[Nkc]

M2C finally arrived from ED on Thursday and I took it right to the track for a shakedown run for Friday-Sat at Area27. Luckily, it's been well broken into with 2500kms in Europe. Flushed with Motul RBF660 and off I went.

I left in the morning and got to the track for the afternoon sessions. The track was damp, cold, and empty so it was perfect for me to test it in the wet and have some fun practicing slides in this baby especially in DCT. I went with my neighbor's 991.1gt3rs so that's pretty much all I could compare it with that day.

Wet Impressions:
-Great fun in the damp.
-Must turn everything off (MDM is still too intrusive)
-MDM allows a bit more slip than it did in the 1M but power didn't feel pure with it

As it got later in the day, the track dried up and it was time to get serious running with an RS with Cup2s.

Dry Impressions:
-Understeer is a bitch at 8/10th +.
-PSS is well undersized for track duties
-Needs camber. A lot more camber
-Car is quick but can feel it can have a lot more between 5-7k rpm.
-Best setting for me was Sport+ throttle - Sport and maybe even comfort for steering - Quickest setting for shifting but DIY. I didn't like the gear selection when the computer did it for the DCT. The DCT is no where near a PDK on track.

Comparison with 1M on Track:
-M2C much more composed
-M2C much easier to handle at its limits
-M2C is way more powerful
-M2C has incredible heat management
-1M was more fun and M2C was no drama

I wasn't too serious about comparing lap times but the M2C at its stock form was easily as fast as my FBO 1M on R888 back in its heyday. This was mostly due to the M2C's composure and ability to use its power out of corners instead of trying to constantly find grip in the 1M even on 295 R888R.

The next day was dry with about 30 cars on track. Learned nothing more than I did the day before aside from keeping the psi over 26 on the tires when it cools because a warning light comes on and tries to limit your speed to 80kph. I found the car was great at about 35-37psi hot all around.

If you intend to track this car regularly, I'd highly recommend the following:
-Set of lighter/wider wheels with grippier tires (ie Cup2 or R888 etc). I'd just go straight to Hoosier R7 and swap at the track.
-Get camber plates and set fronts to at least -3degrees.
-Racing brake fluids
-Racing pads
-GTS or CS tune to get that much needed extra power between 5-7k rpm

That's all this car needs to become a respectable weapon at the track while still maintaining some sanity on the street where this car really shines.

Biggest takeaway from this shakedown:
-Seats are the best of both worlds. Surprised how great it hugged my sides on track.
-The M2C is a good/decent track car out of the box but I would look elsewhere if you plan to get a bit more serious.
-Super impressed with the oil temps. Coming from the N54, this S55 engine temp is the greatest thing about this car on track.

All in all, I never intended this car to be tracked regularly but it performed better than expected. I probably won't track it again but my wife will. That's not to say it is bad, it was just uneventful and the lap times will never be mind blowing. I don't want to make the mistake of spending tens of thousands of dollars again like I did on the 1M to make it do something it was never designed to do extraordinarily well in. For me, this car will remain completely stock sans pads/fluid for the track for my wife to enjoy this sport.

[OGM2C]

Originally Posted by Nkc

M2C finally arrived from ED on Thursday and I took it right to the track for a shakedown run for Friday-Sat at Area27. Luckily, it's been well broken into with 2500kms in Europe. Flushed with Motul RBF660 and off I went.

I left in the morning and got to the track for the afternoon sessions. The track was damp, cold, and empty so it was perfect for me to test it in the wet and have some fun practicing slides in this baby especially in DCT. I went with my neighbor's 991.1gt3rs so that's pretty much all I could compare it with that day.

Wet Impressions:
-Great fun in the damp.
-Must turn everything off (MDM is still too intrusive)
-MDM allows a bit more slip than it did in the 1M but power didn't feel pure with it

As it got later in the day, the track dried up and it was time to get serious running with an RS with Cup2s.

Dry Impressions:
-Understeer is a bitch at 8/10th +.
-PSS is well undersized for track duties
-Needs camber. A lot more camber
-Car is quick but can feel it can have a lot more between 5-7k rpm.
-Best setting for me was Sport+ throttle - Sport and maybe even comfort for steering - Quickest setting for shifting but DIY. I didn't like the gear selection when the computer did it for the DCT. The DCT is no where near a PDK on track.

Comparison with 1M on Track:
-M2C much more composed
-M2C much easier to handle at its limits
-M2C is way more powerful
-M2C has incredible heat management
-1M was more fun and M2C was no drama

I wasn't too serious about comparing lap times but the M2C at its stock form was easily as fast as my FBO 1M on R888 back in its heyday. This was mostly due to the M2C's composure and ability to use its power out of corners instead of trying to constantly find grip in the 1M even on 295 R888R.

The next day was dry with about 30 cars on track. Learned nothing more than I did the day before aside from keeping the psi over 26 on the tires when it cools because a warning light comes on and tries to limit your speed to 80kph. I found the car was great at about 35-37psi hot all around.

If you intend to track this car regularly, I'd highly recommend the following:
-Set of lighter/wider wheels with grippier tires (ie Cup2 or R888 etc). I'd just go straight to Hoosier R7 and swap at the track.
-Get camber plates and set fronts to at least -3degrees.
-Racing brake fluids
-Racing pads
-GTS or CS tune to get that much needed extra power between 5-7k rpm

That's all this car needs to become a respectable weapon at the track while still maintaining some sanity on the street where this car really shines.

Biggest takeaway from this shakedown:
-Seats are the best of both worlds. Surprised how great it hugged my sides on track.
-The M2C is a good/decent track car out of the box but I would look elsewhere if you plan to get a bit more serious.
-Super impressed with the oil temps. Coming from the N54, this S55 engine temp is the greatest thing about this car on track.

All in all, I never intended this car to be tracked regularly but it performed better than expected. I probably won't track it again but my wife will. That's not to say it is bad, it was just uneventful and the lap times will never be mind blowing. I don't want to make the mistake of spending tens of thousands of dollars again like I did on the 1M to make it do something it was never designed to do extraordinarily well in. For me, this car will remain completely stock sans pads/fluid for the track for my wife to enjoy this sport.

nice review, thanks!

how was body roll?

[akkando]

Why not get tune?

[Nkc]

Body roll wasn't a factor.

[Nkc]

Originally Posted by akkando

Why not get tune?

Will consider bm3 to try their gts and cs maps but being the end of track season, I don't get to use that power till April/may. The extra power wouldn't be ideal for my wife as well.

This was just my first impressions of a bone stock M2C on a track that I'm very familiar with.

[mikeric]

Very good write up.

[Proctor750]

Originally Posted by Nkc

Dry Impressions:
-Understeer is a bitch at 8/10th +.
-PSS is well undersized for track duties
-Needs camber. A lot more camber
-Car is quick but can feel it can have a lot more between 5-7k rpm.
-Best setting for me was Sport+ throttle - Sport and maybe even comfort for steering - Quickest setting for shifting but DIY. I didn't like the gear selection when the computer did it for the DCT. The DCT is no where near a PDK on track.

Had a feeling this would be the case - got a touch of it in ED.

I think the car should do much better with
-Camber plates / proper track alignment
-Coilovers to corner balance the car as best as possible
-lighter wheels with in my case just some RE71's
-Track pads/fluid
-CS tune with torque by gear

That should make a huge difference.

If the extra power causes some issues with lightness I.E. table top at NCM - perhaps some aero to cap it all off (front/rear diffusers + rear spoiler). Extra grip for the fast corners as well.

Did you find the lack of aero an issue in stock form? (I haven't been to Area27)

[Nkc]

Originally Posted by Proctor750

Had a feeling this would be the case - got a touch of it in ED.

I think the car should do much better with
-Camber plates / proper track alignment
-Coilovers to corner balance the car as best as possible
-lighter wheels with in my case just some RE71's
-Track pads/fluid
-CS tune with torque by gear

That should make a huge difference.

If the extra power causes some issues with lightness I.E. table top at NCM - perhaps some aero to cap it all off (front/rear diffusers + rear spoiler). Extra grip for the fast corners as well.

Did you find the lack of aero an issue in stock form? (I haven't been to Area27)

I didn't find aero an issue in stock form and I don't think any type of aero would make a dramatic difference aside from cosmetic on this car. The first two limiting factors were the tires and camber. Just those two things alone would make a world of difference and then its off to the next problem lol. Even the stock pads did just fine. But like I said, it wouldn't be any where near a dedicated track car for me and my wife would take a while to explore the limits of just the PSS on track.

Thinking back, I would've really appreciated the extra power from 5-7k rpm and regretted not getting the simple BM3 tune before I went. I might have kept up with the GT3RS on the straights. Now I have to wait 5-6 months to test the stock and stage 1/CS/GTS back to back on track. Coming from an Atom and ACR, this is definitely the most comfortable and composed car I've tracked. I forgot to mention how balanced the car felt.

[CosmosMpower]

Good write up, sounds like similar feedback to OG M2. Needs wider tires and square wheels, camber plates, brake fluid and pads. Too bad you can't run clip in harnesses.

[Proctor750]

Originally Posted by CosmosMpower

Good write up, sounds like similar feedback to OG M2. Needs wider tires and square wheels, camber plates, brake fluid and pads. Too bad you can't run clip in harnesses.

This is something that is a struggle for me at least. If you add a harness you have effectively made the base of your skull the fulcrum in a wreck and you MUST use a hans.
Hans only helps with forward motion not side impact (which we have seen 2 M2C side impact wrecks albeit not on track). So you will want to replace the seat with a fixed halo (or use a hybrid if you are brave enough...)
But now you have a fixed seat and you will want a cage in the event of rollover which will crush you in your fixed position...

Sorry for the tangent but I'm thinking leaving the 3 point stock belts maybe be SAFER than running a harness without hans/hybrid combined with halo/cage.

/Scope creep rant.

[Quietmind]

Yep. That’s why you either go Full Racecar or No Racecar. The M2C sounds like it can be a decent HPDE car for a session or two, a few times a year. That is all I will ask of it. OPs review is excellent in that regard.

[Davil]

Originally Posted by Quietmind

Yep. That’s why you either go Full Racecar or No Racecar. The M2C sounds like it can be a decent HPDE car for a session or two, a few times a year. That is all I will ask of it. OPs review is excellent in that regard.

Exactly. The fastest way to hate your road car is to start turning it into a race car. On the flip side, one of the best ways to enjoy your road car is to have fun on a track.

[Robin_NL]

A square setup is one of the small solutions. 255 square


Camberplates will do but can get uncomfy(rumbling anybody?)


Cheers
Robin

[Nkc]

Originally Posted by Robin_NL

A square setup is one of the small solutions. 255 square


Camberplates will do but can get uncomfy(rumbling anybody?)


Cheers
Robin

I don't think 255 squared is gonna cut it for the M2C. I've gone 275 squared R888 on my 1M with significant camber and it was just an oversteer monster every exit. I eventually went with 10.5 rears and 295 R888R to tame it down a bit which worked well until it was either fuel starvation or overheating.

[Robin_NL]

Originally Posted by Nkc

I don't think 255 squared is gonna cut it for the M2C. I've gone 275 squared R888 on my 1M with significant camber and it was just an oversteer monster every exit. I eventually went with 10.5 rears and 295 R888R to tame it down a bit which worked well until it was either fuel starvation or overheating.

Understeer sucks(...) also on M2C, so we have to find some solution(s)

Oversteer: It's your right foot and the steering which can mainly prevent or cause some of it This was fun:

Cheers
Robin

[Trapperj]

Was hopeful that the DCT was better. Spoiled by PDK a few years back. Was thinking BMW had learned what was needed to compete. Great info and spot on imho. Thanks NKC

[Nkc]

Originally Posted by Trapperj

Was hopeful that the DCT was better. Spoiled by PDK a few years back. Was thinking BMW had learned what was needed to compete. Great info and spot on imho. Thanks NKC

I didn't think it was bad but I would choose to shift myself since the gear selection of the dct wasn't ideal for me and the track I was at. Good but not pdk great.

[Davil]

Originally Posted by Nkc

I didn't think it was bad but I would choose to shift myself since the gear selection of the dct wasn't ideal for me and the track I was at. Good but not pdk great.

Why would you even contemplate letting the car choose your gears for you? No-one would write software to do this for a road car, plus, it would be boring as hell.

[LuvMyE92]

Originally Posted by Davil

Exactly. The fastest way to hate your road car is to start turning it into a race car. On the flip side, one of the best ways to enjoy your road car is to have fun on a track.

Well said.

[Nkc]

Originally Posted by Davil

Why would you even contemplate letting the car choose your gears for you? No-one would write software to do this for a road car, plus, it would be boring as hell.

Porsche guys let the pdk shift for them on the track because it's that good. I even heard that on the ring, they are able to locate it's exact gps location and be in the most ideal gear at all times for every corner.

[AlpsRider]

Originally Posted by Nkc

Porsche guys let the pdk shift for them on the track because it's that good. I even heard that on the ring, they are able to locate it's exact gps location and be in the most ideal gear at all times for every corner.

If true, that is incredible!

[Megator]

Just stumbled on this thread and had some Qs about the M2C on track. Thanks for the excellent feedback BTW.

1) how did you find the 2NH brakes? I am in the EU and debating on whether I should order these or wait 2 years on the blue brakes and get APs when the warranty runs out

2) what did you mean by "-The M2C is a good/decent track car out of the box but I would look elsewhere if you plan to get a bit more serious."

Did you mean look into P cars or ZL1 1LE type cars or into track cars like a Radical or Westfield etc?

I currently track about 10-12 times a year for half day sessions (2-4 hours open pitlane), I usually take it easy and drive 8/10 or so as I have to drive the car home at the end of the day.

I plan to turn the M2C into a streetable track car (just keepig it road legal) once I get another car in 4-5 years. Do you as a more experienced guy think this is worth it? or is the platform simply too limited to ever compare to a 2nd hand touring car or track day special?