[EatThatLunchBaby]

Any owners here had extensive experience with both generations on track? I love the look of both, but I’ve only had experience with the G80 and it’s been exceptional to say the least. I was surprised at what this generation can do with basically a stock setup.

What are the key differences you all have noticed during hot laps?

[FXMR]

Can't say extensive track experience but a few track days and autox with both -

G80 brakes are superior.
G80 feels significantly heavier (as expected).
G80 has an incredible differential, you can feel it working and it is great at putting the power down in technical situations.
G80 and S58 are ludicrously quick in stock trim. Tires are the limiting factor whereas I found brakes to be the limiting factor on F80.
G80 has a significant increase in front end grip.
G80 can take a lot but when it steps out you need to be quick to catch it. I like to tell myself its because of the level of grip but can't quantify that.

F80 felt more toss-able and liked to change direction easier.
F80 was much nicer on rubber consumption.
F80 DCT was fantastic.
F80 had more of a knifes edge feel and was more fun.

Will get flamed for that last part, but ready for it. The G80 is a blast but grew in size and lost some character from the F80.

My unprofessional opinion on all the above. G80 6MT and F80 6MT and DCT.

[BIGW0RM]

While I hated the sound of it. The F80 M3 was by far my favorite. It was just was just crazy RAW and fun to drive. I miss that DCT so much too. F series was a fun time to be a BMW owner.

2X E92, 1 F82 M4, F10 M5, F80 M3, 2X G80 M3.

[DFW_M]

No track experience with either but overall, I must agree that during my G80 ownership, I missed the rawness, more analog feel, the wild effect of the S55, the lighter/smaller feel of the F80/F87 vs. the G80.
The G80 matured too fast in my opinion

[Needsdecaf]

Originally Posted by BIGW0RM

F series was a fun time to be a BMW owner.

Aside from the F8X being "fun" I feel like the F series BMW's are some of the worst BMW's ever build. Pretty much every non-M F series car I have driven was a disappointment, including the F10 535 I owned.

Originally Posted by DFW_M

No track experience with either but overall, I must agree that during my G80 ownership, I missed the rawness, more analog feel, the wild effect of the S55, the lighter/smaller feel of the F80/F87 vs. the G80.
The G80 matured too fast in my opinion

Counterpoint, you call it rawness I call it "unfinished". I drove many, MANY F80's and was "this" close to ordering one (full Euro delivery, individual paint, individual interior) but the car felt like it wasn't calibrated right. Could not get my head around the damping, power delivery, etc. Too bad, I think it's a very pretty car and in many ways I loved it.

G80's looks still growing on me but to me, it's much more polished and composed.

[BIGW0RM]

Originally Posted by Needsdecaf

Aside from the F8X being "fun" I feel like the F series BMW's are some of the worst BMW's ever build. Pretty much every non-M F series car I have driven was a disappointment, including the F10 535 I owned.

You know, Ive heard that a lot! Even my bmw foreman friend said that to me once too.

When I came to BMW in 2010. I went right into an M car and haven't tried anything else from BMW yet.

[Aus_M]

For casual track days they are both great although, as other have said, the F80 feels more throwable but the G80 more approachable.

For hardcore track use the G80’s weight really starts to show in both handling and consumables

[BackOnBlack]

Originally Posted by Aus_M

For hardcore track use the G80’s weight really starts to show in both handling and consumables

Do you think the consumables cost 10-20% more or maybe even twice as much, G8x vs F8x? I assume you are talking about tires, brakes, petrol, etc.

In terms of handling, I do not know about the F80, but I highly doubt that it actually handles better than the G80 platform. Every number from sustained Gs, cornering speeds, lap times, etc. are better with the G80; taking the tests performed by magazines with a small grain of salt.

[Aus_M]

Originally Posted by BackOnBlack

Do you think the consumables cost 10-20% more or maybe even twice as much, G8x vs F8x? I assume you are talking about tires, brakes, petrol, etc.

In terms of handling, I do not know about the F80, but I highly doubt that it actually handles better than the G80 platform. Every number from sustained Gs, cornering speeds, lap times, etc. are better with the G80; taking the tests performed by magazines with a small grain of salt.

G80 stock does turn a faster lap time due to more power, wider tyres, better diff etc. once you set up a car properly, I usually see F80’s go faster but it sounds like you are starting out so I wouldn’t get to caught up in it. The G80 is a much better road car day to day.

Yes, all the consumables get used faster due to more power and weight and yes they all cost a bit more for the G80 platform

[EatThatLunchBaby]

I have zero track time with any other M car than my G80.

It’s really awesome to read everyone’s perspective and I appreciate all the feedback!

I’m terrible with tire management and I burn through tires at an alarming rate! Brakes seem to last forever and not give me any fade. Grip seems to be on another level where I usually lose confidence in my driving ability before I lose grip. It feels agile to me, but at the same time the weight is still “there”. The best way I can think of it is that it doesn’t feel like a flickable & light car, but it feels remarkably agile for its size.

Hopefully someday I’ll be able to drive other cars on track, but for now I’m REALLY enjoying this thing!

[FXMR]

Originally Posted by EatThatLunchBaby

I have zero track time with any other M car than my G80.

It’s really awesome to read everyone’s perspective and I appreciate all the feedback!

I’m terrible with tire management and I burn through tires at an alarming rate! Brakes seem to last forever and not give me any fade. Grip seems to be on another level where I usually lose confidence in my driving ability before I lose grip. It feels agile to me, but at the same time the weight is still “there”. The best way I can think of it is that it doesn’t feel like a flickable & light car, but it feels remarkably agile for its size.

Hopefully someday I’ll be able to drive other cars on track, but for now I’m REALLY enjoying this thing!

My honest opinion - find a wet skidpad or autox and go have a blast for a day or two. Not only will you learn the limits of G8x grip, but man its so controllable when you do (granted you’re ready to catch it). Thats where the real fun starts!

[EatThatLunchBaby]

Originally Posted by FXMR

My honest opinion - find a wet skidpad or autox and go have a blast for a day or two. Not only will you learn the limits of G8x grip, but man its so controllable when you do (granted you’re ready to catch it). Thats where the real fun starts!

Here in MN we have some winter performance driving days and those have been a blast! I do feel like it’s a very controllable car at the limit. It’s just a problem for my wife and kids when the limit in normal conditions is well above 100mph 🤣

[Ximian]

Originally Posted by EatThatLunchBaby

Here in MN we have some winter performance driving days and those have been a blast! I do feel like it’s a very controllable car at the limit. It’s just a problem for my wife and kids when the limit in normal conditions is well above 100mph 🤣

Plenty of track events up in Brainerd and Road America this year.

DCTC course layouts are meant to keep speeds low as their unofficial limit is 55 MPH. Powerful cars can get close to or a little bit over 100 MPH, but pretty far from the car's limit. It's only a taste of you'd get at a full course, which is a much more enjoyable experience.

As for the F8x on track, I've seen the newer drivers struggle to deal with the power it makes at the lower end of the RPMs. On a rainy session, there was one behind me that kept seeing going sideways out of corners and even in a straight line. I thought it couldn't have been fun and it must not have been as the driver looked pretty frustrated it the paddock. More experienced drivers seem to enjoy the car better once they've learned how to manage the power.

Remember all those videos of F8xs crashing after flooring it from a stop or low speed because their "tires were a few PSI off" is actually due to them not managing the low end power.

The G8xs have similar power levels but it seems our engines were tuned to provide perhaps less torque in the lower RPMs and a more linear power band making it easier to drive.

The other with the F8x on track seems to be fuel starvation in some cases so some choose to run with the fuel tank above half full. I'll deal with the windows rolling up under heavy braking over fuel starvation any day.

[DFW_M]

Originally Posted by Ximian

Plenty of track events up in Brainerd and Road America this year.

DCTC course layouts are meant to keep speeds low as their unofficial limit is 55 MPH. Powerful cars can get close to or a little bit over 100 MPH, but pretty far from the car's limit. It's only a taste of you'd get at a full course, which is a much more enjoyable experience.

As for the F8x on track, I've seen the newer drivers struggle to deal with the power it makes at the lower end of the RPMs. On a rainy session, there was one behind me that kept seeing going sideways out of corners and even in a straight line. I thought it couldn't have been fun and it must not have been as the driver looked pretty frustrated it the paddock. More experienced drivers seem to enjoy the car better once they've learned how to manage the power.

Remember all those videos of F8xs crashing after flooring it from a stop or low speed because their "tires were a few PSI off" is actually due to them not managing the low end power.

The G8xs have similar power levels but it seems our engines were tuned to provide perhaps less torque in the lower RPMs and a more linear power band making it easier to drive.

The other with the F8x on track seems to be fuel starvation in some cases so some choose to run with the fuel tank above half full. I'll deal with the windows rolling up under heavy braking over fuel starvation any day.

I have seen a few videos of the G80s crashing at low speed acceleration... I believe it is drivers and not necessarily the car. I've spent more time in the F80s (3+ years) and F87 (2 years) than the g80 (owned it for 10 months) and never had issues with the control loss of the F8x platform.