In reference to this thread.
On Saturday morning, Steve and I met up to swap cars for a little test drive. For those familiar with the area (as I know some of you are) we went up MacArthur Bl from Persimmon Tree Ln to Falls Rd, turned around and went back down MacArthur to the Parkway and took that to Glen Echo where we returned cars. For those that aren't familiar with the area, MacArthur is a two lane road that has some straight sections and some very twisty bits. Parts of it are level and parts are hilly. The section that we drove is reasonably smooth for the most part, but there are some parts that are in need of repaving. The worst of it, though, is far from the worst of what the DC area has to offer. The Parkway is a limited access road that is just below Interstate quality. It's currently in good shape throughout the portion that we drove.
So, the ZHP is quicker, but the difference is not earth shattering. It feels like much of the extra power is above 4k, so you still have to work the engine a bit to get there...just like with the 2.5l engine. The difference is that the reward for getting there in the ZHP is larger, but not that much larger.
WRT ride and handling, keep in mind that I am comparing the ZHP with the stock tires to an xiT with Falken Azenis Sports, which aren't exactly typical street tires. That said...
I could definitely feel that the ZHP was lighter than the xiT. It felt just a little more flickable with less momentum to overcome for a given speed. However, the steering felt a little number and a little more ponderous than that in the xiT. The staggered wheel/tire setup of the ZHP made it much more prone to understeer. Still, the ZHP has quite a bit of grip. In my normal street driving, the understeer would rarely be an issue...and the times that it would, it would probably be welcomed.
The ZHP felt soft in comparison to the xiT. It was smooth, steady and stable, but it felt like something was missing. Body motions felt like they were well controlled, but something was getting lost between the road surface and the seat of my pants. The xiT's ride is noticeably firmer with a tad more more harshness (which only feels like harshness in comparison to the ZHP). body roll was less than the xiT, but the difference was barely noticeable from the driver seat.
My bottom line impression is that the ZHP doesn't compare all that well against the xiT. It's marginally quicker, has an overdrive gear, has a better steering wheel and that's about it. If bought new today, comparing comparably equipped models, the ZHP would invoice ~$4,500 more and ticker for ~$4,900. The xiT has more utility value, AWD and a reduced tendency to understeer (through less rear grip) over the ZHP for about 10% less money.
Overall, I was quite underwhelmed with the ZHP. I don't think that it's worth the difference. In fact, based on this drive, I don't think that even a regular 330i (let alone a ZHP) is worth the price premium over the 325i (a much greater difference than the 325xiT to 330i ZHP). A bunch of times I've said that I would have bought a 330iT or 330xiT if it had been available here. Well, if I had, and then had a chance to do this with a 325xiT, I would be pissed. The extra power would be nice to have, but it just ain't worth the money.
I have no doubt that the ZHP would do better times in autocrossing (especially after figuring out a solution to the f'ed up wheel/tire size issues), but I'm not sure that it would do much better in B Stock than the xiT does in D Stock.
On Saturday morning, Steve and I met up to swap cars for a little test drive. For those familiar with the area (as I know some of you are) we went up MacArthur Bl from Persimmon Tree Ln to Falls Rd, turned around and went back down MacArthur to the Parkway and took that to Glen Echo where we returned cars. For those that aren't familiar with the area, MacArthur is a two lane road that has some straight sections and some very twisty bits. Parts of it are level and parts are hilly. The section that we drove is reasonably smooth for the most part, but there are some parts that are in need of repaving. The worst of it, though, is far from the worst of what the DC area has to offer. The Parkway is a limited access road that is just below Interstate quality. It's currently in good shape throughout the portion that we drove.
So, the ZHP is quicker, but the difference is not earth shattering. It feels like much of the extra power is above 4k, so you still have to work the engine a bit to get there...just like with the 2.5l engine. The difference is that the reward for getting there in the ZHP is larger, but not that much larger.
WRT ride and handling, keep in mind that I am comparing the ZHP with the stock tires to an xiT with Falken Azenis Sports, which aren't exactly typical street tires. That said...
I could definitely feel that the ZHP was lighter than the xiT. It felt just a little more flickable with less momentum to overcome for a given speed. However, the steering felt a little number and a little more ponderous than that in the xiT. The staggered wheel/tire setup of the ZHP made it much more prone to understeer. Still, the ZHP has quite a bit of grip. In my normal street driving, the understeer would rarely be an issue...and the times that it would, it would probably be welcomed.
The ZHP felt soft in comparison to the xiT. It was smooth, steady and stable, but it felt like something was missing. Body motions felt like they were well controlled, but something was getting lost between the road surface and the seat of my pants. The xiT's ride is noticeably firmer with a tad more more harshness (which only feels like harshness in comparison to the ZHP). body roll was less than the xiT, but the difference was barely noticeable from the driver seat.
My bottom line impression is that the ZHP doesn't compare all that well against the xiT. It's marginally quicker, has an overdrive gear, has a better steering wheel and that's about it. If bought new today, comparing comparably equipped models, the ZHP would invoice ~$4,500 more and ticker for ~$4,900. The xiT has more utility value, AWD and a reduced tendency to understeer (through less rear grip) over the ZHP for about 10% less money.
Overall, I was quite underwhelmed with the ZHP. I don't think that it's worth the difference. In fact, based on this drive, I don't think that even a regular 330i (let alone a ZHP) is worth the price premium over the 325i (a much greater difference than the 325xiT to 330i ZHP). A bunch of times I've said that I would have bought a 330iT or 330xiT if it had been available here. Well, if I had, and then had a chance to do this with a 325xiT, I would be pissed. The extra power would be nice to have, but it just ain't worth the money.
I have no doubt that the ZHP would do better times in autocrossing (especially after figuring out a solution to the f'ed up wheel/tire size issues), but I'm not sure that it would do much better in B Stock than the xiT does in D Stock.