Z4 35i vs Z4 M Coupe
Αν δεν είχε το καγκουρο-κιτ...
You can bet on an old-versus-new debate every time a new-gen model lands in the showrooms. YouΆll have your supporters
of the old talking about tradition and character or how the previous car had an analog feel instead of the new carΆs digitized
detachment. Supporters of the new model will talk about technology, microprocessors, advanced materials and the
need to keep progressing or go the way of the Neanderthal.
The two Z4s featured here could not be more different, so this isnΆt so much a comparison as it is an example of how two
siblings from the same branch of the family tree have gone on divergent evolutionary paths, with the newer car of the
two still evolving.
Unlike some cars that start out as modest tuning projects and then snowball out of control, the owner of the first-gen E85
knew from the beginning he was going to build something specifically for the track. Having owned BMWs since the mid-Ά70s,
including two M5s and an M6, the platform would either be based on a BMW or a Porsche. The car was built over the course
of two winters by Fall-Line Motorsports in Buffalo Grove, Illinois, near Chicago. Fall-Line currently runs an M3 in the
Grand-Am Koni Challenge series and build racecars for other people, so this E85 build was well within their window.
Tim Stratton, the projectΆs point man, said the E85 chassis had similarities to both the E36 and E46 M3s heΆs worked on.
Fall-Line started by gutting the interior and welding in a six-point rollcage. The stock seats were swapped with carbon
Cobra race seats and a Momo steering wheel sits on a quick-release hub. Just behind the wheel thereΆs an AiM Sports
MXL dash/data acquisition logger.
For obvious reasons, with its massive flared fenders and exposed carbon weave, the exterior gets most of the attention.
The lines of the kit are similar to but not exactly the same as a Flossmann body kit from Germany. Fall-Line commissioned
Prototype Composites out of Glendale, Wisconsin, to fabricate a hood, roof and rear decklid and also create different
mounting points for the Flossmann kit so theyΆd fit better. They also left the carbon/Kevlar-reinforced panels naked to
show off the weave. A Crawford Designs Grand Am-spec rear wing is mounted via custom-made wind mounts
also by Prototype Composites. As it sits now, Fall-Line managed to shave roughly 400 pounds off the stock car
(2,850 vs. 3,240).
The first thing you notice after youΆve climbed over the cage and into the Cobra seat is just how light the doors are.
The panels canΆt weigh more than a pound or two, and most of the weight of the doors comes from the metal frame.
Aligning perfectly, the doors close with a secure click.
The engine fires up immediately and gets the interior vibrating to its rhythms. The characteristic metallic zing of a stock
3.2-liter straight six is replaced with a deeper rumble. It breathes through a CSL airbox and Dinan throttle bodies and cams.
Spark, air and fuel are controlled by a Motec engine management system. And it exhales through a Supersprint stepped
header and X-pipe, followed by a custom-built rear section utilizing Borla mufflers. A Fall-Line underdrive pulley kit helps
the engine spin more freely. On a Mustang dyno, the engine made 351 whp at 8000 rpm and 255 lb-ft of wheel torque at
6600 rpm, and the rev limit was raised to 8300 rpm.
The Sachs clutch is racecar stiff but it engages with enough progression to pull away cleanly. As it gathers speed, the
gummy Yokohama slicks (280/650 front, 280/680 rear) pelt the underbody with pebbles and marbles, making it sound
like the carΆs being sprayed by a barrage of small-caliber rounds. Onto clean tarmac and the sound of gears being meshed
and the lightly muffled exhaust takes over. ItΆs sensory overload, and these are just the warm-up laps.
WeΆre on the Autobahn Country ClubΆs South Track in Joliet, Illinois. In the passenger seat is Justin Fouts, from Fall-LineΆs
marketing department, who had earlier shown me the proper lines around the trackΆs mixture of 15 turns. After a tight first
corner, the track unfurls into a series of left and right sweepers that increase in speed until a tricky, chicane-like
turn 9-and-10 combo separates the layoutΆs two high-speed sectors.
With some heat into the tires and brakes, I start to step more deeply into the throttle. ThereΆs some slight hesitation
when I first get into it, which may have been some bad gas, but the engine fought through it to send the meter on the
digital dash shooting towards redline. Although torque is abundant, horsepower made through high revs is where
the engine thrives. And because itΆs utilizing Fall-LineΆs shorter 4.10 differential, running through the gears happens
just that much more quickly.
The car turns in sharply and the Yokohama slicks hang on tenaciously. The ride is racecar-stiff with the Moton Club Sports
coilovers. The Brembo brakes (355mm slotted discs and four-piston calipers in front, 345mm slotted discs and
four-piston calipers in back, Cobalt pads all around) wipe off speed with instant bite and seem to have plenty in reserve.
Although I didnΆt approach the limits in my few short laps, it was easy to tell that Fall-Line had dialed the car
in beautifully. It responded to every input, be it brakes or steering, with direct, linear feedback. IΆm sure there
were some frightening levels of grip left on the table.
Lapping the same track in the 3D Design Z4 couldnΆt have been more different. Set up for the street and retaining
all of its sound deadening materials, the car attacks the straights with a restrained whoosh of spooling turbos and
the subtle snarl of the Eisenmann exhaust.
Midrange torque seemed to be the dominant characteristic, as with all N54 engines. This particular carΆs ECU uses an
ESS Tuning Stage 2 program that the company says is good for an extra 90 hp and 70 lb-ft of torque, for a total of
390 hp and 370 lb-ft. As itΆs still a work in progress, the car is expecting a bigger, more-efficient intercooler.
....συνέχεια στο επόμενο ποστ (δεν χωράνε).
Απάντηση με παράθεση
...
Αρχικό μήνυμα απο Stathis
