May 5, 2024

Stock Debut
Michelin Pilot 4
Endless ME20/CC-Rg Brake Pads

My driving impressions after 2 months, 2000km and 2 track days in. The ZD8 is becoming more fun than expected and growing on me more than I thought. When I heard that it is apparently as quick as my E46 M3, I didn’t really believe it at first until I experienced it myself stock for stock. I was always told weight makes all the difference but didn’t think that it could close a 100HP gap. The car is just so playful and changes direction effortlessly without any understeer. After getting back into my BMW’s they all feel like boats now and makes me wonder how I’ve been tracking them all this time …

People ask me isn’t this a down grade and why not the G87? Previously I’ve mentioned the looks and reiterated the weight here, but ultimately I don’t think it’s a different enough driving experience from my F87. No doubt that it’ll be faster but I’ll probably just leave it in 3rd gear again and ride the torque wave since manual transmissions are an after thought in most modern cars and geared for fuel economy, while it is so much fun having to row through the gears again in the ZD8 due to the lack of power. Also I wouldn’t get a slush box auto no matter how good people say it shifts as I consider that a down grade and getting a DCT F8X seems kinda redundant. The only down grade I would say is that as a daily it does lack the refinement in the BMW’s but I guess that’s the price of the lighter and more track focused package. So overall the ZD8 has more character and is refreshing to me versus the G87 which is just a fatter and questionably uglier twin.

I still like the F87 but when I moved up from the E46 something was lost in that transition. The modern turbo technology and power has been great and reliable but still lacks the throttle precision that NA engines provide when managing the car in the corners. Perhaps deep down inside I don’t like losing in the corners and it seems that the F87 shaves more of its time with power. The ZD8 just carves through the corners with ease and fills the void of nimbleness that is missing from the F87.