BMW – Cars Break

The Day I Became a Stunt Driver

The…. one day I got weirdly lucky and landed a stunt driving gig because I wouldn’t let the company’s guy drive my car. Yes, it’s a technicality but dammit I’m the guy driving in a commercial!

I was at Utah Motorsports Campus showing the worker ladies how TopDrift works and they let told me someone was looking for a nice car to film while drifting. There is a drift club in Salt Lake City but I guess their cars were too beat up for prime time.

The client turned out to be Xinsurance, a company who claims they will insure anything. To make the point clear, they show all kinds of extreme sports and the voice over keeps saying “THIS is covered, THIS is covered” etc. The video shoot at UMC was two hours and I was in the commercial for a total of less than two seconds but I’m not complaining. This is the commercial that aired on Monday night football:

Needless to say I was pretty stoked when this came out. I was certain it’s only a matter of time before big brands come knocking and want to pay big bucks for my driving skills. They haven’t yet, but any day now…..

Here’s more footage from the shoot. Hard to be satisfied with .75 seconds of drift footage when you spent two hours thrashing your car around.

TopDrift’s first event in Utah!

Are you a drifter? Do you meander from town to town looking for your next meal or grift? Do you mumble barely audible nonsense as you rummage through people’s trash? Then TopDrift is PERFECT for you!

Every guy out there thinks he’s the best driver in the world. Or, at least could be if he just had the right shot, coaching, budget, etc. I’d also like to argue that drifting is indeed the universal language. Everyone loves sliding a car around in a snowy parking lot. Everyone has a dream car. But what do you really want to do in that dream car? Compete for fastest lap at Laguna Seca? Win a glorious race against top competition and against all odds? I’d argue nay.

What people want more than anything is to burn rubber in a controlled slide. All over the world, all cultures want this more than anything. To the world’s humans I present: TopDrift.net

TopDrift allows everyone to enjoy the thrill of drifting in a controlled, safe environment with an added twist of competition and fun.

Normally formula drift is scored like figure skating – very qualitative and based on opinion. Winners smile big while losers cry foul. Not with TopDrift. We have objective telemetry equipment measuring your drift angle so we know exactly how many points you scored. And how many you didn’t because of a spin. Our first event is July 5, 2019 at Utah Motorsports Campus. Come on out and enjoy!

Track Day: Utah Motorsport Campus West with 2018 BMW M3 Manual

In 2006 Utah was given one of the greatest gifts a state can get: an international-quality racetrack. Back then it was called Miller Motorsports Park and it was sponsored by the legendary Larry H. Miller of car dealership and NBA Jazz owner fame.

The track recently changed ownership and is now called Utah Motorsports Campus. They hold races like Moto America, Super Moto, Pirelli World Challenge, and many more. In addition to big racing series they also have open track days for which I am incredibly grateful.

This track is unique in that it can be broken up into 3 different configurations: East, West, and Outer. East and West are both 2.2 miles and Outer is 3.06 which makes it one of the longer tracks in the USA. One neat feature about UMC is that it’s one of the safer racetracks out there. Many of the turns have a very large dirt area to slide off into instead of greeting a concrete wall. Les Tracks:

East is really fun because it still has the “attitudes” which is basically a 3-part chicane and is super fun.

I’ve only done West once, and it’s very different from East as you’ll find out in the video.

Outer is the best because it has all the best turns of the track and a freaking HUGE 1/2 mile straight. Some bikes can get up to 200mph on this part. My record thus far is in my Dinan Stage 1 340i @ 143mph but I haven’t had a chance to take the M3 on it just yet.

And this is what the track looks like all together:

And now for the good stuff: watching me make a fool out of myself trying to chase down a $100k+ non street-legal lotus driven by a former champion motorcycle racer. It was still a ton of fun and I benefitted directly from UMC’s nice dirt slide off areas.

I did have some good laps, though, and my best of the day was a 1:57.06, which is about on par with some of the amateur racing clubs out there with fully prepped Miatas or Porsche 944s. Anyone who has done track days knows that keeping up with any class of racing while in a full interior daily driver is not too shabby.

2016 BMW 340i Stock Dyno Run

Here’s the video of a stock dyno run on a 2016 BMW 340i to get a baseline before any tuning. Looks like 302 hp at the wheels and 312 lb ft of torque. The DynoJet estimated 365 hp compensating for elevation so who knows what the real number is. But these numbers seem pretty accurate based on the numbers I ran at the local drag strip recently.

I guess this sucker does 145 mph in 5th gear 😀 and it’s got 8 gears.

First 1/4 Mile Run with 2016 BMW 340i bone stock

Went to the drag strip last night, here are my numbers:

Rocky Mtn Raceway is at 4200 ft

RUN1 – 13.742 @ 102.56 mph – Sport+, DCT not fully defeated
RUN2 – 13.660 @ 103.67 mph – Sport+, full launch control
RUN3 – 13.676 @ 103.44 mph – Sport +, full launch control

As many of you know, for launch control to work you have to actually drive around a bit, not just wait until the engine is warm. I heard it was 6 miles but I tried it at 3 miles of circling the pits and it worked.

So that’s a bone stock 2016 340i AT M Sport w/ track handling on 19″ wheels, oem summer performance bridgestone runflats.

I’m doing a dyno run next week then it’s getting the stage 1 Dinan. I’m really excited to see how the claimed extra 95 rear-wheel ponies affect the dyno numbers and ETs.

And yes, my reaction times do suck Maybe that’ll get a little better next time, too.

Timeslips:

2016 BMW 340i: How fast? With what mileage now?

BMW has ruled and reigned in the sport sedan category since they created it back in the 1970s. What they’re able to accomplish today is nothing short of miraculous. What if I told you it’s possible to have a brand new car that does low 13’s in the quarter mile, 4.2 seconds 0-60, carries 5 adults, pulls nearly a full lateral G, and gets 33mpg on the freeway for $48,195? Welcome to 2017. That’s a 2018 BMW 340i with a Stage 1 Dinan tune. And zero options 😃.

Luckily mine was used so I didn’t have to spend nearly that much but I just picked one up after a LOT of shopping. Behold:

It was such a great deal I took a one-way flight to Burbank and drove back to Utah 2 weeks ago.

This Friday it’s time to hit the drag strip and get some stock numbers so I can see how big of a difference the tune makes. Did I mention that on the 340i you get 40 extra horsepower? Good times.

Wide Open Wednesday at Utah Motorsports Campus (UMC) Formerly Miller Motorsports Park

Wide Open Wednesday is a ton of fun. Miller Motorsports Park was built in 2006 and bore the name until it was purchased by another company in 2015 following the death of Larry Miller a couple years prior. It’s now called Utah Motorsports Campus and it’s back with tons of great events on and off road.

Here’s the lineup before we were allowed onto the track and pit area. That’s a 2016 M2, Camaro SS, Z06, GT350, STI, 328, 2009 M3, and a few more in there.

Wide Open Wednesday (WOW) is typically the first Wednesday of each month during the summer. Pay $25 and run what you brung. You can even spring for some 100 octane unleaded if you’re feeling crazy and think it will make a difference in your lap time like me. It’s $9.27 per gallon but makes you feel reallly cool. Also if you’re not running catalytic converters feel free to burn the 110 octane leaded stuff. Totally full of booyah, that stuff. Makes my dirtbike run like a champ.

One of the fun things about WOW is you’ll see all kinds of people there. You’ve got the quintessential douchebag with a brand new M3 or M2, the total garbage-fest group of Honda Civics with nothing but a muffler delete, and everything in between. I hope to become one of those M3 douchebags soon.

This is a measly 2009 M3 but still a very cool car. High-revving V8 and some very sticky tires. This guy wasn’t a douchebag, just very talkative a little odd.

This is a highly modded car, had a big nasty turbo, racing seats, and removable steering wheel. I guess part of the point of that is so you can actually get inside the car – the seats have such high lateral supports that your leg literally wouldn’t fit past the wheel if you tried to climb in.

Ye Olde 110 octane. Only $9.09 per gallon!

This rig was nuts – dude put an LS1 out of a GTO in a teeny tiny 318 BMW. It sounded great but very much not how you’d expect a little beemer to meow.

Guess I forgot to take any pictures of my car, oh well. It was a blast to do this again, last year I only made it out once. I got up to 92mph on the back straight but keep in mind this was only the 1-mile course and not the full 2-miler with that huge massive straight section it normally has. Also we were limited to cone gates so not as many people would go flying off the track into the dirt, although a few still did. I’m looking at you, yellow and blue all-body-work and no suspension parts, tires, or brakes Honda. Try to keep it on the tarmac next time. That said I came pretty close to sliding off myself a few times haha. Highly recommended.

BMW Performance Driving School – 2 Day Car Control Class in Spartanburg, SC

I give you the happiest place on earth.

Recently I had the opportunity to be a stow away on a friend’s private Jet that was headed from Salt Lake City to North Carolina. That in and of itself was a very cool experience aboard a 1994 Bombardier LearJet 60. Very fast, very smooth aircraft.

I decided that if I was going all the way to Greensboro NC that I might as well drive down to Spartanburg SC and indulge in a little BMW fun. That particular week all they had was a 2 day car control school so that’s what I signed up for.

The school starts off with some really great hot chocolate (I’m not a coffee drinker) and introductions to your teachers. We were lucky enough to be instructed by none other than the Guiness World Record holder for the longest continuous drift – Johan Schwartz. He is also two time winner of the Pirelli World cup racing series. Very cool guy from Denmark who knows his stuff.

The first thing we did was hop into an M235i and do some slalom exercises. Then it was off to the skid pad in a 340i which was probably my favorite part of the whole experience other than the “BWM Buffet” on the last day where you drive an M3, Z4, M6, and X6M one right after another on a closed course at full tilt.

We also did some “autocross” stuff with the M235’s where you are timed in driving through a slalom with a wet U-turn. The second day also had some romping in an X5 which was somewhat interesting although the course was a bit cheesy and most of us probably wanted to jump the thing rather than drive slowly through 30″ of water.

On the last day they take you for a “hot lap” in one of the cars, this one is of Johan blasting through the mini course on one end of the performance center.

If this looks like good times to you, the 2-day car control course is $1550 but if I buy it for you and you pay me back you get 20% off because I have a BMW credit card The 2 day M performance course is $2900 and that’s the one I’d like to do next. It’s more race training and you get a bit more time behind the wheel of strictly M cars. They have tracks for this in SC and LA.

Here’s another video of their “Hot Lap” for people who are picking up a brand new car from the performance facility. You get to try you new car out on a track and get some professional instruction with it.

2016 BMW i8: Much future, many fast, wow.

The i8 is the first BMW in mod’n times with super sweet swing-up doors. And they work great! I was expecting them to be difficult to close and cumbersome to open but was pleasantly surprised.
092_BMW_i8

Getting in, however is a bit of a chore. Pretend you have a mini-skirt on, turn around, bend at the knees while keeping your legs together and fall backward onto the seat. That’s the routine I found myself performing upon entry. Plus there’s a rather tall lip to overcome when you get into the car due to a carbon-fiber bucket the majority of the frame is composed of.

i8_Interior

One strange thing I’ve noticed about 2012+ BMW’s is they all have this v8-sounding throaty exhaust note regardless of engine configuration. The 328’s I-4, M4’s I-6, etc. The i8 is probably the most surprising vehicle to sing that song because it only has 3 fuel-burning cylinders. And it sounds fantastic.

Acceleration really feels like a standard petrol car, there’s no strange rush of space-god force attacking your rear like in a Model-S or whining electric noise like in the i3. All you can hear is the beautiful exhaust note an a subtle squish noise from your face smiling.

Supposedly if you drive like a grandma (who’s not a car enthusiast) you can get about 100mpg but in the real world and under normal driving with the occasional burn of glee I’m guessing you’ll see something like 40mpg. Pretty impressive for a car that can blast you to 60 mph in 4.2 seconds.

2016 BMW X6M: Why not?

There are so many ways BMW packages it’s lethal twin turbo 4.4L V8 you might as well go with some extra cargo room. M5 has dominated the mid-sized dragon-slayer sedan category for decades now and the 2016 is no exception. It’s fast, handles well, stops incredibly well, and is basically a super car with a back seat. But what if you could tow a boat and fold the seats down to make room for a welder or cabinet piece?

I guess that’s where the X6M comes in. In short, it’s really weird. If you’re always fantasized about owning 550hp grocery getter then look no further; a grocery getter that has a slightly sleeker profile that the X5. And that’s not an M5. BMW has so many platforms a person has to take up a new hobby in Bavarian naming conventions to keep them all straight.

In the cockpit it’s typically Beemer comforts like heads up display, great sound, adaptive cruise, etc. Moving as quickly as this car does while sitting higher up like an SUV is a weird but fantastic feeling. Even with it’s massive 285mm paws in the rear it can still light them up if you romp on it in 1st gear with the traction control off.

My favorite thing about this car is the raspy, angry exhaust note they gave it. To me it sounds significantly more pissed off than the M5.

bmw-x6-m-2015-pictures-289469