Z4MC to E92...?

A

Angelus666

Senior member
 Essex
Anyone on here gone from the MC to the 92....wondered what the view was in terms of driving appeal?

Over the past few months I've had a real sweet spot for the M3 and they are looking like seriously good value at £20kish for a nice competition pack car. I looked at an M2 last week, and to be honest I can't get over how cr*p the interior is in that car...it's only marginally better than a 118d. The leather and the plastics are truly awful...and you can't seem to spec the car to a decent standard.
 
I've just gone from an E90 to an E85 3.0. Yes the m3 is fantastic, great engine, great chassis, great outright speed but I personally didn't get the sense of occasion from it that I really wanted. I get that from the z4 now even with significantly less power.

Just my pennies worth although I may find myself in the minority :thumbsup:
 
Personally it is night and day between the two in terms of std chassis ability. The M3 has far more progressive and complex handling ability. In the e90 M3 I've never owned a car that is more adjustable on the throttle, and it slides so progressively and it feels like it moves as one.

The Z4mc to me at least feels as though the back end is trying to keep up with the front end - which is admittedly pointier than the M3. The Z as a result of its shorter wheel base feels as though it breaks traction very quickly, and not particularly progressively.

I think the M3 has better steering 'feel' even though the Z has better weight.

The only negative to the M is its physical size on smaller roads - and one the car is moving, there is a lot of momentum behind the m3. in these instances the Z4 feels more 'chuckable'
 
Equally with the M3 you're not sitting as close to the rear axle vs the Z4, this makes the feel of rotation more sudden on the Z4 and progressive on the M3. I toyed with an M3 when getting the Z4M, but to me it lacked the same occasion & was just too much grunt for the road. I've never looked back.
 
Str6mik said:
Personally it is night and day between the two in terms of std chassis ability. The M3 has far more progressive and complex handling ability. In the e90 M3 I've never owned a car that is more adjustable on the throttle, and it slides so progressively and it feels like it moves as one.

The Z4mc to me at least feels as though the back end is trying to keep up with the front end - which is admittedly pointier than the M3. The Z as a result of its shorter wheel base feels as though it breaks traction very quickly, and not particularly progressively.

I think the M3 has better steering 'feel' even though the Z has better weight.

The only negative to the M is its physical size on smaller roads - and one the car is moving, there is a lot of momentum behind the m3. in these instances the Z4 feels more 'chuckable'
Click to expand...

Having fitted the HR uprated ARBs and RTAB kit, the back end is much more progressive, and feels less snappy. So I would agree totally with your comments about the stock car, and with some relatively minor mods can be tamed a little, whilst still being an exciting car.

Personally I have never been excited about the E9x M3. The engine and everything is lovely. But all the rawness and excitement has been engineered out of it, unless you are pushing three figures mph. If I ever got one I would mod it until I could feel it being exciting to drive at reasonable speeds. And it would be a great daily if i could afford the fuel !

As I have my toy as a weekend car, the extra drama of being a sports car, low ride height, small cabin, treat with respect handling, it just makes it an occasion every time.
 
I've had the MC now for 2 1/2 years so kind of thinking it would be nice to try something different. At £25k the M3 does tick a lot of boxes for me, great engine, chassis, handling, practicality and looks....but I do worry it'll continue to drop money though and be a £10k car within a few years.

The dilemma is at £35k-ish does a 2008 R8 or 2012 981 make more sense than an M3 from a residual value perspective. hmmmm....
 
Low miles clean example with a manual gearbox. I think will hold its money ok. Seems like a gearstick is coming back into fashion.
Also think it's the type of car you will see hundreds of high mile examples getting cheap but clean cared for low mile weekenders staying strong.
 
R8 over an M3 E9x every time. The V8 Manual is probably a bit slower. But every thing else is just nicer. :thumbsup:

And this from a man who hates the Audi Brand. :lol:
 
Test drove one over the weekend. I was not convinced and was happy to drive home in the z. Felt quite detached, mid range response wasn't great but top end was lovely but didnt feel a great deal faster. Engine was very smooth compared to the raw nature of the s54 Exhaust was very muted so that would need to be changed. Very different to the z4m but thats to be expected really. Maybe it would shine on something longer than a 10 mile test drive. Haven't totally discounted it yet.
 
Drive an E9x M3..

Boring unless thrashed....I was gonna get one myself and looked at a lot around the £20-£22k mark. Without exception they needed work and wanted anything between £1000 and £2500 spending....

That said they must have taken a dive recently if comp pack cars are in the £20k region....
 
I think comp pack cars are asking £23k-£27k...so with a bit of haggling then not a million miles away really. Even the AUC cars are coming towards that price bracket now.
 
Go and drive one OP but I think you'll enjoy your Z4M more and I think it will hold its value better too :thumbsup:
 
I drove one for a short period a few years back, sounded lovely but was only a short blast and you can't really get a feel for the intricacies of the car.

Ha, who would have bought a ZM after a first drive of that crappy gearbox!
 
If it's any help I actually went to buy an e92 m3 for a daily but after 2 days of test drives ordered an m240i...
 
The e92 is not a car that lends itself to a decision based on a short test drive. I myself test drove one and was underwhelmed by it. It wasn't until I had a go in one on a track day that I got it. Up to 8/10 this with a salesman beside you there are much more exciting cars.

Revving an m3 out, and just over the edge of grip is where the m3 is incredible. Not easy with a salesman beside you

The point above about emotion is relevant. It wasn't until I got an akra exhaust that I really fell in love with my m3
 
I went from a Z4MR to a E92 M3 and regretted it almost straight away and I found the M3 very frustrating in the daily grind, it felt it's weight and only felt quick over 6k rpm and for me just didn't feel any different interior wise than a 318d.

The M3 just lacked any specialness when compared to the Z4M, I did think the chassis on the M3 was far better than the Z4M though, and I found the M3 easier to slide around and the chassis/suspension just felt far more resolved out of the box.
 
Never driven one but been a passenger in mates
And played kiss chase with both cars

Lovely looking cars and sound lovely
Nice place to be sat
Though kiss chase time I left him miles behind and wiped him out on pulling away and corners

Big cars and heavier
 
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