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MEnthusiast · 20th October 2002, 23:00

I agree with everyone but want to add my own 2 cents here.

1. you cant have a cell phone call (hands free) with the top up at speeds over 60mph. The wind noise with the soft top up is fairly high for a convertible. this is because BMW decided the rag top would only be used for "emergencies". for consistent periods of bad weather they give you the hard top. so the rag top doesnt have the same amount of insulation as some other cars, but its OK.

2. the Z8 is fairly unaerodynamic. if you are of the mindset that a convertible means wind in your hair then youll be happy with the Z8. but if you think a well engineered convertible means there is very little wind in your hair, you will be very unhappy. the windscreen helps- it takes about 20mph off the turbulance, but it also obstructs your rear view. I prefer to drive w/o the windscreen.

3. I actually think the nav is nice w/o too many functions- suits the car better. the stereo is OK, but the bass needs to be reduced to lowest for the am/fm and 1 notch from lowest for CD (there are seperate memories for the radio and cd). trebble needs to be maxed out. with these settings, there is a little suck out in the mid bass thats too bad, but it fixes the totally bloated bass. I find the controls to be the easiest and most intuative of any car Ive ever owned. the tonneau cover is a manual job, and many gripe about it. BMW could have made it automated, but it would have added a few inches height to the cars waist line and that would have ruined it. The car is also not well designed for parking lots (not a lot of protection, especially for the nose which sticks out- but lets face it, the car wasnt designed for the parking lot! if you get a car with any interior color but black, I suggest you get a set of black floor mats as the other colors will get soiled very quickly. save the originals for show days. and yeah, I dislike all the stares it gets- but it is so beautiful.

4. Im sure a V1 can be hardwired, but I havent tried because I just dont want to mess with the Z8. the lighter is literally next to your arm on the tranny tunnel so with the V1 that means an ugly wire is run from the detector to the outlet. I dont care- its "temporary".

5. if the Z8 is the car for you, then you will find that no matter what is happening in your world, when you just look at it you will find yourself grinning. when you are driving it, you will be giggling like a little girl. its that good- if its for you- it was made for a few lucky souls.

20th October 2002, 23:00	#7 (permalink)
MEnthusiast Moderator Join Date: Jun 2000 Location: East Coast, USA Posts: 10,340 Thanks: 0 Thanked 3 Times in 3 Posts	Re: ? for Z8 owners... I agree with everyone but want to add my own 2 cents here. 1. you cant have a cell phone call (hands free) with the top up at speeds over 60mph. The wind noise with the soft top up is fairly high for a convertible. this is because BMW decided the rag top would only be used for "emergencies". for consistent periods of bad weather they give you the hard top. so the rag top doesnt have the same amount of insulation as some other cars, but its OK. 2. the Z8 is fairly unaerodynamic. if you are of the mindset that a convertible means wind in your hair then youll be happy with the Z8. but if you think a well engineered convertible means there is very little wind in your hair, you will be very unhappy. the windscreen helps- it takes about 20mph off the turbulance, but it also obstructs your rear view. I prefer to drive w/o the windscreen. 3. I actually think the nav is nice w/o too many functions- suits the car better. the stereo is OK, but the bass needs to be reduced to lowest for the am/fm and 1 notch from lowest for CD (there are seperate memories for the radio and cd). trebble needs to be maxed out. with these settings, there is a little suck out in the mid bass thats too bad, but it fixes the totally bloated bass. I find the controls to be the easiest and most intuative of any car Ive ever owned. the tonneau cover is a manual job, and many gripe about it. BMW could have made it automated, but it would have added a few inches height to the cars waist line and that would have ruined it. The car is also not well designed for parking lots (not a lot of protection, especially for the nose which sticks out- but lets face it, the car wasnt designed for the parking lot! if you get a car with any interior color but black, I suggest you get a set of black floor mats as the other colors will get soiled very quickly. save the originals for show days. and yeah, I dislike all the stares it gets- but it is so beautiful. 4. Im sure a V1 can be hardwired, but I havent tried because I just dont want to mess with the Z8. the lighter is literally next to your arm on the tranny tunnel so with the V1 that means an ugly wire is run from the detector to the outlet. I dont care- its "temporary". 5. if the Z8 is the car for you, then you will find that no matter what is happening in your world, when you just look at it you will find yourself grinning. when you are driving it, you will be giggling like a little girl. its that good- if its for you- it was made for a few lucky souls. __________________ All the best, Jerry 00 Z8 Jet Black/Red Sport / some others