M School - 1 or 2 day?

[jmg]

My voucher for BMW PDS is expiring, so I have to decide soon if I want to use it towards a 1 day or 2 day school. Supposedly the first day of the 2 day school is the same thing as the 1 day school. Is the extra day really worth $2500? For those who have done the 2 day, what do you do learn exactly on that 2nd day?

I understand it comes with a hotel and dinner, but that's still a bit steep. Rumor has it you get a jacket too? Anyone have pics of the jacket?

[lukej]

I'm waiting on people to chime in ,, I got a free voucher to go too..

I've did the AMG drive , it was great learned a lot,, i'm trying to decide to go to Greenville or Thermal California ...

Any pros and cons ?..

[burnsniper]

Just got back from the 2-day M School (earlier this week); I used the voucher, CCA discount, and a gift certificate to cover the cost. Worth every penny (especially $100 lol). 2 straight days of very intense driving with M2s, M3s, and M4s. I have bruises on both hands (from the thumb rests on the steering wheel), bruises on both knees (from the doors and center console), and rope burn on my neck (from the seat belt).

I had a blast and drove the the living **** out of all the cars! Learned a lot about racing techniques and how to go fast! Note lots of what I learned is still applicable to daily driving.

Also, after the course it is quite evident that we may, when driving most aggressively, reach a 6/10 on the streets in these M cars. Furthermore, we ran with MDM on most of the time except in specific skid pad/drift sessions and I can confirm that MDM lets substantial slip and hooliganism when th cars are driven correctly (much more than the forums would have you think) - I definitely had many instances of high speed oversteer/4 wheel drifts that were up to me to correct (otherwise I would have spun off track). The course teaches you that MDM really only cuts power/brakes when you mash on the gas or are past 10-15 degrees of rotation and you attempt to keep going.

Note that'll all the M3s and M4s were ZCPs with 19" wheels and carbon brakes.

Happy to answer any specific details about the school or cars.

[IrvineTim]

I did not get a voucher
How do I get one?

[burnsniper]

Originally Posted by IrvineTim

I did not get a voucher

Did you finance through BMW?

[burnsniper]

Originally Posted by jmg

My voucher for BMW PDS is expiring, so I have to decide soon if I want to use it towards a 1 day or 2 day school. Supposedly the first day of the 2 day school is the same thing as the 1 day school. Is $2500 really worth the extra day? For those who have done the 2 day, what do you do learn exactly on that 2nd day?

I understand it comes with a hotel and dinner, but that's still a bit steep. Rumor has it you get a jacket too? Anyone have pics of the jacket?

You get a jacket, polo, tee shirt, leather bound notebook, pen, and hat. Also, using the voucher actually gets you 4x free nights! Ashville, NC (beer capital of the South) is only 1 hr away so make it a long weekend!

The second day consists of 4x more high speed sessions (2x on the long track in M4s and M2s; plus 1x session practicing the high speed, double apex, carousel, man curve followed by an oversteer inducing compromise corner; plus 1x session practicing the corkscrew, blind curve, and and Flying V series) and two more figure eight dsc off skid pad sessions. Both days build on each other leading to higher speeds, longer tracks, and longer sessions.

[burnsniper]

App induced double post

[jmg]

Originally Posted by IrvineTim

I did not get a voucher
How do I get one?

I got mine though email about 4 months after delivery. It looks like junk mail, so be careful deleting email from BMW. You can also just call 1-866-744-4BMW to see if you qualify. It expires 1 year from delivery.

Originally Posted by burnsniper

The second day consists of 4x more high speed sessions (2x on the long track in M4s and M2s; plus 1x session practicing the high speed, double apex, carousel, man curve followed by an oversteer inducing compromise corner; plus 1x session practicing the corkscrew, blind curve, and and Flying V series) and two more figure eight dsc off skid pad sessions. Both days build on each other leading to higher speeds, longer tracks, and longer sessions.

That sounds fun. Is it $1500 fun? Hmm...




I'll be going to Thermal, BTW, has anyone brought their family (wife, kid) with them? Is the hotel nice enough that they can be occupied there until I get back from the BMW Center?

[Professor///M]

Originally Posted by jmg

I got mine though email about 4 months after delivery. It looks like junk mail, so be careful deleting email from BMW. You can also just call 1-866-744-4BMW to see if you qualify. It expires 1 year from delivery.




That sounds fun. Is it $1500 fun? Hmm...




I'll be going to Thermal, BTW, has anyone brought their family (wife, kid) with them? Is the hotel nice enough that they can be occupied there until I get back from the BMW Center?

The JW Marriott is. There's enough to do locally. Just be careful of the heat past June

[Professor///M]

Originally Posted by jmg

My voucher for BMW PDS is expiring, so I have to decide soon if I want to use it towards a 1 day or 2 day school. Supposedly the first day of the 2 day school is the same thing as the 1 day school. Is $2500 really worth the extra day? For those who have done the 2 day, what do you do learn exactly on that 2nd day?

I understand it comes with a hotel and dinner, but that's still a bit steep. Rumor has it you get a jacket too? Anyone have pics of the jacket?

Pm me for a full run down

[jmg]

Originally Posted by JSTDR1V

The JW Marriott is. There's enough to do locally. Just be careful of the heat past June

Is that the one that they provide free lodging at? Or does it vary depending on availability?

[SD ///M4]

Originally Posted by lukej

I'm waiting on people to chime in ,, I got a free voucher to go too..

I've did the AMG drive , it was great learned a lot,, i'm trying to decide to go to Greenville or Thermal California ...

Any pros and cons ?..

My wife and I have been to three Performance Center West events; two 1/2 day Performance Center "Experiences" with our local BMW CCA Chapter and a half-day M Track Day event. We also both attended the 2-Day M School at the Performance Center East in South Carolina.

The three events at Thermal were in September 2015, January 2016, and September 2016 and were all before their new brick and mortar building was opened. They were all pretty similar, with four-five different events scheduled, small track, large track, autocross, drag race, and a wet skidpad event.

In September 2015 the temps were over 100*. Class and lunch was held inside large rigid-frame temporary structures and the heat was no problem. With the opening of their new building, I don't believe the temporary structures are still used. Outside, they utilized very large fans and coolers full of ice with water bottles and damp towels which were very effective. In January 2016 the weather was perfect. In September 2016 it rained the night before (and rained on our drive there and back) so the track was damp in the morning and we had to run with full traction control on. The track dried out as the day went on and we were allowed to run with MDM. I believe that one of the lodging options for the 2-Day M School is the J.W. Marriott, which is a top-tier luxury resort. Our Experiences and the M Track Day didn't include lodging, so we stayed the night before (both were morning sessions) at a local Courtyard Marriott IIRC. We got t-shirts each time.

We both attended the 2-day M School at the Performance Center East in October 2015. My wife got some pretty good bonuses that year, so for us, we wanted the 2-Day M School and didn't even consider the 1-Day. We chose to go there because we had friends in Atlanta, Greenville, SC, and Asheville, NC. We also stayed at hotels that my wife's company owns in Hilton Head and New Orleans, so we made a two-week trip out of it, and her company paid her airfare because she had meetings with the GMs. The facilities there are well-established and pretty nice. It rained pretty heavily the day before the school but the weather the first day was great although the track was damp in the morning. The second day the weather was perfect. Lodging is at the Greenville Marriott, which is your average Marriott. The included dinner we had there the night before was actually pretty good. As mentioned above, with the 2-Day School you get a jacket, polo shirt, and other goodies. You used to get an open-face helmet painted in M colors, but they discontinued that a few years ago. I don't know what kind of swag you get with the 1-Day School.

Edited to add: Another thing I should mention is that Greenville is a very pretty town. There is a river running through the center of town, with a large park, waterfalls, an awesome bridge. The downtown area is divided into two sections, with the older, classic buildings on one side and newer, modern buildings on the other side. We arrived Thursday afternoon and left on Monday late afternoon after the M School. Because we were both enrolled, our lodging was for four days and ran from Thursday night through Monday morning checkout. On Thursday we visited the BMW CCA Foundation, with lots of BMW memorabilia. On Friday, we visited the BMW Zentrum and took the plant tour. Late Friday afternoon we went downtown and visited friends at the BMW CCA offices. Coincidentally, Greenville's "Fall into Greenville" street festival started at 5:00 PM on Friday night and ran through the weekend. We spent Friday night walking up and down the main street, enjoying beer, food, and lots of bands. It made for a great Friday night!

As you can tell, the time of year and the weather can play a big factor in how things will go. I'd definitely stay from Thermal from May through September, unless extremely hot temps are your thing. Best to consult your favorite weather site or app and look for month-to-month averages for temperature and precipitation before you pick your date.

[SD ///M4]

Originally Posted by jmg

My voucher for BMW PDS is expiring, so I have to decide soon if I want to use it towards a 1 day or 2 day school. Supposedly the first day of the 2 day school is the same thing as the 1 day school. Is $2500 really worth the extra day? For those who have done the 2 day, what do you do learn exactly on that 2nd day?

I understand it comes with a hotel and dinner, but that's still a bit steep. Rumor has it you get a jacket too? Anyone have pics of the jacket?

You get more track time, so you learn to do things better (practice makes perfect). One the first day you do sections of the track at a time, learning the lines, braking points, etc., and on the second day the entire track is opened for full sessions. As you mentioned, the additional cost also covers another night in the hotel. For the 2-Day School at Performance Center East, you get dinner the night before, breakfast at the hotel both days, lunch at the facility both days, and dinner at the facility on the first night.

Here's a photo of the jackets and polos. They deliver them to your room while you're having dinner the night before. They inadvertently gave my wife a Mens jacket and polo, but this was remedied the next day.

[snareman]

I voted for the 2 day course. I did a combo PCD/2 day M school on October with perfect weather in the 70s. I had never done any track driving before so it was quite the experience. After M school I realized how much PCD is such a small taste of the experience there. Barely an appetizer.

My stomach was admittedly not fond of the hard braking into sharp turns, and more so doing it for long periods of time. Some of the longer lapping sessions were over 20min and there were times where I was wondering when it was going to end (for my stomach's sake). The driving is an absolute blast though. It's all "challenge by choice" as they say. Drive to whatever level you're comfortable with.

Some of the highlights of the second day are that the get the entire class lapping THE ENTIRE outer track the same time, from that large sweeping 70mph curve on the left over and down the hill into that autocross section on the right, and doing it cycling through all 3 cars (M2, 3, 4). I forget which day you get a lot of time attempting to drift around the skid pad (which most of us sucked at), but I want to think it was the second day? I could be wrong

The class is DARN expensive. I tried not to think about the fact that I was spending $2k/day. I paid full price - a 15% BMWCCA discount. I would do it again, although I'd dose myself with Zofran both in the morning before starting and then again at lunch.

The swag is nice. I've worn the jacket a bunch. The kinda thin white golf shirt not at much other than the last day there when I was somehow running out of clean clothes. I think they used to give helmets which I'm kind of glad they stopped as I wouldn't have anything to do with it and they don't have you wear them while driving anymore. I never felt even remotely unsafe during the any of the 3 days. As they pointed out - the roads are where its dangerous. It's all safe here with big wide tracks and grass off the edges.

Anyway, that was a lot of rambling, but I'd do the 2 day course again as I'd feel like I was leaving early and not getting the full experience just doing the 1 day.

[jmg]

Originally Posted by snareman

I voted for the 2 day course. I did a combo PCD/2 day M school on October with perfect weather in the 70s. I had never done any track driving before so it was quite the experience. After M school I realized how much PCD is such a small taste of the experience there. Barely an appetizer.

My stomach was admittedly not found of the hard braking into sharp turns, and more so doing it for long periods of time. Some of the longer lapping sessions were over 20min and there were times where I was wondering when it was going to end (for my stomach's sake). The driving is an absolute blast. It's all "challenge by choice" as they say. Drive to whatever level you're comfortable with.

Some of the highlights of the second day is that the get the entire class lapping THE ENTIRE outer track the same time, from that large sweeping 70mph curve on the left over and down the hill into that autocross section on the right, and doing it cycling through all 3 cars (M2, 3, 4). I forget which day you get a lot of time attempting to drift around the skid pad, but I want to think it was the second day? I could be wrong

The class is DARN expensive. I paid full price - a 15% BMWCCA discount. I would do it again, although I'd dose myself with Zofran both in the morning before starting and then again at lunch.

The swag is nice. I've worn the jacket a bunch. The kinda thin white golf shirt not at much other than the last day there when I was somehow running out of clean clothes. I think they used to give helmets which I'm kind of glad they stopped as I wouldn't have anything to do with it and they don't have you wear them while driving anymore. I never felt even remotely unsafe during the any of the 3 days. As they pointed out - the roads are where its dangerous. It's all safe here with big wide tracks and grass off the edges.

Anyway, that was a lot of rambling, but I'd do the 2 day course again as I'd feel like I was leaving early and not getting the full experience just doing the 1 day.

Thanks for this, I think I have made my decision. 2-Day for me if my voucher is still good. I'll would probably be wondering what would have been if I didn't do the 2nd day. No regrets this way!

I get queasy on the track and in the canyons after a few hours, but I've never gotten sick. I should be alright, right?

BTW, is this overhead the SC track?

[SD ///M4]

We also used our BMW CCA 15% discount as others have mentioned. So if you're not already a BMW CCA member, you need to join RIGHT NOW before you make your reservations by clicking on this link.

Membership is only $48/year and you will save far more than that with the 15% discount on an M School.

[snareman]

Originally Posted by jmg

Thanks for this, I think I have made my decision. 2-Day for me if my voucher is still good. I'll would probably be wondering what would have been if I didn't do the 2nd day. No regrets this way!

I get queasy on the track and in the canyons after a few hours, but I've never gotten sick. I should be alright, right?

BTW, is this overhead the SC track?

Yes, that's the SC track. I can't say how your stomach would be for sure, but I don't think I was every close to actually vomiting. I just didn't push the car as hard as some of the longer sessions went on. I was fine for a few laps. It was just the cumulative of all of the braking and turning. And then you do the demo laps with the instructors before some of the sessions and you realize how they drive on an entirely different level of aggressive braking and cornering.

[snareman]

I took delivery in August and redelivery in October. Am I still supposed to get a voucher? I'd go back and do the 1 day school for free now that I've already done the 2 day. Does it matter lease vs finance? I'm with BMW financial.

[SD ///M4]

Originally Posted by snareman

I took delivery in August and redelivery in October. Am I still supposed to get a voucher? I'd go back and do the 1 day school for free now that I've already done the 2 day. Does it matter lease vs finance? I'm with BMW financial.

The voucher is for the BMW Performance Driver's School, which is not an M School and is not in M cars. You can apply the value of the 1-Day Driver's School ($849) to either the 1-Day ($1,550) or 2-Day M School ($3,999) if you want. Those are the prices before the BMW CCA 15% discount.

I took Euro delivery in May 2016 and redelivery in July 2016. I did not get an e-mail from BMW for this. After a member posted in another thread that he called BMW and they sent him a voucher, I called and was told that I'd be called back in a few days. Didn't happen. Gotta call again.

[Kief]

Isn't the 1-day M School a prerequisite in order to enroll in the 2-day M School?

Anyway, as noted above, I recently applied the credit from the complimentary 1-Day Car Control School (already did this back in 2010) to the 1-day M School. The final cost (after applying the BMWCCA 15% discount) is $595 for the M School, 2 night hotel, and food!!! I'm planning on going this summer when my brother-in-law picks up his M4 at the PCD. We are both doing the school!

[burnsniper]

Originally Posted by snareman

Yes, that's the SC track. I can't say how your stomach would be for sure, but I don't think I was every close to actually vomiting. I just didn't push the car as hard as some of the longer sessions went on. I was fine for a few laps. It was just the cumulative of all of the braking and turning. And then you do the demo laps with the instructors before some of the sessions and you realize how they drive on an entirely different level of aggressive braking and cornering.

Multiple people in my class sat out sessions (not full sessions) due to motion sickness the first day. They all were on Dramamine the second day. The course is way more intense than most roads and many tracks (more turns).

[Professor///M]

Originally Posted by jmg

Is that the one that they provide free lodging at? Or does it vary depending on availability?

Since they offered me compensation for a free "car control school" they gave me monetary credit and a 2 night stay at the JW Marriott. The "Advanced M School" was accomodated by the Waldorf Astoria @ La Quinta. I happened to like the Marriott better overall, but that's just me. I'm sure everyone else in the world would say differently