Retro Autobahn Stormer - V8 Content Inside (840CI)

[Art0ir]

The spec in order of importance;

1.4.4 V8
2.Quad exhausts
3.93K Miles
4.FBMWSH
5.Wicked deep dish BBS (genuine BBS, not genuine replicas) - innit.

No plans other than oil change, coolant change, gearbox oil & filter change, new plugs, new tyres.

Might drop the front 30mm and the rear 20mm. Car needs a good clean on the outside and maybe a mop to lessen what appears to be 18 years of swirl marks.

[jas xjr]

Nice , love these

[carpetsoiler]

Absolutely love these. Amazingly overengineered, and carry an amazing road presence. I remember they were perceived as a bit naff for some time, but I've always loved them.

Enjoy it, make sure you get a Shell loyalty card- you'll need it.

[Art0ir]

carpetsoiler said:

Absolutely love these. Amazingly overengineered, and carry an amazing road presence. I remember they were perceived as a bit naff for some time, but I've always loved them.

Enjoy it, make sure you get a Shell loyalty card- you'll need it.

I've driven around 200 miles since yesterday and it's the most solid car I've ever sat in. As you said, incredibly overengineered and not a rattle anywhere after 18 years.

I've been running an Impreza STI the past year as my daily so I hopefully won't notice much difference fuel wise. At least this will happily run on 95.

It does take 90L to fill though!

[g3org3y]

Lovely stuff, congrats

[carpetsoiler]

Art0ir said:

I've driven around 200 miles since yesterday and it's the most solid car I've ever sat in. As you said, incredibly overengineered and not a rattle anywhere after 18 years.

I've been running an Impreza STI the past year as my daily so I hopefully won't notice much difference fuel wise. At least this will happily run on 95.

It does take 90L to fill though!

Pillarless too- just...

Whereabouts are you based? If you're local-ish would be nice to see it!

If anything, it'll be more economical than the Impreza- especially on motorway runs. They're good for 30+mpg if you don't piss about too much. Also- consider a remap on the V8. The engine is actually not that optimised for the British market, and as a result they map easily to 300+bhp. I've seen figures bandied about from 303bhp (realistic) to 320bhp (probably a dreamer), but only one way to find out! The exhaust manifolds are also very restricted... just some food for thought.

[Art0ir]

I'm in NI I'm afraid.

Someone on another forum did point me in the direction of this.

Have brimmed it anyway so will work out the consumption at the next fill.

[carpetsoiler]

Art0ir said:

I'm in NI I'm afraid.

Someone on another forum did point me in the direction of this.

Have brimmed it anyway so will work out the consumption at the next fill.

Absolute rubbish. I'll arrange a holiday at some point.

Personally I'd go for a proper remap session, but that's just me- depends a) if you want to get the power higher and b) how much you're willing to spend. For that price you can get a map done...

If it's reasonable to run I may have to reconsider my position for dumping one of those engines inside my E36...

[Art0ir]

carpetsoiler said:

Absolute rubbish. I'll arrange a holiday at some point.

Personally I'd go for a proper remap session, but that's just me- depends a) if you want to get the power higher and b) how much you're willing to spend. For that price you can get a map done...

If it's reasonable to run I may have to reconsider my position for dumping one of those engines inside my E36...

Haha more than welcome! It's actually a lovely place outside of Belfast. Even that its charms sometimes.

I'll look into the remap side of things. Are there any reputable companies in the UK?

They seem to be a great engine by all accounts. They got a bad rep with the Nikasil thing back in the day but the new Alusil engines were fine and the sulphur content in fuel is low enough now that if any of the Nikasil units have made it this far, there should be no issues.

[carpetsoiler]

Art0ir said:

Haha more than welcome! It's actually a lovely place outside of Belfast. Even that its charms sometimes.

I'll look into the remap side of things. Are there any reputable companies in the UK?

They seem to be a great engine by all accounts. They got a bad rep with the Nikasil thing back in the day but the new Alusil engines were fine and the sulphur content in fuel is low enough now that if any of the Nikasil units have made it this far, there should be no issues.

Brilliant. I'll look for a cheap way to get the motor over there. Apparently there's some great driving roads to be had!

I'm not sure to be honest, I've only been researching from the point of view of dropping the engine in my E36- it's all circumstantial stuff that I've found so far, no definite figures from reputable places. May be best to fire a question out to a forum that specialises in 5-Series/7-Series, stuff like that?

You're dead right, people who spout Nikasil these days are living somewhat in the past. Is yours 4.0 or 4.4?

[mrtwisty]

More pics, more pics

Have you considered LPG (depending on how many miles you do obviously)?

[Art0ir]

The chip above seems to be favoured on both sides of the pond. It's the later 4.4, but they shortened the diff ratio to slow it down.

No plans for LPG. Would certainly consider one but I don't hold onto cars long enough to pay back getting it converted myself.

[Wills2]

Never mind the car (which is lovely BTW) how pretty is the view from your house!

Nice spot you live in!

[Art0ir]

It's my mother's sadly, although I grew up right around the corner.

Everything to the left is NI, to the right is Co. Louth, ROI.



Similarly here. The house is just above the "Seafields" behind the trees.

[Art0ir]

Local meet during the week, spotted this on Facebook.

I swear it's not dirty, it just picks up every reflection!

[The Nur]

I love it. There will always be a place in my heart for an 8 series.

[Art0ir]

carpetsoiler said:

If it's reasonable to run I may have to reconsider my position for dumping one of those engines inside my E36...

Just to update you, I reset the second OBC reading today and managed an average of 29MPG after about 100 miles at 90 leptons and around 5 miles through the city traffic.

I've to fill up in the morning, so will compare the OBC reading for the full tank of fuel (17MPG - lots of town/city driving this week) with what the pump says.

Not bad for a 2 ton car (if it's any way close) and I dare say it would be even better in your E36

[carpetsoiler]

Art0ir said:

carpetsoiler said:

If it's reasonable to run I may have to reconsider my position for dumping one of those engines inside my E36...

Just to update you, I reset the second OBC reading today and managed an average of 29MPG after about 100 miles at 90 leptons and around 5 miles through the city traffic.

I've to fill up in the morning, so will compare the OBC reading for the full tank of fuel (17MPG - lots of town/city driving this week) with what the pump says.

Not bad for a 2 ton car (if it's any way close) and I dare say it would be even better in your E36

You bd. That's already close to what I do with a 2.8 straight six... but then again, my car gets driven rather hard.

I was looking at an Atlantis Blue 840Ci on eBay earlier. Way too tempting...

[Art0ir]

carpetsoiler said:

You bd. That's already close to what I do with a 2.8 straight six... but then again, my car gets driven rather hard.

Yes, but you know full well the sound of a V8 driven hard is worth a few MPG

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/OE-BMW-E38-740i-E31-840i...

[Art0ir]

Got out for the first proper blast last weekend with a local BMW club. Not normally my thing (marque specific clubs) but the guys are awesome and it was great hoon!

Very, very happy with how well it manages the B roads. Completely different experience to my Impreza, but not bad at all for a 2 ton coupe

Joined by an E92 M3, E34 525i, E34 M5, E30 M3, few E46 330s & Clubsports, E36 M3, 1M, Z4M...