Z4 0-60 in 5.4 secs plus it comes with an engine subwoofer!
12-13-2002 | 11:40 AM
#1
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Moderator Alumnus
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From: Washington DC (NOVA)
Z4 0-60 in 5.4 secs plus it comes with an engine subwoofer!
Hmm...this I read first time in this Car and Driver article. Check this out:
The engines are straight from the 3-series range, with some intake and exhaust changes. You can opt for the 184-hp, 2.5-liter six or the 225-hp, 3.0-liter six that powered our test car. The 2.5-liter cars are offered with a five-speed automatic or a five-speed manual. The 3.0-liter comes with a five-speed auto or, as in our test car, a six-speed manual. A version of the M3's SMG auto-clutching manual will be available for the 3.0-liter in April. The only combination we've tried thus far is the 3.0-liter six-speed, and it's impressive. With the same final-drive ratio and carrying about 80 more pounds than the Z3 3.0, our tester nonetheless sprinted to 60 mph in 5.4 seconds — quicker than a Boxster, slower than a Boxster S. And the Z4 achieves those numbers with apparent ease. A driver must be deeply into REM sleep to be caught flat-footed in this car. On the hillside roads in Portugal, we didn't bother downshifting except when approaching the tightest corners. We just let the ever-abundant torque pull us swiftly out the other side of each corner. If you must shift, the six-speed has nice, short throws and firm if not buttery-smooth engagement.
So, what about that engine Muzak thing? Here's how it works: There's a black plastic tube about three inches in diameter connected to the intake system between the air filter and engine. The tube wends its way rearward to the fire wall, connecting just above the driver's footwell. It is, in effect, a subwoofer for the engine. You know a tube subwoofer — a large-diameter speaker mounted in one end of a tube that produces big fat low-frequency sound waves and makes your license plate vibrate.
The system on the 3.0-liter operates under the same principle. The tube is sealed by a flexible membrane that vibrates a column of air and sends a convincing facsimile of engine noise into the cabin. The irony of this — pumping artificial sound into an interior 20 years after most automakers launched a crusade to eliminate noise — is not lost on us. Also we note that at about 4000 rpm — when you can really begin to hear this device — it doesn't sound like a straight-six. It's the noise from some other, higher-strung engine. Still, we thought it nifty — until our left ear went numb from the resonance at 5500 rpm.
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Other notable pieces of the article:
Newly nimble, the Z4 ensures confidence with its stiff structure, modern suspension, and widened track, but there's no mistaking this for anything but a front-engined car. Push hard, and the front tires give up as weight shifts to the outside front corner of the car. But allied with the world's most rapid and linear throttle response, you can easily transfer power rearward with one healthy application of the gas pedal. The car tightens its line in the corner with an ease that implies it was just joking about that understeer thing. The Z4 boasts 0.91 g of stick at the skidpad. The best we ever managed in the Z3 was 0.88 g, and that came from the souped-up M roadster. The Z4 grips the road as surely as a Corvette or a Porsche Boxster S.
The engines are straight from the 3-series range, with some intake and exhaust changes. You can opt for the 184-hp, 2.5-liter six or the 225-hp, 3.0-liter six that powered our test car. The 2.5-liter cars are offered with a five-speed automatic or a five-speed manual. The 3.0-liter comes with a five-speed auto or, as in our test car, a six-speed manual. A version of the M3's SMG auto-clutching manual will be available for the 3.0-liter in April. The only combination we've tried thus far is the 3.0-liter six-speed, and it's impressive. With the same final-drive ratio and carrying about 80 more pounds than the Z3 3.0, our tester nonetheless sprinted to 60 mph in 5.4 seconds — quicker than a Boxster, slower than a Boxster S. And the Z4 achieves those numbers with apparent ease. A driver must be deeply into REM sleep to be caught flat-footed in this car. On the hillside roads in Portugal, we didn't bother downshifting except when approaching the tightest corners. We just let the ever-abundant torque pull us swiftly out the other side of each corner. If you must shift, the six-speed has nice, short throws and firm if not buttery-smooth engagement.
So, what about that engine Muzak thing? Here's how it works: There's a black plastic tube about three inches in diameter connected to the intake system between the air filter and engine. The tube wends its way rearward to the fire wall, connecting just above the driver's footwell. It is, in effect, a subwoofer for the engine. You know a tube subwoofer — a large-diameter speaker mounted in one end of a tube that produces big fat low-frequency sound waves and makes your license plate vibrate.
The system on the 3.0-liter operates under the same principle. The tube is sealed by a flexible membrane that vibrates a column of air and sends a convincing facsimile of engine noise into the cabin. The irony of this — pumping artificial sound into an interior 20 years after most automakers launched a crusade to eliminate noise — is not lost on us. Also we note that at about 4000 rpm — when you can really begin to hear this device — it doesn't sound like a straight-six. It's the noise from some other, higher-strung engine. Still, we thought it nifty — until our left ear went numb from the resonance at 5500 rpm.
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Other notable pieces of the article:
Newly nimble, the Z4 ensures confidence with its stiff structure, modern suspension, and widened track, but there's no mistaking this for anything but a front-engined car. Push hard, and the front tires give up as weight shifts to the outside front corner of the car. But allied with the world's most rapid and linear throttle response, you can easily transfer power rearward with one healthy application of the gas pedal. The car tightens its line in the corner with an ease that implies it was just joking about that understeer thing. The Z4 boasts 0.91 g of stick at the skidpad. The best we ever managed in the Z3 was 0.88 g, and that came from the souped-up M roadster. The Z4 grips the road as surely as a Corvette or a Porsche Boxster S.
12-13-2002 | 01:33 PM
#5
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Joined: Apr 2002
Posts: 3,335
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From: NYC
Raced the 3.0 Z4 on the Deegan Expwy here in NY and the car is fast especially at higher speed. The car is only like 3000 lbs. so with the same engine of the 330 makes that car very quick. We were both fucking around he was an older dude seems like he was seeing what it could do I was suprised when I was struggling to keep up.
12-13-2002 | 03:28 PM
#6
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Joined: Nov 2000
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From: Northern VA
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