Quote:
Originally posted by M5Bob
1. What is road noise like at highway speeds with the soft top up?
2. How about turbulence and noise with the top down?
3. Are there any little quirks with the car, like with anything in the interior (i.e. A/C or stereo controls,etc.)
4. Can a V1 be hardwired?
5. How much fun do you have driving it?
Thanks for any input.
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1. For a convertible, it's decent, like a 911. With hardtop on, it's coupe-quiet. I found the car more enjoyable sport-wise with hardtop on.
2. With top down, no cell phone conversations over 40 mph. Lots of cabin wind and noise. Must raise voice a decent amount to have a conversation with passenger at highway speeds. Some people prefer the wind rushing around, others don't.
3. Both's dash units began to have a little creaky noise, noticeable just when the hardtop was on, as though the epoxy wasn't firmly set. No big deal. The stereo is terrible. You can play with treble and bass but bottom line is the system stinks. The GPS has no maps, only arrows. There's no tell-tale way to know if the doors are locked or unlocked when in the car, other than opening the door and then hearing if the doors unlock or already were so. You will get lots of looks from people, only had positive experiences. People literally would whip out their video cameras when seeing Z8. Takes 10 minutes to get used to the offset instrument cluster. The phone bin is set way too far back, behind the elbow. If you have to deal with putting the top up and down regularly, it's a pain. The trunk has limited space when the top is up b/c the tonneau cover eats up a majority of the trunk space. With top down (and tonneau cover on), you could put in a normal set of golf clubs or two travel-size sets, plus a small piece of soft luggage.
4. Yes, though I'm not sure what's involved to do so.
5. With the top down, and no need to deal with the top or figuring out how to store things, the car is a lot of fun. It is no 911 in feel and does not want to be. Z8 is a luxury roadster with very good power. It has a fairly soft suspension, not too far different from an M5, but feels faster due to the top down, better engine note, shorter shifter (not a short shift, however; just shorter), and 500 fewer pounds in curb weight. Lots of low-end torque, feels more so than M5. The 911 Turbo cabriolet, when it comes out, would be much better if one were more sport rather than luxury-oriented and didn't have to deal with the top much.
Bottom line is that BMW accomplished its mission with the Z8. Just not for me. Some people live and die by them.
- A-Train