data-csrf="1711627633,f729c8e423066a913fa4a9a2a478c814" BMW i8 | As Real As It Gets

BMW i8

Armed Ferret

Well-known member
Dec 18, 2007
2,204
3
Maryland, wishing it was TX
It's honestly an overpriced, underpowered, overhyped, carbon-fiber hunk of scheisse, whose sole purpose is to allow BMW to say "we have a 90mpg production car, along with a fully-electric (i3)" so they can keep making shit like the M3, M4, M5, and M6.

But, we got one, so what the fuck.


IMG_1319 by Armed Ferret, on Flickr

And yes, BMW's break like a motherfucker. We sold an M6 about a month ago that's already back, 20 fucking thousand miles on the clock (in one fucking month...) with 2 pages of repairs. At least the guy who bought it still has it under warranty, but holy fuck. 20k miles and half the fucking car needs replacing?
 

remsen

Well-known member
Dec 9, 2007
461
0
Danville, CA
I know that the manufacturers are making these things because they are being coerced into it by states/feds, but the i8 is the proverbial answer without a question. Some of the electric cars make sense for their narrow purposes....like around town grocery getters being used as secondary vehicles. That, I get.

And I sort of get the Tesla Model S too...we have one, though I don't drive it much since it's my wife's commute car. It's a lot of fun and it has a practical side, and for us it's been dead nuts reliable for 15,000 miles, but there's still no damn way I would have bought the car on my own. My wife works in Silicon Valley and those types get their jollies from rolling iPads. Fine, if you want to buy an expensive toy that doubles as a commute car.

But the "supercar" hybrid/electrics make absolutely no sense to me. I used to love BMWs, back when they were made for driving (we had the 5 series from the 1980s and early 2000s), but I wouldn't touch one now at half the price they're charging. And I sure as shit wouldn't buy an electric/hybrid at those prices.

If I were going to throw $100k+ at vehicles, it'd be for a solid truck and a really nice old Corvette. And maybe a 'lectric car for in town stuff. I wish they'd stop using taxpayer money to create these idiotic toys.
 

athhud

Well-known member
Oct 21, 2008
308
0
AL
My little sister had an '06 3 series of some sort.... That will be the last BMW I ever turn a wrench on. It required a lot of wrench turning and even more electrical troubleshooting. She upgraded to a Kia Optima and got a lot more car for a lot less money. The BMW did have some nifty cup holders though.

Seeing that her electric trunk wouldn't open, the radio quit working, the air conditioner compressor fell apart, the rear door windows fell out of the frames, and the dash was forever flashing a new light or code, I'd be more than hesitant to jump on a fresh BMW design. Especially one that is electric. Not that they do much better with gas engines. Half a dozen bolts were snapped on her car. Valve covers, cylinder heads, exhaust manifolds.... Someone didn't have a calibrated torque wrench! Then there was the time the lower radiator hose fell off..... I can't even begin to describe the absurd design that BMW came up with for attaching a hose to a radiator. I'll just say it involved a lot of plastic, a single screw, and some magic....
 

Driftin'

Well-known member
Nov 16, 2009
2,225
13
Offshore
Meh. Not much sweeter sounding than a 2-stroke diesel, except maybe a P-51D flyby....

[video:youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yR9I1x2Ix-0[/video]

Seems to be some that are leaning toward putting smaller horizontally-opposed 2-strokes in light trucks. Newer technology may resurrect the old reliable and efficient engines.
 

BrianW

Well-known member
Nov 18, 2007
1,994
5
Alaska
www.geocities.com
Driftin' said:
Meh. Not much sweeter sounding than a 2-stroke diesel, except maybe a P-51D flyby....
You might like the Napier Nomad diesel then...



A two stroke diesel mated to a turbine...

The Napier Nomad was a British diesel aircraft engine designed and built by Napier & Son in 1949. They combined a piston engine with a turbine to recover energy from the exhaust and thereby improve fuel economy. Two versions were tested, the complex Nomad I which used two propellers, each driven by the mechanically independent stages, and the Nomad II, using the turbo-compound principle, coupled the two parts to drive a single propeller. The Nomad II had the lowest specific fuel consumption figures seen up to that time.[2] Despite this the Nomad project was cancelled in 1955 having spent £5.1 million on development, as most interest had passed to turboprop designs.[3]
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Napier_Nomad

There's an example at the Udvar-Hazy Center which is an annex of the National Air & Space Museum located a Dulles Airport. Here's a couple pics...





(The turboshaft engine in the foreground is from a Huey.)

Sorry for the thread drift. Back to Beamers and Telsa's now! :
 

Driftin'

Well-known member
Nov 16, 2009
2,225
13
Offshore
With apologies to Ferret for the tangent but I'll take a roar to a hum any day....

Brian,
Interesting coupling.

Raghorn,
The old deuces required a turbo/blower to flush the exhaust gases from the cylinder to attain the 2-cycle operation. They make impressive torque with better fuel economy than their 4 stroke brethren. Their longevity saw them put into service in farm equipment, marine and locomotive applications as well. 8,000 hp at 135 rpm, 21 knots:

[video:youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sWjMBSnq2es[/video]

Jump to 2:15 and turn up your speakers--

[video:youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RrJhlTcN_Qw[/video]

Wish my JD tractor sounded like that.... *grin*

Back to our regularly-scheduled programming....
 

Paul H

Well-known member
Nov 19, 2007
1,578
0
Alaska
Visit site
It's a shame BMW's quality is in the tank, they've made some great cars over the years but seem to have lost their way.

If I was going to drop uber coin on a German ride it would be an E63 AMG 4matic.