[M3/4/8]

So I posted here on the 8 forum for the first time right after my allocation went to 112 to comment on my pre-order process and why I chose the M8. That book is available in the archives, so I created a new thread for my 1st review. I’ve had the car since early November but have been too busy to post with work and the holidays. Thought I would jot down my thoughts after having the car for a while for those who are interested. I honor the break-in rules to keep the warranty valid, so the vehicle is bone stock and hasn’t been pushed to its limits. Haven’t even been able to block time to have a good ceramic exterior coat applied. Break-in service is scheduled for Monday.

Specs:

F92 M8 Competition Coupe
C1K Marina Bay Blue Metallic
X3JQ Full Leather Merino Midrand Beige (exterior color contrast stitching is awesome)
ZDA Driving Assistance Package (no ZDP)
1TG 20” M Star Wheels Style 811M
3M5 M Compound Brakes with Red Calipers
4ML Individual Piano Black Finish Trim
6F1 Bowers & Wilkins Diamond Surround
7ME M Drivers Package

My Budget Cuts:
Individual Paint (Imola Red) - sigh.
71C M Carbon Exterior Package (having hand-washed the car, there is a s-ton of shadow line trim - but it’s $$$ for something that isn’t a must)
2NK M Carbon Ceramic Brakes (I bought the car - replacement discs are just too expensive - obviously not a problem for a lease customer)

Actively Didn’t Want:

48C M Carbon Bucket Seats - No disrespect to those who purchased them and love them. This is a design comment for Munich. In a bucket seat without a center harness setup, why have a hard piece of carbon plastic in the center of the seat? There’s no hole there for a buckle…so why put a nut-cracker there? Every time I dinged the jewels on that I would be thinking that I spent $4,500 for the privilege of frequent groin pain from ingress/egress from my own car with such limited functional purpose (I suppose it keeps a professional driver’s legs static in extreme driving). Great if you think you’re Senna. They do look great, and if you are really trying to get utility out of the back seats they sure are slimmer profile in the rear and thus provide more rear passenger space. I opted for comfort and no groin injuries. Might have tripped the option without the center plastic.

Overall - I love the car. I wanted a powerful GT, a budget supercar, and this is it. It’s not perfect. Would it be better if they had trimmed some length and girth? Sure. Clearly the 8 was an attempt to improve on the 6 series (swoopy sportier design) and to thus de-link it from the 5 series ($$$), but they also didn’t want to abandon the 6 series customers that enjoyed the large coupe 2+2 format. If your intended focus is road and track, then there are better options - either in-house M2/4 or a 911 GT3. I do, however, feel some reviewers make too much of the weight. Per Google, M4 x-drive competition weight is 3,980 lbs. The M8 is 4,250 lbs. That’s 7% heavier. Compared to my older cars, even the 2016 Competition F82, I will admit that I feel it more. I don’t think it’s that significant vs. the current M stablemates. And it is a GT.

I have no intentions at this point in life of serious tracking - excepting an occasional dragstip/airstrip opportunity or if I end up later in life close to a long road course with more straights then corners. A tight technical track would shred tires and fry the brakes given the weight. For road use, I feel it manages the weight incredibly. And the power is insane coupled with x-drive. Coming sequentially from MT E46, E92, F82 (which I kept), it is much faster in a straight line then all prior M’s and I believe can power corner with them…as long as you aren’t overheating the brakes. I live most of the year in South Florida so there aren’t many winding driver’s roads. Hence, the steel brakes aren’t really tested here. Regardless of the model, all modern M cars have so much grip and capability that if you are getting to the limit of the car on a public road and spotted by the police you are likely visiting the local jail. I wanted an explosive V8 in highest tune, great looks, and the height of luxury (at least for BMW). Check, check, check. Also loving the now old-style screen layout of ID7. Not a fan of the looks of the wraparound screen dash in the new BMW’s, and I have stronger words of disdain for the freaking iPad in the new AMG GT63. This cabin is fantastic.

Also, I would refute the recent Smoking Tire podcast comments about the suspension setup being awful for a GT. In Comfort setting, regular seats, and Michelins the car is tight but not dental-work jarring. Granted, we have pretty good roads here but I don’t see much difference from prior M cars going over rail tracks and the occasional big bump. The one caveat - I don’t have back issues, so I can see that the 850i would likely be better for those who prioritize a comfortable ride.

The transmission probably deserves its own review. I can’t really imagine rowing 8 gears of MT in this format, and in these days of government pressure on gas mileage an 8 or 9 cog in a GT makes sense. I can’t personally compare it to the prior DCT’s. Most everyone who has is not in favor of the current M8 autobox. It’s fortunate for me that I don’t know what I’m missing. I’m happy with it overall - it’s fast enough with a change when sharpened in the settings. My two critiques are noticed infrequently but are significant demerits - not mounting the paddles to the column is non-sensical in a car with sporting pretentions, and when switching from reverse to drive I periodically find myself in N, which in this case stands for no-man’s land. I had an incident in a parking lot with an older Merc Sprinter van without a backup camera and can only say that my horn saved the car from being crunched as I never got it into D in a panic. I never had this issue on a quick shift from R to 1 in a manual. 1 out of 5 or 6 times, I have to go back for a do-over to get it over to D. Operator error I’m sure, but you shouldn’t have to focus that much with eyes off the road (to monitor success) to perfect a simple but critical action.

As for the bad, I’m not happy with the wheels comparatively in the M family…not just mine but all of the standard options. Aftermarket is a must but I will need some time to get that within the family budget. Disappointing with how great the exterior design works - this is a beautiful car. The wheels just don’t match that standard. I wonder if the weight impacted the wheel choices - perhaps lighter forged wheels as standard would have unacceptable losses on the wheel/tire policies. And as every reviewer has said, they have mostly neutered the V8 sound. Thanks to all the members who have posted on this topic, I know how I want to fix this. Again, after a big purchase I just need some time to execute that. At least that was clear from the reviews coming in, so there’s no surprise.

Apologies in advance for the initial lack of pics in this post. I can’t get tha app to add the attachments on the iPad. I’ll fix that later from my iPhone. It seems odd to post pictures of a new car phasing out of production next year, but Forum rules are Forum rules (if this is your first time at Fight Club, you must fight). I will say that I struggled to find pictures of MBB with Midrand - 99% are either black or Silverstone, so for anyone else evaluating that combo I hope my build pics are helpful.

[Dr Thrillride]

Originally Posted by M3/4/8

So I posted here on the 8 forum for the first time right after my allocation went to 112 to comment on my pre-order process and why I chose the M8. That book is available in the archives, so I created a new thread for my 1st review. I’ve had the car since early November but have been too busy to post with work and the holidays. Thought I would jot down my thoughts after having the car for a while for those who are interested. I honor the break-in rules to keep the warranty valid, so the vehicle is bone stock and hasn’t been pushed to its limits. Haven’t even been able to block time to have a good ceramic exterior coat applied. Break-in service is scheduled for Monday.

Specs:

F92 M8 Competition Coupe
C1K Marina Bay Blue Metallic
X3JQ Full Leather Merino Midrand Beige (exterior color contrast stitching is awesome)
ZDA Driving Assistance Package (no ZDP)
1TG 20” M Star Wheels Style 811M
3M5 M Compound Brakes with Red Calipers
4ML Individual Piano Black Finish Trim
6F1 Bowers & Wilkins Diamond Surround
7ME M Drivers Package

My Budget Cuts:
Individual Paint (Imola Red) - sigh.
71C M Carbon Exterior Package (having hand-washed the car, there is a s-ton of shadow line trim - but it’s $$$ for something that isn’t a must)
2NK M Carbon Ceramic Brakes (I bought the car - replacement discs are just too expensive - obviously not a problem for a lease customer)

Actively Didn’t Want:

48C M Carbon Bucket Seats - No disrespect to those who purchased them and love them. This is a design comment for Munich. In a bucket seat without a center harness setup, why have a hard piece of carbon plastic in the center of the seat? There’s no hole there for a buckle…so why put a nut-cracker there? Every time I dinged the jewels on that I would be thinking that I spent $4,500 for the privilege of frequent groin pain from ingress/egress from my own car with such limited functional purpose (I suppose it keeps a professional driver’s legs static in extreme driving). Great if you think you’re Senna. They do look great, and if you are really trying to get utility out of the back seats they sure are slimmer profile in the rear and thus provide more rear passenger space. I opted for comfort and no groin injuries. Might have tripped the option without the center plastic.

Overall - I love the car. I wanted a powerful GT, a budget supercar, and this is it. It’s not perfect. Would it be better if they had trimmed some length and girth? Sure. Clearly the 8 was an attempt to improve on the 6 series (swoopy sportier design) and to thus de-link it from the 5 series ($$$), but they also didn’t want to abandon the 6 series customers that enjoyed the large coupe 2+2 format. If your intended focus is road and track, then there are better options - either in-house M2/4 or a 911 GT3. I do, however, feel some reviewers make too much of the weight. Per Google, M4 x-drive competition weight is 3,980 lbs. The M8 is 4,250 lbs. That’s 7% heavier. Compared to my older cars, even the 2016 Competition F82, I will admit that I feel it more. I don’t think it’s that significant vs. the current M stablemates. And it is a GT.

I have no intentions at this point in life of serious tracking - excepting an occasional dragstip/airstrip opportunity or if I end up later in life close to a long road course with more straights then corners. A tight technical track would shred tires and fry the brakes given the weight. For road use, I feel it manages the weight incredibly. And the power is insane coupled with x-drive. Coming sequentially from MT E46, E92, F82 (which I kept), it is much faster in a straight line then all prior M’s and I believe can power corner with them…as long as you aren’t overheating the brakes. I live most of the year in South Florida so there aren’t many winding driver’s roads. Hence, the steel brakes aren’t really tested here. Regardless of the model, all modern M cars have so much grip and capability that if you are getting to the limit of the car on a public road and spotted by the police you are likely visiting the local jail. I wanted an explosive V8 in highest tune, great looks, and the height of luxury (at least for BMW). Check, check, check. Also loving the now old-style screen layout of ID7. Not a fan of the looks of the wraparound screen dash in the new BMW’s, and I have stronger words of disdain for the freaking iPad in the new AMG GT63. This cabin is fantastic.

Also, I would refute the recent Smoking Tire podcast comments about the suspension setup being awful for a GT. In Comfort setting, regular seats, and Michelins the car is tight but not dental-work jarring. Granted, we have pretty good roads here but I don’t see much difference from prior M cars going over rail tracks and the occasional big bump. The one caveat - I don’t have back issues, so I can see that the 850i would likely be better for those who prioritize a comfortable ride.

The transmission probably deserves its own review. I can’t really imagine rowing 8 gears of MT in this format, and in these days of government pressure on gas mileage an 8 or 9 cog in a GT makes sense. I can’t personally compare it to the prior DCT’s. Most everyone who has is not in favor of the current M8 autobox. It’s fortunate for me that I don’t know what I’m missing. I’m happy with it overall - it’s fast enough with a change when sharpened in the settings. My two critiques are noticed infrequently but are significant demerits - not mounting the paddles to the column is non-sensical in a car with sporting pretentions, and when switching from reverse to drive I periodically find myself in N, which in this case stands for no-man’s land. I had an incident in a parking lot with an older Merc Sprinter van without a backup camera and can only say that my horn saved the car from being crunched as I never got it into D in a panic. I never had this issue on a quick shift from R to 1 in a manual. 1 out of 5 or 6 times, I have to go back for a do-over to get it over to D. Operator error I’m sure, but you shouldn’t have to focus that much with eyes off the road (to monitor success) to perfect a simple but critical action.

As for the bad, I’m not happy with the wheels comparatively in the M family…not just mine but all of the standard options. Aftermarket is a must but I will need some time to get that within the family budget. Disappointing with how great the exterior design works - this is a beautiful car. The wheels just don’t match that standard. I wonder if the weight impacted the wheel choices - perhaps lighter forged wheels as standard would have unacceptable losses on the wheel/tire policies. And as every reviewer has said, they have mostly neutered the V8 sound. Thanks to all the members who have posted on this topic, I know how I want to fix this. Again, after a big purchase I just need some time to execute that. At least that was clear from the reviews coming in, so there’s no surprise.

Apologies in advance for the initial lack of pics in this post. I can’t get tha app to add the attachments on the iPad. I’ll fix that later from my iPhone. It seems odd to post pictures of a new car phasing out of production next year, but Forum rules are Forum rules (if this is your first time at Fight Club, you must fight). I will say that I struggled to find pictures of MBB with Midrand - 99% are either black or Silverstone, so for anyone else evaluating that combo I hope my build pics are helpful.

All those words but no pics? Wtf?

Apology not accepted.

But seriously, for your location and your experience with BMW, you made a great choice. Not sure if this car and the 911 GT3 are very similar but I get what you meant.

[M3/4/8]

Pics so no Ban

[Dr Thrillride]

You’re two minutes late. lol

[bloozemanAZ]

Great spec but did you mean no ZDY vs ZDP? ZDP is part of ZDA on an 8-series, i.e., parking assistant plus. You may regret not having DAP aka ZDY over the long haul as it's a great option for long boring highway miles on a road trip. Enjoy that M8C. 👍

[M3/4/8]

Originally Posted by bloozemanAZ

Great spec but did you mean no ZDY vs ZDP? ZDP is part of ZDA on an 8-series, i.e., parking assistant plus. You may regret not having DAP aka ZDY over the long haul as it's a great option for long boring highway miles on a road trip. Enjoy that M8C. 👍

You’re right I messed that up - I did mean ZDY. Traffic jams suck regardless. Opted to keep that $1,700 in my pocket.

[wesleyan92]

Great write up and beautiful car. Love the interior.

[m3_08]

nice write up. Enjoy the car. Love interior - I have the same

[snowbimmer]

What a beauty. Awesome color combination. MBB for the win!