I had many great drives in it and loved it.

I have now moved onto a 3.0 si sprort coupe (265 hp) and I feel a big difference in the low down torque of the car 180 lbs foot vs 230 lbs foot from quite low revs. So day to day driving it feels faster without even trying. Top end again on the 3.0si sport is even punchier than the 2.5se and it has a great sound.

Having said all this my si sport is heavier than my se as my se had manual seats which I think saves alot of weight from what i remember the 2.5se is quoted at 1260kgs while the si sport coup I think is 1395kgs. I think the power to weight ratios are 155 bhp per tone vs 191bhp per tone.

I can't comment on the 3.0 pre face lift (230 hp) as I never drove or got driven in one.
 
People theres not gonna be much difference its half a litre, as for the "M"

"In fact it’s difficult to justify paying the extra over the standard Z4 3.0-litre, as that is only a little slower but is easier to live with and much cheaper to buy and run. Unfortunately the Z4M doesn't live up to the standards of the other M models from BMW."

Parkers Guide
 
billygilly said:
People theres not gonna be much difference its half a litre, as for the "M"

"In fact it’s difficult to justify paying the extra over the standard Z4 3.0-litre, as that is only a little slower but is easier to live with and much cheaper to buy and run. Unfortunately the Z4M doesn't live up to the standards of the other M models from BMW."

Parkers Guide
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I really wanted an M but as you say they cost quite a bit more to run and on road performance doesn't seem to justify it often enough as most of the power difference is at the top of the rev range. If only petrol wasn't so expensive I would love to have one :x
 
alex85 said:
Boogle said:
I think What Car mentioned that they preferred the 2.5 because the car was better balanced. Basically the 3.0 didn't make up for in power what it lost in handling/balance.
Click to expand...

Aren't they effectively the same car?

How does that work?
Click to expand...

Same car, different engine. The 3.0 is heavier than the 2.5 at the front.
 
I can definately tell the difference in weight between my old 2.5 to my 3.0si and have to agree that the 2.5 felt lighter and maybe better balanced.

Also forgot to say I have had a few people that I have given lifts to comment on the extra power of the 3.0si to my old 2.5se. two of those were girls who did not realise it had a bigger engine as i had never mentioned it to them.
 
cj10jeeper said:
Afraid this is one of those roadster/coupe threads and ends up going nowhere :thumbsdown:
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Roadster / coupe
Tyres
Wheels
Colours
Nav
Exhausts
Airflow / tuning
Stubbies
Classified formats...
I think we're left with How Tos and the newbies section. Oh, and opinions on green wheels :P

But yeah, you're right. I think we stop squabbling among ourselves and go and pick a fight with the Boxster forum :lol:

craig3.0 said:
...
For some ppl tho,they find the 2.5 more than enough in performance stakes,so each to their own i guess :driving:
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As a 2.5 driver, it is not more than enough in the performance stakes. Big of a cheeky rhetorical question, but how about you and that 3.0, more than enough performance? The 3.0 wouldn't be enough for me either. I want an M, 911, etc...
 
cj10jeeper said:
Afraid this is one of those roadster/coupe threads and ends up going nowhere :thumbsdown:
Click to expand...
Strange comment considering the discussion seems fairly healthy so far with some good points raised :tumbleweed:

Edit: unless you meant the discussion over on PH, in which case I agree :D
 
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