R8 as a £40k used buy?

[200Plus Club]

V10 now available at £50k if you don't mind say 50k miles. Fabulous prospect and no reason to touch the 4wd system whatsoever, they are rwd biased anyway.

[Peanus]

Trev450 said:

jon- said:

I'm not sure how this started, but I'm now considering one of these as an e92 M3 replacement.

Have many people disconnected the front wheels? I presume that causes a lot of electric issues.

Why would you want to?

I guess for the same reason that some people are buying the R8 RWS

[PompeyReece]

Peanus said:

Trev450 said:

jon- said:

I'm not sure how this started, but I'm now considering one of these as an e92 M3 replacement.

Have many people disconnected the front wheels? I presume that causes a lot of electric issues.

Why would you want to?

I guess for the same reason that some people are buying the R8 RWS

Then I would say buy a RWS I've never heard of anyone doing this on a 4WD R8 and personally I wouldn't own one if it wasn't 4WD! It makes the car feel totally planted, especially at high speeds and is my favourite characteristic of the car.

[jon-]

PompeyReece said:

Peanus said:

Trev450 said:

jon- said:

I'm not sure how this started, but I'm now considering one of these as an e92 M3 replacement.

Have many people disconnected the front wheels? I presume that causes a lot of electric issues.

Why would you want to?

I guess for the same reason that some people are buying the R8 RWS

Then I would say buy a RWS I've never heard of anyone doing this on a 4WD R8 and personally I wouldn't own one if it wasn't 4WD! It makes the car feel totally planted, especially at high speeds and is my favourite characteristic of the car.

I like RWD, I dislike quattro. I love the RWS (driven a few), I can't afford the RWS.

After posting I did some research and you can buy a kit in America for about £300. You save nearly 100lbs and gain about 10% RWHP due to less transmission losses. Apparently the car feels more responsive, quicker and the steering lightens up and has more feel.

Why wouldn't you do it

[Trev450]

jon- said:

I like RWD, I dislike quattro. I love the RWS (driven a few), I can't afford the RWS.

After posting I did some research and you can buy a kit in America for about £300. You save nearly 100lbs and gain about 10% RWHP due to less transmission losses. Apparently the car feels more responsive, quicker and the steering lightens up and has more feel.

Why wouldn't you do it

I can understand the reasons why someone may want to do this,weight saving, handling charateristics etc, but if the main motive is to introduce RWD handling traits, then you may not be aware that with 80 percent drive to the rear wheels, the R8 will already feel close to this.

[jon-]

Trev450 said:

jon- said:

I like RWD, I dislike quattro. I love the RWS (driven a few), I can't afford the RWS.

After posting I did some research and you can buy a kit in America for about £300. You save nearly 100lbs and gain about 10% RWHP due to less transmission losses. Apparently the car feels more responsive, quicker and the steering lightens up and has more feel.

Why wouldn't you do it

I can understand the reasons why someone may want to do this,weight saving, handling charateristics etc, but if the main motive is to introduce RWD handling traits, then you may not be aware that with 80 percent drive to the rear wheels, the R8 will already feel close to this.

I'm lucky enough to have driven pretty much every iteration of R8 on road and track, and as wonderful as it is as an AWD system, it's still an AWD system. They certainly have their place in cars, but look at the Balboni edition of the Gallardo. He was the chief test driver, and which drivetrain did he prefer

[Trev450]

jon- said:

Trev450 said:

jon- said:

I like RWD, I dislike quattro. I love the RWS (driven a few), I can't afford the RWS.

After posting I did some research and you can buy a kit in America for about £300. You save nearly 100lbs and gain about 10% RWHP due to less transmission losses. Apparently the car feels more responsive, quicker and the steering lightens up and has more feel.

Why wouldn't you do it

I can understand the reasons why someone may want to do this,weight saving, handling charateristics etc, but if the main motive is to introduce RWD handling traits, then you may not be aware that with 80 percent drive to the rear wheels, the R8 will already feel close to this.

I'm lucky enough to have driven pretty much every iteration of R8 on road and track, and as wonderful as it is as an AWD system, it's still an AWD system. They certainly have their place in cars, but look at the Balboni edition of the Gallardo. He was the chief test driver, and which drivetrain did he prefer

You clearly are in a position to make an informed decision. I was only drawing your attention to the front rear split in case you were not aware of it. Let us know if you decide to go down this route.

[jon-]

No doubt if I do go down this route I'll end up spinning into a ditch in the first 23 seconds

[Trev450]

jon- said:

No doubt if I do go down this route I'll end up spinning into a ditch in the first 23 seconds

Wonder if the nanny mechanisms will still function.

[jon-]

Trev450 said:

jon- said:

No doubt if I do go down this route I'll end up spinning into a ditch in the first 23 seconds

Wonder if the nanny mechanisms will still function.

From what I've read TC and ESP Is unaffected, and it doesn't throw drive train errors.

Unlike the last RWS I drove... which was convinced it had a 4WD error and sat in limp mode

[Trev450]

Not sure if you frequent r8talk.com but a couple of guys over there have done this mod if you wanted some first-hand feedback.

[Nuttcase]

I would only do a 2wd modification in the UK if I was developing a serious track-only car. I'm sure the weight savings would pay off on a dry circuit. For use on damp roads I find anything with more than 400hp has difficulty with traction; I recently had a test drive in a M4CS and it really struggled in damp conditions on Michelin PSS. I don't have that problem on the R8V10 with even more power and running on Cup2 tyres.

I'm fairly certain the transmission is specified during the EU type approval process and the manufacturers Cert of Compliance (CoC) will be issued on that basis, so you may find that a 2wd conversion in the EU may invalidate the CoC. It's possible that this mod may constitute a "radically altered vehicle" and you may have to apply for a certificate from the DVLA/VCA; really not sure about this - I have imported vehicles but never radically modified them! It would certainly be an interesting conversation with your insurance company who would need to be informed.

[Brainpox]

Nuttcase said:

I would only do a 2wd modification in the UK if I was developing a serious track-only car. I'm sure the weight savings would pay off on a dry circuit. For use on damp roads I find anything with more than 400hp has difficulty with traction; I recently had a test drive in a M4CS and it really struggled in damp conditions on Michelin PSS. I don't have that problem on the R8V10 with even more power and running on Cup2 tyres.

That's probably more to do with the M4 having a boatload of torque from very low down, leading to skittish and tail happy behaviour. It's always been one of the M3/M4s main criticisms.

RWD will never really be a problem if you drive sensibly/to the conditions anywho. It's what makes it a challenge.

[jon-]

M4 is front engined too. The R8 has the power in the right place

[Hol]

I have heard of people converting AWD cars to RWD specifically for drifting.

Unless I was bored, I really cannot see the point of wanting to do it, when a properly designed RWD car can be bought.

[PompeyReece]

Hol said:

I have heard of people converting AWD cars to RWD specifically for drifting.

Unless I was bored, I really cannot see the point of wanting to do it, when a properly designed RWD car can be bought.

Can't quite fathom that myself but good luck to them - I guess a new Gen 2 RWD is £115-£120k upwards with extras, a converted Gen 1 V10 could be had for around 1/2 that, albeit an older car etc..

I've seen people have an R-tronic converted to a Manual too! Bonkers what people do with cars.... and find the people able to do it!!!

[jon-]

Hol said:

I have heard of people converting AWD cars to RWD specifically for drifting.

Unless I was bored, I really cannot see the point of wanting to do it, when a properly designed RWD car can be bought.

Find me a MR NA RWD supercar for less money

Also, regarding the point. Because you can