But for the Aero Plus 8 owners, the Plus Six offers little real benefit.
javascript:quickReply(612746,1,0)
Hi Peter,
Not being brutal but honest here (same applies to my Roadster - which is a further step behind your Aero Plus 8) BUT driven in anger on a challenging road you would not see which way the PlusSix went!
The handling and ride and far more compliant and it will of course be better on fuel and the PlusSix has more room and will therefore be less tiring to drive over distances.
As I say - this is progress (and yes I must agree with you...the V8 rumble will NEVER be beaten) but on every other front the PlusSix is much superior...
Of course this is only my opinion
Mark,
the standard Plus 8 suspension isn't perfect, with a little help from SSL and Peter Ballard it is significantly improved. But you are right, someone like Henry Williams in a Plus Six would blast himself in the Plus 8 into the weeds.
BUT...most of us are not in Henry's league. For the average driver, and I class myself as a bit above average in anticipation and reaction time but well below average in bravery, the Plus 8 is preferable.
Why?
The Plus Six, like all modern Turbo engines, delivers maximum torque low low down the rev range. The Plus 8 needs to be well wound up to deliver maxim toque. In our 2 AMGs the various traction/stability devices make it reasonably difficult to get the things to bite. I've tried a C43 on the Mercedes World circuit and even with the traction control "off" the 4 WD makes it impossible to spin. It just under steers.....
The Plus 8 has a LSD, which is good and bad, but in the real world, coupled with a fairly lazy auto box and torque that rises steadily, makes it controllable. My experience with the engine used in the Plus Six, in a BMW M140i, with sophisticated traction control but no LSD, was that the car would bite it too much boot is applied too soon. I talked to Birds BMW Tuning Centre and they strongly advised a Quaife LSD. I'd be very interested to know what they would make of the Plus Six.
So, the Plus Six is, in the right hands, going to be VERY quick. But in the wrong hands it could behave rather wilfully.
