Performance Center Delivery time!

X3inator · 05-26-2011, 10:32 PM

Hey guys. Just arrived in Spartanburg SC. Tomorrow is the big day! I'll post some pics when possible.

X3inator · 05-26-2011, 10:34 PM

First thing I saw a the airport was this Alpine white 35i.

X3inator · 05-26-2011, 10:36 PM

Got a ride from the airport to the hotel in this brand new X5.

X3inator · 05-26-2011, 10:43 PM

As soon as I got here, around 1015pm, I got a courtesy dinner. The BMW menu was supposed to close down at 10pm, but the driver called the kitchen up to make it happen. Top notch service and the food was amazing!

Ceasar 'Wedge' salad

Perfectly cooked and tender Filet and possibly the best damn potato wedges ever.

The bar area where I ate.

X3inator · 05-26-2011, 10:54 PM

A copy of BMW magazine in my room. Nice.

Want the thrill · 05-26-2011, 11:42 PM

Very cool!! Can't wait to hear all about it! Be sure to take lots of pics!

REZ-RACER · 05-27-2011, 03:30 AM

Can't wait to see the pics!!!
sounds like a lot of fun.

sfax · 05-27-2011, 04:00 AM

Love the photo trail. Enjoy!

AJWilson · 05-27-2011, 05:00 AM

Great pic's. Have fun.

X3inator · 05-27-2011, 07:00 AM

Breakfast was great, and free. Too bad the weather is terrible today. It's raining pretty hard. I'm on the shuttle on the way to the Performance Center. Don't know how much driving I'll get to do in this weather.

mibmwx3 · 05-27-2011, 07:04 AM

Sorry to hear about the weather. Hopefully it will clear up. My PCD is next Friday. I can hardly wait.

Bustofa · 05-27-2011, 07:43 AM

Loving this thread, X3inator. Just how much more excited could a prospective X3 owner get?

cooldude00 · 05-27-2011, 07:55 AM

I wish we had the same in Europe! Maybe I should change the order to a 5 series instead so that I can collect it from german, haha...

Looks great man, u collected the x3?

TrikinCurt · 05-27-2011, 09:31 AM

Rained quite a bit for my pcd, they still let us drive (as fast as we wanted). Hopefully the same for you!

X3inator · 05-27-2011, 09:24 PM

Just got home! And all I have to say is WOW! What a day!

I didnt get to take many pictures at all at the performance driving school (too busy driving). Sorry about that. And we had to surrender our cameras and phones for the factory tour. But I got to take as many pictures of my new X3 as I wanted

Anyways I will post what I have and tell you (briefly) about my day.

There were about 6 people picking up cars today, and the cars included everything from an M3 to a Z4 to a 535xi to a 750 to a 328 convertible to my X3.

The group was divided into two . Each subgroup got into cars representative of what was being purchased. I got in a light blue X3 35i. But they had at least one of every kind of BMW there from what I could see.

There was a radio in each car so that the instructors could communicate with us and give us feedback about our driving in real-time.

X3inator · 05-27-2011, 09:31 PM

First was the skidpad. The point here was to demonstrate BMW stability system in action. The track is circular (not oval, no straight sections), and made of polished concrete. If it wasnt raining, they would have turned on the sprinklers. First time we went around, the instructor told us to floor it while turning. Not just hit the gas, but floor it! So we did. And the car would go out of control and do a 360! We did this a couple of times. Next we turned on the stability control system, and floored it. You could feel the system take control of the brakes and the car never lost control. You could literally floor it around the whole track. Very impressive and it was quite an adrenaline rush.

X3inator · 05-27-2011, 09:36 PM

Next was braking. We did runs where we would accelerate up to certain speeds, slam on the brakes (as fast and hard as we possibly could) and see how short we could stop. We did about 8 runs of this, with the most difficult one being about 52mph, and trying to steer the car into a corner while slamming the brakes full-blast. By the end, through the instructors coaching, we did it! Very fun.

mibmwx3 · 05-27-2011, 09:39 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by X3inator

The group was divided into two . Each subgroup got into cars representative of what was being purchased. I got in a light blue X3 35i.

That looks just like the X3 I'm picking up next week. I hope it wasn't my car you were driving around the track.

X3inator · 05-27-2011, 09:46 PM

Then came laps around the track. This was the most fun. We spent about 20 minutes driving around a track with multiple curves of varying apexes, straightaways, and even had a slalom. We could drive as fast as we wanted to. I was on the course with a 550 and a 750, and I have to say I was very impressed with the abilities of the X3. I was keeping up very well with them. The instructors gave us a lot of pointers on where to start our turns and how to get around a curve faster. I was driving the X3 like I stole it. Literally as fast as it would go. Many times I felt the stability control come on when I tried to take curves way too fast, and it definitely saved my ass on the course multiple times. At this point the X3 was feeling much more like a race car to me than a sport utility vehicle. I gained a lot of respect for it's abilities during this time. This is where I realized that the X3 is a BMW first, and a sport-utility vehicle second.

X3inator · 05-27-2011, 09:53 PM

Before lunch I was checking out some of the other cars there.

These are cars used for the M-driving school. The left row is all M6's, the middle row are all M5's, and the right row are all M3's.

A matching pair of 1M's were there as well.

Basically there were M-cars everywhere you looked. There were X5M's and X6M's driving around too.

X3inator · 05-27-2011, 10:06 PM

After lunch (which was excellent), we took a drive in the passenger seat of an M5, driven by a professional instructor.

This blew my mind. Every thing I said about the X3 being a performance vehicle, and me being a decent driver, I wish to retract after this experience. We all know the M5 is a beast, but IMO you don't really get to see that until a professional driver who is willing to push it to it's limits demonstrates this to you. I have a feeling that if he were behind me on the track course, I would have been passed within a lap. He was sliding that thing all over the place, and did a controlled drift the entire way around the skidpad course. So much fun!

X3inator · 05-27-2011, 10:13 PM

We then did the off-road course, in X5's. They can't get X3's right now, which I dont really understand, but whatever. This was fun, but it seemed to impress the other people in the group more than me. I already knew X vehicles had impressive off-road capabilities and was more impressed with the on-road performance. But nevertheless it was super fun to drive.

05-26-2011, 10:32 PM	#1
X3inator Private 2 Rep 51 Posts Drives: 2021 X3 M40i Join Date: Apr 2011 Location: FL iTrader: (0)	Performance Center Delivery time! Hey guys. Just arrived in Spartanburg SC. Tomorrow is the big day! I'll post some pics when possible.
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05-26-2011, 10:34 PM	#2
X3inator Private 2 Rep 51 Posts Drives: 2021 X3 M40i Join Date: Apr 2011 Location: FL iTrader: (0)	First thing I saw a the airport was this Alpine white 35i.
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05-26-2011, 10:36 PM	#3
X3inator Private 2 Rep 51 Posts Drives: 2021 X3 M40i Join Date: Apr 2011 Location: FL iTrader: (0)	Got a ride from the airport to the hotel in this brand new X5.
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05-26-2011, 10:43 PM	#4
X3inator Private 2 Rep 51 Posts Drives: 2021 X3 M40i Join Date: Apr 2011 Location: FL iTrader: (0)	As soon as I got here, around 1015pm, I got a courtesy dinner. The BMW menu was supposed to close down at 10pm, but the driver called the kitchen up to make it happen. Top notch service and the food was amazing! Ceasar 'Wedge' salad Perfectly cooked and tender Filet and possibly the best damn potato wedges ever. The bar area where I ate.
	Appreciate 0 Quote

05-26-2011, 10:54 PM	#5
X3inator Private 2 Rep 51 Posts Drives: 2021 X3 M40i Join Date: Apr 2011 Location: FL iTrader: (0)	A copy of BMW magazine in my room. Nice.
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05-26-2011, 11:42 PM	#6
Want the thrill Lieutenant Colonel 330 Rep 1,560 Posts Drives: 2022 X4M40i, retired ‘11 X3 Join Date: Mar 2011 Location: MI iTrader: (2) Garage List 2022 X4M40i [10.00]	Very cool!! Can't wait to hear all about it! Be sure to take lots of pics!
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05-27-2011, 03:30 AM	#7
REZ-RACER New Member 0 Rep 17 Posts Drives: C63 Join Date: Apr 2011 Location: san diego iTrader: (0)	Can't wait to see the pics!!! sounds like a lot of fun.
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05-27-2011, 04:00 AM	#8
sfax Brigadier General 91 Rep 3,855 Posts Drives: BMW X3 2011 F25 Join Date: Nov 2010 Location: Berkshire, UK iTrader: (0)	Love the photo trail. Enjoy! __________________ F25 xDrive20d SE __ professional multimedia package \| dynamic package \| climate package \| 309s \| xline \| xenons \| electric seats \| folding mirrors \| business speakers
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05-27-2011, 05:00 AM	#9
AJWilson First Lieutenant 8 Rep 379 Posts Drives: BMW X3 2.0D SE Join Date: Feb 2011 Location: Fife, UK iTrader: (0)	Great pic's. Have fun. __________________ BMW F25 X3 xDrive20d SE Alpine White, Black Leather, HUD, Auto, Pro media, Visibility, Climate Comfort,Storage, Cold weather Packs, Pro Loudspeaker system, Sun Protection Glass, Electric Adjust Front Seats, Reversing Camera with Top View, 19" 309's,Variable Damper Control,Variable sport steering, Sports Seats, Sports Steering Wheel. Re-ordered 27/7/11, Arrived 28/9/11
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05-27-2011, 07:00 AM	#10
X3inator Private 2 Rep 51 Posts Drives: 2021 X3 M40i Join Date: Apr 2011 Location: FL iTrader: (0)	Breakfast was great, and free. Too bad the weather is terrible today. It's raining pretty hard. I'm on the shuttle on the way to the Performance Center. Don't know how much driving I'll get to do in this weather.
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05-27-2011, 07:04 AM	#11
mibmwx3 Private First Class 10 Rep 157 Posts Drives: 2019 X3 M40i Join Date: May 2011 Location: Michigan iTrader: (0)	Sorry to hear about the weather. Hopefully it will clear up. My PCD is next Friday. I can hardly wait.
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05-27-2011, 07:43 AM	#12
Bustofa Lieutenant 7 Rep 470 Posts Drives: F25 X3 XDrive20D SE Join Date: Mar 2011 Location: Washington, UK iTrader: (0)	Loving this thread, X3inator. Just how much more excited could a prospective X3 owner get?
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05-27-2011, 07:55 AM	#13
cooldude00 First Lieutenant 7 Rep 332 Posts Drives: x3 2.0d Join Date: Jan 2011 Location: uk iTrader: (0)	I wish we had the same in Europe! Maybe I should change the order to a 5 series instead so that I can collect it from german, haha... Looks great man, u collected the x3? __________________ it's here!!!
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05-27-2011, 09:31 AM	#14
TrikinCurt Private First Class 5 Rep 108 Posts Drives: X3 35i Mineral Silver Join Date: Jan 2011 Location: Hudson,WI iTrader: (0)	Rained quite a bit for my pcd, they still let us drive (as fast as we wanted). Hopefully the same for you!
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05-27-2011, 09:24 PM	#15
X3inator Private 2 Rep 51 Posts Drives: 2021 X3 M40i Join Date: Apr 2011 Location: FL iTrader: (0)	Just got home! And all I have to say is WOW! What a day! I didnt get to take many pictures at all at the performance driving school (too busy driving). Sorry about that. And we had to surrender our cameras and phones for the factory tour. But I got to take as many pictures of my new X3 as I wanted Anyways I will post what I have and tell you (briefly) about my day. There were about 6 people picking up cars today, and the cars included everything from an M3 to a Z4 to a 535xi to a 750 to a 328 convertible to my X3. The group was divided into two . Each subgroup got into cars representative of what was being purchased. I got in a light blue X3 35i. But they had at least one of every kind of BMW there from what I could see. There was a radio in each car so that the instructors could communicate with us and give us feedback about our driving in real-time. Last edited by X3inator; 05-27-2011 at 09:55 PM..
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05-27-2011, 09:31 PM	#16
X3inator Private 2 Rep 51 Posts Drives: 2021 X3 M40i Join Date: Apr 2011 Location: FL iTrader: (0)	First was the skidpad. The point here was to demonstrate BMW stability system in action. The track is circular (not oval, no straight sections), and made of polished concrete. If it wasnt raining, they would have turned on the sprinklers. First time we went around, the instructor told us to floor it while turning. Not just hit the gas, but floor it! So we did. And the car would go out of control and do a 360! We did this a couple of times. Next we turned on the stability control system, and floored it. You could feel the system take control of the brakes and the car never lost control. You could literally floor it around the whole track. Very impressive and it was quite an adrenaline rush.
	Appreciate 0 Quote

05-27-2011, 09:36 PM	#17
X3inator Private 2 Rep 51 Posts Drives: 2021 X3 M40i Join Date: Apr 2011 Location: FL iTrader: (0)	Next was braking. We did runs where we would accelerate up to certain speeds, slam on the brakes (as fast and hard as we possibly could) and see how short we could stop. We did about 8 runs of this, with the most difficult one being about 52mph, and trying to steer the car into a corner while slamming the brakes full-blast. By the end, through the instructors coaching, we did it! Very fun.
	Appreciate 0 Quote

05-27-2011, 09:46 PM	#19
X3inator Private 2 Rep 51 Posts Drives: 2021 X3 M40i Join Date: Apr 2011 Location: FL iTrader: (0)	Then came laps around the track. This was the most fun. We spent about 20 minutes driving around a track with multiple curves of varying apexes, straightaways, and even had a slalom. We could drive as fast as we wanted to. I was on the course with a 550 and a 750, and I have to say I was very impressed with the abilities of the X3. I was keeping up very well with them. The instructors gave us a lot of pointers on where to start our turns and how to get around a curve faster. I was driving the X3 like I stole it. Literally as fast as it would go. Many times I felt the stability control come on when I tried to take curves way too fast, and it definitely saved my ass on the course multiple times. At this point the X3 was feeling much more like a race car to me than a sport utility vehicle. I gained a lot of respect for it's abilities during this time. This is where I realized that the X3 is a BMW first, and a sport-utility vehicle second.
	Appreciate 0 Quote

05-27-2011, 09:53 PM	#20
X3inator Private 2 Rep 51 Posts Drives: 2021 X3 M40i Join Date: Apr 2011 Location: FL iTrader: (0)	Before lunch I was checking out some of the other cars there. These are cars used for the M-driving school. The left row is all M6's, the middle row are all M5's, and the right row are all M3's. A matching pair of 1M's were there as well. Basically there were M-cars everywhere you looked. There were X5M's and X6M's driving around too. Last edited by X3inator; 05-28-2011 at 11:06 AM..
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05-27-2011, 10:06 PM	#21
X3inator Private 2 Rep 51 Posts Drives: 2021 X3 M40i Join Date: Apr 2011 Location: FL iTrader: (0)	After lunch (which was excellent), we took a drive in the passenger seat of an M5, driven by a professional instructor. This blew my mind. Every thing I said about the X3 being a performance vehicle, and me being a decent driver, I wish to retract after this experience. We all know the M5 is a beast, but IMO you don't really get to see that until a professional driver who is willing to push it to it's limits demonstrates this to you. I have a feeling that if he were behind me on the track course, I would have been passed within a lap. He was sliding that thing all over the place, and did a controlled drift the entire way around the skidpad course. So much fun!
	Appreciate 0 Quote

05-27-2011, 10:13 PM	#22
X3inator Private 2 Rep 51 Posts Drives: 2021 X3 M40i Join Date: Apr 2011 Location: FL iTrader: (0)	We then did the off-road course, in X5's. They can't get X3's right now, which I dont really understand, but whatever. This was fun, but it seemed to impress the other people in the group more than me. I already knew X vehicles had impressive off-road capabilities and was more impressed with the on-road performance. But nevertheless it was super fun to drive.
	Appreciate 0 Quote