OG BMW m2 road & track
Discussion
July 2019
After owning my M3 for nearly 7 years it was time to move on. Had so much fun in that car and have definitely learnt a thing or two along the journey of taking a nice base stock car all the way to a full retard road legal track car.
It sold and went all the way to Barbados were it's still being beaten on
1DX21636 by M2 CS, on Flickr
42620665732_bc38b83cf9_b by M2 CS, on Flickr
48002027771_bdea1e0c0a_b by M2 CS, on Flickr
48137184952_3993b43c9d_b by M2 CS, on Flickr
48137185052_277dc97059_b by M2 CS, on Flickr
48137185212_e6532a205f_b by M2 CS, on Flickr
Before the M3 had even been collected I'd found and put a deposit down on my ideal spec M2
Untitled by M2 CS, on Flickr
My tick list was :
Long Beach Blue
Dual Clutch Transmission
Chrome grills
Non tinted windows
Out of the box it's such a good car! Now I'm not one for driving like a YouTube tool on the road so the first thing I done was booked a track day at Bedford GT so I could see what the M2 had to offer.
I wanted to do a day in the car with it completely stock so could set a benchmark.
Untitled by M2 CS, on Flickr
Untitled by M2 CS, on Flickr
Untitled by M2 CS, on Flickr
Untitled by M2 CS, on Flickr
First time using flapy paddles on track I was slightly worried I wouldn't get on with them, but took to them like a duck-to-water, sounds sad but it was just like a driving sim. Gearbox really is an awesome addition and this is coming from a heal & toe manual box lover.
Chassis even in standard form and geo is also very capable... things kind of go downhill from there.
I didn't want to believe everything you read/hear about the brakes but they’re pretty shocking, fade quick and really don't scrub off that much speed if you want to jump on them late. Thinking partly to blame was myself after coming from the BTCC setup had on the M3, that felt like your eyes were going to pop out.
But the biggest problem I faced was trying to stay in the standard seat, maybe again not being use to leather after the luxury of a bucket seat, it really held my pace back as was literally hanging off the steering wheel at times.
Set a 2:52 (9 seconds off my M3 best) so we'll see how I do in the future, after mods.
After owning my M3 for nearly 7 years it was time to move on. Had so much fun in that car and have definitely learnt a thing or two along the journey of taking a nice base stock car all the way to a full retard road legal track car.
It sold and went all the way to Barbados were it's still being beaten on







- It even made PH Readers car of the week back in April 2018 ... and if you read the link below the Wavetrac ATB diff was a total pile of w@nk! Completely ruined the car, good marketing... bad product. Swapped out for a 12 plated Gripper LSD and the car was totally transformed... in a good way
Before the M3 had even been collected I'd found and put a deposit down on my ideal spec M2

My tick list was :
Long Beach Blue
Dual Clutch Transmission
Chrome grills
Non tinted windows
Out of the box it's such a good car! Now I'm not one for driving like a YouTube tool on the road so the first thing I done was booked a track day at Bedford GT so I could see what the M2 had to offer.
I wanted to do a day in the car with it completely stock so could set a benchmark.




First time using flapy paddles on track I was slightly worried I wouldn't get on with them, but took to them like a duck-to-water, sounds sad but it was just like a driving sim. Gearbox really is an awesome addition and this is coming from a heal & toe manual box lover.
Chassis even in standard form and geo is also very capable... things kind of go downhill from there.
I didn't want to believe everything you read/hear about the brakes but they’re pretty shocking, fade quick and really don't scrub off that much speed if you want to jump on them late. Thinking partly to blame was myself after coming from the BTCC setup had on the M3, that felt like your eyes were going to pop out.
But the biggest problem I faced was trying to stay in the standard seat, maybe again not being use to leather after the luxury of a bucket seat, it really held my pace back as was literally hanging off the steering wheel at times.
Set a 2:52 (9 seconds off my M3 best) so we'll see how I do in the future, after mods.
Edited by Track_M3 on Saturday 2nd May 13:11
Oct 2019
Booked Silverstone GP for 4th November so needed to crack on with a few upgrades
Untitled by M2 CS, on Flickr
Untitled by M2 CS, on Flickr
Pagid RSL29 pads F&R
Goodridge braided line F&R
RBF660 fluid
2" brake cooling duct front
Brakes done moved onto the next issue
Untitled by M2 CS, on Flickr
Untitled by M2 CS, on Flickr
Untitled by M2 CS, on Flickr
Recrao SPA driver seat with steel recaro mount
Recaro Pole Postion passenger seat with ally mount
Millway motorsport floor mounts
Vac motsport lap belt brackers
Fabricated some brackets so that I can run a clip in harness on a screw in eye bolt that sits behind the ISO fix flap
Still a bit to fettle on the seats to satisfy my OCD
SPA has too much rake/G-lean making it hard to see road driving but should be fine for track as always looking ahead. The plan is to run a pair of Pole Positions on the road and swap to the SPA for track so I can run a harness and HANS device.
This will be a clubsport car, something I can enjoy on the road and the track.
Booked Silverstone GP for 4th November so needed to crack on with a few upgrades


Pagid RSL29 pads F&R
Goodridge braided line F&R
RBF660 fluid
2" brake cooling duct front
Brakes done moved onto the next issue



Recrao SPA driver seat with steel recaro mount
Recaro Pole Postion passenger seat with ally mount
Millway motorsport floor mounts
Vac motsport lap belt brackers
Fabricated some brackets so that I can run a clip in harness on a screw in eye bolt that sits behind the ISO fix flap
Still a bit to fettle on the seats to satisfy my OCD
SPA has too much rake/G-lean making it hard to see road driving but should be fine for track as always looking ahead. The plan is to run a pair of Pole Positions on the road and swap to the SPA for track so I can run a harness and HANS device.
This will be a clubsport car, something I can enjoy on the road and the track.
Edited by Track_M3 on Saturday 2nd May 13:13
Nov 2019
Silverstone GP report -
Spent most of the day apologizing to my front tyres, actually swapped the fronts left to right before lunch as they were just rolling over far too much.
Now that my bum stays put in a bucket seat the stock suspension and lack of camber is a really big issue, know the solution is coilovers so I won't be doing another track day in the M2 till I have a set of clubsport coilovers.
Brakes also done better than I expected and think they'll do even better once the chassis is stiffer, if you watch my on-board can really see the nose dive and lift on and off the brakes & throttle.
YT thumb SS M2 by M2 ClubSport, on Flickr
Untitled5 by M2 ClubSport, on Flickr
Untitled3 by M2 ClubSport, on Flickr
Untitled2 by M2 ClubSport, on Flickr
Untitled by M2 ClubSport, on Flickr
Silverstone GP report -
Spent most of the day apologizing to my front tyres, actually swapped the fronts left to right before lunch as they were just rolling over far too much.
Now that my bum stays put in a bucket seat the stock suspension and lack of camber is a really big issue, know the solution is coilovers so I won't be doing another track day in the M2 till I have a set of clubsport coilovers.
Brakes also done better than I expected and think they'll do even better once the chassis is stiffer, if you watch my on-board can really see the nose dive and lift on and off the brakes & throttle.





- Link to fastest lap video
- Point of view from the Subaru that left me for dead on the straights, but was no match in corners. (Start from 1:00)
- Bit more of an insight to how much the tyres were suffering... then my GoPro ran out of battery
- And the same session from Gooders e46 m3
Edited by Track_M3 on Saturday 2nd May 13:14
Feb 2020
Managed to source a set of dates matching Recaro Pole Positions for road use. One I had previously was a loaner & these are immaculate
thumbnail_343CC25F-19E5-4E74-A689-916A7A03C563 by M2 ClubSport, on Flickr
Got the Recaro alloy mounts powdercoated in gloss black to match as the raw silver stuck out like a sore thumb, then finished off with black hardware.
My OCD can now tick the box for my road car bucket seat setup.
Managed to source a set of dates matching Recaro Pole Positions for road use. One I had previously was a loaner & these are immaculate


Got the Recaro alloy mounts powdercoated in gloss black to match as the raw silver stuck out like a sore thumb, then finished off with black hardware.
My OCD can now tick the box for my road car bucket seat setup.
Edited by Track_M3 on Saturday 2nd May 13:17
Feb 2020
Why OG M2's came with poverty wing mirrors and not M ones I will never know.
thumbnail_IMG_2224 by M2 ClubSport, on Flickr
thumbnail_IMG_2223 by M2 ClubSport, on Flickr
Also fitted some side skirts and front lip from Restore44.co.uk they match the stock rear diffuse perfectly and give a subtle but aggressive look.
Binned off the OEM front number plate plinth and replaced it with an ever so slightly smaller plate to fit the lines of the bumper better, its now fixed with some alloy brackets that screw underneath so showing no fixings.
Untitled by M2 ClubSport, on Flickr
Untitled by M2 ClubSport, on Flickr
Untitled by M2 ClubSport, on Flickr
Untitled by M2 ClubSport, on Flickr
Untitled by M2 ClubSport, on Flickr
Untitled by M2 ClubSport, on Flickr
Why OG M2's came with poverty wing mirrors and not M ones I will never know.


Also fitted some side skirts and front lip from Restore44.co.uk they match the stock rear diffuse perfectly and give a subtle but aggressive look.
Binned off the OEM front number plate plinth and replaced it with an ever so slightly smaller plate to fit the lines of the bumper better, its now fixed with some alloy brackets that screw underneath so showing no fixings.






Edited by Track_M3 on Saturday 2nd May 13:18
March 2020
Ben Koflach words from Hack Engineering
Workshop Journal: Sam’s F87 M2 Intercooler Upgrade
Sam Ratcliffe is one of our oldest customers, having assisted a great deal with parts development and testing with his E46 M3 track car.
However, that car was sold last year and to replace it, Sam purchased an F87 M2.
Untitled by M2 ClubSport, on Flickr
Though not destined to be a highly modified track car like the E46 M3 before it, Sam has used it a for a few track days and intends to continue doing so, without compromising the road-friendly characteristics. Intake air temps has been the biggest issue to date and so Sam chose to work with us once again to develop a fix, in the form of a far greater capacity intercooler. Sam logged data on the 2+ hour drive down to us as a baseline.
89242098_3125554160810693_8538130526131716096_o by M2 ClubSport, on Flickr
Work then began on the M2. Our intercooler makes use of a large void ahead of the standard intercooler, while also using the space the original occupies. This means a capacity of nearly double that of the current intercooler, with a greater frontal area for maximum airflow. It also attaches using all of the original intercooler hoses and brackets.
85100374_184109482898205_5859532825690316444_n-851x1024 by M2 ClubSport, on Flickr
88276342_192066435411767_8737121184041096536_n-1024x1024 by M2 ClubSport, on Flickr
The satin black powdercoat also gives a very subtle appearance – exactly what Sam had requested.
84345606_4213437792015791_5457687625818849088_n-1024x1024 by M2 ClubSport, on Flickr
The factory fan shroud attaches nicely – it’s a perfect fit. From the front of the car it’s actually less visible than the factory intercooler too!
87527451_812940049219713_4576475821702642064_n-1024x1024 by M2 ClubSport, on Flickr
On Sam’s return journey home he again ran logging to see what difference the intercooler made to charge temperatures – with immediate and impressive results. Despite ambient temperatures being 2 degrees higher, the M2 recorded an 11 degree reduction in temps – a 13 degree total drop. These intercoolers will soon be for sale in the Hack Engineering shop.
89238084_3125554214144021_7285647195657732096_o by M2 ClubSport, on Flickr
Ben Koflach words from Hack Engineering
Workshop Journal: Sam’s F87 M2 Intercooler Upgrade
Sam Ratcliffe is one of our oldest customers, having assisted a great deal with parts development and testing with his E46 M3 track car.
However, that car was sold last year and to replace it, Sam purchased an F87 M2.

Though not destined to be a highly modified track car like the E46 M3 before it, Sam has used it a for a few track days and intends to continue doing so, without compromising the road-friendly characteristics. Intake air temps has been the biggest issue to date and so Sam chose to work with us once again to develop a fix, in the form of a far greater capacity intercooler. Sam logged data on the 2+ hour drive down to us as a baseline.

Work then began on the M2. Our intercooler makes use of a large void ahead of the standard intercooler, while also using the space the original occupies. This means a capacity of nearly double that of the current intercooler, with a greater frontal area for maximum airflow. It also attaches using all of the original intercooler hoses and brackets.


The satin black powdercoat also gives a very subtle appearance – exactly what Sam had requested.

The factory fan shroud attaches nicely – it’s a perfect fit. From the front of the car it’s actually less visible than the factory intercooler too!

On Sam’s return journey home he again ran logging to see what difference the intercooler made to charge temperatures – with immediate and impressive results. Despite ambient temperatures being 2 degrees higher, the M2 recorded an 11 degree reduction in temps – a 13 degree total drop. These intercoolers will soon be for sale in the Hack Engineering shop.

- Link to thread https://www.hackengineering.co.uk/workshop-journal...
Edited by Track_M3 on Saturday 2nd May 13:19
April 2020
Now for the update I've been waiting for - KW clubsport 2-way coilvers
Untitled by M2 ClubSport, on Flickr
Untitled by M2 ClubSport, on Flickr
Keen eyes will notice these are top mounts for an M4 (& M4 reinforcement plates), in fact the whole kit is for an M4, reason for that is KW only make clubsport coilovers for an M2 in 3-way and they're £1200 more than 2-ways, plus I would have only gotten very confused with high and low speed adjustments and just didn't think it was needed for a road car.
M2 being exactly the same subframes and arms ect from an M4 means the kit is a straight fit
Untitled by M2 ClubSport, on Flickr
Had a trail fit of some 18s I've still got in the garage with some racing wets on - 18x10 et25
Untitled by M2 ClubSport, on Flickr
Had to remove the caliper as these 18s no way near clear the caliper
Untitled by M2 ClubSport, on Flickr
Obviously this is a no go. Wanted to run 10s & 11s but think I will have to settle for 9.5 & 10.5, which is still half inch wider than stock. Will be able tell more once I get a geo to my desired spec then ill have another trail fit.
Untitled by M2 ClubSport, on Flickr
Going back to what I said a moment ago that the M4 suspension was a straight fit, that wasn't 100% true... I loose my factory strut brace as they bolt directly to the top mounts and not the strut towers, I couldn't live with that and another blessing of the M4 kit is that I can run the fancy carbon strut brace.
Loosing this along with the front boomerang looking pieces
Untitled by M2 ClubSport, on Flickr
Making way for this
Untitled by M2 ClubSport, on Flickr
Needs a bit of fiddling to get to work but I like a challenge
Red - F87 M2 chassis has no place for these to be bolted in
Yellow - voids a brake hard line out the ABS so that's a no go
Green - you'd have to cut the wing to access the bolts & makes it a nightmare to get on/off the car
So you're left with this - making it a straight fit for an M2 .... once you've had a play with the trim covers as well
Untitled by M2 ClubSport, on Flickr
Before
Untitled by M2 ClubSport, on Flickr
After
Untitled by M2 ClubSport, on Flickr
Untitled by M2 ClubSport, on Flickr
Basically just waiting for race tracks to open back up again, but for now its stay at home and stay safe
Now for the update I've been waiting for - KW clubsport 2-way coilvers


Keen eyes will notice these are top mounts for an M4 (& M4 reinforcement plates), in fact the whole kit is for an M4, reason for that is KW only make clubsport coilovers for an M2 in 3-way and they're £1200 more than 2-ways, plus I would have only gotten very confused with high and low speed adjustments and just didn't think it was needed for a road car.
M2 being exactly the same subframes and arms ect from an M4 means the kit is a straight fit

Had a trail fit of some 18s I've still got in the garage with some racing wets on - 18x10 et25

Had to remove the caliper as these 18s no way near clear the caliper

Obviously this is a no go. Wanted to run 10s & 11s but think I will have to settle for 9.5 & 10.5, which is still half inch wider than stock. Will be able tell more once I get a geo to my desired spec then ill have another trail fit.

Going back to what I said a moment ago that the M4 suspension was a straight fit, that wasn't 100% true... I loose my factory strut brace as they bolt directly to the top mounts and not the strut towers, I couldn't live with that and another blessing of the M4 kit is that I can run the fancy carbon strut brace.
Loosing this along with the front boomerang looking pieces

Making way for this

Needs a bit of fiddling to get to work but I like a challenge
Red - F87 M2 chassis has no place for these to be bolted in
Yellow - voids a brake hard line out the ABS so that's a no go
Green - you'd have to cut the wing to access the bolts & makes it a nightmare to get on/off the car
So you're left with this - making it a straight fit for an M2 .... once you've had a play with the trim covers as well

Before

After


Basically just waiting for race tracks to open back up again, but for now its stay at home and stay safe

Edited by Track_M3 on Saturday 2nd May 13:22
-Ad- said:
Kaveney said:
all of the pictures
Why on earth quote a whole post full of pictures for a simple question, lunacy!Loving the new M2 and a great start to the thread with a cup of tea in hand

Edited by -Ad- on Thursday 30th April 17:08

Cool car, nice quality modifications too! I bought a pair of Recaro Pole Positions for a car once, but got offered more than twice what I had paid for them, before I even collected them, so never got to fit them in a car :-(
-Ad- said:
Loving the new M2 and a great start to the thread with a cup of tea in hand 
Still more to come...
The Dictator said:
Cool car, nice quality modifications too! I bought a pair of Recaro Pole Positions for a car once, but got offered more than twice what I had paid for them, before I even collected them, so never got to fit them in a car :-(
I've always said if you're able to buy Recaros at a good price you'll never loose money.Kaveney said:
Yes sorry my mistake pushing the quote button and not thinking .
No that was Saturday 17/08/19 - my first track day in the M2, after years in a popular M3 thought I'd be the only M2 there, to then be greeted with two other Long beach Blue M2's haha... set it as my goal to overtake them both, and did 
If you could edit your quote that would be ideal thanks.
April 2020
Chucked some Powerflex bushes in before the coilovers went on, front ARB bush in black series & front radius arm bush (these only come in black) there was also the option that adds half a degree of caster but felt that would be more hassle than it was worth to set up and keep in check.
Came up against a bit of a fitting hurdle on the front arm, here's how they're suppose to go to save me explaining
http://www.powerflex.co.uk/i/product_images/1-5-4001 FI-min.pdf
Pressed the bushes into the arm then the steel insert/sleeve and noticed that the sleeve sat proud of the bush on both sides.
Turns out the insert was too long meaning you couldn't get the supplied washers in either side, by this point there was no return so had to fit them and hope for the best.... typically my best hopes didn't come true.
Untitled by M2 ClubSport, on Flickr
Was a 5mm gap meaning the arm could move, both sides had shot forward and stayed there but I wasn't prepared to leave it at that.
Untitled by M2 ClubSport, on Flickr
Had 2 options to get over this problem, didn't fancy trying to loose 5mm off the metal sleeve with my angle grinder as it would need to be 100% flat/straight so I opted to drill out the washer to 25mm so they could slip over the sleeve and fill the void.
Worked a treat
Untitled by M2 ClubSport, on Flickr
Emailed the director of Powerlfex to bring the problem to light. They're going to shorten the sleeves by 5mm (how they were meant to be in the first place) they were also willing to post me out some new washers and sleeves but we were both confident my fix would have the same end result, saves me doing the job for the 3rd time, and as they offer a good warranty I can always address it again down the line if need be.
Chucked some Powerflex bushes in before the coilovers went on, front ARB bush in black series & front radius arm bush (these only come in black) there was also the option that adds half a degree of caster but felt that would be more hassle than it was worth to set up and keep in check.
Came up against a bit of a fitting hurdle on the front arm, here's how they're suppose to go to save me explaining
http://www.powerflex.co.uk/i/product_images/1-5-4001 FI-min.pdf
Pressed the bushes into the arm then the steel insert/sleeve and noticed that the sleeve sat proud of the bush on both sides.
Turns out the insert was too long meaning you couldn't get the supplied washers in either side, by this point there was no return so had to fit them and hope for the best.... typically my best hopes didn't come true.

Was a 5mm gap meaning the arm could move, both sides had shot forward and stayed there but I wasn't prepared to leave it at that.

Had 2 options to get over this problem, didn't fancy trying to loose 5mm off the metal sleeve with my angle grinder as it would need to be 100% flat/straight so I opted to drill out the washer to 25mm so they could slip over the sleeve and fill the void.
Worked a treat

Emailed the director of Powerlfex to bring the problem to light. They're going to shorten the sleeves by 5mm (how they were meant to be in the first place) they were also willing to post me out some new washers and sleeves but we were both confident my fix would have the same end result, saves me doing the job for the 3rd time, and as they offer a good warranty I can always address it again down the line if need be.
Edited by Track_M3 on Saturday 2nd May 13:23
April 2020
Spent bit of time perfecting my track seat setup with some 4-point ASM (Anti-SubMarining) Schroth harnesses, these are ideal to save the faff of 6 points... although I did love being buckled into a 6 point in my M3.
Now I can clip in a pair of harnesses and swap over from my road setup Recaro Pole Postion to my track Recaro SPA in a matter of minutes.
Untitled by M2 ClubSport, on Flickr
Untitled by M2 ClubSport, on Flickr
Untitled by M2 ClubSport, on Flickr
Untitled by M2 ClubSport, on Flickr
Untitled by M2 ClubSport, on Flickr
Spent bit of time perfecting my track seat setup with some 4-point ASM (Anti-SubMarining) Schroth harnesses, these are ideal to save the faff of 6 points... although I did love being buckled into a 6 point in my M3.
Now I can clip in a pair of harnesses and swap over from my road setup Recaro Pole Postion to my track Recaro SPA in a matter of minutes.

- Also messed about with the seat mount adding a few more holes so I could bring the seat a bit more upright, was finding that I was having to stretch to reach the top of the steering wheel on turns




Edited by Track_M3 on Saturday 2nd May 13:24
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