[David@ActiveAutowerke]

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A couple weeks ago I had the opportunity to take our M2 out to the Formula Drift event in Orlando, FL. The supporting venue was Orlando Speed World, and on the Sunday after Formula Drift they were holding their own drift day for locals to come out and drive on the same track as the pros!

At the time, our car had our reflash, downpipe and intercooler installed. We also had our prototype BC Racing coilovers with camber plates installed along with Nitto tires, Motorsport Hardware 14x1.25 -> 14x1.5 stud conversion kit, IND cosmetics and our XPEL wrap done by Hugh's Detailing.

With about 380whp on tap, the car was so easy to drive with the new suspension and alignment. With two previous track days under my belt in the M2, I can say that the predictability with the proper suspension and alignment was so much better. The multi link rear suspension design has so much mechanical grip, that when transitioning from one direction to another I really had to bring the car to quite a bit of angle so that it had enough momentum to snap back the other way. When I attempted to let the car swing by itself, it would snap straight and not slide out the other way (the suspension is doing what it should and trying to prevent the car from sliding, this is referred to as "side bite" in drifting). I did notice that once I had the car past a certain amount of angle it stopped accelerating and the throttle pedal would only control angle and not speed. Flooring it would just increase the car angle but not increase the speed of the vehicle whereas in an e36 or e46 chassis with the trailing arm rear suspension, if you floored the car while in drift it would just accelerate and maintain similar vehicle angle. In drifting this is referred to "forward grip". This lack of forward grip is why I suspect there are no late model BMWs in professional drifting. Starting with the e9X chassis, BMW went to a multi link rear suspension which provides great side bite, but minimal forward grip and contrary to popular belief, in professional drifing you want as much grip as possible.

We'd previously seen a bunch of M2 videos with the car in drift, but none of them really displayed any transitions or committed entries. I'm not a professional drifter or driver, but I do have about 3 years of drifting experience in other BMWs. Drifting is not the fastest way around a track, but it's so much fun. Despite the negative connotation it receives in the motorsport world, the sport teaches a level of car control that you'd likely never obtain in any other motorsport. It helps build confidence and control way above the limit of grip, allowing you to play around with that line on the racetrack comfortably.

Denis Korol of DK Mediaworks was on site and I have to personally thank him for this edit he made for us. Enjoy!