“Clank.” The Slack app notified me that I had received a message. Tap, tap, and I found this from testing director Kim Reynolds, who was driving the M2 for the weekend: “The BMW needs a quart of oil. I see it needs 0W-30, but do you have any other particulars before I go to the car parts store?” I replied: “If you plan to be near the office, we have gallons of oil in the Motor Trend garage, and I’m 99 percent certain there is some 0W-30 there on the shelf.” Kim had trouble finding that oil at two different stores, so he drove to the office to satisfy the M2’s thirst.
At 9,053 miles, glug-glug, and it was done. Had he been able to find it, it’s about $10 a quart. The oil consumption is understandable because daily commuting is considered a harsh-duty cycle, and we had hot-lapped the M2 less than a month prior. Also, as dependable, grippy, and resilient as the stock Michelin Pilot Super Sport tires are, that same outing at the Streets of Willow did put them through a few extra heat cycles and accelerated the wear. The tires had grown conspicuously noisy and occasionally lost traction at the rear while charging out of a corner. It just so happened that Michelin stopped by our office touting the successor to the “PS3,” as it is known elsewhere on the planet. They asked us if we’d like to try a set of Pilot Sport 4 S (PS4S) tires, and we jumped at the chance.
They drop-shipped the tires ($1,100 for a set of four if bought from TireRack.com), we had them mounted/balanced locally for $120. Coincidentally, the M2 issued a request for its first routine maintenance visit. We scheduled a 7 a.m. drop-off, were given a “courtesy vehicle” for the day, and picked up the M2 at the end of the day having been serviced and washed gratis. Why? Because BMW’s 3-year/36,000-mile free scheduled-maintenance program covered the oil change, wiper replacement, and checkup. Next up, we’ll see if the service and new tires make a difference at the track.