Joe Achilles isn’t one to leave his cars alone. Even if he only tinkers with them a bit, he still has to do something to them to make them his. Which is why, only a short while after taking delivery of his new G80 BMW M3 xDrive, he’s already tinkering with it. One upgrade Achilles made on his previous M3 Competition, only a week after taking delivery of that, was to have its suspension/alignment tweaked to improve steering and response, and he’s done that with this new car, too. From the factory, all sports cars are tuned to handle rather safely, resorting to understeer before anything else. That’s done to keep ham-fisted customers from killing themselves in their 600 horsepower cars. However, it does rob some feel and fun from the car.
After tweaking his suspension, though, it feels much better. Interestingly, it’s also more stable on the road, as the new tweaks have reduced the stock car’s tendency to tramline and follow every little imperfection in the tarmac. That makes for a more pleasant experience in normal driving, even if it means a bit less accuracy on track.
Another change he’s made is also one he made to his last M3, he had the steering wheel modified. Modern BMW steering wheels are so thick they’re cumbersome in the hand, drawing complaints from most enthusiasts. So Achilles had a small amount of padding removed from the wheel, to make it feel nicer in the hand, but he also had it wrapped in Alcantara. Alcantara steering wheels aren’t for everyone (I personally really enjoy them) but they do make a car fee more special. His also comes with a Fiona Red stripe at 12 o’clock, to match his interior.
This is a good example of how you can tweak and modify your car without it feeling or looking like a tuned car. If you own a G80 BMW M3 of any kind and want it to just feel a bit better but don’t want a comprehensive change, these are good mods that will make your car more enjoyable.
