one day m school thermal california

[cassidysdad]

one word summary...awesome

previously did the m safety course thru BMWs UDE(ultimate drive experience)
this is so much better

you basically are driving the whole time other than the 45 minute lecture


only bummer,
because of the heat they said they no longer use the M5s and M6s
(bullshit?)

question to those who took m school in sc
were the instructors in the car? or on walkie talkie only?
since i was car number four out of five
it was hard to see the instructions given during the drive thru
i think it would have been nice to see the optimal line


so drove the M3 /M4s
they are fun to drive
but really wanted to drive a M5 or M6 at the autocross side

with the bmw CCA discount it was a blast

went with four of my buddies
so the five of us were together on all the exercises

there are three groups of five rotating thru the drills

am schedule
skid pad...crazy fun
turning drill
autocross

lunch...actually hit the spot


pm schedule
autocross
timed short autocross
rat race...skid pad

the facility is not completed yet
but the thermal club is a pretty awesome place
for a minimum 1.5M home, 80k+ fee, and 19k a year dues
....i can only dream

the instructors were awesome and knowledgable
we were lucky, the heat was not too bad

stayed with my wife and kid at the la quinta resort
twenty minutes from the school


the hideaway suite was really nice
private whirlpool outside for the family
food and service excellent

the wives all went to the desert premium outlets in cabazon during the day
luckily not much damage
30 minutes from the resort

[PEHM5]

Agree...the one day M class at Thermal was awesome.! Yes, we were limited to driving the M3/M4s. These cars handled the abuse well!

[SF_DCT]

Was just looking into this, I may be in that area in December - my wife is going to a baby shower, so this would be a great activity for me. Any discounts if you have an M car?

[PEHM5]

No discount. I should've requested one when I purchased my M5. Oh well...still had a great time there. You will enjoy yourself.

[stealth.pilot]

I did the 2 day M School in South Carolina. At that one they used the M5 and M6 in addition to the M3/4. Weather was cool so no heat issues.

Instructors drove a lead car with radio explaining the line and additional
Instructors on ground with radios.

[chong0]

I did the 2 day school in sc

I believe the only times instructors sat shotgun was during skid pad and trying to nail down a long sweeping double apex turn.

also did a porsche 2 day precision school and all instruction was by walkie talkie except heel toe and cayenne off road

[ManhattanBMW]

Originally Posted by cassidysdad

one word summary...awesome

previously did the m safety course thru BMWs UDE(ultimate drive experience)
this is so much better

you basically are driving the whole time other than the 45 minute lecture


only bummer,
because of the heat they said they no longer use the M5s and M6s
(bullshit?)

question to those who took m school in sc
were the instructors in the car? or on walkie talkie only?
since i was car number four out of five
it was hard to see the instructions given during the drive thru
i think it would have been nice to see the optimal line


so drove the M3 /M4s
they are fun to drive
but really wanted to drive a M5 or M6 at the autocross side

with the bmw CCA discount it was a blast

went with four of my buddies
so the five of us were together on all the exercises

there are three groups of five rotating thru the drills

am schedule
skid pad...crazy fun
turning drill
autocross

lunch...actually hit the spot


pm schedule
autocross
timed short autocross
rat race...skid pad

the facility is not completed yet
but the thermal club is a pretty awesome place
for a minimum 1.5M home, 80k+ fee, and 19k a year dues
....i can only dream

the instructors were awesome and knowledgable
we were lucky, the heat was not too bad

stayed with my wife and kid at the la quinta resort
twenty minutes from the school


the hideaway suite was really nice
private whirlpool outside for the family
food and service excellent

the wives all went to the desert premium outlets in cabazon during the day
luckily not much damage
30 minutes from the resort

M School is amazing anywhere. I have been fortunate to attend M School at Spartanburg, VIR, and the Nürburgring, and always had a great time. But I do not understand how the M5/M6 would have more problems in the heat than the M3/M4. However, on a small tight course, the M3/M4 are better track cars. In all the schools, no instructors in the cars, only walkie-talkies.

[cassidysdad]

Originally Posted by SF_DCT

Was just looking into this, I may be in that area in December - my wife is going to a baby shower, so this would be a great activity for me. Any discounts if you have an M car?

there is a discount if a member of bmw cca
call and ask when registering
i forgot the percentage of the discount
enjoy

[cassidysdad]

skid pad
and cars

[SF_DCT]

I just did this yesterday - great fun! Lots of track time, only in M3s and M4s as mentioned. The timed handling course was the highlight for me - ended up with the best time of the class . I was hoping we would get some time on the main track but we were on the BMW track the whole time. I think the advanced M School gets main track time. At the end of the day the instructors took us on a hot lap - they were smoking tires the whole way around. These M cars hold up really well given the abuse. All of them had DCT and CCBs, with various color combos and options. The M5s were reserved as instructor lead cars, but were never driven hard.

[lsturbointeg]

Wow...sounds like a lot of fun!