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      07-07-2017, 08:31 PM   #1
nd2002
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Track day thoughts about the M2

Had my second track day and wanted to share some thoughts about the traction control modes.

My first time getting the M2 on the track was 2 mos ago. My first RWD car, so played it safe in sport mode. Steering was great, but traction control was WAAY to intrusive. Kept it in sport for the entire day to see if I could work around it, but no dice. You could feel the power cutting out till you straightened the wheel a bit and not to much fun IMO.

Although to be fair, coming from an Audi, turn in was magnificent. I ran the Audi with all nannies off, and was pretty forgiving because of AWD.

Fast forward to today, my second time with the M2 on track. Ran the day in MDM (Traction) mode (not Sport+, since I wanted to try out smoother Comfort throttle). Much, much better in terms of TC intrusion, but still felt the car was playing a bit too safe... For example, I experienced no tire squeal, and I felt power being cut till I straightened out a bit. Was much more enjoyable, except for the steering feel, which was too loose for my liking.

Next track day, I'm going to try Euro MDM in Sport+, and see how I like it, before jumping to full DSC off. Feel like I need a bit more seat time to learn the car's dynamics further.

Overall very impressed by the car and the stock brakes with pad/fluid/line upgrades, although I tend to drive a bit conservatively out of my inexperience with RWD.

I think I also need to invest in some camber plates and wider tires next. I'm pondering suspension upgrades also, but stock suspension is pretty good as is.
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      07-08-2017, 07:43 AM   #2
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What do you mean by "euro MDM". Are you saying the DSC settings are different in Traction mode than in Sport+? (I thought they were the same)

My first experience (about 50 laps) with the M2 is that rear grip with the stock suspension settings and OEM Contis is quite bad. It's highly sensitive to any tail action in all modes and is prone to cutting the power. It requires a lot of precision to stay out of the nannies. I'm anti-nanny off so I'm in Sport+ for now.

I have GC camber plates and Fall Line rear toe/sway bars on order. I think a proper track alignment should improve grip quite a bit. I'm partial to the scientific method (and I'm running out of track budget) so I'm going to change the alignment but still run the Contis to see what I get. Next step will be a set of RE-71r to further improve grip.
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      07-08-2017, 10:59 AM   #3
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this car is easy to drive and has plenty of grip at the back. nannies are too intrusive. Don't be afraid to take them off. It'll be much more rewarding and fun. U'll see.
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      07-10-2017, 02:53 AM   #4
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Quote:
Originally Posted by tstafford View Post
What do you mean by "euro MDM". Are you saying the DSC settings are different in Traction mode than in Sport+? (I thought they were the same)

My first experience (about 50 laps) with the M2 is that rear grip with the stock suspension settings and OEM Contis is quite bad. It's highly sensitive to any tail action in all modes and is prone to cutting the power. It requires a lot of precision to stay out of the nannies. I'm anti-nanny off so I'm in Sport+ for now.

I have GC camber plates and Fall Line rear toe/sway bars on order. I think a proper track alignment should improve grip quite a bit. I'm partial to the scientific method (and I'm running out of track budget) so I'm going to change the alignment but still run the Contis to see what I get. Next step will be a set of RE-71r to further improve grip.
Euro MDM is apparently the non-US DSC programming. Supposed to be less restrictive, while keeping the nannies on. Can be coded in from what I understand. I'll have to bust out the laptop this weekend.

But DSC programming is the same in Traction and Sport+.

Definitely need a good alignment, so please share your thoughts about your front / rear adjustments after installing the hardware.
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      07-10-2017, 04:39 AM   #5
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I still don't really understand all these modes.

I go for Sport+ and then press the DSC button quickly so 'Traction' appears.

You have to be careful driving on track with some of the nanny controls acting too instrusively as it can overheat the brakes, especially the rear ones which are quite puny caliper-wise.

S
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      07-10-2017, 06:59 AM   #6
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^^^ It does seem overly complicated.

Basically there are a lot of different things being impacted by the same buttons. Steering feel, throttle feel/response, DCT shifting (if you have that), traction control and stability management.

I'm mostly concerned about the DCT and the nannies. I'm only coming at this from the perspective of track driving and my opinion is based on about 50 laps at AMP - dry track day one and moderate rain day two.

So here's what I think:
Comfort/Sport - you're going to have intrusive nannies on the track. They seem very good for a beginner track driver in that they don't seem to let the car get very far out of shape at all. I'd feel fairly comfortable using the M2 to introduce a newbie to track driving in Sport mode
Sport+ - less intrusive nannies but they are still there and noticeable. I'm using the car in this mode for now until I work out some suspension mods and possibly change to better tires
DSC Off - you can turn the nannies off completely by holding the button for 10 seconds or so

I know there's more variability in the combinations than that, but I think for most track days that's enough complexity for me.
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      07-10-2017, 09:09 AM   #7
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Quote:
Originally Posted by SimNugget View Post
I still don't really understand all these modes.

I go for Sport+ and then press the DSC button quickly so 'Traction' appears.

You have to be careful driving on track with some of the nanny controls acting too instrusively as it can overheat the brakes, especially the rear ones which are quite puny caliper-wise.

S
I believe when you press DSC so traction appears, you have now put it back to comfort mode. In Sport +, it is already in "traction" mode. Holding DSC while in Sport + will kill all the nannies.
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      07-10-2017, 01:00 PM   #8
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Quote:
Originally Posted by McPurrs View Post
Quote:
Originally Posted by SimNugget View Post
I still don't really understand all these modes.

I go for Sport+ and then press the DSC button quickly so 'Traction' appears.

You have to be careful driving on track with some of the nanny controls acting too instrusively as it can overheat the brakes, especially the rear ones which are quite puny caliper-wise.

S
I believe when you press DSC so traction appears, you have now put it back to comfort mode. In Sport +, it is already in "traction" mode. Holding DSC while in Sport + will kill all the nannies.
Correct. Pressing DSC once in sport+ (or any other mode) will revert steering and throttle to comfort, but retain the traction control programming of sport+
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      07-10-2017, 02:15 PM   #9
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Meh just turn it all off, the car is super easy to drive.
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      07-11-2017, 04:28 PM   #10
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+1 turn off all the nannies. The car is well balanced and very forgiving.
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      07-11-2017, 05:49 PM   #11
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Quote:
Originally Posted by CosmosMpower View Post
Meh just turn it all off, the car is super easy to drive.
But does that give you the faster throttle and steering response? Or does it just not matter?
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      07-11-2017, 06:40 PM   #12
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I have only had one track weekend 3 days so far. I only drove with it all the way off. Car felt fine. A couple of times I drifted it on purpose and it came back very easy.
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      07-11-2017, 07:20 PM   #13
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DSC OFF gives you SPORT throttle response and steering. SPORT+ gives a little more response than DSC OFF.

i played w/ Euro MDM this weekend at the track and actually lost control of the rear end when giving too much throttle on corner exit. ended up in the grass laughing at myself for making a dumb mistake like that. it definitely is way less intrusive than US-MDM.
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      07-17-2017, 01:44 AM   #14
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Quote:
Originally Posted by UltraMagneticAL View Post
DSC OFF gives you SPORT throttle response and steering. SPORT+ gives a little more response than DSC OFF.

i played w/ Euro MDM this weekend at the track and actually lost control of the rear end when giving too much throttle on corner exit. ended up in the grass laughing at myself for making a dumb mistake like that. it definitely is way less intrusive than US-MDM.
Who coded your Euro MDM? Do you know what parameters they set?

Without trying to be totally ham fisted I can't seem to get the backend to slide without the car flashing the traction light...
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      07-17-2017, 02:39 PM   #15
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Quote:
Originally Posted by cookiesowns View Post
Who coded your Euro MDM? Do you know what parameters they set?

Without trying to be totally ham fisted I can't seem to get the backend to slide without the car flashing the traction light...
EAS coded it in. not sure what the parameters were.
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      08-02-2017, 10:42 PM   #16
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My 2 cents - you're doing the right thing by getting comfortable with the car in the various modes. I recommend holding off on the mods until your are comfortable running with all of the nannies off. In my experience the M2 is very controllable on track with everything off. Once you're comfortable with that then I'd look at upgrades. Also, you'll find that the stock brake pads will not hold up on this car with hard track driving - ask me how I know!! Again, once you're ready, swap in a decent set of track pads on the OEM rotors. Overall, never push more than your comfort level at a track day event.
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      08-03-2017, 09:05 AM   #17
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Quote:
Originally Posted by rich8566 View Post
My 2 cents - you're doing the right thing by getting comfortable with the car in the various modes. I recommend holding off on the mods until your are comfortable running with all of the nannies off. In my experience the M2 is very controllable on track with everything off. Once you're comfortable with that then I'd look at upgrades. Also, you'll find that the stock brake pads will not hold up on this car with hard track driving - ask me how I know!! Again, once you're ready, swap in a decent set of track pads on the OEM rotors. Overall, never push more than your comfort level at a track day event.
Good advice.
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