NSL

As many of you may already know, we just returned from a couple of days at the BMW plant in Spartanburg, SC, where we enjoyed a full day of driving a 6 Series and a lot of other cars at the BMW 6 Series Performance Driving Experience!
This was an exhilarating, fun, and memorable experience! It started for us by arriving at the Airport and being picked up by a brand new 5 Series Touring. We were taken to our Hotel (all previously arranged by BMW) and greeted with a nice welcoming brochure and a couple of 6 Series shirts (this made a nice collectible item, or a cool shirt to wear on Friday casuals at the office lol). Dinner was also by BMW (fair warning: for those of you that don't know, the State of South Carolina has blue law on Sundays! So if you arrive on a Sunday (like we did) that translates to no alcohol!

The following day was when the real fun began. 8:30 AM sharp a bus was waiting for us to take us to the plant and as soon as we arrived they greeted and escorted us to a briefing room where before anything else each one of us had to sign a waiver form! (liability, etc, etc, and sign away with our driver's licenses). This already tells you that you are going for a really nice ROLLER COASTER ride! LOL (they don't make you sign those at Busch Gardens or Disney World ).

After an introduction and briefing by the instructors, we were separated into two groups (6 cars each) and were taken outside to the lot where we were given a 6 Series and follow the caravan to our first performance driving experience.



The caravan follows the instructor (in the X3) around the first circuit.



Following the instructor around the first slalom and intense curving/breaking while he is explaining us via radio what we must do at each point on the circuit, which we later do by ourselves.


We had a blast all day! Only thing we regretted was not being able to visit the plant (due to the upcoming new X5, the plant was being re-fitted and tours were canceled. They compensated by doing twice the performance driving that extended all the way till 4:00 PM. No city or site tours either, like I had heard from other owners; someone told us the caravans of 6ers called too much attention on the streets plus some drivers were getting tickets for speeding, etc, so they decided to cancel that.



Here we are awaiting to go on our next tour. "Pure Joy".


Instead, great part of the afternoon was spent with rat races and timed circuits were you get to compete a little bit and have a blast! To me was a lot of fun, not sure if everyone agreed, since many of us were getting a bit tired of pushing the cars so much for almost 8 hours straight (with a short 30 mins break for lunch at their cafeteria in the premises (also taken care by BMW).

We started with circuit runs, slalom and cornering, then moved to the skid pad (LOTS OF FUN HERE, IF YOU LIKE SPINNING AROUND THIS IS FOR YOU ), I know it is for me, I had a blast! Of course this is mainly to teach you how to apply the right maneuvers to compensate/avoid understeering/oversteering and to learn how the Dynamic Stability Control (DSC) works (you disable it on the wet surface and then re-engage it and try to do the same maneuvers to experience how the car is aiding you. But for the few of us, gear-heads, petrol-heads, lead foots..... we really want to spin 180, 270, 360 if you are lucky, and avoid hitting the ditch of course.... this was a lot of fun. The instructor goes with you and we took turns (two designated 6ers are the ones they use for this, not the ones they give to you (to give the detailing guys a break ).



The skid pad is being set up. The two 6ers await for the turns.



The blue one is getting ready to go in for a 'spin' (you can see the instructor (Matt) on the passenger side). In the background you can see me already having fun on the skid pad.



That's the other group awaiting for their turn on the skid pad.


The third tour we had was the 'performace driving test' of most cars in their line. We all got to drive them back to back in a circuit and noticed the great differences between each one of them. This was a very enjoyable experience too; I also noticed most owners (by now many of us were like buddies, joking, laughing, really having a good time!) liked this if not the most because we had the following cars lined up to test drive on a closed circuit: a Z4, 330i, Z4 M (with manual tranny), M5, M6, and 760Li!!
All of them wonderful cars and each one with its own personality. Of course, since we were all 6 Series owners, the M6 was the all time winner when I asked a few of them which was their favorite. Most of us, 'gearheads' were M6, then M5, or M5 then M6, and the rest were a mixed group of Z4 M, 7 Series, etc.
All of them gorgeous cars, what's not to like? They are all winners in their own rights!



Ready for another turn, you can see the red M6 in the background (part of the performance driving too).



This is the 6er we drove. The red Z4 and the 330i in the background are ready and waiting for the performance driving.


During the afternoon we did rat races on a smaller skid pad, with penalties for spinning, hitting cones, etc; then the timed circuit (sort of a pole position pre-quals) was the most intense were all of the things learned during the day applied, a larger circuit filled with cones, tight turns, a wet section, slalom and hard breaking between cones with 2 second penalties for each cone hit, or stopping the car outside the cone area. Each one of us took turns at the wheels and each one of us did everything.

The instructors were very knowleadgeable and very professional. A great gang talking to us via radio at all times while we were behind the wheels. With the exception of the skid pad, were you have the instructor in the car with you.

Funny, during our performace driving there was also a teenage driving course happening on a neighboring circuit. They were all in 3 Series. The look on their faces was priceless!



Some of the 3 series from the Teenage Driving School on the neighboring circuit as we enter ours.



Same as above.



A fleet of M3s parked on the side.



More M3s.



I wonder what they use these for?



We spotted a couple of new X5s driving around while waiting for our next turn on the circuit.


Later that night, BMW took us downtown for a great dinner at a fancy place called the Commerce Club (on the 17th floor of a building downtown). All of us shared this great driving experience and we continued sharing our experiences during dinner. I met great people, some were friends, others were couples and even father/son teams.

BMW wants you to take this two day trip (already paid when you purchase the car) and for any of you out there that has doubts about going for this, you should do it, it is well worth it! Pack light too because they give you everything, even the last day they pay for a relaxation time of your choice: golfing/tennis/or spa treatments (popular among the ladies).
...Or you can skip it all if you decided to spend the night out and kept on sleeping through the morning.

Overall, a great experience, and a great introduction to 'other' BMW driving courses, like the M-driving experience, or the professional driving courses they have.. I sure look forward to be back there again .

Curb Zone

 

Alx

That was a terrific write-up and great photos and stories!!

Makes you feel like your right there in the car with you!!!

Its great to have time like this with instructors and you can go all out with some real monster cars! Gives you an overall sense of wht you can do with the car, and even a sense of boundries when your going to far with it!

Sounds like the ultimate driving experience! Hope you and your wife had a great time!!!

Sounds like a must for any driving enthusiast!

I give this thread 5 stars! And what a great 600th post!!!

El Zorro

Thanks for the great report and the beautiful pictures!
The 6er is such a sexy car, but I barely see them on the streets over here.
Could you explain more thoroughly how different the driving experience is in a Z4M, 330i, 760Li, M5, ...? I'm very interested to know this.

gustavo

Great post, NSL. Many thanks for sharing!

siko

Sweet NSL!

this makes my past "BMW Driving Experience" stints puny in comparison!

Yannis

Wow , amazing experience. What more can i say.

Porsche Guy

Two months ago I attended the M performance driving school, at the same facitily. It sounds like it was the same thing as the 6 series school but this one was for people who purchased either an M5 or M6. We did a lot of the same stuff but we only used M cars. We used M3s for the rat race (i won) and skid pad. We did some timed laps with Z4 M roadsters (I won that too). We also got to mess around for a couple laps in M5s and M6s. Did the instrutors take you for a lap in M3s at the end of the day? They spent more time burning out and powersliding than going straight. It was awesome.

Michael

Unfortunately they did not let you drive the M6 so that you can feel the difference in the car. Oh well, I am sure this is an experience you will never forget.

I would love to do this one day.

Do you know what cars bring his package included? Does the new 335i have this?

NSL

Thanks Alx! Just like you said, a must for any driving enthusiast!

NSL

The cars for this part of the experience were lined up in this order:
Z4
330i
Z4 M
M5
M6
760Li

All of them were pre-setup for us and given to us with engines running (M5 and M6 were already pre-programmed with the shortest timing for shifting, P500 mode, etc). We were asked not to turn off the engines when changing cars and we drove them to one of the circuits.
Once there and lined up, we started the performance driving, all together, sort-of racing each other around the circuit and keeping the shifting up to 2nd gear only (small circuit and a lot of pep).
The instructor on the side of the circuit kept us on radio and would tell the red Z4 (the one in front) when it was time to turn in. First stop you would change drivers, and allow a few secs for adjusting seat, steering, etc. Second stop was for changing cars. We started with the first one, the red Z4, so for us the next one was the 760Li, and so on (the drivers of the last car would move up until they reached the first car).

The Z4 M compares to the Z4 obviously except that since it had a manual tranny, it was a lot more involving than the automatic. I got to do a nice tire burning and spinning with the M at take off which I loved. Both Z4 and Z4 M (with open tops) had similar handling but the M obviously had a lot more power. You could feel it from the very moment you stepped on the gas pedal.

Not sure why the lining of cars was that way, but the Z4 M (at least myself driving it) I would catch up to the 330i almost at all times obviously due to the overwhelming power of the M in contrast to the 330i and had to idle and break a bit too much on it...

The M5 was no surprise to me since I had already driven it before, same excitement, never gets old. The M6, well, that was my favorite, you could feel a little bit more sportiness than in the M5 and the handling was just as rewarding as the 6er, with a dose of steroids of course, and the noticeable extra amount of power (you can easily tell -and feel- there's an extra 140 HPs there). You can also notice the interior of the M6 is a notch above the M5, more in line with the 6 Series, as it should be.
M5 and M6 back to back very comparable and a nice pair to have in your garage if you are into M cars. Both beautiful to look at, they look great together.

The 760Li, ahhh, well what can I say about the flagship of BMW. Superb! This is a very HEAVY yacht. Not one to be used on these circuits obviously, but one for pleasant drives around town and long trips. Very very plush and comfortable. Tons of power to spare, filled with techno gadgets but handling just like a big boat (when compared to the other cars in line). It is a big car and the V12 feels appropriate for such a vehicle.
The 7 Series and M6 also look good together!! and the interior's are not as far apart as, say, 6 Series and 3 Series.
You can tell the leather of the 7 like no other one from BMW, everything a bit more meticulously fitted and the materials used felt first class.

The 330i felt a bit underpowered and heavy, lacking the good handling the others had on the circuit. It is a nice small car except it was eclipsed here by their bigger and more expensive siblings.

Overall, body built, fit and finish all very good, the 3er interior controls felt a bit plasticky, the 760Li the most luxurious and quiet obviously, the M5 and M6 built for performance inside and out almost intoxicating when squeezing that gas pedal and hearing the roars revving up and down.
The Z4s had a lack of that typical German 'thunk' when you closed those heavy and thick doors (maybe they are lighter than what they appeared to be) it was more like a 'clank'. The flaming surfacing is something really enjoyable from the inside, it feels like the car 'flows' as you see this long and beautiful hood. A fun car to have for weekends if you ask me; not my choice for every day.
All in all, each car felt appropriate for their own category.

Curb Zone