Spirited (performance) driving...when and where (if at all)
05-01-2007, 06:30 AM
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As e60 owners I am sure we are all tempted at times to have a litle fun and take advantage of the fantastic handling and acceleration of our vehicles. Not all 5 serie owners have the "need for speed" but from some of the posts I've read over time it seems quite a few enjoy a little spirited driving from time to time.
This brings me to the following question: In North America with our reduced speed limits and conservative driving habits it would seem like this type of driving would be a high risk with law enforcement and really raises the question of where and when? Obviously, we are all adults here and I'm sure most of us are mature enough to engage in this type of driving on empty roads where others safety isn't a factor but it doesn't eliminate the risk of being pulled over by the police if you're in the wrong place at the wrong time!
Ever since I took delivery of my new 530, I've taken a few opportunities to "open it up" very late at night in a nearby industrial area that is completely deserted with wide open roads....It was a blast! Until a few nights ago......I pulled up next to a Porsche Boxster at a red light at 2am on a large open road that was completely deserted. The guy in the Porsche looked at me and gave me a nod with a smile and started reving his engine. I knew the Porsche would win but I thought it would be fun to see how well my 2007 530 could keep up. Light turns green...we both slam the accelerator.....at this point we're going about 30mph over the speed limit and swerving between lanes when we pass 3 police cars parked on the side of the road!!!! Well...you guys can figure out the rest!! 6 points off my license and a "careless driving" charge.....!!! I feel like such an idiot!!
Am I the only one with the occasional urge?? Where do you guys experience your "ultimate driving machine" ? Do you feel that you more often than not take chances and respond to your speed demon impulses or am I simply immature ?!
This brings me to the following question: In North America with our reduced speed limits and conservative driving habits it would seem like this type of driving would be a high risk with law enforcement and really raises the question of where and when? Obviously, we are all adults here and I'm sure most of us are mature enough to engage in this type of driving on empty roads where others safety isn't a factor but it doesn't eliminate the risk of being pulled over by the police if you're in the wrong place at the wrong time!
Ever since I took delivery of my new 530, I've taken a few opportunities to "open it up" very late at night in a nearby industrial area that is completely deserted with wide open roads....It was a blast! Until a few nights ago......I pulled up next to a Porsche Boxster at a red light at 2am on a large open road that was completely deserted. The guy in the Porsche looked at me and gave me a nod with a smile and started reving his engine. I knew the Porsche would win but I thought it would be fun to see how well my 2007 530 could keep up. Light turns green...we both slam the accelerator.....at this point we're going about 30mph over the speed limit and swerving between lanes when we pass 3 police cars parked on the side of the road!!!! Well...you guys can figure out the rest!! 6 points off my license and a "careless driving" charge.....!!! I feel like such an idiot!!
Am I the only one with the occasional urge?? Where do you guys experience your "ultimate driving machine" ? Do you feel that you more often than not take chances and respond to your speed demon impulses or am I simply immature ?!
05-01-2007, 07:17 AM
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My Ride: 2007 530Xi - Navigation, Premium package, Steptronic.
Originally Posted by coolguy' post='419792' date='May 1 2007, 10:33 AM
I have the same concern lol... Every block has a cop in NJ!! 
Where do we unlock the $50k car potential lol...
Where do we unlock the $50k car potential lol...
ExGman - BMWCCA 374235
05-01-2007, 07:19 AM
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I've always had "the urge", but the issue is to only let that "urge" come out and play when you're more or less certain that you won't find yourself with points or without a licence as a result. Although the UK has higher speed limits (I hate driving long distances at 55/60 in the US -- feels like walking!) we have plenty of speed cameras and some areas with a big police presence. Part of the reason that I got rid of the M6 was the inability to use any of its power (only happened once, in mid-Wales) so for me the decision has been a conscious one to keep my "urge" in check.
When I had my Audi S4 I also had a Mazda MX-5 (Miata for our colonial cousins) in order to go play... not a fast car per se, but it felt plenty fast enough chucking it around southern England. That was one solution to the problem, I guess.
BC
When I had my Audi S4 I also had a Mazda MX-5 (Miata for our colonial cousins) in order to go play... not a fast car per se, but it felt plenty fast enough chucking it around southern England. That was one solution to the problem, I guess.
BC
05-01-2007, 07:46 AM
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My Ride: 2004 - 530i premium pkg, assist, but no nav. BTUM- CPT 9000 interface.
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3 cops, HUMMM! May have been a set up. Check to see who porsche is registered to. Did he actually get ticket ? summons onfile ? Always first scout track for safety.
05-01-2007, 08:08 AM
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Oh man tell me about it-and the problem is you never get "tired" of driving your e60. I got mine 2 months ago and it started out that I would get the urge to drive like 5 or 6 times a day and my neighbors would wonder why I am constantly going to and from my garage, often at midnight and beyond when I would get an urge to drive. Well 2 months later and still has not gone away.
The problem is the urge to "race" has really came on even more. This has gotten worse as the mod bug has bitten and every time I throw something on I want to further push my car and see if it made a diff-ie exhaust, intake engine tune-all made me want to go race.
For the OP that is just plain bad luck to be honest-2am empty roads come on. Cops around here are pretty damn lenient when it is "safe" such as late and open roads-hell half the time they are going 60mph plus in the regular 40 zones.
The upside about an E60 is it definetly is not watched like a hawk such as a "sports" car is-ie corvettes, ferrari or whatever else is considered a sports only car-not a sports-sedan type.
But geez I guess you come to a decision where you say screw it-because I have multiple times this past couple weeks have seen a car that I thought would be a good run-latest was a new 550-and I gunned it to get up near it and gave a rev with my remus and the problem is often the other guy bites and off you go. Before you know it you are going 100mph and the last thing on your mind is the cops-at the end you just are glad that no cops were around.
The real pain is I got my first and only speeding ticket in my life the other week in the E60 going 11 over in a 35 zone, not even trying to speed but got camara ticketed-what a waste of a ticket! Here you can get one ticket and does nothing to your record-you can go to 5 hours of driving school and have it removed. But man.
The other thing I have found (I am 26) that I often want to race other E60s and I will spot a nice 530, which I am yet to have fun with, and I pull up and its some middle-age lady that I know is not going to want to race.
On the flip side, quite a few E60s I have been surprised, usually 550s which explain why-since anyone getting 360hp is probably more likely to use it-but lots of older folks will bite and have some fun which is awesome. You can always find a race by looking for some civics, cobalts, cavalier ss etc that are more youngish cars and the kids are always gonna race. Or the 350Zs which punish the 530 but will get a race out of!
But anyway long story short-I hear the frustration. That is why I think a 530 is perfect. If I had an M5 I would likely have been arrested because you cannot even play with any of its power. Even the 530-you are at 60 in a blinik and 100 mph on a freeway in 2 blinks. I can only imagine an M5 or M6 would be half a blink and your at 150. crazy
The problem is the urge to "race" has really came on even more. This has gotten worse as the mod bug has bitten and every time I throw something on I want to further push my car and see if it made a diff-ie exhaust, intake engine tune-all made me want to go race.
For the OP that is just plain bad luck to be honest-2am empty roads come on. Cops around here are pretty damn lenient when it is "safe" such as late and open roads-hell half the time they are going 60mph plus in the regular 40 zones.
The upside about an E60 is it definetly is not watched like a hawk such as a "sports" car is-ie corvettes, ferrari or whatever else is considered a sports only car-not a sports-sedan type.
But geez I guess you come to a decision where you say screw it-because I have multiple times this past couple weeks have seen a car that I thought would be a good run-latest was a new 550-and I gunned it to get up near it and gave a rev with my remus and the problem is often the other guy bites and off you go. Before you know it you are going 100mph and the last thing on your mind is the cops-at the end you just are glad that no cops were around.
The real pain is I got my first and only speeding ticket in my life the other week in the E60 going 11 over in a 35 zone, not even trying to speed but got camara ticketed-what a waste of a ticket! Here you can get one ticket and does nothing to your record-you can go to 5 hours of driving school and have it removed. But man.
The other thing I have found (I am 26) that I often want to race other E60s and I will spot a nice 530, which I am yet to have fun with, and I pull up and its some middle-age lady that I know is not going to want to race.
On the flip side, quite a few E60s I have been surprised, usually 550s which explain why-since anyone getting 360hp is probably more likely to use it-but lots of older folks will bite and have some fun which is awesome. You can always find a race by looking for some civics, cobalts, cavalier ss etc that are more youngish cars and the kids are always gonna race. Or the 350Zs which punish the 530 but will get a race out of!
But anyway long story short-I hear the frustration. That is why I think a 530 is perfect. If I had an M5 I would likely have been arrested because you cannot even play with any of its power. Even the 530-you are at 60 in a blinik and 100 mph on a freeway in 2 blinks. I can only imagine an M5 or M6 would be half a blink and your at 150. crazy
05-01-2007, 08:21 AM
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My Ride: 07' 550i sport; Sapphire Black/Auburn; sport package; steptronic; navigation with R.T.T.I.; heads up; cold weather package; Logic-7; BMW MOST ipod kit; Motorola V3 snap-in adapter; rear heated seats and rear shades; anthracite headliner; sirrius sat. radio; M-aero kit; OEM style 166 Wheels with 245/35-19 front and 285/30-19 rear Michelin PS2s.
Boy does this issue hit home.
1) In my experience you are never better off pleading guilty to a moving violation regardless of what the police or the back of the ticket say.
2) The speed limit in this country is a f*&king joke. Since I got two tickets in the span of three weeks in March (57 in a 30 and 68 in a 40), I decided to see what the other half lives like and last week I intentionally drove to work without any exciting driving (two days was all I could take). For two days I simply followed the car in front of me to and from work. 9 miles of suburban driving each way with the highest posted limit being 50. I left the car in drive the whole time and here's the kicker...AT NO POINT during the commutes for those two days did my engine exceed 2,000 rpms!!!!!! I draw two conclusions from this. First, that BMW has indeed engineered the 550 sport to be as lazy and relaxed as the M5 is nervous and high strung, and secondly, that the speed limits are rediculously disproportionate to the abilities of the car. Driving a nice european car in the U.S. is like putting an honor student in a remedial class.
3) As for when and where to drive fast, this is a stretch I know, but try to look for other things to relish in your car aside from speed. Example, our X5 3.0 is a pure delight to drive slowly because you feel every nuance of the road and you really can communicate with what the car is doing as it rolls down the road. Like a porsche, its very satisfying to drive slowly. Unfortunately, IMHO my 550 sport does not have such a rewarding relationship with the road, and so it begs for speed before the driver can be amused. The idea is to get a car that doesn't need speed to impress (unlike all american performance cars...vette, SRT etc...).
4) If 3 doesn't work for you, try my personal solution: become a lawyer so that all the local prosecutors drop your tickets (like the two mentioned above - btw both given by the same officer!).
Best of luck out there,
DRP
1) In my experience you are never better off pleading guilty to a moving violation regardless of what the police or the back of the ticket say.
2) The speed limit in this country is a f*&king joke. Since I got two tickets in the span of three weeks in March (57 in a 30 and 68 in a 40), I decided to see what the other half lives like and last week I intentionally drove to work without any exciting driving (two days was all I could take). For two days I simply followed the car in front of me to and from work. 9 miles of suburban driving each way with the highest posted limit being 50. I left the car in drive the whole time and here's the kicker...AT NO POINT during the commutes for those two days did my engine exceed 2,000 rpms!!!!!! I draw two conclusions from this. First, that BMW has indeed engineered the 550 sport to be as lazy and relaxed as the M5 is nervous and high strung, and secondly, that the speed limits are rediculously disproportionate to the abilities of the car. Driving a nice european car in the U.S. is like putting an honor student in a remedial class.
3) As for when and where to drive fast, this is a stretch I know, but try to look for other things to relish in your car aside from speed. Example, our X5 3.0 is a pure delight to drive slowly because you feel every nuance of the road and you really can communicate with what the car is doing as it rolls down the road. Like a porsche, its very satisfying to drive slowly. Unfortunately, IMHO my 550 sport does not have such a rewarding relationship with the road, and so it begs for speed before the driver can be amused. The idea is to get a car that doesn't need speed to impress (unlike all american performance cars...vette, SRT etc...).
4) If 3 doesn't work for you, try my personal solution: become a lawyer so that all the local prosecutors drop your tickets (like the two mentioned above - btw both given by the same officer!).
Best of luck out there,
DRP
05-01-2007, 10:06 AM
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I don't know why, but somehow I've managed to avoid any tickets since I got my car and I've had a number of spirited driving experiences. Just yesterday on the way home from work some guy behind me in an older M3 made it quite obvious he wanted to run against me. I couldn't resist, so we paired up at the next light and I took the guy by at least a car length up to 60, when we had to slow down for traffic. Then a bit later and closer to home, some guy in an older Ford F150 Lightning challenged me at another stoplight where the lanes reduced from 2 to 1. I took him also, even though he made all sorts of tire squeeling and exhaust noise. I love the e60 because it is such a sleeper!
Maybe I'm just lucky, but I do keep a constant look out for lightbars and try to blend in whenever I see what looks like a police cruiser.
Maybe I'm just lucky, but I do keep a constant look out for lightbars and try to blend in whenever I see what looks like a police cruiser.
05-01-2007, 04:53 PM
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I think we can all agree on the fact that these cars really shine when driven in a spirited way. Granted they are comfortable, smooth etc. but when driven fast through a turn is when you realize that the japanese and american equivalents just aren't BMWs. Maybe we all take risks....but then again...do we. Why does one buy a 550 or M5....for the badge and not the V8/V10...please! If you buy a 550 or M5 and don't ever push it....sorry to say...you're waisting your money! get a 525 or 530.
I'm almost glad I don't own a 550i....(can't believe I'm saying that!) It would either frustrate the hell out of me to never get a chance to experience it's 360hp or I would be rollin' the dice with local law enforcement playing with odds in hopes I don't get caught.
I'm almost glad I don't own a 550i....(can't believe I'm saying that!) It would either frustrate the hell out of me to never get a chance to experience it's 360hp or I would be rollin' the dice with local law enforcement playing with odds in hopes I don't get caught.
05-01-2007, 05:08 PM
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This is the very dilemma I am facing now. I am stuck between a 535i and a 528i. I have the options decided, am still not quite sure of the colors, but..... How can I get the 28 when the 35 is 5 grand more and like, 50% more powerful? If I get the 28, I will use more of its capacity, but will I regret passing on the twin turbo? If I get the 35, will it burn me that I can hardly use it? I'm in my late 50s, and my drag racing days are over, but, I still like to drive. What to do, What to do.....