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Official Release dates = 23rd Oct Au/Eu/Nz/UK – 27th Nth America
by XboxOZ360
©2009 Grant Smythe
Forza 3 Update 1st October #1
OXCGN Forza 3 October Update #1 – Daily Vehicle News. Here Come The BMW E85 Z4 Coupé
Everyone loves a BMW. Well, they are everywhere, and the poor man’s ‘Supercar’ entry into a world of semi-elitedom. Or the thrill of driving around town with your top down wanting to be seen in something a little bit different, and be noticed.
I’ve always fancied the BMW Z’s, ever since the first one in 2002, the infamous Z3, hit the streets across the globe. Being snaffled up as fast as hotcakes on a Sunday morning in the US.
But there was ’something’ about them at the time that irked many a motoring enthusiast, their handling initially was somewhat questionable, being somewhat skitish and oft prone to suspension issues, some of which are detailed below.
Not majorly so, just enough to have the racing purist a little miffed considering the asking price for such a car. They were initially only available as a Roadster for a few years, until BMW offered the Coupe in 2006 with the Z4 M Coupé.
Forza 3 fans will have the chance to fashion their own style and presentation with their BMW’s in the game, and the E85 Z4 will be no exception. I can see special racing clubs being set up just for this model, with owners trying to prove just who is boss when it comes to swinging a Z4 E85 Coupé around the tarmacs of the great circuits of the world.
I know I will be, that’s a given. Their sleek lines allow for some fancy paintwork for those who fancy going bananas on their rides, or simply enhancing what BMW have already created.
One car that would be welcomed in the BMW line up would have to be the BMW E85 Z4M series coupé
BMW launched the Z4 roadster on 22 October 2002.The production of the new Z4 Roadster started in 2003 to replace the old Z3. In the beginning only the powerful 6-cylinder 2.5 & 3.0 models were available.
The Z4 was designed by Chris Bangle & produced at BMW’s Spartanburg, South Carolina. BMW’s newest roadster has a much stiffer chassis than his predecessor by using a more advanced multi-link rear suspension.
Just two years after the production began the 100,000th Z4 was completed and shipped to Germany (Jena , Leipzig). It was an individual Phoenix Yellow Z4 and had also matching Phoenix Yellow/Anthracite leather interior, 18 inch lightweight alloy wheels and aluminum silver interior trim.
Later on the Z4 became more attainable with the arrival of a new 2.2-litre model.The production of this third Z4 roadster started in October 2003 and ended in 2005. It was then replaced by the a new 2.5 litre engine with less horsepower than the initial 2.5. See engine specifications below for full details.
In 2005 the new 2.5si & 3.0si replaced the old 6-cylinder engines. The most attainable Z4 : the 2.0 also introduced in 2005 is a quite powerful car. It’s power is supplied via a 4-cylinder 2.0-litre putting out 150 hp.
The latest additions to the roadster family, the updated Z4 and the all-new Z4 M Roadster, began production in January 2006. Production of the Z4 Coupe and Z4 M Coupé began in April 2006.
Five-speed manual gearboxes were standard on all models except the 3.0 L and the M Roadster, which has a 6-speed getrag. 5-speed automatic are available on all cars except for the 2.0 4-cylinder.
A Sport package is also available, with a stiffer and lower suspension, larger wheels with run-flat tires, and DDC_II (Dynamic Driving control ), BMW’s stability control system.
Initially, the Z4 was available only as a roadster , but in 2006 the new coupé was officially launched.
The Z4 M Roadster and the Z4 M Coupé were introduced in 2006. They feature the (In the US) 330-horsepower 3.2 L S54B32 engine. A new six-speed manual transmission is used .
It’s the only transmission available and its final gear ratios are virtually the same as in the M3. The M Roadster has a 6-speed getrag manual box .Production of the BMW Z4 Coupé and M Series Z4 Coupé began 4/4/2006.;
The upgraded BMW Z4 : First European Cars to Offer THX
The recently-updated BMW Z4 includes the first THX-certified sound system from any German manufacturer .
Available on the Z4 Coupé and Roadster, the Premium Sound System has 10 speakers, a 7-Band Graphic Equalizer, digital ten-channel audio amplifier and digital sound processor, two sub-woofers with an output of 100 Watts located behind the seats, two woofers each developing 40 Watts at the front of the car, and six midrange loudspeakers and tweeters.
Total output is 430 watts. During the certification process, THX worked with BMW engineers to analyze speaker layout and positioning, and acoustic and equipment performance in the Z4 to make sure they were optimal for distributing sound throughout the vehicle.
Some critisism of the series have been floating around for some time as mentioned above, one of which is also the steering system used. Electro-hydraulic steering. The Z4 series (ass opposed to the Z4M) included an electro-hydraulic steering system which earned the vehicle considerable criticism.
BMW Mille Miglia, picture taken in BMW Museum
The system deactivates hydraulic assistance to the steering while driving in straight lines, was introduced as a fuel-saving device, said to reduce fuel consumption by up to 1/4 compared to hydraulic-only power steering systems.
Various motor journalists like Jeremy Clarkson of the excellent BBC Top Gear series and several racing drivers complained that this style of steering set up gave the vehicle an artificial, and somewhat synthetic or indirect steering feel to it.
The BMW Z4 M series on the other hand, only included conventional hydraulic assistance, said to have given the car a much more direct and communicative feel.
Old & New together at last
Also BBC Top Gear’s journalist Jeremy Clarkson has on several occasions complained of the overly hard or harsh ride of a car he otherwise favours.
Jeremy attributes this to be a feature designed to please American drivers, who, accustomed to local soft suspensions and badly engineered vehicles, believe any harsh and overly firm ride is equivalent to good suspension dynamics.
His words, not mine, so shoot him, not me.
Body Type Available for the BMW MZ Series
Engine Types Available for the BMW MZ series since launch
NB: 2.0i was only sold in Europe. 3.0i Roadster was sold in Germany until 2005.
US models include 3.0i Roadster, 3.0si Coupé, M Roadster, M Coupé.
Motorsports entered and won
Dieter Quester, Dirk Werner, Jamie Campell-Walter and Tim Mullen won the Silverstone Britcar 24 Hour Race with a BMW Z4 M Coupé. The unit of the racing version is modified and reinforced version of the S54B32 3.2-litre engine, delivering around 294 kW/400 hp. The car is made by BMW’s M Division and called the Z4 M Coupé Motorsport.
The Z4 Coupe Motorsport version weighs 1,200 kg/2,643 lb with a driver and has a 120 litre/30 gallon fuel tank for endurance racing. The racing kit for the Z4 M Coupé is available for € 250,000, plus VAT （391, 025 U.S. dollars) in addition to the list price of the car. The Racing Kit is very popular among N Class drivers, which also got a lot of good results in the track.
In August, 2008, a modified Z4 debuted in Round 6 of the Super GT season, participating in the GT300 class. It is powered by a detuned version of the S62 V8 engine from the E39-Series M5. Although it is well known by fans since it has a unique image (or called “Itasha”), this car also marked the return of BMW to Super GT series since their exit from the previous JGTC (which they used the M3).
They continues to participate in the 2009 Super GT season other than Sepang Race, and they would replace their H-pattern to a sequential transmission, as well as their S62 Engine with a Inline-6 (S65B40) after race 3, after they had suffered an unrepairable engine blow in race 2 at Suzuka.
In 2008 Super Taikyu Endurance Series (equivalent to Group N championship) in Japan, both BMW Z4M entered by Petronas Syntium Team won the Super Taikyu 1 class first and second taking both the championship and drivers title. Both cars dominated the series by taking first and second at every race in the 2008 season beating cars like Porsche GT3 (both 996 and 997), Honda NSX, Mitsubishi Evolution X, Mazda RX-7, Nissan GTR and Nissan 350Z.
Super Taikyu endurance races usually last for at least 500 kilometers or 4 hours highlighted by the race of the season, 24 Hours of Tokachi. In total Petronas Syntium Team gather 277 points compared to the second place team Endless Sports with a mere 98 points. The cars were driven by established and popular drivers such as Nobuteru Taniguchi, Masataka Yanagida, Manabu Orido and father and son pairing of Hans-Joachim Stuck and Johannes Stuck.
More Forza 3 news
Make sure you check out the great Fantec Sports Wheels and the set that OXCGN will have up for grabs later on when Forza 3 arrives in October 23rd (Aust Release date) . . . as well as other OXCGN Forza 3 pages of info on the game.
- Forza 3 October Info #11 Curvaceous Chevy Camaro SS
- Forza 3 250 Gig Xbox 360 Bundle Official – OXCGN News & Special Offer
- Forza 3 October Info #10 Classic American Muscle ‘79 Z28
- Forza 3 October Info #9 Saleen S331 Supercharged Supercab
- Forza 3 October Info #8 Build Your Own Chevy-Dodge-Ford
- Forza 3 October Info #7 Sleek, Sexy & Swift 2009 Scriocco GT
- Forza 3 October Info #6 – Complete car listing
- Forza 3 October Info #5 Primetimes’s #11 Viper R3 Class
- Forza 3 October Info #4 2006 Slippery Evo & HKS Time-Attack Mitshubishi
- Forza 3 October Info #3 Black Beast – #41 Gulf F1 Mc Laren GTR
- Forza October Info #2 Mad Mazda Lola #16 Comin’ Through
- Forza October Info #1 Here Comes The BMW E34 Z4 Coupe
- Forza 3 September Info #12 Bell Motor’s #11 DB9 Aston Martin R2 Coupe
- Forza 3 September Info #11 Presenting The Koenigsegg CGT
- Forza 3 September Info #10 Skyline Driftin’ Madness
- Forza 3 September Info #9 Fugimi Kaido Returns
- Forza 3 September Info #8 2nd DLC Pack – Ferrari’s & 2010 Italia 458
- Forza 3 September Info #7 More Ferrari Mayhem
- Forza 3 September Info #6 250 gig Forza 360? & Farrari Madness
- Forza 3 September Info #5 Forza Dyno Tunes Ford GT400
- Forza 3 September Info #4 Bugatti Veyron & Avatar Cloths
- Forza 3 September Info #3 Media Update – V8 Supercars Event Slideshows
- Forza 3 September Info #1 & 2 V8 Supercars Officially Announced
- Forza 3’s V8 Supercars In-game screen & info V8 Supercar Image found
- Forza 3 August Info #5 Video Walkthroughs
- Forza 3 August Info #4 Forza Dreams, Gadget Show & Puma
- Forza 3 August Info #3 LE Information
- Forza 3 August Info #1 & 2 Cars, cars & more cars & Le Mans
- Forza 3 coming in 2009 OXCGN’s Official Major Forza 3 Page
- Forza 3 June info E3 Video Interviewwith Developer
- Forza 3 June-July Info screens & vids
- Official Australian Xbox Forza 3 site game info
- Fantec Porsche 911 Turbo Wheel for Forza 3
- Fantec Wheel Stand and Turbo Wheel kit up for grabs – info
- OXCGN’s Forza 3 on its way in 2009
- OXCGN confirms Aussie cars in Forza 3
- Fantec Prosche 911 Wheel for Forza 3
- Forza 3 Official – Gentlemen, Start Your Engines
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yea thats true.
sport cars are never comfortable.
my uncle had a old Ferrari and the seats were so hard you could split a bowling ball on them.
or my godfather just finished building his classic ford cobra (think its called that).
leamon yellow sausage dog car, ugly thing!
but the noise it makes and the kick in the back it gives, OH MY ^%$#ING GOD!!!!
especially the noise, starting the thing up almost sent me deaf let alone revving the crap out of it.
Name, That would the 438cu-in Ford Cobra Jet equipt Cobra, usually comes in blue/white. yellow/white and sometimes red/white. They are basically a sled witha huge motor on them, and you need to have a kidney transplat every few years if you drive one regularly, which no one does that owns one, they cost WAY too much to start, let alone run.
The ‘66 Chev Tear Drop Stingray with the 427 is another car, as were most of the early vette’s that really handled and felt like crap under 100mph, once you got them over that, the aerodynamics with wind force would suck the car down, the suspension would load and it would ride nice and firm and solid. But youcan’t do that in a city of any major significance, so they were also branded with the Rattle-trap name and ruff rider name etc.
Sports are are just that . . . not armchair comforters.
he only drives a hour a week if that because he has a land rover as work car and works 7 days a week.
so he should be ok, but for sheer adrenaline nothing beats it.
the sound it gives, o my god.
The sad thing is that car sucks in real life. Not a very nice sports car…very uncomfortable….
“Sports” cars bytheir very nature are not meant to be “comfortable” – They are meant to be driven bythe ’seat of your pants” as the saying goes.
If you’ve even had your backside in one of the infamous Shelby Cobra Jet 427’s, you’ll know what uncomfortable means in a brand new car. Even the Elfin is not soft ride on your but, especially when you’re just 2″ off the road surface, not like the saloons and prestige vehicles many are used to.
Sports cars are that, cars built for the sport of racing and driving, not whether or not you can hold a coke can at 100 mph without spilling a drop.
I wouldnt say that is true really. As said below, the M3 is quite a comfortable right. It was just a poorly designed interior. The facelifted Z4 (which should have been featured in game) is actually quite comfortable, with a much more user friendly layout. Also…Aston Martins.. sports cars..but a charm to ride in..
not all sport cars.
BMW M3 is one of the most comfortable cars i have ever been in.
and the Audi RS4 does not look to bad, judging from transporter three its my most wanted car once im older.