09-09-2019, 01:19 PM | #1 |
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Initial M2C review
I put together my thoughts on the new car after a couple of months of daily use. Hope this may be helpful to those on the fence about picking up an M2C. Thoughts and suggestions welcome (I really need an external mic... ).
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09-09-2019, 06:01 PM | #2 |
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Funny what people gripe about. I gripe about the steering but am perfectly content with the transmission and shifter.
Nice review though. I thought it was as objective and fair as could be despite being personal opinion. You managed to make the car sound pretty good at least from the inside with the ASD on and windows closed. Congrats on your M2C. I'm sorry about your roads though....ouch. |
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09-09-2019, 10:33 PM | #3 |
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Nice review. In general, as a long-term BMW owner I agree with most of your observations. My only real difference in opinion is with the MT. I have been driving MT BMWs since 1999 continuously, and I think this is a great transmission. Now, I don't have a Porsche MT for comparison, although I have enjoyed driving them on occasion. Compared to the MT in my Z4M coupe and M5, the M2C MT (as was the case with my previous F80 M3) is much smoother and the clutch much lighter. I suppose my ideal BMW transmission would combine the shift feel of the F8X MT with the heavier clutch feel of my older Ms.
I haven't "researched" this issue at all, but I noticed you referred to "pseudo carbon fiber" trim. Not that it matters, but my general understanding is that the trim is plastic covered with real uncoated carbon fiber. Do you know differently? (Parenthetically, I think the whole CF thing has gone overboard. I think it is a great material for structural components, but overused for all the cosmetic stuff it is mostly used for. I ordered CF trim in the M2C for the same reason you did.)
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09-10-2019, 07:43 AM | #4 | ||
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09-10-2019, 09:44 AM | #5 |
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Nice review!
I haven't driven manual in years but also got the MT, my son learned the basics @ the EU delivery, did his first movement around the delivery track without stalling! learning just letting out the clutch in 1st is all you need, low low speed does not stall the car to my surprise Easy to drive it, a teen boy learned on it, back home he is now driving it in empty parking lots practicing moving it from a stop to 3rd gear on a long incline (simulation driving in the city up beacon hill) Notes, IMO as a 6 month owner the 6MT is not as harsh as I expected, it's a modern manual with rev match with comfortable shift feel (after 1500 miles) feels 20% smoother or I just got more relaxed with it?!? Idk but I'm definitely happy/satisfied |
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09-10-2019, 05:10 PM | #6 | |
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Glad you went for a manual again and are liking it. Your son is a lucky boy! Sounds like he's got the hang of it. My first manual was a 1980s Ford Courier mini-pickup. My stepdad gave me the keys, put me in a large, empty gravel parking lot, and said, "You'll figure it out. Have fun." Lots of flying gravel later, I had it down pretty well.
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09-17-2019, 06:08 AM | #7 |
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09-17-2019, 10:11 AM | #8 |
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I love my car. even with DCT. (I can hear the booos coming in)
Only thing I don't like about my car is the seating position. A bit high for my liking, but nothing I will sell a car over. |
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09-17-2019, 10:52 AM | #9 | |
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I've been thru more MTs than I can count, stock ATs, race ATs, stock and tuned ZF8, DCT... Each has their place for different reasons. I always come back to MT for a daily driver. It just keeps me engaged and able to horse around on otherwise dreary Chicago BS roads. I doubt many others will agree with MT for that, but I love it. Drag racing, track days, best times - it likely won't be MT on top of my list, but again, great to have choices. A DCT hammering gears is something that everyone should experience at least a few times! |
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cptobvious2531.50 natmad667.00 |
09-17-2019, 11:43 AM | #10 |
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The M2 Competition’s manual can be a bit challenging at first, but one soon adapts to it and can drive it smoothly, IME. A few break-in miles on the clutch seem to help as well.
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09-18-2019, 04:11 PM | #11 | |
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It's funny. The shifter and clutch weight and action are so different compared to my GT4, and yet I'm seeming to develop a muscle memory for the M2 now as well. So it takes less reorienting going from car to car than I thought it would.
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09-18-2019, 05:08 PM | #12 | |
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My history is a bit odd, having worked in a garage/gas station for most of HS and thru college. Drove many 100s of MT cars from 60hp shitboxes that struggled to stay running when the AC kicked on in middle of a turn to 900hp+ aluminum flywheel, barely streetable drag cars, to semis, bikes, to any Honda/Ford/Chevy/Toyota.... The M2c MT, for me, is just a simple drive. I still jump back and forth across several cars, and the M2 is always the easiest to get back in. No thought, just drive. Yes, I've read all the throttle-hang, long throw, high pickup, rubbery shifter, overly light threads, but despite all that, it does just work. |
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09-19-2019, 02:43 PM | #14 | |
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09-21-2019, 06:16 PM | #15 |
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Nice review, thanks.
One of the key factors in getting an M2C was the shifter and clutch. The last manual BMW I owned was a 2011 Z4. I thought the car was beautiful and I loved the normally-aspirated inline six -- it was a gem of a motor and you can't get them like that anymore -- but the clutch and shifter were terrible and sort of ruined the driving experience. I owned that car for 7-8 years and never got used to the clutch, and the shifter never really grew on me either. I have driven a couple other MT BMWs and found their MTs to be similarly lousy. So when it came time to consider the M2C, I was wary of the clutch and shifter, but a couple minutes into my test drive my concerns went away. It's not as good as the sublime setup in my Honda S2000s (owned two of those), but it's not nearly as horrendous as the setup in that Z4. I find the throws to be pretty accurate and there is satisfying snick going into 3rd and 5th (2-4-6 might have it too, but we tend to not notice snicks when pulling back into those gears). If there is a lot of clutch travel, I don't notice. All I can say is that if you think there is a lot of clutch travel on the M2C, you should go try an older Z4 where moving the clutch in and out was like stepping in and out of a gopher hole with cowboy boots. My main complaint with the M2C's shifter is that occasionally I will get lost in neutral when lazily downshifting in traffic and I have to go find 5th and work my way back down. It's never a problem when driving faster or more deliberately, so it may be just a matter of paying attention to what I am doing when slogging through traffic. I didn't like the auto rev match at first, and it kind of interrupted my habits for downshifts. After a few days I got used to it however. What I'd really like is a gear indicator somewhere in the instrument panel. I know the car can tell which gear we're in, and it would be nice to see that indicated somewhere other than having to look at the shifter. Again, in city driving with traffic, occasionally I will be puttering along in a middle gear, and when it comes time to finally downshift or upshift, I'd like a quick indicator of where I previously left things off before reaching for the shifter. |
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09-21-2019, 10:30 PM | #16 | |||
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09-22-2019, 11:09 AM | #17 | |
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09-24-2019, 04:30 PM | #18 |
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Gonna watch this later! I'm definitely intrigued to hear your thoughts as I own the exact same two cars!
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09-24-2019, 06:26 PM | #19 |
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Great vanity plate, I always wanted to do the same (chassis code and engine code), but MA requires two letters to start and does not allow letters and numbers intermixed.
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