Two-Day M School -- some thoughts

[DAC17]

Originally Posted by highmodulus

Did the Valentines Day BMWCCA 2 day event, and traded my 2011 X3 for a 2011 M3 Sedan. I am seeing a trend here. . .

Yup; remember, "M" stands for marketing. Looks like it works!

[SGM3forME]

Awesome review...thanks! Enjoy your new toy...I know I am!

[Shoney41]

Originally Posted by SGM3forME

Awesome review...thanks! Enjoy your new toy...I know I am!

Good luck to you fellow '13er. My 1,200 mile break-in service is this Friday -- can't wait!!

[Accelerometer]

Originally Posted by OC3

At a M3 school? I doubt it...

In my class there were a few students who didn't exactly understand the concept of manual shifting. Most of the cars were bouncing the engines off the rev limiters or sliding off the track all day. You rinse and repeat this every week over a few years and I can guarantee you these cars see a pretty tough life.

[FLOSS M]

Anyone going down to the 2-day school this weekend? I will be there

[1fastdoc]

I'll be there April 18th-20th.

[bmwe92fan]

Originally Posted by Accelerometer

In my class there were a few students who didn't exactly understand the concept of manual shifting. Most of the cars were bouncing the engines off the rev limiters or sliding off the track all day. You rinse and repeat this every week over a few years and I can guarantee you these cars see a pretty tough life.

I would NEVER buy an M after being used at the school. A local dealer works with BMW to move these and other premarket vehicles and even though hey are reconditioned and look great they have lived tough lives.

I beat the p*ss out of mine when I went and loved it - it teaches you how amazing these machines are and they are amazing!

Agree on staying in Greenville for an extra night - you will be exhausted at the end and it is fun downtown!

[Shoney41]

Originally Posted by bmwe92fan

I would NEVER buy an M after being used at the school. A local dealer works with BMW to move these and other premarket vehicles and even though hey are reconditioned and look great they have lived tough lives.

I beat the p*ss out of mine when I went and loved it - it teaches you how amazing these machines are and they are amazing!

Agree on staying in Greenville for an extra night - you will be exhausted at the end and it is fun downtown!

No doubt about it. I was shocked to hear that the cars are actually sold to the public at all. I did dig a little bit and the instructors said that while the cars are totally reconditioned and so on, they are not CPO'd. He also said there are some people (presumably with different buying criteria than you or me) that actually seek them out because they were performance center cars. It also struck me that the cars aren't even properly warmed up yet when the beatings commence. I am methodical with my own M in that I totally ignore the rev guidelines built into the tachometer and instead stay below 3,500 until the engine is right around that mid-point on the gauge (i.e.210 degrees). At the M school, we turned them on, drove out to the track and around it slowly for one lap (maybe 4 minutes), and then it was full-throttle all the way to 8,300 RPM!

[alee0729]

I'd really be interested to see what the maintenance looks like on these cars, save for the obvious brakes, tires and fluids that the car will burn through.

[White 13]

Originally Posted by FLOSS M

Anyone going down to the 2-day school this weekend? I will be there

I will be there for the 13th and 14th. Looks like fun.

[nchan50]

I was there with Shoney41 and also had a great time. Not much to add that hasn't already been said but highly recommend this class for anyone that has little to no track experience. Removing the fear of beating the crap out of your car helps with the learning curve. Also, it is a very controlled environment so you never feel like you're going to get into trouble and you're pushing yourself to the edge of your comfort zone but not beyond. Psychologically, you always want to go fast/full throttle but it took me a little while to focus on the fundamentals and hitting the right lines (and not necessarily speed) which yields much faster lap times in the end.

Another great bonus is the video recording system you get access to on day 2. Really impressive system recording videos both in-cabin and in front of the car. It pulls all metrics tracked by the car so you can see everything from throttle to braking, rpm, etc real-time during your laps.

[kscarrol]

Originally Posted by nchan50

Another great bonus is the video recording system you get access to on day 2. Really impressive system recording videos both in-cabin and in front of the car. It pulls all metrics tracked by the car so you can see everything from throttle to braking, rpm, etc real-time during your laps.

Looking forward to this in July! I recall another thread indicating they gave you a USB stick with the videos on it. Did you and Shoney41 get the videos from your second day? Don't recall Shoney mentioning the USB stick w/ videos...

[Yay-Z]

I agree with the OP on his opinions.

I came away from the school feeling the same way.

M5 was a beast, M3 was perfect for the track and the M6 would never see my cash.

The instructors and lessons were great at the school, well worth the mula!

[nchan50]

Originally Posted by kscarrol

Looking forward to this in July! I recall another thread indicating they gave you a USB stick with the videos on it. Did you and Shoney41 get the videos from your second day? Don't recall Shoney mentioning the USB stick w/ videos...

Yep, they give you an 8gb USB drive to record on day 2. it's big enough that you can and should record everything without worrying about running out of space. Pretty great item to take home with you. I've rewatched my laps a couple times and cringe when I badly miss the lines...and also the time i wiped out a group of cones b/c the M6 is too heavy around corners. As others have said, I hated the M6.

[kscarrol]

Originally Posted by nchan50

Yep, they give you an 8gb USB drive to record on day 2. it's big enough that you can and should record everything without worrying about running out of space. Pretty great item to take home with you. I've rewatched my laps a couple times and cringe when I badly miss the lines...and also the time i wiped out a group of cones b/c the M6 is too heavy around corners. As others have said, I hated the M6.

Thanks for the info! As for the M6, I have never driven it and I know I'd rather have the 1M there but it is not to be! Frankly I'd rather prefer most of my seat time in the M3 with the rest being some fun time in the M5...

[capo1]

Originally Posted by FLOSS M

Anyone going down to the 2-day school this weekend? I will be there

I'll be there too...

[1fastdoc]

After M School this past weekend I can echo a few things:

The M3 is a blast around the track and on the skid pad.
Doing the figure 8 on the skid pad is extremely fun and I can't wait for it to rain here.
The M5 is a powerhouse but just too big for me to enjoy.
Not sure why the M6 exists. As big as the M5 from a performance standpoint but seems smaller than an M3 on the inside. The low end torque was cool but I much preferred being in the M3.

If there was a dedicated M3 school I'd go in a heartbeat. The only time we were in the M3 on day 1 was on the skid pad and on day 2 was doing the full course in the afternoon (split between the M3 and M6). Not enough time in the only M car I really care about.

I will add one thing for the unsuspecting and here is some irony. I am an ENT and I deal with vertigo patients all the time. I haven't really been motion sick in 20 years, since I was a kid. However, I managed to make myself sick by driving within 1 hour of day 1. I had to really limit my afternoon activities. On day 2, after 75 mg of dramamine and 8 mg of zofran I was able to do every event with only a moderate amount of nausea. It sucked and I couldn't handle pushing the car too hard. I can say it was a lot worse in the 5 and 6. Not so bad in the 3.

I've tracked M3's in the past and never had a problem. I drive rather aggressively on the street and never have a problem. The one very different thing about M school is that you spend almost all of it in 2nd or 3rd gear and the braking is very forceful with tight turns. So if you're prone to motion sickness, bring drugs on day 1. It never even crossed my mind.

[kscarrol]

That's interesting! Never heard anyone mention getting motion sickness before... Might bring a pack of dramamine just in case.

[Accelerometer]

Originally Posted by 1fastdoc

After M School this past weekend I can echo a few things:

The M3 is a blast around the track and on the skid pad.
Doing the figure 8 on the skid pad is extremely fun and I can't wait for it to rain here.
The M5 is a powerhouse but just too big for me to enjoy.
Not sure why the M6 exists. As big as the M5 from a performance standpoint but seems smaller than an M3 on the inside. The low end torque was cool but I much preferred being in the M3.

If there was a dedicated M3 school I'd go in a heartbeat. The only time we were in the M3 on day 1 was on the skid pad and on day 2 was doing the full course in the afternoon (split between the M3 and M6). Not enough time in the only M car I really care about.

I will add one thing for the unsuspecting and here is some irony. I am an ENT and I deal with vertigo patients all the time. I haven't really been motion sick in 20 years, since I was a kid. However, I managed to make myself sick by driving within 1 hour of day 1. I had to really limit my afternoon activities. On day 2, after 75 mg of dramamine and 8 mg of zofran I was able to do every event with only a moderate amount of nausea. It sucked and I couldn't handle pushing the car too hard. I can say it was a lot worse in the 5 and 6. Not so bad in the 3.

I've tracked M3's in the past and never had a problem. I drive rather aggressively on the street and never have a problem. The one very different thing about M school is that you spend almost all of it in 2nd or 3rd gear and the braking is very forceful with tight turns. So if you're prone to motion sickness, bring drugs on day 1. It never even crossed my mind.

I'll one up you on this one. I actually got a small retinal detachment that I noticed a day after the school in my left eye. I suspect it was from all the head jostling in the oval skid pad.

[1fastdoc]

Originally Posted by kscarrol

That's interesting! Never heard anyone mention getting motion sickness before... Might bring a pack of dramamine just in case.

One of the instructors told me that they often have one person per class affected although typically it's mild.

There was one person who had mild motion sickness but didn't have to hold back. One woman who had to sit out a few events on day 1 and the skid pad on day 2. She was able to handle the full course without difficulty though. I think I was the worst off.

Originally Posted by Accelerometer

I'll one up you on this one. I actually got a small retinal detachment that I noticed a day after the school in my left eye. I suspect it was from all the head jostling in the oval skid pad.

Wow, I tip my hat to you sir! I did the circular skid pad a little bit and the figure 8. I sat out the oval/rat race for fear of vomiting in my lap.