[Event] BMW one-day M School at the Performance Center West (2023)

The alarm went off early on Monday. Palm Springs put on a desert light show to coax us out of bed - the big day was upon us.





We made a pit stop at Starbucks, then followed 10 east for about 40 minutes. The BMW Performance Center West is co-located with the Thermal Club, a private racetrack-community complex. BMW has their own corner of the campus with a handling course, polished concrete skidpad, and paved exercise area. One of the driving exercises uses a portion of the Thermal Club circuit - both times I've visited, I've been on the Desert Circuit (north end, green kerbs).

Yep - this is my second time doing one-day M School. Last year I joined on a late whim, when someone sold their spot in the class on short notice. You can read all about that experience here if you haven't already. Obviously I enjoyed myself enough to return in 2023.



It felt better, and more natural, to pull in to the school in my BMW. We were warmly greeted by the instructors and our classmates - it's become uncommon to see these old M3s out and about.



When we arrived, there was already a group starting their handling exercises. I believe this is the delivery experience, where owners get to drive "their" new cars (equivalent cars owned by BMW) on track with professional instruction. I love that BMW offers this! Modern sports cars offer performance capability that can only really be safely deployed on track. A program like this can develop in the owner an appreciation for the engineering of the cars, and a respect for the power available from modern motors. I certainly gained a huge appreciation for my Focus RS when I did the included driving school (link), so much that I started tracking it regularly, something I definitely had not planned to do.

The roster of cars for the M School was the same as last year - M2, M3, and M5 competitions. Last year the instructors were chatting about the M3 xDrive variant, so I thought perhaps they'd swapped RWD for AWD, but this was not the case.



Three takes on orange. The Lime Rock E92 is my favorite, but I'd be happy with any of these three.



The new front end treatment is a travesty on the 7 series, but I think it suits the x7 well. I've driven an X4M Competition on a brief street loop, I think it would be hilarious to try one of BMW's SUVs on an actual track. 





We started with approximately an hour of classroom instruction, and while I've heard most of it before, BMW has refreshed the instruction materials and the updated diagrams and explanations are well-done. This year I also had a different set of instructors, which is always valuable for gaining new insight to your driving strengths and weaknesses. Our classroom session was presented by Rob Stout, the chief instructor for the Performance Center West. 

Agenda for the day:

1. [M2] Handling course

2. [M5] Polished concrete skidpad 

3. [M3] Corner exit speed exercise

[Lunch]

4. [M3] Lead-follow on Desert Circuit (+ instructor ride-along)

5. [M5] Rat Race (polished skidpad)

6. [M2] Handling course / autocross (timed)

First exercise: M2 handling course. This was familiar for me, the same cars running the same layout as last year. The M2 feels dynamically last-generation when driven back-to-back with the M3 and M5 in two ways. First - the M2's steel brakes take appreciably longer to come up to temperature than the ceramic brakes on the M3 and M5, and you'll do well to remember that coming into the first big braking zone. Second, the TCS and driver aid systems are markedly less sophisticated than on the M3. In the M2, when you ask too much of the motor when traction is not available, the penalty is a harsh, immediate cut in engine output. In the timed autocross this will kill your run. In the M3, the driver aids are much more subtle, and you can just detect them nibbling away at your power delivery, but in a much less binary way than the M2. Of course the M2 is an excellent car, I'm nit-picking. You could argue that the M2's system makes you a better driver by doling out harsher penalties for bad driving practices.

Second exercise: M5 on the polished concrete skidpad, set to RWD with all driver aids deactivated. This was the most frustrating exercise for me last year, because I wanted to be great at it, and I was not great at it. In 2022 I just couldn't get into a sustained controlled slide. This year, with the benefit of past experience and a recent visit to rally school, I got the hang of it. The key to my improvement was a skill learned at Dirt Fish: patience. Blip the throttle to break traction; counter steer; be patient and wait a beat while the car takes a set and is on the verge of regaining traction; then apply throttle to maintain that balance in a controlled slide. Last year all of my inputs were too fast, too much, because it feels uncomfortable to have the back end swing around like that. But once you acknowledge that momentary feeling of discomfort, and understand that it's required to let the car adjust its attitude - you can regain control. By the end of the exercise I was circling the skidpad continuously and playing with throttle and steering angle to see how much I could hang out the back end. SO fun once I got it.



Third rotation - corner exit speed in the M3. This was an interesting exercise, new for this year (last year this was another lead-follow session on track). The goal was to convey the idea that corner exit speed is of paramount importance, and corner entry speed is actually a minor factor in overall pace. We took a simple right-hand corner repeatedly, running through a speed gun about 100 yards past the apex. It was informative to get immediate feedback on pace through a corner, and repetition helped me focus on vehicle positioning, smooth brake release, and rolling into the throttle in concert with reduction in steering angle.



After the morning's three exercises, we took a break for lunch. 

The afternoon exercises offered a chance to deploy what we'd learned in the morning. Our fourth rotation on the day was a lead-follow session in the M3 on the Desert Circuit of the Thermal Club. Due to a small group size, Kevin and I were able to run at essentially full pace behind our instructor. I went into detail in last year's write-up, but to reiterate, the G80 M3 is unreal on track.

Just imagine if they'd made it good-looking. Oh well. Prohibitively expensive to purchase or run for me in any case.

Next up: the Rat Race. The instructors set up a diamond configuration of cones on the polished skidpad - two points wide, two points tight. Students compete head-to-head in a bracket tournament, lining up their cars opposite one another and then racing to complete three laps first, all moving in a counter-clockwise direction, one car trying to catch the other. The M5s once again have all aids and AWD turned off, so it's about managing traction and rotating the car to allow for short straight-line bursts of speed. Kevin bested me in our practice run, but we matched up in the group 'grand final' (only four of us to start with, ha). Our race was so tight that we went into multiple sudden-death overtime laps, and I eked poor Kevin right at the line.

Note: last year we did what the instructors referred to as the "Rat Race XL," which was generally the same concept but much larger, and NOT on the low-friction surface. I enjoyed that version but apparently the instructors find it nerve-wracking. I can sympathize, the speeds are much higher than on the skidpad and in 2022 I watched M5s spinning across the asphalt like like very large, very fast tops.

Our final rotation of the day was the timed M2 autocross. I leveraged the fact that I had essentially 2x the experience of anyone else in the class to claim top time of the day (sorry Kevin). Kevin was just behind me, and third place was claimed by our new friend Clark, who we discovered owns the Lime Rock M3.

Photo credit: Case Montgomery

We kept the medals, but I handed back the trophy after this awkward photo was taken. A solid improvement from last year, when I missed P1 by 0.15 seconds.

The day ended with distribution of some nice branded hats, and I bought a sticker for my helmet. The staff was nice enough to let us stick our M3s on the handling course for some end-of-day photos. 



I've found myself in a bit of a "progression pickle," similar to what I experienced after my 2-day class at Dirt Fish. I love this 1-day itinerary, but I would also like to take things to the next level and continue building my skills. The instructors recommended Kevin and me for Advanced M-School, but it's a big cost jump. This one-day course costs $1750 - I paid $1400 with BMW's 20% Black Friday promotion. The two-day Advanced M School is $4695. Even at a 20% discount, that's about $3750, a huge chunk of change. There is no question that I'll have a good time, but how many HPDE track days could I get for the same money? What am I actually trying to progress toward by purchasing more expensive school packages? I won't be turning pro anytime soon. 

In any case - I love this experience, and I like the idea of making it an annual pilgrimage. I'll consider my options for 2024.

Next entry: the drive home.

[Event] BMW one day M-school at the Performance Center West (2022)

Woke up early Sunday morning to a breathtaking Palm Springs sunrise. I'm not sure if it's because I grew up in suburban Atlanta, but the American southwest always blows my mind. There is something special in the air.

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Destination: BMW performance center west, about 40 minutes down the road in Thermal.

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Does anything get the blood pumping like open pavement and three varieties of M car laid out in front of you, yours to flog for the day?

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I grabbed as many shots as I could with the DSLR before packing it away to focus on the driving of the day. We started off with a 1-hour classroom session covering the usual topics - correct seating position, cornering theory, balancing inputs with traction available from the tires. Not new information for me, but well-presented and a good refresher after an extended period away from the track.

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From here we split into three general groups, and then paired up with one other student with whom we'd share cars for all exercises across the day. I met a really nice guy named Andrew who owns an E39 M5 and lives in SF, and we paired up.

Agenda for the day:

1. [G80 M3 Competition] Lead-follow on Thermal track north loop
2. [F90 M5 Competition] Polished concrete skidpad
3. [F87 M2 Competition] Handling course / autocros

        (lunch)

1. [G80 M3 Competition] Lead-follow on Thermal track north loop
2. [F87 M2 Competition] Handling course / autocross (timed)
3. [F90 M5 Competition] Rat race
4. [M3, M5s] Instructor ride-alongs on Thermal track north loop

There wasn't much of an initiation period, so before we knew it we were ordered into G80 M3 Comps and told to follow the instructor over to the Thermal track north loop. Andrew and I had to laugh as neither of us had experience with newer BMW cars... my old E90 M3 sedan is nothing like the new generation of cars and we initially struggled to turn the thing on and put the 8-speed transmission in gear! Glad I made Andrew go first.

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We picked the Sao Paolo yellow car because it's the fastest color. Fun fact - alongside plain white, this is the only other no-cost-option color. That's me with a big smile on my face, because I can't see the front grille from where I'm standing. Just kidding, I'm grinning like an idiot because this ugly yellow car is UNBELIEVABLE on track. Like... wow. Power, brakes, grip, composure, off the charts. It pulled hard from all gears, all speeds, the 8-speed snapping through gears up and down. The carbon ceramic brakes had a natural feel and huge stopping power without fade. We left the assists on and the experience was not compromised for it. In the lower speed corners I asked the car for too much intentionally - leaning into the throttle while I still had a fair amount of turn on - expecting the traction system to cut power. The joke was on me when it just hooked up and fired out of the corner. Grip like my AWD focus, power like my Skyline but all of the time. Both Andrew and I were flabbergasted on our return to the pits, nearly speechless. I was ready to hate this car based on how it looks, how much it weighs, the overload of tech, the automatic-only... but I've been on the M3 configurator the last few nights. Imagine if they had just made it good-looking!

Second exercise was the polished concrete skidpad in the M5, all assists and AWD turned off. At about 10:45am on Sunday, I sat in an M5 Competition for the first time. At about 10:46am on Sunday, I was pitching an M5 Comp sideways around a skidpad. I can't believe I'm saying this, but my only gripe for the whole experience might have been that it was almost TOO gung-ho. Throughout the day we were up to speed extremely quickly. Generally I liked this, I also have half a dozen track days and some other driving schools under my belt. If I was coming in new it would have been frankly terrifying as an introduction to performance driving. On the skidpad I was ok-but-not-great, and I would have liked a little bit of preparation and discussion with the instructor about inputs and methods to improve my technique.

Third exercise was the handling course in DCT-equipped M2 Comps. This car felt the most familiar to me, being the slowest (ha) and thanks to some time spent in a friend's 6-speed M2C. The DCT is a different experience - I'd go manual for this car - but the car was a perfect fit for the tight cone course. It's interesting how different autocross is to track driving - kind of the same thing, but also very different. I feel more comfortable on track, where there is a bit more time to collect thoughts even though the speeds are higher and the whole thing more dangerous for it. Autocross feels so frantic, and the penalty for one bad turn-in or throttle misapplication can throw you off your groove for almost the entire run.

Lunch was a surprisingly good Mexican spread. The Bavarians are famous for their tacos.

After lunch we were back out to the lead-follow, faster this time. I had some time sitting shotgun to appreciate the shared-car format. Sitting in the car with Andrew helped me learn the course and see where I had room for improvement. I might have had a different opinion about shared cars if Andrew had been a less skilled or more reckless driver, but thankfully I think we were really well-matched! Neither of us made the other barf or demand to be let out.

We were back in the M2s for the autocross. I didn't feel like I did my best driving, but I improved steadily through my timed runs and finished P2 out of the 32 in the class, not bad! 0.15s off the winner and I know exactly where I lost it, but man, what fun!

The final driving event for us was something called the Rat Race. I think the format is typically something like a wetted down circle or Nascar-style "oval" (straights with semi-circles at each end), with two students lining up opposite each other on the course and trying to catch each other in a set number of laps with all traction control turned off. The idea is to apply everything learned with an emphasis on being smooth and controlling throttle roll-on when leaving the corner to keep it straight and quick. From what I gathered, this is usually done with M4s or "lower-powered" cars in a small space. On Sunday the instructor in charge of the exercise decided to have us try it on a 100-yard cone course with the M5s on a dry course. 

I'm not sure if this man was trying to kill us. We were the last group of the day to cycle through this exercise, and we had a lot of time to watch the other students burn some very expensive rear tires and go spinning off at alarming speed. I have to admit that I never looked down at the speedometer during the exercise, but we had to be close to 80-90mph coming into the corners. I was nervous, but once we got underway, I LOVED this exercise. I went 2/2 on wins in our little group and had some fantastic-feeling power-on slides on the way out of the corners. The M5 broke away really cleanly and in a controllable way, and with just a bit of counter steer it was all back on its way. Felt like a hero, enough to say to Andrew on our last corner as were clearly ahead "hey check this out" and ham it up a bit, sending the rear out. So good.

Last on the agenda for the day was dessert, a big slice of humble pie served up by the instructors. I never turn down an opportunity to ride along with someone who knows what they're doing behind the wheel. I sat in the back seat of an M5 Comp as our instructor pummeled me off the door panel, the back of his seat, and the student sat next to me. When my neck could manage the strain, I looked out the back glass to see that we were the lead car in a big, smokey tandem drift with another instructor in his Tanzanite M3. I wish everyone who drives a car could experience a ride-along like that and gain an appreciation for (1) how many incredible things a car can do in the right hands, and (2) how much energy and force there is in a 2-ton vehicle moving at high speed.

School adjourned at about 5pm and I headed back to Palm Springs, exhausted, for a big meal and good night of sleep.

Some closing thoughts

• G80 M3 is as fast as it is ugly

• F90 M5 is also incredibly capable but I have no idea who it's for

• Excellent instruction and experience at the BMW performance driving center - do it if you can

• Cars are neat

Up next - the return trip.

[Event] BMW CCA Foundation Fest 2020

[note: this post, like an air-cooled 911, is back-dated to when these events occurred] 

[also note: I have condensed multiple forum posts into this entry, please forgive awkward transitions]

A couple of weeks ago I flew home to Atlanta to see my parents and attend the BMW CCA foundation fest event in South Carolina. We'd been planning to attend the Vintage - my second time, having flown out for that event in 2017 - but it was canceled, only after I'd booked my flight. Thankfully the BMW CCA stepped in and put together an event called the "Foundation Fest" at their headquarters, adjacent to the BMW Spartanburg factory and performance driving center, for the same weekend. Dad and I signed up online and decided to take both of his BMWs.

This was my first time flying since the pandemic started, and I wasn't sure what to expect. In fact I think this is the longest I've gone without flying in my adult life. The round-trip ticket with Southwest from San Jose to Atlanta was an unbelievable $258, a price I don't expect to ever see again. Southwest is keeping their middle seats open through the end of November and I found the whole experience to be about as good as it can be. Everyone had their masks on and kept their distance, and it was all uneventful. I felt safe.

Greenville is a brief rip up I-85 from Atlanta, but what's the fun in that? We took the long way up through the mountains, passing through Highlands and Cashiers in North Carolina before diving back down into South Carolina. 



Dad's 2002 is fresh off of a body refurb and full paint, looking better than ever. He and my mom tucked into the old timer while I drove the E46, top down the whole way. The weather was fantastic and we were able to enjoy the fall colors. 



It's been a very long time since I've been up in the Cashiers area. Looking at the map, I thought that at 3pm on a Thursday we'd have sweeping mountain roads all to ourselves. Unfortunately, the reality turned out to be mostly new SUVs on Florida plates lumbering around under the speed limit. Bummer. I pulled off to give myself a bit of a buffer and used the opportunity to snap some photos of the M3. To me, the phoenix yellow MAKES this car. If it were silver it would have a totally different feel to it, but there is something about the bright color that gives it personality.





My stopping also gave mom and dad a chance to catch up. 





Things improved when we turned south from Brevard on 276 and went through the Mountain Bridge Wilderness Area. We were mercifully unimpeded for most of the run.



We rolled into the Hyatt Regency in Greenville just before dark on Thursday night. I don't think I've ever been to Greenville before, it's a nice little downtown.

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On Friday morning we drove the 17 or so miles east out of Greenville, meeting up at the BMW CCA Foundation building. If you’re not familiar with the area (I wasn’t), it’s all in very close proximity: the huge BMW factory, the BMW Performance Center, the CCA headquarters, and the CCA foundation building are all clustered together. At the factory they build the X (SUV) line of vehicles; at the performance center they do driving schools and new vehicle deliveries; at the CCA foundation building they have a museum space, where the “Genesis” exhibit is currently running. We didn’t really know what to expect from the whole weekend, not having seen any notable BMWs on the way in to town, so it was a nice surprise to find a few dozen exciting bimmers parked in the grass.

















The keen-eyed among you may recognize the red M3 as Michael Washington’s. I introduced myself and it was a pleasure to meet him after seeing his name on the SIG, FB, and on the forums through the years.

After checking in at the foundation and grabbing a bite to eat, we drove next door to the performance center for an autocross event that the CCA had arranged. A $70 donation netted 7 runs on the course that they'd set up on the north end of the main track area in their M240i fleet. 



This turned out to be a bit more serious an event than I'd anticipated. There was a big crowd interested in trying their luck behind the wheel. Every red-blooded driving enthusiast, no matter how much we posture or joke about driving skill, gets competitive when a stopwatch is introduced. The course was arranged so that everyone waiting their turn watched everyone as they drove, and front and center was a timer to provide immediate judgment on your driving prowess. Trial by fire! 









The cars were pretty new M240is with automatic transmissions. Rules dictated that the cars had to remain in Sport mode with traction systems in place. I spent my first few passes learning the course and found that the biggest hinderance to a fast time was the traction control system - upset it, and the motor bogs down and your quick run is toast. I ended up pretty satisfied with my time, I think something like a 23.5 against the best time (at least while I was there) of around 22.9. Ironically the prize for best time of the day is a day of performance driving school... in theory awarded to the person who needs it the least! Ha.







With that out of the system, we returned to the Foundation building for our scheduled viewing time for the Genesis exhibit. They had time slots set up to keep capacity at healthy levels. I have to admit that I am pretty ignorant when it comes to pre-war cars, and also under-informed when it comes to BMWs made before the 2002. But it was enjoyable to step back into the coach build era, where every car was a one-off in its own way. It was also a real pleasure to finally meet Dirk de Groen, president of the BMW Classic Car Club of America (CCCA, different from CCA). I've corresponded with him and provided photos to his magazine over the years but this was my first time actually meeting him in person. Super nice guy. He had two cars in the exhibit, the white 328 and the blue/yellow 315 as well.











I was also pleasantly surprised to see Steve Walker's 700 on display. 





I also peeked behind the curtain at some of their museum items in the storage area.



I was impressed by the foundation's assembly of these unique vehicles from all over the country. I think they've produced an online version of the tour to make it more accessible to everyone in 2020. Worth seeing it in person if you're able to make it!

On our way back toward the hotel, we detoured to the BMW Zentrum as they would not be open on Saturday. I couldn't resist putting the cars in front of the building for a few photos.







I guess the Zentrum is a museum of sorts? They had the first car built on a pilot line at this factory (the E36) and some other vehicles that were built here as well.







This very tidy white M3 was there, not quite stock though - 16" wheels, some racy stripes, exhaust.



If I remember the placard correctly this was the last M Coupe built. I quite like it in white with the M flag decals. It's pointless to make the claim now, but I promise, I always thought the wide-hipped M coupe was amazing even when everyone else thought it was awkward. Unfortunately now everyone agrees with me and they're $$$.



This was the rather uninspiring "made here at the factory" portion of the exhibit... though to be fair, I would like to try one of the new M SUVs.







We made our way back to Greenville with the Friday evening traffic. On Saturday morning we returned to the BMW hub, this time for the Cars and Coffee put on at the BMW CCA headquarters.







I warned my dad but he didn't listen: "If you don't want to talk about your car all morning, you better step away from the car." Something I practice with the Skyline. But he didn't, and so he was there chatting with people for a couple hours. To be fair though, he was enjoying himself and meeting nice new people. His 02 received some really nice compliments and that's always fulfilling.

There were two E30 M3s in attendance, unfortunately I did not get to meet either of the owners. Both red. The first was this absolutely pristine car, which according to Facebook is owned by Brian H and fresh off of a 3-year restoration. He had so many great parts all the way down to the license plate!





The other car, also red, was set up on these beefy HRE wheels.





Here's an original owner 1602 to finish off the photos from the C&C event.



For the drive home, we decided to try a different route. I was nosing around on Google maps when a name caught my eye. Pumpkintown. And just down the road from that - Salem. What better destinations for the week before Halloween? So we set the GPS and it wound up being a really nice route through farmland and smaller roads. I think both the M3 convertible and the 2002 were in their element on these sweeping, quiet lanes.



Departing...





Pumpkintown, as it turns out, is the intersection of two small roads. There's a Dollar Tree on one side and the Pumpkintown General Store on the other. Best food in town! In my head I was planning a really nice photo of both cars posed in front of the building, instead it was busy with a Saturday lunch rush.





Salem had a bit more going on, but... not much on this particular day. 





We laced our way around and across Lake Keowee before rejoining the larger roads on the final stretch home. At this point driving fatigue was starting to set in from a busy weekend and I stopped snapping photos. About 30 minutes from home the heavens opened up and were doused with rain. I was lucky to be able to pull over beneath a conveniently-placed overpass and put the roof up before I got soaked. 



Here's roundie rolling down the driveway, having safely completed the 500-mile trip without one hiccup. Both cars performed flawlessly, in fact. We'd talked about swapping seats for different driving legs but in the end dad wheeled the 2002 the whole way and I enjoyed the E46.

The M3 convertible is extremely well-suited for this type of travel, and it was affirming to experience it myself. It's not the car I would buy for myself, right now, based on the way I like to drive - aggressive windy roads mainly - but as a long-distance GT it was a great place to be. The S54's induction noise comes to you from all directions with the roof down, it has heated seats, cruise control, and modern conveniences, the ride is comfortable (at least compared to my own cars). The seats didn't tire me at all. I did subject it to "my style" of driving when we found the clear twisty roads. The run-flat tires and 300 lbs. extra of the convertible don't do it any favors, and it certainly doesn't grip like my E30, but it was still enjoyable despite the lower performance threshold, if that makes sense. Yes it rolled a bit, and the grip was lower, but it still had the excellent steering feel and dynamic experience I'm used to from my cars and my old E90. The motor is also so enjoyable to use, linear and ready to roll all the way out to 8k. No wonder so many people drop them into our E30s, I'd love to try one in a light car.



To wrap up the trip, the 2002 took me to Mellow Mushroom to pick up dinner. It's like reuniting with an old friend!

Thanks for following along if you read all this. All the car stuff is fun but at the end of the day it was all about spending time with my parents. That's what cars do for me, for my life... they open up all these awesome adventures and opportunities to spend time with loved ones, friends, and new friends. Go for a road trip!