Timm's BMW E31 840ci SPORT INDIVIDUAL
THIS CAR IS MAINTAINED WITH THE HELP OF:
http://www.the7seriesregister.co.uk
Full BMW Service History 1999 E31 840ci 8-Series V8 4.4Ltr
This car has the usual E31 refinements plus:
Heated Sports Seats 18" Rondell 58's Motorised steering-wheel Becker Sat-Nav
Servotronic Steering Electrochromatic mirror Ski hatch and bag 10-speaker MP3-CD Hi-Fi Cruise control
This is my second 8-Series and is pretty special, one of 26 finished in Mora Metallic, and one of three with the Champagne Nappa/black interior. I wasn't looking to buy another 8-Series, being perfectly happy with my Orient Blue '97 840ci. But, being an owner of a 740i in Mora Metallic with Champagne Nappa interior, when I saw this advertised on Pistonheads, well, I just had to buy it! The viewing was OK, but the alternator bearing was growling away and there was rust on the rear wheel arches - which was hardly surprising seeing as the arches were completely solid with dried-on mud! I made a deal where the seller had the alternator replaced and the rear arches sorted - which he did - and off we drove in the new car for the 160-mile trip back.
I had replica M-Parallels on my Orient Blue 840ci, but this car has either brand-new or refurbished replica M-Pars, they are absolutely perfect, not a mark on them - but that won't last for long I'm sure, I do have a tendency to get a little too close to curbs (and, sure enough, about a fortnight later I gave the nearside rear a good scrunching - and now replaced with Rondell 58's). The car is all original, well, it was until I fitted the 3-spoke steering wheel and Becker Nav. I am badly missing the throb from the after-market exhaust, so that will be changed this month for another Matt Dennis Longlife system, the car is just too quiet with the standard system (now replaced with a cat-back SS system - and sounding much better).
The interior is absolutely stunning, great contrast between the black finish and the Champagne Nappa leather with purple piping. The CSi door-inserts are a nice touch as well. The leather, generally, is in excellent condition, but there are some darker veins in the leather which will need some fettling, not something I've done before so that will be interesting! - now refurbished using Tarrago upholstery polish for £5! This car has cruise control (which was fitted as standard in all USA cars), and that was one option I missed on my last 840ci. The speed restrictions in the UK are strictly enforced so I find the cruise control invaluable so that I can watch the road rather than nervously watching the speedo.
Mora Metallic is not universally loved, it can look brown in poor light, but in direct sunlight it comes alive with purple and blue highlights. But, it takes a lot of polishing to keep it looking good, a lot like Cosmos Black in that respect. I'm quite used to it after owning a Mora 740i for the last five years, but it is not to everyone's taste. The front spoiler has been performing a bit of 'nudging' in the cars life, and I will have to re-align a few parts at some point, but it's all hanging together nicely.
The 8-series 840ci is a fantastic car, when cruising at 75MPH you will see a return of 25MPG-30MPG on standard unleaded petrol. At this speed the engine is effortlessly turning at 2,100 RPM, on the motorway you will be able to hear every nuance from the 10-speaker CD system. However, if needed, the 840ci will kick it's heels with a gentle prod on the throttle, 75MPH to 100MPH is achieved with no fluster and only a slight throb of the V8, brilliant for that quick overtaking move. And that is what is so great about this car, it is the best of two worlds. You can drive like a chauffeur, no jolts, no engine noise, just an effortless surge in speed. Or, you can tip the 'stick into Sports mode and hit the kick-down, the only thing that stops you leaving your tyres on the road is the super-quick Anti-Slip-Control (ASC) which electronically controls the throttle to a point where you accelerate blindingly quickly and still keep the tread on the tyres! All this achieved with the V8 roar which although subtle is pretty inspiring.
If you really want you can pretend to be driving a 5-speed manual (which you are!) by using the Steptronic box. From Sports mode just push the gear lever forward and backwards through the box but without the hassle of a clutch or the possibility of sticking it in 1st when still going 70MPH. To be honest, the Sports mode will do better changes without a human in the command chain.
The Engine and Gearbox are adaptive meaning that they will learn your driving style, if you are doing long motorway journeys at steady speed the computers will lean out the mixture so that economy is realised. If you are more interested in spirited driving the 'box will change up later and the engine will deliver the power in spades. The M62 engine is very advanced with 4-valves per cylinder (32 valves!), quad overhead chain-driven cams, 8 ignition coils and quad anti-knock sensors for squeezing every ounce of power from any octane petrol. Fortunately this power is tamed by the ASC, unless you want to go sideways everywhere, then you can switch the ASC off!
The centre console is a work of art, so German in design with its functional and ergonomic appearance. These often suffer from fading displays where a number of columns of pixels fail, fortunately there are no problems here. The design shows its lineage with the E32, the dual-climate control is almost identical except the wheels are below the buttons. The on-board-computer is closer to the design of the E38's MID, but looks can be deceptive as the E31's OBC is a self-contained unit whereas the E38's MID is a simple controller and display. The Becker Indianapolis Nav and the three-spoke wheel are retro-fits.
This car has the dual-level heated seats which is a 'must-have' in England, although the M62 reaches temperature pretty quickly there is nothing like the cosseting of heated leather in the morning. The ASC (anti-slip control) works so much better than it does on the E38, it seems to reduce power rather than just switch it off as the latter car does. This, combined with the better road-holding of the E31 gives a much more confident feel. When reaching the limits of adhesion the E31's rear end loses grip in a controlled way, unlike the E38 that sticks until it lets go in a big way, usually leading to a scary tank-slapper that stops you wanting to push it again!
What hasn't this car got? Well it doesn't have a lot of faults that many E31's have:
It hasn't got 'missing pixels' mine are all present and correct
It hasn't got front-end shake when accelerating or braking, no clonks, bonks or shimmy's
It hasn't got dull inadequate lighting, the refurbished Halogen projectors and mains are bright and sharp
It hasn't got a popped PCV valve, ticks over perfectly, no smoke and great power delivery
It hasn't got a Nikasil block with the associated leak-down problems, this is an Alusil engine
It hasn't got annoying 'Bongs', completely clear of Check Control fault messages
It hasn't got a grotty spare wheel, the spare is an original 17" Throwing Star
It hasn't got sparkplug wells full of oil - no leaky rocker-cover gaskets or Dowty seals
The M-Pars have now been replaced with Rondell 58's
