Z4M Coupe- couple of weeks into ownership and a few q's

[AARONM3]

Now I've done a few miles in my Z4M I just want to check if a few things are normal:

1. Power steering seems pretty loud at low speed maneuvering- not really a whine or slipping belt but more of a drone. It doesn't sound bad but it certainly dominates the experience when parking so just wondered if that was normal?

2. First to second gear, now I think I've heard this mentioned elsewhere but there is a noticeable mechanical clonk when changing from first to second. Again, it doesn't sound like a 'bad' noise but if it shouldn't be doing it then I want to get it checked out. Seems worse if you're just moving slowly- which in conjunction with number 1 seems to suggest that the car does not like going slowly!!

3. The passenger seat seems to vibrate a bit at motorway speeds- there's a little bit of feedback through the steering wheel but probably just the state of our roads but I have noticed that when the passenger seat is empty the backrest jiggles around a few mm each way. Anyone else notice this? Might just be a teeny wheel imbalance.

Any pointers welcome. Thanks in advance.

[dalecan]

1. I haven't noticed any noise from my powersteering.

2. This is normal for these cars. Some have changed the engine and transmission mounts to make gear chanes much smoother.

3. This is not normal. No movement in my pas seat and no vibration from the steering wheel.

[Carlton Banks]

Hi Aaron,

I think you must be the same chap who an e30 m3 when I did.

Anyway, in terms of notchy gear change - agreed it is a 'feature'.

One modification that really made a difference was removing the clutch delay value (CDV).

[AARONM3]

Thanks for the responses- mine only has 34k on it so it's a relative spring chicken but just that as I have the AUC warranty (and nothing to compare it to in terms of recent wheel time in a Z4M) I thought I'd ask.

On the gear change point it's actually only noticeable when pootling as I've seen people mentioning it in regards to giving it a full bore start- with a few revs it's fine but if I drive it like I was on my driving test and just use first to get it rolling then there's a distinct mechanical noise. It's not like a grinding or anything just a kind of engaging clunk which seems to come from the diff. I tend to notice it when getting to the end of my road so it's probably just the gearbox needing a bit of warming up and my reading up suggests there is an 'M-diff clunk'.

I drove the same stretch of road in my MX5 earlier and it was skipping around all over the place so I think point 3 was just a particular stretch of the A12 which is deceptively undulating despite looking smooth.

And Carlton, I sold my M3 about 3 years ago (maybe 4, I lose count) but I had it for about 5 years so it's possible we bumped into each other at an event on online. I quite fancied another one but the Z4MC seemed to tick all the boxes and after paying about £5k for my M3 back in the day and selling it for £8k I couldn't bring myself to sink £20k in the name of nostalgia!