[wjones14]

Originally Posted by Foggins

Really curious to see what newish owners are thinking of their M2C’s? I know many of you have posted early impressions, but I’m more interested in your thoughts now that you have had some decent seat time and perhaps the “honeymoon phase” is over. Biggest likes, dislikes? Any big surprises? Would you buy one all over again if given the choice?

I had a June 12 delivery and am at 1100 miles now. Have the 1200 service appointment next week. I have been following the owner's manual break-in recommendations and struggling to resist the temptation to let 'er rip! I have been using every excuse and then some just to go out for drives to get the break-in over with.

So far it is everything I expected and hoped for! My last two cars were a 2015 M235i and a 2018 Camaro 2SS 1LE. The M235i wasn't enough as far as aggressive looks and performance. The Camaro was too much in almost every respect. The M2C is Goldilocks, right in the middle.

I love the M2C looks. Just the right amount of aggressive bulges and flares, and the stance with the wide wheels and tires is also perfection. It flies under the radar for most people, but car enthusiasts do a double-take when they see it.

I also love the size of the car. It's the same length as the M235i, but a bit wider. Still very manageable, nimble, and easy to drive and park.

I was prepared for a horrible exhaust note before delivery based on opinions from the Internet, but am pleasantly surprised. It actually sounds good to my ears. I had the M Performance exhaust on my N55 M235i, and the stock M2C exhaust sounds very similar to me. At first I liked it best in Sport+ mode, but lately I prefer the burbles turned down a notch to Sport mode. My M1 button is set to Sport engine and Sport steering and I usually press the button as soon as it's started, mostly for the exhaust note. I took it to go golfing just the other day, and was backing into a parking spot near a guy in a golf cart. He commented that the car sounded good when I got out, so not everyone thinks it sounds bad. (Note: the sound is a definite downgrade from the Camaro's dual mode exhaust. Nothing sounds like a healthy small block Chevy exhaust, IMO.)

Compared to the ergonomics of the Camaro, the M2C is another area of perfection. Poor ergonomics was the main reason I couldn't live with the Camaro anymore. Just too hard to get in and out of and too hard to see out of. The M2C is so much better in that regard.

Downers?

Yeah, the 788 wheels. I got the black ones. I don't love or hate the looks - they're decent. But they're nowhere near as good looking as the 1LE wheels. The worst part about the 788s is cleaning them. OMG!

Like others, I have some brake squeal, which is annoying and embarrassing on a car like this. It's intermittent, so hopefully it will just go away.

ASD? Had it in the M235i too, so I'm used to it. I might even like it when rowing gears around town. On the highway, it's bad though. It seems to completely disappear in Efficient engine mode though, so I just switch that mode when on the highway and problem solved.

I can't talk about the performance aspect yet since I'm babying it through the break-in period, but I expect close to the same performance as the 1LE. It's a high bar for sure, but I don't think I'm going to be disappointed.

Edit: 2 other things I miss about the Camaro:

1. The Head-up display. It was awesome, especially with the shift lights when on track. To die for.
2. Ventilated seats. No ventilation and solid leather makes for a hot seat.

[DFW_M]

Purchased it May 22 (in DC - great experience with BMW of Alexandria), have 2,300 miles now. Did my 1200 service at 1,450 ODO when I reached Dallas, 2 days into the ownership.
Owned an F80 for 3 years, so, very familiar with the engine, sound, 6MT, cockpit…
Had an Exec Package on the F80 and don’t miss things that came with it on the M3. Love the simplicity and rawness of the F87. Also, do not miss adaptive suspension at all. Plenty of power, good sound, generally no complaints.
Realized that it was better to drive it in comfort engine mode on the HWY to avoid pumped in engine drone/fake sound. However, always drive it in M1 (comfort steering, sport engine) setup in the city. Occasionally do it in M2 (S+, S+, MDM).

Over those 1450 miles from DC to Dallas on various highways through VA, TN, AR and TX, successfully avoided any chips or paint damage and came home with a single small hood chip. Did the front PPF, not sure why (will be only city driving car) but feel ok about it.

The fuel tank is small, often I notice the needle below 1/4 left. As I pointed out in another thread, I make about 220 miles best case with the full tank with the F87 and used to do regularly 320-340 miles in my F80, same style of driving, same routs. Does not make sense that smaller car and lower power engine uses more fuel?

One complaint is something I noticed from the get go - my steering was vibrating when braking at 50mph+ speeds. Initially, I assumed it will settle, however, after 2000+ miles now, it is still present. Feels normal below certain speed but very annoying (along with the mandatory squeal) at above certain speed. Dropped it off at the dealer today and they will take a look. Got me a 530 as a loaner. Feels like a huge muted car…

The F87 is definitely a keeper for me.

[DFW_M]

To add: just received the call from the dealer and they are replacing the rear brake pads and rotors. Parts are ordered for Monday…
Weird, I wonder how it got messed up brand new?!

[DFW_M]

Update: Got my car back last night. Thank god because floating in the 530for 5 days was boring...
They replaced the rear rotors and pads on the 2400 mile car that 1450 of those miles were driven on Highways in 2 days between DC and Dallas...
I know stuff happens, however, was a bit disappointed to find out this was the factory flaw. In 35 years of driving and 30 years of car ownership, I've never had brakes touched before 60k miles....I am one of those guys that does not use brakes frequently....

As I walked in to pick up the vehicle, the cashier told me: "That will be $1,765". I gave her the look at first, then nicely replied -- "I don't think so".
She came back apologizing -- "they fixed this but forgot to update, no charge today"

The vibrations are gone, although I had no chance to take it to the highway yet but pushed it to 65 on the local empty road just to feel it. Have not heard any squeals at all, but again ,was very short ride last night (in the past those were intermittent -- more present than not).

[Capt Canuck]

One silly/unimportant observation:
4 weeks in I sometimes leave waaaay too much space when parking front first I typically back in or 'drive through' spots when oot and aboot, but last night at the grocery store you could have parked a Fiat 500 between me and the curb

It's those low cement parking blocks before the proper curbs/sidewalks that have me chickening out. Good thing it's a compact car.

[imOFP]

Originally Posted by Capt Canuck

One silly/unimportant observation:
4 weeks in I sometimes leave waaaay too much space when parking front first I typically back in or 'drive through' spots when oot and aboot, but last night at the grocery store you could have parked a Fiat 500 between me and the curb

It's those low cement parking blocks before the proper curbs/sidewalks that have me chickening out. Good thing it's a compact car.

I ate a parking block in my e46 once. Once. That's all it took.

I've only been driving SUVs for the past 8 years excluding rentals, where I can pull to the block now... In the M2C I'm going to be the guy who can fit that Fiat 500 comfortably in my space as well when pulling forward. I will back in whenever possible though.

[richard in NC]

Originally Posted by rns294

I picked mine up a little over a week ago and have about 450 mi so far. Love just about everything with the car and it seems to do everything better than my previous modded BRZ did.

My only complaints:
- No android auto. I mean really why? I would even be willing to pay for it, but there isn't an OE or aftermarket solution it seems.
- Because there is no AA, I use the built in Nav. As far as navigating, it works fine. But I can't ever get it to actually find the destination I want to go.
- Needs a little bit louder exhaust for me so I'll probably do the M or another aftermarket at some point.
- I can't figure out how to shift smoothly from 1st to 2nd without short shifting at like 2500 rpm.
- Brake dust... my god... my previous car on track pads seemed like it had less dust.

Regarding the inbuilt nav, the voice system works well. You can press the button on the wheel and speak "go to 145 main street Concord NC" and have it program the dest most of the time. Or even "go to Starbucks, main street" and it should work. Voice appears to pull up a deeper POI list than what you can search.

Best to do it while sitting, as road noise can interfere its understanding you.

[wjones14]

Originally Posted by Capt Canuck

One silly/unimportant observation:
4 weeks in I sometimes leave waaaay too much space when parking front first I typically back in or 'drive through' spots when oot and aboot, but last night at the grocery store you could have parked a Fiat 500 between me and the curb

It's those low cement parking blocks before the proper curbs/sidewalks that have me chickening out. Good thing it's a compact car.

Are you using the front parking sensors?

You can practice with them beforehand to see how close you can get before the alert changes from green to yellow to red.

[pablom2c]

Got my 2020 M2C on December last year, a used one with only 3,000 miles. I have been using it as a daily and now have almost 8,000 miles, and I just did my first track day with it this past weekend.

I'm coming from a stage 2+ and suspension tuned 2008 135i N54.

The M2C is all of the 135i but better in every way, more performance, looks, tech, etc. Pretty much better all around and a big step up. I think it is already quick enough, maybe I'll do only a stage 1 tune next year and an exhaust for more loudness since to me the sound is not that bad either.

Only downside is the steering feel could be better but it is not horrible, you actually get used to it. On the track the car was amazing and I was able to play a bit more with the back end in MDM mode.


It was a bit tricky getting pressures correctly though, I use 35 psi on street cold and on a few laps the hot tire temps went up by 10 psi to 45 psi. I then lowered them to 36 psi hot all around and it was much better (on Michelin Pilot Sport 4S tires). The only problem I had was not being able to activate launch control even though I'm doing the procedure correctly (I read some posts that maybe I'm pressing the brake too hard, or not pressing the accelerator down to the floor quickly enough? I'll try again some time) I was able to use launch control once on the road when I first got the car but on the track I tried several times and it did not work with DSC off, manual first gear, sport plus and trans in mode 3 and engine up to temp). I also tried manually breaking and accelerating but the car would bog down, it seems that if you use the brake pedal and accelerator at the same times it cuts the throttle. I had to do some manual launches since we did some drag races, and beat a Lotus 380 Sport and an F82 M4. On lap times I came second, only lost to a GT-R track pack.

It was great the car did not overheat like my 135i, and I did not experience any break fade either. Loved enjoying it on track like it is meant to.

Loving the car, couldn't be happier.

[Capt Canuck]

Originally Posted by wjones14

Are you using the front parking sensors?

You can practice with them beforehand to see how close you can get before the alert changes from green to yellow to red.

Funnily/sadly enough I did do that in the carport and see they do start pinging/going orange etc... pretty far away.
It's just with those parking blocks, not being able to see them and not being confident whether the sensors are picking them up or the curb, I'm treating them like this:

[HelpMeHelpU]

Finally picked up mine today. I had never driven in one … or even heard it start up.

I am pleasantly impressed so far. Only drove 30 miles home from the dealer…and there was torrential rain for part of it, but I see great potential in a fun car.

About to switch wheels to black 763Ms though the stock wheels don’t look as bad in person as I thought they did in photos.

Looking forward to sharing more soon. Might take it on a journey next week and will put some miles on it.

[AKRM2C]

Got my m2c on december 20,

I drove an m2 (2016) before, i hve to admit, the M2C drives way better. Less jerky on efficient, and more power. Although the m2 has less turbo lag.

Pros:
- drives like a dream
- handles better than an f82
- screams like how it should be
- can be a grocery getter
- quite comfortable for a daily
- looks awesome
- DCT is sharp

Cons:
- suspension is not as rigid as it should be
- no suspension settings
- exhaust note is horrible (did upgraded to an akra)
- no vented seats
- DCT makes some mechanical noise (have posted a thread about it, brought it to the dealer 3 times, everything checks fine)

Save the DCT!

[phriz]

Originally Posted by Capt Canuck

Funnily/sadly enough I did do that in the carport and see they do start pinging/going orange etc... pretty far away.
It's just with those parking blocks, not being able to see them and not being confident whether the sensors are picking them up or the curb, I'm treating them like this:

Attachment 2670124

I can relate to this 100%. Even with the parking assist on, which seems to be pretty accurate, I am so paranoid about scraping the front fascia on those parking blocks. I also have the MP front splitter, which adds a little extra anxiety. But the majority of the time I back in to a spot if possible.

On a slightly related note, sometimes I disable the parking assist before I turn the car off. Well, that button brings back a muscle memory of where the start stop button was on my GTI, and twice already I've hit it thinking I was turning the car off, and had that embarrassing stall lurch. Fortunately there were not witnesses, and no damage to the car because I was still a mile away from the parking blocks

[.Slug]

I've also noticed I park about 3 ft from parking blocks and curbs. But thank god. yesterday i forgot I put the car in first gear after parking and removed my foot off the clutch while in first right after starting the car and it lurched forward a good 2 feet even with the emergency break up. If I was any closer I would have lurched my brand new M2C right onto the sidewalk haha. Crisis overted.

[JEM3]

After months of waiting and trying to track one down, it's finally delivered and got to see it in person today.



She joined her big sister



First impressions after a few hundred miles:

- Absolutely GORGEOUS from all angles. Best looking BMW available, no question. All of our cars we have owned have been either White, Dark Grey or Black, and I'm actually super happy I went with the LBB.

- Blast to drive, even without being able to go to redline yet throughout the break in period. Truly does remind me of my E46.

- Not 100% sure if I love the 6SPD MT. Can't tell yet if I shoulda gone with DCT or maybe I will come around to it.

Can't wait to get to 1200 miles to break that sucker in

[Foggins]

Originally Posted by JEM3

After months of waiting and trying to track one down, it's finally delivered and got to see it in person today.



She joined her big sister



First impressions after a few hundred miles:

- Absolutely GORGEOUS from all angles. Best looking BMW available, no question. All of our cars we have owned have been either White, Dark Grey or Black, and I'm actually super happy I went with the LBB.

- Blast to drive, even without being able to go to redline yet throughout the break in period. Truly does remind me of my E46.

- Not 100% sure if I love the 6SPD MT. Can't tell yet if I shoulda gone with DCT or maybe I will come around to it.

Can't wait to get to 1200 miles to break that sucker in

Congrats!!

[mwh2009]

6MT HS and 763Ms. Around 5 months and 4000 miles. So far it's been good overall. Definitely NOT a car for long rides (at least for someone my size). But great for an hour or two and/or a track event.

Things I don't like first to get them out of the way:

No comfort suspension mode. Too stiff on my local crappy roads. Constantly dodging potholes.

Fuel tank is comically, tragically small. Seems like I'm always on the wrong side of half a tank.

Brake dust. Ceramic coated wheels and they're still filthy all the time.

6th gear is way too short. Almost 3k rpm at highway speeds.

ASD plus short gearing mentioned above makes drone on highway really annoying and contributes to my desire not to take this on long trips.

Not a shortcoming since I bought it eyes open, but I do miss HUD, and I wish it had ventilated seats.

That's the big stuff.

As for what I like:

Love the way it wants to play and the sound above 5500 rpm - sounds like I'm ripping phone books in half with a chainsaw.

Love the way it looks with HS and the black 763Ms and the CF spoiler. Wouldn't change a single thing.

I didn't set out to buy a "special edition" but glad I did! I think the unique seat colors and the alcantara wheel and the 763s grow on me more every day.

Short wheelbase is where it's at. I know in my mind it's almost as heavy as my F80 was with the same engine, tranny, etc, but it feels totally different on back roads. Love the way it just jumps into turns!

Gets lots of attention for both the color and the people that know what it is. Nice to hear without feeling super self conscious. But it always feels like an event each time getting into it.

The right amount of power. Not too much, not too little. On the track, honestly it probably wouldn't hurt to have another 100hp, but it's still more car than I am driver, so I probably won't tune it (even when the ECU gets cracked for the '21s) until I'm a better driver.

I believe that I'll keep it a while. Still enjoying it a lot. Looking forward to more track time with it!

[Capt Canuck]

Put the BMS clutch stop in yesterday and got a fair bit of driving in today.
Absolutely transforms the clutch interaction - cannot believe it's not the default config, all that extra wasted travel just gone.
Cannot imagine a better bang for the buck mod.

[Foggins]

Originally Posted by Capt Canuck

Put the BMS clutch stop in yesterday and got a fair bit of driving in today.
Absolutely transforms the clutch interaction - cannot believe it's not the default config, all that extra wasted travel just gone.
Cannot imagine a better bang for the buck mod.

Totally agree. I’ve put it on my last 3 cars. Amazing transformation. Did you use all the discs?

[Uscray]

I also added it to mine the same day I brought my car home. I only used two disc and I like the feel. Not sure I want to go through trying to yank that plastic bolt back out to try 3 disc.

[Capt Canuck]

Originally Posted by Foggins

Totally agree. I’ve put it on my last 3 cars. Amazing transformation. Did you use all the discs?

Yes. Seeing as I felt it was waaaay too much travel, it seemed the way to go and it was.
2 might have been decent as well.

[mwh2009]

Originally Posted by Capt Canuck

Yes. Seeing as I felt it was waaaay too much travel, it seemed the way to go and it was.
2 might have been decent as well.

So on the ECS website, they say it doesn't fit F87 M2s. Is that incorrect? They're selling some adjustable stop that requires drilling out the OEM clutch stop mounting hole.

I'm not down for drilling into my car, and wanted to confirm that the old F80 style stop also fits our cars. Like the kind where you just pick the number of disks and pop it into the mounting hole? https://www.ecstuning.com/b-burger-m...BoCLT4QAvD_BwE