[mechman]

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Hi,

I picked up my Thundernight/Cognac (or the Peanut butter-jelly combo) M240 as some would like to call it finally at the Performance Center on 3/3. The delivery experience was fantastic with the only caveat being they didn't have any G42's in their fleet for all the driving exercises my wife and I did. I imagine due to the demand of the G42, they couldn't manage to ship any to use in their fleet yet. Hence, we ended up in a F22 M240i which is still a great car. I did get a chance to ride shotgun in a G80 with a pro driver and got to experience what those cars are capable of at full beans. Lets just say my adrenaline levels were through the roof by the end of the lap

Day 0 - 3/3/22:
I optioned my car to come with the Performance non-RFT and it came with Pirelli PZERO PZ4 in 225/40F and 255/25R. As a sidenote, the US order guide for option 1VZ in incorrect for anybody looking to get this option on their car. After picking up the car, I immediately swapped out my tires to Conti DWS06+ at Discount tire to a 245/35F and 255/35R before I left town. We drove to Atlanta and spent the night there and the initial feeling with the car on the interstate was fantastic. Its got so much ease with which it carries speed and you hardly feel a thing before you realize you are driving close to triple digits speeds

Day 1 - 3/4/22:
Before we left town, I got a chance to do a small photo shoot with my Thundernight G42 and my cousin's Brooklyn Grey G42 side by side. It was interesting to see how different each of the colors are in sunlight but how they both enhance the car design in their own ways. I then proceeded to leave town and head to the mountains to drive the following roads:

Dahlonega, GA to Suches, GA
Suches, GA to Blairsville, GA via Wolfpenn Gap road (very twisty)
Blairsville, GA to Tellico plains, TN
Tellico plains, TN to Tail of the Dragon via Cherahola skyway

It ended up being over a 7hr drive with multiple stops and pictures along the way. I got a chance to really push the handling of the car and it handled like a dream through turns and altitude changes. I felt the steering was decent for the most part and I drove in Adaptive mode for the majority of the time. We even saw a wild fire in the valley as were on the Cheraloha skyway. Reached Deals gap around 4pm in the evening and it was super empty with only a handful of riders finishing up the last runs up and down the mountain as their adrenaline probably started to run dry towards the end of the day.
I was lucky to get an action shot while going up the tail of the dragon but found a state trooper which I thought was strange on an "off-day".

My wife was ready to punch me by the end of it as she was tired of the twisties and so we proceeded to Knoxville for the night. Had some amazing barbecue at Sweet P's barbecue in downtown and stayed the night in Caryville which is about 30min north of Knoxville on I-75. The view from the hotel was pretty nice with a lake front view and the mountains behind

Day 2 - 3/5/22:
We had a relaxed start to the day and took a nice shot of the car with the mountains behind before we got onto I-75 and headed home to Detroit metro late evening. I was very conscious about altering the revs every few minutes while driving as the car is still under "break-in" mileage. Was about to reach home with 997 miles on the odo and my wife was particular about hitting the 1000 miles mark so ended up going and getting a cake for my birthday (on 3/6) and reached home with 1003 miles on the odometer.

To summarize, I got a lot of time to spend behind the wheel since I picked up the car and I absolutely love it. Granted, the steering feel could be improved upon but I understand they are catering the cars for the masses and not just driving purists. The brake feel on my car is perfectly fine and neither my wife nor I had any complaints. Infact, she noticed it was too bity and her reference point is a Alfa Stelvio. The damn thing is too efficient was as we averaged 31mpg despite doing speeds well over the speed limit since we picked up the car. I am so happy I optioned this color as it has so much character with different outcomes depending on the ambient lighting.

[Hpirx]

Very nice write up. Congratulations on the new car.
I also swapped out the tires the next day after picking up the car, except to a dedicated set of snow tires. Still, with the 18", 225 square setup, I am very impressed with how this car drives.
I can't wait until Tax Day (4/15) the day I traditionally put on the summer tires.

I'm pretty envious of your great journey with a new G42 right after delivery. A combination of things kept my longest drive so far to about an hour, and that during rush hour.

Anyway, your photos look great and the Thundrnight is really a gorgeous color.
Happy driving!

[jbazz]

First off congrats and thanks for the trip report! My friend is getting the BGM and I am getting the Thundernight
We have ridden those same routes on sport bikes, and can't wait to go with the 240's! Glad you avoided the tickets

[Vancouver_M440]

That look on your wife's face is priceless! LOL

[Beware-of-the-Phoggy]

mechman Congrats! As a former Knoxvillian, I know those roads would make for a fantastic first day with your new car.

Once your car arrived, how long did you have to wait for an available PCD appointment vs taking delivery from your dealership?

[mechman]

Originally Posted by jbazz

First off congrats and thanks for the trip report! My friend is getting the BGM and I am getting the Thundernight
We have ridden those same routes on sport bikes, and can't wait to go with the 240's! Glad you avoided the tickets

That's awesome. I rode there back in 2019 on my bike so it was good to go back with my car. Hopefully, not too many delays with your cars getting delivered.

Originally Posted by Vancouver_M5

That look on your wife's face is priceless! LOL

Haha. I wasn't kidding when I said she was ready to punch me by the end of the day

[mechman]

Originally Posted by Beware-of-the-Phoggy

mechman Congrats! As a former Knoxvillian, I know those roads would make for a fantastic first day with your new car.

Once your car arrived, how long did you have to wait for an available PCD appointment vs taking delivery from your dealership?

That whole area is fantastic to drive as opposed to the straight and flat roads here in Michigan. So I am glad I was able to take advantage of it

My car arrived at the Performance center 2/14 via Brunswick port of entry and the earliest day I could pick it up was 3/3.

Had I chosen to do the dealership delivery, it would have been routed through Baltimore and I imagine that would have put me close to 2/24 (reaching Baltimore and trucking to Michigan) assuming there were no delays.

[SupraCooper]

Excellent Write up, good sir! Again, big congratulations on your pb&j M240i lol. I cannot wait to take mine up to the tail of the dragon when I finally get it. I don't know how much time you got on the tires that came on it, but could you tell any difference once you swapped to the 245s up front?

I plan on doing the same exact thing on 792ms except with some pilot sports so I am so glad I got to see someone else do it. Not to mention I already have some bms spacers waiting in the garage for it so hopefully that will be fine to do. I'm sure it will haha

[mechman]

Originally Posted by SupraCooper

Excellent Write up, good sir! Again, big congratulations on your pb&j M240i lol. I cannot wait to take mine up to the tail of the dragon when I finally get it. I don't know how much time you got on the tires that came on it, but could you tell any difference once you swapped to the 245s up front?

I plan on doing the same exact thing on 792ms except with some pilot sports so I am so glad I got to see someone else do it. Not to mention I already have some bms spacers waiting in the garage for it so hopefully that will be fine to do. I'm sure it will haha

Thanks

The stock tires came off the car within 7miles after I drove off the lot so cant say I spent enough time on them to feel the difference vs the 245's I have on now.

I was slightly worried (in the back of my head) about any weird behavior with the xdrive once I switched to 245's upfront but the car didn't seem to care at all in the >1000miles I put on it so far

After having driven in the twisties, city and highway, I am confident enough to say that you do not need to worry about upsizing to a 245/35 if you desire. The car felt extremely planted in all situations

[Fredward20]

Originally Posted by mechman

Thanks

The stock tires came off the car within 7miles after I drove off the lot so cant say I spent enough time on them to feel the difference vs the 245's I have on now.

I was slightly worried (in the back of my head) about any weird behavior with the xdrive once I switched to 245's upfront but the car didn't seem to care at all in the >1000miles I put on it so far

After having driven in the twisties, city and highway, I am confident enough to say that you do not need to worry about upsizing to a 245/35 if you desire. The car felt extremely planted in all situations

I would imagine the xdrive system is coded to compensate for different sized tires already so that they don’t need to run an update or change code between packages with or without the larger tread.

[SupraCooper]

Originally Posted by mechman

Thanks

The stock tires came off the car within 7miles after I drove off the lot so cant say I spent enough time on them to feel the difference vs the 245's I have on now.

I was slightly worried (in the back of my head) about any weird behavior with the xdrive once I switched to 245's upfront but the car didn't seem to care at all in the >1000miles I put on it so far

After having driven in the twisties, city and highway, I am confident enough to say that you do not need to worry about upsizing to a 245/35 if you desire. The car felt extremely planted in all situations

Man, I appreciate the feedback. Did you keep your factory tires or did they give you a credit for them?

[mechman]

Originally Posted by Fredward20

I would imagine the xdrive system is coded to compensate for different sized tires already so that they don’t need to run an update or change code between packages with or without the larger tread.

That very well might be the case.

Originally Posted by SupraCooper

Man, I appreciate the feedback. Did you keep your factory tires or did they give you a credit for them?

No they didn't give a credit which is why I still have them. Those white bags you see in some of the pictures behind the rear seat are the factory tires
Listed them for sale currently.

[Roadwar]

What a great delivery trip home! The car looks awesome in action. Congratulations!