A little while back, former Dinan owner and now the owner of CarBahn, Steve Dinan was on The Smoking Tire podcast to talk BMW tuning, among other things. While there, he mentioned he’d pulled up to the podcast studio in a tuned BMW M8 Competition that made a whopping 880 horsepower. He not only tuned the hell out of the engine but also modified the suspension as well, giving it far better high speed stability and superior handling. In this new video, though, The Smoking Tire’s Matt Farah and Zack Klapman got to drive that very BMW M8.
What makes Steve Dinan’s tuning packages great is that they do two things most other tuners do not — keep the car every bit as comfortable and livable for everyday driving as the standard car and protect the hardware from damage. Considering those two things, the fact that his BMW M8 Competition makes 880 horsepower at the crank is extra impressive. It also makes 795 lb-ft. Both power figures are with 100 octane fuel.
As for the suspension, Dinan kept the car’s adjustable dampers but gave it ten percent stiffer springs, adjustable sway bars, new toe links at the rear, new bushings at the front, and new bump stops at all four corners. The latter of which is something very important to Dinan, who uses bump stops as part of the spring rate and has had great success with his bump stop tech in racing. It also has lighter forged wheels.
All of that transforms the BMW M8 into a car that has the same goal as the standard M8; cover as much ground as possible, at high speeds, in complete comfort; just ramped up to eleven. It’s so much faster than the standard car, while also being even more planted, and, surprisingly, even more comfortable. It’s remarkable how well Steve Dinan was able to tune the M8, taking an already impressive GT car and turning it into something genuinely special. Check it out.
