Joined
·
0 Posts
Hey Drew!<p>I'm a fellow "E" owner (E420) and my wife has an ML430. I've been following this board for a little while and saw your post over at bimmer.org about your I-75 M5 matchup. I was waiting to see if anyone would ever respond.<p>After owning both a '97 540i and '97 E420, I knew I wanted the M5 instead of the E55. I could go into various reasons, most have been covered before, but probably the biggest one was the "feel factor". In my opinion of course, the M5 simply feels better in steering "road feel", throttle response, and body transitions (fast avoidance maneuvers) than the E.<br>I still find the E55 to be a very nice car, but after having my M5 for over a year now, I'd never switch.<p>Ok, the reason I'm writing? A bunch of the South Florida guys take their M5's to "track days", usually in Sebring, to have fun. Ever want to join us? It's a non-race environment, where the emphasis is on complete safety of both you and your car. You are running the full Sebring course, against nobody but yourself. It is not timed, and you can go at your own pace. It's an event that lets you see what your car and YOU are capable of. <p>If an M5 rematch is really in your blood, you can always take your foot of the gas on the straights at Sebring and wait for an M5 to approach, or maybe pass you. Then you can go balls to the walls and see if you can catch him! If he's a beginner and you are good with your E55, well, not much bragging rights. But if he's a good driver, and there are a few, you can see exactly what an E55 can do against the M5 in a non-competitve environment. I know that sounded funny becuase as you can guess, when you are coming up on an M5 in front of you, you can't help but want to see if you can stay with or catch him! The Sebring course is easy on brakes, and tire wear is minimal. <p>If you or anyone else is intersted, I will keep you posted on dates of the events. They are open to any driver, with any car, and groups of cars are spaced out on the track based on driver abilities. Complete novices can have fun too, with a "lead/follow" run that will take your car on the track, in a group behind an instructor car, at moderate speeds. <p>It's fun, you can go at your own pace, and most cars are totally stock. When I went it was 4 M5's, a Boxster S, a Honda S2000, 2 Vettes, older M3's, a cobra (replica?), and a beautiful S600 Renntech 7.0! Damn, could that car launch away from corners! The owner said he had 550hp pumping out!<p>Anyway, just thought I'd say hi, invite any and all to have a day of E55/M5 fun, and maybe create more goodwill between these two car camps, instead of all the negative postings! <p>Aussie2U
