2018 F80: Post Track Day Impression

[amah87]

Hey guys,

I recently took my 2018 f80 competition pack to the track and I have a interesting findings, I would love some feedback and see if any one had similar experiences. (My car is stock aside from an AWE exhaust, I ran the stock PSS on the 666m's and stock brake pads.)

1) Using the DCT in auto mode vs shifting myself; I did a half track day a total of 3 - 20 minute sessions. I initially wanted to let the car shift on its own and just focus on my line but noticed that the downshifts were incredibly slow. Coming to a corner after a long straight under hard braking the car stayed in 4th when it should have dropped to 2nd. I found myself shifting half way into the first session. Shifting myself wasn't a huge issue, just felt that DCT didn't meet my expectations.

2) The Stock PSS are great, they are very predictable as to the limits of grip. I saw a recent post on here were some people were seeing chunking and was scared to run the tires but overall they did really well. The only thing negative was that towards the end of the last session I sensed loss of front end grip at initial turn in but didn't have enough laps remaining in the session to really feel that out.

3) Gas usage; I filled up a full tank of gas before getting to the track at a gas station less than 5 miles from the course. Coming out of the first session i had about 3/4 tank left which I felt to be appropriate. At the end of the 2nd session I had 1/2 a tank left, at this point I figured i'd lose 1/4 tank with each session. Come the last session, the range dropped from 120 miles to 39 miles and the gauge needle dropped to 1/8th mark. I used 12 gallons total. I thought this was a bit much taking into consideration the trend of fuel usage with each session.

4) Lastly, the car feels beat up after the day. The body panels are creaking the and DCT is shuddering at low speeds. Ive tracked my m235i and didn't experience the body panels making noise. I just found this a little annoying since I expected a higher build quality from this car.

I don't know if these are usual findings or things that are unusual and need to be addressed. If anyone has feedback or recommendations I'd appreciate it.

[Continental02]

Originally Posted by amah87

Hey guys,

I recently took my 2018 f80 competition pack to the track and I have a interesting findings, I would love some feedback and see if any one had similar experiences. (My car is stock aside from an AWE exhaust, I ran the stock PSS on the 666m's and stock brake pads.)

1) Using the DCT in auto mode vs shifting myself; I did a half track day a total of 3 - 20 minute sessions. I initially wanted to let the car shift on its own and just focus on my line but noticed that the downshifts were incredibly slow. Coming to a corner after a long straight under hard braking the car stayed in 4th when it should have dropped to 2nd. I found myself shifting half way into the first session. Shifting myself wasn't a huge issue, just felt that DCT didn't meet my expectations.

2) The Stock PSS are great, they are very predictable as to the limits of grip. I saw a recent post on here were some people were seeing chunking and was scared to run the tires but overall they did really well. The only thing negative was that towards the end of the last session I sensed loss of front end grip at initial turn in but didn't have enough laps remaining in the session to really feel that out.

3) Gas usage; I filled up a full tank of gas before getting to the track at a gas station less than 5 miles from the course. Coming out of the first session i had about 3/4 tank left which I felt to be appropriate. At the end of the 2nd session I had 1/2 a tank left, at this point I figured i'd lose 1/4 tank with each session. Come the last session, the range dropped from 120 miles to 39 miles and the gauge needle dropped to 1/8th mark. I used 12 gallons total. I thought this was a bit much taking into consideration the trend of fuel usage with each session.

4) Lastly, the car feels beat up after the day. The body panels are creaking the and DCT is shuddering at low speeds. Ive tracked my m235i and didn't experience the body panels making noise. I just found this a little annoying since I expected a higher build quality from this car.

I don't know if these are usual findings or things that are unusual and need to be addressed. If anyone has feedback or recommendations I'd appreciate it.

1) I've never used automatic mode on the track so can't comment here just make sure you have it in the highest setting to optimize the shifting. The paddles are fantastic though and you should learn to use them sooner than later.

3) I always make sure I go out on track with at least 3/4s if I'm doing a full session. You're right, once your past half tank on the track it starts dropping very fast. Nothing worse than being on a fast lap and have the car starved for fuel during a long sweeper to ruin your lap time. The car loves to burn fuel though, just something you'll have to deal with.

4) This has not been my experience at all. The build quality on my car has been awesome. Seems like it enjoys the abuse and keeps asking for more.

[Lexor1704]

I just got back from Road America and 3 track sessions and I concur that the car seemed to love the abuse. I drove the car hard and had zero issues with anything and driving it home it felt completely normal and like I had never been on the track. Are you sure the door panels creaking is not just the door seals getting dusty from the track and making noise? I had zero issues with fade, heat or tires, the P4Ss held up very well and I am super pleased with the MPHAS springs on the track, my car was built a few weeks before ZCP came out and I have driven ZCP on a track and I find the MPHAS springs with the proper coding changes to be even better.

[JAhmed]

Thx for sharing

[SD ///M4]

Originally Posted by amah87

3) Gas usage; I filled up a full tank of gas before getting to the track at a gas station less than 5 miles from the course. Coming out of the first session i had about 3/4 tank left which I felt to be appropriate. At the end of the 2nd session I had 1/2 a tank left, at this point I figured i'd lose 1/4 tank with each session. Come the last session, the range dropped from 120 miles to 39 miles and the gauge needle dropped to 1/8th mark. I used 12 gallons total. I thought this was a bit much taking into consideration the trend of fuel usage with each session.

The M3/M4 is thirsty on track. Never fill up at the beginning of the day and assume that it will get you all the way through the day. While I've been on the track in many other cars, the first time I had my M4 on the track in the US I started the third session, the first one after lunch, with just under 1/4 tank because I forgot to fill up at lunch. The range was about 18 miles which should have been enough. About halfway through the session I came out of the final corner before the straight, hit the throttle to pass a Cayman on the straight...and promptly went into limp mode. I was able to limp to a service exit and make it to the pumps. Once the car was turned off, filled up, and then turned on again, it was fine, but I learned my lesson: always fill up at lunch. You never want to run out of gas on track.

What happened was that the centrifugal force from the left turn of the final corner coming onto the straight had pushed the remaining gas from a low tank away from the pick up and caused fuel starvation.

[MRV99]

Originally Posted by amah87

Hey guys,

I recently took my 2018 f80 competition pack to the track and I have a interesting findings, I would love some feedback and see if any one had similar experiences. (My car is stock aside from an AWE exhaust, I ran the stock PSS on the 666m's and stock brake pads.)

1) Using the DCT in auto mode vs shifting myself; I did a half track day a total of 3 - 20 minute sessions. I initially wanted to let the car shift on its own and just focus on my line but noticed that the downshifts were incredibly slow. Coming to a corner after a long straight under hard braking the car stayed in 4th when it should have dropped to 2nd. I found myself shifting half way into the first session. Shifting myself wasn't a huge issue, just felt that DCT didn't meet my expectations.

2) The Stock PSS are great, they are very predictable as to the limits of grip. I saw a recent post on here were some people were seeing chunking and was scared to run the tires but overall they did really well. The only thing negative was that towards the end of the last session I sensed loss of front end grip at initial turn in but didn't have enough laps remaining in the session to really feel that out.

3) Gas usage; I filled up a full tank of gas before getting to the track at a gas station less than 5 miles from the course. Coming out of the first session i had about 3/4 tank left which I felt to be appropriate. At the end of the 2nd session I had 1/2 a tank left, at this point I figured i'd lose 1/4 tank with each session. Come the last session, the range dropped from 120 miles to 39 miles and the gauge needle dropped to 1/8th mark. I used 12 gallons total. I thought this was a bit much taking into consideration the trend of fuel usage with each session.

4) Lastly, the car feels beat up after the day. The body panels are creaking the and DCT is shuddering at low speeds. Ive tracked my m235i and didn't experience the body panels making noise. I just found this a little annoying since I expected a higher build quality from this car.

I don't know if these are usual findings or things that are unusual and need to be addressed. If anyone has feedback or recommendations I'd appreciate it.

It is always interesting reading the F80 impressions threads... Just shows how each person experiences things differently.

1) I personally do not think BMW programed the DCT Auto for track duty and feel it is a street/spirited street option at best. I have only used Auto mode maybe 1% of the time ever in the car so I would never consider using Auto mode on the track. I understand that you are worried about focusing on what to do on the track AND having to shift but that is part of the experience. If you do it again, stay in manual mode and never look back.

2) Like mentioned in numerous posts, PSS are great street tires but marginal track tires at best. They cannot take the abuse of at heavy car and heat that well. If you do decide that HPDE are something you will want to continue to do, I highly recommend getting a dedicated set of track wheels/tires. In the long run it will be cheaper and will make your experience that much better.

3) Congrats! You got 3 sessions of it of a tank of fuel. I can only run 2 sessions. If I hit the third session with no fill up I have to cut it short because I am in single digit DTE. I fill up after every 2 sessions. I can get away with runnng 2 sessions and then splashing 4-5 gallons in before my third from my gas can. As your experience increases, so will your fuel usage.

4) I guess I am so focused on the driving and never noticed the creaking panels.

[991dc5]

I also tracked my f80 (base)for the first time after selling my 991. My car is totally stock except for race pads and GTS diff/steering/dct coding. I found that the stock dampening of the adaptive dampers in combination with the stock PSS is the weak link. Even in sport+ the car is under-damped and the car can easily get upset when you are riding the curbs and powering out with all the midrange torque.

The brakes are fine except the pagid's brake feel is crap (same when I had the rs29 on the 991). I would have preferred something with a better initial bite like carbotech.

The throttle sensitivity in sport and sport+ is too sensitive and doesn't offer enough modulation range pedal wise (I am on a very old software on a MY15 so I don't know if that plays a part).

Lastly, the dct mode in S3 is too jerky which can upset the car especially with the f80's powerband in the midrange. However, the dct in S2 is a bit too sluggish. I wish the f80 offered more modes like the E92 (6 modes).


As far as creaking, I have to periodically lube door seals. There are also some rattles here and there as well. However I had more rattles in the 991 lol.