2015 BMW F13 M6 coupe
Discussion
I actually bought this car back in February, took delivery in April and commented over in the M6 thread. But I thought here would be a good place to document this automotive chapter of my first ///M car ownership experience.
I had to wait 6 weeks for PPF to be added to the front of the car, the factory 343M wheels to be changed from Black to Silver and the final handover to be completed. I finally collected it just over two months ago and in that time I have covered 3,000 miles - it is my daily and only car.
I now see even more what the fuss is all about with this generation M5 & M6 - and it has exceeded my already very high expectations; these certainly are proper ///M cars in every way. I don't get why some people say these are a bit soulless or you'd get bored driving one of these every day - I certainly won't! It makes every journey an occasion and always feels special, even when just cruising with everything in Efficient/Comfort mode. The flagship ///M car ambience in the cabin certainly adds to all of that when pootling along or sat in a bit of traffic. And in my opinion it has just the right amount of technology - not too much or too little for a modern car. This is a keeper for a very, very long time for me. I'd happily have an F13/F06/F10 M car for the rest of my life with that wonderful DCT gearbox. I've been lucky enough to sample Porsche's PDK and Ferrari's dual-clutch 'box over multiple days and it certainly belongs in that company.
On a recent 400-mile day trip with my enthusiast car club, I really got to stretch its legs properly for the first time on open sweepers and can confirm it significantly gaps an Aston Martin Rapide at quite an astonishing rate from a third gear roll. MY LORD what a rocket (predictably). On collection it had Bridgestone Potenzas with about 3.5-4mm of tread left and in MDM mode it would just spin up through first, second and third(!) so after a few weeks I quickly got Michelin Pilot Sport 4S tyres on it. Night-and-day improvement, but even then these things are more rolling road machines that eat up fast sweepers, we know they're not great at accelerating from a standstill whichever tyres we have on them!
On start up, I drive with everything in its default Efficient/Comfort mode steadily until the oil temp gauge gets to its 95C marker. Then I drive for a couple more minutes in manual mode S2 and engine still in Efficient so I can let the revs rise to 2500-3000rpm for a bit, then once fully warmed up I go straight to my M1 mode (engine: Sport Plus, chassis: Comfort, steering: Sport, gearbox: manual S2, traction: MDM) which I have set up as a half-way fun house that I find good for a good mix of swift road driving. And I like going straight to Sport Plus engine mode once fully warm because the car then runs the thermostat at a cooler operating temperature which is much better for the car's health - these powertrains sure get hotttt! I also like driving in MDM whenever it's dry to save on tc/pad wear and it forces me to learn the car more and modulate my throttle control.
My M2 mode is configured to engine: Sport Plus, chassis: Sport, steering: Sport, gearbox: manual S3, traction: MDM for fast road driving when I'm out in the middle of nowhere / out with the car club on some great roads.
I just love how the ///M engineers have worked their magic on these S63TU motors and have almost made them feel naturally-aspirated in that you really have to use all of the rev range to get the very best out of them and they still feel very much like a true proper ///M car. In my preset M modes I refuse to be lazy with all that low-down torque and force myself to drive it like a naturally-aspirated car and use the revs with that fabulous DCT in manual mode. Admittedly they don't sound great below 3000rpm, but in Sport Plus mode above 4000rpm they sound almost like a flatplane-crank V8 race engine and I love that they rev to 7200rpm for a forced induction V8... The more effort you put in, the more you get out. Delightful machines.
Once I got through the full tank of free fuel that was supplied by the dealer (pretty sure they just filled it with 95 RON octane :facepalm: ) I swiftly put in a can of Liqui Moly petrol injector cleaner to help with any nasty carbon build-up and garbage fuel, then I filled it with BP Ultimate 98 RON. I will only be running it on this or Mobil 98 as these are very very sensitive to fuel and LSPI events (Low Speed Pre Ignition) / super knock.
I also added a 300ml can of Liqui Moly Mos2 additive to protect the oil film (I will do this straight after every oil change every 4,000-5,000 miles going forwards). This is because the Mos2 additive (Molybdenum Disulfide) appears to lessen LSPI / super knock events by making the oil less prone to dieseling which causes the LSPI, but it also protects your bearing surfaces! During moderate LSPI (not enough to bend your rods), the oil film breaks down and allows direct metal-to-metal contact. Moly has unique properties that allow it to become even "slipperier" under the intense pressures of LSPI events. In short, it boosts the coveted HTHS rating of any given oil it is added to and performs even better under these pressures.
I was very pleased to see that Motul Excess 5W-40 oil was used on its last service. Going forwards, I will only be using this oil or the Liqui Moly Leichtlauf or Molygen 5W-40, as these are widely regarded as the consistently best oils for the S63TU engine. Other than regular meticulous maintenance, I have no plans to add more power (these are plenty fast enough as standard and we all know their standard quoted power outputs are very conservative!..). I may look at just a Resonator-delete or Muffler-delete at some point down the track for a bit more sound, but that's it. For preventative maintenance I will look to replace the Rod Bearings, Fuel Injectors and the two High Pressure Fuel Pumps within the next year. I will be replacing all 8 fuel injectors at its next service in a month along with 8x new spark plugs & coil packs, before doing the Rod Bearings & HPFPs towards the end of the year.
Next up? It's getting dyno'd very soon (no tuning), as I'm curious to see what horsepower it's actually putting out even in factory standard/stock form. More on that in my next post
I had to wait 6 weeks for PPF to be added to the front of the car, the factory 343M wheels to be changed from Black to Silver and the final handover to be completed. I finally collected it just over two months ago and in that time I have covered 3,000 miles - it is my daily and only car.
I now see even more what the fuss is all about with this generation M5 & M6 - and it has exceeded my already very high expectations; these certainly are proper ///M cars in every way. I don't get why some people say these are a bit soulless or you'd get bored driving one of these every day - I certainly won't! It makes every journey an occasion and always feels special, even when just cruising with everything in Efficient/Comfort mode. The flagship ///M car ambience in the cabin certainly adds to all of that when pootling along or sat in a bit of traffic. And in my opinion it has just the right amount of technology - not too much or too little for a modern car. This is a keeper for a very, very long time for me. I'd happily have an F13/F06/F10 M car for the rest of my life with that wonderful DCT gearbox. I've been lucky enough to sample Porsche's PDK and Ferrari's dual-clutch 'box over multiple days and it certainly belongs in that company.
On a recent 400-mile day trip with my enthusiast car club, I really got to stretch its legs properly for the first time on open sweepers and can confirm it significantly gaps an Aston Martin Rapide at quite an astonishing rate from a third gear roll. MY LORD what a rocket (predictably). On collection it had Bridgestone Potenzas with about 3.5-4mm of tread left and in MDM mode it would just spin up through first, second and third(!) so after a few weeks I quickly got Michelin Pilot Sport 4S tyres on it. Night-and-day improvement, but even then these things are more rolling road machines that eat up fast sweepers, we know they're not great at accelerating from a standstill whichever tyres we have on them!
On start up, I drive with everything in its default Efficient/Comfort mode steadily until the oil temp gauge gets to its 95C marker. Then I drive for a couple more minutes in manual mode S2 and engine still in Efficient so I can let the revs rise to 2500-3000rpm for a bit, then once fully warmed up I go straight to my M1 mode (engine: Sport Plus, chassis: Comfort, steering: Sport, gearbox: manual S2, traction: MDM) which I have set up as a half-way fun house that I find good for a good mix of swift road driving. And I like going straight to Sport Plus engine mode once fully warm because the car then runs the thermostat at a cooler operating temperature which is much better for the car's health - these powertrains sure get hotttt! I also like driving in MDM whenever it's dry to save on tc/pad wear and it forces me to learn the car more and modulate my throttle control.
My M2 mode is configured to engine: Sport Plus, chassis: Sport, steering: Sport, gearbox: manual S3, traction: MDM for fast road driving when I'm out in the middle of nowhere / out with the car club on some great roads.
I just love how the ///M engineers have worked their magic on these S63TU motors and have almost made them feel naturally-aspirated in that you really have to use all of the rev range to get the very best out of them and they still feel very much like a true proper ///M car. In my preset M modes I refuse to be lazy with all that low-down torque and force myself to drive it like a naturally-aspirated car and use the revs with that fabulous DCT in manual mode. Admittedly they don't sound great below 3000rpm, but in Sport Plus mode above 4000rpm they sound almost like a flatplane-crank V8 race engine and I love that they rev to 7200rpm for a forced induction V8... The more effort you put in, the more you get out. Delightful machines.
Once I got through the full tank of free fuel that was supplied by the dealer (pretty sure they just filled it with 95 RON octane :facepalm: ) I swiftly put in a can of Liqui Moly petrol injector cleaner to help with any nasty carbon build-up and garbage fuel, then I filled it with BP Ultimate 98 RON. I will only be running it on this or Mobil 98 as these are very very sensitive to fuel and LSPI events (Low Speed Pre Ignition) / super knock.
I also added a 300ml can of Liqui Moly Mos2 additive to protect the oil film (I will do this straight after every oil change every 4,000-5,000 miles going forwards). This is because the Mos2 additive (Molybdenum Disulfide) appears to lessen LSPI / super knock events by making the oil less prone to dieseling which causes the LSPI, but it also protects your bearing surfaces! During moderate LSPI (not enough to bend your rods), the oil film breaks down and allows direct metal-to-metal contact. Moly has unique properties that allow it to become even "slipperier" under the intense pressures of LSPI events. In short, it boosts the coveted HTHS rating of any given oil it is added to and performs even better under these pressures.
I was very pleased to see that Motul Excess 5W-40 oil was used on its last service. Going forwards, I will only be using this oil or the Liqui Moly Leichtlauf or Molygen 5W-40, as these are widely regarded as the consistently best oils for the S63TU engine. Other than regular meticulous maintenance, I have no plans to add more power (these are plenty fast enough as standard and we all know their standard quoted power outputs are very conservative!..). I may look at just a Resonator-delete or Muffler-delete at some point down the track for a bit more sound, but that's it. For preventative maintenance I will look to replace the Rod Bearings, Fuel Injectors and the two High Pressure Fuel Pumps within the next year. I will be replacing all 8 fuel injectors at its next service in a month along with 8x new spark plugs & coil packs, before doing the Rod Bearings & HPFPs towards the end of the year.
Next up? It's getting dyno'd very soon (no tuning), as I'm curious to see what horsepower it's actually putting out even in factory standard/stock form. More on that in my next post
Edited by A44RON on Thursday 12th June 07:06
Thanks all!
I wanted a stock-standard car with the silver front chrome grille and I had to get the black wheels changed because I think they hide the design and it would be a bit too “Beth Dutton spec” given it’s a black car anyway. Black with the silver grille lifts the car and for me it’s an elegantly sized grille and design overall (especially compared with BMW’s latest stuff…). I originally wanted an M5 for that iconic history and the four doors / added practicality, but it’s just me and my girlfriend and man-maths dictated I didn’t need four doors anyway!
It does feel every bit of its 1,850kg kerb weight though! Don’t get me wrong, it handles and steers like an ///M car, but under braking and tipping it in you can certainly feel all that mass for sure. Lord knows how that new hybrid 2,400kg M5 feels… I don’t buy into some journos saying you can’t feel that weight on the road. Same with the new M2 being over 1,700kg – there’s no hiding physics at the end of the day.
I just leave the dampers/suspension in Comfort mode for day-to-day, and then put it in Sport for those spirited drives with the car club; it’s not overly firm in this setting for road use and is very nicely planted and calibrated. Sport Plus is obviously way too firm for anything but a race track. Sometimes I do feel a bit guilty dailying it, but ultimately it’s what M cars are made for!
I wanted a stock-standard car with the silver front chrome grille and I had to get the black wheels changed because I think they hide the design and it would be a bit too “Beth Dutton spec” given it’s a black car anyway. Black with the silver grille lifts the car and for me it’s an elegantly sized grille and design overall (especially compared with BMW’s latest stuff…). I originally wanted an M5 for that iconic history and the four doors / added practicality, but it’s just me and my girlfriend and man-maths dictated I didn’t need four doors anyway!
It does feel every bit of its 1,850kg kerb weight though! Don’t get me wrong, it handles and steers like an ///M car, but under braking and tipping it in you can certainly feel all that mass for sure. Lord knows how that new hybrid 2,400kg M5 feels… I don’t buy into some journos saying you can’t feel that weight on the road. Same with the new M2 being over 1,700kg – there’s no hiding physics at the end of the day.
I just leave the dampers/suspension in Comfort mode for day-to-day, and then put it in Sport for those spirited drives with the car club; it’s not overly firm in this setting for road use and is very nicely planted and calibrated. Sport Plus is obviously way too firm for anything but a race track. Sometimes I do feel a bit guilty dailying it, but ultimately it’s what M cars are made for!
Last Sunday my local automotive performance specialist was running a Dyno event day... the perfect opportunity to find out just how much horsepower the M6 is putting out and how many fibs BMW was telling (or not). And the results are in:
Run one was 532hp at the wheels
Run two was 531hp at the wheels
So about 620-628hp at the crank… Both figures had 502lb ft of torque; which is exactly the number BMW quote for peak torque figures for this generation S63TU. Which leads me to believe this dyno machine they used is extremely accurate and assures me my car is indeed completely stock standard and as it left the factory in 2015.
To say I was impressed is an understatement and I’m relieved that the car is healthy. It seems the rumours of BMW ///M downplaying these motors is true all along! FWIW the car is on about 42,000 miles now and is a base M6 (non-Competition Pack).
Service time next week and I’ll be getting some preventative maintenance done!
Run one was 532hp at the wheels
Run two was 531hp at the wheels
So about 620-628hp at the crank… Both figures had 502lb ft of torque; which is exactly the number BMW quote for peak torque figures for this generation S63TU. Which leads me to believe this dyno machine they used is extremely accurate and assures me my car is indeed completely stock standard and as it left the factory in 2015.
To say I was impressed is an understatement and I’m relieved that the car is healthy. It seems the rumours of BMW ///M downplaying these motors is true all along! FWIW the car is on about 42,000 miles now and is a base M6 (non-Competition Pack).
Service time next week and I’ll be getting some preventative maintenance done!
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