[jmg]

     Featured on BIMMERPOST.com

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:

[brava09]

Nice write up, thanks for sharing.

I am three days on my M4, can't really push it much, glad to hear that is so capable.

[j23]

M3 CS is such a looker

[Gfit]

Outstanding detail. Hopefully, not likely, this will end the XDrive is only if you drive in snow, xdrive is only if you do stop light races, etc debate.

[Donolotti]

Look at that cs though 👀

[spuntyb]

Thanks for the write up!

[spuntyb]

Originally Posted by Donolotti

Look at that cs though 👀

Right?? God the F80 was gorgeous…

[Bumpinjeep]

Awesome thread OP. I really like how you did a quantifiable approach to this. Kudos.
Things that stood out to me were:
1. Damn that F80CS looks good.
2. BMW worked its magic to make a AWD system that doesn't push the car through corners and actually is an advantage on the track. Pretty damn impressive.
OP, what are your overall impressions of both cars over a 30 minute session? Do you think the CS or the G82 would have a faster overall time?

[Montaver]

Buckets mandatory if your tracking imo

[Peertwelve]

What a great review. Thanks for the detail! Re new pavement at Willow, how much of the 2 second advantage is due to that? Did you notice increased understeer with the awd?

[GFEA]

Originally Posted by Peertwelve

What a great review. Thanks for the detail! Re new pavement at Willow, how much of the 2 second advantage is due to that? Did you notice increased understeer with the awd?

The new pavement at SOW is undoubtably faster. Smoother and more grip throughout.

Great side by side review though! I swear I've seen that m3 cs at the track before…

[IB M]

Awesomeness all around - thank you for the detailed write-up. Sure to be a great reference for years to come.

Any thoughts on what, if any, difference Cup 2s on the CS would have made?

[jmg]

Originally Posted by Peertwelve

What a great review. Thanks for the detail! Re new pavement at Willow, how much of the 2 second advantage is due to that? Did you notice increased understeer with the awd?

Thanks! Hard to tell without more data with other driver's lap times. I would say at least a second and maybe up to 2 seconds.

Originally Posted by GFEA

The new pavement at SOW is undoubtably faster. Smoother and more grip throughout.

Great side by side review though! I swear I've seen that m3 cs at the track before…

Thanks! There is only one other Lime Rock Grey M3 CS in socal that tracks. Mine is the one without the CCBs!

Originally Posted by Montaver

Buckets mandatory if your tracking imo

I was planning on getting an aftermarket bucket, but now I am regretting not just getting the factory buckets

[jmg]

Originally Posted by Bumpinjeep

Awesome thread OP. I really like how you did a quantifiable approach to this. Kudos.
Things that stood out to me were:
1. Damn that F80CS looks good.
2. BMW worked its magic to make a AWD system that doesn't push the car through corners and actually is an advantage on the track. Pretty damn impressive.
OP, what are your overall impressions of both cars over a 30 minute session? Do you think the CS or the G82 would have a faster overall time?

1. She was a looker!

2. It's a pretty impressive rear based AWD system that doesn't add a lot of weight!


As far as 30 minutes sessions, the F80 M3 CS has outstanding cooling. Even in triple digit temps in the desert running 20 minutes sessions, the M3 CS was unflappable.

I will have to wait and see if the G8X is just as good, but from what I have already noticed, the front bumper has much bigger openings for airflow to the heat exchangers. The controversial giant grill and bigger lower inlets allow for more potential cooling. The G8X lacks the vented hood that the M3 CS has, however, so that is another factor to consider.

Where both the F80 and G80 still struggle are the brakes. Both generate a lot of heat. The G80 has extra inlets into the wheel well that you can open up for track days and help cool the front brakes. The floating single pistol caliper in the rear is, however, something we are still dealing with. Track days tend to kill the factory pads. Although mine were fine after 2 track days, I wasn't trying to set lap records and Streets isn't that hard on the brakes like Big Willow or Laguna Seca. I already have racing pads waiting to be installed, so we will see if that's going to continue to be a problem.

[Niko ZV]

Agreed on the write up

[tom @ eas]

Great thread, looking forward to seeing progress as time moves on.

[jmg]

Originally Posted by tom @ eas

Great thread, looking forward to seeing progress as time moves on.

Thanks Tom, looking forward to EAS working on my G82! I've taken my past 2 F80's to EAS as well, and you and your team always do a great job!

[8696 YG]

Did you PPF your car before taking it to the track? My M4 should be coming in next month and I’m debating whether or not I need PPF on the front

[solstice]

Very good to hear that things continue to work out as expected with the G8X Xdrive track performance, to some dismay of nay sayers I’m sure

Really superb write-up!

[jmg]

Originally Posted by 8696 YG

Did you PPF your car before taking it to the track? My M4 should be coming in next month and I’m debating whether or not I need PPF on the front

I did not, but I'm considering doing at least the front.

[WATCHMY6]

Great write up… I just got my G82 and am looking forward to getting out on a track… had X6M previously and never been on a track before… Super excited to see what I can do… I have 600 miles on the car, half way to break in service and then I'm going to set up a track day in New Jersey

[2011ninja]

Great read!