Quote:
Originally Posted by ilovewagons
Your opinion is entirely valid, and please don't take what I'm about to say as bashing the M4/3.
My problem isn't that the M4 exists, it's that there wasn't a less serious, more fun car available. It's not just a size war, it's a performance war as well. In their effort to extract more and more performance from a road car, BMW have gotten further and further away from that sense of playfulness and engagement they used to be famous for. It's a case of not being able to have your cake and eat it too. If you want 500hp and assloads of torque, and want to be able to put down great lap times, the steering needs to be about accuracy, rather than feedback, the suspension must be tuned for stability rather than playfulness, the compromises go on.
While this is fine, as long as we have choices, we haven't had the choice or an opportunity to buy a car that puts road going fun first (except m-performance optioned 228i and M135i/235i). Maybe you're just a better driver than me (more than likely!) but I felt like attacking a road or track in an F80/2 was about managing the car and trying not to die when what I wanted to do was enjoy the driving experience.
For me, as a road car, the M4/3 are too compromised in the direction of performance. There isn't enough engagement, fun and playfulness left in the chassis, which is why the competition pack improves the M4 exhaust and updates MDM to try and fix these problems. There's a reason why BMW didn't just whack on an extra 60hp and call it a day. Fun and engagement.
To me, simplicity is not building a Lada, simplicity is the avoidance of unnecessary complexity. Why do I need adaptive suspension and M buttons? The amount of money I've spent, I expect the car to be set up right already. Would you go to a 3 Michelin star restaurant and order a build your own topping pizza, or would you be there to experience something that should come to your table refined and well executed? You might be eating a meal that has been improved by modern technology, but that technology is, and should be, secondary to the experience and involvement. I think that in the M3/4 technology and inaccessibility of the car's performance dominate the experience, which is fine, but it's why people complain about the GTR and why it's not the kind of car for me.
Again, this is how I feel, and I'm happy that there is a car you're happy with, and now, there's a car I can be happy with. This is the kind of car I want BMW to keep building and I'm putting my money where my mouth is. Everyone wins, I think. Even though it was 3 months ago, I still remember getting into an M2 and within the first 5m of lining up to get on the track, the car talked to me and what it said was, "hi, let's have some fun!" And that without having to pay Porsche money. In truth, I was sold on the car then.
With BMW moving to AWD M-cars (again in an effort to extract more performance, at the expense of engagement and playfulness) it seems to only a matter of time before cars like the M2 (yes, 1M owners, this includes the 1M, put down your pitchforks and torches) disappear altogether.
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Amen.
There is a few things I need in my M2 now I've had my 2000kms/1200mi service yesterday:
-H&R springs 2cm down just for the look of it.
-R29 brakepads. The stockpads are alright but stoppingpower is only when pressing the pedal relatively TOO hard(and deeply)imho, I want more bite(I had them on my 1M)
-Last but not least a more sticky driver's seat, like a Recaro Pole Position.
Because in some bends I'm almost thrown out of my seat...
-Powerwise? Dunno. It's very linear compared to my ex 1M and the muscle like power in the M4. A bit more grunt like 30HP would be fine though lol.
But I'm not a chiptuning kind of guy. A DP?
But man does it deliver(tm Artemis) when driven hard on i.e. moist asphalt, whoaaa! I love it. The complete product is way more than the sum of its parts and other marketing crap but it's true, only when driven hard(er).
Driven normally it doesn't really feel like a real //M: that's a bit of a pity.
Cheers
Robin