Z4MC Alternatives

Funny you say that Steven, i've found the opposite actually (in my reading around..) - the step up from an M3 being the Z4MC (as it's a bit more of a sports car, less practical, more twitchy etc), and the step up from the Z4M is the CSL.

I've basically come to the conclusion i was originally right, and a Z4M is definitely the car for me - the only fault i have with it is the lack of noise - i want it to sit on the motorway at 70-80 silently, yet when i floor it, it should be screaming at me at closer to Supersprint levels..
 
jimmybell said:
Funny you say that Steven, i've found the opposite actually (in my reading around..) - the step up from an M3 being the Z4MC (as it's a bit more of a sports car, less practical, more twitchy etc), and the step up from the Z4M is the CSL.
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Do you have any links? It might help me convince the missus that I don't need 4 seats!!
 
jimmybell said:
...the only fault i have with it is the lack of noise - i want it to sit on the motorway at 70-80 silently, yet when i floor it, it should be screaming at me at closer to Supersprint levels..
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Then get a switchable system - either manual or rev/throttle position based.

Personally I'm happy with the Rogue Diablo back boxes, which are loud when you're trundling at 1000-2000rpm or on a bit of throttle, but are relatively quiet when cruising.
 
I suspect a rev/throttle position based one would cost significantly more right? I've seen some of the custom butterfly valve ones in discussions that seem pretty good.

when you say cruising, you mean 2-3000rpm? then presumably it's louder again above 4k?

I'm basically concerned that driving around town/long boring journeys would become a bit annoying if i had a motorway drone. Happy for it to sound (more than happy..) warbly at 1krpm when it starts up, and when im hooning it tho...
 
Sounds like you need the bypass mod jimmy...

http://www.z4-forum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=35634

Makes a great sound :D
 
The M3 CS is a great car but no CSL or Z4MC

The CS does everything the Z4MC does, with a slight better ride and less understeer out of the box and is miles more practical, so you can see why it gets good reviews, but I just loved driving the Z4M harder, not to mention the looks
 
jimmybell said:
when you say cruising, you mean 2-3000rpm? then presumably it's louder again above 4k?
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When I say 'cruising' I mean when I'm at steady throttle for any period of time - e.g. sitting at 50mph through SPECS for 20 miles, or sitting at 100mph on the autobahn, or sitting at 80mph on the M6/M40.

If you put your foot down at any time you will get a lovely growl, which is louder with the windows up than down - unless you're in a tunnel (which reminds me that I've not recorded any tunnel runs yet - wonder if they'll let me hit 100mph in one of the Mersey tunnels).
 
jimmybell said:
I suspect a rev/throttle position based one would cost significantly more right? I've seen some of the custom butterfly valve ones in discussions that seem pretty good.
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Didn't get any firm prices but the guys at BCS Automotive in St Helens were going to use mine as a test car for a Z4M Powervalve system with a manual/automatic/switchable butterfly valve - and they were suggesting a £600 price tag.

They never got round to it, and I never chased them up.
 
In my morning review reads/ search engine trawling, I came accross an interesting discussion on PH of the ///MC v M3 CS v 135i

Quite a mixed reaction, I 135i had some support but personally, due to residuals etc. I don't think it's a genuine ///MC alternative.

http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&f=181&t=834316&mid=0&i=60&nmt=Z4M+v+M3+CS+v+135i&mid=0
 
StevenH72 said:
In my morning review reads/ search engine trawling, I came accross an interesting discussion on PH of the ///MC v M3 CS v 135i

Quite a mixed reaction, I 135i had some support but personally, due to residuals etc. I don't think it's a genuine ///MC alternative.

http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&f=181&t=834316&mid=0&i=60&nmt=Z4M+v+M3+CS+v+135i&mid=0
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For me it'd have to be the 1M, CSL or Cayman R.

The thing is you'd know all the CSLs will have been tracked to death and maybe the 'track' parts removed before sale. The CSL sellers will have moved onto the 1Ms and chipped/mapped them too. So you end up with a very small pool of genuine/unmolested examples to choose from, which means the higher price end of the market.

So your decision comes down to choosing a car that you know has been track - and very possibly well maintained - or go down the range a step or two into a CS/M3, Cayman/Cayman S, or M135/135i.
 
mmm-five said:
StevenH72 said:
In my morning review reads/ search engine trawling, I came accross an interesting discussion on PH of the ///MC v M3 CS v 135i

Quite a mixed reaction, I 135i had some support but personally, due to residuals etc. I don't think it's a genuine ///MC alternative.

http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&f=181&t=834316&mid=0&i=60&nmt=Z4M+v+M3+CS+v+135i&mid=0
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For me it'd have to be the 1M, CSL or Cayman R.

The thing is you'd know all the CSLs will have been tracked to death and maybe the 'track' parts removed before sale. The CSL sellers will have moved onto the 1Ms and chipped/mapped them too. So you end up with a very small pool of genuine/unmolested examples to choose from, which means the higher price end of the market.

So your decision comes down to choosing a car that you know has been track - and very possibly well maintained - or go down the range a step or two into a CS/M3, Cayman/Cayman S, or M135/135i.
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The problem with 1M, CSL or Cyaman R is that they are not "alternatives" to an ///MC any more than an ///MC is an alternative to a 2.0 20004 roadster.

the ///MC will be picked up anywhere from £13-18k, whereas you'd struggle to get any of the above for <£30k. You occassionally see a CSL for around the £25k mark but its uber high mileage and like you said probably not a great example.

An alternative to the ///MC has to be <£20k.
 
toplad said:
The M3 CS is a great car but no CSL or Z4MC

The CS does everything the Z4MC does, with a slight better ride and less understeer out of the box and is miles more practical, so you can see why it gets good reviews, but I just loved driving the Z4M harder, not to mention the looks
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The Z4M does seem to get criticised a fair bit in reviews for having a tendency for understeer, what's the general feeling about that on here?
 
HughiusMaximus said:
toplad said:
The M3 CS is a great car but no CSL or Z4MC

The CS does everything the Z4MC does, with a slight better ride and less understeer out of the box and is miles more practical, so you can see why it gets good reviews, but I just loved driving the Z4M harder, not to mention the looks
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The Z4M does seem to get criticised a fair bit in reviews for having a tendency for understeer, what's the general feeling about that on here?
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If people think the Z4M understeers they need to try an Audi! :rofl: there is a little understeer but all cars have it dialled in a little for safety so it hardly makes any odds, I have mainly read that it's the ride that gets criticised & it can feel a little uneasy on certain surfaces, the rest of the package as far as I've read is awesome. :thumbsup:
 
LeeZ4MR said:
HughiusMaximus said:
toplad said:
The M3 CS is a great car but no CSL or Z4MC

The CS does everything the Z4MC does, with a slight better ride and less understeer out of the box and is miles more practical, so you can see why it gets good reviews, but I just loved driving the Z4M harder, not to mention the looks
Click to expand...

The Z4M does seem to get criticised a fair bit in reviews for having a tendency for understeer, what's the general feeling about that on here?
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If people think the Z4M understeers they need to try an Audi! :rofl: there is a little understeer but all cars have it dialled in a little for safety so it hardly makes any odds, I have mainly read that it's the ride that gets criticised & it can feel a little uneasy on certain surfaces, the rest of the package as far as I've read is awesome. :thumbsup:
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Yeh I'd agree, most criticism directed at the ///M seems to relate to its "skittishness" on poor road surfaces, not feeling as planted as say a Cayman S
 
HughiusMaximus said:
The Z4M does seem to get criticised a fair bit in reviews for having a tendency for understeer, what's the general feeling about that on here?
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Also what understeer it does have can be removed with a good geometry setup. :-)
 
DONDP said:
HughiusMaximus said:
The Z4M does seem to get criticised a fair bit in reviews for having a tendency for understeer, what's the general feeling about that on here?
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Also what understeer it does have can be removed with a good geometry setup. :-)
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What setup is that if you don't mind me asking? Seem's like suspension is commonly upgraded?
 
jimmybell said:
DONDP said:
HughiusMaximus said:
The Z4M does seem to get criticised a fair bit in reviews for having a tendency for understeer, what's the general feeling about that on here?
Click to expand...

Also what understeer it does have can be removed with a good geometry setup. :-)
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What setup is that if you don't mind me asking? Seem's like suspension is commonly upgraded?
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Front strut brace seems to be a popular choice, supposed to help counter the understeer.

http://www.evo.co.uk/carreviews/evocarreviews/204614/bmw_z4.html
 
Pull the camber pins to increase the negative camber at the front and buy better front tyres :thumbsup:
Increasing the camber can make it very twitchy on rough surfaces and will increase the propensity for snap oversteer.
 
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