Hey everyone, it's now been almost 2 months of ownership of my G82 M4 Competition X-Drive. Here's my impression of how it compares to my former F80 M3 CS so far.
A little background, I've had 2 F80's previously, which were my first M cars. I daily drove my 2016 M3 for 3 years and my F80 M3 CS served as a weekend and track car for another 3 years. I am nowhere near a professional. I'm an intermediate at best, somewhat conservative in my driving style, who tracks once or twice a month.
So far I've taken the G82 to two tracks days: Adams Motorsports Park for a Time Attack, and Streets of Willow for a HPDE. I've also previously taken my F80 M3 CS to these tracks in similar conditions. Spoiler: Despite the G82 being stock, it was quicker around each track for various reasons.
But before that, I'll briefly mention street driving. The G82, being all wheel drive, has a smoother power delivery, and is much more composed in the street. The F80 loved to smoke the rear tires and easily kicked the rear end out, while the G82 overall has more grip and is very well balanced. Steering feels sharper and more precise. You can still have fun, but it's just more compliant to driver inputs. Overall it's noticeably faster than my F80 M3 CS and an easier car to drive at the limit.
Interior is a mixed bag. Overall I love the more modern G8X interior styling. My one big complaint is the center console. I still cannot operate the controls by touch. The buttons are too flat and indistinguishable. The standard seats are excellent, although I wish I had gotten the buckets in hindsight. I find the G8X standard seats slightly more comfortable than the F80 Competition/CS seats which weren't as cushioned and didn't have lumbar.
1) Adams Motorsports Park - Time Attack
Adams is a small/medium 3/4mi. track. I would call this a cross between an autocross and small road course. They run GoKart, Supermoto, Time Attack, and Drift Nights. I attend the Time Attack. We run three sessions a night, 9 timed laps per session. Timing is done via stopwatch by the track staff.
G82 M4 Competition X-Drive:
Stock
Date: 2/25/2022
Ambient Temperature: 53°
Fastest lap time for the G82 M4 Comp X: 45.01s
For reference, I ran all three sessions and placed 1st, 2nd, and 1st in each respective session. This fastest time was in the 2nd session, good enough for 2nd place in the second session. 1st place was 45.00 so I was +0.01 slower
.
Anyway, that's besides the point. How does this compares to my slightly modded F80 M3 CS?
F80 M3 CS:
RE71Rs
PFC-08 Track pads
GC Camber Plates (F: -3.4, 0 toe, R: -2.3 +0.11 toe in)
M Performance Hight Adjustable Suspension
M Performance Exhaust
Date: 10/17/2021
Ambient Temperature: 59°
Fastest time for the F80 M3 CS: 45.17s
For reference, I placed 2nd, 2nd, and 1st in three sessions, my fastest being in the 2nd session. I was +1.57 in the first session and +0.14 in the second session.
Notes:
In the M4 I ran the first session in MDM mode. After noticing too much interference in letting me throttle steer, and getting a better feel of the car, I turned off DSC completely for the remainder of the day. Times improved from in the 47 second range to consistently in the 45 second range.
Both my F80 and G82 were consistently in the low 45's during my "clean" laps.
Impressions and takeaway:
The G82 is extremely capable even stock. I was running against modded Mustangs, a Lancer EVO X, a Cayman S, G8, prepped Miatas, FRS's, S2000's, STI's, Corvettes etc, all with stickier tires, racing seats, harnesses, etc...
The times are so close, it's enough to dismiss the differences as driver error, or timing error. Both cars were consistently in the mid to low 45 second range, but the F80 had stickier tires, more camber, and race pads. The M4, of course, benefits from X-Drive.
X-Drive allowed for sooner, and harder acceleration from all corners as expected. The G82 is better balanced than the F80 mid-corner. It was easier to manage, the steering is direct and more responsive. It was telepathic in handling oversteer. I felt much more confident that I wasn't going to lose the rear end in the hairpin. I think with more practice, I can break my hesitation based on habits formed while driving the F80 and be even faster. Because of this, despite the stock suspension, the G82 felt gripper than the F80 coming out of the banked bowl and into the esses. However, hooning was still possible even in the G82. I was able to break the rear out for some fun oversteer action on warm up laps.
The ZF8 is indeed a hair less responsive than the DCT. While it was noticeable from the driver's seat, and not noticeable in lap times, it doesn't feel as satisfying as the crisp DCT.
Videos:
I was hoping to directly compare the footage of my fastest laps, but unfortunately, I seem to be cursed with my GoPro. My fastest times for both the G82 and F80 were not recorded due to the battery dying. Also, the telemetry on the G82 lap is not from the OBD, but from the GPS, so it is not as accurate. My OBD adapter was acting up and I think it had something to do with Carplay, as I found out later I had not completely disconnected my iPhone from the system. The new iDrive handles phone pairing a bit differently, so I have to figure that out. Anyhow, I do have the 2nd fastest laps of the night in these cars. I don't know how much insight they will give, but here they are regardless:
F80 M3 CS - 45.36s
G82 M4 CX - 45.13s
Photos:
2) Streets Of Willow - HPDE
My 2nd track day with the G82, this time on a proper track-Streets of Willow here in California. This is a technical track with 2 long straights reaching triple digit speeds, several nice esses, a blind chicane, and a banked turn.
It just so happens that the same time 2 years ago was my fastest in the F80 M3 CS! This is probably due to the ambient temperature of about 58°, which seems to be the sweet spot for fast lap times. Not too hot, but not too cold where the tires and track don't heat up.
The G82 is still STOCK except for a PSI Midpipe which consists of secondary cat delete and resonator delete. At most it's giving 14hp without a tune to the wheels. Reference
The F80 is modified with MPHAS, Camber Plates (F: -2.74, 0 toe, R: -2.4 +1/8 toe in).
Both are on stock brakes and brake fluid. Both are on street MPS4S, with the G82 taking the advantage with the superb star MPS4S developed along side the G82.
G82 M4 Competition X-Drive:
Tires: Factory MPS4S Star
Brake Pads: Factory
Brake Fluid: Factory
PSI Midpipe
Date: 3/13/2022
Ambient Temperature: 58°
Fastest lap time : 01:27.79
F80 M3 CS
Tire: non-factory MPS4S - 265/35/19, 295/30/20
Brake Pads: Factory
Brake Fluid: Factory
MPHAS
GC Camber Plates
Date: 3/6/2020
Ambient Temperature: 57°
Fastest lap time: 01:29.76
Notes:
Again, I'm not a professional, so take this for what it is.
The track has been newly repaved, so I expect that the G82 had a 2 second advantage. However, there was also a lot of headwind on the front straight and I'm 5mph slower in the G82 because of this. How does that impact lap times? I'll leave that up to interpretation, because I have no idea without doing some math.
Impressions and takeaway:
The G82 is impressive. I'm going to basically echo everything I noticed from my first Time Attack. The G82 is better balanced, easier to control, steering is more direct, and more precise. The G82 does not drive like a heavier car at all.
ZF8 vs DCT: I was more impressed with the ZF8 on this track than the shorter track at Adams Motorosports Park. It's super quick, super responsive, and very effective. Maybe I'm just used to it, but also keep in mind that I had started to use DCT mode 2 for the track for smoother shifting, so harsh, fast, shifts weren't necessarily the ideal for my conservative, smooth style of tracking. It might be a different story for others.
Videos:
F80 M3 CS lap:
G82 M4 Competition X-Drive lap:
Photos:
