Need BMW regulars' information: BMW Z4 Coupe 3.0Si

[centurion]

Originally Posted by R33Devil

thats like saying you would pick a pair of white leather Gucci over Berluttis....

nuff said....

I'm so low class ..... what's a Berluttis?

[TripleM]

CaySman
First , your nickname/avatar already suggest you should buy CaymanS and forget bout the rest...Prove me wrong hehehe...

Anyway, based on what you need, ie going up alot on NSHW.........go with CaymanS
There should be no regret.

1. You are still unsure if the Z43.0 Si has the Piezo DI System. Honestly, u may wish to write in to BMW Gmbh directly and find out.

2. You were also wondering bout the weight savings of the 3L vs its elder brother Z4M translated into handling. It's quit a big difference, presumably speaking. It's like comparing E46 330 vs E46 M3 both coupe and u should know the answer. In this case, w/o a shadow of doubt, the Mcoupe should be better. It has better brakes ( CSL one apparently ), shaper suspension set up, stiffer chasis, better wheels set up...good enough?

3. You are aware of our authorized after sales service. Many negative feedbacks heard but I have never been disappointed by my very own CSA. He's good. Recommended a few guys and all were happy.

The real truth is, Porsche is definitely a more reliable car.
At 285k vs 295k for Z4M Coupe, CaymanS wins in the branding and ownership satifaction. In performance wise, the latter wins hands down.

On a sidenote, I have concurrently owned Z4 3L vert and E46 M3 before and I can assure you, the Z4 handles better than the M3 for obvious reason. With the launch of the Z4 Coupe, torsional stiffness was enchanced dramatically. The top of the range model Mcoupe has 32000 Nm/deg torsional stiffness, which as far as I can remember higher than the CaymanS but not that far behind.

Again, I hate to say it but the M-breed cars are priced way too high in the local market to compete in high perf category cars. On a price tag near 300k which is similar to CaymanS, I'd choose CaymanS anytime anyday.
Had it been priced 30k lower, then MCoupe for me. Not only I like the look and the handling, what truly moves me is the S54 engine

Cheers

Happy shopping. We should meet someday.

Jack

[centurion]

Thanks TripleM, for your views. I phoned BMW regarding the DI and they told me that there is no information, end of message. After that I asked the forum for leaks. I could not google it.

I am a cheapskate, willing to compromise on engine but not chassis. So I did not for a moment consider the Z4M coupe, hoping that the 3.0SI coupe would be good. Will know next week hopefully.

Because I am cheapskate, the decision exists between the 3.0SI coupe vs Cayman, and this is a much more difficult decision than Cayman S vs Z4M Coupe.

For 3.0SI vs Cayman:

What I already know:
Z4 3.0SI Coupe is cheaper.
Z4 3.0SI Coupe is of the more striking design
Z4 3.0SI Coupe is cheaper. Cayman will be more reliable.

What I speculate is that:
Cayman would handle better
Cayman will be more comfortable because of PASM option

Whether the Cayman's pluses are worth the extra S$40K is the question. Or whether the Z4 Coupe's extra power and looks counts for anything at all.

Regarding the engine audio part, I've never taken a liking to the metallic rasping of BMW's engines. The weird sound from the flat6 is so much more racey to me (I prefer NASCAR rumble to the high pitched F1 wail). This is a totally subjective preference though.

Anyway, I'll know next week.

[TripleM]

Regarding the engine audio part, I've never taken a liking to the metallic rasping of BMW's engines. The weird sound from the flat6 is so much more racey to me (I prefer NASCAR rumble to the high pitched F1 wail). This is a totally subjective preference though

The metalic rasping sound was inherent in E46M3 and it can be eliminated by after market mid pipes exos system. I have done it too.

The M-roadster n M coupe dont have them because of shorter exos set up

[centurion]

OK checked out the Z4 Coupe 3.0SI auto on the weekend.

Imagine you're in a bar, and you see 2 pretty callgirls, one blonde and a brunette. You go over and chat with them, the kind of chat with a clear purpose. The one you REALLY want, the blonde, has a working appointment in 30 minutes' time, so you go with the brunette.

She turns out to be really caring, and sensitive, speaks well, but when she screams, she has the volume but not the feelin', you get what I mean? And though she knows the moves - she's not an amateur - her timing on the gearshift is -just- off by about half a second, and she doesn't sense it when it comes to the `afterburner' time, she doesn't sense it in time, thus changing what was supposed to be a Mount Krakatoa afterburn into a respectable, but much smaller, volcanoic eruption. She's really strong though, but power is nothing without the fine control, especially in this job.

You look at her, and ponder hypothetically, and try to consider her as a reproductive wife, but it's not possible because her rear ovaries have been surgically removed, so, she's just good for her profession now when it comes to carnal matters.

Next week you go for the blonde, and she's available. Much more expensive though. From the beginning, you see the difference. The screams ARE real, the dry sump lubrication forces lubricant through whether the situation is optimal or not, and she's spot on all the timing. Basically, this is an out of the world experience, and the volcanoic eruption surpasses anything you've known.

This is basically the case with the Z4 3.0SI coupe vs the Cayman. The Z4 has power in spades, but no crazy heart thumping induction noise which the Cayman gives. TripleM is right, the metallic rasp does not exist for the Z4, but even then, the engine sounds like a 330 and 530 and a 630.

The suspension is firm, but OK for everyday use. It's not crazy. You could use it without getting hurt. The steering is very very talkative, and on turn in, it merely understeers a very very little bit. All depending on your speed of course.

The brakes on the Z4 3.0SI are better than the Cayman's. Not the Cayman S, but the Cayman. That may sound crazy as the Cayman's are 4-pots compared to the Z4's floating single pot, but non-racetrack single pots, if sufficient pressure applied, no reason for it not to perform very well in the short run. In the longer run, it will fade, it was fading very slightly by the end of my drive.

The handling excites, much much more than the 3- and 6- chassis, but, not close to the Cayman chassis unfortunately. it still feels slightly heavy on the first phase of the high speed corner, a little clumsy. But it will do the job.

Now the chassis doesn't feel REALLY stiff. It's feels like the stiffest BMW I've ever driven, including the M3 E46, but you don't shout about it. The Cayman's chassis, the stiffness is the first thing you notice. In the Z4, you don't even think about stiffness. The pliant suspension may have something to do with the chassis stiffness feeling, but I can't help but think that the Z4's chassis ain't exactly really stiff.

Amenities - the Z4 has it, not too much, but it has it. Thankfully, it doesn't have iDrive, but it does have rain sensing wipers at least. The interior looks like a 3- and 5- and 6- though, really not like the leather wrapped and `last forever' Cayman interior. Nothing special here.

In conclusion the Z4 is like the brunette, a nice sensitive girl with no rear seat, hopelessly somewhere inbetween, where the Cayman is the blonde, elevating her profession to an art form since she took away her rear seats/ovaries since she knows that there's no turning back for her, might as well be the best in what she does.

I'm going on a final test drive of the Cayman 2.7 and I'll decide whether I'll buy or not. That's read: whether I'm going to buy anything or not. As for the argument of whether 2.7 or 3.4 Cayman, I've agonized over it for a long time, until I read Chris Harris in GT Porsche this month, when he stated that the 2.7 was preferable to the 3.4 for daily use, as the 245HP was plenty enough for his roads, and the 3.4 would be overkill. The 2.7 gives him the capability to hit the max rpm limiter much more often than the 3.4 and that in itself is good enough reason why the 2.7 is superior. The 3.4 only enables you to hit the max in really rare opportunities off the track. I buy this argument, and so does my wallet, and it's an easier sell to the wife. That being said, since the main reason why I'm getting a car now is to play with the gears, I'll upgrade to a 6-speed and add PASM for softer suspension in horrible mountain roads.

[axl]

"In conclusion the Z4 is like the brunette, a nice sensitive girl with no rear seat, hopelessly somewhere inbetween, where the Cayman is the blonde, elevating her profession to an art form since she took away her rear seats/ovaries since she knows that there's no turning back for her, might as well be the best in what she does."

This must be one of the funniest line I ever read in this forum...!

[centurion]

don't get me wrong. The Z4 3.0SI coupe definitely damnit outdrives any other BMW I've tried. But BMW could not let go, and built in understeer for legal and safety reasons probably, and they didn't have Walter Rohrl to test it out.

Just that the Cayman was better in the handling respects. Even the engine of the Cayman could not hold a candle to the Z4, but the Cayman's induction noise blew out the candle the Z4 held out.

When I was driving the Z4, I kept on saying - `I could buy this, I could buy this.'

After that I realised - I don't go about saying `The Sun will come out tomorrow morning' right?

So I realised that I was doing some self psychoing. Had to spend some time thinking about the cars like girls.

[TripleM]

nice analogy.....good luck n choose wisely.

[foxfrc5]

If you do get the Cayman, please don't drive around town with the tiny spoiler artificially raised all the time. Someone should tell those folks that those spoilers only work at much higher speeds, and aren't meant for posing...

[centurion]

foxfrc5, if I were a poseur I'd buy the cheaper Boxster, or at least get a tiptronic.

BUT, I must say that I will raise the spoiler because I don't want the stupid hydraulic to raise at 75MPH and lower at 60MPH all the time. I scared that the hydraulics will fail. The way I drive, it's 75MPH then zero, 75MPH then zero type, countless times a day.

What do you think?