Z4 Auto?

[toasty]

I've been having a look at Z4s recently and am struggling to find one with the right spec at the right price. As I don't want silver, that rules out half the cars out there.

There do seem to be a lot of autos out there though which initially seems a tad strange for a sports car.

Do these come with paddles to manually change gear if desired?

Do the auto boxes work well with this car?

I could be swayed.

[Mattt]

I believe the Steptronic (Auto) lets you choose gear with the lever, and has a sport mode.

[Andrew D]

Pre-2006 (i.e. pre-facelift) do not have paddles on the steering wheel, but do allow manual gear selection using the lever. Post-facelift cars can have paddles, although I don't know if they were standard or optional.

I've heard very good reviews of the automatic, apparently it's slick and suits the "roadster" nature of the car. I've got SMG which is the halfway house (manual box controlled by a hydraulic system; no clutch and paddles on the wheel).

I'm surprised that you can't find a non-silver car. Silver and grey were very common to start with, but you should be able to at least find some black ones.

[toasty]

Andrew D said:

Pre-2006 (i.e. pre-facelift) do not have paddles on the steering wheel, but do allow manual gear selection using the lever. Post-facelift cars can have paddles, although I don't know if they were standard or optional.

I've heard very good reviews of the automatic, apparently it's slick and suits the "roadster" nature of the car. I've got SMG which is the halfway house (manual box controlled by a hydraulic system; no clutch and paddles on the wheel).

I'm surprised that you can't find a non-silver car. Silver and grey were very common to start with, but you should be able to at least find some black ones.

Thanks for clarifying the situation with the paddles.

There are, of course, many black and blue cars around but finding one with the 3.0 and a manual gearbox for under 15k and it gets a little tight.

[Mattt]

SMG is what you want

[jezzaaa]

Andrew D said:

Pre-2006 (i.e. pre-facelift) do not have paddles on the steering wheel, but do allow manual gear selection using the lever. Post-facelift cars can have paddles, although I don't know if they were standard or optional.

I've heard very good reviews of the automatic, apparently it's slick and suits the "roadster" nature of the car. I've got SMG which is the halfway house (manual box controlled by a hydraulic system; no clutch and paddles on the wheel).

I'm surprised that you can't find a non-silver car. Silver and grey were very common to start with, but you should be able to at least find some black ones.

That's interesting...I was led to believe by a salesman at Eastern in Edinburgh that only M3/
5/6 cars have been fitted with SMG and that the Z4s use SSG...which is an automatic gearbox with a manual mode rather than an actuated manual box??

Edited by jezzaaa on Tuesday 23 December 17:01

[Mattt]

No, manual with electro-hydraulic clutch

[Sticks2]

I'd recommend the auto box from my experience.

'Drive' gives you effortless cruising or slow traffic mode; 'Sport', is much more what you'd expect of a sports car, and the manual change (only in Sport mode) is imo better than manual as you change the same way, but more quickly, and can red line it.

You can opt for Sport mode by shifting the lever to the left, which gives you the option to go straight into manual, but doesn't add weight to the steering, which is done when you opt for Sport via the button.I use the Sport button as a quick down-change function too, say when in Drive and want to overtake.

The ratios are such that when changing manually (sequentially), knowing which gear you're in/should be in, quickly falls into place.

See if you can get a test long enough to have a play in the range of driving modes. I'd only had manual cars before but I'm converted.

Oh, one final plus, hill starts. Sorted

[Job38]

Auto is great, especially in a two seat sports car........









provided you've lost the use of your left arm and leg!

[Sortie 10]

I'm a fan of the SMG, but make sure that all software updates have been carried out. I had some terrible moments (such as car selecting neutral in heavy traffic in rush hour Geneva), but all was sorted a couple of years ago.
Paddle shift does add to the driving experience and it is only on rare occasions that I miss the tactile involvement of a sweet stick shift (my previous steer was an MX-5 with a supersweet box).

Versatility of SMG is useful - automatic mode is useful in heavy traffic.

[Andrew D]

jezzaaa said:

That's interesting...I was led to believe by a salesman at Eastern in Edinburgh that only M3/5/6 cars have been fitted with SMG and that the Z4s use SSG...which is an automatic gearbox with a manual mode rather than an actuated manual box??

SMG on the Z4 (called H-SMG) is a bespoke system only seen on the Z4, which is based on the Z4's 6-speed manual. SSG was on the E46, but as far as I'm aware even that wasn't an automatic (i.e. torque converter). Early literature for the Z4 refered to the optional semi-manual transmission as SSG, but all thus-specified production cars have H-SMG.

SMG's not as slick as the steptronic auto, but it's certainly more sporty. It also gives additional functionality to the Sport button, in that it makes the transmission both shift later in automatic mode, and make more aggressive gearchanges (really savage at high revs with the loud pedal floored). You also get launch control.

[Mr Whippy]

The SMG is, imho, very smooth too. I was quite shocked by how nicely it set off and changed through the gears.

I've heard some whinges about how jerky it is, maybe outright, but who cares outright as much? In traffic it just feels seamlessly smooth, to the point I'd question the automatics... still, great to have the variety. SMG does seem a sweet all-round compromise choice though... bit of all worlds!


From what I've read now after looking myself, all three gearboxes are great, so it's just what takes your fancy really


PS, I'm after sub £12k models in the new year, and there are starting to be more and more coming up and selling at those kinds of prices! However, I actually quite like silver, but would prefer manual too overall.
Loads to choose from coming up for sale though, you just need to be quick as well as the ones at the right prices go quickly. A nice silver manual on 108's appeared on PH classifieds at a good price, and was gone within about 48 hrs... iirc (just the other day!)

Dave

Edited by Mr Whippy on Wednesday 24th December 09:13

[Mattt]

The SMG gets smoother as you get used to it, it's just a matter of lifting at the right time and right amount.

[toasty]

Not too sure about SMG, I tried it on an M3 and wasn't keen. That said, it's probably something you quickly get used to.

Quite tempted by this one

http://www.sytner.co.uk/bmw/harold-wood/search/bmw...

[Mr Whippy]

Mattt said:

The SMG gets smoother as you get used to it, it's just a matter of lifting at the right time and right amount.

In full auto mode though, and even the other modes, doesn't it interrupt the throttle input on your behalf, and so does the 'lift' for you? Or helps at least?

Otherwise on every gear change the revs would flare up... hmmmm

Dave

Edited by Mr Whippy on Wednesday 24th December 11:19

[Mattt]

It does seem to cut the throttle - but you can help it a bit

[Mr Whippy]

Mattt said:

It does seem to cut the throttle - but you can help it a bit

Yep, I guess it's hot it interrupts then gives it back that is what might not ever be perfect to your specific tastes, so I guess getting it to your taste is still upto your input

To me though, it felt damn smooth as it was at normal speeds. I think any faults really are clutching at straws for the most part

Dave