juicy

Was tootling along minding my own business the other day down a dual carriageway, when a Z3 appeared in my mirror, in the RH lane .

Deciding to have a little fun, I proceed to boot the S to see what the ol' hairdresser mobile had - I was quite suprised !

So, here we are, me in the LH lane, the Z in the RH lane just behind me bombing along at full pelt, me VTECing all the way.

Well, the Z3 certainly held its own to my suprise. I didnt really pull anything of significance on the old fella in the Z3! If anything, maybe a car length or 2.

Anyway, we reached what I will call the 'landmark' speed, but had to slow down for a roundabout.
Afterwards, I managed to see which z3 it was
- a 2.8l model.
Unsuprisingly quick then, but before this ,
I woud never have thought he would have kept up with me either!

Just goes to show that there isnt too much difference in straight line performance when you reach a certain level.

Of course we werent speeding(!!!!)
- but theres there's nothing quite like a spirited drive and a bit of fun!!!

Anyone had any experiences with these motors.?

jamess2000

I owned a 2.8 Z3 before I got my S in April. They have plenty of low down grunt and are certainly not slow, you don't have to work the box as much to make fast progress. They don't handle as well as the S on twisty or bumpy roads (most British roads), but they are not bad on smooth roads. I found the worst aspect, apart from the hairdresser syndrome, was the driving position and the seats, which are completely unsupportive.

I drove mine 400 miles down to Cornwall last year, it was probably more comfortable than the S and averaged about 35mpg, so it does have some good points !!.

The 2.8 has 192bhp, but the best model apart from the M roadster is the 3.0 which has 232bhp and would give the S a real run for its money in a straight line.

Fire retardant suit is now on !!

Kelk

A colleague had a 2.8 Z3 and I was surprised at how quick it was and he's not a shy driver.

Just couldn't my head around the looks as I felt they had dated considerably and this was only last summer.

He now has an M3 with all the trimmings and that is at times awesome

jamess2000

Looks are always a matter of taste, but the Z3 was designed to be retro and look sort of dated anyway.

Bada Bing!

My mate had a 2.8 and it was only marginally quicker than my Saxo VTS at the time. Sure you gave him the whole '9?

juicy

Yeah, gave it the whole 9.

Im sure, on a longer straight I would have pulled out a bit more of a gap.
(and certainly on twistys!)
Only put my foot down from about 50mph, until we hit that speed where we had to slow down.

If you look at the performance figures for the Z3 2.8 there really isnt a huge gulf in straightline acceleration. (z3 0-60 in 6.5s, 0-100 in 17.4s).
Certainly not enough to make a huge difference over a short sprint.

Just a bit of a harmless blast, but its always interesting to see how the motor stacks up against other performance motors.

I guess the guy in the Z was in a bit of a rush to get somewhere -
A problem at the salon perhaps ??

btw - Your Saxo must have been one quick motor.!!