RE: PH Blog: V8 = v. good

[K50 DEL]

Big V8 fan here, I run 2 of them, a 6.0 LS2 engined C6 Corvette in Dubai and a 4.7 Grand Cherokee here in the UK.

The noise of the 'Vette (on standard pipes) is lovely, even the Jeep has a nice woofle when pressing on, though not so much as the P38 Rangie that came before it.

Average 13mpg in the Vette and 17 in the Jeep, luckily fuel's 30p a litre in DXB and I'm not in the UK that often!

[Caruso]

Just bought a 540i Touring. It's the perfect family car if you only do a few thousand miles a year.

[Emeye]

If you're not paying your own fuel it's an easy choice!

Spent a week being chauffeured to a training course in a super charged RRS - very nice. Was an older one, but seeing single digit mpg figures was scary! Would have been even scarier if my mate's company wasn't paying the fuel bill!

[benzito]

sold my sl55 supecharged v8 earlier this year, miss the exhaust note every day

fuel economy was hopeless but couldn't care less as the sound of the glorious v8 (esp after I'd removed the cats and silencers) put a smile on my face every day

[allblackR1]

Just bought my second V8, a supercharged VXR8. It has Walkinshaw performance pipes and the rumble sets off car alarms! Sweet.

[eliot]

Currently own 5 V8's - Last time I drove something with less that 6 cylinders was over 15 years ago.

[WeirdNeville]

GT2CS said:

20p a mile on fuel is 30mpg - from a V8 - are you driving it properly?
10p a mile for other costs - well that might cover you for tyres - but if you manage 30mpg then who knows!

You misunderstand: Currrent car is a leggy 328i which does indeed return 30mpg. And my PH log indicates that my total cost per mile is roughly 30p - bangernomics.

I want a V8 at some point. I was merely commenting that fuel costs are a small portion of cost of car ownership - so you might as well drive something that floats your boat.

[Glideman]

I love my L322 Range Rover 4.4 V8 it's soo smooth when you want it to be and sounds great when you put you're foot down, been getting around 17mpg which is good. Worth every penny, especially now with the bad weather. I've got my heated steering wheel on, air con, heated seats front & rear & the soundtrack of a v8. Can't see why anyone would want to run a diesel apart from to save a few quid but your only here once & a long time dead!

[andyroo]

Every, and I mean every time I start up my V8, I smile. It makes every day worth getting up for.

[andyipb]

Been running an Audi A6 with the 4.2 V8 for four years now. Early twenties MPG round the doors and as others have said, it encourages a more relaxed pace. Took the badges off it and now everyone assumes its a diesel... Nicely anonymous.

[AmitG]

My last 3 cars have been Jags. The first two were X308 XJs, both normally aspirated V8s. I agree with all the comments about the sheer joy of driving a well tuned V8. The exhaust note in itself converts the act of driving from a chore into an occasion. It is something that anyone interested in cars should try and experience.

But my current car is an XJ40 with the 6.0 litre V12. It makes the V8s sound uncouth. The sound, smoothness and performance is to die for. I can't help but grin when I drive it hard. And it cost me shed money, although I did have to spend a further 2 sheds' worth on "catch up" maintenance.

I say that if you want to experience a piece of motoring ecstasy that will soon be either unattainable or gone forever, buy a cheap V12 and run it for a year. The V8s will be around for a while. They can wait their turn

[OldSkoolRS]

My new year's resolution (kind of) is to own a V8 myself in the form of a TVR Chimaera. Having heard my neighbour's one over the years and having a drive of it this year, there's nothing like the sound IMHO. I drove a Mercedes C63 earlier this year at Mercedes Benz World track so I guess that made getting a V8 inevitable for me.

The 'kind of' bit is that I have to finish and sell my RS2000 first, so the resolution is to do some work on that, as a means to a V8 end.

[LeoSayer]

OwenK said:

I recently bought a twin-turbo V6 estate, can I join in too? It's got rubbish fuel consumption and everythingg!

Afraid not, it doesn't have the required rumble or burble. Still a fine engine though (I should know).

Newish V8s are becoming quite affordable thanks to some staggering depreciation in the past year or two.

£18k for a 6 year old supercharged RRS is very tempting.

[MarkoNoTVR]

goron59 said:

I'm on my second v8. Love them. They'll be gone in a few years, so if you can, enjoy them now.

Not had the pleasure of one yet, but the sound is unequalled IMO.

Probably agree with you on their lifespan for new cars, but the secondhand market should be here for a relatively decent while, Shirley?

[Caruso]

AmitG said:

But my current car is an XJ40 with the 6.0 litre V12. It makes the V8s sound uncouth. The sound, smoothness and performance is to die for. I can't help but grin when I drive it hard.

I was tempted by a very nice one of those at a nearby specialist when I got my 540i. What range of mpg do you get?

[AmitG]

Caruso said:

AmitG said:

But my current car is an XJ40 with the 6.0 litre V12. It makes the V8s sound uncouth. The sound, smoothness and performance is to die for. I can't help but grin when I drive it hard.

I was tempted by a very nice one of those at a nearby specialist when I got my 540i. What range of mpg do you get?

I get the following (approx)

Steady motorway cruise = 25mpg
Urban driving, or "swift progress" on country roads = 10mpg
Overall = 20mpg

Woeful by modern standards. But so much fun. And when you've paid so little for the car in the first place...

[nagrom]

lucky enough to have both a 4-2 s4 and a 3.6 v8 diesel rangie sport. The sound of the RRS is just fantastic and it has a wall of torque, nothing like a diesel of old but unfortunately no longer available in the sport.

[Jessop]

V8's do sound awesome. I always enjoy seeing so many corvette's at LeMans every year.

Can a straight 6 twin turbo mingle with the v8 boys though..

surely the tuned purr and equivalent MPG would fit in nicely with the conversation?

[Alicatt1]

nagrom said:

lucky enough to have both a 4-2 s4 and a 3.6 v8 diesel rangie sport. The sound of the RRS is just fantastic and it has a wall of torque, nothing like a diesel of old but unfortunately no longer available in the sport.

Also have a 3.6 V8 Sport, it's my diseasel side of economics, and for the petrol side I have the Mustang engined MG ZT with supercharger
Would love to get a new RRS with the 4.4 V8 diesel engine, I held off replacing mine but LR never brought it out.

[Fidd]

Currently a Vxr8 owner, I've always had a strong interest in American cars and anything else with a V8 in it. It's just something that you have to do.