Blogs

Just over a month of M3 ownership now and I've finally had the chance to take it on a track day. It was an open pit lane day run by ClubMSV at Brands Hatch. Track days are usually run in sessions throughout the day, usually grouped by experience with say 20 for novices only, then 20 mins for intermediate and then another session for experienced drivers.

An open pit lane means that anyone can go out whenever they like as long as the track is open. On our day, the track was open from 0930 to 1700 with an hour off for lunch, and we could make whatever use of the track we wanted to during those times.

After registration (filling in forms and showing a drivers license) we had the drivers briefing where we were told what various cones meant, what the different coloured flags meant and how to get in and out of the track to buy petrol and what to do in case of a spin etc. (Stay in the car. Unless it's on fire in which case feel free to get out and run.) A show of hands showed that out of 27 drivers, only 3 were first timers. (I had done a track day before)

Next came the sighting laps where they took us out in groups of eight at a time to slowly follow a pace car around the track showing us the racing line and get used to driving around Brands Hatch. Sounds a bit pointless, but I found it very useful and it certainly help calm the nerves.

Me behind the red pace car (waiting 1st in line, next to the cone)

After the sighting laps we came back in and waited for the track to open. Then it was time. I headed out and did a warm up lap. Once the brave pill took effect and I got my foot down, I found a few things out. Firstly, the brakes are very easy to cook. After my first few hard laps I came in to find smoke pouring from the front discs accompanied by the same metal 'pinking' noise that our steam iron makes as it cools down. This apparently is not a good thing and it was suggested that I go for another couple of cooling down laps, which I promptly did.

It turns out that my sense of self preservation is partly to blame for the almost on fire brakes. Apparently track driving requires much more aggressive use of the brake than road use which equates to harder braking for a shorter period of time, which in turns reduces the amount of temperature build up. Being unused to emergency braking at every corner as I was, I was giving in to my subconscious and braking too early and not hard enough. But come on, I was still doing 120mph approaching a sign saying 'BRAKE!' followed by a blind apex and then hitting the brake pedal as hard as I though I could without flying backwards into the gravel. On fire.

Which in turn leads onto the rather comforting thing that I found out. I wuss out way before the car reaches its limits. The ABS only cut in once, during my best taking of Druids hairpin all day and the traction control only started kicking in near the end of the day when it was 30C out and the tyres were actually sticky to the touch.

Sticky

Another thing I found out was that it's surprisingly knackering driving hard and fast. It probably wasn't helped by the fact it was a very hot day but by the end of the day I was a wreck. And even if I did turn the air con on, the car automatically turns it off when driving hard to ensure maximum power is available - cooool.

All in all it was a great day out, the car took it all in its stride and it turns out that the weakest part of my car is the driver! (But I think I'll still invest in some uprated brake pads)

Video
Here's a video of me doing a couple of laps. I can't believe how slow it looks! On the second lap I was doing about 120mph at the end of the straight, honest!

After an awful lot of pondering and indecision I finally took the plunge and bough myself a toy. It may well be a mid-life crisis thing, but I like to think of it as a positive step in starting to actually enjoy life, rather than worrying about things that never happen.

So with (scarily) few mouse clicks a bank loan was sorted out and with my shopping list looking like this...

E46 M3
Black
Manual (or maybe SMG, not sure)
FSH

... I went shopping.

A few weeks later I finally found one which turned out to be owned by a guy living just down the road! It ended up being pretty much a perfect example of what I was looking for and on a handshake I became the new owner.

Being a techie I obviously spent hours pouring over M3 forums and scaring myself to death with all the things that can go wrong with these cars. But one thing I did notice was an above average number of positive posts. Generally people don't tend to post when things are going well but I have noticed quite a few posts praising their cars and generally enthusing which can only be a good sign.

All M3 forums have a thread about SMG vs Manual gears. For those who haven't spent hours reading up (which is most sane people) SMG is BMW's version of the F1 style flappy-paddle gears. In effect it's an automatic clutch as it uses the exact same gearbox as the manual cars but with a lot of engineering and software taking the place of the driver's left foot. In the end I decided to go for a manual one for a number of reasons. Firstly, there's something very satisfying about the act of changing gear using both hands and feet. Secondly, I know I'm a born worrier and given the complex nature of the SMG kit, I know I'd be for ever waiting for the orange 'cog' warning light to appear.

It's a little light on gadget-y options, but I'm not really fussed. No electric rear sun blind or upgraded stereo for example, but to be honest a 'no options' M3 still has way more toys than I'm used to. The more I read up on it, the more I'm impressed. Things like the way it automatically swivels all the air-con vents when it starts to stop them getting stuck. And the way it tilts the passenger side mirror down when put into reverse so you can see the curb. Or the way it has lights around the rev counter that move as the car warms up showing you the increasing safe rev range. Or the way it auto levels the headlights when you turn them on. And so on.

I've owned the car for about a month now and every time I drive it and give it some beans it invokes the 'acceleration grin'. The combination of raw acceleration, the sound of the 6 cylinder engine at 7k rpm and rear wheel drive is something I doubt I'll ever get bored of. One thing that has become apparent though is that I need to take this car on a racetrack. Without sounding overdramatic, it's too fast to play with properly on the road. (The previous owner confessed that although it's limited to 155mph, the limiter only seems to work in 6th gear, and it 'apparently' does 170mph in 5th. Officer.) The current plan is to attend a Brands Hatch track day next month.

So what are the downsides? Well, only one really. Cost.

£70 of petrol will get you 260 miles and of course it has to run on the super expensive high octane stuff. The onboard dohicky is currently reporting 22 miles per gallon and it really needs a new set of rear tyres, which will set me back over £400.

But I knew all this before I bought it, and as a 3rd car (yes, yes I know) I'm lucky enough to not really need the car as a daily driver, so repairs and maintenance can be budgeted and saved for.

Besides, mid life crisis purchases aren't supposed to be sensible!

I've just finished a week of jury duty.

I obviously can't go into the details of the case, but it was fascinating. Although I've done it before many years ago it was still a nervous, exciting and sobering experience. It's something I think as many people as possible should do as it gives a valuable insight into the inner workings of the justice system that the less 'dodgy' of us seldom have cause to see.

Hearing the prosecution put the case forward, seeing the defendant go from being reduced to tears on the stand, to winning points over her accuser (and raising a rye smile from her defence in the process) is a common, day-to-day occurrence for those involved, but for us jury members it was at times quite stressful to see human nature torn down to it's very core right there in front of us.

Then there was the four hour deliberation and then being brought back into court to be asked if we had reached a 'verdict upon which you all agree'. No, we hadn't. So back we go with the direction that a 10-2 majority was now sufficient.

We eventually reach a verdict and as we were escorted back into court the tension was palpable. The defendant was about to find out if she was about to be taken into custody for a long time, or simply be told she could walk out right now as a free person. Any sane, normal person would have been the same emotional wreck in her place.

"Not guilty."

I'll never forget the sound of someone who has just been given their life back.

Our justice system might not be perfect, but I'd say it's about as good as it could be. (Which is just as well, as I've been sworn in on another case that's due to take another three weeks)