RPM_M3
06-17-2005, 12:31 PM
So the svc dept made an error in a recent visit to the dealer. Posted the story earlier (too long to go into). Anyway, the sales mgr & svc mgr apologized & offered me a trip to the BMW perf ctr in SC. The dealer is in ATL so it is only a couple of hrs away. They arrange trips every qtr. I of course said, yes. Below are some details, and of course the dealer is back on my "good list"
- We took a bus to the performance center (2hrs)
- Everyone got to drive in all the events, and the instructors and staff were excellent. It was a blast.
- Started with timed runs in 645's
http://www.mindspring.com/~robert.mcdaniels/images/BMWperfctr-1.jpg
Watching a run:
http://www.mindspring.com/~robert.mcdaniels/video/645course.wmv
Riding along on a run:
http://www.mindspring.com/~robert.mcdaniels/video/mikedrv.wmv
- Took a break for lunch (BBQ and chicken)
- Next we went off-road in the X5's:
- Scenic off-road, mostly slow stuff to show X5 stability, hill-descent, and other features
http://www.mindspring.com/~robert.mcdaniels/images/BMWperfctr-4.jpg
http://www.mindspring.com/~robert.mcdaniels/images/BMWperfctr-5.jpg
http://www.mindspring.com/~robert.mcdaniels/images/BMWperfctr-6.jpg
-Next was the "rat race", a wet skid pad, and a dry outer loop w/ slolom cones in E46 330i sports. Two drivers started at opposite ends and raced for three laps;
http://www.mindspring.com/~robert.mcdaniels/video/ratrace.wmv
-Then we took an X3, 760i, 530i, M3 comp pkg, and z4 3.0 out on a short road course. Everyone took turns driving. Sorry no videos or pics - too busy driving. :D
- Finally the instructors took us for a drive! We went around the track, not for speed, but to throttle steer the M5 sideways as much as possible.
http://www.mindspring.com/~robert.mcdaniels/video/payback.wmv
- After leaving the Performance Center we went to the Zentrum, a museum/gift shop with current and classic BMW cars and motorcycles. I had some great pics, but my memory card went flakey and lost the data. :(
It was a great day. Focused on mostly fun rather than driving techniques. They do offer driving training there;
http://www.bmwusa.com/bmwexperience/PerformanceCenter/
It's pricey, but then again, you drive around in THEIR cars rather then sliding your's off the track!
- We took a bus to the performance center (2hrs)
- Everyone got to drive in all the events, and the instructors and staff were excellent. It was a blast.
- Started with timed runs in 645's
http://www.mindspring.com/~robert.mcdaniels/images/BMWperfctr-1.jpg
Watching a run:
http://www.mindspring.com/~robert.mcdaniels/video/645course.wmv
Riding along on a run:
http://www.mindspring.com/~robert.mcdaniels/video/mikedrv.wmv
- Took a break for lunch (BBQ and chicken)
- Next we went off-road in the X5's:
- Scenic off-road, mostly slow stuff to show X5 stability, hill-descent, and other features
http://www.mindspring.com/~robert.mcdaniels/images/BMWperfctr-4.jpg
http://www.mindspring.com/~robert.mcdaniels/images/BMWperfctr-5.jpg
http://www.mindspring.com/~robert.mcdaniels/images/BMWperfctr-6.jpg
-Next was the "rat race", a wet skid pad, and a dry outer loop w/ slolom cones in E46 330i sports. Two drivers started at opposite ends and raced for three laps;
http://www.mindspring.com/~robert.mcdaniels/video/ratrace.wmv
-Then we took an X3, 760i, 530i, M3 comp pkg, and z4 3.0 out on a short road course. Everyone took turns driving. Sorry no videos or pics - too busy driving. :D
- Finally the instructors took us for a drive! We went around the track, not for speed, but to throttle steer the M5 sideways as much as possible.
http://www.mindspring.com/~robert.mcdaniels/video/payback.wmv
- After leaving the Performance Center we went to the Zentrum, a museum/gift shop with current and classic BMW cars and motorcycles. I had some great pics, but my memory card went flakey and lost the data. :(
It was a great day. Focused on mostly fun rather than driving techniques. They do offer driving training there;
http://www.bmwusa.com/bmwexperience/PerformanceCenter/
It's pricey, but then again, you drive around in THEIR cars rather then sliding your's off the track!