Fall Performance Driving School in the M Coupe

In the 18 months that I've owned the M Coupe I've always said the most limiting performance factor of the car has been me. That changed (a little) earlier this month when I attended a performance driving school put on by the BMW Car Club of America. BMW CCA's various chapters host performance driving schools in their regions and I was able to join the Rocky Mountain Chapter just in time to register for its Fall Performance Driving School.

At first glance you might think a BMW CCA driving school is nothing more than a bunch of BMW (and non BMW) owners rallying their cars around a race track, but it is much more involved than that. The work started well before I ever got to the track, with the first order of business being a vehicle inspection. Dan at Bimmerhaus inspected the M Coupe and it passed with flying colors with the exception of a mandatory brake fluid flush and worn rear shock mounts. I'm always nervous working on the M Coupe, but Dan built my confidence by saying I'd have no problem doing either job.

Matt, another club member, lent me a pressure bleeder to make the brake flush easier. It was! I was able to flush the entire system, including the clutch, with DOT 4 Super Blue Racing Fluid in less than an hour. It was the easiest brake work I've ever done.

Pressure Bleeder and Super Blue Racing Brake Fluid





The shock mounts were not so easy. Actually, they were, it was getting to them that was hard. It took over two hours to meticulously disassemble a 3 dimensional puzzle of easy to scratch and very expensive leather covered trim pieces to get to the shock mounts. After 2 bolts each and mere ten minutes the new mounts were in and it was time to put it all back together. Three painstaking hours later I had it all back together without any scratches.

Rear Interior Removal

New Shock Mount



Back Together



With the M Coupe in order it was time to prepare the driver. That involved memorizing the track diagram, track description and several reads of the Performance Driving School Manual. Here's how the manual describes of the school; "This is not a racing school, but a special program that has been developed over decades to teach you performance driving techniques that are as important in every day driving as they are on the track." I tried to forget everything I thought I knew about performance driving to be teachable and absorb as much information possible. After picking up a helmet from John and protecting my fenders and mirrors with painters tape both the M Coupe and I were ready.

Painters Tape in Non-Clear Bra Areas



The school is held at Pueblo Motor Sports Park, a solid two and half hour drive from Boulder. Saturday night I made it to the track just in time to watch the last instructor drive session. They were driving a mix of race cars to daily drivers. My veins filled with adrenaline to the sweet sound of rich exhaust notes roaring by. After the session I pre-registered and got to know some other drivers over a barbecue dinner. I spent the night on the cheap in a Motel 6. It was a good thing I brought my sleeping bag!

Sleeping on the Cheap



Nicest Car in the Motel 6 Lot



In the morning my mind was as foggy as the peaks of the distant Rockies, which were shrouded in low clouds. A coffee stop on the way to the track was in order to clear the fog and be ready to learn and drive. I made it to the paddock in plenty of time to set up my pit. I had to remove all the loose items from the M Coupe including clothes, luggage, camera, even floor mats. My pit was next to Matt, who owned a Mini Cooper S, MC40 edition. The MC40 Mini Cooper S is one of 1000 special edition Mini Coopers to celebrate the original Mini Coopers win in the 1964 Rallye Monte Carlo. This was just one of a variety of cars from all makes and models in the pits, they ranged from purpose built race cars to completely stock.

My Pit Area



All Makes and Models Filled the Pits

The day would consist of 4 track sessions with classroom instruction before and in between. We would also have the opportunity to ride with instructors in their cars. Students were broken up into four groups (A thru D) based on skill, it being my first school I was in C/D Group.

Group C/D

The first classroom session started at 8:00am. It was similar to an aviation ground school, presenting a lot of information in a short amount of time. After a safety briefing, including the colors and meanings of track flags, most of the class session involved teaching the "track line". Since it isn't a racing school, the performance driving school teaches you to drive the track line which is the quickest line around the track with no traffic. It's the line you would drive on a qualifying lap. This discussion included turn apexes, entry and exits, oversteer, understeer, shifting and braking, the friction circle, contact patches, and the possibility of "off track excursions". Turns 3, 7, 9, and 10 all required extra attention. Turn 3 was a late apex turn on a hill that was easy to go off the track (downhill) if you apexed it too early. Turn 7 was the slowest turn of the track and the hardest for me to exit cleanly, I would always scrub speed by steering out of the turn instead using throttle to drift to the far side of the track (look for the skid marks in the video). Turn 9 was at the end of the back straight (note more skid marks). It was another late apex with a steep hill waiting off track if you missed it. Turn 10 crossed the staging and start area of a drag strip. The pavement was a mix of oil and coolant leaked from drag cars to grippy rubber where they did their burn outs. Waiting on the outside of the turn was an extremely intimidating concrete wall which. Here's the track line.

Pueblo Motor Sports Park



The Track Line



After class it was time to que up for our first track session. We lined up diagonally for a final tech inspection and to meet our instructors at the pit lane entrance. I met Alan, my first instructor, the night before who raced in the spec E30 SCCA class. He drove first, showing and explaining the line to me. Here's the line with brief turn descriptions:

Track Session 1 - Instructor Driving

The M Coupe's First Time on the Track



After a couple of laps we switched and it was my turn to drive. The emphasis of the school is properly driving the line, not speed. They say if you drive the line right, speed will come naturally. My experience with this couldn't be more true. I took it slow at first to get the feel of the M Coupe on the track while listening to my Alan on turn entry, apex, exit, braking, throttle lift, and driving the line. It reminded me of a flight instruction environment, in which I have been on both sides of. On the second lap he told me to follow the car ahead as it passed a slower car. I did what he said and as a result we got black flagged at the next corner. A black flag means you have to pit to talk to a track official. The purpose isn't to reprimand the driver, but to emphasis safety and make sure he knows what he did wrong. On the next lap we pitted and my instructor straighted it out with the track official. It was a miss communication. Here's the session:

Track Session 1 - Alex Driving

(Slowly)



M Coupe Between Turn 7 and 8

C and D Cars on the Track













For track session two I had a different instructor named Dave. With him I really concentrated on driving the line. I resisted the temptation to drive fast so I could focus only on the line. I was one of the slowest cars on the track, focusing on driving smoothly and consistently. Lunch and our opportunity to ride with instructors in their cars was next. My first ride was with my Alan in his spec E 30 race car. It was huge to see someone else drive the line after having driven it myself.

Spec E30 Race Car





"Other German" Race Cars





Next I rode with a different Dave who drives a Bimmerhaus E36 M3 track car. It was intense! The car was super fast and he was a skilled driver. I was amazed at how deep into the turns he braked and got so see trail braking and heel-toe shifting in action. I actually got a little car sick from watching his feet through all the high G turns. Once the tires were warmed up he really opened it up. He was going so fast that I didn't want to distract him with my many questions. By the end of the ride my stomach was a little queasy, but my cheeks hurt more from grinning so hard!

Daves E36 M3 Track Car





Dan's E36 M3 Track Car
(Dave's in-trail)









The third session is where it all came together for me. Focusing on the line during session 2 combined with seeing it skillfully driven made it clear. I was still inconsistent, especially in turns 2, 3, and 4, but the speed came just like they said it would. I was starting to feel what the M Coupe was capable of including how deep I could brake into turns and where I could trail brake comfortably. My focus for the rest of the day would be cleaning up my line and getting consistent. I could see how my speed on the straights was determined by how well I nailed the preceding turn. If I nailed turn 10 just right (with its oily surface and menacing concrete wall) I could hit 135mph on the front straight, but just a little off and I'd be in the low 120's. I don't remember looking at the speedometer once throughout the day, but could see it in analysis my video. I also started catching other drivers and even though we weren't racing my competitive streak came out. It showed in slightly better lap times when behind or passing someone. My best lap was a 2:03.

Track Session 3
(Much Improvement)

Turn 10 and the Front Straight

Track Session 4 was similar to 3. Dan, who inspected my car, was my instructor this time. His instruction style was the perfect balance of instructing and giving me room to learn. He corrected my "happy hands" or shuffle steering excessively which you can see it in the video above. In most turns there is really no reason to move my hands on the wheel at all. I worked on looking through the turns and linking turns together rather than taking them one at a time. Just like the previous session I started catching other drivers and have to admit it was super fun to try to pass them. Towards the end of the session I was starting to out-drive my worn out tires, so I notched the speed back to work more on line precision. I ran out of DV tape, but Jim who drives a stealthy Mitsubishi Evo got some helmet cam footage as I went by during the session.

Track Session 4

(Evo Helmet Cam Footage)

Turn 8 Exit



Kink in the Back Straight

(Tire's Half off the Track!)

Jim's Evo

M Coupe and Evo on the Back Straight







End of Track Session 4





As the last session ended the sun was sinking behind the mountains low and the school was wrapping up. The instructors had a few more track sessions to themselves while the students packed up. The school ended with food, drinks, and an awards ceremony including, Most Improved Driver and Favorite Car. Competitive as always, I was gunning for both! The M Coupe got no love for Favorite Car, but I did manage to get nominated for most Improved Driver. The award went to a guy in a 328, who really deserved it. He was carving turns like he owned the place.

Favorite Car Winner - An E93 M3

(HDR)





Awards Ceremony

(Alan, my first instructor center)



RX7 Race Car

Mini Cooper S MC40 and the M Coupe Cooling Off

(HDR)



Performance Driving School was a transformative experience that this monster blog post can only scratch the surface of. Now that I've had a taste, I only want more! I walked away from the school a better driver, but I have a ton more to learn and improve. Like most skills I suspect it will be a constant path of improvment and growth. In the immediate future I definitely plan on doing the two schools that the Rocky Mountain Chapter hosts each year. Long term (i.e. post mountain bike racing), I foresee a proper racing school and working towards an SCCA license. I hear you can pick up a spec E30 for under $6K. Hmmm...

Thanks to everyone at the Rocky Mountain BMW CCA chapter for putting on the school, Dave, Dan and all of my instructors, and most importantly to all of the corner workers and volunteers who made it happen.