**Hey Mod's: This is feedback on the e92, not a track post. Can you keep here for so peeps can read? Thanks!
From an actual owner of an e92M3.... this car really does kick ass.
In so many words, BMW hit the nail on the head, and made the e92M3 a stud out of the box. I'm basically an intermediate driver on the track, and have been anxiously waiting passing the break in period to see how this car handles for myself. This past weekend, I finally had an impromptu opportunity to take my car out at Laguna Seca Raceway. I left there with 1,600 miles; and came back with 2,100 miles on her...what a day!
To avoid diving too deep into the track event, let me just say the e92M lived up to and surpassed expectations. The car was an absolute beast, driver's skill aside, the M battled with cars that exceeded/doubled its price range and surpassed cars that people endlessly compare to on forums. To provide some color on the cars in my run group, there were: GT3's, GT3RS's, 997T's, 993's, 997C4S's, Audi RS4's, Boxter's, Evo's, 335's, Z4's, e46M3's, Z06's, Lotus Elise's, and RX8's to name a few. My first reaction was..modifications that I made on my old e46M3 from suspension, engine software, exhaust, etc, etc....had nothing on this iteration the M.
Engine/Transmission: The engine and gearing that BMW made for the e92 is unreal! Low torque, what! The torque was fine IMO. The high revving ability of the M engine is what stood out w/o question. In instances where I would think an up shift to the next gear was necessary, followed by hard braking, and then down shifting back into the same or lower gear; was not needed in this car. In some corners the ability to take the car to 100 in 3rd(8~rpm), not up-shift, brake, not down shift, and then gas immediately right in the power band really was impressive. Shifting/double clutching and going through the gears was music to my ears. The car was so smooth and ran cool; oil tempt barely inched past 210 on the gauge. I was able to take the car up to 8.4 rpm or high 7's with such ease and smoothness...it really was amazing. Shifts were precise and the car wanted you to rev it; as you could hear the intakes at work and the exhaust note growl. As I was the only e92 out there, I received a lot of feedback and questions from the other drivers. One compliment that was given time and time again was on the aggressive note of the stock exhaust and engine. As far as power, there was more than enough. To my surprise, I was able to keep up with more horsepower cars on the track; and was able to hit unexpected speeds down the straights prior to the start/finish line (after turn 11).
EDC: This functionality is priceless. I personally would not touch the suspension unless fitting camber plates into the equation. In sport mode, the car felt like and handled better than my last M3 that had 500F/550R spring rates fitted on coilovers. I did a few sessions in Normal mode, which did drive very well through the corkscrews; however the uncertainty of how the car would react through the corner made me a bit nervous. I thought to learn the car the best, I would use Sport Mode as the basis, and get a real feel for the car and how the suspension/body would set up. The results were, Sport Mode was fantastic. You new what to expect prior to turn in and body roll was nonexistent for me. The car set up as expected prior to turn in and dove right in like a champ. Not much over steer at all, and under steer was enough that you could control or pull in by the different settings of DSC. Normal mode did have a tad bit more body roll, however once in the corner you could feel the suspension/rebound/compression tighten and the car became nimble. I think Normal may be a the mode that would give you faster lap times, however I plan to test this setting out at the next track event, as I now have a general basis to expect the car to handle and perform by. What is great about M cars, was the ability to switch to Comfort mode, for the long drive back to SF. Generally, you'd have to suffer the hard bumps of the road; as the last thing you want to do after a long track day, is sit in the paddock and set all your suspension settings back to street set up.
Steering: I do not understand the comments from those that mentioned the steering to be light. Granted, most of these comments were not from actual owners, rather people testing driving. In my opinion, setting the steering to Sport was firmer than the e46M3, more direct that the e46M3, and I felt more confident pointing the car through a corner than the e46. Long story short, steering was precise and spot on from where my eye was guiding it.....no unexpected adjustments required. In addition, the cars reaction time to steering inputs is insane....you can pull yourself out of most driver errors based on the steering/handling of this car.
Brakes/rotors: More than sufficient, and they are grabby as hell. However, I will say, by the 4th/5th session of the day, I did feel slight brake fade, as Laguna is a hard braking track. I noticed that the brakes did cool down quickly and firmness in the pedal came back; however there was never a lack of braking as some have mentioned. I should note though that my rotors/pads did take a beating, and I do think I'll need to let the brake pad deposits dwindle down before my final verdict...as I do have a very slight vibration in my steering wheel while braking now...almost certain it's the residue from the stock pads. The pedal does feel a bit numb today, so I'm really not sure if the brake fluid is failing here or if the pads just need to smooth out again. I'll let a week or so go by and if the issue is still there, I'll drop her off at the dealership for a "brake fade" warranty complaint
DSC: DSC ON was way too intrusive, however I did use this for the first session as a bit of mist came down on the track to the point where our wipers were needed. Based on the track conditions, my skill level, and the fact that I was learning the car still, I chose MDM for the rest of the day. This mode is great! It let me throw the back out when needed, but it also saves your ass if you are unfamiliar with a turn and over steer or come in too hot. It really lets an "ok" driver cheat and get on through tricky corners.
M mode: This feature was absolutely key. I initially started off with the following settings: EDC_Sport, DSC_On(wet track for the first session), Power_Sport Plus, Servtronic_Sport. Everything stayed the same through the rest of the day with the exception of DSC moving to MDM.
All in all, the car is dream and I do not think you could ask for anything else from a factory car. The car wants you to push it. The more you through it around, the more you pushed it……it egged you on and responded better and better. The engine, suspension, and LSD wanted more and more. The only thing that I'm worried about today, is the health of my rotors and brakes...as something does feel a tad bit off.
Another feature I loved on the car, was the Stop Watch function on the NAV setting. You could reset or take interim time stamps to clock in lap times. This was great as you could see how settings on the car and adjustments on addressing turns translated into faster times.
It will take a lot of homework and feedback for me to change anything on this car as of now. Thank you M division!
I'll be receiving a CD of pics next week from the photographer on site; so you'll be able to see the car sink in through the turns and the solid body stance I was referring to.
Edit: Pics are here now:
http://www.m3post.com/forums/showthr...=1#post2769477
