German Car Zone

Took my C55 to a track a few days ago. This is the 2nd time I've taken my car to the track with a local BMW internet club. So most of the other cars there were BMW E46 3 series (a good number of M3's).

It was VERY fun. Yes, I'm pretty sure I'm faster this year compared to my first time last year.....and nothing beats the satisfaction of chasing down and then passing some BMW M3's (even some modded ones). That alone was PRICELESS. Most of the M3's at the track were not stock, as many of them had upgraded suspension, brakes, and MOST IMPORTANTLY, wider and stickier tires (some even had R-compounds). I think I surprised a lot of the BMW crowd with my "4 door family car" with 2 baby booster seats in the back......LOL.

Some events from yesterday are worth mentioning relating to me.

1) At one point, a stock looking M3 was trying to chase me down right behind me. He came into the corner too fast (trying to out brake me) and then spun off the track onto the grass and damaged his rim/tire. More than one M3 owner had trouble closing the gap to me. I could see them in my rear view mirror pusing really hard at times, and going into corners too hot (trying to out brake me) or trying to go hard on the throttle too early exiting a corner and making mistakes. I suspected this type of behaviour was going to happen as they would want the opportunity to outshine a AMG car on a curvy race track.

2) After I chased down and then passed a M3 (with modded suspension and tires), the owner of the M3 came up to me immediately afterwards and requested a ride in my C55. I think he was a bit shocked at how I was so much faster than he was on the track. On the track, I was able to go faster than 3 different M3's (some were modded, while some looked stock). All together, 2 different BMW M3 owners requested rides with me in my car. Both were surprised and impressed with the handling ability of my stock C55 compared to their M3's. Like many other BMW fans on BMW internet forums, they did not expect the C55 to handle so well on a race track. They were especially impressed with the fact that the C55 did so well with its narrow stock tires and no LSD.

Having said all this, there were some much more experienced drivers with seriously modded M3's who were clearly faster than me. All in all, I think I held my own with this mostly BMW crowd. There were a few stripped down track specific cars which were very fast. There was even a M6 there, and that thing just blew me away in the straights. A modded Mini Cooper S with R-compound tires and a very skillful driver was probably one of the fastest drivers that day.

Here are some pics of some of the cars from the event:

And here is shot of me about to pass a M3 on the straight, with a super fast Mini Cooper S behind me.

Looks like you had a great day, PC!

Awesome photos too

Looks like you had great day!

Not that I'm trying to defend the M3s, but to be far you have quite a bit more power, and especially more torque than them, meaning it would be very hard for them to overtake you, especially in the corners, where you'd be able to beat them out of the corner!

Thanks for the photos mate, sounds like you had a lot of fun hunting down a few M3s. if you dont mine, i have a few questions for you about how the C55 perform on the track.

1) Did the brakes perform well on the track?
2) Was the steering too slow for track work?
3) Was the ESP annoying? Does it allow you to have some oversteering moments or it cuts power while the car is cornering?
4)Does the car feel nose heavy with that big V8 in front?
5) Was the bodyroll well contained?

Its all up to the drivers, I mean, you can beat Ferraris,Porsches etc with a less powerful cars. So if PC_V passes other cars its no surprise to me, it has happen before and will happen again. So no need to defend a M3 BMW_dude

Put me in a Mini and its bye bye to PC Valkyrie and other drivers on that track

Awesome pictures and great report!! Looks like you had a perfect day on the track!

OK!

Are you a great driver then?

the best j/k

Personally I seen a guy in a Saab 93 Aero (modified) beating a Ferrari 360 Modena on a track and last time I was on a track I was in a Audi RS4 and a guy in a Honda Civic beats us badly

The C55 is an amzing car! the only complaint I have with it is the lack of LSD for an AMG badged car.

Nice write up btw, and thanks for sharing