It’s a pretty commonly held belief that the BMW M2 is the most enjoyable and entertaining Bavarian on the road. Its the closest we have to an old-school BMW and it’s seriously fun to drive. It isn’t perfect, however, and there are faults in its game. Which is why Litchfield stepped in to enhance the M2 and the Gloucestershire-based tuning company has done so in a way to fix some of the M2’s problems without taking away from what makes it great. Autocar tests the Litchfield BMW M2 to find out how they’ve done.
The biggest issues with the BMW M2 are its overly stiff ride and lack of drama. Litchfield set out to remedy those issues with a few key upgrades, done in very specific areas, so as to make the M2 the car it should have been from the beginning.
First, they start out with an ECU tune, which brings horsepower and torque up to a nice even 420 hp and 420 lb-ft. That makes it feel quite a bit faster and the ECU tune has even smoothed out its power delivery a bit, making it feel a bit more linear. What’s more, Litchfield offers two exhaust upgrades for the M2, with the more expensive Akrapovic system being fitted to the one tested by Autocar. Apparently, that exhaust improves the sound of the M2, while also adding some entertaining pops and crackles. There’s a cheaper Milltek system available as well.
Next, Litchfield fitted new, slightly lower AST suspension that’s both damper and rebound adjustable. It’s also only slightly lower, just so as to fill the wheel gaps perfectly. There are also 10mm spacers, which make the wheels flush to the fenders, making the M2 looks even more muscular than it already does and giving it a better stance.
According to Autocar, the Litchfield BMW M2 is improved just enough to make the experience more enjoyable without taking away from what the M2 already does well. So it still has the same ultra-sharp steering and tenacious front-end grip. Now, though, the suspension is actually even more supple, a miracle considering that it’s lower and fitted on stiff springs, while also being more controlled and better planted. While the BMW M2 was already a great handling car, it can be a bit of a handful over bumpy roads, where its overly stiff suspension makes the tires lose traction over bumps.
Does anyone remember cars like the E46 M3, which were firm and tight but also supple? That era of BMWs had the perfect balance between firmness and suppleness. It seems as if this Litchfield BMW M2 tuning package makes it feel closer to that perfect era of BMW.
[Source: Autocar]
Strange how in their pictures and the one on this article, the suspension is clearly KW. You can even see the logo on the shock in the Autocar gallery.
I noticed the colors were similar to KW but didn’t notice the logo. That’s odd. Though, it does make sense that it handles so well, then. I’m a big fan of KW.
Those are KW V3s. Drove an M2 with them, the setup was for track and while it was tolerable for road use, I wouldn’t have wanted it for my daily. Obviously Litchfield will sell them to you for a healthy markup. Honestly, this mod package has been available since pretty much day 0 for M2s, this is just a company selling you other people’s stuff, plus labour, at a significant mark up. KW V3s are around 1800GBP, intercooler, around 500GBP, tune, another 700GBP, spacers, next to nothing. 4500GBP for the Akra. So that’s around an extra 3000GBP for labour and Litchfield-ness. Ouch.
Thanks for the insight. Im considering getting V3 for my e60 as it’s the only option for XDrive cars. Does the damper adjustment allow for a compliant ride or is it overly firm for a daily? Reviews all seem very positive.
Hey, the V3s I experienced were set up for track, it still felt well damped and I’m sure you could slacken them off a bit for road use. Personally, for my own car, I’d go with an Ohlins street set up, because I feel that Ohlins typically make the best street/track set ups.
That’s interesting to hear about the V3s. A friend has a B7 Audi A4 with a KW V2s and the ride on the road is fantastic, even though they aren’t as adjustable as the V3s. I can only imagine that the extra adjustability of the V3s will allow them to be even better on the road.
Ever consider the possibility that the KW V3’s are custom valved for Litchfield? For example many automakers use Bilstein dampers as an option, say for a Mazda MX-5. Do you really think Mazda just orders Bilstein’s from an online catalog, without any custom R&D, and just bolts them up and calls it a day? Obviously not.
Same can be said for tires. You can get Michelin Pilot Supersports or Pirelli P-Zero’s anywhere, but manufacturers have these tires specially tuned for particular models (Corvettes, 911’s etc…)
So you’re telling me that Litchfield are going to sell enough of these 10,000 pound tuning packages to make it worth R&D and custom manufacturing their own suspension, not only that, but they’ll then get KW to manufacture it. Oh, and they also forgot to mention it in their marketing? Did you know that KW already have a M2 specific variant of the V3, and Clubsport, each with their own part numbers and each R&D by KW on their own test M2? Obviously not.
Once again, 10k GBP is +-13500USD. If you give Dinan the same amount of money, you’ll get everything Litchfield offer, plus a bigger turbo, sway bars, end links, intake, 450hp, a warranty and 3 and a half grand back. If you wanted, you could replace Dinan’s exhaust with an Akra for the same as the Litchfield kit, and have all the extra stuff you’d get for the same price.
If anything Litchfield deserve kudos for managing to be even worse value than the notorious Dinan. This car is my life buddy, after 1 year of ownership I know probably every single mod permutation, I have spreadsheets and bookmarks and all kinds of bullshit. Currently I’m waiting for the recent breakthrough in ECU reflashing to filter out to my favourite tuner, then in a year or two when my warranty drops, I’m going ECU, Ohlins, intercooler
Please stop this nonsense about the suspension. This is what Autocar (the people who reviewd this Litcfield thing had to say about the M2 on back roads:
“the M2 seems fantastically well controlled. We get here what we’ve often asked for: a passive, sporting suspension set-up tuned by a manufacturer to offer the compromise they think best suits the car.
For my money, for 90% of the time, BMW has nailed it. There’s an unexpectedly wonderful suppleness to the way the M2 (on standard 19in rims) rides. It’s taut, but never strangled by the sort of overly tight body control that becomes wearing after an hour spent on Welsh B-roads. Instead, it simmers brightly on its spring travel, feeling animated and ever ready to deliver the kind of agile response you’d expect from such a pithy wheelbase.”
https://www.autocar.co.uk/car-review/bmw/m2/first-drives/2016-bmw-m2-uk-review
Now stop it. Please. The other owners I know, people only upgrade their suspension for the track, for street/track it’s already very good.
When wheel gap is a concern for dynamic performance and spacers are used, this is not really a tune.
Litchfield managed to lower the center of gravity and improve ride quality. Not sure what you’re complaining about?
I dd an e46 m3 and it is a wonderful machine though I would never use the word “supple” to describe anything related to ride quality. Definitely not recommend driving it while hung over…..
Suspensions are fine in countries that have smooth and even roads… Reallised that on my trip in France I never felt it was stiff, just super sharp handling… In the UK it’s a different story…