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Vehicle or Project Description
Found this out front of a dealership on my way hope from work. A few days later it was my daily driver. Over 175k miles on the odometer with little to no problems at all. The car has been lightly modified and well maintained.
This is not the type of car you buy and expect to be maintained by your local BMW dealer. The costs for doing so would be insanely high and would surpass the value of the car almost instantly. Instead, be prepared to do lots of work yourself or have a good independent mechanic available. Parts are becoming harder and harder to source with many being NLA (no longer available) directly from BMW. There is a very small aftermarket offering for these vehicles as well.
They are fairly complex cars which seem to have just about two of every component (batteries, fuel pumps, intake manifolds, etc). That being said, a well taken care of example will probably only need minor maintenance from time to time. Its not uncommon to see these cars with 150k-300k miles on the odometer.
In stock form, they aren't overly exciting to drive. Electronic tuning and suspension upgrades are highly recommended at a minimum to wake the car up. A supercharger or twin-turbo system turns a fairly slow car into an absolute rocket ship.
They are comfortable to drive and pretty reliable. Be prepared to receive lots of thumbs up and looks as you drive through town as its certainly a head turner.
Engine Specs
The BMW 850i came from the factory with a front mounted SOHC 5.0L V12 designated as the M70. It utilizes a Bosch Motronic 1.2 engine control system and manifold port fuel injection. Other features include all aluminum block & heads to reduce weight and low compression (8.8:1) which allows it to run on lower octane gasoline.
Upgrades were made to provide a littler bit more power. The increase in throttle response and the crisper shifts completely transform the car's driver characteristics.
| Component | Manufacturer | Specification / Part # |
|---|---|---|
| Engine Chips | Wokke Performance | DME & EML V2.0 |
| (2) Air Filters | K&N | 33-2059 |
Transmission & Drivetrain Specs
The 'lifetime' transmission fluid was flushed out and changed and an updated filter was installed. Swapping out transmission chips provided more precise and firmer shifts.
| Component | Manufacturer | Specification / Part # |
|---|---|---|
| Transmission Chip | Dinan Performance Engineering | D900-5033 |
Suspension Specifications
With well over 150k miles on the car, it was time to replace suspension components. In addition to replacing failed bushings, lowering springs, sport shocks and static camber plates were installed.
| Component | Manufacturer | Specification / Part # |
|---|---|---|
| Front Lowering Springs | H&R | 29583 |
| Rear Lower Springs | Dinan Performance Engineering | No Longer Available |
| Static Camber Plates | No Longer Available | |
| Sport Shocks | Bilstein | |
| Sway Bars F+R | GregK Gen II | No Longer Available |
Brake Specifications
The braking system was upgraded with cross drilled rotors and performance pads.
| Component | Manufacturer | Specification / Part # |
|---|---|---|
| Pads | Hawk | |
| Rotors | Zimmerman |
Interior Details
The interior remained mostly stock with the exception of AC Schnitzer pedal covers that were added.
Safety Equipment
- 3 Point Belts
- Air Bag(s)
Stereo System & Electronics
The stock ampliers and speakers were left, but the head unit was upgraded to a BMW business in-dash CD player.
| Component | Manufacturer | Part # / Specification |
|---|---|---|
| Head Unit | BMW | CD43 |
| Pedal Covers | AC Schnitzer | Aluminum |
