[dcmac]

My delivery

After lusting over the great M2 since it launched and being an avid reader of this forum, I finally picked up my dream car last week – an ’18 LCI in Mineral Grey.

Options included Exec pack, rear carbon spoiler, stainless steel pedals (love these!), CarPlay and black kidneys/side grilles. I installed the replacement door LED lights myself after a few day of ownership (also love these!). Excited now to share some pics from delivery and detail with you guys.

After a 4-month wait since the order went in, my car finally arrived on the Fedora to the west coast port. Once it arrived on a transport to Denver, I organised with my dealer to pick it up direct from the delivery lot rather than have it go to the dealership – I was greeted by a very friendly BMW tech at the yard, who I think was pretty amused with my obvious giddiness about the car. Honestly though, I was (still am) stunned with how good these look in the metal. I must have walked around it about 20 times just taking in the lines and the amazing colour – even when muddy from its long trip, it still looked SO GOOD. It was about this time I noticed I won the tire lottery too - very happy to have the Michelins. It’s such a surreal feeling getting in the car knowing it’s finally yours after such a long wait, right? I almost couldn’t drive it out of the lot I was so overwhelmed.

Wrapping still on, I drove it a mile down the road to Denver Auto Shield for Jeff and his crew to do their magic. There was a McLaren 720S ahead of me on the schedule so I ended up having to wait a week before picking her up – I was like, “a 720S? That thing’s got nothing on my M2!”… But WOW, the wait was worth it. When I walked into the DAS shop to view my finished car there was a Ferrari being worked on, and it might as well have been a Corolla… I had eyes only for the incredible M2 beaming back at me.

The DAS boys did a full decon clean, applied XPEL Ultimate on full hood, front bumper, fenders, rockers and rear haunches, and topped it off with a wheels-off detail and two full coats of GYEON Mohs+. The installation was absolutely, positively flawless. Insane attention to detail. After being on the fence about PPF in general, I was blown away with the result.

Jeff also organized a local tinter he uses to apply 35% tint all round – I was concerned about going too dark as my local streets are not well lit and I didn’t want it to be safety issue, but I’m very happy with the result and consider it the perfect level. One of my favourite touches is the Oracal “Dark Smoke” tint I had them apply to the rear reflectors (thanks to @Tano for the tip).

I also had the DAS crew install the IND front reflector replacements and Burger 12/10mm spacers I had sourced in the weeks leading up. With the spacers on, wow, what a difference – the car should come this way stock. I had H&R springs locked in for this car in my head, but after seeing the spacers on at stock height I’m really questioning if I even need them now. Easily the best $80 mod ever! If I were to be nitpicky, going 12’s on the front may have been just a tad too much, but not enough for me to worry about changing them – in hindsight maybe 10/10’s would have been ideal, but I’m super happy regardless.

All in all, absolutely fantastic work by Denver Auto Shield and if you are in Denver or CO I highly recommend them for your PPF and detailing needs.

Impressions from first week

As a forum reader who loved reading this kind of detail and opinion from other members, here’s a few things I’ve noticed:

• Sport+ is my favourite mode to drive in… nice response and makes comfort or traction mode feel quite sluggish in comparison

• It’s such a great stock exhaust. I can see why many owners would be perfectly happy with the stock system. I do want something a little more angry however and will be making a change here eventually

• The car feels quite stiffly sprung – which I expected, and certainly not uncomfortable (I actually like it), but I have felt the rear end get a bit unsettled over bad roads which a more supple set-up would probably hide. Will be interested how it feels as the springs start to settle.

• The stock shifter is nicer than I recall in my test drives, but I still swapped it out for an IND M Performance version, which is smaller and very nice. Good lord, I had to yank the original off with a ton of force though – it did NOT want to budge… luckily did not punch myself in the face in the process.

• ASD… AS Who? After reading so much about it, I really haven’t noticed it and I’m now questioning whether I bother coding it off. Perhaps something to consider when the new exhaust goes on…

• After ranting on this forum once or twice about the HK sound quality, I am happy to say it’s pleasantly surprised me. It’s more than decent enough for me and I am more interested in hearing the engine and exhaust anyway.

• My daughter’s car seat went in just fine and access is ironically much easier than my previous 4-door car, an old Chev sedan. She absolutely loves the car and acceleration; she is now getting around saying “daddy’s car is Jackson Storm” – those with young kids will know what I’m on about . And for those with young kids and undecided on purchasing, don’t let the lack of rear doors hold you back!

• Is this not one of the nicest stock steering wheels on the market or what? I love Audi’s flat bottomed rims for ‘look’ – but nothing beats the feel and function of this BMW tiller.

• The stock rims are hands down the best looking rims on the market and there’s no way in hell I will be changing them. I LOVE THEM. I might upgrade to a 265/285 setup once the tires are done, but that’s miles off (excuse pun).

• I have a BMS clutch stop but not sure I’ll use it – I don’t think the pedal travel is too bad and I’ve been put off a bit by the few posts on here about premature clutch wear from it not being fully disengaged.

• Shift quality: Well, I’ve experienced better boxes than this unit, but it’s totally fine if a bit clunky/notchy. Having owned a couple of WRX’s I’m used to notchy. It’s not as nice to shift as say, a Mazda MX-5 (Miata) I bashed around on track last year, but it’s also not bad either.

Other thoughts

• When I went to install said car seat’s rear anchor, the rear headrest was put on backwards. It took me a few minutes to figure out WTF was going on, as it kept folding up the wrong way, and I couldn’t understand what I was doing wrong (lol).

• CarPlay has been working well, especially considering the hard time I’ve seen it get here (but it’s still a load of crap it cost $300!). It’s a bit clunky when you want to use Carplay and the BMW Nav at the same time (which is miles better than Apple Maps IMO) as it takes some fidgety switching, but overall I’m happy. I mainly use it for Spotify and to read/respond to iMessages. One thing though, I really wish messages actually visually appeared on screen, and it should also show calendar.

• BMW’s voice recognition is outstanding – much better than any other brand of car I’ve owned or driven. It’s just a shame there’s the aforementioned issue of Carplay’s Siri wanting to own certain ‘voice nav’ situations and BMW doing the rest… It could be aligned much better. But meh, no big deal.

• The adaptive LED’s are very solid and I’m glad I opted for them– great low and high beam strength and they look THE BUSINESS.

• The BMW Connected app looks great but takes a long time for any commands to actually reach the cars. And, at least for me, it incorrectly shows car doors as being locked, windows open, etc, when it’s not the case. No biggie, it’s a bit of a gimmick anyway and I doubt I’ll use it except for sending addresses to the car’s nav (which is very handy and works well).

The Future

As mentioned, I’m undecided on the springs but in time she will definitely be getting a full TBE… still deciding on who to go with, likely FI or Active Autowerke.

As for anything else, I will wait to see what tickles my fancy as I put some miles on her .

Pics from start to finish below… I hope you enjoy them.

Happy M2 motoring to you all. It really is a brilliant car and I’m not in the slightest bit concerned there is a newer version coming out soon – nothing will change that this is a fantastic looking and driving car!

[dmboone25]

Looks awesome - and one of the last MGs too. Very nice.

[AngryBaby]

Anybody else think it looks to be sitting a bit high on the side shot? In combo with your comment about suspension stiffness, you may want to check for shipping blocks. Maybe someone else with more knowledge can chime in.

Otherwise looks great and enjoyed the write up. Make sure you install a sports cat like Fabspeed before installing an exhaust. Should be everyone's first non-cosmetic mod IMHO.

[dcmac]

Originally Posted by AngryBaby

Anybody else think it looks to be sitting a bit high on the side shot? In combo with your comment about suspension stiffness, you may want to check for shipping blocks. Maybe someone else with more knowledge can chime in.

Otherwise looks great and enjoyed the write up. Make sure you install a sports cat like Fabspeed before installing an exhaust. Should be everyone's first non-cosmetic mod IMHO.

So I just called the BMW tech and turns out he didn't remove them! I was sure he said he did but I was wrong. Taking the car back this week to have them removed. Thank you !!! Hopefully it rides a little better now and may settle a little lower.

(and re DP... I dare say I'll be going catless )

[pissclams]

Originally Posted by AngryBaby

Anybody else think it looks to be sitting a bit high on the side shot? In combo with your comment about suspension stiffness, you may want to check for shipping blocks. Maybe someone else with more knowledge can chime in.

Otherwise looks great and enjoyed the write up. Make sure you install a sports cat like Fabspeed before installing an exhaust. Should be everyone's first non-cosmetic mod IMHO.

Yeah- it was obvious in that first side shot, the car looked like an X6.

[mike@x-ph.com]

Congrats!!

[IND-Distribution]

MG is one of my favorite colors on the M2—congrats and loved the review. Great work by the DAS guys also! I'm long overdue for some great detail work and seeing this makes me want to get my cars done immediately. So shiny!

[dcmac]

UPDATE: Got the car checked out and there were NO spacers left in there. So either the pic of the angle makes the gap look big or the suspension just hasn't settled.

Either way, I'm looking forward to mulling over whether to install H&R's or not.

[dcmac]

Originally Posted by Mike@IND

MG is one of my favorite colors on the M2—congrats and loved the review. Great work by the DAS guys also! I'm long overdue for some great detail work and seeing this makes me want to get my cars done immediately. So shiny!

Cheers! Agree, a fantastic colour.

[AlexCirci]

Originally Posted by dcmac

UPDATE: Got the car checked out and there were NO spacers left in there. So either the pic of the angle makes the gap look big or the suspension just hasn't settled.

Either way, I'm looking forward to mulling over whether to install H&R's or not.

One of the first two mods I did were h&r springs and catless downpipe. For the price it transformed the car.. looks and sound wise

[Saphirschwarz]

Hi ! Congratulations !
I feel connected because your choice of mods is very very similar... and my kids are totally in love with the car !
I am waiting for your feedback and pics and videos about:
-softer suspension ( and hopefully a bit lower, i know both are possible like the dinan s2 )
-FI exhaust if u choose it, sounds best for me ( based on videos...)
HAPPY DRIVIN !

[dcmac]

Originally Posted by Saphirschwarz

Hi ! Congratulations !
I feel connected because your choice of mods is very very similar... and my kids are totally in love with the car !
I am waiting for your feedback and pics and videos about:
-softer suspension ( and hopefully a bit lower, i know both are possible like the dinan s2 )
-FI exhaust if u choose it, sounds best for me ( based on videos...)
HAPPY DRIVIN !

Thanks!

I'll let you know. I'm leaning towards getting the H&R springs for the lowered look, and from what I hear they might even provide a nicer ride - will let you know once installed.

The exhaust is a tougher choice... I really like the ethos behind AA's products, they seem legit and put a lot of R&D into their work... but you're right, the FI does sound epic!

[dcmac]

Originally Posted by AlexCirci

One of the first two mods I did were h&r springs and catless downpipe. For the price it transformed the car.. looks and sound wise

Thanks for the feedback.. how do you find the ride and handling of the H&R's compared to stock? They do look great.

Also, which catless DP did you go for... did you get a tune to get rid of CEL?

Cheers

[Saphirschwarz]

Dont u wanna try to stay with stock exhaust and go catless dp ?
Ever heard that in real life ?

[AlexCirci]

Originally Posted by dcmac

Thanks for the feedback.. how do you find the ride and handling of the H&R's compared to stock? They do look great.

Also, which catless DP did you go for... did you get a tune to get rid of CEL?

Cheers

The ride is very similar to stock. I didn't notice much of a difference..less body roll though which was a plus.

I went with VRSF. I picked up a o2 spacer with mini-cat to try to mask the CEL. It works 75% of the time but isn't guaranteed. No tune yet but plan to very soon which will take care of this

[dcmac]

Originally Posted by Saphirschwarz

Dont u wanna try to stay with stock exhaust and go catless dp ?
Ever heard that in real life ?

No I haven't, but the videos on this forum of the Fabspeed and others do sound good.

I'm considering all options... but the performance improvements from a full TBE are pretty enticing.

[Sales@wheelsdc.com]

Congrats!!