[cboo85]

I am looking to join the BMW family soon. My original plan was M4 (g82), but after reading some great comparisons by snareman and Vic55 I think the M8 is more what Im looking for. Plans are to use as a weekend driver and some short road trips. No real plans to track car on a regular basis if ever. Just want to make sure I'm not missing anything since the price of used 2020 M8 is around the same as the M4 if not cheaper in some cases.

M8 pros: ride comfort
V8 and V8 sound
more powerful stock
M4 pros: more nimble
seems to be better to tune for power without a built motor
more mods for aesthetics available

2nd Question: When looking at 2020 M8, is the competition a must have? Differences I'm seeing is 17 hp, shadow black out package, comp. has different rear suspension and a firmer ride, different exhaust system.
The car will be tuned so that addresses hp, chrome parts can be replaced with after market parts, car will probably end up with an after market exhaust system. That leaves the suspension. Anyone have experience with the base ride quality vs the comp?

Thank in advance and thank to all the previous posters posting to give an arena for research

[Tenac]

Depending on what DME's you have tuning can be easy or it can be ship over seas to be unlocked then get them tuned. It's a risk you have to accept or not.

The comp has suspension tuning etc, and the engine mapping is different along with the transmission tuning. That can all be forgotten about if you do actually dyno tune the car.

Traditionally comps hold value more, but in today's market who knows.... lol

Overall either one would be a great buy and for me the carbon package that came on the comp was a MUST.... Also on the side of town I live on I have still only ran into one other M8 and he was from out of state. However I see many more 840i and M850i more often and since my eye is tuned I can tell right away but 99% of people will never even know the difference, not that it really matters. I do however like being different so the M8C vert was for me. lol


As far as the M4 it is a wonderful beast and has much much more aftermarket out there for it. Like you said it is also much more sportier.

[cboo85]

Originally Posted by Tenac

Overall either one would be a great buy and for me the carbon package that came on the comp was a MUST.... Also on the side of town I live on I have still only ran into one other M8 and he was from out of state. However I see many more 840i and M850i more often and since my eye is tuned I can tell right away but 99% of people will never even know the difference, not that it really matters. I do however like being different so the M8C vert was for me. lol


As far as the M4 it is a wonderful beast and has much much more aftermarket out there for it. Like you said it is also much more sportier.

Thanks for response. Yeah Im not looking at the M850 or M840. In 2020 they offered the M8 in either base or comp before making it comp only I think in 2022.

[Seaford]

Originally Posted by cboo85

I am looking to join the BMW family soon. My original plan was M4 (g82), but after reading some great comparisons by snareman and Vic55 I think the M8 is more what Im looking for. Plans are to use as a weekend driver and some short road trips. No real plans to track car on a regular basis if ever. Just want to make sure I'm not missing anything since the price of used 2020 M8 is around the same as the M4 if not cheaper in some cases.

M8 pros: ride comfort
V8 and V8 sound
more powerful stock
M4 pros: more nimble
seems to be better to tune for power without a built motor
more mods for aesthetics available

2nd Question: When looking at 2020 M8, is the competition a must have? Differences I'm seeing is 17 hp, shadow black out package, comp. has different rear suspension and a firmer ride, different exhaust system.
The car will be tuned so that addresses hp, chrome parts can be replaced with after market parts, car will probably end up with an after market exhaust system. That leaves the suspension. Anyone have experience with the base ride quality vs the comp?

Thank in advance and thank to all the previous posters posting to give an arena for research

At a very generic level the quality difference between the 4 series and 8 series is pretty significant, particularly interior materials and fit.

I came from a 330 to an 840 and they are like chalk and cheese.

[Powerwhee]

I have a non comp M8 and test drove the comp before purchase.

The comp was definetly stiffer, and I didn’t notice a substantial difference in power. I’m sure it’s there; if I drove them one after the other I would probably be able to tell. But the relative stiffness of the comp stuck out to me coming from an i4 M50, which is one of the reasons I went with my non comp M8. Also, my M8 was the only CPO in more than 500 miles, and I didn’t want to get a BMW without a warranty.

I would say that, other than the suspension, you can get all the benefits of a comp for less money, as you mentioned. The ride quality being softer is IMO a benefit, so I wouldn’t change the suspension.

Funny enough, I also bought the M8 over the M4 because the price difference between the two was very small. I actually picked up my CPO M8 for $84,900 with 17K miles—most used M4s cost more than that.

[cboo85]

Originally Posted by Powerwhee

I have a non comp M8 and test drove the comp before purchase.

The comp was definetly stiffer, and I didn’t notice a substantial difference in power. I’m sure it’s there; if I drove them one after the other I would probably be able to tell. But the relative stiffness of the comp stuck out to me coming from an i4 M50, which is one of the reasons I went with my non comp M8. Also, my M8 was the only CPO in more than 500 miles, and I didn’t want to get a BMW without a warranty.

I would say that, other than the suspension, you can get all the benefits of a comp for less money, as you mentioned. The ride quality being softer is IMO a benefit, so I wouldn’t change the suspension.

Funny enough, I also bought the M8 over the M4 because the price difference between the two was very small. I actually picked up my CPO M8 for $84,900 with 17K miles—most used M4s cost more than that.

That is the same thought process I am having.