Test drove a BMW M240i today

[Victorofhavoc]

Okay, I have to claim some ignorance here, as all my previous track experience was in various RWD cars. But it sounds like you are referring to the technique that I knew as trail braking. You stay on the brakes past turn-in, and at some point between there and the apex, you lift off the brakes and squeeze on throttle. This helps with the rotation in cars prone to understeer. I used it to good effect in an E92 M3 with DCT. When dealing with 3 pedals, it is more challenging.

Correct!!

Getting it right is fine tuning the brake release to get a smooth rounded peak. Trail braking is part of it, but also it's how smoothly you release the brake (also why brake pads like gloc and carbotech are famous for their "brake release characteristics"). Sweepers are the best place to demonstrate and practice the technique because that's where you spend the most amount of time slowly releasing the brake and the longest time without any pedal input. A neutral chassis like the type s responds well to medium brake or lift off because of the fore-aft balance. Understeer prone cars like corvettes and 911s require more brake input, but can also take throttle input way earlier. Oversteer prone cars like the 86 need much smoother brake release to maintain balance. Generally speaking, the fastest cars are the rwd ones that tend to understeer a bit because you can get on power sooner.

The "shark fin" on a speed chart is what you're looking for to identify how smooth that brake release characteristic was. The screenshot below is from a lap I did at hallet earlier this year. It's a little lumpy because GPS was acting up from heavy cloud cover, but the areas I highlighted in yellow are good examples of what I'm typically looking for. Speed charts are awesome! You come off track and in literally one glance you know how well you did and how "smooth" you were.

Edit, dropped the wrong screencap. Here's the right one

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[ashmostro]

I've been thinking of trading or selling the ITS and getting another BMW or Porsche, which have been my primary cars for a long time. Today I drove a new M240i, and I was disappointed. It had plenty of power, and handled well, but the overall driving experience was very detached, it just did not provide a minimum level of driver involvement. I never thought I would feel that way in comparing a front driver to a BMW sports sedan, but there it is. Honda has done a great job in developing this drivetrain. To me, it feels almost on a level with the Porsche Cayman, which is saying a lot. Obviously, front drive, rear drive, and mid engine cars all have their specific handling dynamics. But is one clearly superior? I'm no longer sure.

Same bro.

Sold two BMWs (M550 and M4cs) and bought the ITS and couldn't be happier with the change. Sooooo much more exciting.

 

[bullitt]

I feel like the CTR/ITS, S3, GT350 and Raptor Ranger all set a bar for their class that is nearly impossible of the competition to do anything more than either simply meet with their next generations or BARELY surpass to such a small amount that their future price just will make the current gen of these cars look an even better deal.

For example, the GT350 came out and set a bar the following Mach1 came just short of while asking a similar price, and the much newer Dark Horse is barely on par with but for its price makes the used GT350 look like a steal in comparison.

 

[optronix]

I feel like the CTR/ITS, S3, GT350 and Raptor Ranger all set a bar for their class that is nearly impossible of the competition to do anything more than either simply meet with their next generations or BARELY surpass to such a small amount that their future price just will make the current gen of these cars look an even better deal.

For example, the GT350 came out and set a bar the following Mach1 came just short of while asking a similar price, and the much newer Dark Horse is barely on par with but for its price makes the used GT350 look like a steal in comparison.

Curious what your thought process is with the S3.

I had one for quite some time and thoroughly enjoyed owning it... but it just simply can't even sniff the Integra Type S from a driving dynamics perspective.

Yes, it's fun to drive- it's got a punchy engine and a smooth operating dual-clutch transmission. The dimensions are great, it looks classy as hell, the interior is about as perfect as you can get... but it isn't the type of car I'd wake up early to go on a backroads drive with.

It was a perfect car for me at the time- as a daily driver augmentation to a manual 981 Boxster GTS. In fact, that combination of cars was probably the best situation I've ever been in- even better than the manual 991.2 911 Carrera S and B9 S4 I had for 6 months or so because I was still missing an open-air option. The S3 is more fun to drive than the S4, but the S4 is far more powerful and has massaging seats lol.

I truly miss the S3 for what it was- a nearly perfect daily driver- but I would virtually never choose an S3 over an ITS if they were parked next to each other in my driveway.

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