[ipeefreely]

Hi guys! New M2 owner here and this will actually be my first BMW!

I bought my car from a somewhat local dealer to me (about 4 hours away) and had it delivered yesterday (6/14).




I'm so excited to be part of this community and I can't wait to start modding!
My goals for this car is to make it a great street / track build.

[Rick4345]

Originally Posted by ipeefreely

Hi guys! New M2 owner here and this will actually be my first BMW!

I bought my car from a somewhat local dealer to me (about 4 hours away) and had it delivered yesterday (6/14).




I'm so excited to be part of this community and I can't wait to start modding!
My goals for this car is to make it a great street / track build.

Nice car!! Luckily you won't have to do much to make it a decent track car.

I know a guy who has your same first and middle name. Ipeenightly.

[twin fed]

Welcome and congrats on the new car

[chiefsubjugator]

Welcome to the club! Do you have any concrete plans for your build yet?

[Yiruna]

Yeah, do you have any plans? Feel free to reach out to the community for help! We've got alot in store in the coming days.

What's your power goals?

[DanG]

I would do a track day first with no mods. Then you would have a feeling on what you want to improve. The car is quite capable as a track car in stock condition. I only thing I might do before a track day is steel brake lines.

[ajvdh]

Originally Posted by DanG

I would do a track day first with no mods. Then you would have a feeling on what you want to improve. The car is quite capable as a track car in stock condition. I only thing I might do before a track day is steel brake lines.

Personally, I think braided lines should come after pad and fluid upgrades. But, as you said first, the most important upgrade is to the nut behind the wheel.

[ipeefreely]

Originally Posted by chiefsubjugator

Welcome to the club! Do you have any concrete plans for your build yet?

Thanks!

I've got some mods on the way already. Been working with a local shop to tune the car the way I like it. They did my last build and have been providing some coaching on the side as well so they have a fairly good idea of how I want the car to handle.

Mods on the way are:


Fall-line Motorsport F87 M2 rear camber shim kit
Fall Line Rear and Front sway bar end link kit
Fall-line Motorsport F87 M2 Race toe link kit
Fall-line Motorsports F87 M2 Front Mono ball conversion
Fall-line Motorsports F87 M2 Rear upper control bearing kit
Te-37 Ultra 19x9.5 +22 Squared
Hoosier R7 265/35/19
Ohlins R&T Coilovers

[ipeefreely]

Originally Posted by ajvdh

Personally, I think braided lines should come after pad and fluid upgrades. But, as you said first, the most important upgrade is to the nut behind the wheel.

I was thinking of going straight to a BBK because I heard that the stock brakes were ... inadequate for track. Is this true?

If i can run the stock brakes for a couple of track days, I'd like to as that'd be a bit more budget friendly. lol.

For those of you guys who are tracking on the stock brake system, what pads would be recommended? Also, if i eventually go with a BBK, would it still be advised for me to go SS lines?

[M3 Adjuster]

Originally Posted by ipeefreely

I was thinking of going straight to a BBK because I heard that the stock brakes were ... inadequate for track. Is this true?

If i can run the stock brakes for a couple of track days, I'd like to as that'd be a bit more budget friendly. lol.

For those of you guys who are tracking on the stock brake system, what pads would be recommended? Also, if i eventually go with a BBK, would it still be advised for me to go SS lines?

Check the appropriate sub forums..

" suspension, brake , etc "

" track , drag strip " etc.

If you are already in intermediate or advanced run groups on track then replace the OEM pads with real track pads. Stock calipers are fine unless you plan on dropping in an S55 or need that hotline bling.

[Nezil]

Congrats on the car OP (ipeefreely),

Where abouts in NorCal are you? I'm currently investigating an octane issue that appears to only be affecting us in the SF Bay Area.

If I'm correct, we're getting gas with an effective octane of 88 out of our 91 pumps, regardless of brand. I'm still investigating the situation, and plan to do more by working with others in NorCal to gather logs of engine behaviour.

I now have logs with fuel from Shell, Chevron, 76, Valero and Costco on the Stock BMW map and some of the BM3 OTS maps.

The current state before I left for vacation, is that adding 2 gallons of E85 to a tank of V Power Nitro+ (results in ~ E20) gives similar performance to 91 octane in SoCal and is acceptable for the 91 octane BM3 OTS maps. I tried adding more E85 by the HPFP couldn't take it and the car misfired at high revs / load; E20 is about as far as we can go on the stock HPFP.

I'll be continuing my investigation once I'm back from vacation, and if you're able to help by gathering logs with identical fuel that would help. Once I have some more data, I plan to reach out to Jalopnik and BMW to see if we can start a larger investigation.

[ipeefreely]

Originally Posted by M3 Adjuster

Check the appropriate sub forums..

" suspension, brake , etc "

" track , drag strip " etc.

If you are already in intermediate or advanced run groups on track then replace the OEM pads with real track pads. Stock calipers are fine unless you plan on dropping in an S55 or need that hotline bling.

Yeah. I told my shop to put in an order for pagid rs29 pads. I'm about to go on vacation and won't be back till the end of the month. Trying to get the car done (all suspension / wheel and brake mods) before my next track day on the 29th.

[ipeefreely]

Originally Posted by Nezil

Congrats on the car OP (ipeefreely),

Where abouts in NorCal are you? I'm currently investigating an octane issue that appears to only be affecting us in the SF Bay Area.

If I'm correct, we're getting gas with an effective octane of 88 out of our 91 pumps, regardless of brand. I'm still investigating the situation, and plan to do more by working with others in NorCal to gather logs of engine behaviour.

I now have logs with fuel from Shell, Chevron, 76, Valero and Costco on the Stock BMW map and some of the BM3 OTS maps.

The current state before I left for vacation, is that adding 2 gallons of E85 to a tank of V Power Nitro+ (results in ~ E20) gives similar performance to 91 octane in SoCal and is acceptable for the 91 octane BM3 OTS maps. I tried adding more E85 by the HPFP couldn't take it and the car misfired at high revs / load; E20 is about as far as we can go on the stock HPFP.

I'll be continuing my investigation once I'm back from vacation, and if you're able to help by gathering logs with identical fuel that would help. Once I have some more data, I plan to reach out to Jalopnik and BMW to see if we can start a larger investigation.

uhh wow. lol.

I'm in the east bay. Mainly in the San Leandro / Alameda area. I'll be out of town for a bit too on vacation so maybe we can reconnect when I get back.

[Nezil]

Originally Posted by ipeefreely

uhh wow. lol.

I'm in the east bay. Mainly in the San Leandro / Alameda area. I'll be out of town for a bit too on vacation so maybe we can reconnect when I get back.

Sounds good. I'm on the Peninsula in Sunnyvale, but I think the issue covers east Bay as well. I'm back July 5th and will reach out again then. Feel free to remind me of I forget!

[E36toF87]

I highly recommend Schroth Quick Fit harness, Pro version if you think you'll ever use a HANS.
https://www.schrothracing.com/products/quickfit

[ipeefreely]

Originally Posted by E36toF87

I highly recommend Schroth Quick Fit harness, Pro version if you think you'll ever use a HANS.
https://www.schrothracing.com/products/quickfit

Haha that’s a cool idea. I’ll be running the schroth profi though. Used the same system in both my previous track cars and loved it.

I’ve got some mods for the interior planned out but I’d like to have some seat time to feel out the car first.

[ajvdh]

Originally Posted by E36toF87

I highly recommend Schroth Quick Fit harness, Pro version if you think you'll ever use a HANS.
https://www.schrothracing.com/products/quickfit

Check your local track before you install them. Some tracks (e.g. High Plains Raceway near Denver) don't allow them: http://highplainsraceway.com/drive-t...s-information/

"4 point harnesses will not be allowed. If an aftermarket harness is installed there must be a minimum of 5 points including an anti-submarine belt. Schroth 4 point belts will not be allowed."

No, I don't know why.

[E36toF87]

Originally Posted by ajvdh

Check your local track before you install them. Some tracks (e.g. High Plains Raceway near Denver) don't allow them: http://highplainsraceway.com/drive-t...s-information/

"4 point harnesses will not be allowed. If an aftermarket harness is installed there must be a minimum of 5 points including an anti-submarine belt. Schroth 4 point belts will not be allowed."

No, I don't know why.

There's a lack of understanding and/or differing opinions about the effectiveness of these with stock anti-submarine and the ability of one side of the belt to break away in rollover crush so that worst case it acts like a standard 3 point. It's discussed a little here and probably other places. Not a problem at the events I've been to or am planning on. Interesting to know that some tracks would prefer the instability of a 3 point to the perceived (improperly IMHO) risk of this 4 point. Maybe lawyers.
Apologies for the threadjack.

[ipeefreely]

Originally Posted by E36toF87

There's a lack of understanding and/or differing opinions about the effectiveness of these with stock anti-submarine and the ability of one side of the belt to break away in rollover crush so that worst case it acts like a standard 3 point. It's discussed a little here and probably other places. Not a problem at the events I've been to or am planning on. Interesting to know that some tracks would prefer the instability of a 3 point to the perceived (improperly IMHO) risk of this 4 point. Maybe lawyers.
Apologies for the threadjack.

I mainly run the tracks here in Cali and haven't had any issues regarding this. The only "issues" i've ran into were from some of my more serious track day friends giving me crap for not having a 5 / 6 point. But these guys are also the ones running halo seats while donning a full track suit.

[just blaze]

Hey man congrats on the M2 pickup! I'm from NorCal also and excited to see your M2 build!

[ipeefreely]

6/29/18: Laguna Seca track day





So. Much. Fun.

I picked up my car back from Trackspec on 6/28 but due to scheduling conflicts, we weren't able to install any of the mods I have since accumulated. No problem, as the decision was made to run the car stock first. We did get to install pagid RS29 pads and do a brake flush though.

Got to the track and ran purple group with Speed Ventures. This was a low intermediate group and perfect because it allowed me to get a feel for the car. Please note prior to this, I've only driven the car for about 4 hours total. Had to spend some time having to figure out all the modes this car has (btw trying to have the DSC off and sport mode + on is a bit confusing).

My initial impression of the car on the track were not flattering. Coming from a fully track prepped S2k to this car, there was a stark contrast in terms of feel. They were listed as follows:
- Car feels like a boat compared to the S2k.
- Weight is obvious in every corner and going up the straights.
- Higher center of gravity and a lack of a proper suspension system made it feel "floaty"
- The power delivery is different from the S2k. Much better low end than the s2k but at the time, the car didn't feel right due cause I was still adjusting.
- Seats on this car were terrible. By the end of the first session, I had significant bruising on both my knees as I was using them to contain myself in the seat.
- The car could use a brake upgrade. Even with better pads, I was experiencing brake fade coming into the corners.

[ipeefreely]

6/29/18 (continued):

Despite all the issues (and with all the traffic), I managed a 1.51 in my first session. Not bad considering the car felt "slow" and I was having, to be honest, a difficult time adjusting.

Coming into the second session, the track organizers grid you based on your lap times. I ended up coming up third behind my friend's Gt3 and a surprisingly very fast Cadillac CTS sedan. I was able to catch both of them but going into lap 2, realized I entered the track with about 30 miles of gas left. Exited the track, gassed up as quickly as I could and re entered but only got about 2 laps in before the session ended. lol. Dropped the lap time to 1.50 though.

In my third session of the day, I was gridded once again in third place. I managed to get two clean laps in before we somehow caught up to the last place group and it was traffic city all over again. We spent 2 laps trailing people and waiting for point bys. Not fun. Since this was the last session of the day, I decided to turn DSC completely off, which made things a bit more exciting. Spent the last three laps sparring with some Civic Type R's. On the cool down lap after the checked flag was waved, my dumbass decided it would be fun to try to do a big drift going at turn 2. Almost ended up head first into the wall. lol. I found out later that there was some oil / gravel there as my friend in the black s2k spun out right behind me at the exact same spot. Nonetheless, dropped my time to a 1.49.

Concluded at the end of the day that the M2 has ... potential. Like any other car, it has its shortcomings. I believe that with some proper modifications and more seat time, the platform has the potential to be better / greater than my previous track toy.

Stay tuned as we have some mods coming.