"718Rogue" (562siast)
09/29/2014 at 05:36 Filed to: None
6
5|
"718Rogue" (562siast)
09/29/2014 at 05:36 Filed to: None | 6
| 5 |
Not everybody may know this, but BMW is currently hosting a program called the Ultimate Driving Experience. If you're over 21, this is your chance to fling either a 228 M-sport or a 5 series around a cone-filled parking lot, as well as test drive a whole bunch of new BMW models on the street.
If you have a driver's license but are even a day under 21, well, there's a teen driving school that you can sign up for. I missed the fine print and signed up for the 2-series autocross anyway, but they adamantly refused to let me participate.
Thankfully, they let people under 21 ride along on the street drives, and I went with a friend who had just turned 21. We ended up just test driving nearly every car and switching off in the middle of the route, only to switch back so that he could pull into the lot. The BMW folk were none the wiser, and it made my experience much more worth it.
You can sign up yourself !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! , and let me know if they let you do the autocross.
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Teen Driving School
The teen driving school consisted of a boring lecture about the dangers of texting and driving, the virtues of BMWs, and everything from oversteer, understeer, countersteer, and weight transfer to ABS and traction control.
All of the instructors had racing experience, which was pretty cool, and our lecturer claimed that she never turned off traction control. Hmmmmmmmmm. Sounds like she doesn't know how to have fun.
Finally, after enduring that for what seemed like ages, we were allowed to go out and participate in the exercises.
First, one person from our group was chosen to sit in an 18-wheeler, which had 3 3-series on each side and behind it, and asked if he could see any of the cars surrounding him. The young man our instructor chose gave a resounding "NO" to all three, which really helped illustrate just how big an 18-wheeler's blind spots are and how much extra caution needs to be exercised around them.
After that quick demonstration, it was time for us to actually get behind the wheel. The BMW Teen Driving School consisted of three exercises: ABS braking, a high-speed lane change, and oversteer correction.
ABS Braking Exercise
My subgroup was first led to the ABS braking exercise, where three dark blue X3s awaited us, identical except for one with a different set of wheels. We filled up the three cars, three students and one instructor in each, and were given a demonstration before taking turns to drive the course ourselves. This was the simplest and most straightforward exercise - basically, we just had to floor the gas pedal, then stand on the brakes as soon as we passed a cone, with the added complication of braking while turning on our third and fourth pass. Two things stuck out to me from this exercise: one, new BMWs, at least with automatics, have a horrible almost half-second lag from the time you stomp on the gas pedal until the car actually begins moving forward, and two, having panic braked in cars without ABS, there really is a big difference. The ABS system keeps traction and makes the car easier to control, but also makes it impossible to skid to a stop or slide around a corner as easily.
As we waited for the rest of our subgroup to finish the exercise, the instructor started talking to us, asking our ages and what we drove, and explaining how ABS helps keep the car in control. It was around then that I realized that I didn't really fit in. Most of the other kids there were 16 and had inherited their parents' 3-year-old BMW, Mercedes, or Audi, and I was almost 21 and if I was lucky, got to borrow my parents' 8 year old Mazda 3. The instructor was telling us how the ABS systems in the cars we drive could save us from an accident. Meanwhile, the 27-year-old Corolla that my friend and I had arrived in, conspicuously lacking any sort of electronic driving aids, safety features, or a good paint job, and with brakes dangerously close to the end of their life span, sat between an E92 M3 and a C63 AMG.
It was then that I realized that most of the other people present probably only knew about the event because they were already BMW owners and had gotten an email directly from BMW USA. Me? I had just read about it on !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! and was ecstatic at what I thought would be the chance to autocross a new 2 series. To their credit, none of the workers or instructors showed any discernible disdain to our old Toyota driving, cheap-ass t-shirt wearing selves.
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Anyway, after the rest of our group finished, it was time for
Lane Change Exercise
My personal favorite, the lane change exercise consisted of a long straight bordered by cones, with a sharp chicane in the middle. Basically, the idea was to change lanes without knocking down any cones, and after a few tries it was obvious just how hard this was and how big of a difference 5 mph can make. In my case, it was also the only exercise where I really felt like I learned something about how a car handles and behaves in different situations.
My first run, I was instructed to accelerate to about 30 mph and make the lane switch at that speed, and I got through the gap effortlessly.
The second time around, I decided to floor it all the way through the chicane, and try to switch lanes while still accelerating. I was going almost 45 when I hit the gap, and still pulling hard with my foot to the floor. I spun the wheel to the left, but was a little bit surprised at just how different the effect was. While the first time around, I was going at a steady speed and the car reacted right away to my inputs, this time I was still accelerating hard, and the car's weight and traction was largely on the rear wheels. I could actually feel the front tires slipping and being pushed forwards against my command as I plowed into the cone, clipping it with the right side of my bumper. Of course in a real-life situation, I would never attempt to get through such a small gap at 45 mph and still accelerating, but it was somewhat of an eye-opening experience to see just how big of a difference that 15 mph and foot on the gas made.
After a few more runs, it was time for us to move to
Controlling Oversteer
The common consensus seemed to be that this exercise would be the most fun. The drift-obsessed youth was excited to slide a car around, and truth be told so was I, but once I realized that we would barely exceed 3 mph, I lowered my expectations significantly.
Basically, it was a large rubber pad (30x30 ft) with soapy water continually being being splashed onto it, and we were supposed to floor the BMWs with traction control off until we started sliding, which took about half a second, then let off the gas almost immediately to catch the skid and regain traction.
Almost all of us kept feathering the gas pedal long after the instructor told us to let go, sliding the whole width of the skid pad before being jerked forward by the abrupt change to pavement, for as long as we could get away with it.
Also, our setup was worryingly close to a curb, hedge, and wall, but nobody in our group hit anything, although there were a few close calls and a few spinouts.
It was then that I found out that the street drives allowed passengers under 21, and my friend, who was over 21, could take me with him to test drive BMW's lineup. And there was no way for them to tell who was driving or where we went - basically, we were given a new BMW and just had to be back in 15 minutes. I did the only logical thing I could: had my friend test drive the cars, ride with him, switch off in the middle, and switch back just before pulling back into the parking lot.
And that's the story of how I got to drive a bunch of new BMWs for about 5 minutes each, barely enough time to form first impressions. But I'll try my best to describe the cars I drove.
First Impressions (BMW Street Drives)
Some Kind of 228i Sport
Whooshy turbo sound. Fast acceleration. Suspension kind of soft - holy crap, how many gears do these cars have? 6 7 8? Are we done yet? Why does this car have 8 gears? What's wrong with a 6-speed? Much heavier than an '87 Corolla. Interior small, but not cramped. Back seats don't look too comfortable, though. Impossible to spin the tires in an automatic, even with traction control as far off as we could get it (we held the button for 5 seconds in every car we drove except for the i3, where there is no way to turn off traction control). Still has that unexplainable delay before accelerating. Handles surprisingly well for its weight, although there was a bit of plow and understeer when I took a left-hander at about 45 mph. Being in a car that actually accelerates is addicting.
428i Convertible
Top up. Top down. Top up. Top down. Hardtop being up noticeably improves the chassis' rigidity. Fast, but not as light or frantic-feeling as the 228i. All of these engines are disconcertingly quiet. Interior more comfortable than the 2-series, but not a big difference. Not that any of them feel too comfortable when we're flooring it everywhere.
650i Gran Coupe ///M Sport
Oooooh, almost an ///M car! There's even ///M badges hidden around it on places like the steering wheel and seats. Why is this called a Gran Coupe when there's 4 doors? Back seat roomy enough, but why is there this giant center console taking up so much room? Is this necessary? Is the drivetrain that big? White interior looks sharp, but gets dirty easily. Digital gauge cluster is slightly disorienting and sure to fail right after your warranty is over. Ooooh, 400+ hp under my right foot! Oops, did I just leave two rubber stripes on Foothill Blvd? Good thing I know how to countersteer. That was fun. This car is like a boat. It must be almost twice as heavy as the 2-series. But I don't dislike it. Highway onramp is like a drag strip. 120+ mph comes way too quickly. Why are cars like this even street legal? But thank God they are. There's too much traffic. That exit was too close. Fun is over.
i3
Unique interior. Very spacious. Interesting choice of materials and shape of instruments. Quirky gear selector. No traction control button in sight, and a quick Google search confirms that there is no way to turn traction control completely off. My friend hates how electric cars slow down as soon as you take the foot off of the gas. I don't mind it, but this car is way too tall. Too narrow. High center of gravity. Soft suspension. Acceleration feels slower than the Spark EV I test drove at LA AutoShow, but that's probably because of all of the electronic aids. Honestly, feels pretty much like driving a minivan, except you'll never have to touch the brake. Would be ok for a city commuter car, but honestly I'd rather have a Leaf. Doesn't really do it for me, not that BMW would care about my opinion.
In Conclusion?
The entire affair was well-organized and incredibly classy for a free event, with
the nicest port-a-potties I have ever seen, and a nice tent for the bored wives (or husbands) and children to wait in while whoever dragged them there played with cars, with
a nice display detailing the history of the more memorable ///M cars,
an i8 on display, wings extended,
and a nice complimentary coffee bar, where I convinced them to MacGyver me a milk tea with their latte machine (it ended up being half foam) and ate about half of the free biscottis, as well as a bunch of m&ms from the well-stocked snack bar.
Whatever. I was still mad about not being able to autocross.
http://562siast.tumblr.com/post/987141681
StoneCold
> 718Rogue
09/29/2014 at 05:53 |
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ONLY IN NEW YORK AND MIAMI.
Key point there.
Brian Silvestro
> 718Rogue
09/29/2014 at 07:49 |
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I'm 19 and they let me drive the 2 Series.
Jayhawk Jake
> StoneCold
09/29/2014 at 08:18 |
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I think I remember when jbh posted about it that it's a traveling show.
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718Rogue
> StoneCold
09/29/2014 at 12:26 |
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It was in L.A. last month, I just took too long to write this up. My bad.
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718Rogue
> Brian Silvestro
09/29/2014 at 12:27 |
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Damn. No questions asked or anything? But was it autocross or just the street drive? MINI had an event this past weekend that looked even more fun, but it was 21+ too... just a few more months...