Post your daily ZHP/BMW/MINI pics!

[Vas]

Miss the z4mc though ?

[cakM3]

The "new" M5, with the ZHP lying in wait in the garage. She's now all properly titled & licensed in Arizona. Insurance is slightly cheaper than my Z4MC was, and the license tag was downright cheap, thanks to 13 years of depreciation. I must say - despite all the strong points of the E39 M5, it also makes me appreciate the finer points of the ZHP. I love them both. Even if most of my friends/family won't understand that they aren't the same car....

Absolutely love it! a proper TiAg garage

[KevinC]

Miss the z4mc though ?

A little bit.. but not much. I was very careful in the months leading up to unloading it to make sure that I was ready to move on. I had a couple of long, soul searching drives with her and decided it was indeed OK to let her be free.

Getting used to the M5 is proving to be an interesting experience. It's sooo different from the ZHP. You really feel the heft of the car, and that's not all a good thing. The recirculating-ball steering - which all V8 E39's have, while the 6's have r&p - is a noted weak spot, and when you own a ZHP to compare it to, it's really glaring. It's over-boosted at low speeds, and quite vague on-center. I REALLY appreciate the ZHP steering when I jump back into that car, it's just so much more precise and "alive" in your hands. That's not to say the M5's steering "sucks", it's just not nearly as good. It's still light years better than the current electric setups, which feel absolutely wooden to me. But the ZHP is nirvana, especially when all your steering and suspension components are well-maintained, your alignment spot-on, and quality rubber is afoot. You guys out there with higher-mileage cars who have neglected some of this stuff - you really don't know what you're missing. Refresh those FCABS & shocks and whatever else might be shot, and you'll be amazed at how it can transform the car.

Doing business with EAG was a great experience. I got really decent money for the Z4MC, given the current state of the market. It fit their target car profile perfectly - one owner, zero paint/body work, lived its entire life in a "dry" state, stack of maintenance records back to the 1200-mile service, and relatively low mileage (57k), though not low by their standards, but low enough given the other particulars. I paid top dollar for the M5, but it had $6600 worth of work done on it prior to sale, including a new clutch & rear main seal, thrust arm bearings, power steering hoses, and a bunch of other stuff. Curiously, a clutch & seal job at EAG only retails for about $1500, including parts, which seems really reasonable. A good thing since these cars are noted clutch killers. In the next couple of weeks, I'll do a decent photo shoot and writeup of my overall impressions of the car. No plans to sell the ZHP, she's a keeper and I have too much invested at this point to walk away.

[JupiterBMW]

There is something very wrong with this picture... I purchased and own not one but TWO sweet ///M vehicles.... Yet, I've been driving a 328i base model and an X128i S drive... Yes, you're seeing that right, I have BOTH our cars at the dealer for service (neither of it regularly scheduled maintenance) and I have TWO courtesy vehicles...

I swear, I don't pay to own BMWs, I pay to continuously test drive their courtesy loaner fleet...

[cakM3]

Yep!! Something is wrong with that picture Jon

[JupiterBMW]

On the flip side... I actually got both of our vehicles back yesterday afternoon... Neither was free, but overall, both are running beautifully again and the bank isn't completely broken...

So, last night I went down to my buddy's house to work on his Exocet project (google it if you need!). Him and his wife own the two cars up front, my M3 in back, and our other buddy's M3 in back (Melbourne Red). The F10 is a new addition, its a 2014, FULLY loaded with competition package... I took it out and drove it and holy crap on fire!!! That thing is a complete animal!!!

Now, I regularly drive the X5///M and I have no problem driving that thing like a sports car. Its brutally fast, accelerates like nobody's business, and sticks hard due to AWD and the insanely wide tires... Now, the M5 has MORE power (575hp vs. 555hp in the X5///M), two less drive wheels, and about 2000 pounds less weight. That kind of power is essentially unusable... In M Dynamic Mode (some slip but still some assistance) the ass end is ALL OVER the place... The acceleration is brutal, and being coupled to the glorious DCT transmission, it is just such an insane performer... It makes the E90 M3 feel like a Honda. Hell, it makes the X5///M feel reasonable...

Wow, what a car... My buddy's car is a completely loaded car ($119k sticker price), Singapore Grey with Silverstone leather, an absolutely beautiful combo. His car did not get the Competition wheels, which I would have preferred, but still, no fault based on that. I am in love with that thing...

And on a side note, it makes me want to retrofit a DCT into the X5///M. And there's a guy selling a DCT transmission on the M3 forum...

[az3579]

There is something very wrong with this picture... I purchased and own not one but TWO sweet ///M vehicles.... Yet, I've been driving a 328i base model and an X128i S drive... Yes, you're seeing that right, I have BOTH our cars at the dealer for service (neither of it regularly scheduled maintenance) and I have TWO courtesy vehicles...

I swear, I don't pay to own BMWs, I pay to continuously test drive their courtesy loaner fleet...

Comes with the territory! Having a single M car isn't a cheap endeavor to begin with.

[Sockethead]

Having any BMW with a V8 ain't cheap...

[fredo]

How about a V10 ?

http://texascentralmotors.com/2006-B...4/Details.aspx

[Rovert]

Haha I drove 2000 miles with my friend in his E60 ///M and when I was nearing half way fuel in the ZHP he was radioing me that he needs to fill up.