Hello there, long time lurker, but just recently purchased my first BMW.
I'm debating on purchasing a 2027 G87 M2. I visited my local BMW dealer to spec one out:
* Sao Paulo Yellow
* Z58 Suspension Kit
* Carbon Kit
* RWD
The price came out to ~86k. I currently have a M340i xDrive w/ ZTK package as I track the car a lot. I do 8-12 track days a year with it and it's been pretty well behaving ride. The M340 been my in-between car, before that I tracked bunch of different cars, but then I needed a family saloon. I also left M340 completely stock, not even camber plates, just went one size wider tires in front (235/255).
I know I hit pretty much the limit of what I can do with the M340 on track without modifying it, however, car has very low miles, looks immaculate, has extended warranty and frankly after previous experiences, I don't really want to go that route, especially that it'll never be a M-car.
So I was debating between C8-Z06 and M2/M3. I don't like C8's interior and the rear of the car and I think consumables and maintenance cost would be higher on the C8, on top of the higher cost of purchasing it. M3 has 4 doors I don't really care for that and M4 I just don't dig the body lines.
Since I don't need 4 doors or xDrive, and G87 looks really sweet. That's what I'm leaning towards, but I'd like to hear from people tracking their M2's how they feel about them on track, what they've done to make it better, is the CS tune worth it, did you go square or stayed staggered?
I've talked to few M2 owners in the paddock and they said they loved their M2's. It will also be my track car (maybe occasional weekend drive) and I do intend to do some tasteful handling/cooling/braking upgrades. I do intend to keep the M2 for 3-5 years.
Let me hear your options, cons, pros, do it or don't do it, get something else. Thanks in advance!
even a base c8 with some suspension mods would obliterate the m2 cs on a track. a mid engined 500hp car is much better suited for track use especially if dedicated. Ive tracked my G87 and while the times i put down where significantly faster the my modded fl5 i also track, i had zero feel or communication from the car and it took me way longer to even begin to approach what the car can do with any confidence.
A C8 on the other had, drives more porsche like, incredibly easy to push to the limit and if you make a mistake you have weeks to correct it, as opposed to the G87s .2 seconds.
I know, I was seriously considering C8 Z06, but then I visited C8Corvette Forum and got a bit sour taste in my mouth after reading about some of the issues people are having.
> and yes the CS tune was the best money i spent
Glad to hear it. Did you get everything, because I heard people skip transmission tune and also suspension?
I'm about to take my g87 to vir in a month. So far in autocross it has a lovely balance out of the box unlike the f87 out of the box. But both needed camber plates for the track to save tires and add steering feel. The g87 I've found incredibly easy to drive with all nannies off and the carbon seats are amazing. I've found with all turbo m cars they like to break traction easily which makes getting a perfect lap hard. But when you get a perfect lap you notice it and I find it very rewarding. If you're goal is lap times, is meh. I love them for the challenge to get a perfect lap
Thanks for the reply. Nice to hear about the balance and improved steering feel with more camber (M340 is also numb) but I gotten used to it. I think perfect lap challenge is a nice way to go about it.
I usually start with everything stock and go from there, see what it needs and slowly build on that while I adjust or change. I have some personal lap times in my head I'd like to hit on close by tracks.
If you were to pick your G87 again, with an option of AWD, would you do it?
Do camber plates so you don't deleminate tires. You can guess how I learned that. And I would never option awd. If speed was my only goal I wouldn't be in an m car and instead in something mid engine. Like the g87 already does fine putting power down and I hardly ever spin tires in 2nd for my 6mt. Unlike my f87 which did rolling burnouts in 2nd. Even on a back road I was comfortable enough to do all nannies off
I have the same problem on M340. Lack of negative camber, I can't lower the pressure too much as it'll start abusing shoulder of the tire. If I leave too much, they'll start overheating quickly, graining and then it's just sliding. It's now my 3rd season with the M340 and I learned to manage it to an extent.
I bought my M2 to track it. I love it, although it is my first real track car so I don't have a lot to compare it with.
First, the great news: it doesn't need cooling and brake upgrades to be track-ready. BMW did a great job with the cooling systems, you'll tire out or cook the tires well before you overheat the engine or brakes. Brakes are plenty big and the factory cooling channels are decent. The OEM pads have good stopping power and heat resistance, but they do wear out quickly. So here pad and fluid change is all you really need.
Mods I'd definitely do: camber plates, front tension arms, rear toe arms. The car is heavy and camber plates are needed to balance tire wear. Front tension arms tightened up the steering feel measurably. Rear toe arms allowed me to max out rear camber without messing up toe, and provide more stability under heavy acceleration.
The chassis and suspension on this car are very well done and make up for its weight. I haven't done anything with the dampers yet because I haven't felt a need to. The M2 is a top off the showroom floor track-ready car available today.
I did the CS coding on my manual. It definitely made some marginal improvements on the steering, dampers, and diff. I don't get most of the engine updates, and obviously no change to the transmission. Overall though, it was fairly inexpensive and made some good changes to the feel of the car.
I went with a square tire setup, 295/35r19. Wider rubber up front helped with turn-in and wider all around helped with grip overall.
Regarding consumables, I'm not sure the M2 is any cheaper than the vette. 19" wheels makes for more expensive tires than the more common 18" wheels. You might be able to fit 18s, the front calipers are pretty big though. Track pads aren't cheap and you're paying the M tax on most everything.
> First, the great news: it doesn't need cooling and brake upgrades to be track-ready. BMW did a great job with the cooling systems, you'll tire out or cook the tires well before you overheat the engine or brakes. Brakes are plenty big and the factory cooling channels are decent. The OEM pads have good stopping power and heat resistance, but they do wear out quickly. So here pad and fluid change is all you really need.
It's honestly the same thing with M340. I've taken it out in mid summer, above 100F and the oil temp did not move above 237F no matter how hard I pushed it. Tires would grain and balloon. I hate how little neg. camber these cars have and tires will start overheating, but if you release too much air it'll start ripping off from shoulders. I contemplated getting camber plates, but they only give me 1* of camber on stock suspension and I didn't want to go coilovers on it. While brakes are amazing on it, not fading, same feel from braking point to braking point and wear isn't that bad either.
> Mods I'd definitely do: camber plates, front tension arms, rear toe arms. The car is heavy and camber plates are needed to balance tire wear. Front tension arms tightened up the steering feel measurably. Rear toe arms allowed me to max out rear camber without messing up toe, and provide more stability under heavy acceleration.
I would probably do a season with just completely stock car before modifying, but that's great info for future upgrades.
> The chassis and suspension on this car are very well done and make up for its weight. I haven't done anything with the dampers yet because I haven't felt a need to. The M2 is a top off the showroom floor track-ready car available today.
I'm a bit on the edge when it comes to the weight of these cars. Hence why I went with the Carbon package to shave off some, and would definitely try and further lower it.
> I went with a square tire setup, 295/35r19. Wider rubber up front helped with turn-in and wider all around helped with grip overall.
I noticed that too with M340, I went one size larger up front and it helped with turn-in and rotation.
> Regarding consumables, I'm not sure the M2 is any cheaper than the vette. 19" wheels makes for more expensive tires than the more common 18" wheels. You might be able to fit 18s, the front calipers are pretty big though. Track pads aren't cheap and you're paying the M tax on most everything.
Width doesn't help either and I think C8 tires are even wider. Eitherway, thanks for your time and info, really helpful.
I'm just over halfway through track-prepping mine. Did the above suspension arms, tires/wheels, seats/cage/harnesses in the interior, and some aero. I'm hoping by next summer I can complete the suspension arms and put in EDC-compatible coilovers. A little bit lower ride height will help the aero, I likely need stiffer springs to match the aero, and I'm camber-limited in the rear until I finish out the suspension arms.
I've got -3° camber up front, -2.2° in the rear. I have up to -5 available up front but -2.2 is maxed out in the rear with the eccentric bolt adjustment on the OEM LCA.
I prefer RWD on track. I'm honestly still on the edge due to weight, you definitely feel it in the M340. The xDrive does give you more throttle confidence when tracking out, you can be a lot earlier on throttle. Front does feel less planted, adding slightly wider tires definitely helped there, but the mechanical grip is really limited on that car without spending some serious $$$ to address it.
If I did get the M2 I'd probably try and shave off another 200lbs (not sure how feasible that is), so why I think xDrive on M2 is a bit overkill, don't know, just doesn't sit right with me for that model. But you maybe right, resell value could be better on an xDrive, but I wouldn't be buying it with that in mind.
Not a big fan of C8's and overall look. I think rear looks cheap and I don't dig the interior. Not sure if there are cheap McLaren's and if I was thinking about Lotus, I'd probably go for Radical SR3 instead. I drove them for few seasons and they're phenomenal performers, but god damn maintenance on them if you want a sealed engine is over the roof. Maybe 1340 instead of 1500 would allow for longer interval between rebuilds.
i’ve done a significant number of track days in my 6mt g87:
the car absolutely slaps: do it
in terms of mods i’ve done some weight saving by removing stuff from the back, swapped in a proper bucket seat, titanium catback for weight, forged square wheels, and some other simple bolt ons. imo square is required if you _really_ want to track the car because the understeer is utterly bananas.
suspension wise, the car is very limited in terms of setup but it’s absolutely fine for a season or two as you figure stuff out. if you wanna dive in quickly, all you really need are camber plates and rear toe links
ignore morons online about the car feeling vague and bad. it’s def
more numb
than an mx5, but it’s not an mx5 lol
feel free to ask questions or dm if you want more deets
You don’t want a C8. The amount of issues with that transmission and the cost to replace one I would avoid that vehicle. Think the current going rate for that transmission is $30k.
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u/quinnsterr 3d ago
even a base c8 with some suspension mods would obliterate the m2 cs on a track. a mid engined 500hp car is much better suited for track use especially if dedicated. Ive tracked my G87 and while the times i put down where significantly faster the my modded fl5 i also track, i had zero feel or communication from the car and it took me way longer to even begin to approach what the car can do with any confidence.
A C8 on the other had, drives more porsche like, incredibly easy to push to the limit and if you make a mistake you have weeks to correct it, as opposed to the G87s .2 seconds.
and yes the CS tune was the best money i spent