SG reviews the M Coupe

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parabolica

Member
https://youtu.be/CbE2BC97Wh4

Nice review of the 2007 M Coupe by SavageGeese. If you haven’t seen his vids before I highly recommend - some great camera work to go along with in depth reviews.
 
Interesting review. I didn't realise the shells were uprated in the Z4M....does this mean we have wasted our money needlessly changing them?
 
Nice video but such an update (rod bearings) came on the M3 E92 with the S65 but our S54 are still needing that we take care of this point.
A friend of mine, which is a big M-specialist in Germany, could confirm that this is still the case, after they already replace the rod bearings on more than 500 M models (E3 M46, Z4M, ...).
 
Superzetti said:
Nice video but such an update (rod bearings) came on the M3 E92 with the S65 but our S54 are still needing that we take care of this point.
A friend of mine, which is a big M-specialist in Germany, could confirm that this is still the case, after they already replace the rod bearings on more than 500 M models (E3 M46, Z4M, ...).
Click to expand...
There's a BMW Service Bulletin (SIB110404) that specifies a recall/service action to replace rod bearings on S54s from Dec 2001 to Jun 2003.

But all Z4Ms (and the later e46 M3s) should have the same, later bolts and proper quality-controlled bearings.

Different rods & bearings anyway considering it's a different engine - but even with the 'upgrades' there are still stories of the S85 (V10 M5) and S65 (V8 M3) and S62 (V8 M5) engines have issues with rod bearings...but with empirical evidence it's hard to know what the true number is.

BTW, what does your friend say the average life span of a standard, later spec bearings vs an aftermarket bearings?
My OE ones lasted 140,000 miles, are the aftermarket ones guaranteed to last as long (not that the OE ones are either of course)? If not, what's the point in 'upgrading' preventatively?
 
mmm-five said:
Superzetti said:
Nice video but such an update (rod bearings) came on the M3 E92 with the S65 but our S54 are still needing that we take care of this point.
A friend of mine, which is a big M-specialist in Germany, could confirm that this is still the case, after they already replace the rod bearings on more than 500 M models (E3 M46, Z4M, ...).
Click to expand...
There's a BMW Service Bulletin (SIB110404) that specifies a recall/service action to replace rod bearings on S54s from Dec 2001 to Jun 2003.

But all Z4Ms (and the later e46 M3s) should have the same, later bolts and proper quality-controlled bearings.

Different rods & bearings anyway considering it's a different engine - but even with the 'upgrades' there are still stories of the S85 (V10 M5) and S65 (V8 M3) and S62 (V8 M5) engines have issues with rod bearings...but with empirical evidence it's hard to know what the true number is.

BTW, what does your friend say the average life span of a standard, later spec bearings vs an aftermarket bearings?
My OE ones lasted 140,000 miles, are the aftermarket ones guaranteed to last as long (not that the OE ones are either of course)? If not, what's the point in 'upgrading' preventatively?
Click to expand...

If your OE lasted 140K miles, count your blessings. Mine didn't do quite as well - only lasted ~55K miles => https://www.zpost.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1461006&highlight=oil+analysis
 
The same people from BMW said to another friend of mine that if you never drive on a track and never push the motor over 7.500 rpm you will never need to replace the rod bearings or may be with 100.000 miles.
But nothing about cold starts, not yearly or every 18 months changing oil, and so on.
Pushing the motor to high rpm when the engine is warm enough is not damaging it.
When I saw my rod bearings at 56.000 miles (still ok but already with "red" parts to see), I would simply say: just do like BMW officially says and prepare your money. :wink:
 
You could say mine’s spent a fair bit of time north of 7000rpm, but always well warmed up before pushing it on track days :thumbsup:

But I was fortunate when mine finally failed as we noticed it immediately on starting up after a petrol break at the Ring.
 
parabolica said:
https://youtu.be/CbE2BC97Wh4

Nice review of the 2007 M Coupe by SavageGeese. If you haven’t seen his vids before I highly recommend - some great camera work to go along with in depth reviews.
Click to expand...

Good review, that B-roll intro was on point. Have to agree regarding his comments about the sat nav screen, it does age the interior.
 
Thanks for posting that OP. :thumbsup:

He seems to appreciate everything I like about mine!
 
I agree fully with that video.
The best high definition screen inside a Z4M is the front window.
A really nice video with no need of such comments from the young man beside, playing badly the long experience with BMW high performance motors.
 
Great video, I liked his approach. Interesting what he said about the noise not being quite enough - that is certainly one advantage of the roadie over the coupé.

As for caring for your engine... warm it up properly, change the oil every 5-7k miles and have it serviced properly. It’s not rocket science. Those 17 minutes getting it warm are just part of the experience - having to wait until it’s ready before opening the taps just makes it that much more fun when you do :driving:
 
Always amazed at the "rattly" top end noise coming from the S54 engine in video recordings. Must be something in the
microphone settings as I know in "real" life the cylinder heads are usually very quiet.
 
Great video! Makes me love the Z4M even more and so grateful that they made it, a car that will never exist again.

The issues he spoke of being the refinement... probably being the only one to go from an M coupe to a M roadster I can report that those problems are solved with the roof down. So visceral the induction and exhaust note.

I do miss the coupe. Def an emotional connection.
 
Yes SG made a really good video about our Z4Ms. And with a lot of passion. I will link this video on our bmw-z4m.com forum. :thumbsup:

mmm-five said:
Superzetti said:
Nice video but such an update (rod bearings) came on the M3 E92 with the S65 but our S54 are still needing that we take care of this point.
A friend of mine, which is a big M-specialist in Germany, could confirm that this is still the case, after they already replace the rod bearings on more than 500 M models (E3 M46, Z4M, ...).
Click to expand...
BTW, what does your friend say the average life span of a standard, later spec bearings vs an aftermarket bearings?
My OE ones lasted 140,000 miles, are the aftermarket ones guaranteed to last as long (not that the OE ones are either of course)? If not, what's the point in 'upgrading' preventatively?
Click to expand...
To your question: they recommend to replace the bearings between 55,000 and 65,000 miles on a Z4M, between 60,000 and 70,000 miles on a M3 E46 also with the S54, a little later on a Z3M with the S50 where the bearings are larger than on the S54.
This is not an exact rule, this is only their long experience with the M motors. Customers from Germany and Switzerland are driving more than 600 km to this well known garage.
But what are 1,000 € every 55,000 miles for driving with a good feeling?
 
Superzetti said:
Yes SG made a really good video about our Z4Ms. And with a lot of passion. I will link this video on our bmw-z4m.com forum. :thumbsup:

mmm-five said:
Superzetti said:
Nice video but such an update (rod bearings) came on the M3 E92 with the S65 but our S54 are still needing that we take care of this point.
A friend of mine, which is a big M-specialist in Germany, could confirm that this is still the case, after they already replace the rod bearings on more than 500 M models (E3 M46, Z4M, ...).
Click to expand...
BTW, what does your friend say the average life span of a standard, later spec bearings vs an aftermarket bearings?
My OE ones lasted 140,000 miles, are the aftermarket ones guaranteed to last as long (not that the OE ones are either of course)? If not, what's the point in 'upgrading' preventatively?
Click to expand...
To your question: they recommend to replace the bearings between 55,000 and 65,000 miles on a Z4M, between 60,000 and 70,000 miles on a M3 E46 also with the S54,
Click to expand...

Why the difference in mileage between a Z4 and an M3 with the same engine? Seems odd logic :?
 
Am generally a fan of Savagegeese videos and liked this one however there were some inaccuracies.

His comment on the Z4M LSD originally coming from the E46 M3 was correct however it is a different diff.

Also his mechanic’s comment / EAG’s opinion on rod bearings was slightly off aswell. Yes facelift E46 M3’s and all Z4Ms came with the revised rod bearings however, they can still spin and so any knowledgable M technician will recommend to change them every 75-100k miles.

It is also worth noting that pre-facelift E46 M3’s with the recalled bearing shells are less prone to bottom end failure than facelift M3s and Z4Ms. This is due to a difference in torquing specs of the rod bolts. It is therefore vital that when conducting a rod bearing service on a post 2003 S54 that each rod bolt is individually measured and torqued correctly. If this is not done properly, the crank will oval and chances of the bearing shells spinning increases. There have been instances of this whereby owners have had their rod bearings serviced as preventative maintenance, yet for them to fail within 15,000 miles post service, due to the bolts being torqued incorrectly. This specific issue does not affect pre-facelift E46 M3’s whereby all bolts are torqued to the same spec.
 
...and whilst the older engine can (but why bother) re-use the M11 bolts, our M10 bolts are single-use.
 
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