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      03-04-2018, 09:23 AM   #3
orangeglim
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Drives: 2019 M2C
Join Date: May 2016
Location: NC

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2019 M2C  [0.00]
Day Two

Morning

We started the second day a little later in the morning, around 9 - 9:30am. We were back in the classroom for this.



We discussed where we would be driving for the bulk of the day, on the South Palm circuit of the Thermal Club.



This is actual race track that's part of the larger Thermal Club venue. This is something they do not have at Performance Center East. We drove on the circuit in a counter-clockwise direction. So, if you're wondering why bother with Performance Center West vs Performance Center East, this is a great reason. We discussed the circuit as a whole and a few gotchas (as in, don't crash into the guard rail coming out of pit lane, that'd be embarrassing). Then we moved onto a discussion of how to handle the corners on the inside of this particular circuit.



We discussed braking techniques, where we were supposed to be on the throttle, how much, etc. Once we finished with the academic stuff we were reassigned to different run groups. The instructors were keeping tabs on everyone's skill level on day one and the groups were reassigned accordingly. This was done to keep drivers of similar skill levels together. As a result, everyone had a better, more consistent time out on the track. After some idle chitchat (we finished up early), we headed out to the cars.

I ended up in the green group, as #1 again, so I got to drive this monster first.



This thing looked awesome, an M3 in matte black. I mean, seriously, look at that thing. It's bad ass. I loved this car. We rolled down the road from the Performance Center building and onto the Thermal Club complex.

Side Note
It was SUPER windy on second day. Temps with in the high 50s, low 60s (F), but very windy. The sky was mostly blue with a few clouds, but dust was blowing everywhere and the gusts where pretty damn strong. I was worried it would be an issue while driving, but I didn't notice any abnormal effects.

Corner entry, back straight
The first thing my group did was corner entry on the back straight. This was done pretty much the same way as the corner entry during the first day. We worked through the corner(s) a segment at the time, stopping at first and then proceeding through each part in turn. The instructor stood at various places and gave feedback to each driver. The thing that struck me the most about this activity was acceleration of the M3 when starting off about 1/4 of the way down the bottom straight. The M3 pulls like crazy after the 1-2 shift (I ran in automatic mode, lame, I know). I don't recall doing any events at Performance Center East where you can really experience how the M3 pulls off the line. It's super impressive.

Corner entry, middle section
After doing several laps around the outer part of the circuit it was time to move to the corners on the inner section. Again, this was a corner entry activity. We did this in M4s. I was a bit disappointed because my M4 had a crack in the windshield that was right at my eye level. I mentioned this to the instructor but he wasn't fazed by it. I was hoping to get the car swapped out, but no such luck. It was a minor annoyance that I soon forgot about. This is the corner in the diagram picture shown above. There's a very long braking zone, a sharp corner at the end, a chicane, and then we were back at the start line. Each student went, one at a time, after which the instructor provided feedback. At several points we were told there wasn't enough tire squeal and that we could drive faster, if we wanted.

Cloverleaf Laps
Next it was off to the skidpad again, this time in M2s with DSC 100% disabled. For this event we did cloverleaf pattern laps on the skidpad. These were timed on a stopwatch. The skidpad was dry this time, but that didn't really help much. There were three cones that we had to make a cloverleaf lap around, and then come to a stop in the stopbox. I'll say it again, I don't like stopboxes. I found this particularly tricky. The skidpad is super slick, so trying to go all out with tons of power doesn't work here (despite what Clarkson might think). I finally got the hang of it on my last lap, but it was too late to correct the terrible times I put up on the previous four. The guy in my group with the best times made efficient use of the handbrake to whip the car around the cones. I tried this but I wasn't able to pull off the same moves.

Lunch
Another break for lunch inside the Performance Center building. I don't remember what we had, but it was tasty enough. Again, eat sparingly to avoid an upset stomach in the car later. At this point I realized that I had pulled a muscle in my back trying to put the brake pedal in the M2 through the floor during the cloverleaf laps. It wasn't painful really, only mildly annoying. About an hour for lunch, like the first day, and then we were back in the cars.

Lead/Follow laps, M3s
The first event we did after lunch was lead/follow laps in the M3s. I was back in that bad ass matte black M3. For this the groups were further subdivided into 2 or 3 cars, plus an instructor car. This is where everything you learned during the first day and a half was put together into coherent laps around the South Palm circuit. The instructor took the lead and took us around the track. The idea here was to keep 2 - 3 car lengths between the car in front of you and follow the instructor around the track. This was awesome, I really enjoyed this activity. It was challenging because the instructor sped up incrementally after each lap, so you really needed to concentrate to drive the line correctly. I routinely hit 135mph along the bottom straight, which is a little unnerving with so little space between your car and the one in front of you. We did quite a few laps, swapping the order of cars on the back straight when the instructor called it out. This was so each student had the chance to drive directly behind the instructor. So, I started in the second position, dropped to last, then to the middle, and finally back to second again. When we finished this section I was surprised when we did not do any cool down laps before coming into the pits. I felt bad for the carbon ceramic brakes that were radiating a significant amount of heat. The front tires on my M3 were 246F, as reported by iDrive. Then again, not my car, so

Lead/Follow laps, M4s
This was tough, we went immediately from the M3s into M4s after a short pitstop in the restrooms. The format was exactly the same, on the same section of track, just in M4s instead. I thought the M4 felt better around the circuit than the M3 (despite the cracked windshield). Maybe it was because I was more familiar with the circuit than I was before, I don't know. I felt like I could take the M4 around the track faster than the M3, with fewer "oh sh*t" moments. We also changed instructors, so we got to experience the style of the different instructors when driving complete laps. Again, this was an absolute blast. These laps, combined with the first lead/follow in the M3s, meant we drove this portion of the circuit continuously for over an hour. This is where you really get to see what these cars can do. Flooring it onto the bottom straight and hitting 135mph never got old. I mean, seriously, this was awesome. Honestly, smashing the brake pedal and feeling the car haul itself down to 65mph before hitting the left hander at the end was equally as impressive. You can't (safely) drive on the street like this.

After we finished our laps in the M4s the instructor led us off the track and over to the fuel pumps to top the cars off. They had full tanks in the morning but were now nearly empty. iDrive reported a whopping 6 mpg, oh well, not my car, or my gas. While I was waiting for my M4 to fill up I noticed a Lamborghini Gallardo (I think, I'm not good with Lambos) and a Ferrari LaFerrari sitting in the parking area directly next to the pumps. It was cool to see, but we were specifically told not to take any pictures, so, sorry.

Timed autocross
After we finished refueling our M4s it was time to hop into some M2s and head back to the Performance Center track for some timed autocross. This was very similar to the timed autocross on the first day, but the cones/track were modified to change the layout. This is the event where the M2 really shines, it feels so damn good doing an event like this. The M2 seems to just pivot directly around the driver. It felt great and really showcased what this car can do. It felt quite a bit stickier around the corners than my M235i. So much so that it convinced me to put down a deposit on an M2 of my own (won't get it until Q4) . I really wish we could use the M2s on the larger section of track so we could feel what it was like on the circuit. It feels so much smaller and more nimble than the M3s and M4s. The contrast, to me, was very apparent after spending so much time in the M3/M4s before. On my last lap I had a ripping good time going, but then I bumped the downshift paddle coming out of the last corner and knocked the car into 2nd gear which tanked my time, doh! I don't know what my time was, if I recall my lowest around around 51 seconds or so.

Wrap up
The timed autocross was the final event of the day for my group. We finished around 4pm. After that we headed back inside for a Q&A and debrief with the instructors. This was a good time, they announced the best times on the cloverleaf laps and the timed autocross. The winners got cheesy foam cones (like they do in SC). We chatted about the new M5 sitting outside, Continental vs. Michelin tires, a few other topics. The day ended with everyone getting a swag bag filled with various things, a metal water bottle (honestly, not that nice), a polo shirt, a nice lightweight jacket (I like this a lot and have worn it quite a few times since), and a few other bits and bobs. You also get a certificate for having completed a two-day M-school. Apparently this is required if you ever want to do the Advanced M-school class which is supposed to take place almost exclusively on the various Thermal Club circuits, and with DSC disabled for the bulk of the two-day course. There was talk of the NCC chapter doing this during President's Weekend next year (2019), so maybe I'll get in on that. I'm not sure I'm ready for that, but who knows. I do wish the certificate was of higher quality, though, it looks like someone blew up a .jpg too big for an 8.5x11'' sheet of paper. Ultimately, that was inconsequential to the awesome time I had during the two days.

I should mention that there's also a gift store on site, so I bought t-shirts for each of my girls (6, 8, and 10 years old), another polo shirt for myself, and a BMW GoPro toe-hook mount. I spent around $250 on extra stuff to better remember the experience.

Overall
If you've only ever done BMW classes at Performance Center East you might want to consider doing a two-day event at Performance Center West. I thought the change in venue was worth the price of admission. The instruction track is different and the South Palm circuit is unlike anything they have in South Carolina. That said, if you only do a one-day school I don't know that it would be worth the expense because you don't venture out onto the Thermal Club circuits.

Last edited by orangeglim; 02-10-2021 at 07:08 PM..
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