[jh_f30]

Any Bay Area folks sign up for the SF Ultimate Driving Experience? I registered for the 11:00am autocross session on Monday, July 29th. I went last year. It was pretty fun, and they're showcasing the G20 this year so it should be more fun than the 530e they had last year.

[andino]

I’m thinking about signing up for it. Has anyone done it before? Seems pretty cool!

[Gen13 F36]

I did that twice its fun. You can drive M3, M4, M5 and new models. What BMW bring out available to drive. They have instructor.

You can also drive your car.

[mikesmitherino]

Signed up for July 27th @ 2PM. Will be my first time at this event or any event like this at all. Look forward to it!

[Dheeth-G80]

myself and N26Ghost going Sunday, July 28 at 11:00AM

[jh_f30]

Originally Posted by Dheeth-F30

myself and N26Ghost going Sunday, July 28 at 11:00AM

Nice. I'll look for your guys' times.

[Calvin36]

I didn't see any link for it! I got emails before about it. I'm sure it's all booked up now. Aww shucks.

[jh_f30]

Originally Posted by Calvin36

I didn't see any link for it! I got emails before about it. I'm sure it's all booked up now. Aww shucks.

https://udesf.eventsbmw.com

Looks like there are some spots left on Aug 1 & 2. Waitlists for all the July dates.

[Calvin36]

Originally Posted by jh_f30

https://udesf.eventsbmw.com

Looks like there are some spots left on Aug 1 & 2. Waitlists for all the July dates.

Busy those dates. Booo thanks for the link though.

[bimmer456]

Yeah it's pretty awesome. If you want to drive m cars you have to pay but you can drive m cars at the m town tour event for free.

[bimmer456]

Originally Posted by Calvin36

Busy those dates. Booo thanks for the link though.

You can just show up people often no show so you should be able to get a spot. Also the test drives don't require appointment it's first come first served.

[Calvin36]

Originally Posted by bimmer456

You can just show up people often no show so you should be able to get a spot. Also the test drives don't require appointment it's first come first served.

Might give it a go! Thanks

[FaRKle!]

I went to the UDE today. Wasn't able to get any test drives in, but did do the M340i AutoX. We were told that the SF Bay Area UDE is the first one to use the M340i (previous ones this year have used 330i).

I wasn't terribly impressed with the M340i. The rear suspension isn't very well sorted. It feels over damped in rebound and over the parking lot pavement it felt like the rear was jacking down into the bump stops, which then made things harsh and bouncy. I guess people will think it feels "sportier" but to me it was just sloppy.

The M340i should please those who think F3x cars have too much "wheel gap." It doesn't have very much. I really hate the angled character line just behind the front wheel. From some angles it looks really out of place and makes you say "did the car get hit and the sheet metal get bent?" One thing I noticed is that the front thrust arm bushing looks to be the same as F3x xDrive instead of the one with the longer center like F3x sDrive. I was expecting the brake pads to be significantly wider than F3x brembo ones since the caliper is larger overall, but it looked like it was about the same... BMW also sized down on the tires for G20. The front tires were Michelin Pilot Sport 4S 225/40-18 vs 225/45-18 on F30. About 0.9" smaller in diameter.

I won my autoX group, and was also told I had the fastest time on that track today. If you want to compare times with me, ask to be put on track #5, because the other tracks are laid out differently and thus not comparable.

[AK415]

I was at the 11am session today, it was a good experience.

Is it just me or the throttle response was slow and there were too much body roll? The car was in sports individual though.

[FaRKle!]

Originally Posted by AK415

I was at the 11am session today, it was a good experience.

Is it just me or the throttle response was slow and there were too much body roll? The car was in sports individual though.

Body roll seemed fine to me. I also didn't have any issues with the throttle response. Felt like other B58 cars I've driven. My main complaint was the rear end not feeling composed.

[AK415]

Originally Posted by FaRKle!

Body roll seemed fine to me. I also didn't have any issues with the throttle response. Felt like other B58 cars I've driven. My main complaint was the rear end not feeling composed.

Compared to my F32, the suspension seemed soft and throttle wasn't as responsive the the sport mode. But I have dinan stage 2 on my car. Also the seat doesn't wrap around me as much as the F32 does, the side supports don't extend as much as the F32.

This is also my first auto-x. I went on track for the 1st time last month on Nurburging with a 718 cayman gts and I expected a similar experience from a m340i today, so it was me asking for too much.

BTW, that was a very quick time of yours. I was around 38 sec for track 4.

[FaRKle!]

Originally Posted by AK415

Compared to my F32, the suspension seemed soft and throttle wasn't as responsive the the sport mode. But I have dinan stage 2 on my car. Also the seat doesn't wrap around me as much as the F32 does, the side supports don't extend as much as the F32.

This is also my first auto-x. I went on track for the 1st time last month on Nurburging with a 718 cayman gts and I expected a similar experience from a m340i today, so it was me asking for too much.

BTW, that was a very quick time of yours. I was around 38 sec for track 4.

I believe track 4 is the one in the middle of the lot, right (before track 5 at the end of the lot)? If so, that one looked more fun as the straights were longer so you could get higher speed. Also meant I saw a lot of people not slow down for some of the corners in time and take out cones, lol.

[AK415]

Originally Posted by FaRKle!

I believe track 4 is the one in the middle of the lot, right (before track 5 at the end of the lot)? If so, that one looked more fun as the straights were longer so you could get higher speed. Also meant I saw a lot of people not slow down for some of the corners in time and take out cones, lol.

Yes it was the middle-ish. The instructors also mentioned it is the best track there. Yea after a few higher speed S turn there was a hairpin turn you really have to slow down and trail brake, but you can't accelerate right away cause you will miss the apex of the upcoming S turn.

I actually like the road drive a lot too. Got a chance to try quite a few models this morning and I was impressed with the 530e, i3, and of course the M850i. Butch encouraged me to try the i3 and I have to admit, it is one interesting car and drives a lot better than the other electric cars (leaf, e-golf, and volt) I have tried.

[pikkagtr]

Me and a few buddies will be there at the 2 pm session
Hoping they'll have a x3M for a test drive
For those that have done it already , can I show up earlier and do a bunch of test drives before the auto cross ?

[AK415]

Originally Posted by pikkagtr

Me and a few buddies will be there at the 2 pm session
Hoping they'll have a x3M for a test drive
For those that have done it already , can I show up earlier and do a bunch of test drives before the auto cross ?

Yes you can get there as early as 9? to test drive. and you don't have to do it on the same day, I went to AutoX yesterday and test drove this morning. I'm not sure about the M control event but test drive does not have x5m, there were x5 with 6 cylinder and x6 with the 8 cylinder as well as x7.

[mikesmitherino]

Originally Posted by AK415

I was at the 11am session today, it was a good experience.

Is it just me or the throttle response was slow and there were too much body roll? The car was in sports individual though.

I was at the 2PM session yesterday. Throttle response definitely felt different than my 335i, but the M340i was definitely noticeably faster when floored. I was at track 2, which didn't have much straight except at the beginning, so a lot of people ended up taking out cones and/or skidding everywhere

[bimmer456]

Did the m tour on Saturday. Unlike UDE the M cars are free. Got to drive the M2 Comp, M5 Comp and X3M Comp. M850i x drive, M340i. Food was awesome too.