Z4M Coupe or Roadster? How to choose?

[gcochard]

Originally Posted by tikamak

It's just something you can never experience in a coupé. read this: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Directional_sound
In a Roadster, you will hear the straight sound coming from the exhaust, a lot crisper and detailed than a coupé, it really is a different sound, i have experienced both, in a Roadster you feel a howl that says balls. in the coupé, it's a little muted down.

Is that a summary of the directional sound article? Wikipedia is blocked here...

[Endless619]

Originally Posted by tikamak

I forgot to mention one very important point on why to choose the Roadster.
It's the chick magnet effect. Most girls think that Roadsters are higher cars in the scale of car coolness.

I once asked a girl: "what kind of car do you drive" and the answer was: "a black one"
I was struggling with my internal organs to prevent myself bursting into tears from laughing.
so in the food chain, black cars are the normal ones and convertibles are next in line, then there are porsches which are superior (don't understand how they recognize a GT3RS and not recognize a Z4M) then ferraris and lamborghinis then hummers :P

Apologies to all the females, i don't think like that about women, just trying to make yall laugh a bit.

I am not too sure about that statement in America. Roadsters are more common in California, Oregon, and Washington thus seeing more on the road. The Coupe is more rare and gets way more play by everyone, not just women. Just saying from experience.

S2000 roadster, Z4M Roadster would come first then the Z4M Coupe on the food chain in coolness factor. I can guarntee if you had a Z4MC and Z4MR at HIN or HID just for show purposes the Z4MC would win over the basic roadster with the same mods. I know, I was a judge at one point as well as having my cars nationally recognized in Super Street and Import Tuner Magazines.

But I am still not saying one is better than the other. I am saying for show and magazine purposes the Coupe may and has edged out the roadster. I personally would own both but my M3 is my other daily.

[tikamak]

Originally Posted by cliffhopper

Is that a summary of the directional sound article? Wikipedia is blocked here...

The sound coming from the exhaust, naturally, should be heard the loudest if you're standing in front of the exhaust (the "origin" of the sound).
Now if you're in the cockpit, it means you're the opposite way and should be heard the least.
Luckily, physics lets sound go around object and be audible in a sphere like amplitude.

so imagine this:
* coupe: the "back" body is a barrier between you and the "origin" exhaust
* Roadster: there are no barriers, the top is down, you WILL hear the eargasm more

[dazed^]

Driving with the top down just adds a dimension a 'sealed' car could never have. It's a "f*ck yeah" meme moment every time.

I personally think both Coupe and Roadster look great. The soft top has beautiful lines, as you'd expect from a two-seater car. I have to say that 4-seat convertibles look like a boat-with-a-tent to me. Even a 6 series convertible is stretching it, IMO. But to me the Z looks excellent with the soft top.

[tikamak]

Originally Posted by EndlessZ4M

I am not too sure about that statement in America. Roadsters are more common in California, Oregon, and Washington thus seeing more on the road. The Coupe is more rare and gets way more play by everyone, not just women. Just saying from experience.

S2000 roadster, Z4M Roadster would come first then the Z4M Coupe on the food chain in coolness factor. I can guarntee if you had a Z4MC and Z4MR at HIN or HID just for show purposes the Z4MC would win over the basic roadster with the same mods. I know, I was a judge at one point as well as having my cars nationally recognized in Super Street and Import Tuner Magazines.

But I am still not saying one is better than the other. I am saying for show and magazine purposes the Coupe may and has edged out the roadster. I personally would own both but my M3 is my other daily.

I would say 8/10 women in a poll (uniform distribution of population) would prefer a convertible over a coupe regardless of what brand the car is. But that's just me. I love the coupe and i consider it to be more hardcore than the Roadster. Not by a huge margin though.

[Huz-Z]

In a perfect world, I would have one of each. But as funds are not limitless, I had to pick one!

Now, my best buddy wants a coupe. So, I may still one day have an opportunity to enjoy both cars!!

[johanness]

Originally Posted by tikamak

[

I would say 8/10 women in a poll (uniform distribution of population) would prefer a convertible over a coupe regardless of what brand the car is.

Thus Roadster = "chick's car" philosophy

[Huz-Z]

Originally Posted by johanness

Thus Roadster = "chick's car" philosophy

Nope. My buddy's wife has been in my roadster and still wants my buddy to get a coupe. MYTH BUSTED!

[tikamak]

Originally Posted by johanness

Thus Roadster = "chick's magnet" philosophy

Correction in red.

[marinb]

Honestly, I've gotten more compliments in the M Coupe than any other car I've had. And it's a really a rare thing to get in California; people don't usually go out of their way to say "nice car" or whatever, since there are just so many nice cars everywhere all the time.

One time I was driving around in Santa Barbara, which has no shortage of very nice cars, and I pulled up to a light. I was feeling particularly anti-social that day, so when I pulled up to the light I pulled forward far enough so that my drivers window was past that of the car next to me. I really didn't feel like catching glances from any of the other cars. When the left turn lane turned green, a car pulls up right next to my window, pauses, and a woman driving (very attractive, of course) rolls down the passenger side window and leans over as far as she can, while pushing aside her husband, just to say "I really love your car!". I thanked her, and they went on their way.

I think the reason why these things happen, particularly with the coupe, is that it's just so rare. People have never seen one before, and wonder what it is. They don't even know it's a Z4. I even had a women ask me if it was an M6. =) Unfortunately, the Z4 M roadster often gets overlooked as just a standard Z4 roadster (of which I see dozens a day).

Anyway, to each his own. I wish I could have both. The weather really is just to damn nice out here to always be locked up in the coupe.

[Endless619]

Originally Posted by johanness

Thus Roadster = "chick's car" philosophy

I have to agree with you here. But at the same time I have to say there are more women buying/owning the new 1 series coupe and 1M cars. But there are two 1 series coupes here in northern Oregon that are just bad ass cars...

Again, if I could own both I would... I may be selling my M3 soon to get into a X5 or X6. I need a bigger vehicle at this point plus I love to haul crap around.... 2 seater cars aren't the best for lugging stuff around and especially pets.

[AnalogDan]

I plan on owning my M for the rest of my life. A convertible just won't hold up as well. The two people I know who own or have previously owned convertibles have both had expensive problems with them (though neither were a BMW).

With that said, I really just hate the feeling of wind going past my ears at anything over 40 mph (I'm a musician with very sensitive hearing), so that also contributed to my decision. I like cruising with my windows down every once in a while, but the low frequencies and high sound pressure level of wind at high speeds is absolutely unbearable for me.

And, in the end, the Coupe is just much more unique. The roadster looks like any other convertible (Miata, SLK, S2000, other "girl" cars), but the coupe is distinct from both roadsters and hard-topped convertibles. It's much more rare and more beautiful, to me. It stands out more. I received two compliments just today.

[tekmoe]

I don't know about the rest of you but I bought my M to drive the f out of it, not to sit around and think about how rare it is.

[tikamak]

Originally Posted by marinb

I think the reason why these things happen, particularly with the coupe, is that it's just so rare. People have never seen one before, and wonder what it is. They don't even know it's a Z4. I even had a women ask me if it was an M6. =) Unfortunately, the Z4 M roadster often gets overlooked as just a standard Z4 roadster (of which I see dozens a day).

Anyway, to each his own. I wish I could have both. The weather really is just to damn nice out here to always be locked up in the coupe.

Damn true. I experience this as well even in a country where there are very few Z4 Roadsters.

Until I howl past people chirping tyres, that is ... :P

Seriously, very few people are informed that there's an M version to the Z4, even fewer that there's a coupé Z4, and extremely rare that people know of the Z4MC.

[beta]

Originally Posted by tikamak

\Seriously, very few people are informed that there's an M version to the Z4, even fewer that there's a coupé Z4

You'd think one of the 20+ Ms would give it away

[ZeD4Mr]

Originally Posted by tekmoe

I don't know about the rest of you but I bought my M to drive the f out of it, not to sit around and think about how rare it is.

Coupe people love how it looks


Roadster people love how it drives


AND BMW needs to make an E89 M

[WestCDA]

Originally Posted by AnalogDan

The roadster looks like any other convertible (Miata, SLK, S2000, other "girl" cars) ...

Yeah, just like the coupe looks like every other 2 door piece of tin out there, MX6, Cadillac, Accord, Dodge Challenger, I mean really ...

Back to the topic at hand, I have the convertible for the same reason I enjoy motorcycles. In a convertible you're part of the environment you are traveling through, enveloped by the sights, sounds, and smells - in a hardtop you close yourself in, watch a limited view of the world pass by on the other side of your windows, and re-emerge from the cocoon at your destination. If I spent all my time commuting at rush hour on grey multilane highways under smog filled skies - yeah, maybe I'd want to shut the world out too.

But I bought this car to enjoy traveling - through the mountains, along the lakeshores and seaside, exploring the back country roads and towns. You haven't experienced driving in the mountains until you've done it in a convertible on a sunny day, completely surrounded by blue sky, towering peaks and panoramic vistas and breathing that fantastic clear mountain air - in fact I think I just talked myself into another drive today!

Enjoy whatever brings you pleasure, and happy trails to all ...

[Jbs]

I think the roadster is more fun to drive (its a different feeling almost entirely without a roof and fishbowl effect from the cabin), but the coupe just looks SOOOO much better (imho), it was an easy choice.

[krnnerdboy]

Originally Posted by tekmoe

I don't know about the rest of you but I bought my M to drive the f out of it, not to sit around and think about how rare it is.

F*** yeah! LOL


but at the same time, if I were buying a mustang, m3, camaro, corvette,etc it wouldn't be a vert, which is also what makes our e85's so unique...the design from conception was a roadster causing it to be actually lighter than the coupe vs adding 400lbs like the m3

[zer0xity]

It really does depend on what YOU want but, to answer your question - I went with the coupe because in some ways it looks like an entirely different car from the roadster. Plus it's especially rare since there are quite a few Z4 roadsters out there, which the M would often be mistaken for to the layman. People are usually pretty baffled and I get a lot of "I've never seen anything like it before" comments.

I like them both but even on sunny days out here in California I've never once really wished I had the roadster. I love every minute and mile I've spent with the coupe.

Good luck on finding what you want!

[JFB06M]

Buy an M roadster.....and then supercharge it like I did. People think it is some trophy wifemobile....until I leave them in the dust and smoke. It is easier to see their jaws drop with the better visability of ragtop.

[Huz-Z]

[QUOTE=AnalogDan;
And, in the end, the Coupe is just much more unique. The roadster looks like any other convertible (Miata, SLK, S2000, other "girl" cars), but the coupe is distinct from both roadsters and hard-topped convertibles. It's much more rare and more beautiful, to me. It stands out more. I received two compliments just today.[/QUOTE]

Why do some folks have to put down the roadster and call it a girl's car? I can talk about why I like my roadster without having to resort to lowly insults of the coupe. And when I go sideways on a corner every now and then while smoking the tires, "girl's car" doesn't come to mind.

And one thing is for sure. You have to have shit in your eyes to confuse a Z4 with an S2000 or a Miata. As to compliments, I had five just yesterday, the most memorable of which was from a young kid in the backseat of his folks' car.