Vid and pics from Nurburgring

[josephvman]

[m3kerry]

Looks fun. ED and that was one of the stops that you made before dropping the car back off?

Where did you guys go? The ring and where else?

I am planning a trip and would like to hear about yours.

[josephvman]

Originally Posted by m3kerry

Looks fun. ED and that was one of the stops that you made before dropping the car back off?

Where did you guys go? The ring and where else?

I am planning a trip and would like to hear about yours.

Let's see if I can remember all the places I went!

Started in Munich, went through Koblenz, Koln, Zuffenhausen, (Porsche factory) Stuttgart, Ingoldtadt, Innsbruck, Bolzano, Maranello (Ferrari factory) Rome, Bologna (and Ducati factory at Borgo Panigale), Venice, Riva del Garda (probably my favorite, gorgeous lake/resort area in the middle of the Italian Alps) and then back to Munich. Drove through countless other small villages that I can't remember!

Driving in Europe is fantastic, and after a day of it I was quite comfortable. People are courteous but in an aggressive way, if that makes sense. No tailgating or road raging, and everyone takes pride in following the rules of the highways. I never saw anyone do anything unpredictable or stupid. Even the scooters in Italy that at first appear to be very wreckless are actually quite safe, and i feel like I'd be much safer on two wheels in a big european city than anywhere in the states. Also don't see derelict vehicles on the road. Even older cars are very well-kept. There's a sense of responsibility while driving that just doesn't really exist in the states. I just got back from picking up my luggage at the airport, and driving in Houston is horrible after getting used to Europe.

[MrRoboto]

Was that an M3 GTS around the 35 second mark?

[BimmerJim]

Originally Posted by josephvman

Let's see if I can remember all the places I went!

Started in Munich, went through Koblenz, Koln, Zuffenhausen, (Porsche factory) Stuttgart, Ingoldtadt, Innsbruck, Bolzano, Maranello (Ferrari factory) Rome, Bologna (and Ducati factory at Borgo Panigale), Venice, Riva del Garda (probably my favorite, gorgeous lake/resort area in the middle of the Italian Alps) and then back to Munich. Drove through countless other small villages that I can't remember!

Driving in Europe is fantastic, and after a day of it I was quite comfortable. People are courteous but in an aggressive way, if that makes sense. No tailgating or road raging, and everyone takes pride in following the rules of the highways. I never saw anyone do anything unpredictable or stupid. Even the scooters in Italy that at first appear to be very wreckless are actually quite safe, and i feel like I'd be much safer on two wheels in a big european city than anywhere in the states. Also don't see derelict vehicles on the road. Even older cars are very well-kept. There's a sense of responsibility while driving that just doesn't really exist in the states. I just got back from picking up my luggage at the airport, and driving in Houston is horrible after getting used to Europe.

You are right about European drivers. I have been to Germany three times and I enjoyed driving over here vice the states each time that I have went back.

[josephvman]

Originally Posted by MrRoboto

Was that an M3 GTS around the 35 second mark?

Yes, there were two of them out there. They sounded great!

[johnnyb84]

Curious what the passing rules are.

[1MCoupe]

First time on the Ring eh?

[///M1]

Great pics! Man, I wish I could take mine on it, but I recon it'll be closed as I am there during the F1 weekend (two weeks from today) and I imagine some parts of the Nordschleife will be closed to the public...

[josephvman]

The Nordschleife is still considered a public road, however one without a speed limit. The main rule is to watch your mirrors and move right if someone wants to pass. Passing in the right is a major no-no. There can be areas of the track that are speed-limited, and will be marked as such. Motorcycle traffic is the biggest thing to be conscious of, as they have superior drive out of corners and acceleration on the straights, but you gain on them braking into corners. They can be difficult to pass because the tend to take much wider lines into the corners, making it harder to pass on the outside, even when running much faster. The TC intervenes constantly on corner exits but the car has so much less oversteer and with the rear diff the TC isn't nearly as annoying as it is on my 335i coupe. If I had time for a few more laps, and the traffic wasn't so bad I would have liked to have turned everything off. Even during break-in the only places I felt at a disadvantage was on the straights when I had to short shift. I found the curbs at the ring to be the best way to find your line. I found a nice rhythm just apexing from curb to curb. The tricky corners are the two slow ones with the 2-step banking, and the elevation unloads the front end on a few corners and I could easily see how running 10/10ths that things could get intrrsting in a hurry.

[Drillslinger]

Dude, excellent job in that vid taking it easy out there
I've seen too many folks go out for the first time or else in a new car, push it, and wind up in the Armco (like my mate Pete with his new Boxster S ). Drive it, learn it (as much as one can) and work your way up

[johnnyb84]

Thanks for the info, very interesting! I suspect my driving the 'ring will be limited to playstation 3 GT 5. Cool to see how it looks from an 1M

[josephvman]

Originally Posted by johnnyb84

Thanks for the info, very interesting! I suspect my driving the 'ring will be limited to playstation 3 GT 5. Cool to see how it looks from an 1M

I've driven it dozens of times (hundreds maybe) on GT4 and GT5, and though I don't have it memorized, there are sections that become familiar and it was actually very useful in driving the real thing. The biggest advantage the sim experience gives is a feel for the "rhythm" of the Ring, which is different than any other track I've driven.

[josephvman]

Originally Posted by Drillslinger

Dude, excellent job in that vid taking it easy out there
I've seen too many folks go out for the first time or else in a new car, push it, and wind up in the Armco (like my mate Pete with his new Boxster S ). Drive it, learn it (as much as one can) and work your way up

The vid was shot on the last lap before the track closed for the evening, and it was mainly the traffic and the fact that I'd spent nearly eight hours in the car by that time of the evening that had me driving very carefully. Ironically, my first lap was by far my best, very little traffic and I was much more aggressive. After I finished that one a german guy who I was following in one of the M3's came over to say he liked the car and that I put in a great lap, which felt good. Unfortunately didn't get that one on video!

[FJS]

What are the break in max revs? Nice vid, I guess that when you left your buds stomach in the air around 4:25, he must of not noticed the finger on the lens lol. All the best, envy of the best kind, I would love to drive the "ring" but in a broken in car.

All the best and congrats

[josephvman]

I tried to stay under 5k, succeeded for the most part!

[EmmDrei]

Originally Posted by josephvman

I found the curbs at the ring to be the best way to find your line. I found a nice rhythm just apexing from curb to curb. The tricky corners are the two slow ones with the 2-step banking, and the elevation unloads the front end on a few corners and I could easily see how running 10/10ths that things could get intrrsting in a hurry.

As far as the line goes... forget the curbs! Look for the markings on the tarmac. There are three painted spots in every corner. One shows you where you should be when you turn in, one shows you where you should hit the apex and one shows you where you should be when exiting the corner. The line they mark doesn't really fit once you know the track, but for a beginner, it's the safest way to navigate through the blind corners. The markings are part of a training concept:

http://www.ideallinie-konzept.de/english/index.html

[josephvman]

Originally Posted by EmmDrei

As far as the line goes... forget the curbs! Look for the markings on the tarmac. There are three painted spots in every corner. One shows you where you should be when you turn in, one shows you where you should hit the apex and one shows you where you should be when exiting the corner. The line they mark doesn't really fit once you know the track, but for a beginner, it's the safest way to navigate through the blind corners. The markings are part of a training concept:

http://www.ideallinie-konzept.de/english/index.html

Very cool info, cheers!