It has the S50B32, which has 321 DIN HP or about 315 SAE HP. The S54 has a little more HP, but its always better to be in an M Coupe over a regular Z3. However, the Z3 is a fine car and the values are surprisingly good on well maintained Z3s. At least they are worth more than the newer Z4 counterparts, and the Z3…

Get the coupe, keep it forever. You only live once!

I just don't see the exhaust being more restrictive. All I can come up with is the Z3 had a shorter exhaust, but its the same 2.5 inch tubing all the way back. On both cars they have the exact same headers. Then the Z3 has two straight pipes back to H-pipe crossover and then the dual mufflers. The M3 has an extra…

Yeah, most people expect that because its a BMW, it will be expensive to maintain. The reality is that the S54 is a rock solid engine when actually maintained. Parts prices are actually comparable to Miata parts when bought online. I have 3 S54 M Coupes. One is my daily driver beater, the other two see occasional…

They need to have a ranger extender add-on that you can slide into the car when you want to do a 300 mile road trip, and then make it removable when you want to go to the track and want a light weight car.

Just to play devils advocate, I got an S54 M Coupe you can take for a spin. I loved my NA Miata, but the Coupe is another world.

Yeah, its crazy isn't it? I have 3 S54s and an S52 Coupe. I was lucky enough to track down the first production version of each. Definitely wouldn't trade them for a Z8. lol

Extremely low mileage S54 M Coupes are selling for more than they stickered for brand new. Your point is that you would rather have a 3 karat diamond over a 1 karat diamond. They are both shiny diamonds, I would take any and all you were going to give me. lol. S54 M Coupes have gone from a low of around 18k to…

At the end of the day, the price of parts is what gets you. At the very least I would order the parts yourself. If you walk into your local stealership, you will pay 2-3x the price for the same BMW factory part that you can order from discounters online. Lots of dealerships will sell you parts at net pricing over…

I used a piece of 3/4 metal pipe as my breaker bar. Worked like a charm. Also, check out something like this for coolant fills that don't require you to bleed the air from the system. http://www.amazon.com/FJC-43610-Radi…

Well, people just assume that if you have a BMW you also have a fat wallet. Honestly, its a very inexpensive car to maintain and the work is super simple. Oil changes can be done by just opening the hood, inserting a topsider into the dipstick hole and sucking out the oil. Oil filter is front and center on the top…

You are missing the whole point that regular people can afford the Z3 M cars where as the Z8 never even came close to that territory. I never said it wasn't worth three times the price, but who has $150,000 laying around for a garage queen? That guy probably already has an M Coupe. You would be surprised all the…

Ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhh, I didn't know you meant the Miata. I was talking about the BMW. Yeah, been there done that. That bolt just makes me wonder why Mazda hated me so much. Night and day difference between this job on my 1996 Miata and the 99 Coupe. Zip tie the wrench to the sway bar and then crank the engine to get…

The Z8 may be increasing in value faster in dollars, but percentage wise the S54 M Coupe wins out. Granted I think the Z8 is a really cool car, but it is in a completely different class when it comes to collecting cars. You can pickup 3 Pristine S54 M Coupes for the price of one clean Z8. Plus they had that nasty…

Yeah, that sounds tough. It may sound counter intuitive, but next time just pull the radiator and you will have all the room in the world to work. I use a vacuum fill tool for replacing the coolant. Works like a charm. (I know this doesn't really apply to parking lot repairs, but in the garage it wouldn't be too…

I have been to Philly many times. I think the people there are pretty damned nice if you ask me. I don't care much for the concrete jungle, or the winters there, but I think the people are all pretty good from my experience.... at least the ones I have met.

Yeah, they also extended the warranties on the Z3s to 8 years and 100,000 miles. However, the engines are the same, the parts are the same, so if you got an engine with those shoddy bearings, then you were in trouble. It call comes down to one supplier who made a sub par product. Any Z3s that blew the motor got…

Well, this car is really the last of the do it yourself BMWs that is truly easy to work on. The S54 is pretty tight in the engine bay, but I can swap headers around no problem you just have to move slowly. Front engine, rear wheel drive. Everything comes apart pretty easy and goes back together just as easily. …

Well, the water pump is the same basic design I guess. Impeller and all the other stuff is the same. Different castings though so the water comes out of the Z3 version in a different direction. As far as exhausts go, I really want to call BS on that one too. The exhausts are the same part number until you get to…

Definitely not. The S2000 is a fun car to drive, but completely lacks any torque. That rev happy motor is much harder to service and maintain. After the 9200 rpm S2000s started blowing up motors, they changed it to a 2.2 liter and dropped the redline down to 8200. The S54 can rev to 8200 all day long without…