I`m back home in one piece. Thanks for the comments so far.
The Ring is a multiheaded dragon - and it requires full focus. Her is the first lap.
As expected the M5 F10 had better handling and brakes than my E60. The engine pulls even stronger than the Panamera Turbo with 590 ps FVD kit, ceramic brakes and PDCC(hydraulic anti roll bars). And the power comes quicker, with less turbo lag. Combined with the also faster DSG gearbox this driveline gives a very effective an nimble drive at the demanding Ring. And I did luckily put on a new set of brake pads
http://carbopad.de witch made the brakes very effective, it would have been useless without this extra stopping power.
Peter is my mechanics at the Ring. He fixes everything so far, brakes, steering, cooling, engines - Porsches, Ferraris, BMWs and so on. He knows the Ring and will often predict where the damages have happened. "You broke this in “Karusell”, am I right?, to early out of the turn?" You just look down in shame - he has been there -done that.
The E60 picture in this post is from the Karusell (Carousel). When you go all the way to the Ring its valuable to have Peter, +491726524593
pwinnik@web.de. My tyre supplier at the Ring
http://www.reifen-radermacher.de told me that the 2014 Michelin Pilot Super Sport where even better than last years, so I ditched my 2012 MPSS for a fresh set. And it was much better. The grip and specially the turn-in approved, witch is crucial for the M5. They also filled nitrogen
http://getnitrogen.org/why/ in the tires; witch gave me stabile pressure and no smoke from tyres after a full lap at day two.
So all in all the fantastic engine, fast gearbox, good brakes, persistent tyres and a cool headed driver turned out to be a fabulous drive. Overtaking is a pleasure, never driven such a strong car at the Ring. Just look when I follow my friends F430 Scuderia.
Compared to the Panamera the M5 has little more push with less lag. The handling is good at the M5, but it doesn’t give you any confidence in the speeds this driveline makes it possible to go. The centre of gravity is to high, it rolls to much and snaps out with the back if your to heavy footed. The e-diff is very efficient, but when it snaps, you better be ready. With stability system on its very safe, but you looses the ability to push the car into the necessary oversteer. In M-mode this changes. You can steer the car more with the throttle, if you go slow in fast out. This is the smart mode at the Ring. With everything off you hear the crowd trackside screaming for blood, and you can see the multiheaded dragon in the woods trackside roaring COME TO MEEEEEE. If you can ignore those, you are the hero of the day - filled with adrenaline going sideways in Brünnchen to the applause of hundreds of action-hungry spectators. The M5 F10 is for experienced drivers - as you all probably know already. The Panamera on the other hand was absolutely stabile, no roll, awesome brakes - much safer and a little faster around the Ring. But I had 100 laps with my Panamera at the Ring and 5 laps with the M5 so far, and I like the M5 a lot - it makes me feel alive and kicking. Looking forward for next trip. It’s useful to plan at trip where we can meet at the Ring and drive and share experiences. If your interested, just tell me - I do some trips every year - since 1992. Here´s some laps with the 991 4s – its a walk in the park, as being 20 again- its so light, fast, sharp turn in, revs high, shifts as mind controlled, great sound and very stabile – a true sports car.
The Nurburgring is what you’re dreaming of. The Ring, the machine and you – battling with the law of physics and you own ego. You have to decide to have the right speed into every corner, then you can go safe every lap. Overtake only when sure you have been seen. Check your rear mirror every 5. second, and let everyone behind you pass at once. Never loose this focus or consentration. This is driving in its purest form. I`m almost out of words – nowhere else you can experience this.