Hello everyone
I just received a steal of a deal with a clean title 2007 s8 with only 56k miles(getting carbon cleaning as we speak). I come from a line of bmw’s so this is completely new to me. I came here to see what you guys think I should do with my car. I can never seam to just keep a car stock but I also just graduated college and the budget is not the highest(so no superchargers or turbo kits unfortunately). With my BMWs in the past down pipe and tune would be just about all I need and it wasn’t too expensive but as I’m looking for things to do for this s8 I don’t know where to start. Should I get a edu and tcu tune? If so should I go custom or get the jhm/ something else? For the exhaust where can I find a miltek? Is it even worth it or should I have to go custom/ just do resonator delete/ muffler delete ? I am located in Houston if y’all have any places to recommend where I can get stuff done too that would be great. Thank you

 

Welcome, and some words of wisdom for your consideration.

Spend what money you have on getting it fully sorted mechanically and cosmetically first. A cheap S8 is cheap for a reason. What’s lurking under that sleek bodywork? Once it’s in good shape and you’re used to it, then think about mods. Although there’s not really much you can do easily/cheaply performance wise as it’s an NA motor. I’d also stay away from JHM products for the S8. A few folks have tried them here and they seem to be poorly engineered junk designed to relieve you of your money whilst making your car worse.

Also consider that the A8/S8 is a soft luxury sedan, not some wannabe canyon carving track monster on dubs. Trying to turn it into one will ruin it (and also make you look a clown in the process).

About the best bang for buck mod you can actually do and the only one I would whole heartedly recommend is putting in a Mr12volt apple carplay/Android Auto interface. It transforms the infotainment system.

Goodluck with your new to you S8.

 

thank you for your input. The car was a stroke of luck my dad owns a shop and the car came by it was the gentleman’s dads car who passed and I guess he did not know what he had/ did not want to fix it. It has been sitting for some time and the air ride was acting up and had codes but as of right now we’ve gotten it all fixed mechanically it’s a one owner car and the gentleman took very good care of it. My dad didn’t even know what it was either so he offered the guy $1,500 for it and he took it. Once I heard this I bought the car right from my dad and as of right now with the purchase of the car and all the repairs I’m all in for $3,500.

as for mods I haven’t even got to drive the car yet because I haven’t gone back to Texas yet, just been getting updates from dad and shop. That being said I’ve done some research and some say it’s a little laggy I’m assuming from the ATM. I don’t want to be trashy just seeing what my options are I’m willing to put another 4-7k into the car for mods but I don’t know where to find them or which ones are even worth it.

 

Stick with maintenance and cosmetic reconditioning for the time being. That's the only real advice I can give you.

 

Agreed on maintenance and reconditioning. Make sure you inspect the entire power steering system and check for leaks at the boots on the steering rack, the OEM gaskets aren't amazing and have a tendency to wear. Also, replacing the power steering pump, AC compressor, water pump and thermostat, all oxygen sensors, exhaust manifold and a number of other things are ALL ENGINE OUT repairs. If you do drop the engine and your wallet is thick enough, just do everything. You'll regret it later if you don't.

Make sure there are no leaks in the air suspension struts and the regulator and pump (inside the driver side wheel well) aren't leaking either. If there are, the removal isn't terribly difficult and you should send them to Rebuild Master Tech for a rebuild. They do a fantastic job and I've done this for both the front and rear suspension on mine. I'd also suggest doing a full brake job with slotted performance rotors, I did this immediately and saw good improvement in braking. If you really want to, you could do ceramic rotors. Brembo did also make a Big Brake Kit for the fronts at one point that you could upgrade to, its about $4000. The D3 brakes aren't as good as the D4 brakes which adopted the 6 piston Brembo design up front.

As for mods, wheel spacers can be a nice touch since the stock wheels sit a few mm's inside of the well, they make the car look a little more aggressive. Get really good tires, Pirelli, Michelin, etc. If you have snow and salt in your area, pick up a set of winter wheels with winter tires. The stock wheels are very heavy duty but the coating can deteriorate over time, especially with salt exposure.

Remember, you may have paid only $1500 for it, but this was a $120,000 car in 2007 and it will still cost the same to repair it.

Have fun!