BMW's Advanced Driver Training

[BMW320i]

Forgive dear Golem. He is a car bigot and a very staunch bigot at that too. Any Pacific Rim car or car not approved from his god Jeremy Clarkson is considered to be heathen. Golem measures people by the cars they drive or own.

 

[RadX]

'...Golem measures ...'

 

Isn't Golem the one that rides on a horse in LOTR?? WTH would he noe abt cars

[BMW320i]

Its the year 2006 now... Golem rides in batmobile these days.

[RadX]

oh....did JC review that too???

[BMW320i]

JC does everything including his "favourite" BMW.

[Conservative]

bros,

 

but one key thing, if we are drive mainly FF cars in Singapore, wont the handling dynamics be very differnt from the FR in BMWs ?

Sure the basics are the same, but when comes to the limits, which I think is that they also stress a lot, would not be so relevant for FF cars right ?

Especially understeer / oversteer.

 

What you guys think ? Only BMs and Merc and Taxi drivers can attend ?

 

Are you saying that an FF would in no way be able to / NEVER understeer or oversteer in any circumstances ? Tell me what car is that ? I want to drive that too.

 

Bro,

no, not saying that at all.

 

But the way a FF car gets into those situations are very different from how a FR car gets into them, and similarly how you get out of those situations will be also different right ? Thats what I read at least, and makes sense.

 

So my point is, we learn to handle FR situations when we will hardly apply it when we get back home to our own cars. Thought maybe they should at least cover both types of cars and the different scenarios.

 

Or maybe learn with your own cars like what the alfa group did ( i read in some magazine ). They all FF cars.

 

What you think ?

[Bluesbro]

Bludder .. what's dis Formula Ford thingy ? Driving a Ford but neber heard of this lei, can update ? thks.

 

Btw the BMW 330s used for the ADT course are Malaysian reg cars rite ?

[RadX]

'..ADT course are Malaysian reg cars rite ?...'

 

un-registered

[Getzset]

Bludder .. what's dis Formula Ford thingy ? Driving a Ford but neber heard of this lei, can update ? thks.

 

Btw the BMW 330s used for the ADT course are Malaysian reg cars rite ?

 

Formula Ford is a class of formula racing cars. They are basically open wheel racers with rear mounted and are rear drive (RR). After karting, formula ford is the entrance class for formula racing series, which, if you're suberb enough can lead to Formula 1.

[not me obviously]

 

The Formula Ford I drove was powered by a 1.6 litre engine mounted on a 440 kg chassis. Imagine with that power to weight ratio, it can do 0 - 100km/h in about 4 secs.

But it being an RR car with minimum driving aids, mastering the handling can be quite a.. handfull. But it's great fun and experience having driven that around the track.

 

As for the BMW330 used in the ADT, the are not registered for road use.

[Getzset]

Bro,

no, not saying that at all.

 

But the way a FF car gets into those situations are very different from how a FR car gets into them, and similarly how you get out of those situations will be also different right ? Thats what I read at least, and makes sense.

 

So my point is, we learn to handle FR situations when we will hardly apply it when we get back home to our own cars. Thought maybe they should at least cover both types of cars and the different scenarios.

 

Or maybe learn with your own cars like what the alfa group did ( i read in some magazine ). They all FF cars.

 

What you think ?

 

Your point taken, I guess I have to get meself an FR car next.

 

Cheers !

[Chickenbackside]

Attended last Sunday's ADT.

 

Totally worth the money and time. The E90 330's are really sweet.

 

My friend who went with me won the timed slalom (24.1s) and I came in 2nd (0.1s slower, damn it!), and we both came back with the heaviest trophies we've ever handled.

 

No more laid back driving position. It seems those aunties with inverted long sleeve shirts knew from a long time ago a thing or 2 about driving...

[Glyuen]

what is your driving pose now? i got one SAF Driver tellin me that its better to incline the seat forwards....

[Chickenbackside]

1) Knees should be bent when you fully depress your brake/clutch pedal. This is to ensure your hip bones don't protrude out from your buttocks in a big impact. Makes sense as the L shape of your bent knee acts as suspension in conjunction with your leg muscles.

 

2) Sit as tall as possible. Adjust the height of your seat until there is about 4 finger space between the top of your head and the roof lining. The reasoning is so you can have maximum vision.

 

3) Hands should be place at 3 and 9 o'clock position. Not 10 and 2. This way you get maximum movement for turning your steering wheel. Always use a "pushing" movement instead of "pulling". For example, when you turn left, push your right hand from 3 o'clock to the direction of 9 o'clock. If it is a big turn, loosen the grip on your left hand until your right hand meets your left hand, which should be waiting at the 8 o'clock position. You can negotiate most turns with that much wheel movement. However, for bigger turns, as your right hand has lushed to the 9 o'clock position, you left hand should take over at the 3 o'clock position. So at any time, the 3 and 9 o'clock positions of your steering wheel is held tight by one or both hands. This definitely takes practice to get used to. But once you get it, you will see exactly why it's so much better.

 

4) Seatback incline angle. With your car engine turned on (so you get power steering), put your arms at the straightahead 3 and 9 o'clock position. Turn the steering wheel to your left until your right hand is at the 9 o'clock postion. It's a stretch right? Now look at your right shoulder. It's should still be flat against the seatback. Do the same for the other side. You will realise that this will mean the seatback needs to be very upright. No laidback, loungechair angle. That's why I say the aunties knew this a long time ago.

 

Next time you watch a rally race or F1 race on TV, or even programs like top gear, 5th gear... etc, you will notice a few things. For racing, the drivers always drive like how they teach. For non-race driving, the seatback is not as upright, but you will still never ever see straight arms and straight legs. Also, the 3 and 9 o'clock thing is constant with every race car driver or car reviewer.

 

Yup, the aunty driving position is the right position...

[Conservative]

hey bro thanks.

Can conduct a summary version for us here, for price of a nice makan and kopi ?

330i included ?

 

While the upright driving makes sense maybe in intense driving( ala WRC driving, track ),i tried it and its quite tiring for longer drives when being relaxed is important too. Guess its a matter of getting used to it. Just my opinion.

 

Did they teach you left foot braking ( LFB ) ?

Also did they discuss FF car handling ? Our cars here mostly FF, so how ?

[Requiemdk]

Actually, a lot of information can be googled or gotten from websites like http://www.turnfast.com or http://www.modernracer.com/tips/tips.html

 

It's just a matter of practice and putting theory into action. I mean, how often do you get to try to oversteer on public roads and then try to rein in the back? Even if you do, you'd be wary of the TP revoking your licence for dangerous driving too. And if you're understeering on the public roads, your next destination is probably the workshop...

 

So I guess it's not just a matter of learning the theory. From what I understand, the ADT is very hands-on and the pics from the BMW.SG club are very very tantalizing. You get to drive a 330 and drive it HARD. That's exactly what drivers who look for this kind of courses want! I'm looking forward to the day when I'm eligible for the course.

[Conservative]

bro, yes true, i just came across the website articles yesterday. And yes they also included FF dynamics.

 

On the ADT,sure 330 is nicely powered and BM is great driving, but then come back and i drive my soft family FF Altis, like not relevant leh.....and also dissapointing

 

So if attend it its more just to get a chance to drive a great car hard...which will probably never happen in my lifetime

Of course some basic lessons learnt can apply to every car.

 

Why you not eligible ? There is criteria ?

[Requiemdk]

The course is a great marketing strategy for BMW don't you think?

 

Even if some stuff learnt from the course won't be applied in this lifetime, I guess most of the people who go for the course go there because they want to learn more about driving, and they really have a passion for it. It's not exactly cheap man.

 

I'm not eligible for the course because my licence isn't 3 yrs old yet.

[Tashi]

hi bro

wifey was lucky to have been sponsored by a long time friend (a Beamer owner) to go MY to take this course. After that, her defensive driving skills IMHO became very good. Her new skills saved our lives several times, and prevented small accidents quite a few times too (due to those rather dangerous driving types in front, the zig-zag in/out lanes at high speeds and jam brake types). So highly recommended, since the course now open to any non-beamer owner as well.

 

bless

tashi