[ourlee]

Jackie I’m enjoying you so much I’m afraid I’m going to do every mod you suggest and ruin my never track daily GT car (+ piss off my wife/shotgunner)
but FIDLAR

[JackiePhD]

Finally time for the next entry! Thanks for your patience!

With the new Cup 2 Connect tires wrapped around our Titan 7 TD6E in Hybrid Dark Machine, and the Millway Camber Plate set to around -2.3* camber, the M2 was looking good. Still needs a bit of lowering, but looking good nonetheless!



Our first competition event with our G87 is the Gridlife Time Attack event at Watkins Glen. Watkins Glen is probably most famous for its NASCAR road course races these days but back in the 70s, it was the venue for F1! Extremely fast & flowing track with walls around almost every turn. It was my first time there so a lot to learn between car & track, but the experience was amazing.



A little bit about the competition. We are entered in the Gridlife StreetGT class, which is for cars with naturally aspirated V8's and turbo 6 cylinders. The class does not allow for aftermarket aero, but engine power, interior & seats, suspension, and tires up to 315 width is all game. Basically, our M2 is nowhere near the permitted limit of the rulebook. Plus, there was a field of 23 StreetGT cars, more than ever before. Corvettes (C5, C6, C7 AND C8s), Camaro SS 1LE's, Mustangs, Supra's, Cayman GT4's, a few F87s and even an R35 GTR. Hugely diverse field of cars, and for sure a little intimidating sitting on grid with our stock G87 with camber plates.

First two sessions were Practice, meaning the time we set will not be counted for final results. It was also the only two dry sessions we got all weekend before the rain rolled in. I was more learning the track than anything else, and stayed on the OEM PS4S* for these two sessions. M Traction Control was set to 5 for the first session, then 4 for Practice 2. Even though I nearly hit the wall at Turn 9 with a big slide, the car felt very comfortable. The front camber plate has helped in terms on reducing understeer, and was a noticeable improvement from when we tested the car at Autobahn initially!



Our practice time of a 2:05.2 put us Second in class, behind a prepped C5 Corvette and just ahead of a 981 Porsche GT4 with a whole lotta mods. For a lap we did on the OEM PS4S*, I was hyped knowing we still had the faster tires to go onto. Just before Qualifying 1, where times start to really matter, we swapped to the Titan7's and Cup2's. I was hoping to get a 2:03-ish, but the rain started to fall as we were sitting in the pits waiting for our session. Just to be safe, I increased the M TC setting from 4 to 6 for this one.

The Cup 2* survived the damp conditions, and all in all the car did feel grippier mid-corner than the PS4S*, although I also noticed an increase in understeer compared to the 4S*. I ran a lap of 2:05.5, on a track that had noticeably less grip in the braking zone especially. This was the only session where we ran the Cup 2* all weekend, so we'll have to test out the car a little more to be 100% certain. The conditions for sure were against the Cup 2, but coming within a few tenth of the PS4S* time in the dry is enough for me to believe that the Cup 2* is for sure faster under equal conditions. I just want to see if the handling imbalance I felt was due to conditions or the tire differences.



Our Qualifying 1 times ended up deciding most of the positions for the weekend, since Q2&3 took place in full wet conditions and no one could improve upon their times from the dry. But our time in the damp conditions with the Cup2* was enough for 3rd in class (behind a full bolt-on C6 Z06 & a SS 1LE), squeezing us into the final Podium Sprint event. In the sprint, Top 5 cars gets their times erased and are each given 2 laps to set their fastest lap possible all over again, with the new times deciding the Top 5 finishing order. Think about it like Q3 in F1.



As much as I would've loved a final battle in the dry against the GT4, the 1LE Camaro, and the insanely fast C6 Z06 (which clocked a 2:01 in Qualifying 1), the rain was relentless which sort of sealed the deal for the M2. Since 3 of the 5 cars in the sprint didn't have any wet-weather tires, I knew if I just kept it clean and in one piece, P2 was doable. In the heavy rain we still reached 136 MPH (a little hairy) and banked a lap around 3-4 seconds slower than the C6 Z06 on PS4S. Good enough for second overall in class, good enough for me!



A couple of questions since these were asked:

Handling balance felt great overall. The car is so well composed during the high-speed corners of the Esses. The slower, longer duration corners didn't help us too much, and I feel like we can maybe try increasing front camber to around -3* and seeing if it helps. I found myself getting on the gas mid-corner, realizing I'm picking up understeer, and having to come off the gas again. With a little more front grip I think it'll be better.

I also need to learn to drive the M2 a little better too, I currently have a tendency to dive into the corners earlier than I really should, we'll try to rectify that next time out. In the wet, trail-braking can cause the rear to come around but in the dry it seemed very well mannered.

Brakes were amazing. I can't stress that enough. We get to the Inner Loop/Bus Stop chicane at WGI at around 150 MPH (245kph-ish?) and lap after lap, the brakes are just effortlessly slowing us down to ~80 mph for the entry. All weekend long I've never had to think twice about the brakes.

Let's talk a little about outright performance too. I think if we just looked at the absolute fastest times in the dry, the M2 would've been 3rd, MAYBE 4th overall. Just for reference, the modified C6 Z06 that won the class made around 530 wheel horsepower (about 80 whp more than us) and weighs from factory 3150 lbs (over 600 lbs less than us). And you guys don't need me to tell you how much power these S58's can make with a bit of tuning...

Overall, it's a fantastic weekend and a really good first showing for the M2 in real competition. Plenty of ideas and modifications lined up for us, including weight reduction, bucket seats (FREAKING FINALLY), suspension pieces, and finally power and aftermarket aero!

[JustinHEMI]

Thanks for the continued insights and updates! Great photos and I'm excited to see what's next!

[JustinHEMI]

Originally Posted by InspectorSeb

LOTS of great information in here on factory suspension geometry and aero!

JackiePhD


Can you clarify the comments you guys made about the airflow starting at about 6:45 in this video? I understand the dynamics of the lip that's on the car creating a low pressure area to drive airflow through the bottom heat exchanger, but I'm not quite sure what you guys were talking about when you finished with "you don't want to do that." Are you talking about adding an aftermarket lip?

Thanks!

[Squidget]

I thought that was more a "comment to the BMW engineers," that you don't want to route outgoing air downwards. Doing so gives you front end lift at speed, something you'd prefer to not have. (For example, you'd prefer to route out through hood louvers instead of out the bottom.)

They mentioned they wanted to do something about that, I interpreted that as some aero changes to mitigate the lift.

[JustinHEMI]

Originally Posted by Squidget

I thought that was more a "comment to the BMW engineers," that you don't want to route outgoing air downwards. Doing so gives you front end lift at speed, something you'd prefer to not have. (For example, you'd prefer to route out through hood louvers instead of out the bottom.)

They mentioned they wanted to do something about that, I interpreted that as some aero changes to mitigate the lift.

Ah! Gotcha, thank you!

[JackiePhD]

Originally Posted by JustinHEMI

JackiePhD


Can you clarify the comments you guys made about the airflow starting at about 6:45 in this video? I understand the dynamics of the lip that's on the car creating a low pressure area to drive airflow through the bottom heat exchanger, but I'm not quite sure what you guys were talking about when you finished with "you don't want to do that." Are you talking about adding an aftermarket lip?

Thanks!

In motorsport applications, you mostly want to move the hot air upwards, out of the hood, instead of moving the hot air downwards and underneath the car. Most GT3 race cars have this setup, and even the latest 992 GT3RS ditched its frunk just to enable this same setup, ducting the hot air used to cool the car out the top of the hood. The G87's OEM oil cooler has been most manufacturer's typical approach to road car cooling, but when you're trying to make more downforce especially with aftermarket aero kits, we'll have to get a bit more drastic.

Ultimately a vented hood will be the way to go!

[JustinHEMI]

Originally Posted by JackiePhD

In motorsport applications, you mostly want to move the hot air upwards, out of the hood, instead of moving the hot air downwards and underneath the car. Most GT3 race cars have this setup, and even the latest 992 GT3RS ditched its frunk just to enable this same setup, ducting the hot air used to cool the car out the top of the hood. The G87's OEM oil cooler has been most manufacturer's typical approach to road car cooling, but when you're trying to make more downforce especially with aftermarket aero kits, we'll have to get a bit more drastic.

Ultimately a vented hood will be the way to go!

Makes sense thank you!

[Kevin_The_Clean1]

I look forward to the next steps & all the progress you guys are making with this new G87. Job well done so far. Learning the car's limits is a process & it simply takes times. Glad you're thoroughly enjoying your M2.

[JackiePhD]

Mini update as I somehow forgot to mention this last time around!

While reinstalling the Titan 7 & Cup 2* after the event, we decided to weigh the OE wheels VS the new wheels & tires setup.

OEM Rear Wheel: 20x10.5 with OEM 285/30/20 PS4S* (Used for 3 track days) - 57.50 lbs


Titan 7 Rear Wheel: Forged 20x11 TD6E with 285/30/20 Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2* (used for one session on track) - 54.85 lbs



OEM Front Wheel: 19x9.5 with OEM 275/35/19 PS4S* (Used for 3 track days) - 53.35 lbs



Titan 7 Front Wheel: Forged 19x9.5 TD6E with 275/35/19 Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2* (used for one session on track) - 48.50 lbs



Quick calculation, the new set of Titan 7 wheels & Cup 2* would save us an approximate 15 lbs of unsprung weight from the car! Going off our previous scaled weight, new no-driver weight would be around 3763 lbs, with driver ~3903 lbs.

Note* We did not weigh the car in full on scales again, as we haven't played with more modifications on weight on the rest of the car yet, but next time we do any major changes we shall.

Have a lot of new stuff in the works. Hope to keep you guys posted ASAP.

[ourlee]

Jackie, IYO, any advantages to a square 19” set up for street? Any shot squeezing 18s on the front and doing 18” square?

[zero21]

Originally Posted by JackiePhD

Mini update as I somehow forgot to mention this last time around!

While reinstalling the Titan 7 & Cup 2* after the event, we decided to weigh the OE wheels VS the new wheels & tires setup.

OEM Rear Wheel: 20x10.5 with OEM 285/30/20 PS4S* (Used for 3 track days) - 57.50 lbs

Titan 7 Rear Wheel: Forged 20x11 TD6E with 285/30/20 Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2* (used for one session on track) - 54.85 lbs

OEM Front Wheel: 19x9.5 with OEM 275/35/19 PS4S* (Used for 3 track days) - 53.35 lbs

Titan 7 Front Wheel: Forged 19x9.5 TD6E with 275/35/19 Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2* (used for one session on track) - 48.50 lbs

Quick calculation, the new set of Titan 7 wheels & Cup 2* would save us an approximate 15 lbs of unsprung weight from the car! Going off our previous scaled weight, new no-driver weight would be around 3763 lbs, with driver ~3903 lbs.

Note* We did not weigh the car in full on scales again, as we haven't played with more modifications on weight on the rest of the car yet, but next time we do any major changes we shall.

Have a lot of new stuff in the works. Hope to keep you guys posted ASAP.

Almost identical weights to what I got. With brand new PS4S my rears weighed 58lbs and front 53lbs stock. Clearly you put some wear on those rear tires to the tune of 8oz of rubber! Haha

My 827M wheels saved 5lbs/rear and 3.5lbs/front for 17 combined.

For those considering downsizing the rear for 19 square, understand 285/35 tires go up about 1-2lbs over 285/30 20.

[ronin13013]

Jackie is at it again..

[Kevin_The_Clean1]

Originally Posted by ronin13013

Jackie is at it again..

Jackie did really well with this new none stock G87 M2 in the wet.

[adc]

Excellent driving here (!!!), and M traction control seems to be working very well. I was just at the Glen this Monday, it is very clear how much more driver improvement I have to do there…

Following the M2 saga with great interest.

[JackiePhD]

Been a busy couple weeks but we are back on the M2 for a little bit more track prep!

So far, I think I can confidently say the biggest issue with the M2 is... actually me. I need to feel more comfortable in the car, especially fighting all those G forces in the corners. The better I can be secured in the driver's seat, the better, more precise, and eventually faster we can be. Since there isn't a roll bar option available yet (working on that!), we'll go with a temporary solution.



Above is our Sparco Evo QRT, with a Bride A90 Supra seat base/slider setup. This seat & base is lifted straight from our A90 Supra time attack car, which we retired from full-time competition after last weekend. I would like to run a lighter seat, and different base set up most likely, so that will come later. We jokingly called this the repo-spec. Hah.



The seat belt solution is of course not ideal. I would like a properly installed 6-point harness which would offer even more support in conjunction with the bucket seat, but first and foremost my shoulders/upper body needed to be held in place better in corners. This will be an improvement compared to the factory sport seats, but I definitely needed more.

And for those asking, the car will throw a fault code and error message on the front screen. We have not looked into coding it out, but that's something we shall try soon. Switching out the seat did not restrict us from driving the car as normal or disabling functions such as MDM/VSC Off.

We also decided to replace the factory battery with a lighter, lithium ion upgrade from Antigravity. We went for the H7-60-RS, which is a stock replacement and bolts into factory location easily. Post-install, all the car asked for was to re-set the time and date.




With the temporary bucket seat, we shed around 26 lbs just with the driver side alone. I think with a different seat base setup, and perhaps a carbon seat, we can lose even more weight! The battery further dropped the weight by another 37 lbs, making for a total of 63 lbs weight loss. If we factor in the 15 lbs unsprung weight reduction from the Titan 7's and Cup 2's, we would be at 78 lbs less than full factory trim... i.e. right around 3700 lbs flat (without driver), maybe into the 36xx lbs range with a little less fuel load.

And for sure, there is A LOT more to take out from the car. The sound-deadening foam floor inserts are almost an inch thick. There's a speaker underneath the driver seat, most likely for pumping engine noise into the cabin. The back seats, the passenger seats, all remain factory for now. We'll get to all of those, and more, but the intent is to tackle things slowly and really understand the chassis before we go nuts!

Track test this weekend, and we're definitely gonna get some definitive back-to-back laps on the stock wheels w/ PS4S* vs Titan 7's w/ Cup 2*!

[1slowspec3]

Originally Posted by JackiePhD

Been a busy couple weeks but we are back on the M2 for a little bit more track prep!



Track test this weekend, and we're definitely gonna get some definitive back-to-back laps on the stock wheels w/ PS4S* vs Titan 7's w/ Cup 2*!

Cant wait for next round of mods. Saw the new livery on IG!

[Basketcase]

New video with SPL suspension. Excited to see how this does on the track. Remember he's still on stock coils/dampers!

EDIT: just saw on instagram.. WAS on stock suspension... excited to see the mods on the track! 3600lb M2 without a ton of work/money is awesome!

[Blk5er33]

Originally Posted by ourlee

Jackie I’m enjoying you so much I’m afraid I’m going to do every mod you suggest and ruin my never track daily GT car (+ piss off my wife/shotgunner)
but FIDLAR

Then you should just track it.