The S54 is definitely a GOAT engine (amongst the likes of s2000, RB26, 2JZ...etc) but it's absolutely dreadful in the Z3 M roadster. It twitchy, gittery, very uncomfortable in traffic and around town. S52 on the other hand, even with no ITBs is barely 0.3secs slower (0-60 in 5.2s compared to ~4.9/5.0s). You made the best choice keeping the s52 👍🏻 s54 is best in an e46 M3.
Wait! So after all that he is selling the S54!? hahaha. Totally understand. I have an S52 M Coupe (Clownshoe) and also an E46M3. I like driving both, but I daily drive the S52 because the engine is so smooth, easy to drive, very reliable and parts are much cheaper. Overall a great and fun little car. The E46 M3 with the S54 is an amazing machine, but I only drive it on the weekends. Real garage queen!
@@jamesbarber8308 As you should. A car that sits is a car that also needs maintenance. Life is too short to be driving boring cars. Just for compassion think about this. The E46 weighs about 3,400 LBS while the E36 weighs 3.100. That’s a 300lb difference.
The S54 is objectively better in every way but I’ve always liked the S52 better for subjective reasons. The S52 sounds and feels smoother, feels torquier in everyday driving and has a Porsche-like song to its engine note. I worked at a BMW dealership when these were new and remember being kinda appalled by how coarse and grating the S54 sounded, very un-BMW like.
I have the 2001 M Roadster. Issues I've encountered so far: 1) I've had to replace the fuel pump (when that breaks, gasoline will pour into the cabin and soak the passenger floor mat. Hope you don't smoke, or that will be an interesting way to go). 2) Passenger door handle broke. BMW fixed it for "free". 3) I've had to replace the back plastic "window" twice, and it needs replacement right now. It turns yellow and becomes super cloudy 4) The camber is so bad, it will wear your rear tires out from the inside at around 20k-25k miles 5) I had to replace the throttle position sensor at 25k miles 6) I had to replace the cam position sensors at 40k miles. I strongly advice you replace both the front and rear cam sensors if you have to replace either one of them 7) Roof leaks when it rains heavily. A lot. 8) The shifter is no longer centered in the middle, so you have to be very careful to not shift into second when you're intending to shift into third (it's a 5-speed car). My research leads me to believe that the shift pins are worn down, and need to be replaced. Super hard to access and fix these. I might as well change the clutch when I get around to it. 9) Rear brake light harness got severed at 50k miles due to opening and closing the trunk. BMW charged $250 to fix it. When I threatened to sue, BMW covered the cost of the repair 10) Instrument cluster died at 60k miles. Took me a while to notice erroneous speedo (reads 10-30 mph higher than actual speed, but is not linear, so can't interpolate speed). I had to drive with a speedometer app on my phone. Yuck 11) Oil pressure relief valve broke at 75k miles, and as I was driving back home with the parts to do the repair,..... 12) The VANOS blew up. Other than the headaches listed above, it's an absolutely fun car to drive, and a total money pit. Enjoyez-vous!
Loved my 98 M…no traction control, lots of fun when sideways at full throttle. Sold it for a Cobb tuned 4dr manual 335M sport so the kids could join in the fun.
Thanks for he video I’ve been waiting for it for so long. I own a 2000 M in the same estoril blue and I’m curious about the interior noise and rumbling you mentioned in the video with the S52 mine doesn’t do that. Also you didn’t mention anything about which engine is the most durable and reliable. Also the rear subframes are more likely to crack with the S54
Either way I agree with you the S54 may go down as one of the best engines ever built. But like all modern cars today , the more complex they are (double vanos) the more problems they will have
Good video, I learned a bit. Current owner of a 2000 M Roadster, love the little car. It reminds me of driving my 1973 BMW 2002 with a 200 HP highly modified M10 engine. I sold my 2000 2.5 Z3 when I acquired the M. Honestly, I should have kept the 2.5 as it was a daily driver and wasn’t perfect like my M. Now I worry about the additional mileage on the M and door dings. Thanks for posting your video.
Thanks for the great comparison video. Good choice keeping the S52 car. Do you have any regrets after 1 year? I had an S54 car years ago and it felt slow driving around town, like I was holding back a thoroughbred race horse. Then when I got it up to speed on the highway I could punch it and feel the exhilarating power. So the power is really at the top end. I spoke to someone else who also complained about the lack of torque at lower RPM on the S54 and they traded it for an M54 car, which they are much happier with. Now I'm currently rebuilding an S52 to put in my version of an M Roadster. In the Z3 I actually really like the 4 cylinder also. It's basically a mini S52 (equally aggressive cams). It's so lightweight, makes perfectly adequate power for city driving, and can't beat the MPG.
Boston Green 98 M owner here, good choice selling the S54. I've had a lot of nice rides in my life: 68 GTO, 73 240Z & 510, 74 X1/9 etc. I find that the OG version is the purest expression & often power is added to offset the crap that later renditions add as the years go by...
Loved the review. Wrong move keep them BOTH!!!!!! Your a lucky guy. I’m in the market but your not close enough to me. I subscribed cause I enjoyed your video.
I had a 2000 M roadster. It was one of the funnest cars I’ve ever owned. I wish I never returned the lease. I don’t remember what motor I had in it but it did 0-60 in 5.1. Both of yours are in great shape
nice presentation of video!! I own a s52 and is very reliable and 240 hp is enough for staying safe and not wiped out in a oak tree or a farm combine!!!!
I personally wouldn’t sell any of these currently, with the value of the car increasing as fast as it is, these could be worth a fortune in a few years. But you’re a lucky man either way to have access to both of these beautiful cars. I am soon hoping to purchase a z3, but sadly not an M model. I’m going to have to settle with a Z3 3.0 231bhp. I’m sure it will still be a great bit of fun to drive. Great video, Thankyou for doing this comparison, would love to hear that s52 scream a bit more though at some point in another video!
Excellent video! Thank you for all the information you have provided on the S52 & S54. As of now I’m looking at a 2000 M Roadster with 58,000 miles. All stock. Thank you for the info.
I am contemplating back and forth which to buy. In your opinion should I get a 2001 Bmw m roadster with the s54 or the next generation BMW m roadster z4 with the s54. (2006) Which would be the better choice in your opinion if the 2 cars are the same price? Thank you
Really depends on what you like. Both cars are fast and pretty. The 1st Gen S54 M Roadster is more raw: fewer digital controls, back slides out easily, a bit “wilder”. The 2nd Gen M Roadster is more refined, stabler suspension, faster on a track. I tend to think 1st Gen has more “soul and character” but 2nd Gen is faster, stabler, modern safety features etc. Drive both if you can!
The z3’s with any six cylinder are fun as can be smiles all day and look sooo good. I have a 2.5 and it is easy and cheap to tune for extra power if you want and seriously plenty fast
Thanks for the comparison. Your video helped me begin to understand the advantages of the S54, which eventually led me to test drive one, which I'm buying tomorrow. Love that engine!
Such a hard decision. The S54 would’ve been the better investment even if you drove it every day and slapped 50k miles on it, but I get your logic. I assume it has sold?
I own an all original 99' Z3 Coupe with the M wide body and S52. I am adding the VF supercharger kit. The S54 requires valve adjustments, had failures when first introduced. The S54 is a very different animal. Beautiful to look at, Revs to unreal levels and just seems to go and go up the rev range. The S52 is tried and true. Very Very reliable. The final evolution of the renouned inline 6 series. Has lots of options as modifications. Lots of low end torque.
I bought a Z3 in Japan when I was there 4 yrs ago mint condition 50 kms ONLY $ 1,300. Canadian Dollars. No M model had 6 cylinder regret selling it looking for another 1 now M model im surprised you didn't keep the S 54 !!
I think the best Z3 to get for spirited driving is the one I have. 2001 3.0i M54 engine. They make a respectable 228hp (only 12 less than the M Roadster) but are a tad less simple therefore a bit more reliable (although the S52 is pretty damn reliable in its own right). Where the 3.0i truly excels is price and looks. I prefer the raised fender arches of the regular 2001 3.0i Roadster and you can’t beat the price (for now anyways, they seem to be going up lately). But for $15,000 you can get a clean one and have tons of fun.
How long have you had each? I literally owned your exact same spec steel Gray/imola red interior S54 Z3M from 2016-2021 and put 15k miles on it (only difference being I had a black soft top whereas you have the red). Unfortunately, ran off the road one winter evening bc I was driving with summer tires. Had just surpassed 50k miles at the time. It was MINT with some minor mods like eisenmann exhaust and KW V3 coil overs, to name a few. Even had the hardtop. Hated losing it because I would’ve kept it for life. S2000 what? Loved it bc nobody knows about them and what they really are. Only caveat to me losing my dream sports car was it allowed me to purchase super rare, forcedfed, 8k mile Lotus Elise before the market boomed. I understand your reasoning for your decision bc, depending on mileage of course, you should fetch at least $25k, up to about $40k for the S54. Good luck!
Thank you for the video and comparison. I have a 99 M Roadster with the S52 and I love it. Mine has 23k miles on it. Always garaged and covered. Dinan Stage 2.
Keep them both!!!! Are you crazy? Don’t sell either find a way to keep both! Seriously you are sooo lucky with cars that are only going up in value. Keep it!!
Nice video. I’m trying to find a lighter weight manual rwd car to have fun with in the summer (without paying an arm and a leg). My goal is to get a Chevy ss but they’re too rare and way too pricey, so these z3’s seem perfect for me. I would love an M model but I’m considering a 3.0 or 2.8 to get a feel, plus they’re way cheaper
How much are you asking for the gray one? Also is that a hardtop on it on the picture??? Is that hardtop factory or aftermarket? I've never seen one with it. Let me know, thanks!
Can you please tell me why in the USA you only got the s52 ...240 bhp engine ? I have 2 m roadsters a 98 and a 99 and a 99 coupe all have less than 30k on the clock and all 320 bhp so why the s52 in your. z3m .....now looking for a blue z3m coupe in blue 👍👍🇬🇧🇬🇧🇬🇧🇬🇧🇬🇧🇬🇧keep up with your vids just subd
I don't know why brother! But on this side of the pond we always get the shaft from Germany (E36, Z Roadster, Z Coupe all S52). Until one day the E46 M3 was introduced and we got an S54. And I believe the ZCP version in the US was a better engine than in Europe, but that's neither here nor there. We finally got an S54.
Bottom line was ,it was too expensive during those current economic times and bmw coming off the failure of e30m3 sales stateside. The s52 is a fantastic engine. Don't let silly internet bs fool you.
@@Euphorica your right I love my s52 z3 m's I now also have 2 E46 M3 with less than 25k on clock and a e60 m5 v10 with 12k on clock just love these old school BMW cars now looking for a good Z8 BUT CRAZZY MONEY here in the UK 🇬🇧🇬🇧🇬🇧🇬🇧🇬🇧🇬🇧🇬🇧 PLEASE POST SOME MOOR VIDS
Nice video. Too bad you are selling the S54. You could have found yourself an S50 Euro-spec after letting the S52 go and done a comparison. I enjoy my S50 Japanese export model, but have nothing to judge it by.
Key point not addressed: The e37 uses the semi-trailing arm rear suspension from the 80's era e30...and NOT the rear end from the e36. This was due to the compact nature of the car. The problem with this is actually how it handles throttle-lift in *any* turn... Many M-Roadsters have gone ass-first into the dirt when attempting freeway onramp slingshots..due to that e-30 rear end. This is why the Dinan ISR3 is so special.. it actually solved this "power problem" and is worth checking out :-)
I kick myself almost every day for selling my Z4 M Coupe. Loved the S54 engine. Have you inspected the welds in the trunk floor for cracks in your S54 M? No doubt you'll have potential buyers ask about this.
The Z4M coupe has a great shape. And Yep! Always gotta check those welds from above (the trunk) and below (lifting the car up). These two are in good shape. I’ve seen cars in which they’re breaking or broken and it’s a tough repair
An S52 is a good engine, very robust. But E36 or Z3 with an S52 240 Hp engine are not //M.... The real //M car is with the S50B30 or S50B32 engine, so the European version 😁 The choice is simple, the Z3 with S54 engine are the rarest .... And the sound!!!!
How will you be selling it? Auction it on BaT? I think you should keep both. Let the s54 appreciate and drive it occasionally while driving the s52 most of the time. Eventually, the 54 will pay for the 52.
I've owned both an S50 and S52 model, the engine made all the difference in the world to me and the driving experience especially in the top end is incredibly different. It gets worse for the S52 if you put a better diff on the S50/S54. You can run a 3.73 just fine with the High Revvers but it's not going to make sense for the S52.
