z3 m thats not an an m??
z3 m thats not an an m??
Hi,
Ive been looking at buying a second hand z3 for a while now and have little (compared to you guys) knowledge of the car. I have seen one I like a lot but am a little confused by its 'm' badges when it quite obviously isnt. They say it 'has the m badges because it is an Mtec 2.8 which means it is M equipped but not M engined...ie steering wheel, gearstick etc'. Is this true?
Thankyou for any help.
Tom
Ive been looking at buying a second hand z3 for a while now and have little (compared to you guys) knowledge of the car. I have seen one I like a lot but am a little confused by its 'm' badges when it quite obviously isnt. They say it 'has the m badges because it is an Mtec 2.8 which means it is M equipped but not M engined...ie steering wheel, gearstick etc'. Is this true?
Thankyou for any help.
Tom
That is the case, especially on later models
Welcome to the Forum
Welcome to the Forum
Gazza
"Understeer is when you hit the wall with the front of the car, oversteer is when you hit the wall with the rear of the car. Horsepower is how fast you hit the wall and torque is how far you take the wall with you"
Z3 S54 M roadster , BMW Z1, BMW M3 CSL, Z4M Coupe
"Understeer is when you hit the wall with the front of the car, oversteer is when you hit the wall with the rear of the car. Horsepower is how fast you hit the wall and torque is how far you take the wall with you"
Z3 S54 M roadster , BMW Z1, BMW M3 CSL, Z4M Coupe
My '99 1.9 also has ///M badges on the steering wheel and gearknob - they just show that they are the same as the ones on the ///M - they are standard on the car.
The giveaway that it is not an ///M is that there are no ///M badges on the boot, gills and wheels, oh and a distinct lack of quad-exhausts.
Welcome to the forum, btw.
Cheers R.
The giveaway that it is not an ///M is that there are no ///M badges on the boot, gills and wheels, oh and a distinct lack of quad-exhausts.
Welcome to the forum, btw.
Cheers R.
Arctic Silver '99 Z3 1.9 & Black '59 Frogeye 1275cc
Hi Tes/Tom,
Welcome to the forum.
Mine is a 2002 2.2i Sport model, it also has the M logo on the wheel, but also comes with M Sport Suspension, so, that may be the case on the one you are looking at.
Good luck with finding the right Zed.
Shabs....
Welcome to the forum.
Mine is a 2002 2.2i Sport model, it also has the M logo on the wheel, but also comes with M Sport Suspension, so, that may be the case on the one you are looking at.
Good luck with finding the right Zed.
Shabs....
Last edited by shabsbmw on Tue 29 Apr, 2008 20:09, edited 1 time in total.
Magnetic force
Hi Tess and welcome to the forum.
I was looking for a 2.8 from around last November and kept coming across one on Autotrader that was, from memory, described as a 2.8 MTec, a "one off", "never seen one before" and other such phrases. I had a second look at it the first time I came across it but it was a 2.8 with the M steering wheel, suspension, gearstick, etc that had been fitted with a quad exhaust and a load of ///M badges so not to my taste. I found that there were lots of 2.8's around with the M pack and I finally bought one at the end of March and have not been disappointed!
If you haven't already found it already there is a good article on buying a Z3 in one of the forums.
Good luck with the hunting!
I was looking for a 2.8 from around last November and kept coming across one on Autotrader that was, from memory, described as a 2.8 MTec, a "one off", "never seen one before" and other such phrases. I had a second look at it the first time I came across it but it was a 2.8 with the M steering wheel, suspension, gearstick, etc that had been fitted with a quad exhaust and a load of ///M badges so not to my taste. I found that there were lots of 2.8's around with the M pack and I finally bought one at the end of March and have not been disappointed!
If you haven't already found it already there is a good article on buying a Z3 in one of the forums.
Good luck with the hunting!
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- Z Register member
- Joined: Sat 30 Jul, 2005 19:34
- Posts: 4054
- Location: Belfast
Hi Tom,
Welcome to the forum. Good luck in finding the right Zed. When you do, you'll know. You gotta have it.
Welcome to the forum. Good luck in finding the right Zed. When you do, you'll know. You gotta have it.
BMW Z3, the only way to build a true roadster
- The most powerful letter in the world.
- The most powerful letter in the world.
Cloz wrote:There is something that will never change is my love for Z3
smartypants wrote:Conor?
With an M??
The World's gone mad
smartypants wrote:The Z3 rear is a great thing to behold
The price seems very reasonable, a white Zed is quite rare and looks very nice. I've had plenty of white cars so it wouldn't bother me
Gazza
"Understeer is when you hit the wall with the front of the car, oversteer is when you hit the wall with the rear of the car. Horsepower is how fast you hit the wall and torque is how far you take the wall with you"
Z3 S54 M roadster , BMW Z1, BMW M3 CSL, Z4M Coupe
"Understeer is when you hit the wall with the front of the car, oversteer is when you hit the wall with the rear of the car. Horsepower is how fast you hit the wall and torque is how far you take the wall with you"
Z3 S54 M roadster , BMW Z1, BMW M3 CSL, Z4M Coupe
hi, cheers gary. im off to see it very soon and would love it if a few of you could have a discerning look at the car. thanks guys.
http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/460691.htm
tes
p.s. have a look at the badges - they're on the gills, boot etc aswell as inside.
http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/460691.htm
tes
p.s. have a look at the badges - they're on the gills, boot etc aswell as inside.
-
- Z Register member
- Joined: Sat 30 Jul, 2005 19:34
- Posts: 4054
- Location: Belfast
Hi Tom
White is really nice on a Zed. Very rare as stated.
Too many ///M badges on the outside of the car. Should come off IMHO as this is not an ///M car. Nice boot rack fitted. Real OEM part. Handy if you are going on hols and need extra space for carrying. Wheels are E46 MV alloys from 2003 model year. Nice.
Looks really clean. Good luck with the viewing
C
White is really nice on a Zed. Very rare as stated.
Too many ///M badges on the outside of the car. Should come off IMHO as this is not an ///M car. Nice boot rack fitted. Real OEM part. Handy if you are going on hols and need extra space for carrying. Wheels are E46 MV alloys from 2003 model year. Nice.
Looks really clean. Good luck with the viewing
C
BMW Z3, the only way to build a true roadster
- The most powerful letter in the world.
- The most powerful letter in the world.
Cloz wrote:There is something that will never change is my love for Z3
smartypants wrote:Conor?
With an M??
The World's gone mad
smartypants wrote:The Z3 rear is a great thing to behold
- Justin Time
- Joined: Thu 22 Jun, 2006 20:34
- Posts: 2183
- Location: Kent
Hi and welcome to the forum.
Lovely example there, and at such a low price! Great find!
Problem is as stated above. I'd get rid of the external M badges, it's not an M . Instead, try badging it as a 1.9, and when someone in a mondeo has something to prove with his duratorq diesel, let 'er rip!
And yes, white looks great on the Z3. Rare and beautiful
Lovely example there, and at such a low price! Great find!
Problem is as stated above. I'd get rid of the external M badges, it's not an M . Instead, try badging it as a 1.9, and when someone in a mondeo has something to prove with his duratorq diesel, let 'er rip!
And yes, white looks great on the Z3. Rare and beautiful
BMW Z3 2.0L Velvet Blue Individual Edition
Hi welcome to the forum only joined last week myself.
I have a 1999 2.0 and it has M badges on the gear leaver & wheel for no particular reason. Dont be fooled by them as they are easily picked up from e-bay!!
I prefer the darker colours but the white looks OK and i have not seen many around. Looks very nice on the picture and a keen price.
I have a 1999 2.0 and it has M badges on the gear leaver & wheel for no particular reason. Dont be fooled by them as they are easily picked up from e-bay!!
I prefer the darker colours but the white looks OK and i have not seen many around. Looks very nice on the picture and a keen price.
Those badges need to come off straightaway, judging by the positioning it looks like a blind person put them on!! but they don't suit them anyway. The badges on the wheel and gearknob should be proper emblembs not stuck on (just incase they've done that too!).
Not sure on those wheels, I quite like the factory option 17" staggered fivespokes.
Not sure on those wheels, I quite like the factory option 17" staggered fivespokes.
It's a late 2.8 so it may have the Daul VANOS M52TU engine.
Use the Search button before posting newbie questions about hard tops and fitting kits, footwell speaker amps, water in the boot, hood maintainance and those horrific angel eyes. We get like 10 threads a week on the same subject, it's obvious that you haven't searched.
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- Joined: Wed 02 Jan, 2008 16:35
- Posts: 22
I don't like it white at all, but that's just my personal opinion. Bear in mind that's probably the reason it's fairly cheap and it's taken so long to sell (he's already chopped £1k off the price). You'll likely be faced with exactly the same problem when you come to sell it on. You say yourself that you "can't help going back to the black/dark blue models" and while you might pay several hundred pounds more for a black/dark blue car, you'll likely recoup most of that additional outlay come sale time, as well as finding it much easier to sell. Is the white car therefore such a bargain after all?
thanks for all the replies. given me something to think about. i do like the white - on most cars it can look a little boring but on the z3....well i'll soon see for myself. nothing mentioned about service history and i was wondering how easy it would be to de-badge ( is this something i can do?).
cheers. tes
cheers. tes
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- Z Register member
- Joined: Sat 30 Jul, 2005 19:34
- Posts: 4054
- Location: Belfast
Debadging is easy enough to do.
Use some dental floss or thread. Put this behind the badge to remove it. Then clean off residue. Wash panel. Polish it and wax it.
You might also be able to remove it with a think flat piece of soft plastic. Insert behind and work the badge off.
I used surgical spirits to clean residue from Hamish when I replaced his rear ///M badge with a new one a couple of weeks back. That was more difficult than your job as his ///M badge was recessed. Had to use thread and move it side to side behind to free it.
Hope this helps
Conor
Use some dental floss or thread. Put this behind the badge to remove it. Then clean off residue. Wash panel. Polish it and wax it.
You might also be able to remove it with a think flat piece of soft plastic. Insert behind and work the badge off.
I used surgical spirits to clean residue from Hamish when I replaced his rear ///M badge with a new one a couple of weeks back. That was more difficult than your job as his ///M badge was recessed. Had to use thread and move it side to side behind to free it.
Hope this helps
Conor
BMW Z3, the only way to build a true roadster
- The most powerful letter in the world.
- The most powerful letter in the world.
Cloz wrote:There is something that will never change is my love for Z3
smartypants wrote:Conor?
With an M??
The World's gone mad
smartypants wrote:The Z3 rear is a great thing to behold
If you're not fully clued up on Z3's, make sure you look into the facelifted model that occured later in '99, the rear end was revised to be more curvy with rear lights that slightly resemble those off the E46 3 series (they contain a step).
I didn't realise until I started looking into Z ownership that there was ever a change in shape... but I'm glad I did as I much prefer the facelift (although it's down to individual preference!).
Look in 'members gallery' and view my car for a comparison!
I didn't realise until I started looking into Z ownership that there was ever a change in shape... but I'm glad I did as I much prefer the facelift (although it's down to individual preference!).
Look in 'members gallery' and view my car for a comparison!
White appears to be the latest fashion colour.
Most manufacturers are promoting white on their new cars.
Most manufacturers are promoting white on their new cars.
Gazza
"Understeer is when you hit the wall with the front of the car, oversteer is when you hit the wall with the rear of the car. Horsepower is how fast you hit the wall and torque is how far you take the wall with you"
Z3 S54 M roadster , BMW Z1, BMW M3 CSL, Z4M Coupe
"Understeer is when you hit the wall with the front of the car, oversteer is when you hit the wall with the rear of the car. Horsepower is how fast you hit the wall and torque is how far you take the wall with you"
Z3 S54 M roadster , BMW Z1, BMW M3 CSL, Z4M Coupe
As far as I know BMW only ever made one Z3M Roadster in RHD and White so anyone who is trying to trick it out is just plain nuts.
Certainly this one in White would have been a factory special as White was not even an optional paint colour till later and then was only done by order.
I am waiting on confirmation about there only being one White RHD Z3M Roadster from BMW who told me it would take a while to check the factory records. (It's mine BTW - that is why I asked BMW) as an official confirmation would be a nice addition to the car's history.
With this one it does look smart but all the ///M badges are over the top and I do agree with the suggestion of de-badging and even putting on a 1.9 badge. I read recently about a guy who did that with a genuine M5, de-badged and put in the 518i badges. It could make for an interesting sleeper.
Good luck whatever you decide.
Certainly this one in White would have been a factory special as White was not even an optional paint colour till later and then was only done by order.
I am waiting on confirmation about there only being one White RHD Z3M Roadster from BMW who told me it would take a while to check the factory records. (It's mine BTW - that is why I asked BMW) as an official confirmation would be a nice addition to the car's history.
With this one it does look smart but all the ///M badges are over the top and I do agree with the suggestion of de-badging and even putting on a 1.9 badge. I read recently about a guy who did that with a genuine M5, de-badged and put in the 518i badges. It could make for an interesting sleeper.
Good luck whatever you decide.
Now with both the 411 bhp Supercharged Z3MR and a WRX STi Wagon getting a 3.4 litre transplant and an XKR with mods planned.
Fast is good, faster is better. Wheeeeee !!!
Fast is good, faster is better. Wheeeeee !!!
I believe Alpine White 300 was a standard colour on Z3s
Check this out -----
http://www.zroadster.net/tim/colors/col-z3current.html
Check this out -----
http://www.zroadster.net/tim/colors/col-z3current.html
Sapphire black/Imola red and black interior/ red roof/ S54 - the only RHD one made.
"The only time you have too much fuel is when you're on fire."
"The only time you have too much fuel is when you're on fire."
From the rear or rear threequarter view, the pre-facelift 2.8 looks the beez neez, far 'beefier' than the facelift version (which is perhaps why they never changed the Z3M when they made all the other Z3 variants the same). But then, I'm biased.yalden wrote:If you're not fully clued up on Z3's, make sure you look into the facelifted model that occured later in '99, the rear end was revised to be more curvy with rear lights that slightly resemble those off the E46 3 series (they contain a step).
I didn't realise until I started looking into Z ownership that there was ever a change in shape... but I'm glad I did as I much prefer the facelift (although it's down to individual preference!).
Alpine white 300 was not offered as an optional colour on Z3 M's until either late 1999 or during 2000 according to BMW. Mine was an April 1998 manufacture and was a special order from the factory at a premium of about £8,000 with the full purchase price being payable in advance. This is according to both the first owner and the BMW paperwork I have seen.
Now with both the 411 bhp Supercharged Z3MR and a WRX STi Wagon getting a 3.4 litre transplant and an XKR with mods planned.
Fast is good, faster is better. Wheeeeee !!!
Fast is good, faster is better. Wheeeeee !!!
This comes from the Registry info.
Color and Upholstery Selections
Exterior Colors (S50 and S52):
Alpine White III* (300), Imola Red (405), Dakar Yellow II* (337), Evergreen (358), Arctic Silver metallic** (309), Titanium Silver metallic*** (354), Estoril Blue metallic (335), Boston Green metallic** (275), Oxford Green II metallic*** (430), Cosmos Black metallic (303)
*from 9/98
**thru 3/99
***from 4/99
Interior Colors (S50 and S52):
Black, Dark Grey/Black, Imola Red/Black, Estoril Blue/Black, Evergeen/Black, Kyalami Orange/Black (from 9/98, not available in Canada)
Exterior Colors (S54):
Alpine White III (300), Imola Red (405), Laguna Seca Blue (448), Titanium Silver metallic (354), Estoril Blue metallic (335), Steel Gray metallic (400), Phoenix Yellow metallic (445), Oxford Green II metallic (430), Black Sapphire metallic (475)
Interior Colors (S54):
Black, Dark Grey/Black, Imola Red/Black, Estoril Blue/Black, Laguna Seca Blue/Black, Dark Beige, Dark Kiwi/Black (not for North America)
Color and Upholstery Selections
Exterior Colors (S50 and S52):
Alpine White III* (300), Imola Red (405), Dakar Yellow II* (337), Evergreen (358), Arctic Silver metallic** (309), Titanium Silver metallic*** (354), Estoril Blue metallic (335), Boston Green metallic** (275), Oxford Green II metallic*** (430), Cosmos Black metallic (303)
*from 9/98
**thru 3/99
***from 4/99
Interior Colors (S50 and S52):
Black, Dark Grey/Black, Imola Red/Black, Estoril Blue/Black, Evergeen/Black, Kyalami Orange/Black (from 9/98, not available in Canada)
Exterior Colors (S54):
Alpine White III (300), Imola Red (405), Laguna Seca Blue (448), Titanium Silver metallic (354), Estoril Blue metallic (335), Steel Gray metallic (400), Phoenix Yellow metallic (445), Oxford Green II metallic (430), Black Sapphire metallic (475)
Interior Colors (S54):
Black, Dark Grey/Black, Imola Red/Black, Estoril Blue/Black, Laguna Seca Blue/Black, Dark Beige, Dark Kiwi/Black (not for North America)
Sapphire black/Imola red and black interior/ red roof/ S54 - the only RHD one made.
"The only time you have too much fuel is when you're on fire."
"The only time you have too much fuel is when you're on fire."
Interesting....namatjira wrote:I am waiting on confirmation about there only being one White RHD Z3M Roadster from BMW who told me it would take a while to check the factory records.
Several people from here tried to get such info from BMW about how many of each colour of the S54 ///MR had been produced.
The firm reply iirc was that the records had been archived and it was too much trouble to dig them out just for the interest of a few enthusiasts.
And so the trail ended....
Nam, please let us know if you have success in finding out, and maybe we could restart the S54 quest!
A.
- whiteminks
- Joined: Tue 26 Sep, 2006 09:58
- Posts: 2768
- Location: Lincoln