Looking at a used M roadster, 1999 variant with some Dinan upgrades... Has anybody owned one before and what are opinions around it? Is it a daily driver car if needed (not the only daily but i.e. would it be ok to drive it 3 weeks at a time on a daily basis?)
Very fun to drive. Expensive to maintain. At 100k miles the heads tend to crack. In the day 10K to replace. The electrical wires are very high voltage, 17$ for a corvette and 720$ in the Bimmer, in the day. Dinan upgrades normally announce 7% increase in power. In reality only 2% most of the HP increase is higher max RPM. So not much help unless the gearing is changed which it very seldom is. Great drivers car. I think the 1999 had the fender flares and to low front end stance. It just showed attitude. That may be an earlier model. I just bought a 2008 V8 M3 and I love the car. Only 411hp but it feels like more and the handling is so good who cares Best of luck Lee
Here's a quick synopsis of my experience with my '98 M Roadster, purchased new in the spring of '98: - Tons of fun, even in the modest 240 hp version. The rear suspension wasn't exactly cutting edge, and so it was quickly overpowered by the torquey straight six under the hood. People complain about this car being "squirrely" or "tail-happy", but in my opinion, that was the car's most endearing trait. - In the M, the battery was relocated to the trunk, and due to the resulting lack of trunk space, the spare tire was eliminated. The cockpit on these cars are also a bit cramped and lack storage space. In other words, you'll probably not be using the car for long road trips to out of town destinations. - Reliability was an issue with mine. I only had it for five months (but drove it 13,000 miles) and it spent far too much of that time in the shop for little, niggly things like defective gauges. - As far as other gripes, the sound system was the worst I've ever heard. You would think that a Harman Kardon 10-speaker system would rock such a tiny car, but in reality, it sounded dreadful.
I think this car has the Dinan supercharger, supposedly claim is that it goes from 240 HP to 345 or thereabouts. Not sure whether to believe it but sounds like it could be an interesting experience?
11 year owner of Z3/Z3Ms, 9years with current '01 M Roadster. There is a lot of great info, and a very knowledgeable community specific to the Z3M over on bimmerforums. The earlier 240hp S52B32 powered cars (98-00) are generally pretty solid. I don't think I've ever heard of cracked heads based on mileage unless there is an underlying issue at hand, brought on by an overheat due to cooling system failure. That said, that era of BMW is known for requiring cooling system PM, lest something fails and leaves you stranded or overheated. Radiator, hoses, water pump, expansion tank, and clutch/elec fans are 100k mi replacement items. Again, like most other BMWs of the era, suspension bushings/ball joints/mounts and dampers, as well as drivetrain mounts and flex couplings are due for replacement in the 80k-100k mi range, depending on driving style. Specific to the Z3-based chassis, the one notorious area to look out for are the trunk floor cross-brace spot welds, and differential mount. These are known weak points that can fail, starting in popped spot welds and progressing to torn unibody sheetmetal. Preventative reinforcement and bushings that allow less deflection (strain on the weak point) are readily available. They are very fun cars to drive around, and could easily do summer daily driving. They are simple cars, without a lot of complexity. If you are used to creature comforts, it will feel quite raw and unrefined. If you are looking for a taste of vintage roadster, they are great fun, and a very good value. As noted above, the M cars do not come with a spare, but were supplied from the factory with a cigarette lighter compressor and tire sealant.
Supposedly! BMW actually began marketing cars before the tire inflation kits were ready. I purchased one of the earliest cars and immediately joined the ranks of other owners on BMW forums questioning when we were going to get the kits. BMW repeatedly promised us that they were coming soon, but they still had nothing for us when I sold the car five months later.
Early cars have nearly a 100 less hp, but had a nicer (for daily driving) torque curve. All the Z3 cars use the same vintage BMW rear suspension (semi-trailing arm rears) from the 80s...it's famous for snap oversteer....the wrong tires + the wrong weather = very dangerous...ask me how I know! The chassis itself leaves a bit to be desired... And greatly benefits from extra support bracing throughout. This vendor offered the most extensive bracing, at least as of a few years ago: http://www.strong-strut.com/Z3products.html The Z4 coupe is a much better chassis, even if not as endearing stylistically.
I had one of the first batch in 98, no traction controls (which made it a blast to drive) and I know I did some stuff to it just do not remember. I kept that car for 2 1/2 years (which at that time was a long time for me to keep a car) and it is on my very short list of car I wish I had kept.
Are you in Calgary? I have a photo of a M clown shoe at Race City that had a cold tire issue on a track day with the Vintage Racing Club in the early 2000s...
These are some specs on the car I'm looking at, anything specific to pay attention to in the PPI? 99 S52 M Roadster -Dinan Supercharged - Dinan throttle body, valve cover, strut bar, etc.. Dinan claims 345 Horsepower to the crank. -Dinan exhaust -BC Racing BR Coilovers - 32 way adjustable front & rear, front camber/caster adjustable - <1k miles on these -Randy Forbes subframe fix - labor by M performance - AKG poly subframe bushings -Reinforced rear sway bar mounts with poly bushings -e36 diff cover, dual ear w/ poly bushings. -rear lca eccentric bushings - four wheel alignment done after coilover install -Kicker 300w 4ohm amp pushing front components and sub - rear speakers driven by head unit -Newer Alpine head unit w/ IPOD controls -Kicker 6" sub installed between seats, upgraded 6" components in doors -Retrofitted OEM headlights - bixenon 3.0, 3" FX-r projectors with Orion shrouds - 50w mishimoto HID from retro-solutions. (3/2014) -New Stewart Water Pump and fittings (8/13) -OEM Wind Screen -New rear window (6/2014)
No DSC on the '99, I think. Was added in 2000 and transforms the cars handling. Rear diff is something to look for, as mentioned already here. Plenty of zi, and a great little track day car.
all nice performance updates. supposed to be the best fix out there for the subframe issues I think this is integral to the Randy Forbes fix water pumps are prone to failure around 90K miles, so that's a nice preventative measure for you
Looks like a nice car with those mods. My daily is an M coupe. A roadster has less cargo room, but besides space to haul crap the Z3 is a good DD.
Around 98K miles, 12.25K price. Sounds like a good price to me, miles are a little higher than what I'd like.
I think it was added in late '98, actually. Like Carnut, I had one of the first batch of '98s, without, and it was a blast.
DSC is default on, push to partially disable (can toggle on/partial off), push and hold to fully disable (requires restart to return DSC back on from fully disabled). Can't recall offhand if ASC is similar or just a simple on/off. However, DSC was introduced in 2001 with the 333hp S54 powered Z3 M Roadster/Coupe. ASC was equipped on the earlier 1999-2000 240hp S52 powered M Roadster/Coupe. MZ3s produced prior to 9/1998 had no traction/stability control. http://www.bmwmregistry.com/model_faq.php?id=16
The upgrades (labor cost included) equal or exceed the value of a base '99 M roadster in todays market and 98K miles for a 16yr old vehicle is outstanding imho, buy the damn thing!!!!
