Zissou
Well-Known Member
- Joined
- Mar 19, 2018
- Threads
- 18
- Messages
- 194
- Reaction score
- 94
- Location
- Charlottesville
- Vehicle(s)
- 2016 GT/CS
- Thread starter
- #1
Skipping straight to the punchline, I sold my mustang gt this year and bought a new BMW M2 Competition. Now that I have had the M2 for a couple months I can share my reflections on the two cars.
My mustang was a 2016 GT California Special, 3.55 gearing, mild tune, intake, axle back, etc, but the real investment was the FRPP Street Handling Package and big 19x10 wheels with 285 summer tires on each corner. The mustang had always felt "questionable" to me carving backroads until I did the suspension and tire upgrade. That turned it into a much more competent vehicle.
But after 3 years of ownership I was getting a little bored. I had originally test driven a GT350, but at the time couldn't quite swing the price so instead bought both my GT and an S2000. The S2000 was fantastic even considering mine was beat up. After selling the S2000 and reflecting on my past favorite car of all ownership, the Fiesta ST, I realized what I was missing was the smaller fun to drive car. Other smaller cars I enjoyed owning in the past included a 5th gen Prelude, Mini Cooper, W202 Mercedes C230 Kompressor.
My search included the Supra, 981 Boxster/Cayman S, 997 911, BMW M2, M3/4, Audi TTRS, though I was open to looking at larger cars like the GT350 again, the Camaro ZL1, and a Nissan GTR.
The mustang was the most luxurious car I'd even owned, and I wanted to retain some of that.
I ended up being a no on the GT350 because it was too similar to what I was already getting bored of.
No on the GTR and TTRS (2013) because I would be paranoid driving it worrying about it breaking.
No on the Camaro, M3 and M4 because they're too much of grand tourers, and I wanted more of a sports car.
No on the Porsches due to them being "too adult" (but I will seriously be looking at them in the future when I don't need something as rowdy).
No on the Supra solely due to lack of manual (had it had a manual I would own it already).
So that left the M2... my friends actually were the ones to push me into it and away from the M4. By the stats sheet the M2 competition weighs almost as much as the Mustang and M4, has slightly less power, and even fewer creature comforts (RIP AC seats).
But driving it is a whole other experience; specs sheets don't account for the difference a shorter wheel base makes. And apparently are terrible at accounting for power from a turbo car.
I ended up specing out a new M2c to get the manual and took delivery at BMW's experience center in South Carolina where they gave me a copy of my car to hoon on the track to show what it's capable of. Seriously fun, incredible experience and should any of you get the chance - do it!
Here's the short list of the comparison of the M2 competition vs my old Mustang GT;
So all in all I'm unloading the last parts I have from my mustang and moving on. See ya Mustang6g!
My mustang was a 2016 GT California Special, 3.55 gearing, mild tune, intake, axle back, etc, but the real investment was the FRPP Street Handling Package and big 19x10 wheels with 285 summer tires on each corner. The mustang had always felt "questionable" to me carving backroads until I did the suspension and tire upgrade. That turned it into a much more competent vehicle.
But after 3 years of ownership I was getting a little bored. I had originally test driven a GT350, but at the time couldn't quite swing the price so instead bought both my GT and an S2000. The S2000 was fantastic even considering mine was beat up. After selling the S2000 and reflecting on my past favorite car of all ownership, the Fiesta ST, I realized what I was missing was the smaller fun to drive car. Other smaller cars I enjoyed owning in the past included a 5th gen Prelude, Mini Cooper, W202 Mercedes C230 Kompressor.
My search included the Supra, 981 Boxster/Cayman S, 997 911, BMW M2, M3/4, Audi TTRS, though I was open to looking at larger cars like the GT350 again, the Camaro ZL1, and a Nissan GTR.
The mustang was the most luxurious car I'd even owned, and I wanted to retain some of that.
I ended up being a no on the GT350 because it was too similar to what I was already getting bored of.
No on the GTR and TTRS (2013) because I would be paranoid driving it worrying about it breaking.
No on the Camaro, M3 and M4 because they're too much of grand tourers, and I wanted more of a sports car.
No on the Porsches due to them being "too adult" (but I will seriously be looking at them in the future when I don't need something as rowdy).
No on the Supra solely due to lack of manual (had it had a manual I would own it already).
So that left the M2... my friends actually were the ones to push me into it and away from the M4. By the stats sheet the M2 competition weighs almost as much as the Mustang and M4, has slightly less power, and even fewer creature comforts (RIP AC seats).
But driving it is a whole other experience; specs sheets don't account for the difference a shorter wheel base makes. And apparently are terrible at accounting for power from a turbo car.
I ended up specing out a new M2c to get the manual and took delivery at BMW's experience center in South Carolina where they gave me a copy of my car to hoon on the track to show what it's capable of. Seriously fun, incredible experience and should any of you get the chance - do it!
Here's the short list of the comparison of the M2 competition vs my old Mustang GT;
- Torque and Power!!!!! Both have tons. The M2 is rated at less power, but the dynos show it actually puts down a bit more. They feel very close - both are stupid fast for back roads.
- Stock mustang gt dyno 375 hp / 345 lb ft. Stock M2 competion 388 / 389 based on hunting both forums. M2 gets detuned slightly so it doesn't outperform the M3/4 lol
- Power curve: surprisingly similar. I would expect the M2 to be punchier, but the way it's tuned it builds like an n/a car.
- Handling: I put a chunk of change into the mustang and it still isn't close to the M2c. GT350 would be a more fair comparison though. The M2c is soo composed while still letting you have a ton of slidey fun.
- Sound: yeah obvi the mustang sounds better, no getting around that. Straight 6 sounds okay and the factory exhaust is surprisingly rowdy, but can't beat the V8.
- Creature comforts: AC seats give the mustang vs cameras in the M2 that read speed limit signs and bring that into your dash. While I gave up the AC seats, the M2 does have a ton of cool techy things in iDrive that a nerd like me LOVES.
- Price: Even though I made a shocking amount of money on the mustang (seriously who TF is buying these used at over the original MSRP right now??), my original purchase price on the mustang was less than half the M2 - is it half the car? Heck no; it's the value of the century.
So all in all I'm unloading the last parts I have from my mustang and moving on. See ya Mustang6g!
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