One week later...

[Mikelly]

So After a week of riding around in this little convertible, a few things come to mind... As most of you know about my previous cars...

 

My latest car was a C5 Corvette that had every Z06 related Suspension upgrade and track day brake mod that you could buy. It also had a new heads and cam motor pushing over 450Crank hp and 386WHP/382#ft. torque to the wheels... This was necessitated after I spit two rods out the side of the original motor at Virginia International Raceway on Father's day weekend 2005, as I was heading towards the uphill esses and shifting from 3rd to 4th at about 105 mph. It happens...

 

The car before that was a 1995 Mustang GT with every SVO goodie sold by Ford.

 

And then of course there have been the 18 Datsun Zcars that have tormented me for all of my adult and most of my teenage years... The last two of which have had 383 stroker small block chevys in them, with race suspensions, coil overs, big brakes, roll cages, and enough hp and torque to detach eyes from sockets...

 

So this M roadster is a slight departure from the two American Muscle cars... It's more nimble, fills up less parking space, less space on corner entry, apex and exit, trail brakes wonderfully, stops as well as all those track day upgrades on that C5 I mention above, and is very tractable when TCS is turned off... Want a four wheel drift on corner exit as the tires slip slightly to grab tarmac? No problem. Want to get the back end to step out to show the ricer in your mirror that the little German "girlie car" (his words) can drift and outpower him out of the corners? No problem... And slipping in under the speedlimit just before the rise in the road where the radar trap always is, while the above mentioned goon in the Acura busts it at over 80mph? Priceless.

 

So night before last, I was coming back from dinner with the wife. My wife knows she has three children... Her two sons, and me. So we're at a stop light next to a red C5 Corvette. The Guy mentions something about "cute little car, is it your wife's?" and I ask him if he'd like to row a few gears... Having owned one in both stock and various stages of modified form, dynoing each step along the way, I kinda think I have a chance with this guy... Sure enough, Off the line his torque gets a slight edge, until the M gets into its gearing and power band... I real him in in first, as he shifts into 2nd banging his rev limiter, and I edge ahead of him slightly... On into third and I hear him touch the limiter again... Amazing what you hear in a convertible that probably was undetectible in other cars... I'm motoring along, see triple digets on the speedo and back way off... He swings past me, as I only had him by the length of the car, and pulls into my lane while hitting his turnsignal for the next parking lot... Being out of Scotch, and seeing the ABC store is still open, I follow... First words out of his mouth when he gets out of his car and walks over... "What is in that thing?"... I just smiled and said, Yea it was the wife's car, until I drove it... Then I sold my vette! (A fibb of course, but why let him know!)

 

This little car has won me over... The one thing I liked about our mustang was the "feel" of it being smaller. The one thing I liked about my corvette was the "feel" of it being faster. The thing I've always loved about the Datsun Zcar, is the feel of it being a true sports car and a true drivers car... This M has all these characteristics...

 

Up, I'm in heaven... This little car rocks.

[dr_hunt]

That's great mike, you are truly blessed. The rest of us can only hope to achieve the satisfaction of owning and driving so many neat cars. :mrgreen:

 

This is a lesson that I've spoken about before. If one is willing to trade off or sell their cars in order to experience a new one, you will have alot more new experiences, like Mike has had, in your life. Of course having a good job doesn't hurt and education is the key to the future, since you can go through life laying on your back two ways, one is being a mechanic and the other is being a prostitute.

[Twoeightnine]

Thats cool.

 

Can you believe it folks, Mike, clowning a Vette owner!!

That's priceless!

 

I'll bet that felt good!

[majik16106]

i love euro sports cars.. they just feel different. e46 m3's are like that, the older b5 s4. not a whole lot of noise, not psh psh shift with a turbo, just a subtle note and a lot of elegant acceleration. I drove an e46 for about a week and fell in love. those things are fantastic. i would love to own a dinan sc m3 for a daily. so smooth and so fast. you can cruise and if your not paying attention you will be in 3 digit territory thinkin your going 60. The only thing they lack really is that "rawness". a old muscle car, a datsun hybrid.. they do something that car cant, they feel like a raw sports car, no trims, all business. and sometimes i like that. I drive a modded b5 a4 quattro turbo now, close to 300awhp, great everyday, rain is no problem, but i miss my z. i guess thats why its good to have a daily and a toy!

 

plus dont forget.. that m is gonna be more expensive to fix than your previous toys.. by a lot.

[jt1]

Just think how much better it will be with a good header.

 

A cam would make a world of difference too.

 

Probably need to upgrade valve springs for the new cam.

 

While the head is off, a little port job, and deck it down for some more compression.

 

Bigger injectors and a reflash will then really make a difference.

 

Probably need to upgrade the intake now.

 

There are some really cool turbo systems for Z3's.

 

And the sickness continues............

 

jt

[Sumo]

Wow! I can't believe it!! You have an ABC convinience store in Va.?:lmao:Did you know they had an ABC in the Aladdin mall in Vegas. J/K Sounds like the M roadster was a great choice when you were looking for a replacement for the C5.

[Drax240z]

Mike, you are really lighting a fire under me to find myself the M Coupe that I've always dreamed of...

[cygnusx1]

Don't try that next to a SBC Datsun! LOL. Drove him to drink!!

 

I really like that color on your lil' M. Two words.

 

TURBO INTERCOOLED.

[Synlubes]

Find out if you can tune the ECU. If you can, that’s cheap HP.

IF you can tune the ECU, install a sweet intake and a quality header and be done with.

You would have more than enough HP to play with and drivability to boot.

Then move on to brake and suspension mods.

[jbk240z]

I'll bet that an SBC would fit in that engine bay! Just kidding, it does seem like a really nice car.

[Mikelly]

I've been doing a fair amount of reading up on it, and there isn't a whole lot of power to be gained by going with a header or a cold air kit. Dinan Sells a different chip, but I'm not sure that with the extended warranty (100K miles), that I even want to mess with any of it. The car makes plenty of power, and truly a daily driver.

 

Doug, Autothority is one of the companies that does a lot of BMW work locally... I'll check into a tune with them.

Mike

[Scottie-GNZ]

Make sure you protect that prize of yours. A recent survey says the 2001 BMW M Roadster is the most stolen car in USA at a whopping rate of 1 in every 200!!!

[johnc]

And watch them at 10/10ths on a race track. The semi trailing arm rear suspension goes through some toe changes and if you're at the limit and hit a bump or go light in the back, be ready! A long, lurid slide coming off Magic Mountain at Buttonwillow - twice - taught me all about that.

[Dave240Z]

And watch them at 10/10ths on a race track. The semi trailing arm rear suspension goes through some toe changes and if you're at the limit and hit a bump or go light in the back, be ready! A long, lurid slide coming off Magic Mountain at Buttonwillow - twice - taught me all about that.

 

This is very true. The car is very forgiving and rewarding up 9/10ths, but push it to 10/10ths and you need to really watch yourself. Whatever you do, refrain from lifting your foot because once it starts, it’s near impossible to catch it.

 

Also, mod wise, the S54 is rather limited. Considering how high strung it is from the factory, there just isn't much left to eek out. Overall, they are a fantastic motor with plenty of midrange but they do have a raspy exhaust note which I personally find annoying and not befitting of the performance nature of the car. People have tried various exhaust setups with mixed success, but it still doesn’t have the sweet note that the previous S52 powered cars have. Hey, we S52 guys need something to brag about.

 

If this is going to be your primary car, and you’re not mod averse there are a few choice mods that really offer some great bang-for-the-buck.

 

1) Step up to a 3.73 or 3.46 differential. Stock is 3.15 for the S54 FYI, S52 came with 3.23. Some argue that this was intentional on BMWs part to keep the performance of the S54 powered M Coupe/Roadsters below that of their beloved M3 which weighed more. Job wise, it’s not terribly difficult to replace and the 3.73 is widely available since it was used in earlier E36 series cars. Just swap the finned differential cover over and you’re all set.

 

2) For the S54 cars, the DBW throttle can be a bit slow for some. There is a method to enable the “sport mode†which although available on the ECU is missing a button unlike the E46 M3.

 

3) These cars really shine with a proper suspension. I run a TC Kline coilover setup on my car and it has been completely transformed. However, lowering the car will exacerbate the rear camber to an unacceptable level so some adjustable trailing arm bushings may be needed to remedy the situation. I use KMACs. Another benefit is that you can adjust camber & toe (although not independently) which is not adjustable in stock form. Another worthwhile upgrade is the Ireland subframe bushing which replaces the mushy stock rubber units. This makes the handling much more precise.

 

4) LTFW – I use a 8.5lb unit w/ M5 clutch from UUC Motorwerks. I can rev match like mad with the setup, but it does make gear rattle within the tranny more noticeable especially with a load like A/C or lights.

 

5) Brake wise, there are few upgrades needed. Just good pads and frequent bleeds do the trick. The stock brakes are amazingly adept at stopping the car, even under track conditions.

 

One last thing in case you are not already aware of the potential subframe issues. This is not common, but not unheard of either. I had a small tear on my diff mount ear that was reinforced and repaired in “good faith†by BMW. Since then, I have had no problems and I just turned 56K on the ODO. There are a few kits out there for fixing this, one even goes so far as to add a dual ear diff mount which, IMO is the best solution.

 

In the meantime, enjoy the car. Being a BMW, it does carry some snob appeal but as you have quickly found out, the car is very rewarding to drive. In my experience, BMW (or german cars in general) are not always the fastest or best handling, but they always seem to do everything well. Most other manufacturers make cars that can go like stink in a straight line but don’t handle too well. Or cars that handle well, but are underpowered or underbraked. The BMW philosophy is to not be an expert at one thing, but rather be very good at everything.

 

Here's my little M Coupe for grins....

[Bob_H]

I missed this thread and posted in your other.

I agree with Dave - as he and I had the same car,(mine was sliver and tracked extensively).

-Diff - great mod, really shows what the S54 can do. However, with the 5 speed, (vs. the 6 speed in the M3), the raise in freeway rpm of approx 2-500 rpm can be a bigger issue, (depending on ratio - lots of threads about this).

-Software - Sharking it appears to be the best for the S54 Z3Ms. I shark'd my 00's and was happy. Jim Conforti is the name to look for if you haven't heard of shark'ing before. JC's software I believe raises the rev limit to 7800, (M3 stock is just under 8000, he felt it wasn't needed).

-Brakes - nothing short of phenomenal with pads and good fluid. With race rubber, your limiting factor will be front tire size,(usually 235mm max). As you rear subframe bushings get worn, (lots of hard driving will do that), they will allow the entire rear to pull around as you brake, (if you aren't in a straight line, it loads up one tire more than the other, it pulls harder, moves the subframe, which changes the loading and contact patch, etc..) this contributes to the rear end wiggle under braking. Once I changed my subframe bushings out, much more stable braking, (relatively speaking, it is a trialing arm setup).

-Suspension - John's 10/10th's comment - true to an extent. The car will move around a lot on you, but it is forgiving - it is not like an older 911 as some might compare it to. You can't get away with murder like a E36 M3, but you can get away with a lot, and it rewards good driving like few other cars.

As I said in the other post, if you get serious about suspension upgrades, let me know, I tried just about every possible combination on that car and depending on your goals, I can at least point you in the right direction. I for one don't agree with lowering the car for the reasons Dave stated. I went with taller springs/higher ride height adjustment and was very happy for a number of reasons. I replaced my subframe bushings,(before you could find ones for the Z3, I had to get an older E30 M3 set and adapt them). The KMAC bushings work fine, but are difficult to adjust w/o affecting other settings, (can fix toe, but will change other parameters - and a few, very few that is, have had issues with them moving after setting them).