[Mrwatchdawg]

Background:

This is not a post to show off but before I start getting slammed on this, I do have the expertise to make a semi-professional opinion on the reliability of the new G87 M2 on track.

I am a huge track person and love cars in general. I have had many cars and tracked even more cars. To name a few track cars that I have own/owned and tracked is a Lamborghini STO, 992 GT3, Ferrari 458, 991.2 GT3RS, Huracan Performante, and a McLaren 765LT. These are track focused cars with either CCB or Steel brakes.

Why I purchased the G87?

I bought the G87 M2, paid a markup, because I really wanted to purchase a car for the track that was easier on the consumables than any of the cars mentioned above but that was clearly not the case. Will explain more below.

On the track:

Took the car to a local track Thursday with a few friends, we rented it out private, and the car handled well. Out of the box, the vehicle is amazing, it handles well with plenty of power and more left on the table if used correctly. It was my first day on the track with the car and it was wet, so I did not want to start pushing it to its limits, but I did hit about 70% of the limit of the car. The steering is plenty responsive, the M Mode traction is amazing to adjust according to your driving style, and weight distribution was great (could not truly tell the car weight).

My times were pretty good on track, keeping up with a 991.1 GT3 with a well skilled driver in it. This tells me this car will give Porsche a run for the money at 1/3 of the cost.

The car that I purchased did NOT have the carbon buckets as it was a HEA car but with the buckets and a harness, the car is solid on track. It does need some camber plates to and a better alignment for track, but as an out of the box car it is great.

Off the track:

The car came with Pilot 4s’s from factory, and I used those on track, not the greatest tire, but did not have enough time to get a better set. The tires were completely toast after the first track day. I had 5 sessions on track with about 8 – 10 laps each session. The weather was in the 60’s and track was moist. It was not even scorching hot, which tells me those tires had to go.

This is where it gets interesting, the last lap I was on track my brake light came on that I needed to get my front and rear brake pads replaced. Looked at the pads and they had less than 2mm’s left, which was concerning considering the car is meant to be my “cheaper” track car, but I can assure you that I have never had to replace pads, rotors, & sensors on any of my cars after one track day.

Current Situation:

Ordered new pads, brakes, rotors, and a complete brake flush. Getting an oil change on the vehicle as we speak.

Also ordered a new set of tires, Pilot Super Sports, as this is car will be street driven as well.

Conclusion:

BMW really should have made a car that could have been a little more reliable on track considering this is supposed to be a performance track car. I want to warn everyone that if you are planning on tracking it, be ready for the added expense that it will bring. I understand that everyone may not be as aggressive as myself on track but with the favorable weather, track temps being cool, and the emptiness on the track (since it was a private day) which meant less braking and only when needed, it should have handled well.

The car was supposed to be the “cheaper” track car but, has ended up being the most expensive track car.

The track that I went to was Eagles Canyon in Decatur Texas.

[02M3ForMe]

That’s doesn’t sound too ugly to me. For this level of performance, pay up front for a higher end, lighter car or over time with consumables on a far cheaper, heavier car. Seems like a fair balance.

[zero21]

Great write up and thank you for posting your track experience for us. Couple questions:

Did you open up the brake ducts in the fender well? Why order rotors if it's just pads that needed to be replaced?

Also, 50 laps in a day is a lot of laps on street pads...

[m2ss]

Originally Posted by 02M3ForMe

That’s doesn’t sound too ugly to me. For this level of performance, pay up front for a higher end, lighter car or over time with consumables on a far cheaper, heavier car. Seems like a fair balance.

Agreed, for the majority of us this would be a great review...

[Game]

Don't think the M2 was built to be a dedicated track car...that's more of what the CS or CSL will bring.

Regardless, glad it faired so well.

[JustinHEMI]

Great info thank you! Sounds perfect for weekend warriors like me!

[Ravenseal]

50 laps a day is not a casual track weekend. lol. Not a lot of cars are going to stand up to that in terms of consumables out of the showroom. If you really want a cheap track car, grab a Miata or a GR86 and modify it for dedicated track use.

[LVI]

the car weighs 3800 lbs give or take ... it's not going to be easy on consumables.

upgrade the brakes, or start with some good fluid and track pads, and a track wheel setup and you should fare much better. If it's a dedicated track car, gut the interior and take some weight out of it where you can.

[lutfy]

Originally Posted by Mrwatchdawg

Background:

This is not a post to show off but before I start getting slammed on this, I do have the expertise to make a semi-professional opinion on the reliability of the new G87 M2 on track.

I am a huge track person and love cars in general. I have had many cars and tracked even more cars. To name a few track cars that I have own/owned and tracked is a Lamborghini STO, 992 GT3, Ferrari 458, 991.2 GT3RS, Huracan Performante, and a McLaren 765LT. These are track focused cars with either CCB or Steel brakes.

Why I purchased the G87?

I bought the G87 M2, paid a markup, because I really wanted to purchase a car for the track that was easier on the consumables than any of the cars mentioned above but that was clearly not the case. Will explain more below.

On the track:

Took the car to a local track Thursday with a few friends, we rented it out private, and the car handled well. Out of the box, the vehicle is amazing, it handles well with plenty of power and more left on the table if used correctly. It was my first day on the track with the car and it was wet, so I did not want to start pushing it to its limits, but I did hit about 70% of the limit of the car. The steering is plenty responsive, the M Mode traction is amazing to adjust according to your driving style, and weight distribution was great (could not truly tell the car weight).

My times were pretty good on track, keeping up with a 991.1 GT3 with a well skilled driver in it. This tells me this car will give Porsche a run for the money at 1/3 of the cost.

The car that I purchased did NOT have the carbon buckets as it was a HEA car but with the buckets and a harness, the car is solid on track. It does need some camber plates to and a better alignment for track, but as an out of the box car it is great.

Off the track:

The car came with Pilot 4s’s from factory, and I used those on track, not the greatest tire, but did not have enough time to get a better set. The tires were completely toast after the first track day. I had 5 sessions on track with about 8 – 10 laps each session. The weather was in the 60’s and track was moist. It was not even scorching hot, which tells me those tires had to go.

This is where it gets interesting, the last lap I was on track my brake light came on that I needed to get my front and rear brake pads replaced. Looked at the pads and they had less than 2mm’s left, which was concerning considering the car is meant to be my “cheaper” track car, but I can assure you that I have never had to replace pads, rotors, & sensors on any of my cars after one track day.

Current Situation:

Ordered new pads, brakes, rotors, and a complete brake flush. Getting an oil change on the vehicle as we speak.

Also ordered a new set of tires, Pilot Super Sports, as this is car will be street driven as well.

Conclusion:

BMW really should have made a car that could have been a little more reliable on track considering this is supposed to be a performance track car. I want to warn everyone that if you are planning on tracking it, be ready for the added expense that it will bring. I understand that everyone may not be as aggressive as myself on track but with the favorable weather, track temps being cool, and the emptiness on the track (since it was a private day) which meant less braking and only when needed, it should have handled well.

The car was supposed to be the “cheaper” track car but, has ended up being the most expensive track car.

The track that I went to was Eagles Canyon in Decatur Texas.

The brake pads and tires are for the street. BMW (going back to E9X days) had sport pads available which were essentially rebadged Pagid Yellow.

I am glad you enjoyed the vehicle, dynamics/balance.

The pads and tires do not worry me because I myself have turned pads to dust in 1 day (not a typo) on both street (stock caliper/pads/rotors) and purpose built race car on proper race hardware - Stoptech/floating rotors and thick 20mm pads but the wrong compound.

Without looking at the tire/wear, hard to say if it was due to the car, or driver induced/error (the outside fronts can wear out significantly if the driver continues to push on factory low front negative camber). If you have pics of the tires, please share.

I actually am one of the folks who decided to have a low consumable cost vehicle and went with the Toyota 86. You will be pleased with it!

Cheers,

Lutfy

[Covfefe]

>3800 lb car with street pads and traction control
>complains about brake wear

[KC87ZB]

I wouldn’t consider this report ugly as all, certainly not mostly ugly.

Rear brake pads on a single piston caliper with vectoring and traction control doesn’t shock me at all. I would look to the front brake pads as a better indicator of brake behavior. I really think that the series would benefit from a small 4-pot caliper to spread the brake load out over a larger pad surface, but it is what it is.

50 laps and one set of tires and rear pads. Very reasonable for the weight of the car.

[lutfy]

Originally Posted by Covfefe

>3800 lb car with street pads and traction control
>complains about brake wear

Ah, if the front pads are worn consistent with the rear (appears both had 2mm left) then yes it suggests traction control was on. Generally (but not always), the wear ratio is 2:1 (f/r) on bigger front engined/rwd BMWs.

[Humdizzle]

i'd say the m2 held up pretty good. I dont think any other bmw short of an f80 or f87 CS model with ceramics would have held up any better. its not a track car. its a street car that also hold its own on a short track day. the other cars you have listed are track cars first, street cars second (except the 458 italia). They have higher performance brakes, better weight distribution, and are like 700 pounds lighter.

[Mrwatchdawg]

Originally Posted by 02M3ForMe

That’s doesn’t sound too ugly to me. For this level of performance, pay up front for a higher end, lighter car or over time with consumables on a far cheaper, heavier car. Seems like a fair balance.

It's not too bad, but I guess was expecting it to be a little better from the get go.

Originally Posted by zero21

Great write up and thank you for posting your track experience for us. Couple questions:

Did you open up the brake ducts in the fender well? Why order rotors if it's just pads that needed to be replaced?

Also, 50 laps in a day is a lot of laps on street pads...

I did open up the brake ducts and the rotors have some hot spots on them, so just to be safe both need to be replaced.

It is a lot of laps, may be closer to 40 (need to look at the catalyst) but still a lot and I get that but I am comparing to COTA when I go out there with much higher speeds and steel brakes (but safer to say you cant compare to a gt3)

Originally Posted by m2ss

Agreed, for the majority of us this would be a great review...

its not terrible, I still love the car.

Originally Posted by Game

Don't think the M2 was built to be a dedicated track car...that's more of what the CS or CSL will bring.

Regardless, glad it faired so well.

it really is not, the CSL hopefully holds up better. I remember on the performante, it had issues with brake failure as well so I can say its not just with BMW.

Originally Posted by JustinHEMI

Great info thank you! Sounds perfect for weekend warriors like me!

it really is. dont be turned away, amazing car.

Originally Posted by Ravenseal

50 laps a day is not a casual track weekend. lol. Not a lot of cars are going to stand up to that in terms of consumables out of the showroom. If you really want a cheap track car, grab a Miata or a GR86 and modify it for dedicated track use.

lol, you are right, the GT cars hold up much better but I guess its also 150k more as well.

Originally Posted by LVI

the car weighs 3800 lbs give or take ... it's not going to be easy on consumables.

upgrade the brakes, or start with some good fluid and track pads, and a track wheel setup and you should fare much better. If it's a dedicated track car, gut the interior and take some weight out of it where you can.

Working on that already, this go around should be better. I desperately need some carbon buckets, looking at seeing if I can place an order where I paid ADM for one with buckets

[Mrwatchdawg]

Originally Posted by lutfy

Ah, if the front pads are worn consistent with the rear (appears both had 2mm left) then yes it suggests traction control was on. Generally (but not always), the wear ratio is 2:1 (f/r) on bigger front engined/rwd BMWs.

first go around traction was on, but after that let her loose!

[Mrwatchdawg]

Originally Posted by Humdizzle

i'd say the m2 held up pretty good. I dont think any other bmw short of an f80 or f87 CS model with ceramics would have held up any better. its not a track car. its a street car that also hold its own on a short track day. the other cars you have listed are track cars first, street cars second (except the 458 italia). They have higher performance brakes, better weight distribution, and are like 700 pounds lighter.

I know, I have a biased opinion, first car that I tracked that was not a dedicated track setup BUT my f82 M4 did do much better on the track, I guess I was using that as a comparison.

[LVI]

i would go aftermarket seats if this is going to be a dedicated track car. that way you can shave some real weight. The BMW buckets are power adjustable and weigh almost as much as the regular seats.

[Mrwatchdawg]

looked into those, but since I still want to use it (as much as I say this, probably wont) as a street car occasionally, wont want to completely strip it, just yet

[Humdizzle]

Originally Posted by Mrwatchdawg

I know, I have a biased opinion, first car that I tracked that was not a dedicated track setup BUT my f82 M4 did do much better on the track, I guess I was using that as a comparison.

interesting that the f82 did better. i can't explain that.

[Mrwatchdawg]

thats what I said, lol.

did better as far as holding up.

[Squidget]

Nice writeup, and put me in the crowd that think it's totally reasonable for street components to wear out after 40 laps.

You mentioned you'll do a brake flush, but nothing specifically about brake fade. How did your brake fluid hold up? The M2 seems to have monster braking power, I wondering how well that heat is being managed.

[1stM]

Thank you for sharing. It's a good baseline information.