Uncertain which Z4 to buy

[garz747]

If you are daily driving forget the M. If you are looking for a weekend toy that will always put a smile on your face it MUST be the M. Best steering Ive ever felt and Ive driven them all. Fat bratwurst steering wheel feels superb. Raspy engine but it delivers the goods at high revs! Clutch is exact and easy to modulate- why all this talk about delay valves? Brakes are powerful.Ride is stiff but corners are flat as a pancake. Michelin pilots are your friend. Nuff said?

[Efthreeoh]

Originally Posted by bwright657

A 3.0 or 3.0si coupe will be cheaper to buy and maintain than the full M. Neither is a bad choice, just depends on what you want from the car. For me the extra power of the S54 was a must have. Both versions need an aftermarket muffler to really get the best sound.

The biggest difference will be in the steering. The Ms have hydraulic racks while the regular cars have electric. I would try and test drive both to see if you're ok with the EPS on the regular car. It is possible to retrofit hydraulic steering by pulling together different parts from the M car and the E46.

If you go for a 3.0, definitely look for one with the sport seats. They are the same basic structure as the M just with different leather.

I'd like to offer a slight correction. The non-M version has EPS but the electric assist is not built into the steering rack, but rather applied to the steering shaft. The PS electric motor is inside the car behind the gauge cluster. It's an important distinction. The non-M electric power steering is quite good.

[vt100]

Originally Posted by garz747

If you are daily driving forget the M.

why?! I used to DD my MC for about a year and then doing half-DD later (2-3 days on Z4 and the rest on 4Runner or vise versa).
I'd still be doing this if not covid...

PS: I'd say it depends on age/health. The older I become and more back and knee problems I accumulate it gets harder and harder to DD Z4M...

[garz747]

Why no daily drive? Toronto roads and traffic are deplorable! A mix of West Beirut and Damascus ,Syria. Massive potholes , broken expansion strips and miles of dead-stopped traffic. Construction projects that have lingered for !) years at major intersections all over! I moved my M to my summer cottage to enjoy the country roads in peace!

[Roadroach]

Originally Posted by garz747

Why no daily drive? Toronto roads and traffic are deplorable! A mix of West Beirut and Damascus ,Syria. Massive potholes , broken expansion strips and miles of dead-stopped traffic. Construction projects that have lingered for !) years at major intersections all over! I moved my M to my summer cottage to enjoy the country roads in peace!

Aren't the roads the same condition whether you're in a M coupe or non-M coupe? Besides, the OP may not have the same horrible road/construction issues. Is the suspension on an M really that much harsher than a 3.0si sport?

If I had an M-coupe, I'd daily the shit out of it. When looking for a coupe, I just couldn't justify the added cost (up front and perceived maintenance) for a car that would spend 90% of it's driving life commuting. But I don't see any reason why someone wouldn't daily an M but would daily a 3.0si.

[garz747]

M coupe shocks and springs are rock hard! Tranny is recalcitrant til warmed up. Easy to "kangaroo" and Ive been driving manuals for 40 years. Not ideal in continual stop/start traffic. All is forgiven on winding rural road!

[grannyknot]

Originally Posted by garz747

Why no daily drive? Toronto roads and traffic are deplorable! A mix of West Beirut and Damascus ,Syria. Massive potholes , broken expansion strips and miles of dead-stopped traffic. Construction projects that have lingered for !) years at major intersections all over! I moved my M to my summer cottage to enjoy the country roads in peace!

LOL, you said it brother! Luckily I don't live in T.O. I just work there.
I will have good news tomorrow, don't want to jinx it.

[grannyknot]

Just wanted to thank you guys for your practical advice, it made me ask myself the right questions, anyway she's home.
2008 Z4M coupe, build date 08/03/08, model ID#1725, manufactures ID #966,
Sapphire black, 87,000 miles
- Genuine style 359 competition wheels.
- Michelin Pilot Sport A/S 3 tires, staggered,
- H&R Street Performance coilovers,
- Powerflex trailing arm bushings,
- Megan Racing catless headers,
- Rouge Engineering Diablo Mufflers,
There is a bunch of other upgrades he's done, I just can't remember them all right now.
The car is filthy at the moment as we had to drive through a rain storm on the way to my place. It won't be dirty for long though.
He's done a bunch of debadgeing and removed some reflectors so I'm going to have to find a pic of a stock M coupe to figure out what has been removed. Will have to start some serious cleaning tomorrow.

[bwright657]

Looks like a great starting point! 19" wheels look awesome on the car. I would remove the headlight tint, put new M badges on the fenders, but don't worry about the reflectors. Looks like the previous just put a foil over them, but I prefer the cleaner look. Here's a photo of my coupe to show where the fender badges go and what the stock reflectors look like.

[pungo]

Congratulations on your new ride, you'll have many smiles with the Z4MC.
How is the sound level from the Diablo Mufflers? I read they're loud with some drone at certain RPM ranges.
See my enable track mode thread to add some more fun while learning the handling characteristics of the car.

[garz747]

Lookin good! Mines also sapphire but with imola red seats. Tough colour to keep clean but rocks when waxed. Invest in a satin fleece cover. Will be doing my pre- storage detailing in a few weeks... Use castrol supercar 10w60 or motul 10w60 and factory filter.

[grannyknot]

Originally Posted by pungo

Congratulations on your new ride, you'll have many smiles with the Z4MC.
How is the sound level from the Diablo Mufflers? I read they're loud with some drone at certain RPM ranges.
See my enable track mode thread to add some more fun while learning the handling characteristics of the car.

Thanks, I have only driven it a couple blocks at this point so can't say yet but the sound wasn't too loud for me.

[Colemme]

Congratulations, the MC is beautiful. I agree with Bwright657, please remove those tinted headlight covers; it devalues the car. Enjoy!

[grannyknot]

Originally Posted by Colemme

Congratulations, the MC is beautiful. I agree with Bwright657, please remove those tinted headlight covers; it devalues the car. Enjoy!

Yes, I pulled that tint film off today with help of a hair dryer, why would anybody want to dim there headlights? But now I have patches of sticky film adhesive left on the headlight lens, normally I would use a mild solvent but I don't want to apply anything that could melt the plastic lens.

[pyshin]

Originally Posted by grannyknot

Yes, I pulled that tint film off today with help of a hair dryer, why would anybody want to dim there headlights? But now I have patches of sticky film adhesive left on the headlight lens, normally I would use a mild solvent but I don't want to apply anything that could melt the plastic lens.

I would recommend Goo Gone, here's a quick article comparing it to Goof Off: https://cleaning-king.com/goof-off-vs-goo-gone/

[pungo]

Originally Posted by grannyknot

Yes, I pulled that tint film off today with help of a hair dryer, why would anybody want to dim there headlights? But now I have patches of sticky film adhesive left on the headlight lens, normally I would use a mild solvent but I don't want to apply anything that could melt the plastic lens.

At least you'll be able to see at night now. There's a reason it's illegal to tint headlights.

Some of the tint shops use La's Totally Awesome Cleaner to remove the adhesive when they pulled failed or illegal tint off windows, don't know what it'll do to plastic. You could try rubbing alcohol too. Try stuff on an area you can see with the hood down, if you open the hood, there's an area of the lens along the top edge to try it on. Good luck.

[Steeler]

Originally Posted by pyshin

I would recommend Goo Gone, here's a quick article comparing it to Goof Off: https://cleaning-king.com/goof-off-vs-goo-gone/

Goo gone works well.

Available at crappy tire

https://googone.com/original-adhesive-remover

[wdb]

WD40 will soften adhesive without harming plastic.

[beaniegti]

Originally Posted by Huz-Z

Except in 89 Golf. I think Schwarzenegger would be challenged to shift from first to second.

I have ‘91 16v (since 2003) and a Z4mc, the gearboxes couldn’t be more different! There was definitely something wrong with the golf you drove!!

OP-Great choice on the M, you won’t regret it!

[TyzToyz]

I am not sure if you were able to remove the tint glue residue yet, but believe it or not, J&J baby shampoo works wonders. I didn't believe it until I tried it.

Tye

[Lucky1]

Congratulations! My first piece of advice? Never sell. Enjoy!

[Happyvirus]

For those of you hating on the tranny, have you guys done the cdv valve removal? It’s night and day difference.