Would you bring your M3 to an NFL tailgate.

[mdosu]

Raiders, that takes balls man.

[richb811]

I took my 08 Mini Cooper S JCW to a Giant's game once. That was enough for me... heartburn all game long.

I wouldn't. I just see someone extending for a parking lot catch over the hood and putting a nice dent in it.

[dibxna]

Not much of a choice on my side... M3 is my dd and I have a couple classic cars I wouldn't take tailgating for the sole reason they r easy to hot wire. Aside from that I think it's still just about where u can get a parking spot and if u r set up correctly surrounded by friends cars and have your area roped off or set up right then there's limited problems.

[Jbook]

I have season tickets to the Raiders and I don't always take my M3, but I have this season and it was perfectly fine (no Raider flags on it or anything). I would still advise taking another car just so you aren't risking it, but I think it would end up being fine if you did take the M3.

[MaxBoost335]

take the m3 out of the equation and leave it at home. Not worth the risk

[freshwhite335]

It is a very sticky situation though... at what point do you decide putting your car in a sticky situation is more expensive than a different option. I live in L.A. and the parking lot at my school is crazy, packed and people drive like idiots. Had planned on getting a Ducati, but a good friend just got in to a bad bike crash that wasn't his fault so I am kind of off the idea at the moment. I'm moving back to FL but I had told my parents though, that between the risk of damage and the fact that even my tiny 1er barely fits in a parking spot I was going to need them to buy me a beater or something like a Fiat 500/Mini/Smart ForTwo to drive to school.

[Stronghammer]

My car is so clean right now, I dont even want to take it out of the garage. I just open the door and stare at it. Better than TV. A public sporting event ? Not !

[mkoesel]

Originally Posted by rhird

My car is so clean right now, I dont even want to take it out of the garage. I just open the door and stare at it. Better than TV. A public sporting event ? Not !

If I were you I'd keep the garage door closed - you don't want it to get dusty.

[J08M3]

I wouldn't even bring myself to a NFL tailgate.

But I wouldn't worry about the car if you go. It'll be fine, and if not..... just fix it. It's just a car.

[KRUZNM3]

Never!

[bruce.augenstein@comcast.]

Originally Posted by bsiciliano

I flew up to the Raiders-Pats game yesterday. As I typically do, I strolled around the lot to take in the carnival of freaks that only us Raiders fans can put on. Literally saw a full pig on a spit and a woman tried to sell me a Raiders shower cap.

Noticed a lot of nice cars. SL 55 AMG, 750s, S-class, etc. No M3s.

I know most of us park between a wall and a pillar so we don\'t get a ding. This got me wondering if anyone does/would take there car to a game.

I for one would not. Too many ways to get damaged. Kids tossing balls. 1,000s of drunken fans stumbling around. Bums carrying enormous bags of cans and bottles through the cars.

Anyhow, let us know your thoughts.

Not the same thing, but my son, grandson and I just attended an NHRA Nationals event held in nearby Maple Grove, Pennsylvania, in order to watch the Top Fuelers and Funny Cars run. I've been at drag strips many times over the last thirty years or so, but it has been at least that long since I've gone to actually watch an event, instead of participate in time trials or some such (Corvette Days, etc.).

We get a parking spot somewhere within the zip code , and on the trek toward the stands, I get to ogle the assembled automotive collection.

There must be a ton of hard-core drag fans around the country, because there are hundreds of mobile homes, fifth wheel and standard trailers in attendance, many with out-of-state plates. Most seem to be top-end luxury models, with a fair number of converted top-end buses as well.

Note that I didn't conduct a tour of the parking lots, but automotively speaking, the rest of the assembled multitude that I passed by seemed to be tilted toward the performance spectrum, with quite a few Vettes, Camaros and Mustangs (from various years) around, but also a surprising (to me) number of German executive hot rods around, including Audis, a sprinkling of "63" cars from Mercedes, two M5s and two current M3s - one of which prompted this reply. It was an Alpine White model parked next to a major pathway, and it was pristine enough to make you think it had been washed right after it was parked.

The thing is, this drag race crowd tended to be ogling the car as folks passed by, and I'm hearing "Nice", "Wow!", "Thumbs up!" and other such positive exclamations, some of which were M3-technical in nature, leading me to believe that many folks in attendance were pretty broadly focussed in terms of automotive fandom.

I found this a bit surprising, since I probably had some preconceived notions that I wasn't aware of.

In any event, I don't know how drag race fans compare to Raiders fans in terms of overall decorum, but I can tell you there was a bunch of beer being consumed at tailgate parties and in the stands. Yet all seemed fairly calm. Never gave my parking spot a thought.

Didn't at Pats games either, back when I lived outside of Boston.

No, I don't have an M3 now, but it's not as if that makes a difference to me. Door dings tend to piss me off as much as anyone.

Meanwhile, a word (or two, or...) about watching professional drag racing.

If you haven't done it, do it.

There are four classes in professional drag racing. In order of speed and quickness, they are: Pro Stock Motorcycle, Pro Stock, Fuel Competition (funny cars) and Top Fuel (dragsters).

The bikes are comprised mostly of Harley Davidson, Buell and Suzuki entries, essentially pitting cubic inches against rpm. The current composite record is a 6.777 @ 199.26 MPH, held by a Buell and Harley Davidson, respectively. The thing about Pro Stock Motorcycle is, I simply cannot imagine holding onto a critter that is essentially hitting 200 MPH from rest in less than seven seconds. I haven't ridden in a bit more than a decade, but I can tell you that opening up my last 11-flat at 120+ motorcycle from rest was a heart-pounding experience. 6.777 @ 199.26? There'd be a yellow mist following me on such a run.

Pro Stock is fascinating in that these cars are full-bodied door slammers running normally aspirated on carburetors and gasoline. Granted, they are running 500 cubic inch (max) V8s, but a composite 6.477 @ 213.57 mph? Normally aspirated on gasoline? Incredible.

When it comes to the fuel cars, I can capture the experience in two short sentences:

You don't watch the fuel cars run. Instead, they happen to you.

Let me talk about Top Fuel in regard to numbers. They run the cars for only 1000 feet now, because they were getting so fast that they were having difficulty slowing them down within the confines of the runoff area after the finish line at many tracks. This change gave them another 320 feet of parachute/braking time, which turns out to be an ample amount for safety. At least currently.

The current record for Top Fuel at 1000 feet is a 3.735 @ 327.90 mph.

Think about that. Doing some elementary arithmetic, that's almost exactly four Gs of average acceleration over that distance.

Average!

Furthermore, using data from the 660 foot (1/8th mile) measurement to the 1000 foot finish line shows that these cars are averaging over 2.5 Gs from around 280 mph to the finish, which is hard to believe. Of course, they're said to be making somewhere around 8000 horsepower from their 500 cubic inch V8s and are amazingly traction limited. They run a giant spoiler mounted high above the rear axle, and as they hit speed (100 mph in just under a second), that increasing downward pressure allows them to sequentially engage a multi-plate clutch as speeds rise, only giving full power to the wheels as they approach the finish line. You can watch from behind as they launch, with clutch dust billowing out from between the giant rear slicks. Engine speed is nearly constant from the start through the finish line, and the clutch plates are all done after a single sub-four-second run.

These cars are said to burn about ten gallons of fuel in a single, sub-four-second pass.

Think about ten one-gallon cans of fuel sitting in front of you.

You couldn't spill it that fast.

OK, that's just data. The thing is, sitting perhaps 250 feet up-track from the start, halfway up the stands and around 65-70 feet from the track's edge, the sheer physical sound pressure as the cars passed by at somewhere over 200 mph was more than palpable. It was pretty much overwhelming. They say that if you stand by the fence at the finish line, the sound wave will actually force you back as the cars pass by.

All that said, these words can't fully convey the stupendous fury of a Top Fuel car during a full pass, much less two Top Fuel cars side by side during a run.

Funny Cars are nearly as quick (current composite record is 3.995 @ 318.99) and just as loud, plus they are said to accelerate even a bit harder than the Top Fuelers between the 660 foot mark and the finish line because of better aerodynamics. We're talking an average acceleration of 3.6 Gs here, with better than 2.6 Gs at the top end.

For me, the thing about Funny Cars is that the driver sits just behind the engine, rather than in front of it as in the Top Fuel cars, and he or she is essentially enclosed within a tiny compartment with a roof, shared with an 8000 horsepower raging beast.

Not me.

Bottom line in my opinion is that regardless of your interest in drag racing, or even general interest in either racing or things automotive, you ought to go watch the NHRA National drags at least once. Remember. You don't watch. They happen to you.

Bruce

[Titanium Silver]

No way.

1.) People are WAY too rowdy at games.
2.) I like to drink beer when I go to games, therefore... No driving allowed.

[macavant]

@ A Raider game - definitely no.

[quadpipes]

Originally Posted by mkoesel

I take mine to U of M football tailgates sometimes. Never had any issues. I would probably think twice if we were playing OSU or Notre Dame.

And your car is blue too - a giveaway as a UM fan parked outside of the Big House. At least you don't have BB interior (blue and light yellow!).

[merlin00069]

No.

[mkoesel]

Originally Posted by twinpipes

And your car is blue too - a giveaway as a UM fan parked outside of the Big House. At least you don't have BB interior (blue and light yellow!).

Actually, the real give away are the big Block M magnets on the doors

[8_is_enough]

raiders in particular...f*ck no.

[JohnnyRoaster]

Bruce,
Thanks for the info. I will have to check out a drag race at some point. I have seen them on tv but I am sure it is a whole different ballgame in person.

[Denk]

Are you kidding? I'd never ever take my M3 out of the garage! Honestly, I just try to minimize risks by picking parking spaces wisely. I take her everywhere.

[Erie Von Otto]

I dont think I would, especially after seeing the remnants of the M5. Then again, you probably have a greater chance of a meteor landing on your car than it getting torched by a mob...

[eedj1]

Absolutely not!

[Bulldawg23]

If I had an opportunity to take another vehicle, I definitely would. I would not risk such a precious vehicle being tampered with. People are idiots at sporting events!