Another Nov 7th PCD write-up! Pics too...

[1994_RX-7_Tour]

Not too much to add to Me530's great write-up... he and I were both there the same day - and I have only super positive things to say about the whole program. I endorse all his comments.

One TINY thing I'd improve --> the scheduling process to get a PCD date. I realize that PCD is very popular (and getting even more so I think) and they have many constraints on PCD scheduling since they use the same track for 1-day and 2-day driving courses (which are distinctly different). I wish BMW could devise a process to "soft-confirm" a desired PCD date prior to the car arriving from Germany -- perhaps using a nominal 6-week assumption on transport time from production (or ED dropoff) to arrival in USA to establish a "tentative PCD Date"... then it could be "hard-confirmed" after the car actually passes Customs (or re-scheduled if delayed). Benefit to customer is ability to plan ahead better but it might not keep the PCD days filled up in SC as much... hard to guess.

What to add about PCD? Just DO it! But here's a few particulars in no order:
- ABS Braking drill. Great and simple to emphasize the safest technique in an emergency situation. Main thing to worry about in the real world is getting rear-ended by the guy behind you - chances are his car and skills won't be as good as yours!
- Autocross course. My favorite as it is the most dynamic and comes the closest to a "racing" opportunity with lots of left and right-hand turns. It's great to see your own skills improve so rapidly with coaching over the walkie-talkie from Ray (our expert driving coach). Don't forget to breathe!
- DSC / DTC demonstration (skidpad). I finally got a great education on how these modes relate to each other and saw them in practice. Thinking of DTC (push & release the DTC button) as the "soft-defeat" of the system... not entirely turned off but just allows a "small amount" of wheel spin / skidding before kicking in to try & keep you in control. It's basically a middle-ground between the normal (DSC) mode with full protection and the full manual (no protection mode) when you push and HOLD the DTC button.
- Delivery of your car. They really do it right! A very special experience and superb "delivery rooms"... almost feel like a baby just got added to your family! :lmao:

Kudos to Donnie and Ray and Willie for taking great care of us and that hot lap in the M5 was mind-blowing! It is a true beast of a car and Donnie whipped it around with his eyes closed (I think). Adrian at BMW of S. Atlanta will see my business again in the future - great job!

Pics:
1. "Don't Forget to Breathe"
2. My brother going 55mph about to hit the brakes HARD. Remember - NYC ("Not Your Car")
3. Touring the skidpad prior to the DSC demo
4. Bro & me in front of Zentrum museum
5. Am I having fun yet?
6. Sunny delivery of my Ultimate Driving Machine! 550i w/Sport Pkg rocks!

[Me530]

+1 to everything you had to say, and great pictures!! And it was a pleasure meeting you!!

[1994_RX-7_Tour]

Don't forget to bring your Vehicle Purchase Order (with pricing and VIN) as well as the odometer statement when you travel to do your PCD - it is the temporary registration which you should have with you when the TEMP plate is on your car.

I did not have mine & almost couldn't get onto the Navy base ... also would be in trouble if I got stopped for any reason (not that I'd ever be stopped!)

:rofl: "Officer, honestly, this is really my car! I just bought it!" :bawling: (as handcuffs click) :mad:

Luckily my wife (saint :angel:) found the documents and faxed them to me on my trip... phew! :thumbup:

[1994_RX-7_Tour]

After some business & visiting relatives in NC and VA, a great drive home last Thurs.... except for the crummy rain & wind which I endured almost the whole way home.

This car continues to grow on me (like I thought THAT was possible) the more I drive it. A few more points of info as I continue to discover them.... a few quirks but mostly positive stuff. Hope it's useful & not overly redundant w/other posters.

- Drove 10 hrs Thursday with only quick stops - no neck or back cricks... great seats!
- Gas consumption.... averaged 23.2 MPG overall in one day (525 miles, averaged 58-59 mph overall). I coulda had a V8!! Wait a minute... that IS a V-8! (Rain & traffic in NE slowed me down considerably, otherwise I'd have probably averaged 70mph). Definitely better MPG than I expected in some mixed driving.
- Curbs & low profile tires. No curb rash yet!! However a couple close calls as I wasn't trigger-loaded to be aware & watching out... I will be from now on.
- 3M clear-film bra. I had this installed in Atlanta area before I started the long drive northeast... and very glad I did it. It's barely noticeable but will surely save my paint job from dings in the future (maybe it already has)!
- Dark Poplar wood trim mismatch. There is definitely some mismatch, but it's not enough for me to get it changed. The center console (vertical & horizontal) panels are the darkest. The side door wood panels are middle shade, and the upper forward wood panels are the lightest.... seems to me to be more than should be expected, even given the "natural wood variation" concept. I can live with it. :rolleyes:
- Active Cruise Control. I continue to be a big fan (see earlier posts), and I did get the first "flashing red" in the HUD on the drive home - during wet weather as a car in front of me braked suddenly. I was a little surprised to see it since I didn't think it was that sudden, but it must have exceeded the system's threshold of braking. I added brake and slowed more quickly - the flashing red car symbol immediately went back to normal yellow, I didn't even get close to activating the ABS brakes however. :)
--> RTFM. I didn't realize there are 3 radar transmitter / receivers, but there are! The manual shows the "long-range" sensor (visible in the grille) and also the location of 2 "short-range" radar sensors (hidden) behind the front plastic bumper on left / right sides! So who cares, right? As long as it works... well it mentions not to put any stickers on the bumper which might cover those sensors. Who knew? :dunno:
--> RTFM. Discovering even more stuff here. The NAV system actually provides input into the ACC... and will slow the car from your preset speed if the turn is too tight for your speed. It does NOT predict a hairpin turn while you're speeding straight ahead however. I'd never trust this to slow me down but find that a great innovation. :)
- Adaptive headlights & turning lights. These work like a charm.... saw them most obviously during an evening drive through twisty NC mountain roads. Very helpful indeed! And for those who have had concerns about the functionality, the Manual indicates they initally are turned right and down when in PARK to avoid blinding any oncoming cars. Yep. ;)
- Night Vision. After activating the windshield washers, then NV lens gets washed each time the headlights get sprayed (which is about every 3rd or 4th activation I think). But shortly after this I turned on NV... and the cool water on the lens caused some blurring / blending of the IR contrast (at least it seemed to do this to me).... will try a before & after check sometime to try & confirm this effect. I also noticed in the rain that the IR contrast is reduced in the display - perhaps a blend of rain on the sensor lens and actual reduced-contrast IR scene based on all the traffic getting the same cold rain.
--> When using NV in zoomed mode, the assistance window is available but you can't hold the iKnob right to go there... a software bug /defect IMO. However you can use the voice cmds to put whatever you want there. I like "Assistance Window Map Direction of Travel" which worked like a champ. Once you have the map in the smaller window you must also use VX cmds to change scale, but it works. :thumbup:
- Individual Climate Setting. I really like this. You set your personal blend of air intensity for upper, lower & defog vents and then just push the driver's climate button when you want to use it! Takes the system out of auto but keeps the AC on. Very nice way to instantly personalize your air when AUTO just not quite perfect enough. :thumbup:
- iDrive options anomaly. Just found this yesterday. It is in the iMenu / car services (or whatever option shows you the service interval info for various systems). A scroll list of options is presented, but the only one you can select is "options"... when you rotate the iKnob to scroll through other selections the other options change but not the sequential way you expect... and nothing else could be selected. :eeps: A software bug I suspect which I'll share with my SA next time I talk to them. Haven't tried the voice commands yet.

[1994_RX-7_Tour]

Here are some nominal MPG figures I have seen. To provide the context, here are the conditions in which I got these numbers:

Car: 2008 550i / Sport PKG / SAT / ~2.5-3.2K miles / No mods except 3M clear bra
Dates: 10-15 NOV
Locations: GA / SC / NC / VA and up east coast to RI, usually in interstate HWYs
Weather: Usually clear & dry except on 15 NOV where some steady light rain existed. Rain did not seem to make much difference, in fact perhaps helped a little.
Transmission: Left the SAT in normal drive to make most of 6th gear, SPORT button not pushed
Cruise Control: ON for measurements (little or no interruption in speed from traffic)
Air Conditioning: Left ON (in "AUTO" mode)
Source of MPG info: as indicated on the control display (between MPH / RPM dials) which I reset for each speed. I allowed at least 5mins for MPG to stabilize, in some cases 15 mins or more.
Terrain elevation / slope: 2K elevation or less, slope either flat or very slightly rolling up & down.

Speed-->MPG
<55 mph -> On an interstate? Stick a fork in my eye.... :ouch:
55----->29.7 (Minivans blur past me... I had to pretend to be looking in the glove box from shame....since I'm steering by watching the Night Vision, I better put on hazard lights) :banghead:
60----->30.3 (Prius passes me practically making his own gas... I give him the finger) :flipoff::mad:
65----->30.3 (Minivans still passing me, I am really not able to find that thing in the glove box!) :bareass:
70----->30.3 (Now I'm at least keeping pace with SOME cars, I can look up again) :drive:
75----->28.0 (A nice cruising speed as long as no speed traps) :supdude:
80----->25.2 (Feeling even better here, except don't try this in wet weather) :roundel:
>80 mph -> traffic and/or weather precluded extended time at these speeds ("what about the law"... oh yeah, that too) :jack::doh:

As you can see it seemed to peak at 60-70 mph, perhaps engine software is tailored for USA roads?

Of note, the minimum increments of change were +/- 0.3 on the control display, even after 15-20 mins of stabilized speed... not sure why it can't refine the cumulative average to within 0.1 with more time... perhaps the system only looks at the last xx mins of driving? There's certainly some programmed measurement error taken into account.... to coin a common phrase in tactical aviation, "Why bother measuring with a micrometer... you're chopping with an AX!" :throw:

Overall I'm very happy with these numbers, haven't tried to verify the system by checking the average MPG for a tank of gas yet.

[I-Won-Today]

- iDrive options anomaly. Just found this yesterday. It is in the iMenu / car services (or whatever option shows you the service interval info for various systems). A scroll list of options is presented, but the only one you can select is "options"... when you rotate the iKnob to scroll through other selections the other options change but not the sequential way you expect... and nothing else could be selected. :eeps: A software bug I suspect which I'll share with my SA next time I talk to them. Haven't tried the voice commands yet.

This is normal. It is in the "i" menu under Settings and then BMW Service Settings. IMO, this menu should have been labeled BMW Assist Services. It has nothing to do with the service status screen that can be found under Info Sources.

It is showing you what services have been enabled on your vehicle. If you click options, you can disable BMW Assist or Update the service. The Update fuction is used if they install a new TCU for BMW Assist or they come out with a new service that is available for your vehicle. The techs do this during the QC1 which activates the BMW Assist System.

Glad to see you are still enjoying the new BMW!

[1994_RX-7_Tour]

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