F8X BMW: All you need to know to go fast with one

J.A.
By J.A. Ackley
Sep 18, 2024 | BMW, BMW M3, BMW M4, BMW F8X | Posted in Buyer's Guides | Never miss an article

Photograph Courtesy BMW

Why an F8X BMW? This chassis–sold as the 2014-2019 BMW M3 and 2014-2020 BMW M4 in the U.S.–is the ultimate platform for going fast, says BimmerWorld’s Phil Wurz. Autocross? No problem? Tracking? No problem. Drag racing? Yes, it can even do that, too.

It’s why BimmerWorld based its wild GTMore build on an F82 M4.


You can start going down …

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Comments
Colin Wood
Colin Wood Associate Editor
9/18/24 8:57 a.m.

Okay, so maybe I'm not of totally sound mind, but this doesn't sound totally unreasonable:

Obviously, even cheaper models can be had for less if you are comfortable with more miles on the clock.

Chris Tropea
Chris Tropea Associate Editor
9/18/24 9:10 a.m.

In reply to Colin Wood :

I also might not be of sound mind but wow that is a lot of car for the money. 

JG Pasterjak
JG Pasterjak Production/Art Director
9/18/24 9:32 a.m.

The F8X cars are super rad. Basically our 435i, but with every compromise not only solved, but solved with a fairly massive upgrade. The N55 is reliable and torquey, but the turbo is basically a spinning restrictor plate and getting more power out of it has proven difficult. But the S55 has TONS of headspace and it's already underrated as are more BMW turbo engines. And at under $40k they're a steal (although we all know that the buy-in on the BMW is only the first part of the adventure with the wallet).

theruleslawyer
theruleslawyer Reader
9/18/24 9:44 a.m.

I loved my f82. Pads, fluids and camber plates and you have a very track capable car. The base is the right place to start if you plan on changing suspension. The EDC suspension is the major upgrade and you'll be tossing it. Most of the CS difference is easy obtained too. Same EDC, different tune. Easy to flash. IIRC they use a different front bar (from the base) that is easy to swap out. If you have a DCT and track it, consider a 1L overfill on the transmission. You won't notice it as a novice, but as you get faster you'll have the shifts slow down and eventually get a trans overtemp warning. 1L overfill solves that for the most part.

The Achellies heel is the seats. They are great seats, but the moment you consider harnesses you find out that they are incompatible. No harness holes. No posts that are compatible with something like a quickfit. Only the f80 has a harness bar. That means getting into harnesses is a very expensive proposition on this car.

If you're worried you're buying someone's track car, look at the brake color. They turn greenish with heat.

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