New Z4 M vs. E46 M3 Video

[GQM]

Hey fellas,

As some of you may or may not know, I run the YouTube channel Garage Quinn Motors. I recently put together a video comparing my Z4 M Coupe to my friend's E46 M3 and thought I'd share it here. If you guys like what you see, be sure to like, comment and subscribe!

Link to video:

Link to my channel:

https://www.youtube.com/c/quinnkizis









Cheers,
Quinn

[garz747]

Entertaining video, however your front end grip is a joke Which contis are on there and how old are they?? Both cars have the "heavy" S54 front end- try some michelin pilots asap. Your car will be transformed.

[GQM]

Originally Posted by garz747

Entertaining video, however your front end grip is a joke Which contis are on there and how old are they?? Both cars have the "heavy" S54 front end- try some michelin pilots asap. Your car will be transformed.

They are Continental DWS and are less than a year old. If you watched more of the video I literally said that the lack of grip was from my tires (even said it's a joke too lol) vs the Direzza Star Specs on my friend's e46. I didn't buy this car for competition and I like to be able to have slip angle on the street without going stupid fast like you would with 200 TW tires. I moved to the DWS from a set of Super Sports (which I know were 300 TW), but I don't regret the tire choice one bit and am in fact happier with it. Makes for a much more entertaining street car and it's plenty of grip for the street. I only brought the car to Lime Rock that day to film some video for the channel. Normally when I run there I take a proper sports car with double A-arms and much less weight

But in all seriousness, I really do love my Z4 M. It fills the void of having a GT car in my stable, but still has some sports car reflexes. I do stand by my statement saying it bridges the gap between a dedicated sports car and grand touring car and for me that was just the ticket I needed.

[SaltyNC]

Looked like a lot of fun drifting. I have the PSS on my car, and it's hard to get those to turn loose. There is an abandoned housing development not far from me, and I was just messing around one day and turned off traction control, and did a u-turn and gave it some extra throttle. I thought I could break the backend free fairly easily and do a fun little half-a-doughnut. Shoot, the PSS chirped and that was it.

Salty

[Beedub]

i love the video but actually think it wasn't quite in the right direction, the z4m in question seems to be setup all over the place, the tyres severly hampered this VS, and the e46 looked like a way more serious performance car here.... The inside shots of the car show you hacking away at the wheel which is totally alien to myself in my quality z4 build... i notice none of this nose heavy feeling, my car doesn't want to understeer and i can show you the data sheet on my local sprint course in actual competition where i was killing some serious cars.... Infact i won the class on budget semi slicks !!!!
The z4m just isnt a GT car, and if it feels that way to you, i think you car may need some work beyond tyres! its actually imo quite a bad car to run on a day to day basis and i certainly wouldn't choose it for GT like duties! it all just seemed abit backwards for me, but enjoyed the video none the less.

im sure everyone with shoot me down but... its all opinions :-)

[86Zed]

Great video - awesome to see another Z4MC getting some proper use! Interested to see where you go with the platform.

I agree that the Z4 platform errs closer to a GT feel especially when compared to the agile featherweights in your stable (Miata, S2000, RX7). It can still scoot and with the right tire and alignment it absolutely rips in canyon and track driving.

And yes - the car is all too quiet stock. Plenty of intake options to increase the S54 induction scream without going the $$$ CSL + tune route.

[mainsoda]

Excellent video man, I've been watching your channel for a while and waiting for another Z4M coupe video. This one makes me excited to get mine to a track and really push it. It really is a beautiful car.

Truth be told I was sort of looking forward to seeing the condition of those Contis after all that drifting.

[AriuSen]

Originally Posted by Beedub

i love the video but actually think it wasn't quite in the right direction, the z4m in question seems to be setup all over the place, the tyres severly hampered this VS, and the e46 looked like a way more serious performance car here.... The inside shots of the car show you hacking away at the wheel which is totally alien to myself in my quality z4 build... i notice none of this nose heavy feeling, my car doesn't want to understeer and i can show you the data sheet on my local sprint course in actual competition where i was killing some serious cars.... Infact i won the class on budget semi slicks !!!!
The z4m just isnt a GT car, and if it feels that way to you, i think you car may need some work beyond tyres! its actually imo quite a bad car to run on a day to day basis and i certainly wouldn't choose it for GT like duties! it all just seemed abit backwards for me, but enjoyed the video none the less.

im sure everyone with shoot me down but... its all opinions :-)

Agree with this. My car behaves totally different from yours. Couldn't watch the whole video cuz it's way too long haha but good car control skills
Even when I had street tires, my car never did what yours does. If it did, I would've sold it immediately lol

[GQM]

Originally Posted by SaltyNC

Looked like a lot of fun drifting. I have the PSS on my car, and it's hard to get those to turn loose. There is an abandoned housing development not far from me, and I was just messing around one day and turned off traction control, and did a u-turn and gave it some extra throttle. I thought I could break the backend free fairly easily and do a fun little half-a-doughnut. Shoot, the PSS chirped and that was it.

Salty

Yup, it's amazing how much tire grip impacts a car's handling characteristics.

Originally Posted by Beedub

i love the video but actually think it wasn't quite in the right direction, the z4m in question seems to be setup all over the place, the tyres severly hampered this VS, and the e46 looked like a way more serious performance car here.... The inside shots of the car show you hacking away at the wheel which is totally alien to myself in my quality z4 build... i notice none of this nose heavy feeling, my car doesn't want to understeer and i can show you the data sheet on my local sprint course in actual competition where i was killing some serious cars.... Infact i won the class on budget semi slicks !!!!
The z4m just isnt a GT car, and if it feels that way to you, i think you car may need some work beyond tyres! its actually imo quite a bad car to run on a day to day basis and i certainly wouldn't choose it for GT like duties! it all just seemed abit backwards for me, but enjoyed the video none the less.

im sure everyone with shoot me down but... its all opinions :-)

Originally Posted by AriuSen

Agree with this. My car behaves totally different from yours. Couldn't watch the whole video cuz it's way too long haha but good car control skills
Even when I had street tires, my car never did what yours does. If it did, I would've sold it immediately lol

Guys, it's all in the tires. I cannot stress this enough. Both of our suspension setups are very similar and when I previously had Pilot Super Sports on this car, it was much more composed and behaved more like the M3. The grip level of the tires completely dictates the car's behavior. I ditched the Super Sports because last time I was at this track hooning around they completely chunked apart when I got them hot. You need to understand that the heat management on these Continentals is horrible for repeated laps like that. They get greasier and greasier the hotter you get them. That is why the car looks like it doesn't have much grip while on track as it just gets worse and worse. On the street when I am not drifting the crap out of them and they are at normal temps, the grip is plenty sufficient. Watching and you wouldn't think I was on the same tires, but then again I can't keep the car at 10/10th's the whole time on street either because of real world factors and dangers.

I never said the Z4M was a GT car. I said it is in between a sports car and a GT car. Where the car's weight and struts handicap it in terms of all out mechanical grip and agility, the comfort it has is a worthy trade off when you combine it with the overall package. Full GT cars are too fat and lazy for me to really enjoy. So if it comes to taking a day trip, I'd pick my Z4 M over say my S2000 or RX7 any day because of the comfort. For competition, it's just not the car. Sure it can do well with good tires/setup at local events where driver skill and setups are all over the place, but for me, picking this car with it's inherent handicaps is backwards if you want a serious competition car. Again, struts and weight, not to mention running costs. You can only mask a car's inherent flaws so much with grippy tires. This video wasn't meant to be a serious VS either, just more of a celebration of both platforms. You only have a few words to make your video title stand out on YouTube lol I don't daily my Z4M either FWIW.

Originally Posted by 86Zed

Great video - awesome to see another Z4MC getting some proper use! Interested to see where you go with the platform.

I agree that the Z4 platform errs closer to a GT feel especially when compared to the agile featherweights in your stable (Miata, S2000, RX7). It can still scoot and with the right tire and alignment it absolutely rips in canyon and track driving.

And yes - the car is all too quiet stock. Plenty of intake options to increase the S54 induction scream without going the $$$ CSL + tune route.

Thanks bud. Yes, 100% agreed. Given the costs of the CSL route, I might just go with open velocity stacks and a sausage filter. Can create the whole setup for around $600.00 before ECU tuning.

Originally Posted by mainsoda

Excellent video man, I've been watching your channel for a while and waiting for another Z4M coupe video. This one makes me excited to get mine to a track and really push it. It really is a beautiful car.

Truth be told I was sort of looking forward to seeing the condition of those Contis after all that drifting.

Thanks man. The tires held up pretty good! No chunking or significant wear, which is what I was hoping for. I didn't hoon my Pilot Super Sports nearly as hard on that same track and they just chunked apart horribly.

[angelr]

Tires are an issue yes, but driving style and not overdriving the tires in general were both factors as well. Ie: you approach a corner and turn in differently if the car wants to plow...you were just chucking it around, fun but not representative of how the car behaves. I've owned both, biggest thing they both need is more front tire and a decent alignment.

[scrammer]

Originally Posted by angelr

Tires are an issue yes, but driving style and not overdriving the tires in general were both factors as well...

Very entertaining video and you demonstrate some great car control. Most importantly it looks like you were having fun!