[Cammy5]

Hello ladies and gents. Earlier this afternoon I traded in my 2016 Cadillac ATS Coupe 2.0T for a 2016 328i M Sport 6MT. I'm new to BMWs (lot of friends that have various 3 series and M cars though) so I'm looking forward to absorbing a wealth of knowledge and contributing. I was that 0.0001% of ATS Coupe (non-V) owners that tuned the car, tracked it several times at VIR, did a dyno, and took it to the 1/4 mile dragstrip so if anyone is curious how the 2 cars stack up, I'll be more than happy to share my opinions as I get familiar with the 328i over the coming weeks. Oh yeah, as you can hopefully tell from the picture of my ATS, I am completely obsessed with detailing and car care....like beyond a sane level.

Anyway...... Hello, friends. Looking forward to the journey with my new car here!

[BoosTonian]

Welcome to the community! Great color combo on the 328 and great choice of tranny haha

You will definitely appreciate the tech behind the car and that it's more than just a symbol. Get ready for an addicting ride

[alex_f30]

Welcome

[nicknaz]

Hey welcome! I tried out an ATS-V 6MT sedan recently to compare to my F80 DCT and would love to compare notes
b

[Cammy5]

Originally Posted by nicknaz

Hey welcome! I tried out an ATS-V 6MT sedan recently to compare to my F80 DCT and would love to compare notes
b

Nice! A very good friend of mine has a V sedan 6MT and I drove it very very spiritedly on some back roads. It amazed me how quick I could drive it with instant confidence. GREAT track car, however, on the daily drive it just doesn't feel as settled and "nice" as an F80...or even my F30. The only negative thing I have to say about the V performance wise is it has a very drab engine/exhaust sound. Other than that, it's pretty flawless for track duty.

[nicknaz]

how's the ATS vs. 328 ?

[mike@x-ph.com]

Congrats!!

[otay]

Welcome! Nice choice, great color combo. Congrats and....

#savethemanuals

Edit: ..wait, did you get this from Performance BMW? I drove it a couple weeks ago while waiting on service! Wanted to drive a 340i manual but didn't have one there. Bet you got a sweet deal, b/c this was on the lot for awhile. There was a time was I was considering swapping. Nice choice!

[AudiA4]

Welcome...both nice cars! Why did you switch?

I know this may seem like an alternative universe, but be prepared to be underwhelmed by the steering/handling of the BMW. It's the strongest feature of the Cadillac Alpha chassis, and arguable the weakest aspect of the F30.

[Cammy5]

Originally Posted by otay

Welcome! Nice choice, great color combo. Congrats and....

#savethemanuals

Edit: ..wait, did you get this from Performance BMW? I drove it a couple weeks ago while waiting on service! Wanted to drive a 340i manual but didn't have one there. Bet you got a sweet deal, b/c this was on the lot for awhile. There was a time was I was considering swapping. Nice choice!

Wow, small world! Yes I did. My girlfriend works there as their marketing assistant so she gets the BMW Center Employee discount - it was a huge discount, enough to bury the tons of negative equity I had in my ATS. Yeah, I'm sure they were equally as happy to sell it as I was to buy it considering it had been there roughly a year.

[Cammy5]

Originally Posted by AudiA4

Welcome...both nice cars! Why did you switch?

I know this may seem like an alternative universe, but be prepared to be underwhelmed by the steering/handling of the BMW. It's the strongest feature of the Cadillac Alpha chassis, and arguable the weakest aspect of the F30.

I really did enjoy my ATS and had quite a bit of fun surprising people at VIR on the track who thought it was just a '4 cylinder Cadillac'. Dynamically, the ATS is almost impossible to fault (relative to it's class) and I'm sure I'll that aspect. However, I have read that for '15/'16 there were some steering rack changes made of the F30 and I do have the M Sport Pkg so that helps. This is a bit comical but I'm driving the car around quite a bit Friday and Saturday so I can do the 1000 mile break in oil change late Saturday night because......I'm going to a track day at VIR early Sunday morning. Ha ha.

[Cammy5]

Originally Posted by mike@x-ph.com

Congrats!!

Thanks for the welcome. I'm trying to absorb all this new knowledge. I'm just in awe of the aftermarket support. The ATS (non-V) had like 2 downpipes to choose from, some crappy axle back exhaust options, and a handful of companies that offered tunes (only 2 or so were reputable). I did however upgrade the already pretty good stock brakes for the V series rotors, pads, Goodridge steel brake lines, and DOT4 fluid. That was pretty much the threshold of aftermarket support performance wise.

[mike@x-ph.com]

Originally Posted by Cammy5

Thanks for the welcome. I'm trying to absorb all this new knowledge. I'm just in awe of the aftermarket support. The ATS (non-V) had like 2 downpipes to choose from, some crappy axle back exhaust options, and a handful of companies that offered tunes (only 2 or so were reputable). I did however upgrade the already pretty good stock brakes for the V series rotors, pads, Goodridge steel brake lines, and DOT4 fluid. That was pretty much the threshold of aftermarket support performance wise.

You have a lot more options with BMW after markets

Let me know if you have any questions

[Cammy5]

Originally Posted by mike@x-ph.com

You have a lot more options with BMW after markets

Let me know if you have any questions

Well, thanks for the offer and I'll take you up on it with two quick newbie questions:

1). I'm interested in a safe tune that can handle track time. I dont' want to break the record for numbers but just a nice bump in power and something that makes the car feel more like the 340i power wise. Any suggestions?

2) I will be tracking this car at VIR very soon just to get a feel for it, but any suggestions for a rotor/pad upgarade that is good for the track but also still street friendly. I don't believe I have the M brake package.

[mike@x-ph.com]

Originally Posted by Cammy5

Well, thanks for the offer and I'll take you up on it with two quick newbie questions:

1). I'm interested in a safe tune that can handle track time. I dont' want to break the record for numbers but just a nice bump in power and something that makes the car feel more like the 340i power wise. Any suggestions?

2) I will be tracking this car at VIR very soon just to get a feel for it, but any suggestions for a rotor/pad upgarade that is good for the track but also still street friendly. I don't believe I have the M brake package.

1) any tune is safe, as long as you use the recommended map for your mods and fuel . If you are keeping the car stock, get the JB stage 1. If you are adding more mods in the future, get the Jb4 stage 2 . For the car to feel like a 340 you will need downpipes, intercooler, charge pipe, intake and E85

2)It depends on how much you are going to track your car. My favorite setup is Stoptech rotors with Hawk 5.0 Pads.

[Cammy5]

Originally Posted by mike@x-ph.com

1) any tune is safe, as long as you use the recommended map for your mods and fuel . If you are keeping the car stock, get the JB stage 1. If you are adding more mods in the future, get the Jb4 stage 2 . For the car to feel like a 340 you will need downpipes, intercooler, charge pipe, intake and E85

2)It depends on how much you are going to track your car. My favorite setup is Stoptech rotors with Hawk 5.0 Pads.

Thanks! Yeah, powerwise I'll do a tune and MAYBE something like the M exhaust. I do run 93 octane religiously.

[mike@x-ph.com]

Originally Posted by Cammy5

Thanks! Yeah, powerwise I'll do a tune and MAYBE something like the M exhaust. I do run 93 octane religiously.

If you are not doing Downpipes, meth, upgraded turbos or E85 Jb stage 1 will be more than enough

[goj]

Nice! Great color combo! Definitely a fun car to drive.

Did you get adaptive suspension or the regular sport suspension?

[otay]

Originally Posted by Cammy5

This is a bit comical but I'm driving the car around quite a bit Friday and Saturday so I can do the 1000 mile break in oil change late Saturday night because......I'm going to a track day at VIR early Sunday morning. Ha ha.

[Cammy5]

Originally Posted by goj

Nice! Great color combo! Definitely a fun car to drive.

Did you get adaptive suspension or the regular sport suspension?

I'm kind of a newb still about all of the suspension options but according to the window sticker I have the M Sport Package which includes the M Sport Suspension but I don't see a notation of 'adaptive suspesion'.

[Cammy5]

Originally Posted by mike@x-ph.com

If you are not doing Downpipes, meth, upgraded turbos or E85 Jb stage 1 will be more than enough

A friend of mine that has an F80 M3 is really trying to persuade me to go with DME Tuning....any thoughts on that company?

[SoDiezl350]

Check out the hawk street race pads if you're going to be seriously tracking the car. It's their new track pad that's a lot more street friendly. I believe it uses a similar compound to three dtc30 but has beveled edges and a few other features. With those pads and good fluid i never suffered any fade even on the smaller 328 m sport brakes.