[Frosty_M4]

I'm going to test this theory throughout the following week and come back with my findings

[TJR_///M3]

Originally Posted by Needsdecaf

The suspension in then F80 is 100% the reason I didn’t buy one. I drove so many for 4 years, up through the comp pack and I think the LCI. The ride here in Houston was just too unielding. Comfort was barely tolerable. Sport and Sport plus….forget it. This lead to huge traction issues as well.

The G80 is much more resolved. It’s not soft. But the damping is much more sophisticated. Don’t have any issues and it deals with bumps extremely well.

Completely agree.
I think the F80 was too stiffly sprung and as you say, the damping went from severe (in ‘Comfort’) to intolerable for road use in Sport + ; it massively improved with the G80.
What is even more impressive IMO is that despite the far superior G80 ride control, it was not done at the expense of roll control, despite the car getting heavier and having (I suspect) a slightly higher CoG.

[DisonKlaud]

Originally Posted by Needsdecaf

The suspension in then F80 is 100% the reason I didn’t buy one. I drove so many for 4 years, up through the comp pack and I think the LCI. The ride here in Houston was just too unielding. Comfort was barely tolerable. Sport and Sport plus….forget it. This lead to huge traction issues as well.

The G80 is much more resolved. It’s not soft. But the damping is much more sophisticated. Don’t have any issues and it deals with bumps extremely well.

agreed. i trade in my f82zcp to g82comp, complete same feeling about the suspension optimization

[Forzanerazzurri]

Originally Posted by Needsdecaf

The suspension in then F80 is 100% the reason I didn’t buy one. I drove so many for 4 years, up through the comp pack and I think the LCI. The ride here in Houston was just too unielding. Comfort was barely tolerable. Sport and Sport plus….forget it. This lead to huge traction issues as well.

The G80 is much more resolved. It’s not soft. But the damping is much more sophisticated. Don’t have any issues and it deals with bumps extremely well.

This is a good post. I also tested an F80 before I ordered the G80. Dampening on that car was terrible. Couldn't imagine driving it to work every day. G80 dampening is very well done. When the community complains that comfort is too soft and sport + is too hard, you have done your job.

[/ / / M3]

Originally Posted by TJR_///M3

Completely agree.
I think the F80 was too stiffly sprung and as you say, the damping went from severe (in ‘Comfort’) to intolerable for road use in Sport + ; it massively improved with the G80.
What is even more impressive IMO is that despite the far superior G80 ride control, it was not done at the expense of roll control, despite the car getting heavier and having (I suspect) a slightly higher CoG.

Which tires came standard on the F80? I remember when I replaced stock P-Zero's on my other car (A5) with PSS's it was like going from a Dodge Viper to a Mercedes S-Class. The difference in comfort was shocking. The downside is that switching to Michelin's robbed the Audi of whatever little road feel it had.

[Prossx]

Originally Posted by / / / M3

Which tires came standard on the F80? I remember when I replaced stock P-Zero's on my other car (A5) with PSS's it was like going from a Dodge Viper to a Mercedes S-Class. The difference in comfort was shocking. The downside is that switching to Michelin's robbed the Audi of whatever little road feel it had.

PSS. Was a great tire for its time, esp the fronts for handling: bite, turn in, feel. Rear traction not as much but that’s part of what made that platform such raw, rowdy fun, if you didn’t lose control.

[Prossx]

Originally Posted by TJR_///M3

Agreed - good explanation.
This is about ‘primary’ ride and ‘secondary’ ride.
The former is about how undulating the surface is and the latter about how rough the surface, either continuously, like a worn concrete surface, or discretely, like holes, joints, etc.
On an undulating surface, with a lot of primary ride input, comfort likely will feel somewhat underdamped - either ‘floaty’ or ‘bouncy’.
Comfort, however, feels very good on a road with low primary input but a lot of secondary input.
Sport feels great when there is a lot of primary input as it will feel more planted, but it will transmit a lot of secondary input and may feel harsh on such a surface.
Where you live and the type of roads that are prevalent will almost certainly determine whether comfort or sport is preferred for ‘normal’ driving.
FYI - overall, I think the spring/damper settings in the G8X are much better than the F8X in all modes…

Really good explanation. For you MTB nerds that dial their suspension its a bit like low/high speed compression damping and rebound damping adjustments. Seems sometimes folks aren’t delineating between low speed compression damping (primary, undulation) and high speed compression (primary, chatter) relative to rebound damping in both these primary scenarios across comfort and sport. In comfort, that “bouncy” underdamped rebound damping feeling in primary undulation was obviously bad in the F8x, and maybe noticeable in the G8x but not as much?

[Forzanerazzurri]

Originally Posted by Prossx

PSS. Was a great tire for its time, esp the fronts for handling: bite, turn in, feel. Rear traction not as much but that’s part of what made that platform such raw, rowdy fun, if you didn’t lose control.

I still have a set of PSS on my E46 M3. They were the goat when I put them on.

These days I much prefer the newest P Zero (PZ4) over the current PS4S (I run PS4S on 2 of my 4 cars, PSS on the E46 and P Zero on the G80).

[/ / / M3]

Originally Posted by Prossx

PSS. Was a great tire for its time, esp the fronts for handling: bite, turn in, feel. Rear traction not as much but that’s part of what made that platform such raw, rowdy fun, if you didn’t lose control.

Perhaps it was great on some cars. On my Audi, it felt like an all season tire compared to the P-Zero's. Less grip, less road feel, sidewall roll in corners...but much more comfortable.

[Prossx]

Originally Posted by / / / M3

Perhaps it was great on some cars. On my Audi, it felt like an all season tire compared to the P-Zero's. Less grip, less road feel, sidewall roll in corners...but much more comfortable.

A few reasons might be BMW Star Spec PSS vs regular PSS. There is also a difference in the PSS Star Spec sizes designed for front vs rear tires specifically for staggered RWD only cars.

It would be interesting to get more feedback on the new P Zero PZ4 BMW Star Spec vs. PS4S

this should be in the tire/wheel forum!

[natmad]

I’ve had my M3C for one week, 400 miles now.

I drove it less than 10 miles on the stock suspension in sport only, just before signing the paperwork.

My BMW tech son installed the M Performance suspension and I’ve driven the rest of the way, again, in sport only!

I haven’t even tried the comfort setting.

I think the G80 M suspension feels much like my M2C suspension did, without the slight rear end bounciness of the stock M2C.

It feels very composed over different road conditions and corners very flat.

I’m also enjoying the look of the 12mm front and 7mm rear ride height drop, so there’s that!

I may try the comfort setting if I find myself on a stretch of highway with sharp concrete expansion joints.

[bri1042]

Originally Posted by natmad

I’ve had my M3C for one week, 400 miles now.

I drove it less than 10 miles on the stock suspension in sport only, just before signing the paperwork.

My BMW tech son installed the M Performance suspension and I’ve driven the rest of the way, again, in sport only!

I haven’t even tried the comfort setting.

I think the G80 M suspension feels much like my M2C suspension did, without the slight rear end bounciness of the stock M2C.

It feels very composed over different road conditions and corners very flat.

I’m also enjoying the look of the 12mm front and 7mm rear ride height drop, so there’s that!

I may try the comfort setting if I find myself on a stretch of highway with sharp concrete expansion joints.

On stock suspension (not your M-Perf suspension), the M3 is a very different animal than the M2C. The M2C's static suspension seemed dandy when I first got the car in Sept. of 2018 (harsh but controllable), but was one of the reasons I was done with the car by March of 2021.

Example:

There's a section of highway in Portland where you transition from one highway to another downtown. It's a horrid bit of road with bumps trying to send you in various random directions that change from moment to moment. My M2C was barely controllable over this bit of road. My M3 in Sport+ suspension is close to that bad, but the car becomes entirely controllable in Sport and it's just not a problem at all in Comfort.

[abenson91]

Meant to circle back here but no. I’ve tried both on winter Ohio roads and comfort is definitely more comfortable.