"David Epstein" (David_Epstein)
04/15/2014 at 10:58 • Filed to: BMW, Autobahn, Porsche
4
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"David Epstein" (David_Epstein)
04/15/2014 at 10:58 • Filed to: BMW, Autobahn, Porsche | 4
| 18 |
Driving on the Autobahn is something I had been dreaming about since childhood. "Wait, you mean no speed limits?"
Before you jump to the comments section, I knew that the entire Autobahn is not unrestricted, in fact many Germans I've since spoken to say that more and more of the highway is becoming restricted due to safety concerns and large construction projects.
Through BMW's !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! available at !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! headquarters in Munich, I booked a 135is for 35 euros an hour. The 320 horsepower coupe, capable of reaching 60 mph in 4.6 seconds was plenty of car for an Autobahn rookie. It's sport exhaust, turbo charged inline six cylinder engine, and !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! suspension setup had me drooling in anticipation of the fun I knew I would have while piloting the white coupe to the !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! museum in Stuttgart.
I climbed in, and gave the engine some revs in BMW's underground parking garage. My surroundings were quickly enveloped in inline six glory. In a few minutes I found myself driving up an on-ramp with the rear wheels screeching as I piled on the power before I merged onto the Autobahn.
With only 150 miles until I reached my destination, I planned on pushing myself and the Beemer; when would I get an opportunity like this again?
The road manners of German drivers paired with the terrifically maintained road surface made the Autobahn an ideal place to push the 135is to it's electronically limited top speed of 155 mph. Once I happened upon a stretch of straight road, I planted my foot in the floor, and the Beemer took off. To my surprise, the needle on the speedometer reached 250 kph (155 mph) and kept climbing. Drawing more and more of my concentration, I gripped the steering wheel ever harder. Sweat was trickling out of my palms, requiring me to wipe my hands on my jeans at increasingly frequent intervals. At around 160 mph, I noticed my vision beginning to narrow, and my thoughts once preoccupied could now focus only on what was going on a few hundred feet ahead of me.
As a result of the car's short wheelbase, and highly sprung sports suspension, it was difficult to keep it tracking straight. So as I accelerated to nearly 170 mph, the fastest I ended up going, I experienced bucking as I drove over expansion joints, and buffeting due to the wind. However, the Beemer's chunky sports steering wheel, and communicative hydraulic assisted power steering ultimately gave me the confidence I needed to work past whatever trepidation that was caused by the bumps and the wind.
Once in Stuttgart, with the 1 series' sport exhaust growling as I stood at a stop light, I noticed my forearms were shaking. The excitement of bringing the car to speeds I could only have dreamed of just weeks before, dumped loads of adrenalin in my system.
I tooled around Stuttgart for a bit, windows down, throwing the engine revs now and then just to hear the wonderful exhaust note, until I finally parked the now bug bespattered Beemer in front of the Porsche museum. The story of what I found inside Porsche's steel and glass mecca to everything rear-engined is for another post.
505Turbeaux
> David Epstein
04/15/2014 at 11:00 |
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I drove a V6 Fiero on the autobahn in the mid 90's. My aunt brought it over when my uncle was stationed in Munich. It was glorious.
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David Epstein
> 505Turbeaux
04/15/2014 at 11:04 |
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That sounds awesome and reminds me of reminds me of this:
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505Turbeaux
> David Epstein
04/15/2014 at 11:06 |
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haha love it! Oh man that brings me back!
Mark - Sixpots None The Richer
> David Epstein
04/15/2014 at 11:16 |
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Drawing more and more of my concentration, I gripped the steering wheel ever harder. Sweat was trickling out of my palms, requiring me to wipe my hands on my jeans at increasingly frequent intervals. At around 160 mph, I noticed my vision beginning to narrow, and my thoughts once preoccupied could now focus only on what was going on a few hundred feet ahead of me.
I was criticised in my article for these sentences:
"And while some of you might claim to be leadfoot heroes, for most of us driving 180 km/h and more is a white-knuckled tunnel vision affair. Yes, it is a thrill, but not necessarily an enjoyable one."
Some called me a frightened wimp, you, however, seem to understand what I mean now. I'm not a killjoy, adrenaline rushes can be fun, but you also described the negative effects of speed combined with a lack of experience.
Jobjoris
> David Epstein
04/15/2014 at 11:34 |
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Driving the Autobahn is awesome!
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David Epstein
> Mark - Sixpots None The Richer
04/15/2014 at 11:36 |
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I'm assuming many of the people who commented on your article haven't driven on the Autobahn. It's interesting because reaching those speeds on a closed circuit is one thing, but doing so around other drivers is very different.
Don't get me wrong, it was incredibly fun. And very memorable for me, but yes, it also requires a lot of focus and is tiring.
I certainly wouldn't drive that way if I lived in Germany and commuted on the Autobahn.
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David Epstein
> Jobjoris
04/15/2014 at 11:36 |
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What we're you driving?
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Jobjoris
> David Epstein
04/15/2014 at 11:51 |
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My Volvo V60D6 Diesel Wagon...
Mbdurham
> David Epstein
04/15/2014 at 13:32 |
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155 is shown as 172 roughly due to speedometer buffer overage in BMWs. The 155 limit is based on GPS which is accurate. So you were close or may have hit the limiter. Jealous a dream of mine as well. Glad you enjoyed it.
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David Epstein
> Mbdurham
04/15/2014 at 13:55 |
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Interesting, I didn't realize that there was that big of a difference between the GPS tracked speed and the speedometer indicated speed on Bemmers. I wonder why the difference is so great and if it's specific to BMWs.
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Mbdurham
> David Epstein
04/15/2014 at 14:19 |
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yes it is a percentage and therefore the difference progressively gets greater with increased speed. I am not sure if it is specific to BMW as for the amount most cars if not all have a buffer. Mine definitely does this as I have tested with multiple GPS as well as the GPS speed indicator on my radar detector. It can be coded out on a BMW as well which I am planning on doing.
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Mbdurham
> David Epstein
04/15/2014 at 14:27 |
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http://click2how.com/your-speedomet…
KusabiSensei - Captain of the Toronto Maple Leafs
> David Epstein
04/16/2014 at 15:45 |
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Doing anything over 200km/h on the Autobahn means you don't get to look around and view things. You are focused on driving, completely. It is mentally exhausting. Even if you are driving a B180 CDI at Vmax (120MPH).
Oh, and if you don't think it's mentally exhausting, try slowing from Vmax to 50MPH to avoid slamming into a Dutch Volvo who just pulled out to pass a lorry, and didn't look back. Especially as you say out loud as you begin slowing, "Look at this fool, he's gonna do it. He's gonna FUCKING DO IT...FUCK. HE DID IT."
Flavien Vidal
> Mark - Sixpots None The Richer
04/16/2014 at 22:08 |
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Driving at autobahn speeds (over 200kph average) for a couple hours in a row is extremely touring. When you arrive you are dead, exhausted. But it's good tiredness, not "I've driven for 5 hours like a zombie" tired but "I've been concentrated for so long that now that I can relax, I can't feel anything anymore" tired. It's good. You've been focused.
I might write something about it sometime.
alexotics
> David Epstein
04/16/2014 at 23:19 |
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I did the same thing last summer. Rented a new BMW M6 and took it for a blast. Here's the vid and writeup:
Full blog:
http://alexotics.blogspot.ca/2013/08/quick-…
GarageDispatches
> David Epstein
04/17/2014 at 01:02 |
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Nice article! I did the Munich/BMW to Stuttgart/Porsche drive last month, albeit in a Mercedes rather than a BMW and via Luzern Switzerland over 3 days. Had a blast.
Cé hé sin
> David Epstein
04/17/2014 at 05:55 |
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Yes, speedometers aren't allowed to under read so they always overstate your speed so as to allow for variables. This is a thing you can see on (European) roads where you can drive at 90 kmh and be passed by trucks which are going quite a bit faster despite having speed limiters set at the same 90 kmh but more accurately so.
dmcspeedy
> Mbdurham
04/17/2014 at 06:16 |
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It's GPS based? So it'll let you go as fast as you want if you're in a tunnel? Wonder what happens if you don't option the nav pack.