help!!z4M vs.. 370Z..Vs miniJCW

[templarklimek]

While I'm keeping by beloved S65M3 to be buried in I enjoy experiencing other cars every 16 months or so(bad habit). Right now I love my JCW mini coupe.. Very quick and really light on it's feet. Like a go-cart. It has sparked the desire for more of that visceral, raw driving experience. Thus I'm looking at the Z4M and 370Z.. I've secured a CPO'ed Z4m out of state.. But I realized for a few thousand more I could pick up a new touring/sport 370Z with navigation. So today I went and drove one. The cars was beautiful and loaded with leather/alcantara seats and all other stuff with manual. BUT, while it drove well it didn't seem much faster than mini. This could have been related to size of the Z and weight. I'm sure the 370Z must be a little faster even though my mini is tuned to 250hp. The vq-35 has really bad vibration above 5K RPM . brakes and handling were good closer to the M3 in feel than the mini.

My question to ya'll is have any of you drove both the Z4M and the 370Z vs. my JCW mini. With the Z not knocking me off my feet I'm fearful the Z4M won't either. The Z4M looks smaller than the 370Z but weighs about the same with the same power. The Z4M I've secured ony has 25K miles on it. Will the Z4M provide me the seat of the pants driving I'm wanting? i'm sure the engine is silky smooth compared to the 370Z.

I would really appreciate any help, thoughts, counsel, and input you may have. Phil if your out-there please advise.

I've always admired the Z4M, its looks raw and mean, the nose is a little too much bangle but oh well. Ready for the track. I thought I'd missed the boat but this one is hopefully pristine. Owned by a man who traded both his Z4M and M3 for a M5. All bought from the same dealer.

TY!

[Hujan]

I absolutely love the Z4M. It's one of my favorite M cars of all time for sure. Just an awesome car. I also love the Mini JCW. I would definitely get either one over the 370Z.

Choosing between the Z4M and the JCW would be tough, but IMO the JCW gives you the least amount of overlap with the M3.

M3: NA, RWD
Z4M: NA, RWD
JCW: FI, FWD

Plus, the JCW is more practical than the Z4M since you can fold the seats down and load through a hatch. The MPG is also pretty good.

Tough call, but I would go JCW by a hair over the Z4M. Someday I hope to add a JCW to our fleet.

[templarklimek]

I have the JCW mini now. It's a great little pocket rocket! My only beef is the FWD. I hope that the Z4M offers a more seat of the pants/more powerful type drive like the Mini.

I drove a 370Z today, while solid in every aspect it just didn't WOW me very much. I got back in my mini and found it to have much more "spunk" than the 370Z. Does the Z4M offer a lighter, more connected driving experience I'm wanting? tks.

[1MOREMOD]

z4m and 370 have almost identical weight, 3250ish lbs. either should feel light comparably to your m3 but not dramatically so. the 370z does have a very buzzy engine in the upper rpms while the s54 in the z4m is smooth and linear like the s65 and a dream. it won engine awards for a reason.

[yousefnjr]

I actually feel like the z4m feels a bit heavy, the non-m Z definitely feels a lot lighter. That said, the M is more stable at speed, stops much better, and has balls the non-m will never have (without $ at least)

[Hujan]

I was confused because you only say a Mini "S" in your user info. I do believe the Z4M will give you the raw experience you are looking for. I would love to have both the M3 and a Z4M in the garage, but there is a lot of overlap is all I'm saying, especially if your M3 is an E92.

If I went Z4M, though, I would go with a stripped model. No nav, no niceties, just pure performance. It would be a purists car in that sense. Keep all the gizmos on the M3.

Good luck with decision. I hope to get a Z4M someday as a garage queen.

[pgviper]

I DD a g37s coupe 6mt which is pretty damn close to what you're looking at except I have all the luxuries, rear seat and my car is much heavier. I love how rare the z4 m is and how unique the car is but as far as fun factor goes, I think the 370z will be the better choice for a few reasons.

1) Fun and cheap to mod compared to a bmw
2) vq engines bullet proof and rev matching feature is pretty damn cool
3) Build quality of parts

My dad being a gear head is huge into bmw's. He is in love with his 89 735i with 150k miles on the clock. However, after working on my car doing routine maintenance, changing the exhaust, brakes, wheels/tires, he is actually very impressed with the setup and design of the hardware on my car. With this in mind, I think you would have a great time with a 370z since it def. is a different experience driving an import as compared with a german car.

[Silver-Bolt]

Z4M or Zo6. Both take a good driver to extract the maximum performance. Z4M is a precision scalpel that requires the driver to hit the marks every lap. The Zo6 is a sledge hammer that requires the driver to be 100% on his game 100% of the time.

[Crimson92]

I've driven the 370z and owned a z4mc

Z4m is the winner without a doubt.

[baege]

I owned a 350Z and while the VQ engine is changed a bit, it is as you noted still very high in NVH. Sounds like a coffee grinder as C & D put it. That alone is enough to disqualify it. I never enjoyed winding the car out because it sounded so damn harsh.

Z4M is a beautiful car and so unique.

I bought a 350Z over an S52 Mcoupe and always regretted it. Don't make the same mistake!

[templarklimek]

Thank you! I did just that. Sent off the signed paperwork today and a cashiers check. Now I wait for shipping, Grr.....