2018 BMW M5 Moose Test Shows the Importance of Good Tires

BMW M5 scoots through the course at 74 kilometers per hour, but performs much worse at higher speeds.

Spanish outlet KM77.com recently put the 2018 BMW M5 through the paces of the Moose Test and the results were impressive, with the German super-sedan getting through the slalom at 74 kilometers per hour. Making this run even more impressive is the fact that the M5 featured on their YouTube channel was on tires that were so worn that we could see cords poking through the tread. As a result, the car’s performance in the test went downhill quickly as speeds increased.

Moose Test

If you are unfamiliar with the Moose Test, it is basically a test to see how smoothly and safely a vehicle could swerve around a moose. This test is common in countries where moose strikes are common, including Sweden, Norway, Finland, Russia and Canada. While it might sound funny to people who aren’t familiar with moose, their long legs and heavy body makes impacts with cars particularly dangerous, as if you hit them at speed, the body is coming through your windshield or roof.

The Moose Test is broken up into three zones, with the vehicle entering the first zone, swerving hard into the second zone as if to avoid a moose and then they swerve back into the third zone. The entire course is 63 meters long, with 13.5 meters two swerve from zone one to zone two and 12.5 meters to swerve from zone two to zone three.

The idea is for the car to maintain highway speeds while swerving safely and cleanly from zone to zone without hitting any cones. This particular test was held to show how worn tires can impact a car’s performance in this critical maneuver.

2018 BMW M5 vs. the Moose Test

At 77 kilometers per hour, the BMW hit a cone on the first hard cut and was unable to make the turn back in. When the speed dropped one tick, the car made the first cut but not the second and on another run at 78 kilometers per hour, the sport sedan on worn tires made the first cut, but the driver blew through the cones on the second cut. At 75 kilometers per hour, the car nearly makes it through the tight course, but it kicks a cone over on the first hard cut.

Fortunately, at 74 kilometers per hour, the M5 tapped a cone when the driver cut back into the original lane, but the cone stayed up, so the run counted as good.

In other words, if you live in an area where a moose is likely to wander out in front of your 2018 BMW M5 with worn tires at speeds of 45 miles per hour or less, you will have no problem swerving around the massive animal and back into your lane. However, at higher speeds, it might get a little hairy when you have to avoid a half-ton animal on the road when you have badly-worn tires, showing the importance of good rubber on your 600-horsepower German luxury sedan.

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Patrick Rall

"Before I was old enough to walk, my dad was taking me to various types of racing events, from local drag racing to the Daytona 500," says Patrick Rall, a lifetime automotive expert, diehard Dodge fan, and respected auto journalist for over 10 years. "He owned a repair shop and had a variety of performance cars when I was young, but by the time I was 16, he was ready to build me my first drag car – a 1983 Dodge Mirada that ran low 12s. I spent 10 years traveling around the country, racing with my dad by my side. While we live in different areas of the country, my dad still drag races at 80 years old in the car that he built when I was 16 while I race other vehicles, including my 2017 Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcat and my 1972 Dodge Demon 340.

"Although I went to college for accounting, my time in my dad’s shop growing up allowed me the knowledge to spend time working as a mechanic before getting my accounting degree, at which point I worked in the office of a dealership group. While I was working in the accounting world, I continued racing and taking pictures of cars at the track. Over time, I began showing off those pictures online and that led to my writing.

"Ten years ago, I left the accounting world to become a full-time automotive writer and I am living proof that if you love what you do, you will never “work” a day in your life," adds Rall, who has clocked in time as an auto mechanic, longtime drag racer and now automotive journalist who contributes to nearly a dozen popular auto websites dedicated to fellow enthusiasts.

"I love covering the automotive industry and everything involved with the job. I was fortunate to turn my love of the automotive world into a hobby that led to an exciting career, with my past of working as a mechanic and as an accountant in the automotive world provides me with a unique perspective of the industry.

"My experience drag racing for more than 20 years coupled with a newfound interest in road racing over the past decade allows me to push performance cars to their limit, while my role as a horse stable manager gives me vast experience towing and hauling with all of the newest trucks on the market today.

"Being based on Detroit," says Rall, "I never miss the North American International Auto Show, the Woodward Dream Cruise and Roadkill Nights, along with spending plenty of time raising hell on Detroit's Woodward Avenue with the best muscle car crowd in the world.

Rall can be contacted at QuickMirada@Yahoo.com