[BruceM]

Originally Posted by AGAV13

1) short answer yes, the M2 can keep pace with M3. However I found the M3 instilled much more confidence while driving due mostly to the Carbon Ceramic breaks. They are freaking fantastic! If the M2 had carbon ceramics for the track it would most definitely be an M3/4 killer. The instructors were able to drive the M2 for the first time yesterday as well and they all believe that the M2 would be able to hang if not be faster than the M3/4 in many instances just down on power in the straight always. I would give the M2 a 9/10 compared to the M3/4 and a 10/10 compared to my 135is.
2) I would most definitely sell my 135is to get an M2 if I wanted to stick to a coupe that size, it truly is leaps and bounds in the right direction better than my car. Realistically my next vehicle will probably be a larger sedan and the first car I'm going to look at is a M3.

Are you saying you got fade on the M2 steel brakes, then? Did they get soft or squishy over time? Or are you saying that it wasn't a matter of fade, but just stopping power? At Laguna Seca, there is clip after clip of drivers praising the M2's brakes as being solid after hard use over many laps....

[matlok]

Here's a quick vid I shot with my phone from the North Palm Circuit. The video does a bad job of conveying the speed, it feels much faster than it looks. The M2 definitely sounds MUCH better than the M3/4 too... I'll try to get some more vids and/or pics up tomorrow.

[AGAV13]

Originally Posted by BruceM

Are you saying you got fade on the M2 steel brakes, then? Did they get soft or squishy over time? Or are you saying that it wasn't a matter of fade, but just stopping power? At Laguna Seca, there is clip after clip of drivers praising the M2's brakes as being solid after hard use over many laps....

None of that, the Carbon ceramics are just so superb that making the switch feels night and day. The regular steel breaks are more than adequate and we never experienced any fade other than on the auto cross course after going hard for almost 25 consecutive minutes.

[dmk08]

Originally Posted by BruceM

Are you saying you got fade on the M2 steel brakes, then? Did they get soft or squishy over time? Or are you saying that it wasn't a matter of fade, but just stopping power? At Laguna Seca, there is clip after clip of drivers praising the M2's brakes as being solid after hard use over many laps....

The M2 uses the same brakes as the M3/M4. Check out the track section on that side for a lot of reading on how they perform over time. I think a pad/fluid swap is pretty standard for track guys.

[tc328]

That NSX Doe

[Juli23]

That BSM is just beautiful! Most underrated color in my opinion

[Mongrael]

Ahh, I'm bummed I didn't do this. I called them back in December to ask if they thought they may have an M2 and the rep told me they wouldn't. Guess I should have booked it anyway!

I keep going back and forth about MG vs LBB and I think this post has pushed me back towards the MG side. Thanks for the photos!

[LBBDrew]

What are your thoughts on the exhaust? I know you said it was better than the M3, but would you leave stock? Go for the MPE?

[FairfaxM3]

Originally Posted by AGAV13

It was the BMW Advanced M School out at the BMW Thermal Club. It was the second time they held the Advanced school and the first time anyone was allowed to drive an M2 there at the track. It was an absolute blast and if you can afford to attend the school (which is quite expensive roughly $4k I believe) I highly recommend it. I was fortunate enough to be one of the Grand Prize winners of the 72to16 Instagram contest so the trip was fully paid for by BMW N.A. but in the future I would most definitely consider paying my own way to attend again. I would also consider the 1to1 driving school option which is $1800/day which you will get much more valuable feedback per our discussions with the instructors who were all phenomenal great guys.

What is the difference between the Advanced M School there and the 2-Day M School? Different portions of the track?

Thanks in advance.

[gingiman]

After seeing the pics I am super psyched I chose the MG

[hankolerd]

I am Daniel, I was also out there these last couple of days. My experience is coming from an e30 M3 that I have owned for ~3.5 years. As well as a few endurance races in Chump in a 94 325i.

It is worth noting that the M2 was on stock steel rotors, but with a special track pad offered by BMW. I agree that the carbon ceramics on the M3/4 were more confidence inspiring, but I also didn't really notice any fade on the M2. I think the M2 certainly holds its own against its bigger brothers. It honestly didn't feel much slower on the straights, though I am sure it gives up a few miles per hour. But it seemed to make up for it with a front-end that just grips and grips and grips. A part of that may be because the M2's were still on the factory Michelin PSS, while the M3/M4's were all on Conti 5P's, as Continental sponsors the school. Both great tires, but the M2 just seemed a bit stickier.

As for the sound, I am not sure why people complain about these cars, both of them sounded great. If you want to wake up the neighbors and crave a loud exhaust, then go for it, otherwise just turn the radio off and drive, you will know exactly where your revs are from the sound. That said, there weren't any cars with the MPE installed to compare against. I ran my M3 for a couple of years with a full Supersprint Race exhaust (with no cat or resonator), and while it was music to my ears, it was just a bit pointless for a mostly street driven car. I set off car alarms every time I took it out, and when I did take it to the track I couldn't hear a thing from instructors unless I was below 3000 rpm's. Now I am back to the stock exhaust system, and it is much more enjoyable 99% of the time.

We were also supposedly the first class to go through with all aids off on the M2's during the auto-x exercises (they didn't let us switch everything off on the M3/4 on the big track), and this car just felt awesome to throw around

EDIT: Here are all the photos I got that turned out not completely blurry: https://goo.gl/photos/VH7Bh3PCvFgA7kPh7

If it were me, I would take an M2 in BSM with a 6sp manual, Michelin PSS, and a track pad



But I might be biased:



Some more goodies:

[Audio Fan]

The M2 would look great in Austin Yellow, but most things would.

[hankolerd]

Originally Posted by FairfaxM3

What is the difference between the Advanced M School there and the 2-Day M School? Different portions of the track?

Thanks in advance.

I could be wrong, but I think they said the standard 2-day school runs the North loop and South loop standalone, while the Advanced school introduces each separately, but then runs the full course linking the two together, making an ~3.1 mile circuit. The are constructing another ~2 mile portion of the circuit that will link up, so future classes may run the entire 5+ mile circuit.

Their website mentions the Advanced M School offers 'Downshift' and 'Track Race' sessions, but we did not do anything like this, I suspect either we ran a hybrid 2-day course and advanced course, or their website is just out of date from their current curriculum.

http://www.bmwusa.com/Standard/Conte...e/PDS/#mschool

For the most up to date information, best bet is to call and talk to a representative.

[hankolerd]

A few more.

Here were the wheels on the M2 after our auto-x session on the second day. Fronts definitely had a fair amount of dust.

[raysspl]

Grey looks good on the M2

[TunedM2C]

Originally Posted by AGAV13

Interesting tidbit. The M2s we are driving are "Ludwig Editions" manual seats, no nav. The instructors weren't positive whether or not they would be sold in the US.

That's how I want my car spec'd!

[LimeRockM235]

7 days till im driving one of those bad boys!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[cole3488]

Originally Posted by LimeRockM235

7 days till im driving one of those bad boys!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

at the performance center or your car is coming in?

[LimeRockM235]

YES! ill be at thermal on the 17th for M2 training. im a CA

[BwoodBMW]

I'm at La Quinta Resort right now and there were a bunch of M packets at checkin... I was wondering what was going on

[hankolerd]

Originally Posted by AGAV13

Interesting tidbit. The M2s we are driving are "Ludwig Editions" manual seats, no nav. The instructors weren't positive whether or not they would be sold in the US.

Unless the US ordering guide for the M2 is wrong, heated/power seats, nav, and H/K are standard for all US bound cars. All of which were lacking on the school's cars.

I think that is part of some of the confusion around the curb weight discussed in other threads.

For anyone that is bothered that the power seats weigh a few pounds more, I am sure a set of Recaro pole positions would fix that

I must say though, the practically infinite adjustability of the power seats in the M3/4 was nice after trying to fiddle with ~1" increments in the M2 seats. Though once you own a car you really only need to set it once. Since we were swapping cars and drivers ever ~15-20 minutes it meant we were doing multiple adjustments an hour.

[DS_BMW]

Dang MG looks good!! Side note, I thought the M2 came standard with the full nav screen?