[Rikx1M]

Originally Posted by Dackelone

I have a couple of questions for Rudi & Rick...

Since you guys now have some seat time in a M3.... how did you like the M3's compared to your 1M's? Loved it...stable and planted, DCT wonderful on track as you could downshift and brake quite hard and then gas and go out of the corners. With the M3 there's much less drama going around course fast. That being said, we were averaging 2:15-2:20 a lap and it was fast but not exhilarating. With my 135i which also had DCT, I averaged 2:20-2:30 a lap and it was intense...much more involving as a driver...but a caveat is that it was also during tourist drive so mixing with other traffic needs to be kept in mind when comparing the overall feelings and intensity of driving these two cars.

Which engine do you prefer? V8! The sound of the M3 V8 is intoxicating....the sound of 20+ V8s was ecstasy.

Would you still buy a 1M IF you had to do it all over again>? Yes, I had that choice as I drove M3s at least 10 times, from E46 thru modern versions. I could have afforded an M3, I just couldn't justify to myself 1/2 the cost of a decent house (in USA) for a car that would depreciate to 50% or less after a five years.

(and IF they were still being made)- Good question, I think if the 1M was a car that you could walk into the show room and order, it would still be a car I'd covet since I'm not purely interested in sound or smooth ride or performance. The complete package is more for me. These M3s took a beating that day and I found them to be fantastic. I would definitely pick up a used M3 like a 2008 or 2009 and have that for a track car. After the class I jumped into my little brother M and had a shit-eating grin as I drove home. It was fast, responsive, didn't feel large and difficult to move. When I got into the M3, I gave it some gas and it felt like the brake was on...I had forgotten that feeling from earlier test drives. I gave it more gas and it moved sluggishly. But, give it a footful of gas and it goes, fast, stable and muscular....... I'd still pick the 1M if only one or the other. Plus it was cool knowing that even big, bad BMW would be hard pressed to collect 26 1Ms for a driving course. I went to a M Flight event a month ago and there were 40-50 M3s and M5s...I had the only 1M. So I seriously think in 20 years, this 1M will retain much higher values compared to these E92s.

I noticed some video cameras up next to the mirror... was that something BMW do or was that one of Rick's camera's ? BMW had these cars rigged with Racelogic systems with graphics superimposed over two video shots...see the video link I just edited on my original posting or later on my YouTube channel (rikxvideos)

You guys must be hooked on track events now.

Lets say we are tuning our ECUs for increased performance....this is only stage 1

Does that help?