Looks and sounds well hard core

So how much did you give Sytner in the end?

 

Sytner got nothing. They wouldn't come up with a good enough deal.

But i've paid £4k less than Sytner wanted for a year newer car with isofix fitted as standard and a few other choice options the sytner car didn't have.

It doesn't have a warranty so i'll have to pay £900 for that and i still have to sell my S. But i think i got a good deal on the car that i bought which is immaculate.

 

Crappy photo:



Reading the pairing instructions in the manual means that i've paired the phone successfully.

Still haven't really given it a good thrash yet. I did have a short drive on saturday and stretched its legs a little and found it a very capable car. It tramlines quite a bit which can be uneverving when you're accelerating hard but other than that the handling seems bloody good!

 

Very posh. Like an S2000 on steroids.

Any tweaks planned? Are they run flats?

 

I'm not really one for mods so i'm not lining up anything specific. Anything i do do will be minor and probably upgraded standard fit type parts such as brake pads/dics etc.

The M cars don't have run flats so i don't need to worry about changing tyres.

Only thing i might well do is remove the clutch delay valve. It has the same type valve as the later S2000s and it can make the 1st to second gear change difficult to do smoothly. That said I didn't have an issue with the CDV in my S and just got used to it so I may yet do the same with this car.

Brakes are a little bit rumbley at the moment but then the car has not been used that much so i will see if they settle down. At the moment the brakes feel strong, but don't have the same initial bite that the Dixcel pads did on my S.

Standard brakes seem to be a weak spot on all M cars so they well be candidates for 'improvement'.

I will say that I really need to get used to this car. At the moment it feels almost too fast for the road. Putting your foot down in 2nd or third gets you to illegal speeds disconcertingly quickly and in the limited use its had so far it feels like a straight line junky car. Ie floor it on the straights and then end up braking too hard for the corners because you arrive at them so much faster than i'm used to. A bit like when i drove Bachi's Atom at Rockingham.

However, even going that fast in a straight line feels great and it makes a lovely noise doing it!

 

I've tried it with sport on but not turned off traction control yet. I managed to come sideways out of a junction even with the traction control on

Again, i need to get used to the car, but i found it much easier to drive smoothly and quickly with the sport button off. The throttle was so sharp with the button on bumpy roads made my foot bounce slightly on the throttle and kangaroo accordingly.

 

If it's the same as the E46 M3 ( I see no reason why it shouldn't be) all the sport button does is sharpen the throttle response. Too much for anything other than track driving IMHO. It doesn't actually make the car go any faster.

 

the sport button should also sharpen up the steering response (you should feel it instantly) and ime that is a far more useful attribute than the sharper throttle response

Rich - you will probably find that tyre wear and brand are major factors in the tramlining

I have found very worn Goodyears to be terrible in this respect - as you say, unnerving

 

I'm reading great things about the new Conti 5 ers.
Top dollar but aparrently great all rounders as a summer tyre.
Quite like these Falken 452, they are so cheap I just burn them up for fun

Thats a beautiful car there mate.
I'm surprised that Blurter bloke hasn't made an appearance yet.

As for track comparisons, erm you might be surprised!
Having had a play with two of them they left me for dead in the S2000, especially good in the wet.
The Z3M coupe stripped out on huge R888 ate the 335i - that is a beast of a track toy!

 

Tyres are all virtually new continentals so certainly not worn. The suspension is pretty stiff and the wheels pretty wide so i suspect the tram lining is a 'feature' of the car rather than due to poor or worn tyres. Its certainly not horrendous and the road i noticed it on was fairly rutted.

Fiddled with the sport button again yesterday. It is supposed to firm up the steering, but i didn't notice it. It certainly does turn the accelerator into a hair trigger!

I'm at Donington on Friday with a friend who has a PBMW race car that he's letting me share for the day. I may try and sneak my car onto the track for just a couple of laps.....