Z3M

[CTE]

I am considering buying one of these cars for day to day transport.

Please could you tell me how I can tell if the car is a genuine M series (ie not a badged 3.0ltr etc), are there any reliability issues, and what sort of fuel consumption would you expect to get when motorway cruising?, which is what I do most of the time.

Thanks

Mark

[ChrisMCoupe]

CTE said:

Please could you tell me how I can tell if the car is a genuine M series (ie not a badged 3.0ltr etc)

Open the bonnet.

CTE said:

are there any reliability issues, and what sort of fuel consumption would you expect to get when motorway cruising?

The S50 has the well known (documented on any S50 M3/Z3 forum) Vanos problem. However it's really not as bad or common as some people make out.

The S54 has been known to have an issue with shell bearings, but again, not very common. The S50 is also not immune to this (I know only too well!)

Motorway driving I think I used to get around 25mpg maybe slightly more when being extra light footed.

All in all they make a fantastic daily driver, couldn't fault mine at all when I had it.

Loads of helpful information on http://www.z3mcoupe.com

[whichonespink]

Hi there,

There are many things unique about the M compared to the other models.

In no particular order:

M has the quad tail pipes, centre console with the three gauges. M details on the dash, the side grill are different the the other models, the front bumper has air ducts for the brakes instead of fog lights, If it has the deep dish M star (or whatever they are called alloys) on the rear and they dont stick out past the arches its an M (M's have a shorted rear axle to allow the ET8 rear alloys. The engine cover has either M Power or some other reference to M depend on S50 or S54. There are probably loads more but i cant think of any at the mo. S50 M's dont have traction control (DSC) while the other models do. (S54 M's do though). rear bumper different.

Best bet is to HPI and read on logbook. Alot of what is above can be retro fitted to the other models in some form or another.

Fuel consumption for mine (Coupe) at 70MPH is high twenties.

Edited by whichonespink on Thursday 17th June 13:13

[DjSki]

Wouldn't recommend one for big miles every day, they are quite low geared and fairly loud.....not a relaxed tourer......

[whichonespink]

DjSki said:

Wouldn't recommend one for big miles every day, they are quite low geared and fairly loud.....not a relaxed tourer......

In a way i agree with you there. I used to drive from Teesside to Peterborough with work on a regular basis and it certainly lacks the 6th gear from the M3. (It was a space issue i beleive. 70MPH is 3K revs and if i remember 90mph is 4K revs. Noise wise, i wouldnt say that they are loud, although I just had OEM exhaust system. It was certainly not boomy although i guess that this is very subjective. I am talking M Coupe here with regard to noise rather than M Roaster.

[jonttt]

The only sure way is check the engine bay. There are some convincing insurance repairs out their rebuilt in ///M guise even down to body panels and quad exhausts. There is no faking an S50 or S54 engine though ;-)

ps I assume your talking roadsters here as the only non ///M coupe's you will find will have the steering wheel on the wrong side :-)

Listen to the vanos on an S50 (you'll know a noisy one, sounds like a bag of marbles, c£600 for refurb unit installed) and check the boot welds (3 spot welds under the boot carpet, rear passenger side). If they are rusted they have "popped" and are a sign the diff bracket / cross member has twisted. If the boot floor seam has not gone (very rare to get one that bad) then they can be strengthened with extra welding etc... for <£500. Again this issue does not seem to affect the later S54 engined cars which had revised welding in the factory.

You can see my S54 Roady here:

http://www.pistonheads.co.uk/gassing/topic.asp?h=0...

Edited by jonttt on Friday 18th June 12:08

Edited by jonttt on Friday 18th June 12:09

[CTE]

Thanks for the information. As a matter of interest, how can you tell the difference between S50 and S54? Is it on a cover, or identified by the engine number? Is one an earlier version and is there any difference in power etc?, although I guess both will be rocket ships.

[jonttt]

The earlier S50 engine was from the e36 M3 Evo giving 321BHP and has "M Power" on the engine cover. The later S54 engine was from the e46 M3 giving 325 BHP (down on the M3 due to airflow and lower engine limit) and simply has an "///M" badge on the engine cover.

Although both rare cars there were only 73 RHD S54 Z3m roadsters manufactured world wide between 2001 and 2002 making them one of the rarest ///M cars ever made ;-) (I have one of only 4 Imola Red S54's)

The S50's range from £7k (for a 80,000 miler plus) to £15k (for a <30,000 miler minter).

The S54's range from £10k (for a 80,000 miler plus) to ........ (they are that rare there has not been a low mileage one for sale for a long time but they do exist).

To be honest as an everyday driver I would go for an S50 unless you want to pay a premium for an S50 and take a hit if you put big miles on (I do 3k a year in mine which is a summer fun car / investment long term).

My first was an S50 with 80k miles and it was sweeeet. You do have to respect the S50's in the wet though as no traction control! (the S54's have it)

You can get a nice daily driver S50 for c£8k and its hard to beat the smiles per £ especially in summer ;-)

[sday12]

I agree that you shouldn't worry to much about S50 OR S54, more so roadster or coup.


The roadster, although brilliant cars, can be thought of as a little 'salon owner' hence the cheaper price.

[jonttt]

sday12 said:

I agree that you shouldn't worry to much about S50 OR S54, more so roadster or coup.


The roadster, although brilliant cars, can be thought of as a little 'salon owner' hence the cheaper price.

You can't beat "wind in your hair" ///M power (especialy with race spec Eisenmanns roaring away)

If you want a track car buy a coupe, if you want a more fun road car buy a roadster (ducks down behind wall ;-)

Smartypants, how you doing and why are you browsing the ///M section ? Griffith >>>> M Power ?????

[Z3MMax]

I've just bought an S50 roadster with a hardtop. I wasn't really interested in a convertable but then I test drove the roadster and fell in love with it. With the hardtop on it is an awesome car and with the top down its even better.

Beware the boot floor, seems they have all suffered in some shape or form though.

[jonttt]

[redacted]

[falkster]

I don't think it's worth the premium to get the s54 because it doesn't gain everything the e46 gained over the e36. Still has a 5 speed box and only a few bhp over the s50 due to lowering the rev limit iirc. You do get dsc though.
Personally I'd go for an s50 with lowest miles as poss, don't worry too much about vanos. It's another munich legends bks. I've had one and an e36 evo with rumbly vanos which didn't fail as has plenty of people.
Go for imola (s50) or laguna seca if your lucky (s54).

[jonttt]

LSB RHD S54 Z3m roadster, good luck there were only 2 made !

For info here is a full list of RHD S54's (confirmed by BMW UK, with interior colours in brackets)

x1 Cosmos Black = 1% (black/black)

x 2 Leguna Seca Blue = 3% (laguna seca blue/black & black/black)

x3 Steel Grey = 4% (kiwi/black; grey/black; red/black)

x3 Oxford Green II =4% (x2 black/black; kiwi/black)

x4 Imloa II Red = 5% (x2 red/black; x2 black/black)

x11 Pheonix Yellow = 15% (x7 black/black; x4 kiwi/black)

x13 Sapphire Black = 18% (x9 red/black; x3 black/black; x1 blue/black)

x15 Titanium Silver = 21% (x6 black/black; x3 blue/black; x2 Red/black; x2 lagun seca blue/black; x2 grey/black)

x21 Estoril Blue = 29% (x14 blue/black; x7 black/black)

I would normally say drive both and see which you prefer but the S54's are so rare its easier said than done.

The best place to see them side by side is a BMW club meet ;-)

[s.hogan3]

there another thing to consider its cheaper to tax a s50 engined car than a s54 car
close to same power same car but in a diffrent car tax band
go figger lol

[jonttt]

s.hogan3 said:

there another thing to consider its cheaper to tax a s50 engined car than a s54 car
close to same power same car but in a diffrent car tax band
go figger lol

yeh will save you all of £30 a year ;-)

Most people seem to think S54 Z3's are £400 a year for some reason, I pay £215

['Yadi]

If considering the difference in running costs is important iirc the service interval for the S54 is about double that of the S50...

[s.hogan3]

ive noticed on jontt car spec its got cruise control was this an opitional extra
ive got a bmw sat nav system in mine but dont no if this was a opitional extra or not [estral blue with grey/black leather]

[jonttt]

s.hogan3 said:

ive noticed on jontt car spec its got cruise control was this an opitional extra
ive got a bmw sat nav system in mine but dont no if this was a opitional extra or not [estral blue with grey/black leather]

Yep cruise was an optional extra.

There were not many options for the Z3m which decreased in 2001 as some became standard (eg headlight washer jets became standard).

Mine has cruise and HK II HiFi system as factory options.

The only others in 2001 were side airbags and hardtop (retro fitted to mine)

The BMW sat Nav was a rebadged "becker" unit and was a rare option (not lised on official options list but I think you could spec it as a dealer option).

I've retrofitted the Becker Cascade in mine to give sat nav, bluetooth handsfree and full iPod integration whilst maintaining "OEM" looks ;-)