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      04-01-2020, 04:09 PM   #45
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I found it funny how many people brought this up when the car was introduced. Yes, it is slightly angled but I find it surprising that it would bother someone.

I think it's way better than for example VW pedals being way closer to the center of the car.
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      04-01-2020, 05:13 PM   #46
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Well it sounds like there is no kit out there. Disappointed to hear the M3/3 series might be worse. I can live with it but it will likely mean I won't buy out the M2 at the end of the lease. I wonder if the RS4 or C63 seats are crooked as well. Maybe it's a segment/vehicle dimensions thing...I'm not a big guy (6 foot, ~180pds). This is the only sports car I've owned where the seating position is this noticeably offset. (And I've owned a few)
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      04-01-2020, 06:09 PM   #47
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Steveng01 View Post
I never had a problem of parking straight until I had the M2.
Same here. Never considered the problem to be the seat... interesting.
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      04-01-2020, 08:10 PM   #48
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With all due respect, it appears to me some people are overly sensitive to what amounts to a few degrees of angle off center. I've never noticed it and it definitely doesn't make me park crooked.... are you guys serious?
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      04-01-2020, 08:43 PM   #49
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Quote:
Originally Posted by M2C89 View Post
With all due respect, it appears to me some people are overly sensitive to what amounts to a few degrees of angle off center. I've never noticed it and it definitely doesn't make me park crooked.... are you guys serious?


I completely agree. This whole conversation seems like an April fools joke.
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      04-02-2020, 06:11 AM   #50
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Quote:
Originally Posted by M2C89 View Post
With all due respect, it appears to me some people are overly sensitive to what amounts to a few degrees of angle off center. I've never noticed it and it definitely doesn't make me park crooked.... are you guys serious?
Yes, seating position is important. For me I've had a couple of serious high speed sporting accidents and have recovered from back, shoulder and rib injuries. I need to be straight behind the wheel if driving for long periods or I get issues. I've never experienced these difficulties with other vehicles besides the M2 so I was looking for a solution to straighten the seat.

Here's what we can confirm:
1 - the seat is crooked
2 - there doesn't seem to be an easy/safe way to straighten it
3 - Majority of people do not have issues with it.
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      04-02-2020, 08:23 AM   #51
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The crooked parking is due to the planform of the car and not the seat. The car is slightly trapezoidal, meaning the front of the car is slightly narrower than the back. This is why you also feel the seat is pointing left. Optical "delusion".

I was told by a designer that this "arrow head" shape makes the car look like it is sleeker and in motion. Like drawing a perspective in architecture with the vanishing point.

Most people use the line formed by the left side of the car to line up parallel with a line on the ground, wall , etc.

Since the side of the car is more or less a straight line, then that line up results in an the right side angling left in relation to the rectangle that is the parking space.

You can try this by having someone help you park with the right side parallel to the line on the ground. Then you will notice that the left side of the car angles right.

I've had this issue with all 2 door M's since they all had this "trapezoidal" plan form. I did not have the problem with the M5 since it is much more rectangular. The worst one was the 135, it was very pronounced.

So next time you park, you want to feel as is you are parking "crooked" with the car "apparently" pointing slightly right.
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      04-02-2020, 05:10 PM   #52
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Quote:
Originally Posted by MZWIE View Post
The crooked parking is due to the planform of the car and not the seat. The car is slightly trapezoidal, meaning the front of the car is slightly narrower than the back. This is why you also feel the seat is pointing left. Optical "delusion".

I was told by a designer that this "arrow head" shape makes the car look like it is sleeker and in motion. Like drawing a perspective in architecture with the vanishing point.

Most people use the line formed by the left side of the car to line up parallel with a line on the ground, wall , etc.

Since the side of the car is more or less a straight line, then that line up results in an the right side angling left in relation to the rectangle that is the parking space.

You can try this by having someone help you park with the right side parallel to the line on the ground. Then you will notice that the left side of the car angles right.

I've had this issue with all 2 door M's since they all had this "trapezoidal" plan form. I did not have the problem with the M5 since it is much more rectangular. The worst one was the 135, it was very pronounced.

So next time you park, you want to feel as is you are parking "crooked" with the car "apparently" pointing slightly right.
I think you're 100% spot on, I'm more inclined to believe this is the case. I've noticed this when using the tilting passenger side mirror in reverse, that you can't really use the rear quarter panel as a guide for what's straight because it's so wide and angles out (part of the reason for its aggressive/good looks).
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      04-02-2020, 05:19 PM   #53
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Just tried to let this bother me again, and nope, doesn't at all. It's such a small difference. But again, that could be because I'm short and have the seat all the way up.
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      04-03-2020, 05:47 PM   #54
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How about a steering wheel straightening kit.
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      04-03-2020, 07:42 PM   #55
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I'm sure you can put an angled piece of foam on the backrest to offset it.

To the guy saying the wider track width in the rear explains parking crooked, I really don't see how that explains it at all.

For me, the crooked parking is when I line up the car with something in front of it. For example, when I park in a parking garage and there is a wall in front of me. Or in a parking lot, with another car in front of me. What I'm doing, unknowingly at the time, was lining up my chest/eyes parallel with the object in front of me. And my chest and eyes being at an angle due to the seat throw that off.

In all other parking situations, I'm lining up the door panel and front wheel of my car with the sides of the parking space. So the relation of where my head/body is at doesn't matter.
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      04-07-2020, 08:55 AM   #56
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^^ Jeez...You missed the whole point. It is an optical thing. The front wall has very little to do with parking straight.

Besides most parking lots don't have front walls.
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      04-07-2020, 02:23 PM   #57
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Quote:
Originally Posted by MZWIE View Post
^^ Jeez...You missed the whole point. It is an optical thing. The front wall has very little to do with parking straight.

Besides most parking lots don't have front walls.
If you could explain what whole point I missed, that'd certainly be helpful.

Though seems like you missed my point, because I never said I park crooked every time. I explained that it is when there is an object in front of me I am lining up with, instead of otherwise lining the side of the car up with the parking lines.
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      01-01-2021, 02:24 AM   #58
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I avoid all the crooked parking by getting out my sextant and triangulating my position by aligning the farthest point I can see on the horizon with an imaginary point created by aligning 3 points on my car with 3 stars overhead, all positioned along x-y-z axes. I found this to be the best way to overcome the off-center and 1 to 2 degree misalignment of the driver's seat vs tap-dead-center! This really works - I am working with an app developer to automate this process. Bimmercode - step up!

Begin with the center of the hood (best to use the center of the roundel) & look up directly overhead to the first star you see. This is your x-axis.

Then, align the driver's headlight with a star 45 degrees above the horizon - that's your y-axis. BUT if Venus is setting, align the RIGHT headlight, or you will park crookedly & look like one of those BMW tools that parks crookedly between 2 spaces so no one scratches your paint. (Which means someone is going to scratch your paint on purpose. Probably me. OK - it WAS me, and it felt GOOD!)

If this star is below your first star - find another parking space & start over. This method won't work for your first choice. In fact - stay home, you shouldn't park your car. Ask a neighbor to park your car in the garage until the stars are in perfect alignment.

Next - and here's the tricky part - align the shark-fin antenna on the roof with where you think the sun will rise the next day. (Don't forget! Beware of the false sunrise - the Zodiacal light! You want to align with where the sun actually rises.) That's the z-axis. You also have to take into account whether it's standard time or daylight savings. You get that wrong, well... you're gonna park crookedly & again, risk looking like a douche.

Next step is where the sextant comes into play. You take the sextant in your left hand while sitting in the driver's seat and hold it up to your eye facing where you found the first star. But first use your right hand to take your Fit-bit and/or Apple i-Watch thingy off & throw them out the window. You will run these over later when you leave your parking space. (Don't throw your Rolex out the window, silly.) The added weight will likely cause your arm to droop slightly due to the additional mass - and well, as we all know, that will really throw off your alignment & make that seat offset angle more like 3 or 4 degrees. Which will also make you park crookedly (DB Cooper city).

You also have to take into account that significant 1 or 2 degree off-center misalignment of the front seat while at the same time aligning your view to the imaginary point where your x, y & z axes converge.

Anyway, take the sextant & throw that out the window, too. You don't need it if you know how to park.

If I've offended anyone with one eye or depth perception issues, it was my intent all along. But I didn't mean to offend anyone else. Just you guys with one eye or depth perception issues who might be reading this post & park your M2 crookedly because your seat is off by 1 or 2 degrees which I've personally never done because well, parking & lines. So only retort if you're someone with one eye or depth perception issues because no one else should feel offended by this post. Anyone who has 2 eyes and no depth perception issues and responds to this post because they are offended or think I am making fun at their expense is just wrong and immature. i would never, EVER do that.

Any one else realizing how silly this thread is? Are you people for reals?


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      01-01-2021, 01:36 PM   #59
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While everyone is having a good laugh about this, the thing that puzzles me the most about when the auto journalists made a bunch of hay out of this "issue" is that it's not even uncommon. There are quite a few cars that have seats/wheel/pedals that are not perfectly aligned. It's the nature of trying to fit lots of stuff in a small space. Auto journalists should know that, considering how many cars they drive, and the M2 is not even the worst offender. My 2003 M3 is actually significantly worse with it's off axis seat and steering wheel.

Here's a picture of another e46 M3 interior that shows it perfectly:


The M2 is not even close to that bad.
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      01-01-2021, 02:45 PM   #60
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Quote:
Originally Posted by ChrisM2 View Post
From Motortrend:

"The seats are wonderfully supportive, though the driver's seat is not centered behind the steering wheel. In fact, it's also not aimed straight ahead. With the driver seated inboard of the wheel, BMW angled the seat — and especially the seatback — toward the left-front corner of the car. It's a cheap trick, and one that only perfectionists would notice. BMW should still be catering to perfectionists."
Having taken a couple of seats apart, the frame of the seat back doesn't appear to be angled relative to the base at all...

The pedals are offset relative to the seat though.
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      01-01-2021, 03:27 PM   #61
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The whole notion that this is even an issue reflects poorly upon this community.
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      01-01-2021, 03:41 PM   #62
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Quote:
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The whole notion that this is even an issue reflects poorly upon this community.
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      01-01-2021, 08:36 PM   #63
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Quote:
Originally Posted by mjsaville View Post
Seriously, is this what we are now? A bunch of old ladies worried about the seat rails being perfectly aligned with the frame?

Man... imagine showing all the crooked and barely tacked on stuff that goes into high-performance race cars or an old air-cooled Porsche (gasp!). The OCD weirdos on this forum would positively lose their shit!
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      01-01-2021, 08:39 PM   #64
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Quote:
Originally Posted by ried View Post
The whole notion that this is even an issue reflects poorly upon this community.
Have you seen the great grille outrage of 2020?

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      01-02-2021, 12:19 AM   #65
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Al Bundy's Dodge View Post
Have you seen the great grille outrage of 2020?

Well, that particular design is inexcusable and cannot be ignored. At least it's a real issue.
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      01-02-2021, 07:38 PM   #66
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Quote:
Originally Posted by ChrisM2 View Post
I love my 2018 M2 but the crooked seat is driving me crazy.
Most don't notice this because the brain ignores it. Don't go OCD about it.

Same as how the human brain filters out seeing your own nose when looking with both eyes.
"Why can't I see my nose ?
It’s one of your most prominent physical features, right there in the center of your face. But despite it being so obvious to everyone who looks at you, why can’t you see your own nose?
Put simply, you don’t see your nose because your brain ignores it. While your nose is always in your field of vision, your brain filters it out because it’s not information you need to function on a day-to-day basis.
Your brain filters out your nose in a few ways: One, your nose blocks part of the visual field of both your eyes, so when your brain receives the information your eyes are transmitting, it constructs a whole image from the unblocked information from both eyes. Two, your nose is in your peripheral vision, so you don’t notice it as much. Three, it’s so close to your eyes that it’s out of focus, because you’re focusing on things that are farther away.
As it turns out, your brain filters out a lot of visual information, not just your nose. If it didn’t, you would be overwhelmed with so much sensory input that you wouldn’t be able to function. This is, for example, why people who wear glasses don’t usually notice them.
Now, that doesn’t mean you can never see your nose. In fact, you can see it right now. Close one eye, then the other. You’ll be able to see your nose on the side of your eye. But when you open your eyes again, it disappears."

(source: for example here)
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