# 330i SP vs. 330i ZHP : comparison



## ClubSpec330i (Oct 22, 2003)

I put both '03 330i SP and '03 330i ZHP on the rack for underbody examination

Front strut: 
ZHP: 82 4903 557 696 HS 31.31-2 282 460 SPP2 H12
SP: 82 4903 557 486 HS 31.31-6 757 044 /5 6Z. Sport G35

Rear Shock: 
ZHP: 3352 2262461 02 105413 15 H4627M
SP: 3352 6757045 02 105413 15 H3482

I video taped both cars going thru the same freeway onramp, offramp, and the empty street behind my house. Both cars ran on 17" M68 wheel with OEM Continental Sport.

TESTS: (viewed the video tape several times before I came to these conclusions)

FREEWAY ONRAMP - A straight ~12° upgrade onramp (~1/4 mile long) and 90° right with enough radius to go thru it at ~70-75 mph and a 15° downgrade to the freeway. 
- SP was a not that much slower going up the slight incline but somewhat slower going thru the righthand radius turn and resulted in 5-10mph slower at the end of the ramp.
- ZHP was right on from start to finish. I was able to break a little later than SP and go thru the corner at a slight higher speed resulted in the higher freeway entry speed. 

FREEWAY OFFRAMP - A straight and 270° incline to the right and over the freeway. Posted 25mph - so I tried to keep both cars at 40mph for comparison sake.
- SP felt great thru the turn. I steering input was at minimal and handling was neutral throughout. (~42mph)
- ZHP with M68 was not as smooth as SP. The back wanted to come out halfway thru the turn. I had to correct the steering input just a bit to keep the car balance. (~42-45mph)
- ZHP with 18" M135 on OEM RE040. This combo will get you easily 50mph thru this particular offramp.

SIDE STREET - Straight to a 90° left and then right esse turn followed by a straight away.
- Entered at similar speed (posted speed of course) I was able to work ZHP thru these turns faster than SP, which felt kind of a tad soft compare to ZHP.

Both are great car nonetheless. My ZHP suppension is definitely better than my stock SP but my co-driver (the guy who video taped) seemed to think otherwise. He prefers my stock 330i SP over the ZHP. For regular everyday use, he said SP would be more comfortable. Power-wise, I think both are VERY similar.

Rear swaybar on the ZHP is bigger than SP if anyone is curious.

Well, after everything have been said and done, my ZHP is now wearing M68 awaits for new tire. My wife is very happy with M135 on her car, M135 on Ti Silver 330i SP looks great. 

Enjoy motoring,


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## bimmaboy23 (Jun 7, 2003)

interesting..i'd love to drive a sp 03 330 to see how it compares to my zhp...thanks for spreadin the knowledge..good lookin out :thumbup:


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## FenPhen (Jan 13, 2004)

ClubSpec330i said:


> Well, after everything have been said and done, my ZHP is now wearing M68 awaits for new tire. My wife is very happy with M135 on her car, M135 on Ti Silver 330i SP looks great.


Why do you prefer the M68s over the M135s?


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## ClubSpec330i (Oct 22, 2003)

FenPhen said:


> Why do you prefer the M68s over the M135s?


I always like the M68 when it was first came out. Man, I thought about putting it on my Honda, even though it won't fit...haha...

My ZHP seemed more agile with M68 than M135. I want to see if I put better tire on M68, will it performs close to M135 wih OEM RE040. In addition, since I drive more than my wife, a cost of tire replacement for 17" suits our budget better than 18".


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## Chris90 (Apr 7, 2003)

It goes with my less grip is sometimes more theory.


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## hugh1850 (Jun 20, 2003)

Interesting find on the parts comparison. I wonder if the reason why that tech group found the same parts was because they compared a zhp sedan to a 330Ci. Perhaps the parts are indeed different from sedan to sedan.


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## wrwicky (Jan 17, 2003)

Actually,
When they thought the parts were identical, it turned out they did not have the full numbers. Andy Thomas was a constant voice that the parts were different, and had provided some pretty good evidence to that effect.

Although the SCST was wrong on this score, they readily admitted their mistake on multiple forums and were nice about it afterwards (although a little $hitty about it when they thought they were correct, and there were a few dramatic statements made).

I sure appreciate their hands-on work and documentation of many DIYs and adventures. Those guys are clearly a big part of the enthusiast community. The more input we get from them, the better as far as I'm concerned.
And three cheers for Andy and his input. Fact based and independent. (For he's a jolly good fallow, etc.)


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## allaboutme (Dec 22, 2003)

Nice comparison... If someone saw you entering and exiting the onramp over and over they must have thought you were odd but figured you were just an enthusist...

Anyway I took the liberty to measure the weight of my front wheel.. It weighed in at ~50.5 pounds on the bathroom scale. The tire probably has about 98% tread left. It has ~800 miles on them. I haven't measured the rear wheel yet, but I'm sure someone did that already. I just wanted to see for myself.

By the way... My scale measures in increments of .5 and rounds up so the wheel with tire weight is between 50.1 and 50.5 pounds


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