Z4MC to E90/92 M3 - Anyone done it

S

survivalist

Member
Hi

Recent addition to the family means we now have 1 person more than there are seats in the Z. Having been through a couple of family cars that haven't quite hit the spot I'm now considering an E90 M3. Have driven them a few times and always come away impressed, but have yet to drive the Z4MC and an M3 back to back. I have test driven a C63 AMG and it left me a bit cold, which I put down to both the handling and (mostly) the automatic gearbox.

So I'm wondering if anyone has made the change (not sure I see it as an upgrade) and regretted it? Loved it and wouldn't go back?

Part of me wants to hang onto the Z4 as I have yet to drive something as special in the price range, but it's also seeing very little use as 90% of the time we need to fit 3 or 4 of us in a car.

Thanks in advance.

S
 
Currently looking at exactly the same swap, but for slightly different reasons!

I'm lucky enough to have a good mate with an E92 so we did a 'back to back' a month or so ago (swapped cars for a week).
It's the saloon (E90) I'd be after, but pretty sure the drive of the coupe is very comparable.
Important to note that my Z4MC has some suspension tweaks, so may not be the most direct comparison against a stock e92...
- M3 is a more refined car and 'better' in daily driving situations, standard suspension is far better than the Z4MC in my opinion
- I feel that the M3 is 'quicker' in standard form, and the power is more accessible with the longer wheelbase, etc
- The engine in the M3 is great, especially in the higher rpm range, and certainly feels exciting / like an M car

Personally I'm still on the fence, and have opted to keep the Z4MC for now (as I don't have an immediate need for the extra space)...
- sense of occasion in the Z4MC is way better, not to mention that it looks very cool
- MPG is the M3 is pretty poor (average 17mpg across my week Vs average 24mpg on my Z4MC - driven pretty comparably)
- obviously my suspension has changed the feel of my car quite significantly, so I'm harking back to 'standard' suspension
- I'd be very keen to get EDC on the M3 if I got one, as I felt the non EDC car was 'firm' in town and 'a bit stretched' at higher speed!

Hope this helps, just a couple of quick thoughts from my experience, let me know if you want to know anything particular.

I'm due to look at a Lexus IS-F next week too - supposed to be inferior to the M3, but I want to see that for myself as I like a few flaws!
 
Thanks for the detailed response, I find it quite hard to judge the character of a performance car on an average test drive so it's good to hear from someone who's spent a bit of time in both cards.

The main things that have been missing in my previous daily drives are the steering, suspension and power delivery - the Z4 is great from this perspective (well, 2 out of 3 anyway ;-) - I find the suspension can get a bit out of shape on rougher roads). The only chance I've had to really push the M3 has been on a Jonathan Palmer day - which isn't indicative of daily driving.

MPG isn't too much of an issue as I only cover about 8000 miles per year, so it sounds like it might be an option.

Interesting that you didn't feel the need to change immediately, just confirms the nagging feeling that it might not hit the spot and I'm pretty happy with the spec/mileage of the Z4 I have. My main concern would be finding another Z4 if that is the case. Thinking I might need to run both for a few months and then decide - will have to engage in some man-maths that 'proves'm it's financially viable.

Not looking to sell the Z4 in a hurry, but it's a grey one with black/red interior, Logic 7 and Nav (not sure there were any other options).
 
No worries - I think if I didn't already have the Z4MC I'd be more impressed with the M3. All that it lacked for me was really a feeling of "this is special / unique" and potentially that's because it's accomplished... I wouldn't go as far as to say sterile, but I do like a bit of an 'old school' feeling to my cars and I think the Z4 gives a lot of that.

I'm not sure where you drive, but on the suspension side of things, one road that I drive a fair bit does expose the flaws in my setup - it's a fast road with some bumps and ruts of various sizes. The M3 absolutely ate this road, which I put down to softer suspension / better suited damping and more travel, it felt very composed... In the Z4 I'm clinging on a bit more, but that adds to the sense of occasion I guess!

On the flip side, after a week in the the Z4 my mate said "It feels like you're getting in a go kart every morning, it's a bit hectic for me."
- he also said it felt faster than his car, but I think that's just because the Z4 very direct, I honestly think the M3 is a bit quicker

If you're looking for a fast car to transport the family, then that's pretty much what M3s were built for...
... I'm still very tempted by an E39 M5 to sit alongside the Z4MC... :driving: :driving:
 
survivalist said:
Thanks for the detailed response, I find it quite hard to judge the character of a performance car on an average test drive so it's good to hear from someone who's spent a bit of time in both cards.

The main things that have been missing in my previous daily drives are the steering, suspension and power delivery - the Z4 is great from this perspective (well, 2 out of 3 anyway ;-) - I find the suspension can get a bit out of shape on rougher roads). The only chance I've had to really push the M3 has been on a Jonathan Palmer day - which isn't indicative of daily driving.

MPG isn't too much of an issue as I only cover about 8000 miles per year, so it sounds like it might be an option.

Interesting that you didn't feel the need to change immediately, just confirms the nagging feeling that it might not hit the spot and I'm pretty happy with the spec/mileage of the Z4 I have. My main concern would be finding another Z4 if that is the case. Thinking I might need to run both for a few months and then decide - will have to engage in some man-maths that 'proves'm it's financially viable.

Not looking to sell the Z4 in a hurry, but it's a grey one with black/red interior, Logic 7 and Nav (not sure there were any other options).
Click to expand...

If you decide to sell please feel free to pm as I'm after a grey z4mc.
 
I went Z4MR to a E92 M3 and I did regret it but I swapped a 520d daily and my Z4M for the M3 hoping it would be a do it all car(no such thing sadly as all cars have a compromise of some sort I now realise).

I found that when stuck in traffic apart from dials/seats you may as well have been in any 3 series and because max power is at 8300rpm you had to flog it to death to get any reward from it and mine was a manual and 8400rpm in third was 110mph so you get the idea of how difficult it is to enjoy on the road if you don't ignore speed limits.

I just found it frustrating in the daily grind and trying to use 414bhp wasn't easy and the fact that it returned mpg`s in the teens I just didn't think the reward you got back from it was worth it, I found the brakes to be very poor even in just heavy road use and the engine is relatively torque light and not much happens under 6000rpm.

The V8 noise is poor as standard but most think that so either mod or swap it and at low speeds the car feels quite heavy and cumbersome...in short I didn't rate it that much!

The plus points are the induction noise is lovely and addictive and the chassis/LSD are great if you fancy some sideways fun and when pushing on it does hide its weight well and my brother in law runs a E93(convertible) DCT M3 as a second car and he loves his, I appreciate I am in the minority but just sharing my personal experience of it. :)
 
I went to get an E92 M3 when i sold my M....

Tried a couple.............Didnt like it at all,nice engine when pushed hard but the rest was low rent and disappointing..

Have a good drive before you make any decisions..
 
... I'm still very tempted by an E39 M5 to sit alongside the Z4MC...

This thought had occurred to me, but good ones seem to be very thin on the ground. Also, both the E39 and E46 seem to increasingly be suffering with rust issues, which puts me off. Not suggesting the E90 M3 is automatically better than a E39 M5, but prices for a low mileage M5 are getting close to an E90 M3 with similar miles (60/70k), while low mileage M5s are now very rare indeed.

Also get what you are saying about having fun at vaguely sensible speeds - the short wheelbase and fast steering rack on the Z4M make it special at sensible speeds - although even more fun a bit above that.

So I guess the question is, if not an M3 then what? Is there something with the character and feedback of the Z4 but with 2 more seats and (ideally) a V8?
 
Interesting thread - often toyed with the idea of running a 5 door M3 alongside the z4mc, tho arguably i'd probably want a more serious/noisy weekender if the M3 is to be a DD.
 
i love the v8 m3 with some tweaks but the s65 has as many issues and weaknesses as the s54, they seems even more prone to the rod bearing failure too.
 
didn't buy it but a friend has an e92 that I was thinking of replacing the M with. Couldn't agree more with the sense of occasion. The difference amounted to a more rounded, polished fast car against a car that felt rougher around the edges and more special for it. The M3 felt like a car I'd buy out of compromise, the z4M felt like a car I'd buy out of passion. I used to look back at the M walking away from it even after 2-3 years, an M3 passes me by almost daily without a blink - I felt like I had to keep convincing myself to buy his M3 in the same way that I wanted an M5/M6. That said - I haven't lived with it as a daily, but went elsewhere in the end
 
There's very limited choice as far as I can see if you want a 4 seater V8 and a manual box... let's not get into Australia Vauxhalls or Audi's eh?!

Reason I'm off to look at the IS-F is that it's different and there is a general perception of 'reliability' and 'build quality' which I hope means it feels a bit more solid. I know reviews put the e90 M3 ahead on pretty much everything, but I'm interested to see how it fairs as a daily.
- gut reaction is I won't like the auto box, or the styling (interior specifically!) but I'm at least 'interested' to find out
- assuming I fit it in over the weekend I'll report back to you guys on my findings
 
^ have had a go in a few Monaros since I've been in aus - ''good cars'' I'm not sure they are - fun? bloody oath. A lairy brand of fun as opposed to a good driver experience

If the autobox is the bugbear, are there no manual 92's over there?
 
> If the autobox is the bugbear, are there no manual 92's over there? <

Sorry, loads of manual M3s, just not a lot of options outside of that!
 
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