Agreed that this is how you do it. But, it’s a completely different segment.

Call up Mo at BMW of Ann Arbor.  A flight and an inaugural road trip would be worth getting the right car with a good buying experience!

I am inclined to agree!! The tires are 10mm narrower (by tire size), yet the car gained mechanical grip. While there are many contributing factors to turn-in response, the taller sidewall would not be directional enabler, with all else equal. It was quite impressive.

While it might improve the response of the tire, it won’t change (might decrease) it’s grip.  Most OEM’s would have specific damper and EPS tuning for each tire (commonizing, where possible), and that tuning would have been done at placard pressure.  Then again, many people change their tires, all together, which…

Haha... My bad.  Somehow I mistakenly assumed you were in SE MI!

While still plenty luxurious, it is less-so than an M3 Competition, through the omission of certain options.  Faster?  Yes, a bit.  More enjoyable to drive hard and on the track, but less comfortable on the road.

Since my personal 128i is street driven and the OneLap1M is driven 4,000 street miles during the One Lap of America, alone, I still prioritize the comfort of an armrest over the reduction of 5 lbs, or whatever it may be. Now, the owner of the 1M teased me with ditching the stock (manual) heated sport seats for some…

This is a fair point!

While you might have a point, you might be surprised by the cars I personally own.  But that’s besides the point, because my comments are objective based on back-to-back evaluations when test driving pretty much all of the FWD 5-door hatchbacks on the market within a 2 day span.  We ended up with a Mazda3, if you’re…

Everyone’s tolerance level is different :)
Having had E90s (3-series sedans), I can say that the windnoise level in the E82 (1-series) is one of the drawbacks due to the more upright windshield.  Considering that you daily a soft-top, this would be a non-issue for you!  I used to daily a Z3 in my college years.  My…

Absolutely, they do!

There’s a whole other cost/benefit argument for that car, too!

Well, give it a look and maybe come visit us at a race at Mid-Ohio or GingerMan this year ;)

I have to caution against dropping to the SE version, if you care much about the handling. The 16" wheels/tires of the SE surely decrease impact harshness, but they created a slow steering response with non-linear effort build, as well as a noticeable front-to-rear phase lag (difference in reaction time from the front…

Sorry, the lightweight was in regards to the design (compared to the Comp), not the material.

Thank you!  In talking with the manager, Mo, he is of a similar opinion.

Stay tuned in the coming months :)

Closely guarded secret... But I’d suggest heading west/northwest ;)

Thanks Val!

HAHA :)