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MZ4R Boring to Drive

3K views 16 replies 13 participants last post by  tomhole 
#1 ·
[Posted on Zpost as well]

Ok folks, I need some help. I bought a 2007 MZ4R in April on a whim. 10,200 miles on the car (perfect shape), drove it home from DC to Cincinnati. I loved it. For a while. Now I find it boring. It goes from 0-40 mph very fast. And then I have to stop accelerating. I haven't been in 5th gear for months. Winter is coming and then it will get stored. That will be very, very boring. Nothing to do with the MZ4 specifically. A Porsche, 370Z, Corvette or any other high performance car would be equally boring for me.

One unexpected side effect is my wife loves the car. Of course, she is home all the time and has put most of the miles on it this summer (I travel a lot for work). It's now her mid-life crisis car.

I need to do something to get the juices flowing again or the car will be sold. I could find a back road and run it hard through the twisties. Wish I knew where one of those roads were here in southwest Ohio. And where there aren't any other cars and especially cops. Would love to drive it somewhere where I could safely turn off the nannies and slide around a bit.

I'd really like to see how fast it will go. That isn't something I am willing to do on a road with police. Not safe and not smart. My personal speed record is just over 1,500 mph, but that was at 45,000 ft. in a fighter jet. Never been faster than 115 mph in a car. Would love to do 155 in the MZ4.

What can I do?

Tom
 
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#2 ·
Now this is a line of commentary not often seen on Bimmerfest! I understand your point - these cars are so incredibly capable and so fast that driving them at normal speeds can be rather dull (in the case of the MR (I also have a 2007), it can actually be noisy and buzzy with VANOS noises at sedate speeds). I'd offer two suggestions, both of which have led to my keeping my MR for the long haul:
1) Find a nice twisty backroad and revel in the HANDLING rather than the sheer speed
2) Buy a vintage car, preferably a Bimmer or Porsche, and enjoy driving a slow car fast (ie, 40 MPH squealing around corners that a modern minivan would take with aplomb)

Of course, you could always throw in a roll bar and some five point harnesses and track the bloody thing - I guarantee that won't bore you in the least!

Good luck, mate!
 
#4 ·
BMW CCA has events at Mid-Ohio where you would be able to stretch your car's legs. I had a great experience with autocrossing about a month ago. Sure you're only in third for a bit of the time on the course but you can really lean on the tires and get some sideways G's going as you get comfortable on the course.

http://www.buckeyebmwcca.org/
http://www.scca.com/

I know how it is to be bored in the Z in traffic. A lot of times my commute home is more fun in my pickup truck than my Z.

Best of luck in your quest for speed!
 
#6 ·
Autocross it!
 
#10 · (Edited)
You need to get involved with the Z groups in Ohio. Great group of people. Go to Face Book and look for ZSCCA and join. Look for Chris Cain, he can direct you to a local club. If not you just need to get dirty. There is a lot more than just driving this fun car fast. There is so much you can do to the car to personalize it either with power or style. If you are bored your not doing it right. :rofl:
 
#12 ·
You can check out all the ZSCCA events and our biggie is the annual Homecoming over Labor Day weekend in Greenville SC. Many take a week to travel from across the country and find all the twisty roads they can on the way. And of course there are plenty in the hills around Greenville SC.

Best of luck too you.
 
#16 ·
SW Ohio Twisties

I was fortunate enough to grow up in The Sticks on the east side of Cincinnati. Moscow, to be specific, which borders New Richmond. This area is rife with twisties which are commonly unpopulated.

Here are some directions to my favorite stretches of fun:

If you are coming from downtown Cincinnati, take I-471 S to I-275 E. Take exit 71 for US-52 E toward New Richmond.

~5 miles (from exit): On your left is 9-Mile Road. This road has some wonderfully sharp twisties, but depending on the time of day you may experience heavy traffic. The best time for this road is probably around 2am.

~13 miles (from exit): On your left is Clermontville-Laurel Road. Awesome twisties, long straight stretches, and often very low traffic, depending on time of day. Again, late-night is best, but you must WATCH FOR DEER lingering in the fields (risk varies with season).

*If you continue on Clermontville-Laurel Road, you will cross Laurel-Lindale Road. The next intersection is with OH-232. Turn left. This is probably my favorite road in the area, if only because of the supreme lack of traffic. Not the most technical, but there are some good turns, and the most traffic you will see is from farm vehicles, which you can cut right around. Biggest plus: I have never seen a cop on this road. (But if you do come across one, don't blame me.)

Hope this helps. Happy driving!
 
#17 ·
Thanks for the routes. I did the KY 10/22 run SE out of Alexandria, KY and that was very fun. Never got out of 3rd gear or over 60 mph. The best were the cresting turns where you could not see where the road was going beyond the crest. I didn't get too nutty but had a lot of fun. Most dangerous part were the farmers that mowed their ditches into the road and there was grass all over it. Not a lot of grip in that.

So, the next purchase is a radar detector for insurance. Unfortunately, the car cover and battery tender arrived from Amazon, so that is moderately depressing.

Tom
 
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