2018 F80 Lessons Learned

[Grayjustice]

New to the forum and felt sharing my experience might possibly help another rookie M car owner. Maybe Sharing this story will help me after the events of today.

I was finally at a point in my life professionally and mentally (mature or so I thought) where I could finally purchase my very first "M" Car. I finally chose a 2018 Base M3 and added a BMS Stage1. This care was absolute decompression happiness for me. Just driving around town, along back roads following a lake with music turned up was the best therapy ever. I enjoyed all of this with M1 set to comfort, D1 settings and TC on. I had M2 set to sport+, D3 and MDM which was my smiles per. gallon setting.

Well today after 4 whole weeks of ownership and 300 miles, I learned a very important and I'm guessing expensive few lessons.

Lesson #1-If you have never owned a car that has the power or torque of (in my case) an M car, take your time and get to know it better. Don't get over confident, which I clearly did.

Lesson #2-If your a newbie dummy like myself and want to dig (DO NOT) turn TC completely off!! Keep MDM on for goodness sakes, at least until you get some wide open space to practice on. reread lesson 1.

Lesson #3-When you fall down the Youtube rabbit hole and find yourself chuckling at the guys who WOT on a straight, lose control and go over a curb. Just remember, that can be you one day.

Today I took a friend out for a drive to show him just how great this car was and why it made me smile all the time. The drive was going great! He was amazed at how the car felt and accelerated in my M1 settings. Getting caught up in his excitement and awe, I thought hey I never turned TC completely off. Let's try it for the first time now! The only "Mentally Mature" thing I did at this point was make sure there was no traffic before smashing the pedal to the floor (the whole thing lasted maybe 6 seconds) I have the familiar fishtail feeling, except this time the rear kicks out to the right and I'm headed right for a curb and shallow drainage ditch. The whole thing felt like a bad dream. I was told numerous times today, that at least nobody was hurt and they would be correct! BUT dang what a bonehead move on my part. Anyhow, I hope this finds future M car owner who isn't used to this power and saves them from this experience. Lesson Learned.

I've attached pics of my 4 week timeline of ownership and a whopping 300 miles of smiles.

[swagon]

Hey, sorry to hear about the car. At least you now realise your mistake, which was not having enough quality seat time and adding more power despite that.

People should realise that adding power to an already very fast car is just cheap thrills and it'll get old fast. One has to be an outstanding driver to explore the limits of the car so well that that they find the power to be lacking after tyres, brakes and suspension.

MDM could have maybe saved your arse, but relying on MDM is also not ideal as it still gives you false impression of having things under control. Better to turn everything off at the track sooner than later, imo.

If the car isn't totaled, get it repaired, delete the tune and sign up for driving school and/or a track day with an instructor. After three years and five trackdays in the past 9 months, I can say that not even once have I thought that the M3 needed more power.

[Silverlining_m2]

My m4 when stock would get sideways in a hurry. Since I got bm3 stage 1 I honestly haven't put the pedal to the floor because even in 3rd going 50mph it wants to get sideways. Hope your car is ok OP. Can't imagine that it would be totalled from skipping into the dirt. Hope not anyway! I'm definitely finding the m4 to be a vehicle you control with your foot, vs steering wheel. My stage 2 435i was WOT all day, steer it straight... No comparison.

[AIRHEIR]

It can happen to any of us when we think our skills are ready to reel this thing in with TC off. Next time go to big open parking lot and try to practice having the car lose grip and then try to get it straightened out. Only way you going to get better is practice just like anything else. Sign up for BMW M school or any other driving school where you can practice on their car with driving instructors guiding you.

[khoa@x-ph.com]

Hey buddy good thing nobody got hurt.

What are the damages? In your photos it does not look that bad.

[TopJimmy]

Glad you're ok. Cars can be fixed...

I'd get the repairs done ASAP and then find a safer place to practice. IMHO one should safely and progressively learn their limits using Sport and DCT fully off, but this requires restraint, patience, practice and always being ready for Oh Crap...

Disclaimer: This works best for my learning abilities. Yours may differ.

[bmwbrad22]

Originally Posted by AIRHEIR

It can happen to any of us when we think our skills are ready to reel this thing in with TC off. Next time go to big open parking lot and try to practice having the car lose grip and then try to get it straightened out. Only way you going to get better is practice just like anything else. Sign up for BMW M school or any other driving school where you can practice on their car with driving instructors guiding you.

The best advice , I've owned and built some extremely powerful cars.

Never under estimate the power that sits beneath your foot. I have had my F80 M3 since March and I have yet to turn off any traction control settings. This will only happen when I have fully understood how the car will react as many said in an open parking lot. Sometimes you can't get control of the car back and if your on public roads you put others at risk as well.

Glad nobody was hurt , cars are always replaceable /repairable people are not.

[TheDailyDriven]

A car could be replaced but your lives cant. Glad yall were safe. Respect on sharing your experience and hopefully it can save others on similar heartaches.

[icegrill]

What are we thinking for damage?

[clutchdj]

That is the million dollar question. If it’s not going to break the bank, just get it fixed and start auto crossing the car so you can become more confident with it. Everybody crashes and burns at least once in life.

[notnow]

Did the same thing in my e92 335i FBO years ago, instantly turned into a grandpa after that.

[DocL]

The only time I've gotten close to getting sideways with the TC off was with worn tires. Yeah the car can get loose really quick, but knowing how to control with fast footwork and steering helps. You need to learn how the loss of traction and weight transfer while steering affect your trajectory.

Luckily you didn't end up like a Mustang leaving C&C and hitting a pole.

[uncle ben]

Respect for being honest and putting an opportunity to warn others before your pride. I forget sometimes that these cars can go from “fun to done” in a hurry. These stories that people share have probably saved me and others from finding out the hard way. Thanks for sharing man. Wish you and your car a speedy recovery. All the best.

[icegrill]

https://overclockers.co.uk/forums/th...cars.18852399/

Interesting thread on this unfortunate phenomenon.

[Grayjustice]

Thank you all for the words. I was definitely extremely lucky nobody got hurt. The M drive school and open parking lot are both the smart thing to do, something I wish I would have done in hindsight. The car was towed straight to the shop. My SA let me know they'll have it up on the lift tomorrow and go through everything for an estimate (Thank goodness for insurance). I'll post an update soon.

[armo]

never smash the pedal. squeeeeze the pedal. glad youre ok. cars can be fixed

[JamesGames]

Glad you're ok OP. I think by adjusting the mentality of how you drive this car alone (or any high hp RWD car) will save one's A$$. Obviously HPDE instruction days, autocross open parking lot for practice, wet open lots and what not are ideal for practicing. But mentality wise for example, if you're going to slam the throttle in first / second gear or even in third sometimes with TCS OFF, get ready for the car to get shifty. If it doesn't, great - but at least you are ready for it vs counter steering and slamming on the brakes and reacting violently to the cars loss of traction. If you are anticipating traction loss as a result of heavy throttle inputs your steering / acceleration / braking inputs will be less of an impulsive reaction and more of a planned reaction.

Nothing is scarier than an unplanned rotation from the rear of the car that typically leads to over correction / slamming brakes causing the car to violently change directions and wiping out.

[Grayjustice]

Originally Posted by khoa@x-ph.com

Hey buddy good thing nobody got hurt.

What are the damages? In your photos it does not look that bad.

So 4 guys tried to get it in shop today but it's looking like it's going to have to be vehicle dollies tomorrow so they can wheel it in on to the lift. They did jack it up to have a peek and so far looks like the following: Appears the rear and front subframes are both bent, going to need new steering rack, suspension, wheels and tires and who knows what else. I know I had instant oil and coolant loss. Adding those things up with labor and paint work it's going to be pushing about 30K. We'll find out more soon. I have the brains part squared away now but Khoa do you guys happen to sell time machines?

[Imperial328i]

Did the same thing in my M2 on hard, old MPSS in cold wet weather. Won't make that mistake again I'll tell you that!

[khoa@x-ph.com]

Originally Posted by Grayjustice

I have the brains part squared away now but Khoa do you guys happen to sell time machines?

Unfortunately, we do not carry time machines in stock. Look up 121G on O'Reilly website, you might find what you are looking for.

All jokes aside, good things insurance would cover that 30k in damage.

[izzyM2]

Sorry about what happened to you. At least it was not worst than getting physically hurt yourself or others. My lesson was tougher. But highly recommend some sort of advance driving class like car control school from BMW or any other company.

[sna66]

Sorry man, 400+ hp to the back wheels and no tc is no joke. After 2+ years m1 and m2 keep TC fully on. once every few months I might go into euro mdm, and a few times a year tc off… I had a few scares in the early days. I had those days where all I wanted was a time machine too- don't let it stop you from loving this platform, nothing else like it