Hi!
This forum is almost dead tbh, so thanks for making a thread that will undoubtedly bring some much needed life to it. I'm not being sarcastic btw.
1. Best model to buy?
Very difficult to say. How do you see yourself using the car? What does the roads look like where you will be using it? Here is imo where I think the cars are best:
- City driving, stop-and-go traffic and slow/narrow twisties: Base M2 is best because of lower weight, peak torque arriving about 800 RPM earlier and imo better exhaust sound.
- Faster twisties and hill-climbing: M2 Comp is best because of more torque, more HP (which also lasts for a longer time compared to the base M2) and chassis-/diff- and steering improvements.
- Track: I do not know which is more fun on the track, but the M2 Comp is both faster and the cooling system is much better dimensioned for track work than the base M2.
2. Manual or DCT?
Again I think it depends on where and how the car will be used.
All the cars I have owned are manuals. I adore them when I get the road mostly for myself, and I absolutely hate them in traffic.
I now have a M2C with DCT and I LOVE it! But it has it's flaws, and I didn't immediately like it. Here is why:
- The box is brilliant in manual mode. Like really, really good. Very quick shifts, impossible to moneyshift, and it does not have the lag or jerkiness the manual has from 1st to 2nd. I always use manual mode doing spirited driving, and often also in the city.
- The box is good when driving relaxed, although more noisy/clunky, not as smooth, than a torque converter.
- The box is good when driving hard/spirited, with the box in the most aggressive mode.
- The weak point is when you drive relaxed and then suddenly want to drive aggressively, like when you want to overtake someone on the highway. You plant the foot on the throttle and nothing happens for like 1 second. Then the car drops 2 or 3 gears and when you're done overtaking the revs still hang high for a few seconds before the box realizes that it's time to relax.
- So how I work around this weakness is that I switch to manual mode when I have to overtake by nudging the gear lever or the paddle shifters. Then I switch back to Auto mode after the overtake.
DCT btw, also gives you an increase in torque on the wheels because of the shorter gear ratios.
A lot of people on this forum seem dissatisfied with the manual M2. However I dont know how many (perhaps just a loud minority?).
They end up modifying the clutch pedal travel, the Clutch Delay Valve, and they install a short shifter kit and/or some other mod to reduce the long throw and rubbery feel of the shifter.
That said, I believe plenty of people are happy with the MT, and tbh. if I lived in a sparsely populated place where I would rarely drive in traffic, I would really consider the MT. So it really depends on how you see yourself using the car, and in what environment. On track the DCT is obviously superior.
Regarding the shift from 1st to 2nd in the MT, you can watch this video. @6:44 you can see how much the car shifts its weight to the front wheels because of the engine brake when going 1st to 2nd:
Unfortunately I cannot answer the rest of your questions.
If you want the biggest contrast to your G87 I think the base M2 would be the best buy because of weight and sound. If you believe you will not be satisfied with the stock power of the N55 or S55 then the M2C will be the best buy because its easier to tune. Also there are other things to consider: some prefer the M2 exterior, others prefer the M2C. Some prefer the M2 seats, others prefer the M2C. For some front parking sensors, or other creature comforts, matters, for others it doesn't.
Personally I wanted a non-mutilated example, which turned out to be extremely difficult to find. Almost all the M2's were lowered, had wider tires, exterior modifications and/or a tune. Many were also winter driven, which isn't good because the roads are salted where i live. Luckily I managed to find an original untouched one with low miles on the clock that had never been driven during winter.
Others again love to modify their M2, so the fact that the car is modified is only a positive.
The most important factor is perhaps the price. If you get a great deal on a nice OG M2 then go for it! If you get a great deal on a M2C then go for that! I think you'll enjoy whichever you get
