is it wrong that i cant sleep?

TomO · 29 Apr 2007 at 22:47

NickXX said:
Great stuff TomO

Out of interest, are you finding the paddles an advantage over a stick on the track?

yes and no. quicker to change but not so easy to tell what gear you are in as you didnt physically move into place.

havent really timed any laps yet, only done 2. i have a data logger plugged in and that indicated first lap was just over 9 minutes. 2nd lap was slower as there was 2 crashes to slow down for and more traffic, although peak speeds were higher. also managed to get the back out at around 90 unintentionally. that was interesting!

hoping to beat my previous best of 8.55 quite easily. although worringly it doesnt seem that the steering communicates what is going on very well. found myself understeering but not feeling it, more just noticing that i was running much wider than expected. wasnt like that in the E39.

maybe i need to get more used to the car.

Vertigo · 30 Apr 2007 at 22:17

Not sure if that's you as you said there was another silver M5 about (was it also RHD?)

NickXX · 30 Apr 2007 at 22:33

Good to see it being used properly :cool:

TomO · 30 Apr 2007 at 23:58

Vertigo1 said:
Not sure if that's you as you said there was another silver M5 about (was it also RHD?)

thats me! if you see a blue exige or a blue 911 turbo then please keep those too toby.

did a further 6 laps today, but all still around the early 9 minutes area. the suspension on the E39 felt better on the track, which is a bit odd as the E60 feels better on the road. :confused:

Nathan · 1 May 2007 at 00:20

Thats quite a slow time? The pesky standard xsara VTS's go round at that pace :eek:

JediFragger · 1 May 2007 at 00:24

Nathan said:
Thats quite a slow time? The pesky standard xsara VTS's go round at that pace

Yeah, I wouldn't be bothered stacking a VTS either tbh

MarkDavis · 1 May 2007 at 00:33

TomO said:

Great looking car, so much better looking than those old shape ones.

Vertigo · 1 May 2007 at 07:31

TomO said:
thats me! if you see a blue exige or a blue 911 turbo then please keep those too toby.

Will do although spotting a blue turbo in a sea of 911s is going to be like the proverbial needle in a haystack.

A day at the ring:

http://www.iconia.myby.co.uk/movies/DayAtTheRing.mov

EDIT: Uploaded to youtube for when my bandwidth runs out, quality aint great tho: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WSI0Eax97z8

TomO · 1 May 2007 at 08:01

Nathan said:
Thats quite a slow time? The pesky standard xsara VTS's go round at that pace

maybe a stripped out one in the hands of a local that has done 2000+ laps.

a 9 minute lap is never 'slow' whatever car you do it in. my mates porsche 911 turbo is lapping around 8.50 and he has no idea where he is going, the car has so much grip and power he can get away with it. technically his lines are awful, although its still 'fast'.

toby - the porsche is pretty much the only one i have seen in that colour, its cobalt blue, a light electric blue colour.

Vertigo · 1 May 2007 at 08:30

Will keep an eye out for it. PC is recording the webcam again today so tell him to make a note of when he goes out and text me the times so I know where to look

TomO · 1 May 2007 at 16:41

a mixed day today. managed an 8.50, which is a bit faster than the E39. so happy with that considering that i have only been driving the car a week.

not so happy that the gearbox has some major fault and the car now wont move. BMW assist coming to look at shortly, but likely to be a tow it home job and then they fly us back. will see how this pans out!

--Mike-- · 1 May 2007 at 17:34

Sorry to hear that it's broken already, is it still under warranty? Even if it's been 'tracked'?

Hope it all goes well for you.

Vertigo · 1 May 2007 at 17:55

Erk! Time to sweet talk Sabine in the Pistenklaus this evening and see if her "pit crew" can spare a gearbox?

djbenjo · 1 May 2007 at 18:05

Gutted

willd58 · 1 May 2007 at 20:53

TomO said:
not so happy that the gearbox has some major fault and the car now wont move. BMW assist coming to look at shortly, but likely to be a tow it home job and then they fly us back. will see how this pans out!

Damn! I thought BMW's were hard as nails?

Is the fact it was a very early car, as in, one of the first to be bought when the car came out, be a factor in this, maybe its not had the same things looked at as faults aren't guna be as well known in the early stages of release?

The_Dark_Side · 1 May 2007 at 20:58

willd58 said:
Damn! I thought BMW's were hard as nails?

Is the fact it was a very early car, as in, one of the first to be bought when the car came out, be a factor in this, maybe its not had the same things looked at as faults aren't guna be as well known in the early stages of release?

when you drive a car that's more complex than the Tardis, things are going to break all too often.
why do you think e39's are so cheap to buy?

Firestar_3x · 1 May 2007 at 21:57

Bad luck tom, hope all turns out well, you should get great service from BMW having an E60 M5 and all that!

Carl · 1 May 2007 at 23:03

Lol thats what you get for spanking it like mad

TomO · 1 May 2007 at 23:45

the SMG box is a known weakpoint on the car with far too common faults with it. i was just hoping it wouldnt be my car!

at least it did just after coming off the track and also on the last day rather than the first.

as its under warranty BMW are picking up the tab for everything which is good.

although not so keen on being stuck with some POS hire car for the next week or so.

[TW]Fox · 1 May 2007 at 23:47

TomO said:
although not so keen on being stuck with some POS hire car for the next week or so.

You'll get something decent from Enterprise if its a BMW Assist Job.

Unless you are under 23 in which case even if you have BMW Assist they give you a Vauxhall Meriva for insurance reasons. That made me emo