One day with an F83

stormlv · 03-16-2017, 05:29 PM

Just wanted to share a few impressions on a loaner F83 that I have until tomorrow.

The idea was to be able to test drive an M4 in the dry and do some longer trips on the highway before I order mine.
I currently do around 280-300 miles/week and consequently wanted to see how it fits me as a DD.

The only M4 that they had on hand was an F83 ...
I hope to get an F82, but I wasn't about to say no to it.

The car was a non ZCP, without adaptive suspension. Other than that it had all the gadgets inside.

Interior:
The car had (I presume) the Merino black leather and to be honest, I wasn't too impressed about it.
It didn't feel as special as I hoped it would, at least compared to my car.
In the configurator, I saw that the F82 actually has perforated leather front seats as opposed to the F83.
Is there a difference in quality/comfort between the two?

Anyway, once you start driving, you don't really care about anything else.
I always had a smile during today's drives

Power:
First thing I noticed is that the power delivery is completely different than my tuned 435d.
It's much more linear and just seems to pull and pull.
I was actually underwhelmed on the actual acceleration feel.
It didn't feel as fast as my car ... and then I looked at the speedometer

That said, the car seems to struggle to put the power down at times.
In normal mode, in low gears, DSC seems to cut in and reduce the power.
Even MDM mode seems too intrusive at times.
Being new with the car, I didn't want to play in DSC OFF so ... I'll have to save it for when I have mine and have more confidence in my driving skills.

Comfort:

This is something that I was quite curios to check out.
I always had the impression that M cars were hardcore with their suspension settings.
I started driving with the suspension in "Sport" mode all the time, even on long highway trips, to "prepare" me for the M4.
I was quite surprised to see that the car was really comfortable.
It wasn't harsh and it even seem to ride a bit softer than my "sport" settings.

I'm still curious to see how the ZCP and the M-Adaptive suspension will change that.
But at least, I'm no longer concerned about the ride quality

Exhaust:

Maybe coming from a diesel car (that has almost no exhaust note) influences me, but I really liked the exhaust note on the M4.
I saw a few reviewers that don't care for it, but it does the job for me.

When I kept the throttle in "Efficient", it seemed to stay under the radar.
However, once I switched to "Sport", the car drew a lot more attention.
I would go as far as to say that it drew too much attention

Steering:

Stayed with it in "Comfort" mode almost all the time.
The other modes seem too artificial and don't seem to give anything back.
It felt better than my car, but not by much...

Other:

The only thing that I didn't like was the screen of the NAV.
In my car, the screen has a very efficient anti-reflective coating.
It's one of the best that I've seen yet and allows me to read it even with direct sunlight striking it.

For some reason or another, this car didn't seem to have this coating and the screen was unreadable in the sun, with the top down.
It's quite surprising, especially for a convertible.

Do you guys know if this is how the recent screens behave, or does it depend on something else?

Anyway, all in all, I thoroughly liked the F83 and only made me look forward to buying mine.

hlothery · 03-17-2017, 07:36 AM

Have had mine for almost a year, and what a glorious year is has been! Absolutely love the car. Quiet with the top up, wonderful with it down. Have not noticed any problems in mine reading the display with the top down, even with direct sunlight. I love playing golf, then dropping the top on the way home. I love top-down rides in the Texas Hill Country. There is a little body shudder on rough roads with the top down, but not bad. The Bluebonnets are out here in San Antonio, which means the Hill Country is not far behind. Then the real value of the F83 will be experienced. Hope you love yours as much!

paliknight · 03-17-2017, 09:09 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by hlothery

Have had mine for almost a year, and what a glorious year is has been! Absolutely love the car. Quiet with the top up, wonderful with it down. Have not noticed any problems in mine reading the display with the top down, even with direct sunlight. I love playing golf, then dropping the top on the way home. I love top-down rides in the Texas Hill Country. There is a little body shudder on rough roads with the top down, but not bad. The Bluebonnets are out here in San Antonio, which means the Hill Country is not far behind. Then the real value of the F83 will be experienced. Hope you love yours as much!

I think he wants an F82

GrussGott · 03-18-2017, 04:27 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by stormlv

It's much more linear and just seems to pull and pull.
I was actually underwhelmed on the actual acceleration feel.
It didn't feel as fast as my car ... and then I looked at the speedometer

That said, the car seems to struggle to put the power down at times.
In normal mode, in low gears, DSC seems to cut in and reduce the power.
Even MDM mode seems too intrusive at times.

In the F82 it's WAY worse, just FYI. The F83, especially with the top down is much better and I would argue has more usable power is normal daily sport driving scenarios ... meaning with the top-down F83 you can lay into the power much better off the line, at corners, etc whereas the F82 just cuts loose.

I find the F83 to be the more fun daily driver performance-wise ignoring all the other benefits of top-down daily sport driving (noise, sounds, smells, wind, etc)

You'll definitely want to drive the F82 - it's different.

stormlv · 03-19-2017, 12:21 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by GrussGott

In the F82 it's WAY worse, just FYI. The F83, especially with the top down is much better and I would argue has more usable power is normal daily sport driving scenarios ... meaning with the top-down F83 you can lay into the power much better off the line, at corners, etc whereas the F82 just cuts loose.

I find the F83 to be the more fun daily driver performance-wise ignoring all the other benefits of top-down daily sport driving (noise, sounds, smells, wind, etc)

You'll definitely want to drive the F82 - it's different.

Make sense...

I did a quick test drive of the F82 but it was in raining and attributed it's "lively" behavior to it being in the wet.

In anycase, I really liked the F83. It's a great car, especially with the top down, but I feel that convertibles are not for me (anymore).

With the top down, I feel that it attracts too much attention - got honked two times in traffic as they passed by - and no, I wasn't doing anything crazy

GrussGott · 03-19-2017, 01:01 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by stormlv

With the top down, I feel that it attracts too much attention - got honked two times in traffic as they passed by - and no, I wasn't doing anything crazy

In geneva? When I was there with my F83 the only attention I got was tickets

hlothery · 03-19-2017, 06:05 PM

I know I really HATE attracting attention..............as if

stormlv · 03-19-2017, 06:42 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by GrussGott

In geneva? When I was there with my F83 the only attention I got was tickets

It was next to where I work, in Lausanne.

But yeah, you have to be careful in CH with tickets... They don't fuck around :|

CanAutM3 · 03-20-2017, 08:04 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by stormlv

Interior:
The car had (I presume) the Merino black leather and to be honest, I wasn't too impressed about it.
It didn't feel as special as I hoped it would, at least compared to my car.
In the configurator, I saw that the F82 actually has perforated leather front seats as opposed to the F83.
Is there a difference in quality/comfort between the two?

Maybe that's because the F83 does not get special ///M seats like the F80 and F82 do. The F83 gets the same seats as the regular F33, but with an ///M logo added.

///M/// · 03-20-2017, 08:29 AM

I can't stress this enough but the vert drives very different from a F80/F82. The vert being heavier will always feel more sluggish in comparison.

stormlv · 03-20-2017, 09:41 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by CanAutM3

Maybe that's because the F83 does not get special ///M seats like the F80 and F82 do. The F83 gets the same seats as the regular F33, but with an ///M logo added.

Good to know, thanks!

stormlv · 03-20-2017, 09:46 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ///M///

I can't stress this enough but the vert drives very different from a F80/F82. The vert being heavier will always feel more sluggish in comparison.

The only place where I got a hint that it was heavier than mine, was during braking...

///M/// · 03-20-2017, 09:51 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by stormlv

The only place where I got a hint that it was heavier than mine, was during braking...

I haven't test driven the F83 but my experience was more from the E93 vs E90/92. I felt the difference was huge. The E93 just felt extremely sluggish from a stop.

GrussGott · 03-20-2017, 10:11 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ///M///

I haven't test driven the F83 but my experience was more from the E93 vs E90/92. I felt the difference was huge. The E93 just felt extremely sluggish from a stop.

The F83 is a way WAY better sport convertible than the E93 which was the E92 with the roof chopped off. The F82 was specifically designed with the F83 variant in mind - there's a video of the head of engineering explaining it.

Basically the F8x is the next gen version of the E9x GTS, designed with the need for additional 'vert bracing right into the frame/chassis.

The E93 was somewhat "floaty" in my opinion whereas the F83 is rock solid - it's now on level design footing with Porsche's convertible.

Tacoma · 03-20-2017, 12:23 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ///M///

I haven't test driven the F83 but my experience was more from the E93 vs E90/92. I felt the difference was huge. The E93 just felt extremely sluggish from a stop.

Quote:

Originally Posted by GrussGott

The F83 is a way WAY better sport convertible than the E93 which was the E92 with the roof chopped off. The F82 was specifically designed with the F83 variant in mind - there's a video of the head of engineering explaining it....

Or it may be a matter of torque. The E93 M3 weights a portly 400+ poinds more and with "only" 295 ft-lbs of torque, the convertible is going to feel more sluggish. The F83, on the other hand, has ample torque at 406 ft-lbs and thus able to handle the extra weight of the convertible much better.

GrussGott · 03-20-2017, 02:35 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tacoma

Or it may be a matter of torque. The E93 M3 weights a portly 400+ poinds more and with "only" 295 ft-lbs of torque, the convertible is going to feel more sluggish. The F83, on the other hand, has ample torque at 406 ft-lbs and thus able to handle the extra weight of the convertible much better.

I'm one of those weirdos that never had a problem with the torque on the E9x - it had plenty for me as long as you stayed high RPM ... my larger problem specifically with the E93 was the chassis which has been fixed in the F83.

F83 · 03-21-2017, 04:33 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ///M///

I haven't test driven the F83 but my experience was more from the E93 vs E90/92. I felt the difference was huge. The E93 just felt extremely sluggish from a stop.

Unfortunate compare but a typical one when people criticize the F83. As GG has pointed out, the F83 is a dramatically different car than the E93. This car is incredible for sport driving - especially with the top down. Top down with the extra weight lower and more to the rear than on an F80 it truly gets the power down and the chassis doesn't suffer from excess wobble like the E93. That's why the track performance times are shockingly close to the F80 considering the extra weight.

Plus... 'vert.

M4Now! · 03-22-2017, 10:16 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tacoma

Quote:

Originally Posted by ///M///

I haven't test driven the F83 but my experience was more from the E93 vs E90/92. I felt the difference was huge. The E93 just felt extremely sluggish from a stop.

Quote:

Originally Posted by GrussGott

The F83 is a way WAY better sport convertible than the E93 which was the E92 with the roof chopped off. The F82 was specifically designed with the F83 variant in mind - there's a video of the head of engineering explaining it....

Or it may be a matter of torque. The E93 M3 weights a portly 400+ poinds more and with "only" 295 ft-lbs of torque, the convertible is going to feel more sluggish. The F83, on the other hand, has ample torque at 406 ft-lbs and thus able to handle the extra weight of the convertible much better.

What he said. I've owned both, the torque "curve" in the F83 is much more capable of the extra weight.

NewM3driver · 03-23-2017, 07:23 AM

ZCP cars get the power down much better than non ZCP cars.

-JLT- · 03-23-2017, 08:52 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by CanAutM3

Maybe that's because the F83 does not get special ///M seats like the F80 and F82 do. The F83 gets the same seats as the regular F33, but with an ///M logo added.

not true, F33 gets Dakota leather as F83 gets Merino leather

GrussGott · 03-23-2017, 11:30 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by -JLT-

not true, F33 gets Dakota leather as F83 gets Merino leather

all I know is you can smear sunscreen all over it, leave it for a month, and it wipes right off.

Does pretty well in a rain shower too.

CanAutM3 · 03-23-2017, 11:59 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by -JLT-

not true, F33 gets Dakota leather as F83 gets Merino leather

Sorry about that. You are correct. I was not thing of the covering but rather the seat architecture and design.

03-16-2017, 05:29 PM	#1
stormlv Human 1158 Rep 1,295 Posts Drives: Yes Join Date: Nov 2013 Location: Geneva iTrader: (1) Garage List [0.00]	One day with an F83 Just wanted to share a few impressions on a loaner F83 that I have until tomorrow. The idea was to be able to test drive an M4 in the dry and do some longer trips on the highway before I order mine. I currently do around 280-300 miles/week and consequently wanted to see how it fits me as a DD. The only M4 that they had on hand was an F83 ... I hope to get an F82, but I wasn't about to say no to it. The car was a non ZCP, without adaptive suspension. Other than that it had all the gadgets inside. Interior: The car had (I presume) the Merino black leather and to be honest, I wasn't too impressed about it. It didn't feel as special as I hoped it would, at least compared to my car. In the configurator, I saw that the F82 actually has perforated leather front seats as opposed to the F83. Is there a difference in quality/comfort between the two? Anyway, once you start driving, you don't really care about anything else. I always had a smile during today's drives Power: First thing I noticed is that the power delivery is completely different than my tuned 435d. It's much more linear and just seems to pull and pull. I was actually underwhelmed on the actual acceleration feel. It didn't feel as fast as my car ... and then I looked at the speedometer That said, the car seems to struggle to put the power down at times. In normal mode, in low gears, DSC seems to cut in and reduce the power. Even MDM mode seems too intrusive at times. Being new with the car, I didn't want to play in DSC OFF so ... I'll have to save it for when I have mine and have more confidence in my driving skills. Comfort: This is something that I was quite curios to check out. I always had the impression that M cars were hardcore with their suspension settings. I started driving with the suspension in "Sport" mode all the time, even on long highway trips, to "prepare" me for the M4. I was quite surprised to see that the car was really comfortable. It wasn't harsh and it even seem to ride a bit softer than my "sport" settings. I'm still curious to see how the ZCP and the M-Adaptive suspension will change that. But at least, I'm no longer concerned about the ride quality Exhaust: Maybe coming from a diesel car (that has almost no exhaust note) influences me, but I really liked the exhaust note on the M4. I saw a few reviewers that don't care for it, but it does the job for me. When I kept the throttle in "Efficient", it seemed to stay under the radar. However, once I switched to "Sport", the car drew a lot more attention. I would go as far as to say that it drew too much attention Steering: Stayed with it in "Comfort" mode almost all the time. The other modes seem too artificial and don't seem to give anything back. It felt better than my car, but not by much... Other: The only thing that I didn't like was the screen of the NAV. In my car, the screen has a very efficient anti-reflective coating. It's one of the best that I've seen yet and allows me to read it even with direct sunlight striking it. For some reason or another, this car didn't seem to have this coating and the screen was unreadable in the sun, with the top down. It's quite surprising, especially for a convertible. Do you guys know if this is how the recent screens behave, or does it depend on something else? Anyway, all in all, I thoroughly liked the F83 and only made me look forward to buying mine. __________________ 2023 BMW M4 CP xDr \| 510HP / 650Nm \| Isle of Man Green \| Photo album Sold 2018 BMW M4 DCT / ZCP\| 450HP / 550Nm \| Sakhir Orange \| Photo album \| Tribute Sold 2014 BMW 435xd \| 360HP / 710Nm \| Estoril Blue \| Photo album 2010 BMW Z4 sDrive35i DKG \| 306 HP / 400Nm \| Space Gray \| Photo album
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03-17-2017, 07:36 AM	#2
hlothery Seeking mental floss 476 Rep 806 Posts Drives: 2022 Mercedes EQS 450+ Join Date: May 2016 Location: San Antonio, Tx iTrader: (0)	Have had mine for almost a year, and what a glorious year is has been! Absolutely love the car. Quiet with the top up, wonderful with it down. Have not noticed any problems in mine reading the display with the top down, even with direct sunlight. I love playing golf, then dropping the top on the way home. I love top-down rides in the Texas Hill Country. There is a little body shudder on rough roads with the top down, but not bad. The Bluebonnets are out here in San Antonio, which means the Hill Country is not far behind. Then the real value of the F83 will be experienced. Hope you love yours as much!
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03-19-2017, 06:05 PM	#7
hlothery Seeking mental floss 476 Rep 806 Posts Drives: 2022 Mercedes EQS 450+ Join Date: May 2016 Location: San Antonio, Tx iTrader: (0)	I know I really HATE attracting attention..............as if
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03-20-2017, 08:29 AM	#10
///M/// Brigadier General 1913 Rep 3,660 Posts Drives: 2016 Manual AW F80 Join Date: Jul 2009 Location: Philly iTrader: (6)	I can't stress this enough but the vert drives very different from a F80/F82. The vert being heavier will always feel more sluggish in comparison. __________________ ========================= 2016 F80 M3 AW/SO (Manual) - Picked up at the Welt 08/28/15 My Amazing European Delivery Story
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03-23-2017, 07:23 AM	#19
NewM3driver Colonel 1112 Rep 2,007 Posts Drives: 2017 M3 ZCP Join Date: Nov 2008 Location: CT iTrader: (0)	ZCP cars get the power down much better than non ZCP cars.
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