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      10-13-2014, 01:26 PM   #1
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First Advanced ///M School with F8X at VIR (Course and F8X track review)

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Dear All,

Earlier this year, I had booked the regular two day ///M school in Spartanburg. I had greatly anticipated to see the F8X at that school but we ended up having the then still common setup fleet of E92 ///M3, F10 ///M5 and F12 ///M6. While I was initially a bit disappointed, I really learned to like the E92 on the track a lot. All in all, the school was great and I booked advanced ///M school only days after returning from the regular school.

So with much anticipation, I attended the advanced ///M school at VIR last week. This anticipation was built up even more after receiving an email from Donnie Isley, one of the senior instructors at BMW PDS, announcing that this would be the first school to use the new F8X. So as promised, I wanted to share my experience with you. This post is intended to give an overview of the school program itself as well as a brief review of my track impressions of the F8X.

Best,
Hartmut Kraft




A. The Advanced ///M School at VIR

Virginia International Raceway (www.virnow.com) is a multi-purpose road course near Danville in Virginia on the border to North Carolina. Like many of its kind the course is a bit in the middle of nowhere. If you are out of town, you have to fly into Durham (RDU, beautiful little airport, see picture) and take about an hour ride north to the track.


You can click on all pictures to get a full HD version.

I arrived Monday late afternoon at the track with beautiful weather. There is accommodation on the actual track property, The Lodge and The Villas. Thinking that the lodge would be where everything would be happening, I booked a room there. It is a very simple but clean hostel that is located a literal stone throw away from the track. Next time, I would probably book the Villas as they are also nestled right on the track property with an even better view of the south part of the track. Since both are only meant for sleeping and the dinners are held elsewhere, it doesn’t matter logistically which lodging to book. But I definitely recommend booking these onsite rooms as it makes things real convenient. There isn’t any luxury hotel around anyway.








After dropping off my bags at the lodge, I took a quick ride to the main paddock area and was lucky to meet the logistic staff of BMW PDS who were just about to unload the cars of the trucks. Usually, the cars are trucked from Spartanburg to the track. But I learned later that apparently sometimes, Donnie arranges for a group of students to drive some of the cars up to the track if the course is on a Monday and Tuesday (ours was Tuesday and Wednesday). They seem to meet in Spartanburg and then take a weekend tour up to VIR with some scenic and culinary stops in between. I will definitely see to be part of this next time.


For the evening prior to the school, BMW had arranged for a cocktail hour and dinner at the Oak Tree Tavern. A beautiful little colonial inn on the track property with bar and restaurant. All the instructors and most students attended. That is also where we met Matt Mullins, the chief instructor at BMW PDS. After some hors d'oeuvre and open bar, dinner was served. It was fun meeting the other students and getting to know the instructors.



1. Day One

The day started at 8.30am with a meeting in a class room on the main paddock area. I went early to take a couple of shots of the cars only to learn that instead of ///M3, ///M5 and ///M6, we would have ///M3s, ///M4s and ///M5s. While I liked the ///M6 at the regular school, I certainly welcomed the opportunity to drive and compare both, the F80 as well as the F82.











We started the day with a light breakfast and coffee served in the classroom and then went through about an hour of basic instructions. Most of these instructions where replications of the class room sessions at the regular ///M school, in fact, Matt used the same slides for the presentation. I personally found that rather obsolete and it certainly only helped me to get even antsier to get into the seat. This is when I learned that contrary to my believe and the information on the BMW website, it is NOT a firm requirement for participation in the advanced ///M school to have gone through the regular school. There were a good number of students that had not attended regular ///M school. They apparently had other experiences that were sufficient to list with the registration personnel to enroll in the advanced school.





I would have expected a bit more dissection of the actual track and pre-briefing of the actual segments and turns of the track rather than general cornering techniques. That would be one of the very very few suggestions for improvement that I would have.

The students were split up in three random groups of four respectively five students. If you come with your best buddy, both could join the same group. With a total of 13 students, we had two groups of four and one group of five. I started in a group of four and we were assigned to a technical class on the South Course of the track using the F82s.





We drove all five cars (four students and Tommie, the instructor) to the Oak Tree corner of the track where we got out and first discussed the turn in theory. Adam, another instructor gave a us a brief demonstration how to handle this intricate section of the track, it’s turning points and apexes.



We then got into our cars, did two slower lead follow laps with Tommie around the South Course before we staged up to specifically attack the Oak Tree Turn only. That meant that each car stopped at South Bend (turn 10) and then we just drove the Oak Tree section of the track (turn 11 and 12) to come to a stop on the track at the South Paddock Area. I personally find this type of track learning rather disruptive and I wish, we would have just lapped the South Course with instructors staged at turn 11 and 12 to send us instructions through the two-way radios that were on of board every car. I never really got into the rhythm of this difficult corner. Later, when tracking the full course, I felt that this was actually detrimental to how I ended up handling this track segment (excuses, excuses ;-).



We switched groups and did the same exercise on turn 1 with the F10s. This time, we used the North Course to get around and back to the staging area which was a bit more fun. Instead of just turn in an apex cones (all the corners at VIR have permanent break zone signs installed so we didn’t need to use cones for braking indication) the instructors had also put out actual cornering cones in the middle of the track. I found that quite irritating as I felt that the line would have been on or so close to the cones that if I would have driven my actual line, I would have hit the cones every time. But of course I gave the instructors the benefit of doubt – they obviously know what they are doing.



The third session on the first morning was reserved for some exercises on the skid bad with the F80s. I really loved the skid circle sessions at the regular school with the E92s so I was very happy to get more of that action in the F80. The difference at VIR is that the skid pad is not concrete like the circle in Spartanburg but relatively new asphalt. It is also considerably slanted and part wet part dry. These changes make a continuous drift a lot harder. I was rather bummed that I barely made 1.5 rounds of continued drifting. It felt much more difficult to apply a quick blip with the throttle of the F80 to get the car into over-steer. Not to antedate some of my most important findings about the F80: Trying to drift this car felt like trying to break a car that was built from the ground up to excel in superb grip. I was literally fighting the goodness of this amazing vehicle. So much so that the skid pad turned out to be a real workout (seriously, I was breathing heavily, had a pulse of 150 and was sweating quite a bit). I also realized that the Sport throttle setting leaves a lot more room for throttle modulation that the Sport+ setting. I left this setting on for the rest of the school and really enjoyed it.



After these three morning sessions, we enjoyed a hearty lunch (pulled pork, bbq chicken, cole slaw etc.) at the Hospitality Pavillion on the North Paddock. After lunch, we went back to the classroom and did a brief roundup of the morning session. Then, a special guest, Victor, product manager F8X from BMW NA gave a presentation about the new ///M3 and ///M4. At first, I thought it felt a bit too much like a sales pitch but it ended up actually being quite interesting. My most important question was: Which one is the better car, the F80 or the F82. The answer was crystal clear, neither one is as they are essentially identical and unlike the E90/92, Victor attested that both cars are equally capable without any restrictions. There is no evidence that the ///M4 is in any way a faster or more track-ready car than the ///M3. We also learned that but for the doors, the front lights and the windows, the ///M3 and ///M4 share nothing with the regular 3 and 4 series.



A fun side effect was that Victor also brought the new X6. I have to admit that I never understood and certainly never liked the concept of the X6. Now with the new model, BMW has for the first time in a long while clearly transgressed design standards that we have all come to love. I am talking about the pre-2014 MB E-Class style curved shape of the rear fenders. I am sorry, but that’s an absolute no-no and unfortunately I think this car is all encompassing ugly and superfluous.





During lunch break, the track was also briefly occupied by two stock cars doing some practice laps.



The afternoon was yet again split in three sessions with more time on the skid pad (this time clockwise where before it was counter-clockwise) with the ///M3 and full course lead-follow sessions both, in the ///M3 as well as in the ///M5. During those full course sessions, it became clear very quickly that the F80 is much at home on the track than the F10. Not a surprise of course but so definitive that I had my worst fears starting to come true – which is, I will like the new ///M3 so much that my current souped up F10 ///M5 might soon need to be replaced.

During the full course lead follow sessions, the groups are further split into ensembles of two students plus one instructor only. The instructor leads the course at a pace that is just fast enough for the students to keep up. The student immediately following the instructor dictates the pace as the instructor will steadily increase the speed as long as this first student keeps up. That means that it is perfectly ok for the second student to fall back. One session is about 12-14 laps and first and second student switch positions 3-4 times. I was fortunate enough to be paired with Marc, aka @mvigod, this first afternoon and I really felt we were a great team. Pushing the limits when being in the lead often times drove me to make stupid mistakes. I basically felt I am driving much better, smoother and ultimately prepped for faster lap times when I was following Marc. I always compare the attempt to reach the fastest possible lap time with a golf swing. The harder you try, the likelier it is that you don’t succeed. You really need to have your technique down to the iota and then try to go at it with as much ease as possible. Just my 2cts.

Track time ended at 5.30 sharp, just when I felt about getting acclimatized to the cars and the track. The relatively early ending (day two ends at 4.30pm) was one thing that bothered me already during the regular school. I don’t expect everybody to be enthusiastic enough to push through sun set. But I would have said that an extra 45 minutes or so would have added a lot of value.

After a brief recess in the private quarters, the group met up for cocktails again at the Oak Tree Tavern. I brought a track map and Johann, Donnie and Matt were kind enough to go through some of my questions. It’s a fine line between listening to experienced drivers and focusing on your own healthy feel of the car, the track and it’s line.

Dinner was fine, certainly nothing over the top but absolutely adequate for the occasion. Much more important: Super fun hang out with likeminded people. I had to call it quits early after dinner because I was schlepping around a (non-contagious) fever and wanted to be fit for the next day.



2. Day Two

It was great coming back to paddock area refreshed the next day at 8am and seeing all the gorgeous cars lined up again. When I woke up, it was so much fun to see that the track was cleaned up for us.


Day two of the advanced ///M school is entirely reserved for lap time. Most of the time is done in lead-follow sessions as described above but at a much faster pace. The groups are re-arranged according to the skill level and speed that was determined during the previous day. The lead follow sessions are faster with less switches since the pairing is even more level.

We started the day with another brief class session. Matt explained that we would use the full course all day which opened up the Patriot Course in the south center section of the property. The three groups were split up with two groups running the full course (delayed by half a minute each which gives room for four teams of 3 cars) and one group running the Patriot course.







I absolutely loved the ///M4 on the full course, too bad that they didn’t have them prepped yet with Race-Tracker equipment. Although I had my GoPros with me I was stupid enough to forget one extra joint for horizontal mounting. In the absence of a glass sun roof in the F8X, I could only mount my GoPro on the outside of the car for a clip on the Patriot Course. I know that some students had heavy GoPro equipment with them. I will certainly try to reach out and see if they can share their videos. If you were part of this class, please also post your videos.


The Patriot Course is a short and medium technical configuration that is excellent for skill building. The ///M5 would be completely lost on this curvy track without much straights. The changes in elevation are high and overall this is a fun little piece of track. We ended the day on this course with timed laps. Each of us got one warm up lap and two hot laps, the fastest lap time counted.

During the day, the Patriot course was the only course that was used for a quasi open track session only that the cars were spaced out so much that passing wasn’t even a question. So students that have a lot of track experience (especially controlled open track sessions with point-by passing or timed races with unrestricted passing) might certainly get frustrated with the format of the ///M school sessions. But this is ///M SCHOOL not ///M track days. You can talk to the instructors and if they sense that you know what you are doing, they will absolutely push you to your limits. All of them are absolute Pros and have vast more experience and seat time than the average ///M driver. In the end, I was more frustrated with having learned more about my own limits and inaptitude than not having been pushed hard enough. I know it will take me a lot more time and practice to come even close to the limits of these cars. The video below shows me struggling with the F10 around the full course. I wish I could show you the same perspective during my session with the F80 and F82. You would have seen me smiling a lot more.


During the afternoon of the second day you could start feeling that the seat time is wearing people down. Some were even skipping a session or two. I always felt that the 15-25 minutes breaks between the sessions were more than enough but I am obviously an over-eager son of a Bavarian ;-)





The one thing that really ticked me off was the lack of coffee in the afternoon (that’s well taken care of in Spartanburg). In the afternoon of the second day, we even ran out of water and we had only soda and Powerade left in the coolers.


3. Summary

Despite the fact that I was half sick, I had an absolute blast at the advanced ///M school at VIR. I don’t know how many ///M drivers are asking themselves if it is worth the money. Well, during my last open track days (two consecutive days), I used up a set of brand new tires and brake pads and I ended up overheating my brake disks and warped them. All that plus labor plus the fees for the track and gas (I spent $500 alone on gas for the two days) were almost twice as much as the two day advanced ///M school. Ok, if you drive wiser than me and you have carbon ceramics and race pads, you might not use up as much. But I would definitely judge the school not to be overpriced but well worth the money.

The instructors were absolutely great, one nicer than the other and enough experience combines to teach all of us a great lesson. Matt was a phenomenal chief instructor and a super nice guy. I spend most of my time with him, Donnie and Johann and also some time with Tommie and Adam, all of which were fabulous. Donnie has some special programs going on involving the Ring that I might be able to follow up with you all shortly ;-)

VIR is a wonderful race track. If you take the combination of South, North and Full Course as well as Patriot, I would consider this track very technical. The property is extremely well maintained and absolutely beautifully situated. The long straightaways will get you speeds close to 160mph. I personally don’t get too much out of straights so I would rarely exceed 140mph. But there are a couple of S-passages and cork screws that you will pass with 60-100mph and that is exhilarating enough for the average speed junkie.

If you have not much track experience and you are getting nervous every time you are pushing your ///M car above 90mph on the highway, you will have your fair share of freaking out on this track. It was my first time at VIR and it is likely that I will be back. If you have already done regular two day ///M school, don’t hesitate to book the advanced ///M school. Again, unless you have open track time every other weekend on your own, it is entirely different from regular ///M school and well worth it. One noticeable difference btw. is the need to fuel up the cars. In Spartanburg that happens unnoticed while you are taking your breaks between sessions. At the tracks of the advanced school, you have to assist the logistics guys and instructors in doing that. Much closer to a regular track day.

The cars are amazing. Don’t get me wrong, I still absolutely love my ///M5 but at VIR, the F8X were clearly more at home and brought about more excitement than the F10. The cars are obviously meticulously maintained. Very much to my liking all of them were equipped with the Michelin PSS (in Spartanburg they have a deal with Continental which I found very disappointing). All cars also feature carbon ceramic brakes. I could not feel any difference in initial braking power on the ///M5 over my regular compound disks. But the brake fade that you will get with regular disks after a couple of laps and the need to cool them down is inevitable and makes a huge difference if you want to track regularly and for extended periods of time. I will very likely get them with my next ///M car. The F10s were also all equipped with competition package. I am glad to report that with the mods on my non CP car, I felt that my car handled at least as good and was much more powerful.

So all in all a three thumbs up experience. If you have any further questions about the school, please never hesitate to contact me at any time. Maybe we can organize a bimmerpost only special advanced ///M school for early next year with special pricing ;-)








B. Tracking the F8X

In this brief section, I will not make any distinction between the ///M3 and the ///M4. I drove both cars an equal amount of time and an equal amount of laps. And after spending two days with these two cars, I can honestly say that I did indeed not feel much of a difference. To me, who I can only justify another four door sedan to my family, this is very important and you can imagine my incredible relieve when I found out. The only construction difference of the ///M4 (besides the obvious missing two doors) is in essence only the mix carbon fiber and plastic trunk lid. The reason for that, according to Victor, is that they built the ///M3 first and when designing the ///M4, the different roof line required the much more protruding trunk lid for aerodynamic reasons. That is the only reason why the trunk is made from different materials on the ///M4. The weight difference overall is negligible. The cars feel much bigger than previous generations and on the skid pad I had to look twice as I thought we might have taken out the ///M5s. It’s a big car and the fact that these new F8X shed weight over the outgoing E9X is impressive. So here are my impressions in detail.


1. Power

Simple: The car is fast. I could only try to compare my butt dyno to my own F10 and would say that this care comes close in overall performance. Now I have added some juice to my own ///M5 so that’s a bit unfair. At VIR, it is also unfair to compare the stock CP ///M5s to the ///M3 because sheer power does not help on a road course. There is absolutely no doubt that the better lap times are achieved on this course with an F8X over a F1X. So in comparison to a tuned ///M5, the car might lag a bit but since there are already piggy bag tunes out there for the F8X, this might level off easily.

The car produces astonishing torque (not just in numbers but also on the butt-dyno) pretty much across the entire rev band. While everybody encourages to shift early and on the VIR full course many of the turns were told to be 3rd gear corners, I personally prefer to keep the engine in the upper 1/3 of the rev range and take these turns in 2nd gear. Not only do I sense more feedback in the range, including the increased noise, but I still felt even more boost between 5000 and 7000.

2. Handling

Phenomenal. That’s all I can say. As mentioned above, I had a hard time spinning this thing out of control on the skids pad even with DSC off, it’s that planted. It obviously still feels different to a Corvette or a 911 but the gap is noticeably less over the F10. I felt relatively little body roll, the adaptive suspension is firm but doesn’t knock out your teeth. For track use, I would always wish that BMW would sharpen the Sport+ setting to be considerably stiffer over Sport. I would tune Sport+ in a way that it is essentially useless for every day driving. Or simply add a super harsh “track” mode.

I had no issues with the much discussed steering at all. It felt extremely precise and responsive. I would leave the setting to Comfort most of the time as that has enough resistance to me and it is just easier on your arms. Unless you do 1/4 mile or some Nascar oval, the comfort setting will really help you on a regular road track.

Throttle response and modulation reminded me a lot of the F10. Both in Sport and Sport+ settings (see my prior comments on that), the throttle response is prompt and very precise. While Sport gives you enough smoothness to carefully modulate throttle, the room for adjustments on the Sport+ setting is very limited and response is borderline harsh.

Braking the car is a blast. The brakes are ultra precise, the wonderful balance of the car makes handling even under strong braking conditions still very controlled. The overall nimbleness and relative low weight of the car gives you a great feel of the shifting weight, especially on a track like VIR. The constant changes in elevation and the variety of shapes in turns truly gives the driver an opportunity to dance with the car. It takes a while to do so as you first need to obviously familiarize yourself with the track but after a while, you can feel and play with the grip patches of your tires on weight shift in a very unique way (definitely not a comparison to the F10 where the same game is much less effortless).

I personally am a huge fan of the DCT. Sport and Sport+ settings are fine, Sport+ under full load is like a kick in your sternum. Both up- and down-shifts are superiorly fast. Unfortunately, ///M school allows DSC off only on the skid pad and not on the road course. While I understand that for safety reasons only MDM can be used, it is really sad that there is no controlled way to experience a car like the F80 ///M3 on a track like VIR with DSC off. Don’t get me wrong, you still can spin the car off the track in MDM if you are making a mistake and of course it is really easy to fly into the banks with DSC off in a sharp 80mph turn. However, especially with the many modulations in the fascinating course and the need to make good use of the curb in many turns, MDM is in essence kicking in almost all throughout the track. I found that most noticeable and annoying throughout turns 4-6a (left hook and snake) as well as in the famous Oak Tree corner (turn 11 and 12). Even more so on the Patriot course which is much slower and technical. MDM would literally light up throughout the entire course. I am aware that this means in part that I was simply not squeezing the throttle gently enough and in that sense drove “incorrectly” but since we are not always in the game of beating the fastest lap time but also in the game of simply having fun, MDM was a bit limiting at times.

3. Sound

This shouldn’t be a separate section but since there is so much discussion about the sound of this car over the E90, let me comment: Of course a naturally aspirated V8 will sound different than a turbo charged I6. There is no comparison. But I was surprised to experience how aggressive the new ///M3 sounds. Definitely much louder and more aggressive at any stage (other than cold start) than the F10 ///M5. For a daily driver I would feel that it might sometimes even be a tad too much. I am not sure how much of the sound was artificially pumped through the speakers. At full throttle the car makes an angry growl. I personally feel that the sound is clearly much less “impressive” than the E9X. However, at the same time, I would say that the F8X sounds more “professional” if that makes any sense. The sound is much more high pitched (screechy at times if you will) than with the E90 and that makes it sound more like a track/race car to me. It clearly does not have the sound of a muscle car. Here is a video of a drive-by of the ///M3 at around 130mph.


4. Conclusion

Clearly, the ///M school has a strong marketing angle to it. BMW succeeded to convince me of the superior qualities of the F80 ///M3. As much as I love my F10 ///M5, it will be replaced by an F80 soon after the coming winter. I don’t drive hundreds of miles on the highway (where the F10 is clearly superior). I would not get anxious without soft close doors and the space on the rear seats honestly is as much in the F80 as it is in the F10 (less wide, though, of course). But instead you get a much more planted, agile and aggressive car that will outrun an F10 on a curvy track any time.

I clearly like the much more understated look of the F10 better. But the F80 ///M3 is a fascinating car that just drives so well that you cannot pass on it. If your garage space, wallet and wife allows you to, I would highly recommend the combination of F10 ///M5 and a highly decked out, max despec’d and tuned F82 ///M4.

---

Thank you for making it through all of this with me. If you have any questions, just let me know. I am pretty sure that I will come up with information that I have left out over the course of this thread.



Here is another video from inside the F10 battling the full course. I am posting this as well just because the GoPro quality is better than the Race-Keeper cams.


Last edited by (H); 10-24-2016 at 09:34 AM.. Reason: Picture URLs now corrected
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      10-13-2014, 01:37 PM   #2
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Wow!! Fantastic write-up!! Very well done and it was a pleasure to read, see and listen to
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      10-13-2014, 01:40 PM   #3
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epic epic post, thank you for sharing all this. Really enjoyed all of it
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      10-13-2014, 01:53 PM   #4
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Great post...really appreciate all the work that went into putting that together! Great write-up!
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      10-13-2014, 02:24 PM   #5
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great review, and great pics, thanks!

Quote:
4My most important question was: Which one is the better car, the F80 or the F82. The answer was crystal clear, neither one is as they are essentially identical and unlike the E90/92, Victor attested that both cars are equally capable without any restrictions. There is no evidence that the ///M4 is in any way a faster or more track-ready car than the ///M3.
Yeah, pretty much it comes down to looks and utility of 4 doors vs 2. I think there is about a 40 lbs weight difference (M4 being lighter), but that is not enough for anyone's butt dyno to notice, either in a straight line, or a turn.
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      10-13-2014, 02:28 PM   #6
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Quote:
Originally Posted by (H) View Post

Unfortunately, ///M school allows DSC off only on the skid pad and not on the road course. While I understand that for safety reasons only MDM can be used, it is really sad that there is no controlled way to experience a car like the F80 ///M3 on a track like VIR with DSC off. Don’t get me wrong, you still can spin the car off the track in MDM if you are making a mistake and of course it is really easy to fly into the banks with DSC off in a sharp 80mph turn. However, especially with the many modulations in the fascinating course and the need to make good use of the curb in many turns, MDM is in essence kicking in almost all throughout the track. I found that most noticeable and annoying throughout turns 4-6a (left hook and snake) as well as in the famous Oak Tree corner (turn 11 and 12). Even more so on the Patriot course which is much slower and technical. MDM would literally light up throughout the entire course. I am aware that this means in part that I was simply not squeezing the throttle gently enough and in that sense drove “incorrectly” but since we are not always in the game of beating the fastest lap time but also in the game of simply having fun, MDM was a bit limiting at times.
]
completely agree with your assessment of the f8x (except the looks, I think it looks much better than the m5, but im 31 haha).

I will say that the paragraph right there kills M school for me, and I was strongly considering signing up for one after my awesome PCD experience. MDM is a huge bummer in this car, and I want to learn how to be a better driver with DSC completely off.

great writeup, and thanks a ton for the detailed description
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      10-13-2014, 03:26 PM   #7
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Very nice writeup! Thanks for the details. ///M school probably isn't in the cards as I'm able to get in several track days at VIR annually.
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      10-13-2014, 06:25 PM   #8
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Beautiful write-up of the entire event H

Great photos and videos. I felt like I was reliving it all over again! I'll bookmark this thread as a record of my experience there at VIR last week. Thanks so much.

I very much agree with you on all the points you made as well. I think you nailed all the salient points and observations on the M3/4. A phenomenal car. I asked the instructor which car on VIR would win in the hands of the same instructor (so apples to apples) and he stated they would be within 1 second of each other.

Like you, I also felt more confident on this track in the M3/M4's. It doesn't have the sheer horsepower of the M5 but it's a joy pushing it in the corners. IF you could combine the M5 HP with everything else the M3/M4's have then it would be even more amazing if not perfect.

As H points out the M Dynamic Mode does hold you back at times. It looks for the wheel to be straight before it allows you full power so you have to get back to straight quickly. If DSC was completely off you could push the back around a little quicker in some corners and get access to the power faster. Then again you might get too much and spin around and those ticks of the clock you saved might be flushed! LOL. I'd have to try it to see I guess.

I loved the sound of the M3/M4's. I never thought for a second that the car didn't sound simply awesome. I own a 2013 M5 and the new M3/M4's to me had a better note. A deeper sounding growl. Like H said, that could be synthetic through the speakers but who knows. It was good. Often times too loud to hear the instructors over the two way radio. That would be one improvement they could work on. Louder radios or pipe through the stereo or helmet earpieces so we could hear them. I often strained to figure out what the feedback or instructions were and that makes me think too much when I shouldn't be thinking.

I don't have any add'l pictures as they would all be redundant to H's already posted here. He captured it all really well. I may have a video of the inside of a Villa and if I still have it I'll post it here later in case somebody wants a walk through. My Villa was great. Big suite. Large bedroom with full in suite bathroom. Separate shower and jacuzzi. Large kitchen with granite counters, cherry cabinets and floors. Large dining area with 8 seat table. Living room with couch and TV (bedroom and living room Dish TV). 2nd Floor terrace overlooking the track. Parking spot right at the unit and another one covered if you prefer that or have 2nd car there. I was impressed with the accomodations. Probably overkill for one person but I admit I'm spoiled when it comes to hotels/lodging

I had a fantastic time at VIR M School. I was so lucky to get paired up with H the first day. As I said in another thread the H man was fast out there. Really fast. Some laps I could keep up and others he was just gone! He was pushing it hard out there and that helped me try to keep pushing faster. At the end of the 2nd and final day, we did timed runs with all the students on the smaller Patriot Course and "H" took 1st place. I wasn't surprised at all as I watched him flying around the track from day one. Congrats to H on that winning time and an impressive fast lap.

Last, I will reiterate what H said regarding the entire team of instructors. All super talented, great teachers, patient and most important very nice guys. Whatever BMW pays those guys they should double it. Then double it again. What great brand ambassadors.

I look forward to my next experience. What would I wish for? Maybe a one day drift school followed by a traction control OFF day at a small yet safe track with lots of runoff like Spartanburg! Count me in!
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      10-13-2014, 06:49 PM   #9
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GREAT write up! Thanks for sharing this awesome experience.
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      10-13-2014, 07:03 PM   #10
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Nice comprehensive post!
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      10-13-2014, 07:27 PM   #11
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Great post, thanks for sharing! Looks like an amazing experience
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      10-13-2014, 08:07 PM   #12
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1st Class Write Up by a 1st Class guy!
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      10-13-2014, 08:19 PM   #13
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Brilliant!
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      10-13-2014, 09:51 PM   #14
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Wow what a great write up. Thank you!
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      10-13-2014, 11:43 PM   #15
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      10-14-2014, 12:21 AM   #16
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Nice review!

I was surprised to see that they left the M6 out of the line-up. I'm sure they wanted to showcase the M3 and M4 since they are the latest additions to the //M line-up. Did they say why the M5 was included over the M6? Not trying to cast any stones or insult anyone (shoot, I don't own either one), but my preference between the two would be for the M6.

I saw where you listed the names of five instructors. I've worked with all five that you listed and I can attest that they are all fantastic. I just met Johan when I took my son to the Performance Center in August. In April, they had six instructors. Did they only bring five this time? Maybe I miscounted. The instructors have awesome jobs. I have always held their driving skills in high esteem, but after experiencing what they are capable of at ViR… Well, let's just say WOW!

Reading your review has just reinforced my desire to return for another class. The good news for me is that my wife attends the classes with me and she is just as anxious to return as I am. Maybe we will see you there. Thanks for taking to the time to put together such a thorough recap.
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      10-14-2014, 12:35 AM   #17
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Nice read indeed.
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      10-14-2014, 08:46 AM   #18
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A great story for me to re-live! It was a fun week with some great cars, an awesome race track, and pretty cool people...like yourself! I am sure our paths will cross again soon!

All the best,
Donnie Isley
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      10-14-2014, 08:58 AM   #19
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incredible write up, thank you!
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      10-14-2014, 10:33 AM   #20
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H,
Nice write-up! I feel your pain about the MDM in the 3/4 cars... Hopefully the engineers will make adjustments to make it a little more "sporty"
At the same time, would you feel comfortable letting (a random) someone drive your car with DSC full off at VIR? Sadly, I understand their aversion to that risk. Spot on about being the lead car, Bill & Victor were the hot shoes in our group and seeing them in the mirror pushed me into overdriving as well. I'm glad you enjoyed your first visit and expect to return. It was a pleasure meeting you and look forward to seeing you again. Side note; Dave was the instructor you left off the list. Following him was a totally different perspective for me. We seemed to be going "slow(er)" in the fast sections and faster in the slow sections. Lap times were nearly identical... great lesson there. You also didn't mention passing any of the M5 groups. Being able to do that on a track with such long straights speaks volumes for the F8x platform!
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      10-14-2014, 01:24 PM   #21
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Have to say, this is one of the best posts I have ever seen and read through.

well done OP, looks like it was a great time and experience.
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      10-14-2014, 01:27 PM   #22
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Great Post ...!!
Loved reading it and watching the videos
Kudos on writing to the point and covering a lot in detail
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