Hello everyone,
I have owned my M coupe for about 3 years now , put about 35,000km of summer-only driving. I simply can't get enough of this car. Having previously owned z3M,e46 M3 and an e39 M5...the Z4 M is definitely the most challenging M to drive .
The infamous 1st-2nd gear shift grind
.Those who drive their ZM hard know exactly what im talking about , the issue was apparent on New cars, so its not a matter of the 'box condition.It comes with a flaw that I still can't believe the M division accepted during R&D.
Ive read many posts about engine and tranny mounts that could help a little but ultimately there is no fix. Some say to pull the lever to the left while pulling down, some say to wait half second to let the revs drop a bit before shifting ..kills all the fun and im not driving a Jeep Wrangler..its an M !
All the other M cars I owned never had this issue..actually all the BMWs i have owned( e28,e30,e36,e46,e39) never had this dumb problem.
So the simply solution is either to swap in 5 speed ZF but I loose the 6th gear which i appreciate on road trips or find a way to swap in an e46 M3 6 Speed tranny. BMW says it doesnt fit ..im willing to hammer my tunnel so I can enjoy a proper rip in that machine.
I hate this issue so much that i always feel like im driving a "broken" car , like i have tip toe around the 1-2 gear shift to avoid a grind and damage the tranny .
I have searched everywhere, can't find anything about such swap...Anyone has a clue or know someone or company who has done it?
Here some pics of my Z after a detail and Ceramic coating
