Anyone watching? Some Bait!!

[TerryY]

From 8 Fest

[TerryY]

Looking back

[TerryY]

Calypso!!

[TerryY]

Have to get mine in!!

[TerryY]

Difficulty!!

300 mile old Proxes!! Found dead on road.

[TerryY]

I think that the Hot Wheels flames were a great attention getter.

The owner figured that his baby would get lost in all of the black 8's so he put on magnetic flames! Of course it came up front and center in the big picture!

[TerryY]

Still think that they look best in Silver!!

[zenon]

they look best in ALL colors

is that silver one in the last pic a real alpina?

[TerryY]

Not quite. If I remember correctly it is a Euro 850CSi that has been thru Alpina's shop but not titled as an Alpina. I think it was just brought in to the US this year.

I think this is the only other picture I have of it. Mine is just past it.
There were 2 red CSi's just to the left of the white CSi. One of them had just over 2000 miles on it and was trucked in to keep the miles down.

[zenon]

the 8er was the ultimate autobhan cruiser, was anyone "top speed bench racing"? just how fast can they go?

[enda320]

zenon- a b12 5.7 coupe (the 8, not the other b12 based on the 7) came up for sale in the uk last year. previously owned by the sultan of Brunei or some like that (one of his mates, i suppose) that had never been driven. this was therefore given a brand new registration, so if searched, it would come back as an '02 model... thats the one to have...

[zenon]

schweet.
kinda weird, a great car like that I'd rather drive and enjoy than just look at.

Too bad even the alpina's don't have DOHC tho, that would make the 8-series complete.

[TerryY]

The problem with Alpina's is that they aren't on the importable list for the US. They are titled as Alpina's and not BMW.

Canada seems simpler in some ways but there are probably other way that they catch up to the US on importing.

[zenon]

I've seen an 850CSi go 300 km/h, how fast can the 5 litre 300hp M70B50 850i go?

are they real stabe @ speed? I think the idea behind the 8-series was the ultimate autobahn cruiser....

[TerryY]

All of the '95's 840Ci/850Ci/850CSI are speed limited at 155 mph according to my owners manual.

The chip in my 840 removes the limit completely. One of my goals for next year is 160 mph at the end of the front straight of Portland International Raceway on a track day. That should be relatively straight forward. Then I'll try to get FAST!!

I'll need to re-gear to 3.64's to have enough horsepower to get over that. That change should also dip me into the mid/high 14's if I were to go drag racing.

That isn't too shabby for a car that is the same size as an E32 7 series!

BTW the 4.0 and the 4.4 V8's are DOHC and I know a builder that is about to start on a 4.4 aiming for at least 440 hp normally aspirated.

Current state of the art for the V8 is a bolt on supercharger with outputs of 410 to 450 hp at the crank claimed.

And yes there was a lot of bench racing going on at 8 Fest!!

[zenon]

how big are the back seats? they look smallish in the pics I've seen.

big as a 7? what's the curb weight?

[TerryY]

I've heard rumors that an adult got in the back seat and lived!

I'm 6'3" tall and the leather squeaks as the front and back seat rub. They look comfy but I have legs!

Unloaded weight of the 840 is 4123 pounds/1870 Kilos
My '94 740i is 4002 pounds/1815 kilos.

740 is 193.3" long/4910mm and 72.6" wide/1845mm
840 is 188.2" long/4780mm and 73.0" wide/1855mm

Both have the same stock performance figures listed- 0-50 in 5.5 seconds and 1/4 mile in 15.4 seconds.

And the back seats in the Seven are comfy for 6 footers!

The 8 is still more fun to play in though. I don't have kids in loud VW's and such slow down and stare at the Seven either.

[TerryY]

Forgot the bait-Sorry

[TerryY]

The blue one is a Euro 850CSi I was thinking of buying and importing.

Wife said OK BUT sell the silver one first!! I guess no CSi for me!

[dave is cool]

8 Series are awesome cars. They are damn heavy though

[TerryY]

Yes, 8s are quite heavy.

But all BMW's seem to be that way, The new 6 is only about 500 pounds lighter with little or no HP increase. And that is the result of 13 years additional design time!

All of the BMW cars were designed as Autobahn cars. At 130 mph a sidewind will blow a lightweight car off the road and that is really bad for repeat business!! Some of the new models are now aimed at the "Low speed" American market because we buy more BMW cars than the Germans do now.

If the 8 series had been designed for the US market it wouldn't have been much different. It probably would have been closer to the rich mans Corvette though. Probably more gear and the steering balance moved closer to neutral from the gross understeer built in now. At 150 you don't want the car to actually turn when you sneeze and twitch the wheel!

300 HP was pretty wild in 1990 when the first 8s were sold here and when the car was designed in the late '80s 3500 to 4500 pound cars were the norm.

Remember that this car is really contemporary with the E30 and not the E36/46 and it is quite amazing.

As a postscript--With an update of the springs, shocks and sway bars several 850CSi owners are out racing with the M3s and M5s on the track and at autocrosses.

[zenon]

do you have more pics of that blue euro 850CSi? That is the hottest colorscheme.... EVER.
*droool*

any pics of ppl with 3-spoke wheels? BMW airbag 4 spokes just don't do it for me

[TerryY]

I think it is an Individual so I'm not sure what the color is.

[zenon]

I love it, the hue is just so rich and vibrant.

[TerryY]

The consensus is Avus Blue and between here and the General forum I have run out of pictures of it!!!

And as far as I know, there are only the 4 spoke steering wheels thru the production of the car. Someone is working out the adapters to fit a 3 spoke.