Cars We Drive!

[OtterMeanGreen]

A friend drove and raced an RX8 for a while (and pretty successfully too) and he liked it quite a bit. He only gave it up because of engine issues which they all suffer from. It can be fast in the right hands, but it requires skill. The motor also has little torque so you need to rev it out to make any power. Gas mileage is awful when you do that.

The main engine issue seems to be the apex seals on the tips of the rotary piston, which wear out and are expensive and hard to change. But if you can drop a new engine in there every few years for $1300, it doesn't seem too bad a deal.

$1300 for a new engine is as comical as what it would cost to buy new tires for this. I could probably cover the costs from what I have between my couch cushions

 

[HRoi]

The M2 has a limited tuning market, the M2 competition doesn’t. The N55 is already topped out without adding fueling systems, methanol, aftermarket turbo replacements, crank hub upgrade, etc. I don’t want to void the BMW warranty. If it had something simple like a Carbahn or Dinan tune that made an appreciable difference like the S55 then I’d probably go that route.

My car is also miserable for passengers. That’s another reason to change cars. The roads here are too rough.

I was joking about the jdm route. He picks legit project cars. I don’t have a garage to work out of, so I’m really looking to pay someone to modify American muscle for me or get an aftermarket tune that’ll match the factory warranty. I’m too risk averse to just wing it with a German performance engine grenading from a tune.

Ok, i hear you about not wanting to void the warranty. If you permit me to be “that guy” with the semantics for one post...yes, the market for tuning the M2 without voiding the warranty is indeed very limited.

But the market for tuning turbo BMW’s (no qualifier regarding warranty) is established to the point of saturation and has low costs of entry. The N54/N55 motor is to BMW what the 2JZ motor was to Toyota/JDM. There’s any number of tuners that will get you to 400+ hp for under $5k without monkeying with turbos or fueling. Tune+filter+downpipes+FMIC and you’re there.

None of this is meant to talk you away from your position, btw. Your level of risk aversion is what it is.

I personally planned to tune my N54 once i felt confident that they’d forever tamed the HPFP issues (i had a ‘08 135i so it became one of the guinea pigs for BMW - it went back to the shop enough to qualify for lemon law buyback), but then i ended up selling the thing before even getting started

 

[Beckwith]

Model s

 

[clee1982]

any car with B58 gets to 400+hp easy.

 

[clee1982]

Fast sedans:
-S8
-S7
-RS5
-XJR
-M760
-M550

The top 3 for sport sedans are probably: M5, E63S or AMG GT63, and Panamera Turbo.

M550 and M760 are more luxurious rides, but fast.

Audis are fast, but not very engaging. Great interiors and infotainment.

I thought that's too much money (M5~E63S then AMG GT63S and Panamera Turbo are another legaue in terms of pricing) , and I can tell you M5 Comp is stiffer than M550 for sure, and in the end I turn to a reasonable man and just get 540...,

 

[clee1982]

speaking Mazda, since we can't have the real thing...

New Mazda RX-Vision GT3 ready to race in the virtual world

Mazda has revealed a racing version of its stunning RX-Vision concept, but this one is for the virtual world only.

www.motorauthority.com

 

[bawlin]

The 964 is a go.

Should be here this weekend.

Coilovers (euro RS ride height). Aero mirrors. Wider Cup-style wheels. New tires. Done.

 

[Thrift Vader]

gorgeous.

 

[Dino944]

The 964 is a go.

Should be here this weekend.

Coilovers (euro RS ride height). Aero mirrors. Wider Cup-style wheels. New tires. Done.

Looks great! Congrats and enjoy it

 

[bawlin]

Looks great!

Yup, 964 RS in Maritime looks fantastic haha.

I wish mine was a special colour. Alas, plain jane Guards Red for me.

 

[Dino944]

Yup, 964 RS in Maritime looks fantastic haha.

I wish mine was a special colour. Alas, plain jane Guards Red for me.

I suspect a 964 in guards red rather than maritime blue isn't going to get much sympathy from this crowd . I haven't driven a 964 in years, but I think you will have a lot of fun with this addition to your stable. I look forward to pix of the actual car when it arrives. Cheers!

 

[HRoi]

Guards red 964 is classic. Needs a good paint correction to really pop (what color doesn’t, right), which too many classic Porsche owners neglect for some reason.

I thought you said you were getting it for <$40k, right? Even if condition was only decent that’s a pretty good price

 

[clee1982]

Is 964 the tail happy era or it's just all a rumor on the earlier porsche more likely to kill you...

 

[HRoi]

I mean....they’re all pretty tail happy but i think the 964 more so. It was around the 996/997 when they started ‘taming’ its tendencies, so to speak...

 

[bawlin]

Was being a bit facetious about my comment re: guards red. Definitely an iconic colour, and I much prefer it on aircooled cars. More importantly, the car has black leather and sport seats whereas tan would've been a deal-breaker.

Car cost me around $38k. After transport, taxes, wheels/tires, and a couple of other small things, I'll be into it for about $43k. Definitely a well-bought car, something that doesn't seem to exist in the aircooled world. To put things in perspective, the C2 I posted the other week (with 3-piece Speedline wheels) sold in less than a week for about $65k.

My only real issue right now is the car is bone stock, and I almost feel guilty modifying it.