I'd say go for the 3.0Si if you can easily afford it.
I'd have preferred one over my 3.0i had I been able to afford the 50% extra at the time!
Main reason for saying so is that they almost all come with the M-sport seats, which improve things a great deal. The interior is also a little fresher and sharper somehow. It all adds up really.
That said, engine power aside (which comes at a cost of a bit more delicacy?), the chassis are the same, so from a driving point of view they are both flawed with run flat tyres and suspension a bit too stiff for the bushings from my experience anyway.
So it really comes down to cost and the seats.
You'll have work to do on either to make them really feel like a sports car away from glass smooth roads!
All that said, I love my 3.0i to bits. I also ultimately prefer the exterior looks. The front/rear bumpers and lights work so much better from a design POV than the facelift bits. So I quite like the fact I have an original which looks very very pretty just stood still on the Ellipsoid wheels!
Dave
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3.0i versus 3.0si
- Mr Whippy
- Senior Member
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- Joined: Wed Dec 03, 2008 4:37 pm
- Location: Harrogate
Re: 3.0i versus 3.0si
04 3.0i, Titanium Silver, 107s, red m-sport interior
- bmwangler
- Member
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- Location: Bath
Re: 3.0i versus 3.0si
I'm sure I read somewhere that the 3.0si engine is less reliable than the 3.0????
3.0i SE Roadster/De-Badged/Sterling Grey/108's/Xenons/Pro Sat Nav/Stubby/PDC/Retrofit Bluetooth/Cruise/ ///M Steering Wheel/ZHP/ ///M Black Grilles/
- th30d0r3
- Member
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- Joined: Tue Nov 09, 2010 8:23 pm
- Location: Uxbridge
Re: 3.0i versus 3.0si
Yes you're right plus the aerodynamics of the fixed roof also helped. On the other hand the SI has a shorter diff (which is a shame) so acceleration & torque is better; if they had the same running gear the difference will be more relative.srhutch wrote:He is just a better driverpeddy wrote:I've had a mini drag up to 2nd with th30d0r3 in his Coupe and he was about 1/2 a cars length ahead.
You'll get better MPG from the SI, if it had the same diff as the 3.0i then you'd get alot better MPG.
Don't like my red stripes...? Then don't look at them...
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- Lifer
- Posts: 4621
- Joined: Fri Dec 31, 2010 9:38 pm
Re: 3.0i versus 3.0si
Yes.bmwangler wrote:I'm sure I read somewhere that the 3.0si engine is less reliable than the 3.0????
It has a lot more common issues.
18 Z4s owned to date.
Current: 2.5i Titan silver
Daily driver: 480bhp M140i Shadow edition.
Current: 2.5i Titan silver
Daily driver: 480bhp M140i Shadow edition.