Video of me driving M4 on the Nuerburgring

[Tom (Atl)]

me driving the M4 in a tourist session at the Nürburgring last year. not a track day and not meant to exemplify a perfect lap, just a fun lap to share! hope you enjoy.

you can see digital speed (in MPH) and Digital gear if you look closely in the video. But the analog speed needle is in KPH.

Sorry for the massive A pillar in the first half of the video!

I will upload another M4 'Ring video soon that is much better quality with amazing audio (mic'd to bumper / exhaust).

[AYTifosi]

Awesome! Thanks for sharing. Did you run that through the BMW Driving Experience?

I'm heading there later in 2016. Can't wait!

[Tom (Atl)]

Yes, though this was an 'extra' lap on my own. But the school is great, you will have fun!

[Uponone76]

Not gonna lie, I'm a little jelly over here....... Lol

Congrats man and good driving. That looks like a total blast!

[Brasko]

Cool.

[Xtabi]

That was AWESOME! Thanks for posting.

[Tom (Atl)]

Oops digital speed is mph, analog needle speed is kph (euro m4). Also MDM mode was used (also euro, higher limit than US MDM), very good for track, very natural.

[Tom (Atl)]

Why does it matter?

[S65V8]

cool vid! how many times have you driven around the ring, you seem to know it pretty well, pushing the car too. Good stuff!

[mike@x-ph.com]

Thanks for sharing , looks fun

[aboulfad]

Man, you make it look so easy... What's the top speed on that run, On top of zooming by other cars it sounded you were so relaxed and having a conversation! I was shitting my pants just watching it. And what's with the yellow towing truck, was he driving the track ??? Nice video and driving, thanks for posting.

[Tom (Atl)]

Then why did you ask? If it doesn't matter, don't ask. It changes and taints the thread.
It's easy to notice that you ask pointed Qs to me on multiple threads. Maybe you are just curious, but EVERYONE ELSE OTHER THAN YOU had comments on this thread RELATED TO the video. your sarcastic only furthers my opinion... please stop following me around and being sarcastic / critical on all my threads. It's nice that you are smart and posts are well written, but if you combined those positives and took the negativity / sarcasm / fake apologies away your posts would be much better. PM if you need to talk about this more.

Now back to actual topic (please)...

[Tom (Atl)]

Originally Posted by SROC5

cool vid! how many times have you driven around the ring, you seem to know it pretty well, pushing the car too. Good stuff!

The 'Ring is my favorite place on earth!
How many times? Not enough! But I have been going almost every year since 2006 usually for visits of at least a couple days. I have probably made 7 trips to Europe primarily just to go to the 'Ring. Cars I can recall right now:
- 335i manual (was under 9 minutes on my very first visit, still have the video too)
- 135i manual (not as good chassis as the 335i, twitchier in extreme situations)
- A6 3.0 TDi AWD manual (that was interesting)
- Mini manual
- Z4 3.0 TT DCT (S54)
- M235i manual
- A3 Sport DCT
- M4 (ceramic brake), M4 (steel brake), M4 (steel brake with upgraded pads), M3 (steel brake) all DCT

I'm forgetting a couple. I've also been on the F1 track a few times, which I love as well, but nothing compares to the Nordschleife.

I've done 2,000+ virtual simulation (gaming) laps there. Many hours of my life for sure. I highly recommend doing this before your first visit. I'm usually in the top 0.1% of online competitions like GT Academy, getting started in Assetto Corsa soon). I strongly believe in simulators for training.

I've definitely purchased European Delivery cars that I didn't want just because it works out cheaper (net cost) than getting an equal performance & HP rental.

[Tom (Atl)]

Originally Posted by aboulfad

Man, you make it look so easy... What's the top speed on that run, On top of zooming by other cars it sounded you were so relaxed and having a conversation! I was shitting my pants just watching it. And what's with the yellow towing truck, was he driving the track ??? Nice video and driving, thanks for posting.

That is a good Q - It's probably not that fast. I usually get above 140 MPH in Fuchsröhre (Fox Hole - the downhill compression before Adenauer Forst) but I didn't in this vid because it was a tourist driving session (bad unpredictable behaviour everywhere) and I had a passenger (220 lb extra on the right side of the car).

Unfortunately most of my videos have conversation. The worst was when riding with my girlfriend the first time (335i), I met a retired engineer who designed the 2002 and 3 series for 30 years and made a video following him (in his Mini), but in my car we were having a convo about her dance & ballet recitals while the tires were screaming. Lol. I had to dub over it with music later but it still didn't completely drown it out
I found the link for it:

I think I have one from this year where I hooked up an external mic and had better video positioning... I will try to find it and upload.

Yes, the yellow tow truck was definitely having fun! Probably on his way to an incident to help someone. Might as well enjoy the drive over!

[aboulfad]

jeez some of us have never seen 100mph ... let alone 140mph ... ok i need to go on a track next year

[Tom (Atl)]

Originally Posted by aboulfad

jeez some of us have never seen 100mph ... let alone 140mph ... ok i need to go on a track next year

Yes, I highly recommend it! Go in with an open mind, level head, and nothing to prove other than a desire to learn.
All driving events near you (and how to register for them) are posted here:
http://www.motorsportreg.com/calendar/

Seeing what these cars can really do is something special. After all, that is what we work so hard for, save up, and pay for, so might as well see what the engineering made it capable of!

And just for others going to the Ring in their ED cars - going 145 MPH through Fox Hole is not something to do for your 1st, 2nd, or even 10th track day. Going straight downhill, then back up and left under full suspension compression with your tires bottoming out into the wheel well (and car going straight when you need it to go left to stay on pavement and avoid a wall) is not worth pushing for the extra 10 MPH unless you know what to do in milliseconds whenever that happens.

Learn technique, safety, and consistency first, then add speed later.