BMW E85 Z4M Roadster - Full Review
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- Опубликовано: 7 сен 2024
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I’m lucky enough to be on my third one. Just bought a 2007.
I forgot how analog these were compared to modern cars! This was my daily for 2 years in LA traffic 14 years ago. It’s raw, best experienced with the top down and a car that lives to be driven hard. Had several Ms. Still my favorite.
Hi Josh, thanks for the input. Yes, they are very VERY raw!!! Even the 'box is very mechanical in its change and the engine sounds even more pronounced in this over an M3 I'm not sure I agree with the driving style being hard though. The quicker I went, the more unsettled the car felt. Some cars get better with speed, but I really didn't find this to be the case with the Z4M. Perhaps just our terrible roads!
Absolutely love mine, same colour as this but with Saddle interior. That engine is a masterpiece, the best part of the car.
The engine does totally dominate the experience!
What are you looking for? It is fast (enuf), looks amazing in black sapphire, it makes the right noises and handles great. The steering is sublime and the wheel is the best of any BMW! Get your alignment checked and order a set of michelins-huge difference mine rode like it was on hockey pucks on the continentals. The exhaust is too quiet but the engine sings.The clutch bite half way is perfect and like you mentioned seating is ideal. The springs are super stiff as that was the technology in 2007. It does smooth out as speeds increase lol. This is an underrated pure analog beast that took a while to tame. Mine is stored from mid Nov til now so every spring its like getting a new sportscar. Love it.
Hi Gary, thank you for your great comment. Yes, its certainly fast enough and I can only imagine, with a little fettling in the form of modern springs/dampers and a fresh set of MPS4S if would be transformed. Sadly, we don't have the margin to change all of these, but I would love a go of one with all of this changed. I love a Z4 and I love the s54, so there is definitely a masterpiece lurking in there imho. I'm the same, put my 'good car' off Oct - Apr and it's like the delight of getting a new car every year, maybe even better as you know you're going to love being back in it again 👍 Stephen
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Got to hand it to you , you give each car a really honest review , even although you are trying to sell it .
Thanks! We can't all like the same type of car. I just say it as I find it and people can take from it what they want I guess. I probably just had far higher expectations for the car as I love the 3.0Si and the E46 M3, but mix the two together (engine /chassis) and for me, it just misses the mark. Shame. Real shame!
I’ve had mine for 14 years and just about to get it ready for it’s first drive this year. I still love it every time I get into it. You need to change the tyres to Michelins, which really makes for better grip. The Conti’s tend to aquaplane and under steer when pushing hard into a bend. I personally like the faster steering rack on the roadster. It can be a little tail happy in the wet, but I like to live on the edge. I’m keeping it until I can’t get in or out of it. 😊
Hi Gallie, love that - I’m keeping it until I can’t get out! I used a Z4 coupe 3.0si for IceDriving in Sweden and it was very controllable. Lovey chassis!
Roadster e85 have same chassis rigidity of an e46 coupe. E86 coupe have the double of stifness.
The long bonnet becomes lifting at high speeds, This is what most often causes poor feeling. Then it may be the bushes that are no longer fresh.
All Z4 e85/e86 really like a decent set of after market suspension with camberplate and therefore a careful set-up like good bushings.
I always remember that the M roadster gave the M3 a 15 second lead at the nurbrugring.
I would also like to point out that the tires from 20 years ago with which it was developed are very different from modern tyres, especially the more sporty ones, and this is why it is essential to work on suspensions.
I would also add that the roadster's steering gear is slower than both the coupe and the M3.
Hi Zio, thanks for the input. Can definitely feel the racks slower and to be honest, was my biggest gripe with the car, that and the floaty feeling front end at speed. I'm sure a nice set of KWs and PS4S would transform it.
@@JamesGlenCarSales1982 He really likes a decidedly lower front set-up, clearly recovering caster with camber plates. And it also likes a splitter up front. Anyway to be 15 seconds faster in the ring It has certainly no stability problems.
@@JamesGlenCarSales1982 Misha He recently tested an e86 3.0si at the ring, give it a look.
I know... Never test an M one, and never tested swap or turbo one.
I have one. Engine is epic, gearbox is excellent and personally I love the steering (but then I had a 2016 Mustang before). The ride is definitely on the hard side. However, it has character and has started to get under my skin - I only bought it last year. Plan to take it to France in the summer where I think it will excel. I got my rod bearings done to be on the safe side at a specialist for under £1k.
Hi Angus, thanks for sharing your experience! That's a great price for total peace of mind, in regards to the rod-bearings. It isn't a car you get straight away, and have no doubt it would get better with seat time. I do really like the mechanical feel (and noise!) of the car, I was just not entirely sure about the front end. I've driven 3/4 over the last 10years and they've all been the same. JayEmm on cars described it as a 7/10ths car, and I totally agree. I think I was maybe just asking too much of it. But then, Hammond says it's a car that needs grabbed by the scuff of the neck?! Maybe on a track, but not on the road, as per JayEmm on cars.
Z4M is just paying a premium for the S54 Engine, The 3.0 Si N52 Z4 Coupe is a bargain in comparison and the better car IMO as it isn't going to cost you an arm and leg for maintenance.
Scotty, the Z4 coupe with the 3.0L N52 engine is one of my most favourite ever BMWs to drive. The power delivery never leaves you wanting more, and they sound epic (esp with the intake mod). And as you say, at 8-10k less expensive than the M, they're a total bargain.
@@JamesGlenCarSales1982 Yep, Totally agree with you mate and i am viewing one tommorow to hopefully buy, Wish me luck Fella, Liked and subbed to your channel 👌
Thank you for the review. I have an E86 Z4M coupe and love it. Not to be pedantic, but the roadster is E85 designated. Cheers.
Thanks for that. changed in the title, but can't change the text on the thumbnail
These are quite sensitive to tyre pressures, maybe they are too high, I've found the sweet spot 32/34 on mine. As for the ride, I prefer to blame the terrible roads rather than the car!
Thanks Flim! I will try pressures as, sadly, alignment made little/no difference.
I run 32/34 psi and it makes a lot of difference. Modern high UHP tyres have very stiff sidewalls and just need that bit more give.
As a Z4M owner who only drives it during the spring/summer months - these do take a while to get used to to get the best out of them. Definitely a 7ths car rather than 10/10ths car. I also own an E46 M3 coupe and the E46 is definitely the better package overall and I think that's the car you were probably expecting the Z4M roadster to be?
Hi Lloyd, I think you are spot on. I expected it to be at least as good as the E46 M3, which it isn't. Can't get my head around it, as a standard Z4 3.0 is fantastic, so slotting in the M3s S54 should just make it better, but it doesn't. It's faster, no doubt, but I just don't know what they have done to detract from the otherwise beautifully handling chassis.
@@JamesGlenCarSales1982 - agreed. The S54 can power overwhelm the chassis with ease which makes it obvious the platform was never designed for such a raw engine. You're correct in the sense the later E85 3.0si Z4 with the 265bhp engine is the perfect balance between car and performance.
The Alpina Roadster S is the one to have. It is lighter, has much more compliant suspension, a better gearbox, more torque and a far better interior and beautiful thin rimmed steering wheel.
I'm a huge Alpina fan! Z4 Alpina's have always sparked my interested. Love the old school Alpinas with their totally bespoke hand built engines. I'm not mad on the switchtronic gearbox though, as they're just the old torque converts box's of old. A manual Z4 Alpina would be pretty epic though.
Alpina Z4 Roadster S is a manual@@JamesGlenCarSales1982
Always lusted after the coupe.
I was skidding a Z4 3.0Si Coupe across a Swedish lake with spike tyres on last week and it was utterly sublime!!
Since when did Daniel Craig review cars?? Loving the reviews mate.
I wish!! lol Thanks, glad you're liking the reviews! Thinking M340i this week
Salut, je vous écris de la France, je suis passé du Z4 E89 35i avec lequel j'ai parcouru 50000 Km en cinq ans, au Z4M E85 de 2007.
J'ai eu Mazda Mx5 NC, Mustang 5.0 V8, Z4 E89 35i, Austin Healey 3000 BT7, je conduis toute l'année.
Oui les sièges sont beaux mais raides, oui la suspension est un peu raide, mais les sensations proposées par ce moteur atmosphérique épaulé par une boite de vitesse bien étagée sont justes exceptionnelles !! Le bruit de l'échappement est magique !
J'ai 51 ans, je mesure 1m89 et cette voiture est pour moi l'aboutissement dans mes recherches.
Je ne me lasse pas de la ligne quel que soit l'angle de vue. La taille du volant est parfaite, la jante est épaisse. Les freins sont puissants.
Oui vous avez raison, pour bien la piloter c'est mieux avec des chaussures à la semelle fine, et oui vous avez envie de faire corps avec elle, pour en profiter du mieux possible !!
La remontée d'information est excellente. Elle va très vite, très, très vite !!! Vous êtes assis par terre et j'adore. Le toucher des matériaux est agréable, la finition est excellente, et bien meilleure que dans le E89 dont les plastiques du tableau de bord et des montants craquent selon les saisons ou la qualité de la route, ce qui est juste scandaleux. Même le coffre est plus pratique que dans le E89.
Les voitures des années 2000 vieillissent mieux que celles après 2010 et pas que chez BMW.
La E89 est une très belle auto, mais véritablement bourgeoise, lourde et pataude, mais confortable, bonne pour du drag race au départ des bornes de péage sur l'autoroute. La E89 était destinée au marché américain avec les attentes d'un marché américain. D'ailleurs la boite manuelle du E89 est d'une lenteur qui n'autorise pas une véritable conduite sportive. Vous serez vite limités sur les routes sinueuses, et je ne parle pas des freins...
Un roadster est pour moi sportif.
Je ne compare pas avec le Porsche Boxster, une belle auto à la fiabilité aléatoire, à la boite trop longue et au budget exponentiel..., L'architecture est incomparable (moteur central). C'est comme comparer en moto un quatre cylindre japonais et un bicylindre italien... Le confort est sûrement meilleur et le châssis également mais vous destinez vous à conduire sur des circuits ? très rarement en fait. Et combien pourront exploiter le potentiel de ces autos ? Très peu en fait.
Et cette voiture bénéficie d'un avantage, elle est très rare, et moi j'aime ce qui est rare ;-)
Cette Z4M permet d'attaquer en montagne, sur des routes sinueuses, elle vous transforme en pilote, elle vous laisse utiliser l'un des meilleurs moteurs au monde... J'accepte ses défauts car cette auto est comme moi elle a des défauts mais si peu !! Et c'est un cabriolet !
Bonne route à tous !
Je viens de traduire votre commentaire Grasier ! Quelle réponse ! Vous êtes clairement un conducteur et un propriétaire de voiture passionné et c'est génial de lire vos récits expressifs et précis de votre propriété Z4M. Stephen
Hi
When are you to issue your update on the road test you posted recently
It's away for an Inspection II service at the moment. Hopefully get the chance when it's back Allan.
Thank you and await your updates when you get her back .
Tyres and pressures are important rides better on Michelin than old Continentals and with 32 psi pressures al round .
Hi
Anything further on that update you mentioned you were going to do ?
I had a e85 Z4m roadster loved that car but looking back compared to my new g29 z4 m40i the difference is just light years. I thought the shuttle shake was monstrous on the Z4m but maybe I'm spoilt now what with the new cars comfort
The G29 Z4 is no an M (motorsports) car, rather an M (marketing) car, it may be faster with a bolt on blower powering the car. The E85 Z4 is M powered by the engine hand built by master technicians at BMW, the level of craftsmanship BMW put in that naturally aspirated straight six is unprecedented without using forced induction. The E84 Z4M engine in my opinion is far superior to the G29 like a rabbit is to a rat, the e85 was let down by handling badly.
Absolutely hit the nail on the head. The S54 is a magnificent engine, of that there is no doubt and I would say its at its most visceral in the Z4 (CSL aside), but the changes made to the chassis to handle the extra power, or make it feel more 'M Car' simply ruin what was, in my eyes, a fantastic roadster in what was the 3.0Si Stephen The G series Z4 is a lovely car, but the Z4 M40i is not an M car, regardless of how quick it is. In the same token, I have driven one of those round a track and it was exceptional for a road car. Road cars usually don't work on a track - that did. Stephen
It's the one thing I was surprised with, lack of scuttle shake actually! Esp with the stiff ride!
Turbo or not turbo ;)
promo sm
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Sorry the english is terrible
No, no, my English is fine, you just can't understand the Scottish Remix :)