grizwick

A close friend of mine is going to be lending me his '00 M Coupe for a couple of days. I came from an Audi quattro before the S, and front wheel drives before that. The S was my first true rear wheel drive car. I've gotten very used to the power delivery from the S, so my question is: What should I expect (look out for) with the M Coupe? It has a bit more power and a ton more torque. Anyone have any seat time, or good stories to tell, about this car? I really want to know how it feels in corners with regard to oversteer and understeer. How much more/less touchy the throttle is through a corner. Basically, I want to have fun, but I want to do my friend the respect of not hurting, worse damaging, his baby. Just wondering... TIA

Ldogdotcom

Man... I love my M Coupe. It's worlds different from the S2000, and you'll have a completely different driving experience.

First off, the torque is amazing. Even though the H.P. numbers are the same as the S2000, the torque will give you a kick in the pants at any gear. Just keep at above 2000 RPMs (I usually drive around the city 2500-3000 shifting at 4000) and you'll have power like you're not used to. I have had my M Coupe over a year, and I am still as stoked to have it and drive it as I was the first day that I got it. Add the fact that I installed my B&B TriFlo exhaust today, and I'm really, really excited. But, if you want to get on it, make sure you have traction control turned off. You might think that the S2000 feels quick...

The handling? It's more neutral feeling than my S2000 was. I can tell when I'm close to the edge on my Coupe, and I've never had the "spin out" experience that seems to happen in the S2000. The suspension is a little softer, there is a little more body roll, the gearbox is really good (but not as nice as the S2000), and the steering feels more numb than my S2000 did, but I felt (and still feel) a lot more confident in the BMW. And going through the corners? It's easy to oversteer if you want to (it's that torque thing again), and it's a lot more controllable than the S2000 is (in my opinion).

Both cars are extremely extreme. The M Coupe is a little more forgiving than the S2000 is, and each one has their merits... but you know which one I like better. And you think you get looks in the S2000? Just wait until you drive the Coupe. And contrary to popular belief, people love the M Coupe looks (when in person), and chances are, they'll ask you questions about it (is that the new M3? What kind of car is that? What does a car like that cost? Is it as fast as it looks? Why don't the windows go all the way down? Why doesn't the sunroof slide back? I didn't know BMW remade the Gremlin?)

Anyway, have fun and be safe. The M Coupe is one heckuva cool car.

Sev

I can't believe I am saying this, but its looks are growing on me.

I used to think it looked like "male genitalia" or an "elf shoe" however, the car looks better in person and it does have that certain "look" to it. Had the suspension design been better and the car 300 pounds less, I believe a new 315 HP one would have been on my list. Ahhhhh well.

rossmon1

i'll just tell you about a very rare car i had the pleasure of driving about 2-3 years ago before the m spec z3 came out It would be considered a on steroids M car . This ride0 belonged to my good buddy Eric Sherman and appeared on a magazine cover with a nice article and pics inside. It came with what was called an m-3 lite motor. Basically a hand built lightened engine from bmw motorenrad. By the time i drove the car it had an intercooled supercharger and numerous other mods from chips to hard parts and was putting out 500+ hp. Eric had made a lot of $$$ and dumped over a $100k into this thing. The suspension was in the experimental stage and when goosed the whole front end became airborne quite easily! This car was definitely not a neutral handler, as i recall it had a pronounced oversteer!! The next time I drove in it most of this had been corrected. The car was hand converted to an m spec looking machine complete with all decals badges , m-3 lite wheels and was truly an artwork especially as the real m series car was over a year away when i saw it. Unfortunately my buddy had to sell the toy over a year ago so i'm just writing from a hazy memory. Oh, it was a gorgeous black! BTW, i think he was happy to get arround $50k back from his investment