[beachBmmr]

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I recently upgraded from a 440xi to an M4 Comp.. This past weekend I did an Advanced performance driving day at Eagles Canyon in Decatur Tx. I am not a highly experienced track driver, but have been on track several times already in different cars. So this will be a "no shit" kinda post for more experienced drivers..

Eagles Canyon is a 2.7 mile track with 2200 ft back straight where I was getting top speed of 120s working up to mid 130s before heavy braking into the 90 degree corner turn 11.

Overall I am ecstatic with the upgrade, and there is a universe of difference over the 440 vs M4 Comp. I was really debating putting 20k into the 440 to make it trackable, but it would still lack the basic components of an M car that make it track worthy, so I ultimately decided to start at a much higher baseline, and see where I go.

Car Setup:

2021 M4 Competition RWD with M Drive Professional
1000 Miles, Break in Svc completed
Michelin PS4S Star spec..
(learn about the OE tire here

)


RaceChip GTS black (only ran this in one session, but had my fastest lap with it).
Started with tires at 34 cold and they got to 48 hot, aired down to 26 cold and they stayed at 40 hot thereafter.

Factory Alignment

DSC off, Started with MDM set to 10 and backed down to 5 after first session and then to 4 for last session.

Sport/Sport+ all the things.

Weather - 86 part sun, on session in pouring rain, on in drying track, and 3 dry sessions.

Total time on track was just about 2 hours over 5 sessions with one double session.

Impressions:

Compared to my 440 this car grips a whole lot better. Less roll, more control, and much much snappier braking(no surprises there).

Transmission:

The transmission is super fast shifting, and I drove in full auto all day, letting the car up and downshift which it did well IMO. I was focused on learning the racing line, and gaining confidence in the car, and learning the braking locations. The wet session was really enlightening, as the car still had tons of grip in standing water while pouring.. Throttling out of the corners required some finesse, and stomping on the pedal too early was met with oversteer handily.

MDM - With MDM on 10 there was marked power reduction coming out of all the corners. it persisted for several seconds down the straight, so I turned that shit down to 5 after session 1 and down one more to 4 for last session because i wasnt having oversteer issues, or traction problems and want to work down to it totally off.

Power - The car has a boat load of power, and in the straights I was maintaining gap to GT3's and C7's. I did not feel underpowered when behind those guys.. there were a few worked C6s that were un touchable tho..one of the instructors was in a 10yo GT3 and I was putting up 5 sec lower lap times then him late in the day, he was super impressed by the speed of the car.

Grip - Shit load more grip than the 440. little Body roll, and not much understeer in the dry, however, i wasnt driving near the grip limit because i am still learning the car, but my 440 was plowing in every turn and not able to hold speed in the sweepers at all, vs the M4 was yearning for more speed - like come on puss, I can go faster.

Braking - Sport brake is SUPER GRABBY....I wasnt used to it so I was biting hard in every brake zone...I had to dial Brakes back to comfort to regain control of the brakes (this is operator error, and I just need to learn the pedal feel here). But there was no problems braking, in straights, in the corners, at all..Engaged ABS a bit, but again thats operator learning curve, making sure I am getting on the brakes hard first, then backing down from there...

Race Chip
Ran stock all day but last session, b/c why not.
Even though i was warned waiting at tech end of the day by yourself for the tow truck is a really lousy experience...I turned it to Map 7 ...Yee Haw!

It wasnt like holy shit different car faster, but it was...faster. I have a video of the lap timer dot plot from my fastest stock and tuned laps, and it clearly shows gap opening up on with the tune on...

Fastest untuned lap was 2:16.21 Top Speed 130 mph
Tuned I hit 2:15.45 and Top Speed 135 mph

See here:

Consumables..see pictures.
The tires held up well, wore to the right part of the shoulder after airing down...I will rotate them to even out the wear, but they did really well. After the first session there was a lot of graining, but I think this was them scrubbing in.

Brakes - The pads wore, but not terribly, maybe 1-2mm..


Laptimer - It worked well, has some gaps.
I didnt run in track mode, because that turns the screen off and stops recording video. So I triggered collision detection in heavy braking (windows went up) which also stopped recording..I need to figure out if I can enter track mode then turn on laptimer and get recording up.

I accidentally didnt record audio for all sessions cause theres a mic mute button that must have been pressed..

It does not recognize this tracks start/finish line, so I have to manually edit each session to put it where it belongs...


Whats next?
1. More seat time, and instruction. I am definitely the limiting factor and have a boat load to learn on the car and track, and finding where I am comfortable pushing it.

2. Economical Brake pad replacements. With no aftermarket race pads yet, I will need to get another set of stock pads, and send the old ones out for new race compound. So I plan to learn to do pad swaps.

3. Tires...I think the OE tires are great on track for a street tire, but I am in Texas, and have a truck for bad weather, so I am thinking these are gonna be replaced with something more track suited and not $375 a tire + $45 mounting and balancing at the dealer. Eventually I might spring for a second set of forged wheels and put dedicated track tires on it, but who knows....

I have this awesome dewalt cordless compressor that I highly recommend for all your air needs.

4. Alignment - I may mess with the alignment as time goes on to see how it impacts cornering.

Overall, I think the car will stay as is for the foreseeable future until I start getting my lap times down, and hit a plateau and start looking at where I can shave more time. Its my DD as well, but I dont drive much since WFH.

If interested I have some session videos with some coaching and banter on a youtube channel I am starting for the car. - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC4q...EUZ6GauTN02hmg

[LuvMyE92]

Good write-up, beach. I wrote up my track impressions here and you can see that we both agree on the brake setting. I just leave it in "comfort" mode and it's fine.

Definitely do some HPDE with the BMW club and get some good in-car instruction.

Thanks for sharing, have fun with the M!

[beachBmmr]

Originally Posted by LuvMyE92

Good write-up, beach. I wrote up my track impressions here and you can see that we both agree on the brake setting. I just leave it in "comfort" mode and it's fine.

Definitely do some HPDE with the BMW club and get some good in-car instruction.

Thanks for sharing, have fun with the M!

Yeah strikingly similar takes. Track day is a more fun outing than Golf and I look at it the same way, Im not playing Golf enough to get really good either…Living 40 mins from a really nice small road track is a privilege I do not want to waste.

Edit - BTW your comment in the HuD tach. Go into display settings and set the HUD for reduced height mode and it makes the tach a small horizontal bar.

[LuvMyE92]

Originally Posted by beachBmmr

Edit - BTW your comment in the HuD tach. Go into display settings and set the HUD for reduced height mode and it makes the tach a small horizontal bar.

Yeah, thanks, I found out about that later. LOL

[nicksm3]

More importantly, for you........how was the connection in terms of steering feel close to the limit, Numb? Vague? Zero connectivity? That's the only issue with these cars.

[beachBmmr]

Originally Posted by nicksm3

More importantly, for you........how was the connection in terms of steering feel close to the limit, Numb? Vague? Zero connectivity? That's the only issue with these cars.

I could feel understeer although I was not pushing it very hard, just getting used to the higher speed laping vs my 440. I.e. in the sweeper I was carrying 90+ with the M4 and holding fine, vs mid 60s in the 440 and pushing off line.

[pikcachu]

Did you run over the little arrows on the side of the tire? that usually is a good indicator if you need more PSI to avoid rolling the tire over

they look something like this

[beachBmmr]

Originally Posted by pikcachu

Did you run over the little arrows on the side of the tire? that usually is a good indicator if you need more PSI to avoid rolling the tire over

Nope actually just at the arrow tip

[pikcachu]

Originally Posted by beachBmmr

Nope actually just at the arrow tip

then you were right on

What PSI did you run ?

[beachBmmr]

Originally Posted by pikcachu

then you were right on

What PSI did you run ?

26 cold / 40 hot

[pikcachu]

Originally Posted by beachBmmr

26 cold / 40 hot

wow... those really warmed up....

I usually start 31c / 38 hot on my M235 but I'm running RE-71Rs which have harder sidewalls

Do you know your temps by any chance ?

[beachBmmr]

Originally Posted by pikcachu

wow... those really warmed up....

I usually start 31c / 38 hot on my M235 but I'm running RE-71Rs which have harder sidewalls

Do you know your temps by any chance ?

Cold 86
Hot I'm a little fuzzy on but I recall seeing a 158

[beachBmmr]

Originally Posted by pikcachu

wow... those really warmed up....

I usually start 31c / 38 hot on my M235 but I'm running RE-71Rs which have harder sidewalls

Do you know your temps by any chance ?

I started at 34 and they went to 48 hot.

I was surprised by how high they got hot

[FLOSS M]

I would consider changing the brake fluid to Motul 600 or Castrol SRF

[beachBmmr]

Originally Posted by FLOSS M

I would consider changing the brake fluid to Motul 600 or Castrol SRF

I have run srf in my other cars. I have 2.5 qts left, but i did t have any issues with this short track that Im a member at with stock dot4. There isnt a whole lot of high speed braking here.

[paffinity]

Originally Posted by beachBmmr

Fastest untuned lap was 2:16.21 Top Speed 130 mph
Tuned I hit 2:15.45 and Top Speed 135 mph

Wow, that is fast considering stock everything! My M4 CS can only get up to 128 on the back straight, though I do have faster lap times (2:10). Your laptimes will improve with more seat time.

[beachBmmr]

Originally Posted by paffinity

Wow, that is fast considering stock everything! My M4 CS can only get up to 128 on the back straight, though I do have faster lap times (2:10). Your laptimes will improve with more seat time.

Hey Nice to emeet another north texan! Im in Prosper.

I think 140 is easily doable with a little earlier throttle out of 10 and a bit later braking for 11.

Im losing a lot of time not pushing through the sweepers too, and not late apexing a lot of the turns as they're mostly pinches.

Im joining as a member so I will enjoy it. Its not a track thats super hard on the car, so serendipitous to have it so close.

[DL335D]

Thanks for the review. Just curious, what track day insurance did you get?

[beachBmmr]

Originally Posted by DL335D

Thanks for the review. Just curious, what track day insurance did you get?

I self insured...

[BMWRacer523]

Thanks for the review. Can't wait to take mine out on track although that likely wont be till next spring at this rate. I've seen multiple people say brakes should be left on comfort. Sounds like the car ran pretty much flawlessly. Great to hear!

[rmmiii]

Got on track today.
21 G80 m3 comp with ccb and stock everything. Pirelli star tires.
Versus 15 F82 manual m4 with ccb on sport cup 2s.

Same driver (me). May versus September in chicago - similar weather - hot and sunny. Same track - autobahn south.

Autobahn south doesn't really have a long straight. Top speed ~125 in both cars.

New m3 was faster than old m4 by 3 seconds - m3 time 1:38.7.

And I really only had 2 flying laps to work with. There is more there "there".

New car advantages:
The torque coming out of the curves is better.
The suspension is more forgiving / car stays more stable if you go over curbing
Steering feel is better.
The sport seats hold you in place better.

Bring on more seat time and a bigger tire budget!

[beachBmmr]

Back out again yesterday with the Bluestuff from EBC and cup2s on 963m wheels.

Cut 2 seconds off my Previous PR

Brakes took a bit to get gripping, cup2s warm were a bit grippier than the ps4s but not a tremendous difference.

Car needs to get lower and more camber. Still pushing..