After 80 miles in my 1M (first US delivered 1M coupe)

[Rico135i]

Originally Posted by AW 1M

My dealer has been great to work with. Hey, I got the first delivery in the US. What more needs to be said. And I'm not sure I can tell you what else they did for me.

You will be a hit at Bimmerfest this weekend if you attended!!!

[Brandon26pdx]

Originally Posted by HP Autowerks

I love the Porsche Sports Buckets as well. Here it is from a Cayman S at our shop with red stitching.

Yeah those are way bad ass. It's sweet how they can be optioned (although pricey) on any Porsche model...even a base Cayman or Boxster if you want. They also weigh 20 lbs less per compared to the standard seats. Strictly for the hardcore enthusiasts.

[cookiesowns]

Originally Posted by Wild Bill

Thanks, we should be picking up our Black 1M from South Bay BMW tomorrow.
I am in the Irvine area, we should get together and compare notes.

WB

I'm in Irvine as Well, and I love photographing Cars, especially BMW's!

I'd love to join you guys on the shoot.

[AW 1M]

NachoB, It was good seing you this morning. We talked about the drone at 60 MPH. I noticed this on the way home. Then I realized I was still in 4th gear. As soon as I upshifted, the drone disappeared. It's not hard to do because the engine is so flexible. It rarely feels strained. It just pulls like I showed you.

[as7920]

drone=resonance?

[AW 1M]

There was no drone or resonance when we were driving. Just the pleasant sound of the engine. My point is that what others might have been calling a drone may have just been due to them being in the wrong gear.

I noticed no resonance or vibration at any speed or engine speed.

[nachob]

Originally Posted by AW 1M

There was no drone or resonance when we were driving. Just the pleasant sound of the engine. My point is that what others might have been calling a drone may have just been due to them being in the wrong gear.

I noticed no resonance or vibration at any speed or engine speed.

AW, thank you again for your generosity in taking me along, next time we run into each other let me get you lunch or something, please.

For those new to the thread, I read about a "drone" at 60-70 in a review. I am leery of bringing up again, because there was NO drone and I don't want to get some rumour started.

I am impartial, looking to buy so if there was something annoying, I would be the first one to take issue before dropping 50K on a car. Yes, you can hear the engine, but it's good sound. If you want Lexus sound, the IS 250 comes in a manual. if you want something that sounds great...here you go.

The car sounds really good. The seats were very comfortable for my 200lb 5'10 frame, it pulls strong and handles great!

The brakes look huge (in a very good way!) on the car. The white of course looks great, the flares make the car look really good. The other suprising thing was that the black looked great too. Normally, I don't like black, but it also looked great. Now I have a new dilemma in that I really want to see orange.

[AW 1M]

My 1M now has 2000 miles and is fully broken in. I could not arrange ED so decided to do the next best thing. I just returned from a 4 day driving trip from Southern California to Northern California and back, taking backroads as much as possible. I drove 1500 miles for a trip that according to Google Maps should take 950 miles. I picked the curviest most deserted roads I could find. I had an absolute blast playing with the 1M. The car was in its element darting from turn to turn up and down the mountain roads. It cornered flat, neutral and predictable. Even in the wet it had plenty of grip. At one point, I was speeding along a wet mountain road in MDM mode. I found that as I was coming around the inside lane of a hairpin turn, I could give it squirt of gas and feel the rear end come out just enough to be exciting but still totally predicable. I had fun it that series of hairpins. Later, I tried the same thing on dry pavement and the rear end wouldn’t budge. It was totally composed which was impressive but not nearly as much fun.

The engine just hums from 3000-6000 RPM with plenty of power. When running at a steady 2600-2800 RPM I noticed a drone at times, which was easily cured by changing gears. The engine is so flexible, it was never very fussy about being in the wrong gear. However it is much happier above 3000 RPM, which translates to just over 80 in 6th gear.

I would describe the car with one word, eager! It is eager to drive fast and play in the curves. It is beyond adequate on the highways but it feels out of its element cruising at a steady speed. There are better cars for that. The 1M feels eager and ready to play on the ribbons of curving 2 lane blacktop. I cannot begin to tell you how much fun I had.

At this point the car just feels right. I see no reason to change anything. The seats are not my favorite but they were still very comfortable and supportive. The car was sure-footed and flat in the corners. I see no reason to change the suspension. It feels oh so right. I’d almost be afraid of messing with it. Sometimes the enemy of good is better.

This white car was pretty stealth most of the time. But it did draw attention at times. The front must look pretty aggressive in the rear view mirror because people seemed to pull over more quickly when I pulled up behind them. The car drew attention from people who knew cars but mostly went unnoticed. The best experience was when I was pulled off to the side of the road planning my route when I see a Lamborghini out of the corner of my eye. I saw his break lights as he slowed to look at my car. He was the leader of a few Lamborghinis’ followed by a Mercedes SLR and a Mercedes SLS bringing up the rear. They all eyed my car and waved as they passed slowly. For a moment I thought about following them. Instead I went right and up another mountain road.

[M3 Adjuster]

AWESOME photos... A week after I got my first E30 M3... I took it on a trip from Indiana to Virginia Beach, with a g/f that had no problem with me running up and down the hills in second and third gear... that was an awesome trip...

[DooBs]

awesome i would have definitely followed haha sounds amazing. find any hidden treasure roads out there?

[Grey Dove]

Great story...... please continue

Love the picture where the roadsigns says "hills and curves for the next 63 miles" and wonder how many miles where already behind.

[AW 1M]

Originally Posted by gs/e60/1m?

Great story...... please continue

Love the picture where the roadsigns says "hills and curves for the next 63 miles" and wonder how many miles where already behind.

All but the first two pictures were taken along Highway 1. Highway 1 is currently closed due to a landslide about 30 miles north of Cambria. So I decided to go as far north on 1 as I could and then turn around and go inland. Then on the way home I went as far south on 1 to the last picture above. I then turned around and found a mountain road and headed inland. Because of the closure, traffic was extremely light which made for my best drive on Highway 1 ever.

The first night I had a hotel reserved north of Cambria. I was having so much fun, I just didn't want to stop. I ended up in Cambria with the trip computer saying I had 12 miles until empty. I pulled into the gas station to find gas was $4.99 a gallon. I hope that is the most expensive fill up I ever have in this car. It was worth every penny.

[///1M]

AW 1M,
What is your average fuel usage / MPG?

[AW 1M]

Originally Posted by DooBs

awesome i would have definitely followed haha sounds amazing. find any hidden treasure roads out there?

As I mentioned above Highway 1 is great because the landslide is keeping the traffic way down.

Highway 33 north of Ojai is freshly paved and a joy to drive. My favorite roads were the barely two lane roads with no stripe and lots of curves. My favorite road is one where I saw more squirrels than other cars.

Overall this was the best 4 days of driving I have ever had, better even than driving in Europe. It was just me, the road and the car.

I told my wife that it was better for both of us that she flew and I drove.

[AW 1M]

Originally Posted by ///1M

What is your average fuel usage / MPG?

It ranged from 19.5 at the beginning of the trip to 21.5 near the end. I think it improved due to a change in my driving style and the break in.

[///1M]

Originally Posted by AW 1M

It ranged from 19.5 at the beginning of the trip to 21.5 near the end. I think it improved due to a change in my driving style and the break in.

That's impressive, considering the output of this engine.
Were you especially easy on the throttle? Was there some "spirited" driving involved? My old 330 rarely averaged over 20. Granted, there was a steady mix of city driving involved.

[evolution80]

Originally Posted by AW 1M

...I pulled into the gas station to find gas was $4.99 a gallon. I hope that is the most expensive fill up I ever have in this car. It was worth every penny.

first of all, nice to see you also got some good roads over there
that is about half the price for gas we are paying at the moment...

[AW 1M]

Originally Posted by ///1M

That's impressive, considering the output of this engine.
Were you especially easy on the throttle? Was there some "spirited" driving involved? My old 330 rarely averaged over 20. Granted, there was a steady mix of city driving involved.

Quite the opposite, I think I was pretty aggressive on the throttle. On the mountain roads I enjoyed the car more if I kept the RPM's in the 3-5 K range.

[gotboost426]

Quick question, do you have the option with the DSC to turn of TC completely?

[nachob]

Great followup! I am now trying to find an allocation for Euro Delivery!

Looking to get the white like yours, except with no options.

Thanks again for all your help!

IB

[hollysmac]

Originally Posted by gotboost426

Quick question, do you have the option with the DSC to turn of TC completely?

Yes. A short press puts it mdm mode and a long press turns off everything but ABS. Both my e46 M3 & my z3 3.0 did this . I call this the happy button.

holly
VO - 470 miles but lanning a trip to Vermont over Memorial Day weekend 360 each way. Finally!

[///1M]

Originally Posted by AW 1M

Quite the opposite, I think I was pretty aggressive on the throttle. On the mountain roads I enjoyed the car more if I kept the RPM's in the 3-5 K range.

Thanks AW 1M. The folks at BMW have created a "best of both worlds" car.