BMW Performance Driving School's One Day Driver Control Course

[Mason Hatcher]

Finished the BMW Performance Driving School's One Day Driver Control Course today.

Day started out in the classroom, introductions, basic technique for looking where you wantnto go, steering, braking and acceleration.

First we drove the M340i for the slalom. Starting at low speed and building up.

Then to the emergency stop, stand on the brakes, let the ABS work and steer. Gotta look where you want to go.

Next we switched to the M240i for the road course. It includes a slalom, sweeping turns, hairpin turns and decreasing radius turn. Looking where you want to go, steering, braking at the right time, accelerating and vehicle positioning all come together here.

Lunch and then back in the classroom for a short lesson on understeer and oversteer. We headed to the 3 series again and to the skid pad. A watered-down polished concrete circle where we turn off the stability control, induce both under and oversteer and have to correct.

A switch to the 2 series again and an obstacle avoidance maneuver, at ever increasing speeds. The Box to make the lane change in seems really small, but with proper technique it is amazing what these cars can do.

Then we went back to the road course for timed laps, now it's not just trying to avoid cones, but to really reduce the time. Talk about a blast!.

Next to last exercise is a "rat race", on another wet surface. An oval set up, one car on each side and upon command you take off. Idea is to best the time of the other car, without skidding out (had to turn off stability control again) or hitting a cone. Both of those are disqualifiers.

The final run was a hot lap with an instructor for the full 1.5 mile course. I'll video for the instructor running this in a 4500 pound M5.

They had several courses running today, a teen course, day one of a 2 day "M" school, and a motorcycle course.

It was awesome!

[Westside Guy]

Great report, did they also cover the use of paddles?

[TAZ007]

sounds great, mine is coming up in 3 weeks.

[flybigjet]

Link to courses?

TIA--

[Mason Hatcher]

Originally Posted by Westside Guy

Great report, did they also cover the use of paddles?

Not in any detail in this course at all. They just had us use 3rd gear on the skid pad and 2nd on the rat race. Otherwise it was braking, steering and accelerator. Both the m240i and M340i were very responsive.

They told us that the Performance Center does not sell cars, but they sell a lot of cars.

[Mason Hatcher]

Originally Posted by TAZ007

sounds great, mine is coming up in 3 weeks.

Which course and location?

[Mason Hatcher]

Originally Posted by flybigjet

Link to courses?

TIA--

Seriously, I'd have to google it and post the link....I don't have it saved

[TAZ007]

Originally Posted by Mason Hatcher

Which course and location?

Houston Reliant Center

[Germanauto]

Sounds like a good time. Was this the one that costs $1000+ bucks?

Personally, I'd rather just rent a fun car off Turo and hit local canyon roads. The Porsche experience in LA interests me more, but it's still stupid expensive.

[Mason Hatcher]

Originally Posted by Germanauto

Sounds like a good time. Was this the one that costs $1000+ bucks?

Personally, I'd rather just rent a fun car off Turo and hit local canyon roads. The Porsche experience in LA interests me more, but it's still stupid expensive.

$895. You can't do on Canyon roads what we did on the tracks. But that's what's cool about life, we don't have to like the same stuff.

[TAZ007]

Originally Posted by Germanauto

Sounds like a good time. Was this the one that costs $1000+ bucks?

Personally, I'd rather just rent a fun car off Turo and hit local canyon roads. The Porsche experience in LA interests me more, but it's still stupid expensive.

This upcoming on is free (personally my favorite price). The one I did earlier in the year was the M track days and a half of day was $500. It was worth every penny.

[Germanauto]

Originally Posted by TAZ007

This upcoming on is free (personally my favorite price). The one I did earlier in the year was the M track days and a half of day was $500. It was worth every penny.

Free? I thought only the Ultimate Driving Experience is free?

$500 is very reasonable for a 1/2 day with actual M cars. I was on their site yesterday though and didn't find anything like it, at least for the Thermal CA location.

[TAZ007]

Originally Posted by Germanauto

Free? I thought only the Ultimate Driving Experience is free?

$500 is very reasonable for a 1/2 day with actual M cars. I was on their site yesterday though and didn't find anything like it, at least for the Thermal CA location.

The UDE is free. The M track days cost $500 for 1/2 day and $1000 for a full day. It was worth the price. The UDE is more of a sales event hence free.