M4 Nurburgring/tracking questions

[realTD]

Hi all

I am from Germany and looking to buy a used M4, planning to do 50-100 laps at the Nurburgring Nordschleife per year. It is difficult to find forums with experienced people who regularly track their cars, so hopefully you can help me with these questions:

1) Base M4 (no ZCP or CS) - should I upgrade brake pads, brake fluid or brake lines? What products would you recommend or is a base M4 already tough enough?

2) ZCP cars seem to be much better set-up for track duty - if a base M4 is flashed with the ZCP or CS software (engine, transmission), will it work as well on a track as those cars? Does it become virtually identical (except for stuff like seats obviously)?

3) Wheels and tires - If using ZCP or CS software, does this mean you should also change the wheels and tires to match the ESP/MDM calibration? What combinations would you recommend?

4) Any other upgrades/chip tuning recommended? My understanding is that most tunes give you lots of torque at low rpm, which is not really helpful on track and lead to heat soak sooner or later. Are there any maps that are recommended for tracking the M4?

Any other advise on getting the most out of an M4 for track duty? Car should not be too focused on tracking, it should still be able to easily do 6,000 miles of daily driving per year.

Many thanks!

[jmg]

Originally Posted by realTD

Hi all

I am from Germany and looking to buy a used M4, planning to do 50-100 laps at the Nurburgring Nordschleife per year. It is difficult to find forums with experienced people who regularly track their cars, so hopefully you can help me with these questions:

1) Base M4 (no ZCP or CS) - should I upgrade brake pads, brake fluid or brake lines? What products would you recommend or is a base M4 already tough enough?

2) ZCP cars seem to be much better set-up for track duty - if a base M4 is flashed with the ZCP or CS software (engine, transmission), will it work as well on a track as those cars? Does it become virtually identical (except for stuff like seats obviously)?

3) Wheels and tires - If using ZCP or CS software, does this mean you should also change the wheels and tires to match the ESP/MDM calibration? What combinations would you recommend?

4) Any other upgrades/chip tuning recommended? My understanding is that most tunes give you lots of torque at low rpm, which is not really helpful on track and lead to heat soak sooner or later. Are there any maps that are recommended for tracking the M4?

Any other advise on getting the most out of an M4 for track duty? Car should not be too focused on tracking, it should still be able to easily do 6,000 miles of daily driving per year.

Many thanks!

Lots of different ways you can attack this, and people have dedicated hundreds of hours and thousands of dollars in search of the right answer to all of these questions. Start here:

https://f80.bimmerpost.com/forums/fo...play.php?f=634

And don't worry about dumping all your money on fully modding your car on day one. Leave it STOCK for now, go out on the track a few times, get a feel for the car. Then upgrade gradually. I'd start with brakes, tires, and suspension. More importantly, get instruction. Your skill will be holding you back more than what tune to use.

Good luck! Tracking is expensive, but man is it fun!

[Ex_Stig]

Biggest question that I have, and I mean no disrespect, is... how much track experience do you have?

50-100 laps on the ring is pretty significant. You are going to go through a lot of consumables (brakes, tires, etc). If your seat time is minimal, spend your first upgrade dollars on upgrading yourself as a driver.

After that I would do brake fluid and pads. Then upgrade your skills again. Then do tires and camber plates.

[Tommy L Garage]

I track my car about 10 days a year. All you need to do to have fun especially on a long track like that is brake fluid, upgraded brake pads and of course proper set of tires. And that’s all you really need to have fun

[///Mangler]

With the speeds you can reach in a stock M4 I would do this:

Pads/Fluid

Tires/better pads

Safety enhancements/bigger brakes/drop weight

T

[realTD]

Thank you all for your replies. To be more specific: I have gathered c. 500 laps of experience on the Nordschleife in the last 8 years in different cars, including a 2009 C63 (way too heavy with too small tires), 2012 Artega GT (very light and nimble), 991.1 Carrera S (most of the laps) and 991.2 GT3 (perfect track tool).

My BTG time is about 8:00 minutes in the GT3, which is only 5-10 seconds faster than my Carrera S times, probably because I love the GT3 too much and don't want to wreck it. To some extent this is also the reason why I am now considering a cheaper and slightly less capable car.

I am not that much interested in getting the absolute best lap time out of an M4, I am more wondering A) whether it is tough and reliable enough for track duty without mods and B) how similar a base 2014 M4 flashed with ZCP or CS software is compared to a "real" ZCP or CS?

[realTD]

Bump - Anyone who can answer this?
Thanks

[wsccsw13]

Stock M4 is quite capable and will take track duty in stride. Tires, camber plates, and pads are all you really need.

As far as CS/Comp pack vs base, there are hardware differences between the suspensions in addition to software differences for the engine (both CS and comp) as well as vehicle systems (CS).

[nicknaz]

Originally Posted by realTD

To some extent this is also the reason why I am now considering a cheaper and slightly less capable car.

I spoke with Ring Taxi driver Dale during my euro delivery in 2015 and he got his experience driving a Mazda Miata.

Drove it from UK to Ring for 10+ years and eventually got introduced to someone at bmw Motorsport who took a ride with him. After the ride suggested Dale do it full time and get more training, and now his job is DTM or driving Ring Taxi

Miata is always the answer for someone with a budget who wants to get lots of track time and learn to max out the car

Extreme bias disclaimer: I track a spec Miata now. Sold my f80, keep my modded 996 turbo for street use since I’m still working on maxing out a Miata

Edit: for f80 I would get base car, switch to full coil overs and flash everything with CS or GTS software, if I got m3 again. Would leave engine stock as car has enough power as is.