im curious to know which car handles better. im looking into both of them and would like some input from people who have driven or own a bmw m coupe. now does the z3 coupe (the 2.5 liter i think it is?) handle the same or close to the m coupe? prob not but any input would be nice. thanks in advance...

:smile:

 

I've recently traded in my 2002 MCS for a 2000 M Coupe
MCS=front wheel drive,air intake, exhaust, powerchip ecu remap, rear sway bar, 15% pulley, rims & tires= HP ~200 (stock 163 HP)

M coupe=rear wheel drive,completely stock = HP ~240

They are two completely different cars.

The M Coupe IMHO is the better overall driving vehicle.

The MCS is rock solid in the twisties & handles incredibly well .
but is powerless compared to a 240HP M Coupe.
The M Coupe handes great....has solid rigid "M" suspension.... but is not quite as "tight"... as a MCS.
I really enjoyed my MCS and I'm really ...enjoying..my M Coupe

The Z3 coupe (3.0i)..... has I believe 225 HP.... with a less rigid suspension..then a M Coupe. (DandyP has a beautiful one.... IM him )
I've driven both the Z3 Coupe and the M Coupe.... and the M Coupe is tighter...more rigid.
From most rigid to least rigid.... MCS, M Coupe, Z3 Coupe
BTW.....the 2001/2 M Coupe has 315 HP(stock) ...

For a $$$ perspective......
a new 2005 MCS is approx $27K (fully loaded)
a 2000 M Coupe is from approx $27K---> and up

Hope that helps a bit

Peace,
D 8)

 

Any Bimmer with the M badging is going to have a stiffer suspension than it's siblings in the lineup. The M & Z3 Coupe are both 2.6 more times as rigid than the roadster versions, and the bodies are considered to be the most rigid BMW ever made. The M Coupe sits a little lower than the Z3 version. I have the Z3 3.0, and coming from a Cooper - the extra 110HP make a massive difference. I had the suspension on my Cooper pretty well set up, lowered with H&R springs, Helix/RDR rear sway bar. While the Z3 does not feel as "planted," I feel that the extra power and rear wheel drive make for a very different experience driving wise. And the seats are far more comfortable. Another factor - the M Coupe & Z3 Coupes are rather uncommon, and to some that may be a selling point.

 

The broader questions is: does your driving style/preference embrace the inherent dynamics of FWD or RWD? Naturally, the ability of the //M Coupe to delivery gut-wrenching acceleration (at least compared to a stock MINI) will have to be factored into your driving style and traffic ticket quotient, lol.

Both cars are excellent in their own right, as d-mini-ero stated.

 

I own a '99 supercharged M coupe, and have a lot of aftermarket experience trying different stuff. I'm also ordering a '05 MCS this weekend because I love these things.

The first thing is power. Stock S54 M coupes ('01-'02) have 315hp and you can't even compare them to the MCS.

The S52 M coupes ('99 & '00) are rated at 240 hp like the E36 M3. On the dyno though my car stock was putting out about 18hp at the wheels more than M3's for what should have been rated at 262.x hp/lb-ft.

Remember these cars do 0-60 in no more than 5.1s so power wise you are talking a VERY highly modified MCS in power.

The 2.8L Z3 coupe is noticibly slower than the 3.0L Z3 coupe. I think there is a 35hp ish difference between the two. The 3.0L Z3 feels slower than the S52 M acceleration wise but it is actually very quick. Torque wise the BMWs own MINI's hands down.

Handling is something I debate and I think it depends on your driving style. I havent driven a FWD car since my SAAB 9000 Turbo and 900 Turbo convertible years ago.

The coupes have the good old E30 rear suspension which when you are first learning the car at maybe 7/10ths you feel like the car is going to go off the road and if you pull off the throttle you just might. The correct thing, contrary to most people's firt instincts, is to apply more throttle and the car settles back down again.

I would say that the best handling cars will be the Z3's actually, of course if both the Z3's and the M's were using the same suspension. The reason is because the Z3's are actually lighter than the M's. On the other hand the M's have 9" wide rear wheels (7.5" up front) and you can really add rubber well beyond stock. I run with 235F 265R but could plus size 1 more on the stock rims if I wanted to stuff them a bit. Bigger stickier tires on the coupes are just awesome... or getting Falkens which run large anyway.

I love the 50-50 weight distrobution of the coupes. I also think the stock brakes are a bit better with the coupes. The stock LSD is great also as on one of the test drives I took I threw the Mini into a turn (you should have seen the sales guy's face ) and upon applying throttle coming out I felt a wheel spinning.

I definately think that if you just want to go fast the torque and brakes of the coupes are going to sell you. Handling wise I think the Mini's an coupes need a few tweaks. The Mini might be more go-kart like for the middle thrid of a turn but braking into and powering out of go to the M coupe.

Remember that the coupes only weigh 20% more (even with the supercharger and aftermarket sound system my car weighs only 3050lbs). Badness is that power wise you won't get much on the Z3 or S52 M from anything less than forced induction. Then again adding forced induction and bumping HP by almost 50% on a car that does 0-60 in 5.1s stock is pretty addicting!

Bottom line go drive one. I think that if you want the feeling of go fast though the coupes are going to end up ahead just ebcause of the bigger torquier motors.

Patrick

 

wow this helps a lot. thanks everyone for their responses and comments :smile: