Need more road

[PatrickC23]

The wife went away for the weekend and I decided to take a trip up the Merrit to CT to see my mom, this being my first opportunity to open it up after the break in. All I can say is this car is scary fast, yet completely comfortable at all speeds. I did most of my driving in Sport + throttle, Sport+ suspension, and sport steering. I actually like the tighter feel of the steering in Sport over comfort for higher speed driving.

This car is a BEAST - there were a lot of cars this weekend so most of the time i just cruised in the right lane, but when the roads opened up, down shifting and flooring it is a pretty crazy experience. U get from 60 to 120 in no time, and you come up on cars really fast - I could see how ceramic brakes may help in this case although I had no issues with braking with plenty of room.

Side note - people in the US suck at driving on highways, STAY TO THE RIGHT if you go the speed limit. I miss the Autobahn.

All in all this car is everything I had hoped for, to me hands down the perfect car.

Also, does anyone dislike M view? I think I hate it. I find it ugly, big, and the graphics to be distorted. Since I had Richard code my entertainment and turn signals into HUD, I much prefer using that, especially since NAV is right there also. At night, I also find that the M view is distracting, it inhibits me from maneuvering potholes because it blocks a lot of the road.

///M5 - too heavy for the track - maybe. Too fast for the road? definitely.

[Un Gato Malodoro]

That's a great road, perfect for the M5 IMO when there's little traffic. I grew up in Fairfield County and a drive on the Merritt has been on my short list since I took delivery. I'm jealous. Time to schedule a visit to see my folks so I can cross it off my list!

[stealth.pilot]

I fucking love the M HUD. Have no idea what you're complaining about. To me it's the best instrument option in the entire automotive industr

One of the guys on this board has hit 186mph on speedo with a September ED car. We have very few roads that could support that round here.

[PatrickC23]

Originally Posted by stealth.pilot

I fucking love the M HUD. Have no idea what you're complaining about. To me it's the best instrument option in the entire automotive industr

One of the guys on this board has hit 186mph on speedo with a September ED car. We have very few roads that could support that round here.

I love hud, hate m view. It offers nothing but tach, and I still like to look at the actual speedo for rpms. Just a personal preference, I think the M mode is ugly.

[(H)]

Originally Posted by PatrickC23

I love hud, hate m view. It offers nothing but tach, and I still like to look at the actual speedo for rpms. Just a personal preference, I think the M mode is ugly.

I use M-Mode in HUD all of the time with my M2 setting (all on Sport+ and max shift speed plus M-Mode display with DCT "manual" shifting). I agree with you that the design isn't ideal. The only actually useful information is available close to red-line for fractions of a second. The bars and colors are really unnecessary. I wish they would a) pack it with more information/features and b) make the shiftpoint indication much more visible so that you literally don't have to take your eyes of the track.

100% agree on your pet-peeve with all lane driving. The funniest part: The fact that you have to drive on the farthest right lane and only use the left lanes to pass is as much a law in most states in the U.S. as it is in Germany on the Autobahn. I wish it would be enforced much more rigorously as I believe it is overlooked how many dangerous situations are actually caused by ignorant drivers on left lanes.

[Rob///M5]

///M view for the win. I can't stand non-M. You can adjust the height and rotation of the HUD with iDrive. It sounds like u must have it too high in your sight line.

[stealth.pilot]

Originally Posted by PatrickC23

I love hud, hate m view. It offers nothing but tach, and I still like to look at the actual speedo for rpms. Just a personal preference, I think the M mode is ugly.

I don't look at speedo - find it to be badly located. If it weren't for the M HUD view, I might have actually bought a different car. It's that important to me to have the tach and speed on the windshield.

[stealth.pilot]

Originally Posted by (H)

I use M-Mode in HUD all of the time with my M2 setting (all on Sport+ and max shift speed plus M-Mode display with DCT "manual" shifting). I agree with you that the design isn't ideal. The only actually useful information is available close to red-line for fractions of a second. The bars and colors are really unnecessary. I wish they would a) pack it with more information/features and b) make the shiftpoint indication much more visible so that you literally don't have to take your eyes of the track.

100% agree on your pet-peeve with all lane driving. The funniest part: The fact that you have to drive on the farthest right lane and only use the left lanes to pass is as much a law in most states in the U.S. as it is in Germany on the Autobahn. I wish it would be enforced much more rigorously as I believe it is overlooked how many dangerous situations are actually caused by ignorant drivers on left lanes.

Last weekend some idiot in an ES350 started doing this type of blocking on a road which had 2 lanes in each direction. It was quite deliberate because I tried to pass him from the right when there was a gap, and he closed the gap and then maintained parallel station with the guy in the right lane.

He really thought he could slow me down by this stunt. I just passed the idiot in the oncoming traffic lane and then floored it. If only I could equip my car with an oil slick feature I would really have punished this idiot.

[(H)]

See, that is exactly what I am talking about. Now of course I am sure there are some that would perfectly argue that your behavior was the actual wrongdoing (attempt to pass on the right, passing in oncoming traffic, assuming that it was a no-passing zone which is typically the case with two lanes both directions).

To resolve this conflict of provoking dangerous driving though ignorance or stubbornness, on the German Autobahn (in very specific cases) that driver could actually held accountable for coercion.

But anyway, I find the more interesting aspect: What are these drivers thinking. My guess

a) They are not thinking at all. For the past 25 miles they haven't even used any of their rear view mirrors

b) They see you but think "I am already going 5 mph above speed limit so obviously he has no business in going even faster".

This latter one is obviously the one that ticks us off and I really don't understand the psyche in it. It's obviously none of that drivers business how fast I go and how many laws I possibly break. Can some of the psychologists on this board please explain??

And also a question for the board: What is an acceptable practice to make a driver on the left lane aware of the fact that you want to pass? What are the levels of escalation? I usually approach fast but keep a very safe generous distance (at the very least "half" the speed on your odo in yards). Then I first wait and wait and wait. If really nothing happens, I turn on my left blinker. If that doesn't do after a while I highbeam, no more than two short flashes, max. twice. If all of that doesn't work, I give up. As a principle, I don't pass on the right as you never know how stupid other drivers are and it's just too dangerous. So again, what is an acceptable code of conduct here?

[Tom C]

Originally Posted by Un Gato Malodoro

That's a great road, perfect for the M5 IMO when there's little traffic. I grew up in Fairfield County and a drive on the Merritt has been on my short list since I took delivery. I'm jealous. Time to schedule a visit to see my folks so I can cross it off my list!

+1

I used to live in Westchester County near CT and also think the Merritt is a great road. I loved driving my E39 M5 there and would like the opportunity to get the F10 on there.

[Tom C]

Originally Posted by Rob///M5

///M view for the win. I can't stand non-M. You can adjust the height and rotation of the HUD with iDrive. It sounds like u must have it too high in your sight line.

Good to know because I would agree that it takes up too much of my sight line. I like to have a full view of the road and right now it can obscure my view of road imperfections. Maybe I just need to adjust the height.

[Rohardi]

Originally Posted by stealth.pilot

If only I could equip my car with an oil slick feature I would really have punished this idiot.

Stealth, why am I shocked you haven't installed that along with all the other stealth countermeasures in your M5 lol

[stealth.pilot]

Originally Posted by (H)

And also a question for the board: What is an acceptable practice to make a driver on the left lane aware of the fact that you want to pass? What are the levels of escalation? I usually approach fast but keep a very safe generous distance (at the very least "half" the speed on your odo in yards). Then I first wait and wait and wait. If really nothing happens, I turn on my left blinker. If that doesn't do after a while I highbeam, no more than two short flashes, max. twice. If all of that doesn't work, I give up. As a principle, I don't pass on the right as you never know how stupid other drivers are and it's just too dangerous. So again, what is an acceptable code of conduct here?

I don't think crossing the double yellow lines is necessarily dangerous. I find US road authorities are a bit trigger happy with these lines. I felt I had clear visibility, and my car had the ability to execute the maneuver very very quickly!

I think your escalation policy is too casual. I actually turn on the blinker if I am forced to slow, not after slowing and then waiting. Then I start flashing the high beams usually in 3 flash patterns with a 20 second pause in between. If that doesn't work, then I bide my time till I can pull off a pass. Usually if you back off significantly (e.g. 6 car lengths), they will stop driving in parallel. Once a gap opens up, you can close that gap in less than a second by deploying full throttle.

[nugent]

Originally Posted by PatrickC23

The wife went away for the weekend and I decided to take a trip up the Merrit to CT to see my mom, this being my first opportunity to open it up after the break in. All I can say is this car is scary fast, yet completely comfortable at all speeds. I did most of my driving in Sport + throttle, Sport+ suspension, and sport steering. I actually like the tighter feel of the steering in Sport over comfort for higher speed driving.

This car is a BEAST - there were a lot of cars this weekend so most of the time i just cruised in the right lane, but when the roads opened up, down shifting and flooring it is a pretty crazy experience. U get from 60 to 120 in no time, and you come up on cars really fast - I could see how ceramic brakes may help in this case although I had no issues with braking with plenty of room.

Side note - people in the US suck at driving on highways, STAY TO THE RIGHT if you go the speed limit. I miss the Autobahn.

All in all this car is everything I had hoped for, to me hands down the perfect car.

Also, does anyone dislike M view? I think I hate it. I find it ugly, big, and the graphics to be distorted. Since I had Richard code my entertainment and turn signals into HUD, I much prefer using that, especially since NAV is right there also. At night, I also find that the M view is distracting, it inhibits me from maneuvering potholes because it blocks a lot of the road.

///M5 - too heavy for the track - maybe. Too fast for the road? definitely.

i took that road a lot going the other direction when i lived in boston and drove to nyc on friday nights. sure beat taking 95S. of course i was in my corsica or wrx.

[PatrickC23]

Originally Posted by nugent

i took that road a lot going the other direction when i lived in boston and drove to nyc on friday nights. sure beat taking 95S. of course i was in my corsica or wrx.

Did u go to school in Boston by chance? 95 is the worst near the GWB, way too many potholes.

[PatrickC23]

Originally Posted by Rob///M5

///M view for the win. I can't stand non-M. You can adjust the height and rotation of the HUD with iDrive. It sounds like u must have it too high in your sight line.

Perhaps i will adjust it and giv it another shot, wish they had a zoom in zoom out feature.

[chong0]

Originally Posted by Tom C

+1

I used to live in Westchester County near CT and also think the Merritt is a great road. I loved driving my E39 M5 there and would like the opportunity to get the F10 on there.

love the merritt- cheapest way to get into manhattan and i'm sure when you went through that tunnel the M5 sounded awesome!

100% m mode. the tach is perfect.

[nugent]

Originally Posted by PatrickC23

Did u go to school in Boston by chance? 95 is the worst near the GWB, way too many potholes.

yep, was in boston for 9 years. i avoided GWB getting into manhattan after i figured out the secret toll-free third street bridge entrance.

[PatrickC23]

Originally Posted by nugent

yep, was in boston for 9 years. i avoided GWB getting into manhattan after i figured out the secret toll-free third street bridge entrance.

What school, I went to BC

[nugent]

Originally Posted by PatrickC23

What school, I went to BC

tufts med. what'd you study?
bc has hot chicks. lucky you.

[PatrickC23]

Originally Posted by nugent

tufts med. what'd you study?
bc has hot chicks. lucky you.

I was accounting - too boring to make a career of it though.

[RPiM5]

Originally Posted by stealth.pilot

I fucking love the M HUD.

^^^ This.