YouTuber Shmee150 Gleefully Roasts BMW M550i Tires
Full-throttle action & sinuous steering makes drifting in the 2018 BMW M550i a piece of cake on the streets and the track.
Making donuts with the 2018 BMW M550i at BMW’s test track outside Munich Driving Academy puts a smile on YouTuber Shmee150‘s face in the above video. He puts all 600 horses under the hood through the smoking paces.
Shmee150, whose real name is Tim Burton (no, not the movie producer), knows the M550i V8 machine with 553 lb-ft of torque can run from zero to 60 in 3.2 seconds while maintaining what he calls “incomparable stability control.” He’s heating up the car with 5700 to 6000 RPMs using twin scroll turbo chargers for shorter fuel injection time and sharper engine response. “The steering is controllable, you don’t have to get to neurotic about it,” he said. Then fiddles with the gears.
BMW M550i Driving Modes
He selects and demonstrates 4WD, 4WD Sport and 2WD modes with minimal manipulation. The all-wheel drive xDrive system enables an agile rear-biased setup by allowing the front wheels to come into play when the rear wheels need a boost in power for traction and stability. Even in Sport mode, it can unfurl the full heat of movement while remaining easily controllable.
The BMW M550i is particularly notable for it snagging a Guinness World Record for the longest vehicle drift in history with John Schwartz driving eight hours, 235 miles to accomplish this goal. BMW achieved a second record for the world’s longest, twin vehicle draft, using two BMW M5s drifting for 49.25 miles for more than an hour.
BMW M550i performance package sprints through acceleration paces faster than the Audi 6 and the Mercedes AMG E43. For 2018 it has adaptive suspension for hot rod racing on one end or smooth riding for a cruise to the opera.
BMW M series are packed with power normally reserved for the track, generating performance unlike anything else. After four decades of delivering hair-raising thrills, it’s still pushing the limits.
“The car is squirming to get traction,” he said as smoke fills the screen, tires screech and he puts the car in 2WD mode, giving power to the rear wheels, one foot on throttle and one on the brake and powers down.
Four- & Two-wheel Drive
According to Shmee, drifting is doable with 2WD mode despite it being a heavy car because of its delicate steering. The trick is to pivot the brake while pressing the throttle and unleashing the fury. He disengages the driver steering control on the floor shifter so he can over steer, pushes the throttle pedal to the max, puts the transmission in second gear at about 3000 RPMs to get enough torque to keep the rear wheels spinning.
He then tries the maneuver in the 4WD Sport mode on wet pavement with water splashing up in a rooster tail pattern. He gives it even more throttle, noting the power is distributed to all four wheels and keeping a sense of balance through tough maneuvers. He eases off the power smoothly and turns the steering wheel rapidly and decisively back to the straight ahead position. Even with wet pavement the tires smoke.
Shmee steps out of the BMW grinning from ear to ear while his videographer pans the pavement. He’s produced circles galore and straight lines made of burning rubber with the skill of a race driver and the zest of a brave teenager.
“This is what the BMW M5 is capable of doing. But you have to have the right location.” Try this in your subdivision and you might have an entirely different perspective.