Over the weekend, I encountered my first BMW M5. It was a big vehicle with four doors. For the life of me I do not know why its driver wanted to race little old me. Oh well, another one bits the dust!
December the 11th I attended the BMW Performance Driving School in Greenville, SC. The course was divided in three groups. In Group 1 we drove the Z4's in a timed road course with deductions for knocking over cones or not stopping within the required braking zone. In Group 2 we drove the MX5's in an offroad course which consisted of driving through water, up and down very steep grades, and on obstacles which put the vehicles at the point of feeling like you were going to roll over. In Group 3 we drove 5 different types of Beemers. I don't even know what 3 types were but the two best were the M6's and the M5's which both had 507 hp. We drove on a road course as fast as we wanted as long as we didn't hit the car in front of us. The M6 had a paddle shift with plus on the right and minus on the left side of the steering wheel. Plus means going up in gears and minus means going down. The M5 had paddles on each side also but they were both the same. Push to go up and pull to go down. We didn't get enough laps to get real comfortable with the shifting but there was lots of power for a family sedan but no ways near the torque of my C 6Z. I can see why a Beemer owner would think he had a hot car if he had never driven a Z. All in all it was a good day driving the wheels off someone elses cars. All of the instructors were either from some sort of racing or had done stunt driving in the movies and they did take us students for a ride which consisted of looking out the side windows because that was the direction we were going.
In front of the M6.
The Z4's.
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The M5 probably would not overtake the Z06. It weighs 4200 lbs and is limited to 155mph. If they started from a stop it would be no contest. Maybe from 70mph it might be interesting.
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2004 TR Z06 with an Andy's partition, Chrome Motosports, 555R Nittos, Z06 Billet Tailight Bezels with DTE Vortech Stage I,Donaldson Blackwing,Left Side Hardened Axle, Lighted Pillar Mounted Boost Gauge, Line Lock and Transaxle Brace : 574 RWHP and 472 RWTQ
Nope, not even close. I rode in one at Road Atlanta this year when I was instructing with Peachtree BMWCCA. Its a cool car, but it won't hang with no Z I can assure you.
Thanks for sharing. I have to admit that I like both cars - M5, M6 - but, I prefer the M5 between the two (I know the M6 is faster). I can't wait for the M3 to debut.
I had a rather sad M5 encounter. I was in the esses at Watkins Glen right behind a shiny M5. It was raining, but not too bad. Just as we started the last right turn at the top of the hill (at about 110 mph), the M5 driver nailed the gas for no apparent reason. He did a nice job countering the slide and then lifted completely; of course he spun the other way, shortening his car by about a foot when he hit the Armco on the inside of the turn.
He was fine and amazingly his car was driveable, not road legal, but the radiator and all the spinning stuff survived; no airbag deployment either. I thought that was strange.
Had a chance to run a new M5 in my C6 Z. We were rolling side-by-side with me in the top of 2nd (maybe 4500 RPM). All I can say is by the time I shifted into 3rd I had put about 20' on him.
Very nice car and very stout, but I think it has a tremendous amount of weight to overcome.
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Current: 2006 C6 Z 2LZ
Previous: 2003 C5 Z06
DD: 2008 Jeep SRT8 All options
"I only street race in school zones, at 3PM, on Mondays"
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